Lately I noticed that many bloggers are writing about gratitude journals and it got me thinking…
I had attempted writing in a gratitude journal in the past, but it didn’t last very long. It was an assignment from a professional development course I was in and it felt forced and structured. I didn’t get anything out of it at the time. However, I knew that the basic idea was good. I didn’t really think of it much again until I started seeing all of these recent posts brought on by the holidays. So right after Thanksgiving, I went out and bought a journal and wrote for the first time on the evening of December 1st (one week ago).
While writing my first entry, I decided my goal was to jot down positive parts of my day at the end of each day. I wanted to focus on small moments that made me happy. A happiness highlights journal, if you will.
“Enjoy the little things in life, because one day you will look back and realize they were the big things.”
– Kurt Vonnegut
Moving forward, I have decided that I will share some of my happiness highlights with all of you in hopes that it will remind you to enjoy the little things. It will also hold me accountable for continuing my spin on a gratitude journal.
Some Happiness Highlights from my first week:
- My girls and I made some exfoliating hand scrub to give out as Christmas gifts. They loved helping out and it was fun to do something all together.
- My Aunt gave us a yummy hot chocolate mix with some Russell Stover Melt-Away Santa’s. It was sooooo yummy! We have been drinking a cup almost every day.😁
- Saturday morning my girls performed an impromptu concert of Disney songs while I enjoyed a cup of vanilla chai.
- We went on a family hike.
- My blog has 23 followers now. Yay!
- I made a pumpkin pie, sea salt caramel cookies, and sparkling butter cookies this week. Yum.
- Sunday I had some time to enjoy a quiet walk to the store alone.
Be happy! Don’t forget to enjoy small moments!
What are some of your happiness highlights from this week?
How did you make the exfoliating soap? Could you please post about it?
I tried a few different recipes but the one I liked the best was 1 cup of white sugar mixed with 1/4 cup of Dawn dish soap (the pink one). I mixed a big batch using a whole bag of sugar and I ended up with 12 half pint size jars. After buying the jars, Dawn, and sugar I calculated that each one cost $1.29. Plus, I had some Dawn dish soap left over! 😁
Ok that’s simple enough to try 😊 thanks for sharing!
Yes, it is super easy! It is the perfect recipe with kids because you can’t really mess it up. You can just add a little more Dawn dish soap or a little more sugar to get the consistency the way you like it.
After it sits for a little while, you might notice that some of the Dawn dish soap will settle on top but all you need to do is mix it a little before using. 😁
I love this. I have really been trying to write in my journal most days. It’s about appreciating the simple things. I look forward to reading your posts!
Thanks! Writing in my journal has been a fun experience. I started feeling better right away. The simple things should never be underestimated! 😁
Nice.
Thanks for stopping by!
Great post – thanks for sharing. I have also tried to keep gratitude journals in the past but tend to go many years without filling them in. Thanks for the reminder!
I like the idea of a physical journal (it holds me accountable) but what I love even more is just feeling grateful in the moment. Having a journal, whether I remember to write in it every day or not, is still a reminder for me to do that. When something happens throughout the day that makes me smile, I try to pause and just really enjoy it.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
I totally agree. Just having a journal accessible with a pen next to it allows you to be more spontaneous