Clap Your Hands

Happiness sure can't be bottled, but I've been paying some attention to the way a certain 18-month-old conducts business and I've learned a few things in the process. She's about the consistently happiest person I know and I can't help but think that if we engaged in just one of her activities each day, we might find ourselves just a little bit happier a lot more often:

1. Let "boo" be the first word out of your mouth. Every morning. Even if no one is there to hear you.

2. Call your milk "moo moo" and drink 16 ounces of it everyday.

3. Wear bright pink Crocs (that goes for you guys, too!).

4. Say hello to everything--not just everyone--everything. Your toothbrush, your pillow, your sock, the door, the playground, your oatmeal. Everything.

5. And then say goodbye.

6. Say hello to everyone and be completely accepting if they don't say hello back.

7. Draw something. Even if it is lines of all different colors, it doesn't matter, just draw.

8. Say the word "armpit" as many times as you can manage in a day. Here's a tutorial in case you're not sure how.


9. Wear comfortable pajamas with things like sleeping sheep and ice cream cones on them.

10. Read about pigs that sing and cows that "fyyyyy."

11. Listen for an airplane, jump up and down when you spot it, and then blow it a kiss as it passes overhead.

12. Say the word "funny" just for the heck of it and then burst out laughing.

13. Pray, even if you just start with the word "Amen."

14. Give someone an Eskimo kiss.

15. Go to the gaygound (playground) and hit the slide about 500 times. Heck, just say the word gaygound.

16. Say "excuse me" when you toot and "bless you" when I sneeze.

So, which one are you going to try today? Let me know how it works!

Today's Splurge:

A chocolate, banana, peanut butter, protein milkshake. It's incredible. I'm sure I'm not the first to invent it, but I haven't had it anywhere quite like this:

Throw into the blender (I'm a little obsessive, so I'd say in this order):

• 8 oz of chocolate soy milk (I use 8th Continent's Light Chocolate Soy Milk, click here for a $1 off coupon!)
• 1 frozen banana (I got this tip from my mother in law: cut up ripe bananas and throw them in the freezer, then you'll always have them).
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
  
• 1 TB of natural peanut butter
  
• 1 scoop (or two) of chocolate Whey Protein Powder
• 1 handful of ice-cubes (I use about five)

I have different speeds on my blender, so I put it on "Chop" for about 90 seconds just to cut the ice up, then I switch it to "Mix" for another couple of minutes.

The trick to frothy and thick is just the right amount of ice (too much and its icy, too little and it's not thick) and to blend it for a long time (3 and a half minutes feels a lot longer than it sounds!)

Enjoy!