Mariannes Motifs

Instant chicken alfredo

Steamfresh penne and vegetables with Alfredo sauce plus Deli Fresh chicken equals instant chicken alfredo.

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Napkin wrapper Stealth Bomber

The hubster is an aeronautical genius with the small piece of paper wrapped around the napkins at our local pizza joint.

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Do you overemphasize happiness?

I think choosing a life that is interesting to us and choosing a life that makes us feel happy are probably very different choices.

via blog.penelopetrunk.com

A couple of blog posts back I wrote about how a lot of people are talking about how to be happier, and I wondered if it might be better to be content.

In the post linked above Penelope Trunk talks about how she would rather be "interested" and have a lot of choices in her life than to be vacuously happy.

Interest. I think her blog is fascinating because so much of what she writes I disagree with. And I always enjoy disagreeing with things. LOL!!!

At this point in my life (and remember I have a chronic illness, 2 rambunctious kids, and a full time stress filled job) I kind of dream of simplicity. Not that I don't love choices, and I really love gathering facts and being an "interested" (if not interesting) person like Ms. Trunk talks about. I do. Simplicity for me is an out of reach goal. My brain is not wired for simplicity. Simplicity takes a kind of discipline that a pack rack like me lacks. But a girl can dream...

Back to the happiness thing. For me my level of happiness is directly related to two things. 1. How clean my house is. and 2. How well I can ignore my perfectionism.

When I am upset about things not being perfect, worrying, and generally obsessing about stuff, then I am not so happy. When I can let it go and enjoy the way things are, imperfect as they are, then I am happy. Actually, now that I think about it, that is pretty simple.

Maybe I can achieve this simplicity thing after all. Especially with the help of my fantastic housekeeper Antonia.

Just Happy to Be Here

Did you ever have a week when you have nothing to say?  A lot of people say that if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all.  My mom never really said that one.  LOL.

But it's not thing to keep in mind.  I had a pretty hard week so far so I am laying low and trying to survive it.  Wish me luck. 

The kids enjoyed some Dr. Seuss's birthday activities at both of their schools on Tuesday.  Ben brought the Sneetches and Other Stories, and Adam brought The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.  Adam had "crazy sock day" at school today but guess what - he wouldn't wear any crazy socks.  He is one of those kids who are extremely picky about their socks and he will only wear certain ones.  He calls any other socks that do not meet his standards "too fancy."  As it, "These socks are too fancy."  He's a trip, my little one.  :-)  Brings me back to when I was a kid and drove my mom crazy complaining when clothes were scratchy.

Well, I am going to get back to shipping boxes.  Again, wish me luck.  Please.  I need it.

Money Can't Buy Happiness, But it Helps

I was just reading the April 2010 issue of Women's Day magazine, and there was a good page about the relationship between money and happiness.  Some really good point they made are to consider if what you spend your money on fosters relationships with the people you care about.  The quote they use is "experiences make us happier than stuff."

They also not that one of the most important things money can help buy is a sense of security.  So when you are paying on your credit card debt, or contributing to your savings account you should remember that this will bring you future happiness and security.

Money can't buy happiness, but it can sure help give you a secure environment to work on the rest of what really does bring happiness - relationships, experiences, security, etc.  And as they taught me in business school, cutting costs effects the bottom line the same as increasing sales.  So when you go out and find a deal on discount auto insurance, it may just help make you happier.

Is It Possible To Be Content?

The grass is greener on the other side of the fence, right?  It's human nature to want to achieve more.  That is why we have built cities, create art, work for charities, and make inventions and innovations.  However, never really being satisfied with what you have itsn't necessarily going to give you a calm happy life.

Is it possible to be content with what you have, while still striving for more?  I think there can be a balance.  By moderating your ambition and moderating your sense of inertia it you should be able to get to a state of treading water, swimming, treading water. 

I would like to be happy where I am and live in the moment a lot more than I do.  I don't always want to be thinking about what is not perfect in my life, but to enjoy the imperfect but great set of circumstances I have.

People with straight hair want curls, people with curly hair want straight hair.  Slim people are shopping at www.weightgainsupplement.org and chunky people are looking for weight loss solutions.  Again, its just human nature.  But wouldn't it be nice for one day to just look in the mirror and feel like you are alright just the way you are?

Service for Pets "Left Behind"

Many people in the U.S.—perhaps 20 million to 40 million—believe there will be a Second Coming in their lifetimes, followed by the Rapture . In this event, they say, the righteous will be spirited away to a better place while the godless remain on Earth. But what will become of all the pets?

via www.businessweek.com

Gotta love America! This guy in New Hampshire is charging people money for so they can have an Atheist come care for their pets after the Christian biblical rapture.

I am pretty sure, as a Jew, I should also be eligible to make a few extra dollars for anything you need done after the rapture - so let me know.

10 Interesting Facts About WGU

While researching affordable online education, I have come across an interesting school called Western Governers University.  This organization is very young at about 10 years old, but already has amassed quite a list of "firsts."

1.  WGU's teachers college was the first online school to achieve NCATE Accreditation.

2.  WGU is the only university accredited by regional accrediting organizations in four separate regions of the country.  This is because the school was formed by the Governors of 19 different US States.

3.  The distance learning programs of WGU were instrumental in getting Congress to approve government financial aid to be allowed for online education.

4.  WGU also was involved in getting the GI Bill benefits to be able to be used for  an online degree.

5.  One of the 19 Governers to work on the formation of the school is Arnold Schwarzenegger.

6.  Bill and Melinda Gates' foundation is also a major funder ofthe school, along with a larlge number of corporate sponsors.

7.  WGU's competency based program allows students to receive course credit for measurable life and career experience.  This program is even approved for VA benefits.  If you can complete the assignments and pass the exams, you can accelerate your pace and not have to re-learn what you already know.

8.  WGU's online teaching degree is still the only exclusively online school to have NCATE Accreditation.

9.  WGU's tuition is charged by 6 month term and for most programs basic tuition is $2,890 Per Six-Month Term.  At under $6,000 a year it's one of the most affordable options for college out there.

10. You can follow WGU on Twitter at twitter.com/wgu.

Make A Yarn Lampshade

via lifehacker.com

Lifehacker has an interesting set of instructions for making a lamp shade out of yarn. Basically you blow up a balloon, coat it with vasoline, then wrap yarn soaked in white glue around it.

When it dries you pop the balloon (popping things without worrying about any acne scars removal) and wham you have a funky retro lampshade.

I happen to have a scad load of yarn so this piqued my interest. Not sure I would actually make it but its an interesting idea. I bet you could go in some other sculptural directions with this as well...

Like perhaps you could use different shaped balloons and get some sort of vase shape.

4 Simple Principles of Getting to Completion

If your project has been dragging on, or you’re having problems completing, try simplifying, and stop trying for perfection.

via zenhabits.net

I've written before about the paralysis of perfectionism. When you wait for the perfect time, the perfect setup, the perfect funding, the perfect support, the perfect plan... what ends up getting done is nothing at all.

This post from Zen Habits is good because it adds a few more concepts to the "Just Do It" mentality. For example, kill extra features, keep the scope as simple as possible, and make it public quick.

I like the idea of keeping this simple. It is too easy to become overwhelmed by complexity or a set of tasks that is too large to be accomplished in one step. By taking small steps one at a time it is possible to accomplish some pretty cool stuff.

It's like expecting diet supplements to magically make you lose weight.  Or waiting for the perfect low stress time in your life to start a radical new diet.  The best way to accomplish weight loss is a change of your habits in general, and that takes time.  For example, start by giving up soda.  Then move on to cutting down your portion sizes.  Then add in one r two days of exercise a  week.  You get the idea - don't worry about a perfect plan or going overboard with a strict diet that you can't keep up.  Change one lifestyle feature at a time and see where your small steps can take you.