Anticipate Fun

The day of our engagement!  On top of Stone Mountain.

We're planning a day trip to Stone Mountain this weekend, and I'm really excited about it!  Stone Mountain holds a special place in my heart, because it's where Robi proposed to me.  And also, we've had a tradition of going to "Snow Mountain" for the past several years during the winter break, so keeping up with that tradition makes me happy, too!

I try to remember to "anticipate fun," because looking forward to fun times makes me happier!  And I'm not the only one who gets extra happiness from anticipating fun.  The authors of this article in the journal of Applied Research in Quality of Life found that vacationers get a strong happiness boost before vacations, and have much higher levels of happiness than non-vacationers when looking forward to a vacation.  (After vacations, not so much!)

I try to let Flannery know our future plans, so she can benefit from anticipating our fun trips, too. Today on our morning commute, I talked to her about our upcoming Snow Mountain trip, and what we might do there--getting cocoa, building a snowman, sledding/tubing, perhaps riding the train around the mountain.  It really does make me happy to think ahead about the good times we're planning as a family.   We also have a quick weekend camping trip planned in a few months, and a beach trip we're planning for the summer, and just thinking about those getaways puts me in an instant good mood.

So, what fun time are you anticipating?  If you don't have a fun trip or vacation planned yet, is there a quick weekend trip you could start planning?  Do it!  Just be sure to plan it far enough in advance to soak up the anticipatory happiness!

Anticipate Fun

Notice the fun girl pumpkin Flanna
decorated with her Grammie?

Yesterday, we went with my niece's Brownie troop to see Disney on Ice.  Flannery dressed up in her Cinderella dress for the big event, and we had such a nice time. I think part of the fun was just in looking forward to the show--we talked about it for days ahead of time, decided what to wear, tried to guess what the show would be like, and just generally got excited about what was to come.  Anticipating fun can really bring a lot of happiness for me--maybe that's why I like to plan things way in advance!  Anyway, Disney on Ice really lived up to the anticipation.  We all enjoyed it, and I think it was a magical night for Flannery and my niece!  We were so grateful to my sister for inviting us!

What fun time are you anticipating?

Anticipate Fun

Oh my goodness, I'm so excited!  Tomorrow we're taking Flanna to see The Nutcracker ballet!

Tonight, we read this book.  It was a nice introduction to the story of the Nutcracker, and the illustrations are just gorgeous.   Flannery asked to re-read the book about a thousand times.   Which I of course was happy to do... I love repeated readings of the same book--you get to dig deeper each time you read it.  (And I forgave the author for changing Clara's name in her version of the story, although I read it to Flanna using "Clara," just because it seemed wrong to teach the story of the Nutcracker without Clara.)

We also watched part of this movie, which was a little dark and sort of creepy.  Flannery kept saying that she wouldn't trust the man with the eye patch.  And I agree!

So, now we're prepared!  Fingers crossed for a fun time!

Anticipate Fun

Since anticipating fun is almost as much fun as actually having fun experiences for me, I've been trying to think up small things to do each week leading up to our weekend of Halloween festivities. Today, we made some yummy Halloween Pudding Cones. Here's what you need:

1. 1 box instant pudding
2. 2 cups cold milk
3. fall colored sprinkles
4. a few ice cream cones that will stand up (not sugar cones)

First, make your instant pudding by adding the 2 cups cold milk, stirring or mixing with a mixer, and letting it set for about 5 minutes. Then, once it's set, scoop some pudding into each cone, and sprinkle with your holiday sprinkles. Voila!

You could vary the sprinkle colors and use this idea for pretty much any holiday. We love to make "holiday" pudding for practically every holiday (green sprinkles for St. Patrick's Day, Red Sprinkles for Valentines, etc.), because it's just so darn easy and yummy.

Flannery really enjoyed adding the ice cream cone idea this time, and, boy, you should've seen the sprinkly mess we made in the kitchen! But it was worth it, and it brought me a big happiness boost to do this little project together with her.



What food do you love most at this time of the year?

Anticipate Fun

One thing I've found that really makes me happy is just the anticipation of a fun event. I think that anticipating fun brings a great deal of happiness, which is why engagements and pregnancies are such wonderful times in peoples' lives. Anticipating fun is, well, fun!

Which is why I think I so enjoy decorating for Halloween. The preparation and planning I do for Halloween makes the whole month of October a fun time.

Last year, we painted little pumpkins, painted a witch ornament to hang from a shelf, hung pretend spider webs up on the porch, made homemade spiders to put in the web, and carved a jack-o-lantern.

This year, so far, we've bought a pumpkin.

Hmmm...I think I'm a little bit behind in starting my "anticipation" of the fun!


What fun memory do you have from Halloween or Fall Festivals when you were a kid? And what fun time are you anticipating right now?

By the way, this pic is Flanna dressed as a cat on her second Halloween! Oh my goodness, isn't that adorable? I remember she kept meowing the whole night, and really stayed in character! And the week afterward, she kept asking for more whiskers painted on her face. So sweet!

Anticipate Fun!

I know I talk about how much I love "anticipating fun" a LOT on this blog, but I just can't help myself!

My husband, daughter, and I are planning a camping trip for next weekend, and we're all really looking forward to it! The preparation we've done so far has really increased our happiness level as a family. Just planning the meals, discussing the possible events (fishing, s'mores, hiking, swimming!), and buying cute tiny camping gear for Flanna has boosted my happiness level tremendously! (Seriously, who can resist a tiny camping chair with a cupholder?)


What are you anticipating right now that brings you some happiness?

Enjoy the Anticipation

In a few weeks, I'm going to visit my family & friends back home for Easter. And then we're heading to the beach for spring break!

I'm already getting ready for the fun times we're going to have. I bought my daughter some adorable sundresses for the beach. I bought my niece and my daughter cute matching dresses to wear while they hunt eggs. I've been digging out the beach toys we need to bring with us. I've been talking up all the fun things we'll do together while we're with family and friends to Flannery. I bought sunscreen. I've been looking through my closet for hats that have wide brims but don't make me look silly. (I hate to get sunburned, so I'm really careful at the beach!) I've been scoping out good treats to buy for filling Easter eggs for the great egg hunt we'll have at my in-laws' house.

All this might sound like a little much considering that I have 2 weeks until we leave for our trip. But, I know now that it's not just that I like to be prepared for things. I like anticipating fun. It makes me happy to think ahead about fun things. And doing little things to prepare for fun events is a good way to enjoy the anticipation.

Maybe that's what made the year I was engaged so magical...the anticipation of all the wedding fun. Or what made my sickly pregnancy so bearable...the anticipation of baby fun.



What happy times are you anticipating?

The Long and Winding Road

Tomorrow I'm going to be brave and travel by myself for 7 hours (at least) in the car with my 3 year old. Don't worry, the portable DVD player and VTech handheld game are charging up as we speak.

Which buys me, um, maybe 1.75 hours of peaceful driving.

For the other 5.25 hours (or more, depending on traffic and restless toddler legs), please say several, er, um, many, intense prayers for my sanity tomorrow.

I'm going to visit my fabulous and wonderful extended family, and to spend a few peaceful days in a house in the woods.

Ahhhh. The woods.

I really can't wait!


What fun time are you anticipating?

Anticipate Fun!

It might SNOW here on Saturday! Snow!

I'm so excited! Being from Georgia, snow is all about fun for me. (No--that year I spent in Boston where I dug my car out of 4 feet of snow repeatedly--it didn't take the fun out of the snow, either!)

I thought about keeping it a surprise for my daughter that it might snow, just in case it didn't. You know, so she wouldn't be disappointed. (The pics are from last winter when it snowed like crazy in Athens, by the way!)

But then, I thought, half the fun of snow is the anticipation of it! Looking out the window the night before the snow is expected, hoping for a snowflake, making plans for the hot chocolate and snow angels you'll make.

It's that way for a lot of things, really. Getting engaged, getting married, having a baby, vacations...it's really fun to dream about how these things are going to be, to anticipate them.

So, we told Banana that it might snow on Saturday. And she's SO happy about it! She said she's going to make a snow monkey with a snow banana. (??) And I promised her I'd figure out how to make snow ice cream. And my husband went out searching for a sled at fifteen different stores.

On a similar note, we're also already making Valentines. As a part of my happiness resolution to Share & Create Family Traditions, each holiday is a big deal in our household. And anticipating the fun of each holiday is fun in and of itself!


What happy moment are you anticipating? Enjoy it!