Oh Christmas Tree

Brianna and I finally managed to get our tree today. I had been told that real ones were very expensive so we were going to get an artificial, but with a few more conversations found out they weren't bad on price at all. Bri had seen a place off a country road near Stourbridge that had trees so we headed out there. They had all sorts of breeds and I of course had to go for the spruce with the most prickly trunk. The guys working there netted it for us and managed to get it all the way into Rusty. The top of the tree was all the way onto my front dash and served as an entertaining barrier between myself and Bri in the passenger seat, particularly because she has to lean over to my side to open my door for me (the lock is broken on the outside of my driver's side door). We went and got a few decorations and one Christmas CD, came home, made a coffee and Baileys and decorated our tree to the music. It's a lovely little tree and we're both finding the lounge very cozy now with the tree lights, the gas fireplace and a few candles.

Our lovely tree! The width of the bottom just barely fit!

This is the base of our tree. They do have tree stands available, but most just put the tree into these natural wood blocks. I quite like it actually, it makes the tree look much more natural, I think.
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Happiness

Happiness is. . .


That was more or less the question for the day today. Following our dinner at Rachael's Thursday night, she invited me to attend a workshop she was doing today on Happiness. Rachael has recently attended the 8 week series of courses in London put on by Dr. Robert Holden, who is the director of the Happiness Project and wanted to share some of what she had learned in a workshop here at home. I am not one to be all for the self-help craze, and some of you may look at the site and think that is all it is. But I do very much appreciate meeting new people and being able to share thoughts and feelings in ways we wouldn't normally (if at all). I've had some big ups and downs since my trip to New York in October- personally and professionally, so I also thought this might be an interesting way for me to reflect a bit.




I really enjoyed the whole day. Everyone that I had a chance to get to know in the group a bit were amazing people each with their own story. We laughed a ton, especially when having to spell words with our bums toward the end of the session and I at many times was brought on the verge of tears (good ones). I left with the idea I need to start journaling for myself again (not just blogging for you all:-)!) and writing down all my little reflections at the end of the day and some of the things I am grateful for each day, which I also discovered today I am fortunate to have many.