Wordless Wednesday

A collage of photos from our trip to the Hawaiian islands...

Please click to enlarge.

Manic Monday Meme

Manic Monday #117

If you knew that every minute of the next 24 hours of your life would be recorded on camera is there anything you would change about your habits? --- I'd wear a bra.

If you could take a one-month trip to any single destination in the world and money is not a consideration, where would you go? --- Southern Europe. That's actually a real goal of ours; we'll have to do it in three weeks w/a budget but hey, reality isn't always perfect.

What is the best example of “perfection” that you can think of? --- My husband and I enjoying a pristine white-sand beach all by ourselves. The ocean is turquoise, frozen drinks arrive as needed, and the palm trees sway above our heads.

Welcome to our...

Wordless Wednesday

The Mayan Palace Resort in Acapulco, Mexico.

The pool is one kilometer long.

Please click to enlarge.

TMI Tuesday

TMI Tuesday #134

1. Is there a TV show you HAVE to watch? If so, what is it? --- I don't have a show I HAVE to watch. I have shows I enjoy, but being a slave to television isn't my thing.

2. What is your favorite drink if you are going to drink more than one? --- Frozen margaritas. They remind me of vacas in tropical locales and that's always a good thing.

3. How long do you carry guilt around with you? --- I don't. No regrets.

4. Where is or would be your number one romantic get away spot? --- There's a beach on Maui we adored. We don't need a romantic spot; just being together at home is awesome.

5. Have you ever seen a counselor? --- Sure. That no regrets thing didn't happen all by itself, LOL.

If you read this meme, it's now your turn to do this meme!

Manic Monday Meme

Manic Monday #116

If the statement, 'You are what you eat' was true, I would be full of delicious authentic Italian food since we essentially ate our way through St. Louis while we were there. Imo's Pizza. Zia's. Amighetti's. Yep. I'm full of all kinds of yummy Italian goodness and topped w/a cannoli.

If you had to have one piece of music (softly) playing in your mind for the rest of your life, what would you want it to be? --- Vivaldi's Four Seasons

What is the most important thing in any relationship? --- Humor/Trust. It's a tie for me.

If you read this meme, I tag YOU to do your own. It's takes less than two minutes!

What Makes & Keeps Us Happy?

I believe most of us would agree that Harvard University is a well-respected academic institution. For your reading pleasure I provide you with a synopsis of Harvard University Psychology Professor Daniel Gilbert's recent presentation to Australia's Happiness and its Causes conference in Sydney.

Happiness Plummets with Kids' Arrival

MARRIAGE is a constant source of joy, but introducing children into the
relationship will send your happiness in a downward spiral, a conference has
been told.

Marriage, money and children were conventionally considered to be the
cornerstone of happiness but such thinking did not stand up to scientific
scrutiny, Harvard University psychology professor Daniel Gilbert told the
Happiness and its Causes conference in Sydney today.

According to scientific and economic research, only marriage proved to be a
constant source of joy.

"Figures show that married people are in almost every way happier than
unmarried people - whether they are single, divorced, cohabiting," Prof Gilbert
said.

"Married people live longer, married people earn more money per capita,
married people have more sex and enjoy it more.

"Married people seem to be happier on every dimension that you can imagine."

Money can also buy happiness - just not as much happiness as people think.

"Money buys you a lot of happiness first and then it buys you less and less -
every dollar buys you less happiness as the dollar before, and you reach a point
where money is doing almost nothing for your happiness," Prof Gilbert said.

"But it's never the case that more money makes you sadder. If you get
millions and millions you never get depressed about it."

And despite the belief that children were the apples of our eyes, they
actually had a negative impact on happiness.

The more kids you had, the sadder you were likely to be, Prof Gilbert said.

US and European studies had shown that people's happiness did spike while
they were expecting a baby but sharply plummeted after the child was born.

The low point came when children reached the ages of 12-16, and recovered
only when they had flown the coop, he said.

"In reality ... children do seem to increase happiness as long as you're
expecting them, but as soon as you have them, trouble sets in," he said.

"People are extremely happy before they have children and then their
happiness goes down, and it takes another big hit when kids reach adolescence.

"When does it come back to it's original baseline? Oh, about the time the
children grow up and go away."

Explaining why the statistics conflicted with most people's view of
parenthood, Prof Gilbert made the unusual comparison to buying a pair of Armani
socks.

"When people own Armani socks they can't stop telling you they are the best
socks, the most amazing socks," he said.

"(But) I suspect that one of the reasons that people who own Armani socks
think they are wonderful is because they have paid $85 for a pair.

"The psychologists tell us that we like things more when we pay for them -
what does that sound like? It sounds like children. We pay for them in time,
attention, blood, sweat and tears - what kind of idiots would we be to devote
all of that to the rearing of our young if they'd didn't bring us some
happiness?"

The fact that parenthood crowded out all other things in life could explain
why we considered children our greatest source of joy, he said.

"Parents tell me all the time that: `My child is my greatest source of joy',"
he said.

"My reply is that: `Yes, when you have one source of joy, it's bound to be
your greatest'."

By Adam Bennett