ROOM FOR HAPPINESS

Hello, all!  Welcome to my re-vamped blog!  I hope you like the new look and name.  I know it seems odd that I would change things so soon after starting blogging, but I decided that the previous name, format and content covered wasn't working for me for a few reasons.  First, was the look of the blog.  Although the previous template I was using was a very beautiful template I purchased from Blog Milk, it didn't feel like it really fit for me personally.  A blog is nothing if not personal (well, as personal as the blogger wants it to be,) and I didn't feel like I would really be able to feel comfortable in my online space unless I designed the blog myself.

I took some time to think about what I wanted in a blog design, and I signed up for a blog design e-course.  After hours of tinkering with layout and font, I finally did it!  Can you even belive I customized this blog myself?!  I can hardly believe it, actually.  I'm so happy about being able to learn new skills in blog customization, such as HTML, and use them to create an online space that I truly love.  (I am going to post some more info about the blog design e-course in my next post in a few days, so keep an eye out for that as I am so excited to share more!)  Second, I wasn't really happy with my blog name.  Although "Have a Lovely Day!" was a cute name, I don't think it was really the right fit for me.  I mean, you know what, sometimes I don't have lovely days.  Sometimes, they down right suck.  But that's life, I suppose, and no one has an amazing, happy day every single day of their life.  And you know what?  That is definitely OKAY.  We shouldn't be afraid to hide that, and we definitely shouldn't feel like we've some how failed if we do have a bad day (or week, or even month.)  So, with that in mind, I decided to change the name of my blog to "Room for Happiness."  Mostly because that is my goal - to always try my best to make room for happiness in my everyday life.  It's not always easy, and yes, sometimes I have a bad day, but who doesn't?  However, I'm learning that focusing on the types of things I need to do to try to achieve wellness and a balance between work and life is slowly making things more manageable for me.  And, as a result of working on achieving this balance, I've been making room for more happiness in my life.  During the last half of 2012, I really wasn't taking care of myself.  I wasn't cooking, eating well, exercising or really ever getting off the couch.  I barely had the energy to get out of bed in the morning.  I was moving between work and home, completely exhausted, and not really able to cope with my home life, or work life.  It really wasn't a great way to live.  In fact, it wasn't really living.  So, for the past couple of months I've been taking baby steps to bring a sense of wellness back into my life.  It hasn't been an easy process, but slowly I've been able to improve my self-care skills and start living my life again.  And it's been truly wonderful.  I've found some new interests and coping skills, and I've also been able to incoorporate cooking, eating well and exercise back into my daily life.  I've also been learning how to extend compassion and kindness to myself, in the same way I would extend those things to anyone else I know who is going through a difficult time.  This last part in particular has been essential in allowing me to go slowly and take baby steps towards wellness.  I guess what I'm trying to say is, I need my blog to be a place where I can be honest about these things.  In order to be authentic I feel that I must share this aspect of myself, as these things make up part of who I am.  I'm just someone who is doing her best to try to take the good and the bad and make life work for her, as best as she can.  It's not always perfect, but I am working on it which is the most important thing.  I think we all need a gentle reminder to slow down, show ourselves a little bit of kindness and self-care.  (Hell, I know I need reminding!)  I'm hoping that sharing some of what I am learning with you might be useful or helpful to you in your lives in some way, too.  In addition, I'll still be blogging about other stuff that tickles my fancy such as stationery, pretty paper, books, crafts, beauty, fashion, recipes and that sort of thing.  I mean, 'cause hey, I like that stuff too!  For now, I'll sign off by saying thanks for reading this, and I hope you enjoy the new look of Room for Happiness. ▲