Mondays are a little tough for me. It often seems many of the things I was certain I would accomplish over the weekend are still undone. I have quite a talent for optimistically overestimating how productive I will be on Saturday when I make up my weekend to-do lists on Wednesdays. My unchecked items on the weekend list make me feel like I am beginning my Mondays already behind, which I then attempt to compensate for by making up another killer list on Wednesday in which I include all incomplete projects from the past weekend along with a few new projects for good measure. It is an exhausting cycle.
Starting a new blog, though, provides an excellent reason to change the Monday morning Oh-crap-I’m-never-going-to-amount-to-anything-if-I-can’t-even-manage-to-fold-my-laundry-over-the-weekend-I-guess-I-better-put-laundry-and-cleaning-the-gutters-on-next-weekend’s-list loop. Beginning today, I am using Mondays as a way to remind myself of what brought a smile to my face and a skip to my step over the past week. Because I like alliteration, I’ve decided to use the term ‘Merry Monday.’ As with any merry holiday, gifts are in order. So, without further ado, I give you three of the reasons my heart smiled, laughed, or sighed contentedly during this past week.
1. My dog. Odo’s antics make me laugh throughout the day. All it seems he wants to do is love on me and my husband. A glance in his direction brings him barreling over to me ready to love me and be loved by me.
2. The Expanding Heart and Spirit art course led by Jennifer Lynne Ziemann. The women in this course are so beautifully complicated, talented, and inspiring. Not only is this course fantastic, Jennifer’s own work outside of this course speaks to my spirit in a way that both haunts and inspires me.
3. Maria Northcutt’s blog Discovering Ranch Life. The photos in this post filled my heart with a sense of peace and wonder. Originally from Sweden, Maria strikes me as a vivacious, adventurous, fabulous woman who I hope to eventually have coffee with in real life. Plus, her photography is stunning.
Want to tell me what made your heart happy this past week? I’d love to hear what you have to share!
Parrot & Ox 
What has made me happy this week is having the blessing of teaching the Expanding Heart and Spirit series, completing a painting, a wonderful First Friday art show and time out with a friend afterward, and shopping with my son on Sunday! I love your blog, Leah, thank you so much for mentioning the class and me! Peace to you!
That sounds like an awesome week, Jennifer! Thanks for sharing with me.
I liked that you wrote “As with any Merry holiday, gifts are in order”. Fantastic way to reframe Monday! I chuckled at the idea of gifts on Mondays and I think you are on to something. Hmmmmm, I’ve been hankering for a muffin all weekend, maybe I’ll stop by the bakery on my way to work. Your dog is darling. Isn’t it wonderful that we can share our lives with such loving creatures? To answer your question, I was fortunate enough to look out my kitchen window at just the right moment that I got to see my neighbor’s little girl dancing in her front yard…so cute and spontaneous. I think we should all dance in our front yards on occasion : )
Tracy, did you gift yourself with a muffin? I love little girls that dance for no reason at all. I’m glad you were in the right place at the right time so you could enjoy the vision! My little Odo is such a sweetie. He’s always been sort of my husband’s dog until he got sick last November. That’s when we really bonded and our relationship is so awesome now. Do you have dogs?