Just when you think that you have reason to complain, life sends something your way that puts it all into perspective. Here’s today’s little message…

It’s been a tough year. I have not loved living in London and I’ve missed New York and Cape Town tremendously. And, while I realise that I cannot blame everything on London itself, the fact that the rain is pummeling down and the wind is howling as I type this – and I have the heat on in September! – does not help with the case of ‘no-love-lost’ between this city and I!

And not being happy in the place you live in has an effect on everything else around you. All of a sudden you no longer like people around you – and even yourself – that much anymore. And things that used to be fun stop being fun. Like writing, for me.

But then, when your two year mourning period starts coming to an end, (it will only be two years since we left NYC in February, but I’m putting the cart before the horse again…) you start seeing things a little differently. Slowly. Just here and there. Little sparks that make you think that everything will be alright. And then, slowly, you start feeling better and, before you know it, I guess everything will be alright. All you need is one little spark.

What counts as a ‘spark’ in your book?

This here ain’t no ‘self-help’ blog (said while snapping my fingers AND my lips), but I’ve found a lot of inspiration for daily happiness and light amidst all the gray, rainy days in London, from talking with friends (and even the occasional stranger) and getting their take on a breathtaking moment. And there are these special moments all around us, every day. I think that in these rushed lives we lead we often don’t see the things that are put in place to make us just…stop…for a moment and appreciate how good things are.

So, drum roll, in case you haven’t guessed it by now, I’m launching a Month of Moments. And I’d love you to share in them by posting yours too. Every day I’m going to share something from that day that took my breath away. And it won’t always be in a good way either. Say, for example, just now, I finished vacuuming our entire flat and ended up with THIS much dust. Disgusting, right? (No wonder my chest has been feeling wheezy!)

Luckily I know none of you will judge me for clearly being a slob, so I will just put that down as the moment today that took my breath away. Literally!

Now, I have to go get rid of that garbage. What took your breath away today? Please do share in the comments section – I love it when you do.

We’ve made it through one whole week of happiness posts! And I honestly feel happier. Do you? I’ve been trying all day to come up with really insightful things to list here tonight, but basically, I found happiness today in the usual things – small things that made me go – ahh…and smile. So, for the final time in this round, here are the…

Things that made me happy today:

1) Confirmation that a very dear friend is cancer-free after a big scare last week. It made me realize how valuable we all are and how much I treasure those special relationships. Yay!

2) Eating Pret’s Salty-Sweet popcorn at 10am this morning. No, not for breakfast and not for lunch either. It was my mid-morning snack. And it was delicious.

3) Cuddling up in front of our new TV with John this evening – it’s taken us almost five months since the break-in to replace it, but we have a TV again.

4) Having a 20-minute conversation with my 80-year old Ouma this evening and hearing about her road trip down the Garden Route in South Africa with her friend Will. I hope that I will be half as active as she is when I get to 80.

5) Emptying the laundry basket. This is a weird one, but I find sorting and doing the laundry strangely therapeutic. And I just love the smell of freshly washed clothes. There’s something so simple, yet wholesome, about it. And having an empty basket means that I’ve accomplished something, which is always a good feeling.

So see, nothing groundbreaking. Nothing even worth shouting about (except point 1, for sure), but it seems to be the simple little things that can bring us joy and happiness. Thank you so much to everyone who’s shared their happiness with me over the past week – I’ve loved every comment. Please share your list of happiness points with me for the last time today – we’ll all end up happier for it. I guarantee it.

Eish, today threw me a bit of an unexpected curve ball on the happiness front. And in a non-good way. Luckily I’d been hard at work focusing on the good around me, so this ball ended up a foul (of sorts) and happiness prevailed! Hooray! So, without further ado, here’s what brought me joy today:

Things that made me happy today:

1) Discovering that Rush actually plays pretty good music – and then agreeing to John’s request that I go with him to the show next week, and enjoy it. Unlike the time we went to see Cypress Hell, sorry, Hill. I actually think I might like some of the Rush songs – and every time John and I discover a band we both like, it’s a joyous occasion.

2) Homemade rhubarb and custard for dessert – made by John. Oh, and it was preceded by tacos. Yum.

3) Listening to Florence and the Machine on the tube ride into the city this morning. And this evening.

4) Waking up at 5am with the sun blaring outside and then realizing that I had another two hours of sleep before I had to get up. Snuggling is the very best!

5) Speaking with one of my favourite people in the world this evening and looking forward to her visiting us soon. Yay!

What made you smile today?

I’m writing this on Sunday morning as I forgot (!) to update last night! Ha ha – that may be a sign of a good day in and of itself.

Things that made me happy yesterday:

1) Sleeping until 11am after an early night on Friday. Needed to catch up.

2) Watching our 7-month old niece ‘leper crawl’ – literally on her forearms and thighs. And she’s fast too!

3) Discovering a new gastro pub – The Punch Bowl – and having an amazing dinner with some new friends.

4) Ordering, and finishing, a large pizza from Pizza hut. Half Margarita, half Hawaiian. Mmmmmm…

5) Deciding to skip yesterday’s exercise, despite happiness factor number 4 and having an afternoon nap instead.

I still have a stiff right calf-muscle after last night’s spasm in the pool – but other than that it’s been a pretty fantastic Friday!

Things that made me happy today:

1. Half-price Frappucino at Starbucks! Yes. My name is Sue and I’m an addict.

2. That feeling you get when your lips are really dry and you slather Burt’s Bees Lipbalm all over them. It kind of tingles, but it feels SO good.

3. John came to collect me from the office on the red Vespa! He actually drove all the way from home into town to put me on the back of his scooter, and then he drove me back home. That’s love.

4. Belly laughing at raunchy Skype conversations with my colleagues during the day.

5. Friday the 13th. And I skipped all the bad things.

This happiness-thinking really is working! Go on, what made your day brilliant?