How to be happy :)

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Positive living does NOT mean ignoring the difficulties of life. That is not a good way to be happy. Everyone needs to learn that there will always be hard times. Happiness will only come by recognizing and working through difficulties, or learning to accept them.

Nobody feels emotions of happiness all the time. If they tell you they do, they are lying. Heck, it's not uncommon for me to feel like this on a normal day:

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There is nothing wrong with pain, fear, doubt, ect. It is a part of being human and part of the happiness we feel. If we didn't have the hard times, we wouldn't know what happiness is. That's a hard thing to remember sometimes. The world's definition of happiness is receiving pleasure from something right now. But it is impossible for that to last. There has to be something more.

Strong correlations with happiness:

gratitude

optimism

close relationships with others

employment

positive mood

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Is always being happy realistic? Moment-to-moment, no. But maybe it's what you choose to focus on overall. Make up your mind to be happy.

HAPPINESS: Picking out your values in life, cultivating them, and then living in accordance with them. Happiness has little to do with the feeling that you get from doing something pleasurable. I think it has to do more with your values, how you are living, and what propels you forward in your life. To be happy, we need to actively engage in what we value. This way, we are creating meaning in our lives!

FOCUS on the good in your life. Do things that are uplifting. If they don't uplift you, they aren't worth your time. Do more of what makes you really smile! Make time to relax and just laugh too!

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Did you know that smiling more has an effect of the chemistry in your brain? A study showed that even people who did a little half smile when they woke up in the morning had a much better day! Let loose. Be silly. Smile with your eyes.

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Develop what's best in you and use those talents and skills in the service of greater goods.

What do I want to be about?

And how do I do that?

Am I cultivating these things in my life?

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F0r me it is...

going outside

spending time with loved ones

curling my hair ;)

learning about the gospel

striving to be healthy

and serving others.

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Haha pushing the car instead of driving in it. Good exercise. Pool party, laughing, and spending time with friends... That was a good day. :)

If you know what you want people to say about you at the end of your life and you aren't doing them now, you better get started.

The experiment...

Tomorrow: Wake up with a smile. Say: "Today will be wonderful. I am happy for today." Do: Something nice for someone else. Do: Something nice for yourself. Do: Something that you value, that contributes to the greater good.

-Tiana

The Help

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"Every day you're not dead in the ground, when you wake up in the morning, you're gonna have to make some decisions. Got to ask yourself this question: "Am I gonna believe all them bad things them fools say about me today?" All right? As for your mama, she didn't pick her life. It picked her. But you, you're gonna do something big with yours. You wait and see."

BEST. MOVIE. EVER.

Don't sit around and wait for people to tell you to do with your life. Be the captain of your own life. Do something BIG! You can do it :)

My Father...

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Remember this :)

Merry Christmas!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I gotta new camera...this is the picture I took. LOL! Haha :)

I hope everyones Christmas is merry and bright :)

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

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Ummm, I've got a question for you...

WHY WON'T IT SNOW???

You know, that's all I really want for Christmas. I want to be able to look outside on Christmas Eve and just stare in amazement at all the snow that is piling up outside. You know, I wouldn't even mind if the snow was so high that we couldn't get outside. Isn't a fresh snow fall just the most beautiful thing that you have ever seen your whole life? *Sigh*

Pray for snow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIVIE!

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Happy Birthday to my very dear sister Olivia!

I hope you have a SUPERB day and that you eat lots of cake....cause it just looks scrumptious! Oh and your beautiful! [Even though you look NOTHING like me;) your still beautiful! haha] Oh and now you can go to stake dances. Congratulations! :)

Christmas

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The Christmas season has finally begun! This is my favorite time of the whole entire year. I love the music, the decorations, the joy, and...ALL OF IT! My family has so many fun activities planned and I cannot wait to get out of school for two weeks! haha! It's time to pull out those old christmas movies and start makin' some fudge:)

What's your favorite girls scout cookie?

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I always thought I was a Thin Mint kind of girl until I was introduced to the ever-famous coconuty-caramel Samoa. It blew my mind!

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Why wait until March to get your Girl Scout Cookie fix? I think the homemade ones look more decadent anyway. Here is the recipe:

Homemade Samoa Cookies

Makes 50-60 cookies

Preparation: Heat oven to 350 Degrees. Line bake sheet with parchment.

• 1 lb sweetened coconut, toasted
• ½ cup of confectioner sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 11oz. bag of Kraft Caramels
• Chocolate Pouring Sauce

Instructions:

1. Place coconut on bakesheet and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 10-minutes. Make sure to stir the coconut half way through.
2. Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and creamy. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Add flour and beat until combined. Place dough in refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes.
3. Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out the dough to an 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Using a two inch round cookie cutter stamp out cookies and for the center use the wider end of a piping tip if you don’t have a small enough cookie cutter. Place stamped out cookies on parchment lined bakesheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack.
4. Place caramel squares in a medium size sauce pan over medium heat to melt. Once the caramel bits are completely melted reserve ½ a cup of mixture in a shallow bowl; set aside. Add the toasted coconut to the remaining caramel mixture. Fill a shallow pan with hot water and place saucepan filled with the finished caramel coconut in it to keep the mixture at spreading consistency. Reheat mixture as needed to maintain spread consistency during assembly.

Assembly

1. Dip tops of cookies into the reserved caramel bowl. This will help the sticky caramel coconut mixture to quickly adhere to the cookie. Place cookie on a flat surface and using an icing spatula or butter knife spread caramel coconut mixture on to the cookie. If necessary, use a spoon to guide the caramel coconut spread off the icing spatula and on to the cookies. Let cookies rest for 30 minutes before dipping the bottoms in chocolate and drizzling the striping on top.

I think it would be just as good to only make the yummy coconut topping, put it on store bought shortbread cookies, and drizzle melted chocolate chips on top. That's probably what I'll end up doing when I make these! Enjoy!!! :)

thinking...

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I think that sometimes we forget to be human. We forget to be joyful, to learn, explore, or create. Maybe it's because we're afraid that we don't deserve happiness or greatness. Maybe it's because we let little distractions get in the way. We forget to live in the moment because we are so focused on all of the work we have to do. Do you ever feel that way? Overwhelmed? It keeps us from seeing the sunshine in our lives, and more importantly, from bringing blessings into the lives of others. I don't think the wonderful God who created us wants us trudging throught his incredible life. Life is meant to be enjoyed, not just endured! Develop your talents. Work hard for something you want. Do a few little things today that will help you rise to your full potential. Keep on progressing. Above all, don't lose yourself in fear.

CLOTHES I LOVE :)

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I am IN LOVE with this Jacket. Its perfect. I need it asap. Does anybody know where i can find it??? :)

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I really truly love the colors and i LOVE the jacket and scarf. :)

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All I really like on this is the jacket :) Hmmm... I love clothes. I need to go shopping! Anybody up for it!?

Ok...obviously i'm a bit obsessed with clothes. Hahaha thats ok!

Happy Day

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A couple years ago when i was having a bad day my little sister, who was two at the time, would say... "it ok. have happy day."

I love this attitude through life. I think that if we could have this attitude for the rest of your life, there will never be a time where you don't feel happy. You can control how you feel. Choose to be happy. Smile more often, it'll draw people into you and you will have more friends. I guarantee it :)

Aren't smiles just fantastic? All smiles are unique and different. Thats what so great about them...they're personalized. Show off your smile, because thats what makes you..you! :)

Goodness Gracious!

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Guess who I saw at partyland? Wow. You are smart. How'd you know it was Justin Bieber???

So let me tell you a little story here. We went to partyland to get our wings for our fairy costumes. We walked in the door, and POW...there he was. Standing right there. :) I almost had a heart attack! But don't worry, i didn't! He said he was stayin' there for a while, so if you wanna a picture with him go to partyland! :) The End.

You're never fully dressed without a SMILE!

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Do you wanna know what I decided? I've decided that life is too short to be sad or mad or frustrated. Of course there are going to be hard trials and problems that we face in our life, but we have to just be happy and move on. What good is it to mope around and not live life to its fullest? Come on people, look past those imperfections that seem to arise everyday and just be happy. Put a smile on that pretty little face of yours :)

My Deepest Dream :)

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Yup. My deepest dream in all of the world is to be a princess at disneyland :) Wouldn't that be just so fantastic??? I know! Of course I would wanna be Cinderella or Rapunzel. :) Oh Goodness.....It will be soooo much fun! Although, being a real princess would be even more fun, I would probably pick out all my most favorite dresses...they gotta be big and pouffy!!! Yay! OH and pink of course! with SPARKLES!!! I am soooo excited. :) So now you know my dream...now you can help make it happen. yes???? Do you have any connections? :)

The Land of Disney

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S0 I went trick or treating with Mickey and all of the Disney Characters. I know...be jealous. Be very jealous.

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Yes. I am so excited i'm actually hugging Olivia.... *shudder*

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Awww look how cute my family is :)

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Thunder Mountain is probably my most favorite ride of all times :)

we ride it backwards. Yeah, we're rebels. got a problem with that?

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Look! We found the Beck's. Don't ask what we're doing. ;)

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Aren't we just the cutest group you've ever seen?

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Yes. I miss this place already :( Look how pretty it looks! I wish it was this crowded all the time. But it's only this way at one o'clock in the morning :) hehehe