One of the things that I learned while becoming happy was to take care of myself. Similar to the “pay yourself first” idea that can keep you out of debt (more to come on that!), taking care of yourself first is one of the best things you can do to keep your life running smoothly. How can you manage your daily tasks and responsibilities, let alone carve out some soul-searching time or leisure time, if you’re tired, out of shape, and avoiding the mirror at all costs?

My family has a history of dry, sensitive skin, and I’ve tried to improve mine with many products (and non-products) over the years…expensive lotions, cheap lotions, olive oil, honey, salt scrubs, sugar scrubs, and yogurt baths, just to name a few. I ate more almonds, walnuts, and flax, I devoured avocados like they were going out of style, and eventually, I just gave up. I didn’t have time or money to try any more skin experiments, so I resigned myself to wearing long sleeves and gloves for the foreseeable future.

Enter: Alba Botanica - Very Emollient Body Lotion. I purchased a tiny bottle on my way out of town to meet the pre-fiance’s parents last weekend (travel is always a chance for a spa day, or at least a spa hour!), and I used more than a quarter of it in the car on the way to Illinois. It was amazing - a great scent, a great texture, and most important of all: no irritation to my skin, and both immediate and *lasting* improvement to my skin’s texture and elasticity. It’s like a dream - an inexpensive, silky, organic dream. I’m stopping on my way home to buy a real bottle - pre-fiance definitely approves.

Over the past two years I’ve watched the number of online “happiness” plans and blogs increase exponentially. Do we really need so much advice? Are we really so unhappy?

Whenever I find happiness, it’s rarely through any tip or trick or Secret. Sometimes it’s a coincidence, but more often than not it’s through an alignment of myself with something that’s “so me” - a job, a product, a person, an experience. This blog will, hopefully, help to put you in touch with some things that can resonate with you and improve your daily life, maybe even bring you a few steps closer to that elusive happiness we’re all seeking at work, at home, and throughout our lives.

I’m not one for get-rich-quick thinking about money, goals, or anything else…in fact, I know that’s a sure way to bring yourself a nice helping of failure and take yourself off course. I’ve learned all about that sort of desperation during my years of music and film production, and more recently through some startup ventures. I do firmly believe that everyone has the ability to be happy and successful, and I look forward to bringing those opportunities along! Look forward to exciting product reviews, travel opportunities, hilarious (painful? ) stories of lessons learned, and, hopefully, a lot of happiness.