I don’t know why I didn’t figure this out on my own (it’s #68 in the happiness book) because when you think about it, it’s obvious:  Doing things we’re good at makes us happy.  

Success usually makes us happy, but I think even more the process of succeeding, doing something we’re confident about, making something we’re skilled at and enjoy doing, has to achieve something like a state of flow, the sense that where we are and what we’re doing is exactly where and what we were meant to be.  Which of course puts Working Wednesdays in a whole new context.  Doing what we’re good at is good for us (assuming we enjoy it, just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you have to do it).  

Today is Brownie Day.

Just ONE DAY, people.  Take one from the edge.

The Cinderella Deal is an Amazon Daily Deal today, Friday, December 7, which means you can get it for $1.98.  Never let it be said that I’m not cheap and easy.

Today I am reading about the Mueller investigation and how to use an Instant Pot and the pros and cons of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators.  I miss fiction.  

What’s new (or old) on your reading list?

Yesterday I spent the day at the hospital waiting on doctors to tell me what they’re going to put in my chest to keep me from dying.  Fortunately, my kid was with me, so it wasn’t a completely annoying hurry up and wait experience.  Today, I’m finishing up Act Two and Three which I would have been finished with earlier this week if other traumas and the hospital day hadn’t sucked up my brain bandwidth.  The problem with making things isn’t making things, it’s getting all the stuff out of the way that’s keeping you from making things.

What did you get to make/do/whatever this week?

Bet Me‘s on Book Bub today for $1.99.

I loved the names you came up with for the bowling alley, but I couldn’t stop laughing at “Pins and Sins” (thank you, Lynn) so I made it a bowling alley/massage parlor.  The mayor bowls there.   I think whoever said the realtor would probably be something like “Demon Island Realty” was probably right.  You’d want something that didn’t sound like a joke if you were spending thousands of dollars.  So thank you all very much for playing.

And now I have Button and Max going through the closed-for-the-season amusement park and I realized I didn’t have many names for rides and concessions.  I had the names below, but I’m always open to new ideas.  Anybody want to play again?  

Maybe I’m still on Santa Paws time, but after a day fraught with conflict and repressed anger, I am happy that I have three small dogs snoring in my bed.  There’s something so completely serene about all three of them snoozing away, Milton under the covers, Mona with her legs in the air, and Veronica languishing like a diva in the quilt.  I figure it’s like yawning.  You know how when somebody yawns, you yawn, too?  I think the complete lack of tension is catching.  It’s very hard to be tense while you’re watching a puppy chases rabbits in his sleep or an old dog sigh and smile while she snoozes.  

Of course, it doesn’t have to be a dog.  Could be a cat.  Or another animal.  Maybe Chris Hemsworth.  You choose.

What made you happy this week?

It’s the first of December and it’s getting cold, especially for the pets in shelters.  No matter how much cherishing shelter workers give them (and let’s give thanks for shelter workers, that job must break hearts daily), these abandoned animals need forever homes.  Until that day arrives, they also need food and blankets and toys, which is why December is Operation Santa Paws month.  Give what you can to your local shelter, and while you’re giving, check out the clientele.  The best gift you ever gave yourself may be right there, waiting for you.

Nancy Yeager’s new Victorian romance novella is available now on Amazon!  

Too Clever by Half is the kickoff novella of the Harrow’s Finest Five series, Victorian romances about smart women, sexy men, steamy passions, and the occasional scandal. The first full-length novel in the series will be available in January 2019!