Prayers for Japan and some Zen Habits

More than any other recent natural disaster, the devastation in Japan has really affected me.

Disasters really make you think about the shortness of life, and how important it is to live fully.

Quality over quantity.

One way to find out how to live better is to read the Zen Habits blog by Leo Babauta. His posts are powerful and simple. I've been reading it for a year now, and find it absolutely fabulous.

 Have a good weekend,

Courtney

Enough, already!

This weather is horrendous! Snow, rain, wind-- we've had it all today.

I'm ready to move on to spring. Who's with me?

Here's a photo from one of my favorite blogs, Les Composants. Here's to the sunny mornings that are soon to come!

MacBook Pro or MacBook Air? A Worthy Debate

My life must be pretty hard that my most pressing concern is weather to purchase a Macbook Pro or a MacBook Air, both of which have their pros and cons. I figured I should use my blog to ask you, the people, your opinion on the matter.

 

So, let the battle begin!

My First Freelance Article Submission

Today I submitted my first freelance article to a print magazine. I know that the chances of being published are slim to none, and that many writers submit hundreds of articles before being published, but this is an exciting moment for me indeed.

The publication is called Skirt! and you can find them at their website.

Here is a picture from their current issue titled "What if?" Let's just say that it hit a chord with me.

"Could you move, master a foreign language, marry a foreigner?
What's really stopping you?
The world or your will?"

Authentic Happiness Inventory

The University of Pennsylvania's Authentic Happiness Test Center is looking for online participants for it's authentic happiness questionnaires. They're quick and easy, and at the end you get a happiness score (between 1 and 5). While the research has not yet concluded the absolute value of the score, at the end of the questionnaire, you will recieve a percentile score rating your level of happiness to that of other participants. Fill out the questionnaire at the Authentic Happiness website to help positive psychology research!

Because of comments I have decided to reveal my number: 4.54

Live the language - Paris!

I've watched this video about 10 times already and you should, too!

Bonheur in the month of mars

Here is a quotation from Mireille Guiliano's bestselling book French Women for All Seasons that I definitely live by:

“French women know happiness is not a matter of luck; it’s what you make of your life. This word for happiness is literally ‘good time.’ The French way of connecting feeling with time is telling. It suggests something to be cultivated in the course of our hours and days and months and years, how we live in relation to them. The English word happy comes from the archaic word hap, which means ‘luck.’ Interesting distinction.”