Someone recently asked me at work, "How do you maintain your happiness EVERYDAY?"  My question to him was, "What makes you happy? and How do you get happy?"  He replied, "I don't know!"
Well, that's the first thing:  you gotta know what makes you happy and how to get happy!  I dedicate this video to the start of my friend's journey to happiness!  Love and fun on your adventure! : )

101 Ways to Spread a Smile

Happy Monday! We recognize that Mondays might not be a happy day for many people. But here at Smiley Central headquarters, we're dedicated to spreading smiles far and wide.

And we'd like you to help this great cause. So we came up with this list of 101 Ways you can spread a smile:

101. Call an old friend to say hello.

100. Hold the door open for a stranger.

99. Schedule a lunch date.

98. Hold the elevator door open for a stranger.

97. Ask a co-worker's opinion on a project.

96. Bring a treat to share at work.

95. Let a car in front of you during traffic.

94. Leave a server a big tip.

93. Tell a cashier to have a nice day.

92. Call your parents.

91. Let a friend know you miss them.

90. Treat a friend to a movie.

89. Tell someone how much you appreciate them.

88. Visit a retirement home.

87. Take a child to the zoo.

86. Fill up a friend's car with gas.

85. Surprise someone special with a gift.

84. Leave a "thank you" note for the cleaning staff at work.

83. Mail a handwritten letter to a relative.

82. Tell someone you thought about them today.

81. Put a coin in a stranger's parking meter that is close to expiring.

80. Bake a treat for a neighbor.

79. Send flowers to your sweetie at work.

78. Invite a friend to tea.

77. Recommend a book to a friend.

76. Donate clothes to charity.

75. Offer an elderly person a ride.

74. Bag your own groceries.

73. Donate blood.

72. Offer to baby-sit for a busy friend.

71. Help your neighbor rake leaves or shovel snow.

70. Offer your seat to someone on the train or bus.

69. Help a friend move.

68. Comment on the store's great service to its manager.

67. Give up your place in line at the store to someone with fewer items.

66. Hug a family member for no reason.

65. Wave to a child in the car next to you.

64. Send your doctor a "thank you" note.

63. Repeat something nice you've heard about someone else.

62. Leave a funny joke on a friend's voicemail.

61. Become a coach or a mentor.

60. Forgive a loan.

59. Refill a printer when it's low on paper.

58. Tell someone you believe in them.

57. Share your umbrella with a stranger on a rainy day.

56. Welcome new neighbors with a small gift.

55. Offer to watch a friend's home while they're away.

54. Ask a friend if they need you to pick up anything while you're shopping.

53. Invite a child to play a board game...and let them win.

52. Ask an elderly person about "the good old days."

51. During bad weather, plan an indoor picnic with your family.

50. Buy someone a goldfish and bowl.

49. Compliment someone on their cooking.

48. Ask someone to dance.

47. Take a child to a ball game.

46. Give the clothes your children have outgrown to another family.

45. Deliver extra vegetables from your garden to your neighbors.

44. Call your spouse just to say "I love you."

43. Point out a rainbow or a beautiful sunset.

42. Invite a friend to go bowling.

41. Celebrate a friend's half-birthday with a cake.

40. Ask a co-worker about their children.

39. Tell a friend which quality of theirs you like best.

38. Brush the snow off the car next to yours.

37. Return your shopping cart to the front of the store.

36. Encourage someone's dream.

35. Discreetly pay for a stranger's cup of coffee.

34. Hide a love letter for your sweetie.

33. Ask an older person for advice.

32. Offer to pet-sit while someone is away.

31. Tell a child you're proud of them.

30. Visit a sick friend or send a care package.

29. Join a big brother or big sister program.

28. Leave a treat on a co-worker's desk.

27. Bring your child to work for the afternoon.

26. Buy a friend a CD of their favorite music.

25. E-mail a friend information about a topic they're interested in.

24. Give someone a homemade gift.

23. Write a poem for someone special.

22. Bake cookies for your local police or fire department.

21. Organize a neighborhood clean-up.

20. Help a child build a birdhouse.

19. Call your grandparents.

18. Ask a friend for their favorite recipe.

17. Personally welcome a new employee at work.

16. While driving, ask your passengers to buckle-up because they're important to you.

15. Let someone else eat the last slice of pizza.

14. Stop and buy a drink from a child's lemonade stand.

13. Forgive someone when they apologize.

12. Wave to someone looking for a parking space when you're about to leave.

11. Send a copy of an old photograph to a childhood friend.

10. Leave a pint of your spouse's favorite ice cream in the freezer with a bow on it.

9. Do a household chore usually done by another family member.

8. Show extra enthusiasm for someone when they share their good news.

7. Compliment a co-worker on their role in a successful project.

6. Treat your spouse to a spontaneous backrub.

5. Serve a family member breakfast in bed.

4. Make a donation to a charity in a family member's honor.

3. Invite friends to create their own Zwinky, so you can chat online and explore the Web together!

2. Send a friend an online greeting card from My Fun Cards!

1. Send every special person in your life a smiley from Smiley Central!

Greetings friends!
I've been watching documentaries about the genocide occuring in Darfur.  As I research the devastation more, I will share info with you all.  I had a friend tell me today that she was ashamed to say she had no idea what the conflict was about.  I am willing to bet that there are others who feel the same.  Well, here's a little info to get us all up to speed.  I would like to take 3 steps to do my part in eliminating this genocide.  I'd like to 1. educate 2 . advocate  and 3. donate.  I am in phase one right now.  Please view the video that begins this educational journey!  
Thanks for taking this journey with me,
KimZoe! : )                                                                              
                                                                                     

My new mentor and friend helped me become in touch with a new self-discovery today....
Happiness writes:
Some of what has manifested as "weight" on your body is all the stored up creative energy that has not been expressed in your awesome and overflowing creative work.
Now, you have a vision, an outlet,and a holy purpose, and the weight is just going to fall away, because you are not holding or hiding.  You are stepping out to be your full, true radiant self, and create all the beautiful works that are yours and yours alone.
And also, you KNOW you are going to make your dream come true, and you don't have to feel trapped or restrained or..."weighed down."
You can FLY!
Blessings to you...if this feels true for you, claim it as your own.
-H.
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After reading this, I really began to "stalk" her words!  As I stated in earlier blogs, I never invested a lot of faith in the creative gifts that God gave me!  Until recently, I was not intuned with my inner spirit at all.  That is why Happiness's words hit me like a rock on the forehead! : )   All my life I have "struggled" with weight!  But until today I didn't think it was anything more than poor eating habits and lack of physical fitness.  But it all makes sense to me now.....  I have for years repressed creatvie ideas, journaling, self-expression, God, love, trust, understanding.....  I held all these things in so no one would take them from me or judge my interpretation of them.  But I was not holding out on anyone but myself.   I was holding in a tremendous amount of emotion and energy.   Through discovering awareness, I am now free to laugh, be happy, cry, shout, express, share, giggle, make mistakes, learn, feel, give, take, need, want, assist, ask, write, see God in everything, understand.......
I believe as I allow myself to experience more of God's wonderful, fun world that He's planted inside of me; I will continue to lose weight--the weight of my old skin.  I believe as I continue to shed the skin of negativity, self-hatred, and depression I will discover my healthy weight.  
Until then, I WILL FLY !  [Thank you Happiness! : )]

Since beginning this journey of recovering my healthy weight (I love the way I see that now...) I've lost 3 pounds!!! :  )  That is HUGH in so many ways!   I am a "list person".  I've always viewed creating a list as a great tool for being organized.  However, my recent discovery is that I "use" lists to avoid doing what I need to do.  If I had just one penny for every list I've created to lose weight...wow!  I'd be a trillonaire!!! : )   So at the start of this journey, I decided not to use a list on this self-discovery, only action!  But tonite I feel compelled to create a list of the reasons this 3 pound loss is so amazing!  Here we go:   
1.  It's 3 pounds less than I weighed at the start of this healthy weight journey!
2.  In the past, I would have become depressed at the "small" progress and went out and ate something high caloric while convincing myself, "this program aint working anyway!!!"
3.  I only set a goal to lose 1 pound!  I tripled my goal!!! : )
4.  I was immediately proud of myself and envisioned myself losing 3 more pounds!
5.  I now know, if I can lose 3 pounds, I can lose over 100 pounds!
The difference with this list is, it's not empty promises and things to do.  This list is all the positive ways I've moved 3 pounds off my beautiful, luscious body! ; )
I'll keep you updated......

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of the Universe. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing so enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God, which is within us. It is not in just some of us, it is in all of us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others."

Marianne Williamson

(Shared by Crazy Diamond, Member, Camp Happiness:Leadership Development Team)
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I've always loved this poem!  This poem defines the life that I've always felt was impossible for me!  I never realized that getting close to God was so easy, until I realized He was already planted inside of me!  I feared God b/c of the fears that others told me to have for Him.  Now I realize that those were fears that they had for Him; but they weren't fears that I possessed for God!  I always "dumbed myself down" b/c of  the fears I adopted from others! 
Now, I am conscious of God's love for me and inside of me.  I no longer deny the gifts, strengths, and abilities that God gave me at conception.  I now know and daily recognize that my attitude affects those with whom I come in contact with....God gave me the gift to shift the attitudes of those around me and I am sure to use it to benefit the health and happiness of those who I surround myself with.
One of my deepest fears used to be climbing into a hammock and then rolling out on my butt! : )  Now, my deepest fear is to go through the day moody and unhappy! 
Thanks Happiness and Crazy Diamond for reminding me.....

This is dedicated to CellaD.....
Wouldn't it be nice to have an "easy button"? A button you can push to shift the drama unhappy times of life away from you?   Well we do..they are called "Secret Shifters" (term learned from The Secret by Rhonda Byrne).  A happy thought, a funny picture, an uplifting mantra, a quiet moment, a peaceful place, a totally good time, and/or a loving person can be your Secret Shifter! You can have one or more! They're FREE because they come from your creative mind! : ) An easy button is anything that will shift your thoughts and attention back to happiness when something comes your way to interupt your happy day! Yes, it's that EASY! That's why it's called the EASY BUTTON! You can press it at anytime to regain your joy! : )
Soon you will find that you use the button less and less because avoiding unhappy moments will be as easy as taking a breath!  As easy as kissing a new baby's fat cheeks!  As easy as 1,2,3!  As easy as the Sun rises!  As easy as the planet rotates on it's axis!  As easy as enjoying a glass of ice tea on a warm sunny day!  As easy as Sunday Mornings!   Until then use your easy button to conquer your day!
love and fun,
kimzoe! :)

I saw We Are Marshall last night for the first time!  It is an AWESOME movie!  Isn't it amazing how a football movie can give you clarity?  If you haven't seen it....please do so! 
The whole time I watched this movie, I'm thinking, wouldn't it be great if the world would stand up and declare: WE ARE----THE WORLD?!?!?!?!!  WE ARE----THE WORLD!!!!  Wouldn't it be great if the world operated like siblings?  You mess with one of us, you mess with us all!!!   Wouldn't it be great if the world refused to participant in the disputes of the few that lead to wars of the many?   Wouldn't it be great if the world would collectively stand up for injustices?  Wouldn't it be great if the world celebrated all differences?  Wouldn't it be great if the world shared love?  Wouldn't it be great if the world shared happiness?  : ) Wouldn't it be great if the world shared religions?  faiths?  acceptance?  peace?  Wouldn't it be great if these characteristics were apart of our "norm"?  Wouldn't it be great to celebrate the life of each human? 
This movie gave me just a glimpse of this UTOPIA that I speak about above.  This movie made me shed tears of possibility.  This movie is the beginning of a great idea!  The idea is that when one part of the world is hurting and shouts out: WE ARE----- the rest of the world will respond with energy, support and love-----THE WORLD! : )

Since I've joined ZAADZ I've received nothing but love, encouragement, intrigue, loving lessons, and a sense that God's spirit reins here....

I've been encouraged by many to begin writing about my experiences.  I've been encouraged by Happiness to begin expressing my newfound Ministry of Happiness....I believe that this is long overdue and I won't waste another minute.....

Happiness is a gift from God.  Is it is THE gift from God for me! : )  For so long I lived my life without Happiness and I refuse to go another day without it!  Each day that God gives me, I choose with awareness to be happy and to bath in God's joy for the day! 

I want to give happiness to the world!  I want to give it via laughs, hugs, encouragement, tears, stories, learning, sharing, caring, blessing, being blessed, surprises, giving, not over reacting....I will add to this list as I discover more ways.

This is only the beginning......

This is the first year of my 31 years that I am taking care of me!  Never b/4 have I lavished so much time & energy loving Kim!  This is my year!  As of today, I have had 8 moles removed that I've complained about for years, created a plan to improve my eating habits by being more aware of what goes in my mouth, visited a specialist for some GI issues that I've put off,  getting a physical on the 2/21/07 that I've put off for 2 years and uplifting myself daily!  There's so much I need to do for me that I've put off, while focusing on others in my life.  However, my spirit and a special new friend, Songbird, has told me to slow down and enjoy each new action that I do for myself.  To make sure not to let any of it (even removal of the moles) go by without realizing the impact of the action on my life now and forward.  The moles represented the things I let developed in my life that needed to be cut.  I've forgiven myself for the many delays in my life and have moved forward!  Thank God for my awareness! 
Another new friend, Michael, has encouraged me to post updates about my progess..... this will be my third week going to "step class"!  I have only missed 2 sessions (1-doctors appt during time of class and 2- my assistant left early due to sickness and I was unable to go due to work load).  Although, those are "excuses", I still am not judging myself!  Everyday is not the same.  But I will continue to do MY best to break 200!
Thanks for all the love and support.....