I was asked to participate in a fun post by the creators of Save the Ta-Tas. They recently launched their new lifestyle brand, Laughter Heals Gifts. More about that in a bit.
They asked me to write a post about what brings me joy? I honestly thought this was going to be a super easy post to write. That is until I sat down to start writing and realized that there are so many things that bring me joy that it would be hard to narrow it down to just a handful. If I listed everything that brought me joy I would but up for the World’s Longest Blog Post Award. Ha Ha.
One of my followers on Facebook suggested that I do the “ABC’s of What Brings Me Joy”. I thought that was a fabulous idea. So without further adieu, here are the ABC’s of What Brings Me Joy.
A – Animals, especially baby ones and fuzzy ones.
B – Babies. My heart melts when I see a baby smile or hear a baby giggle.
C – Chocolate and Coffee (not together). Need I say more? 🙂
D – Disney. Disney movies bring me joy. Being at Disney with my family brings me great joy. I only wish we could do it again before my kids are too old to appreciate the greatest place on Earth.
E – Elderly people holding hands, hugging and kissing. It makes my heart smile to see love that lasts a life time.
F – Family. My husband and children mean the world to me. I love them with every fiber of my being.
G – Goals. When I FINALLY accomplish a goal it makes me feel so happy and proud of myself. It makes me joyful to know that I accomplished something that I set my mind to do.
H – Holidays. I love them all! I am in my element when it comes to decorating for the different holidays. I also love holiday music, movies and specials. Christmas, Halloween, Easter… I love them all.
I – Ice Cream. There is a lot to be said about going to the local ice cream stand and enjoying some sweet and yummy ice cream with your family on a hot summer evening.
J – Jokes. I love to laugh. Laughter brings me great joy. I am a HUGE fan of comedy clubs. My kids have several joke books and are always sharing jokes with us to make us laugh.
K – Kindness. I love being kind to others, and having others be kind to me. I go out of my way to perform Random Acts of Kindness every chance I get.
L – Love and Laughter. To be loved and to give love is probably the greatest joy of them all. Laughter is also one of the greatest joys we have to give and get from others.
M – Music. There are plenty of songs that make my heart fill with joy and happiness.
N – Nature. I love everything about nature. It brings me great joy and happiness to see beautiful flowers, butterflies, a gorgeous sunset, a starry sky… the list goes on. Sometimes I love to close eyes to feel the warmth of the sun on my face, listen to the sounds of the birds chirping and take note of the breeze blowing through my hair. Ahhh… it’s a wonderful feeling.
O – Ocean. I love to feel the warm sand beneath my feet. I love to listen to the sound of the waves and gulls. I love collecting sea shells. And I most especially love to look off on the horizon. It humbles me. It makes me realize just how big out world is and it makes me think about all the wonderful things that are just beyond the horizon.
P – Photography. I am passionate about taking pictures. I don’t do so well with product pictures but I take pretty good landscape and nature photos. It makes me feel so good when I take a great photo.
Q – Quiet. Sometimes you can find joy in simply sitting in silence. It’s a great way to reflect on your life and all the wonderful things that you have. If you have teenagers like I do you can also appreciate peace and quiet. Ha Ha.
R – Reading. I love to read. It’s a wonderful way to explore new worlds, learn, get to know real people and to feed your imagination.
S – Smiles. Happy, smiling faces can bring great joy to everyone. Putting a smile on your face can help spread that joy to others. Smiling is contagious!
T – Traveling. I LOVE to go on adventures and explore new places. It’s also wonderful to meet people from different countries and cultures and learn from them.
U – Unconventional. I appreciate someone who can “dance to the beat of their own drum” so to speak. Meaning, I enjoy people who express their uniqueness and are not afraid to be who they truly are. I tend to think I’m a bit kooky myself, but that is OK because I know I’m unique and one-of-a-kind and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being true to who I really am makes me happy.
V – Vacation. We can’t afford to go on a “real” vacation, so we do day trips. I love being able to spend quality time with my husband and children. It’s fun to get away from the stresses of our daily lives and just have a fun and carefree time.
W – Writing. I am also passionate about writing. It brings me joy to write, and even MORE joy if people compliment me and/or have kind things to say about something I’ve written.
X – Xylophone, specifically the one made by Fisher Price. I had one growing up that I played with all the time. It gave me great joy. When I became a parent I purchased one for my children. I loved to listen to them play with it and it brought back such wonderful memories of my own youth.
Y – Youth. Just observing my children brings me joy. I love to watch children playing and having a great time. I love to see the look of wonder and excitement in their eyes.
Z – Zoo. I love animals and I love to take pictures so it’s the perfect place to be.
Please note that this isn’t my “ultimate list of things that bring me joy”. There are so many other things that bring me joy. These are just a few of them.
One of the joys I mentioned was Laughter. Laughter does bring me great joy. I love to laugh! I’ve been told I am very funny too. It’s a nice feeling knowing that I can make others laugh too.
As I mentioned earlier, the creators of Save the Ta-Tas has launched a new brand called Laughter Heals Gifts. Laughter Heals Gifts products are not only fun and fashionable, but they also help to inspire joy. This new accessory and gift collection includes tees, bracelets, lanyards, stickers, buttons, a travel mug, key chains and bumper magnets.
Laughter Heals Gifts founder, Julia Fikse, aims to uplift anyone who needs a smile, hug or a good laugh. “I started Laughter Heals Gifts because creating joy in our life can change our lives for the better, no matter the circumstance,” says Fikse. “Joy gives us hope, and hope gives us the strength to discover new paths to greater fulfillment and heartfelt happiness.”
Perfect for any occasion, Laughter Heals Gifts hopes to connect with customers by way of a lifestyle brand that helps create a joyful, fulfilled and healthy life no matter the circumstance. Laughter Heals Gifts is also proud to support initiatives that create joySM.
I think it’s a powerful message that Laughter Heals Gifts is trying to spread. Having joy in your life does help to life you up and bring you peace and happiness. Without joy in your life, what do you have?
Personally I have found that even in the darkest days you can find something to be joyful about. Even when you are at the lowest point in your life there is always something that can help bring you some happiness, no matter how small it is.
What kind of life would it be if you have a life without joy?
It’s easy to find joy in everyday things, or even create joy. You just have to open your eyes and heart and look around you.
I think Laughter Heals Gifts is a wonderful idea. Laughter is the best medicine, or so they say. My husband has a way of making me laugh no matter how I’m feeling. I could have the worst day ever and my husband can do the silliest thing and make me burst out laughing. Before you know it I don’t even remember what I was in such a bad mood for.
I have a travel mug from Laughter Heals Gifts. It’s really nice with a spill proof lid. It even has butterflies all around its colorful purple band. I ♥ butterflies! They are another thing that brings me joy.
A nice thing about this travel mug is that the bottom has a soft material on it to help keep it from scratching your desk or other surfaces. I have never seen a travel mug with a soft bottom like this.
My kids also have rubber bracelets from the Laughter Heals Gifts website. They say “Create Joy” on one side and “Laughter Heals” on the other. My daughter has the pink bracelet and my son has the purple one (although he wishes it was a “boy color”. LOL). They are really nice bracelets and in a generous size. I have thick wrists and with a bit of wiggling I was able to get the bracelet on my wrist.
These items are available online at www.LaughterHealsGifts.com today and in brick and mortar retailers throughout the country in spring 2012.
Laughter Heals Gifts has be kind to offer the same travel mug that I have to give to a lucky reader. Thank you Laughter Heals Gifts!
To enter please comment on something that brings YOU joy. Easy peasy!
For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional.
– Subscribe to She Scribes via RSS or E-mail. Both options are found on the right side bar.
– “Like” Laughter Heals Gifts on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/LaughterHealsGifts.
– “Like” She Scribes on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/SheScribes.
– Follow Laughter Heals on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/Laughter_Heals.
– Follow Save the Ta Tas on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/SavetheTatas.
– Follow She Scribes on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/She_Scribes and tweet about Laughter Heals Gifts and/or giveaway. Please include @She_Scribes and @Laughter_Heals in the tweet so I can see it too. If you can squeeze in @SavetheTatas too that would be great. This is limited to three tweets per day.
– Share information about Laughter Heals Gifts and/or giveaway with others on Facebook, Digg, Technorati and so forth. Be sure to tell me what you did and please provide a name and/or URL so I can verify.
– Leave a thoughtful comment on a non-giveaway post on She Scribes and tell me which post you commented on. There is a limit of one comment per post, but you can comment on as many posts as you want for an unlimited extra entry option.
– Post about Laughter Heals Gifts and/or giveaway on your site and please link back to this post. Please provide the URL.
This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on February 10, 2012 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator from all eligible entries. The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have three days to reply with a name and mailing address (no PO Box). Failure to do so will result in a new winner will be chosen in their place.
Other great giveaways can be found on the right side bar under “Win It”.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own. Laughter Heals Gifts will be providing the prize.
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Animals and my profession (veterinary technology) bring me joy!
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My mother brings me joy. She is my best friend and I’d be lost without her.
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My new dog Hollie brings me Joy. I want to thank you for this awesome sweep and hope to win 🙂 Like you on Facebook.
Lynda E says
My son coming home from college to visit is always joyful!
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Seeing my family happy gives me joy.
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Spending time with my sister brings me joy
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Spending time with my daughter brings me a lot of joy.
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my two twin granddaughters
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