I'm so happy. Don't know why. Life just seems to be really good for me these days. I feel really in control of my life, my future and my emotions. Alright, I'm not completely in control of my emotions all of the time, but a lot more frequently than in years past. My hubby may disagree, but I feel pretty confident that there's an improvement.

I think it may have something to do with the fact that the things I'm involving myself in these days stem from deep rooted interest and passion. It's amazing how happy a person can be when they are doing things they are meant to do. My new Zumba addiction, for instance... I may not be the world's best dancer, but I have such a passion for music that I don't even care. It just does so much for me - When I love the song I can feel it throughout my whole body, I smile and I just have to move -it's so freeing and makes me feel wonderful!

I pulled a book from my shelf the other day called the Strengthfinder 2.o. As the title implies it is dedicated to finding and applying your strengths and gives you themes and ideas for action. So... instead of focusing on things you don't do well and trying to do them better - this book helps you find your top 5 strengths and encourages you to incorporate these strengths to all aspects of your life. My ex-boss, Russ, gave this book to each of his direct reports. So bringing this book out again at first made me a little sad because Russ passed away this Summer. It made me miss him and all of the other people I worked with at Alliance for three years.... But I digress; back to my point.

I revisited my strengths and their descriptions are:

Empathy - sensing the emotions of those around me

Strategic - see patterns where others see complexity

Maximizer - strengths, whether mine or someone elses', fascinate me,

Input - the world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity

Connectedness - I gain confidence from knowing we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it

And in true form, knowing this about myself fascinates and energizes me and I want to build on it. It is obvious to me that working with a program like Bridges to Life, my involvement with the 29Gifts Challenge and, yes, even motherhood, are perfect venues for my strengths, interests and passions. Tada!!! Happiness! Energy! Yes!

Those who know me are shaking their heads and chuckling because they are thinking of all the times when I attempted to push them to learn their Myers-Briggs and "let's talk about it!!!" (I still aim to be MBTI certified, BTW. I should start my fundraising for this $1200 task.)

Before I close my ramblings for the night ... some recap from the past few days.

Yes, my amazingly talented children are excelling at their bike riding abilities. Macy and Nick have been freed from the training wheels and are now officially racing, skidding, falling and scraping knees and various other body parts. It's amazing to watch them ride down the street. Stephen enjoys filling the bucket on his little trike with... whatever... and rolling down the driveway.

The Halloween season continues with the Owens Elementary Fall Festival last Friday and the upcoming events, Colonial Hills Halloween Party, ZumBOO, Girl Scouts Pappy's Pumpkin Patch field trip, St. Mary Magdalene Halloween Festival and Boo at the Zoo to look forward to, not to mention the big night itself! So needless to say, you should expect many festive pictures to come your way via inforrific over the next couple weeks. Even Mike and I have sprung for costumes this year... I hope the suspense doesn't cause you much harm.