happy in a quiet house...

Right now my mom and I are reading, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  I'm only on chapter one but I am loving it! I'm so excited to try out all of her advice and decide what really makes me happy.  One thing I've discovered lately is that I'm happier when I'm productive.  When I get up early, start laundry, clean the kitchen, make breakfast for Jeremy, etc. I am happy. That's been one of my goals lately.  And it has made a big difference!

One of my favorite things these days is a quiet house.  When I've had a productive morning, the house is clean and I can enjoy an hour (hopefully) of time just to myself while Madeline takes her afternoon nap.  I eat my lunch, I can read, I can write, I can sew, I can do whatever I want.  I just love the quiet.  I hate to sound selfish or anti-social, but sometimes I feel so refreshed after spending an hour to myself.  And although it's not perfectly quiet seeing as we live on a busy street in inner-city Baltimore, I still enjoy it.