Day 4 of Happiness: Cupcake Express

This will have to be a quick post because I'm at work and probably not suppose to be blogging.  However, I wanted to post a few spots of happiness from yesterday.

Spot 1: Yummy cupcakes.  There is nothing like a yummy cupcake to improve one's mood.  I was sitting in my office when WHAM! all of a sudden this huge urge to eat a delicious cupcake from Hello Cupcake in Dupont Circle hit me.  I don't know if "hit" is even the correct word, since the urge didn't go away or dissipate like being hit would.  Maybe I was assaulted?  Not sure. Anyway, I couldn't stop thinking about cupcakes so I went on line and looked at the types of cupcakes for sale.  That did not help. I wanted cupcakes even more.  So, I gave in, and convinced my co-worker that she needed a cupcake too.  And boy were they yummy!  And boy did they make my heart soar!  Ok, so maybe not.  But, I did buy four cupcakes so that I could share with my sister and her husband.

Spot 2: Shopping.  I usually hate shopping.  I like having new things, but I hate the process of going to stores, looking for something that is semi-ok looking but within my budget, and trying it on.  However, shopping for others is NO PROBLEM.  So, that's what I headed out to do.  I am visiting Honduras next week and always must go with numerous gifts that I can't afford.  I am usually bitter about the fact that in order to visit I have to pay for an airline ticket AND $400 worth of gifts for everyone and their mother.  What I do like, though, is shopping for my fiance.  He loves everything I buy him and gets really excited.  So, I headed out to the mall to buy the few things he had asked for - shoes and a hat with his name on it.

So, I stop by the hat stand at the mall, order him a hat with his name on it (yes, I think this is dorky too, but was unable to convince him otherwise).  Of course the hat was going to take 20 minutes to make so I was forced to step into Express and look around.  Bad idea.  My sister and I had just been complaining about how pathetic our wardrobe was and how our pants were practically falling apart and were over two years old (which is fine if you paid top dollar for them, but Kohl's pants are NOT meant to last that long).  Well, armed with my First Tee paycheck and the knowledge that I wasn't going to be unemployed, I splurged.  Yup - bought myself a new pair of pants.  Of course, pants weren't even the first thing on my I Need List, I really needed running shoes and work shoes, but pants are what I got.

However, what made this even better was that I purchased a second pair (at 50% off) for my sister.  Yes, the solution to unhappiness is buying unsuspecting people gifts.  I was already excited about the cupcake I had purchased and now I was doubly excited about the pants.  Making other people happy really makes me happy too.  Plus, my sister has been stressed out and broke so a new pair of pants would make her happy (along with a yummy cupcake).


So, my two spots of happiness today were really just doing something nice for other people.  Now, this isn't entirely altruistic since I knew that I would feel better if I did it.  So, I am no saint.  But it's nice to share my happiness with others and I did feel really happy when my sister got her big grin on her face when she realized not only was she getting a cupcake, but also a new pair of pants.

As James M. Barrie said, "Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves."