Happy Thoughts and Happy Thotz

My 2nd copy. I'm hard on this book....

For ages now I've sent out a daily email to a few friends and family members, an email inspired by a book I consider to be a lifesaver.

It all began a long time ago when someone gave me a page-a-day desk calendar for Christmas based on Barbara Ann Kipfer's 14,000 Things to be Happy About. Each page of the calendar featured a selection of five pleasant things meant to inspire my happiness.

And they did.

I kept the calendar on my desk at the office where I worked at the time, and some days most days every dang day those happy thoughts were my lifeline.

First thing every morning I shared the day's calendar page with three people -- my James, a mutual friend of ours, and a fellow co-worker -- by sending them the list of happy suggestions typed up in an email which I began referring to as the 'Happy Thotz.' (Yeah, I thought the misspelling was clever at the time....)

Some days the Calendar would inspire me to change up the list or add my own variations to it. Sometimes it would cause one or more of us to come up with our own things to be happy about and share them with the others. Sometimes it would spark a dialogue or take us on a tangent. And more than once it caused all hell to break loose.

But it always inspired something.

And because of that I looked forward to pushing the 'send' button and then anticipating a response. And I'm not lying when I say that the daily interaction with those particular people was monumental; it got me through one of the most stressful jobs I've ever had. And I owe it all to Ms. Kipfer and her inspirational book.
 
I no longer work at that office. I work at home for myself. But Barbara Kipfer's book is right next to my desk and I still send out the daily Thotz email. It's since evolved to include a bunch of other stuff in addition to the author's suggestions of things for which to be happy. I'm careful to give her credit, of course, and over the years I like to think I've helped add to her teeming list of fans. But her pleasant suggestions have since become just a small part of the email I send.

And the tradition continues because I'd be lost if it didn't. I write the Thotz to keep in touch with those I care about. I write them to hopefully entertain someone and brighten their day. I write them to learn stuff about myself (BOY, do I learn stuff about myself!). I write them because I just have to. They're like my blog posts, only on the fly. More me than I feel comfortable being here. In that respect, I guess they're still a lifeline....

Today that daily email goes out to a handful of friends and family. I'm told some even go on to share it with others. And -- the whole point of this post (I'm so wordy!) -- this afternoon it may even have gone out to YOU, here at the Not-So-Daily Maily.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

It did because I'm able to write blog posts in my email program and send them here from there, and this blog's address just so happens to be right next to the list of individuals I routinely message. And today I was careless and accidentally included the Maily as one of my recipients....

Oops.

But I think I caught it in time. Still, if you subscribe to my blog and received a Not-So-Daily Maily post from me in your email today that looks nothing like THIS post, I apologize for sending it to you in error.

If you received it, I kind of hope you read it. And if you read it, I really hope you found it worth your while. But, if nothing else, may my mistake be Ms. Kipfer's gain: Check out her creative and whimsical website HERE, follow her inspirational tweets on Twitter HERE.

May her suggestions make you smile and inspire your happiness.
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Questions for YOU

Flying, flying! But to where, exactly?....

It happens every year around the Holidays.

I rethink this blog, where it's gone, and where it's (hopefully) going.

I think about how it's supposed to be about my business -- Mayfaire -- and about my art and my creative process and stuff, but how it ends up being pretty much just a letter from me to you about all sorts of things that aren't necessarily creativity-related.

And that just seems to be in conflict with what I'd intended this blog to be....

Then I think, maybe I should start another blog, and let that one be the personal one.

And then I think, who's gonna want to take the time to follow TWO of my blogs??

Yeesh.

Obviously I need some direction. So here's where you come in. Below is a small list of questions that I hope you'll take a moment to answer either here or on my Facebook page as doing so would be really really helpful to me. Ready? Here goes:

1. What past Mayfaire posts are your faves? What do you enjoy reading about here? Is it the personal stuff about my thoughts, my house, my pets/kids/grandbugs? Is it the stuff about my art and my creative process? Is it about bigger stuff -- what artists I like, why saving Monarch butterflies is my passion, things like that? What about this blog interests you? (I know which posts are most popular, but their subject matters seem to be all over the map, so that's just confusing me again....)
2. More photos or less photos? Longer posts or shorter? Every day or only when I've got something important to say? Is it important that you hear from me often? Or is it just annoying if I pop up in your in-box every day?
3. Should I limit myself here to just my art? Or does it somehow work to have everything -- business, personal, the works -- jumbled together? If I just wrote here about All Things Mayfaire, would you be interested in (or take the time to follow) a separate blog about all the other stuff? And if there were two blogs, which would you look forward to the most?

I like that it's just me and you here. Writing to you is one of my favorite things to do and it makes me happy. But I want you to be happy here, too. Your opinion matters! So thank you in advance for your reply, my friend. :)
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Coffee, Comments, and Change

You may have noticed: there are no longer any 'comments' capabilities on my blog. There used to be (and I've appreciated every one that I've ever received, please know!). But recently I found myself of two minds about a post I was editing, wondering if I was about to step on any toes by hitting the 'publish' button. I had an opinion, but I doubted if many would share it or understand it. And then I wondered how I'd feel if I was challenged. Would I waffle? Back down? Go into a tailspin? Do what I usually do: hide until hopefully everyone's moved on so we can change the subject?

And at about the same time, I realized just how much I check (and recheck) that dang 'comments' section to see if I've Got Mail. I'm not an attentionmonger, but no one wants to feel completely invisible. And lack of comments just made me think that all the time I was taking to write, hone, proofread, perfect was for nothing, like writing a letter and attaching it to a balloon....

I realize The Maily is completely narcissistic; except for those occasions where I sneak in a post about a Bigger Picture, every day it's all about Me, and that's not the way to write a blog and expect it to be read, at least that's what I've been told, and I tend to agree. But I'm still learning and still trying to find my groove here. And I hope that if I haven't driven you away yet, that you're willing to hang in here with me until The Maily gets its legs proper....

But my goal is not to have a crazy big blog that gets me a spot on The View. I get my 15 Minutes of Fame every season at Fest when a customer takes a moment to personally tell me how much my work has made them smile, and that's way more than enough attention and responsibility for me. This blog is for that customer. It's because we meet only once a year, and this is for the rest of that time, for keeping in touch, for making that special moment last a little longer, maybe enhancing it with a personal story or two.

Before I began The Maily, I knew it was going to be for That Customer, and I tried to put myself in their place. I picked up a favorite picture book will illustrations by a favorite artist and remember thinking, "If Tasha Tudor were alive and writing a blog, I'd be all over that! And I'd want her to write as if she was taking a moment out of her day to have coffee with me."

The idea gave me shivers. I wouldn't have wanted her to write about anything but herself and what was happening in her magickal world. What was going on outside her window? Better yet, what was going on inside her head? And when I tried to imagine what a post from Tasha would look like, I didn't see a big, long, wordy, opinionated diatribe with links and advertisements. I saw a single photo and a paragraph. A magickal moment.

I began The Maily with that format in mind, then doubted myself when everything I read about blogwriting told me I was doing it wrong. Then the 'comments' section seemed to prove to me that I was doing it wrong. And then I began rethinking the whole dang thing.

But now I'm back to Square One. I like my original idea and I don't want to change it.

So I made the decision to take away the 'comments' capabilities. (Everyone knows they can still share a word on my Facebook page if they must.) There is now nothing to be checking and rechecking. I don't have to self-edit -- how will I know if I've stepped on toes if this is essentially a one-way conversation? And -- save for the occasional bout of wordiness -- I plan to continue doing exactly as I originally imagined: write to you as if I was taking a moment out of my day to share a coffee.

Because I am.
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I'm Having Issues

Posts haven't been added to the Maily lately because I've been having problems with it.... The format isn't behaving for me at all. I can't edit, make changes, or even post pics. Boo....

I'm sure this is all due to User Error, so this afternoon I plan to have my tech-savvy James (the Computer Whisperer) check everything out and offer his suggestions. If nothing can be done, the Maily will be moving elsewhere (any suggestions? Wordpress?) and I'll give you a heads-up so you can move there with me.

In the meantime, have a great Weekend Eve, my friend. Yes, I know it's Friday the 13th but it's still a Friday, and Fridays are THE best day of the week, bar none.

So let the happydance begin! :)

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