Do you ever have those weeks when life feels a little too good to be true? And, you're holding your breath just waiting for something to go wrong? Work is mellow and kinda fun, my husband thinks I can do no wrong, I've had more invites from friends than I can accept, I went to buy tickets to fly home for the 4th and found out there's a new direct flight which resulted in me paying 1/2 of what I was expecting, I've had several people ask if I've lost weight and mention I look really toned...you get the point. Life is good, really good and I'm thinking, please don't do something to upset the good karma I've got going on!

But, the truth is, life is always good. It might not always be amazing with lots of random unexpected good luck but it's weeks like these where I have time to take a step back and appreciate what I have. A lot of times, life and being happy is mostly about choosing to be happy and making sure you're living your life according to the values you believe in.

As part of the EMBA program I'm in at work, I've been really lucky to be coached by Roseanna DeMaria (read about her if you have a minute, she's as amazing as what you read!).

She recently asked me what I would hope people would write about me as a leader in my eulogy -- what values am I really passionate about and have demonstrated and shared with others, both in life and at work. Do you have an answer? My answer: caring, fun, excellence, and flexibility. Her suggestion was that I start a journal or even just take a moment to evaluate every day (or week) against those 4 values. 

It's interesting when you take the time to do that, all of a sudden you have clarity on exactly why it was you didn't enjoy a certain meeting or feel very drained, and on the flip side, why you might feel really energized or happy. The best part is that it helps me pinpoint why I might feel upset and focuses my attention on exactly what I can do in the future to mitigate (borrowing a term from my Project Management world).

In the spirit of fun and easy, here's an old family recipe that's super quick, delicious, and kind of fun!

German Pancakes
Time: 20 min.    Makes: 2-3 servings
6 eggs     1/2 tsp. salt     1 c. milk     1 c. flour
Pre-heat oven to 400º. In 9x13 pan, melt 3 Tbl. butter in oven. Beat eggs. Add salt, milk, & flour and beat until smooth with wire whip. Pour batter into melted butter in pan. Bake for 15-20 min. and check often. Serve topped with maple syrup.