Pleasure #6

Give. Humans are altruistic by nature: If we act generously, we feel joyful. Go ahead and try it. Go to the websites of a favorite charity and make a donation. It doesn't need to be a lot-just enough to get a small burst of pride in your chest.

A simple thought but so true. I know that I find even more pleasure in giving of my time, even in simple ways. So I'd add, instead of going to a website to make a monetary donation, invest some time in serving someone. Write an unexpected thank you note. Call a friend just to chat. Spend extra time with one of your children. Give of your time to serve & I guarantee you a huge burst of pleasure!

Pleasure #5

Read or watch or participate in something that takes your breath away. A recent study found that people seek out newspaper articles that inspire awe-that hard to define feeling we get when we're exposed to great beauty, power, or accomplishment. This pleasurable tickle is uniquely human and can be achieved in multiple ways: praying, watching nature programs, and reading stories of personal triumph, to name a few. Whatever gives you that lump-in-your-throat feeling, pursue it any way you can.

So many things give me that 'lump in your throat feeling". A really spiritual church meeting or lesson, prayer, watching my children succeed at something, church videos, seeing something amazing when I travel, a great book, sometimes when I read the scriptures....the list is long for me! Here are a few pictures of things that have taken my breath away:

The feeling of being on the top of Wayna Picchu, the towering granite peak that overlooks Machu Picchu from the north

Watching our son with a family that he had taught and baptized and seeing how much they loved 'Elder Lewis'

Thinking of the love my Savior has for me!

Pleasure #4

Keep your child's baby shoes in your desk at work. You know how you keep a bag of almonds in your drawer in case you need an energy boost in the afternoon? Place something emotionally resonant there as well for the times when your mood needs a quick lift. Stash a few objects that are connected with treasured experiences - say that 1997 vacation to Barcelona- and occasionally take a moment to pick up one of these items and look at it closely. Elation is sure to follow.

I definitely do this. I have a few Spanish coins that I keep in the deep recesses of my closet. Every time I do a thorough cleaning of the closet I find them, look at them, remember our 5 amazing years in Barcelona and then just kind of randomly toss them back in to be found again later. In one of my cookbooks I have an order form from the door to door frozen food salesman that came to our house in Barcelona. When I use that cookbook I can just taste the delicious frozen garlic bread that I would buy from him. Inside one of my desk cabinets, I have a couple of pictures of my little kids. Those always bring a smile to my face. I love these quick easy little moments of elation! Anybody else do this?

Pleasure #3

#3 Make the bath as hot as you can stand it. Psychologist Paul Rozin has argued that people get a kick from "benign masochism" - that is, controlled exposure to low-level discomfort (think spicy chili peppers and saunas). Maybe we love the endorphin rush. Or just the delightful contrast when we ultimately escape from the pain. Regardless, it pays to pamper yourself occasionally with a bit -but just a bit- of suffering.

As I thought about this, I immediately remembered this:

Yep, I ran another 5K! I have asked myself why at this age I would decide for the very first time in my life to try and be a runner. I think it is mostly just to prove to myself that I'm not THAT old and that I can discipline myself to do something that is difficult for me.

And it does feel so, so good to cross that finish line! And it felt even better when I looked at my watch to see that I was 3 minutes faster than last race.

The byline for this race was "I run for champagne and chocolate". In my case I ran for the

• the controlled exposure to low-level discomfort
• the endorphin rush
• the delightful contrast when I ultimately escaped from the pain & crossed the finish
• chocolate
• water
• a cute champagne glass

And I want to do it again!

Pleasure #2

#2 Don't buy boxed sets of DVDs. Economist Tyler Cowen says that much of the joy we get from our purchases lies in the experience of seeking them out, getting them home, and opening them up. If you receive 18 DVD's in one package, you'll use up the buzz all at once. Buy them one at a time and space out the pleasure.

Is this true for you? I'm not sure that it really is completely true for me. I definitely get pleasure from shopping and finding just the right thing....jeans that fit, the perfect piece of jewelry, something I needed for the kitchen....but I think I just get a bigger buzz of pleasure when I come home with three pair of great jeans as opposed to three separate trips to the mall to buy jeans three times....with three little pleasure buzzes.

Now to DVD's...I just joined Netflix and I love it. I get a lot of pleasure when I open the mailbox and there is my next DVD. Currently I'm working my way through the 2nd season of the TV show 24. When the last episode of the DVD is over, I'm sure I'd get pleasure from having the next one sitting right there so that the suspense wouldn't kill me for several days! Would that pleasure be more than the buzz I get when I send one back & then get the Email message that the new one is on the way?

Hmm...I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure that if I had the whole series at one time I'd spend twenty four hours watching 24!

Pleasure

I love a magazine called "Real Simple". It is full of interesting things from good recipes to decorating tips to lists of the best mascaras. Last month there was a wonderful article called "10 Ways to Find More Pleasure Every day". The article makes a clear distinction between 'happiness' and 'pleasure'.

"Happiness is a prolonged state of being that is influenced by a variety of factors, ranging from a person's relationships to her religion to her genetic predispositions. Pleasure, on the other hand, is a purely instinctive reaction with a brief life span: 30 seconds to an hour or two, tops. And while happiness can be elusive at times, sources of pleasure are fairly easy to come by."

I thought I'd share nine of these suggestions for ways to find more pleasure because I've found them to be very true in my life. One of them is to seek out the sommelier and since I don't drink wine this doesn't apply to me but I'll share the other ones.

#1 Play that song you love so much. Repeat.

Repetition nurtures pleasure. Are there any mothers out there who haven't had kids who liked to watch the same movie over and over and over again...until the whole family has it all memorized? When you experience something over and over you notice more details about it each time, thereby increasing your enjoyment. I have 1246 songs on my Ipod but I actually listen to about 25 of them over and over again. They are songs that make me happy either because they remind of something pleasurable or I just like the melody. Several of these songs are ones that I loved as a teenager when I spent a lot of time in my room listening to the same "record" over and over. I think music when you are a teen really imprints on your soul.

I also think this is true with favorite recipes. There is just something so pleasurable in the Sunday roast or the sugar cookies you always make for holidays or even "Lewis Meal" (grilled cheese, popcorn and hot chocolate) which was our family go to meal for Sunday nights.

Oregon Discoveries

Two things I discovered in Oregon last week.

#1 Yes there are slugs! This orange guy was probably 4 or 5 inches long. I even saw a 'Slug Cookbook"...I assume that was a joke!

#2 The Powell Bookstore. Amazing place! There are rooms and rooms and floors and floors of books. My favorite part is that when you find a book you want, there are both used and new books on the shelf together. I got 7 used books for $60! New they would have cost something like $90! Another part of the 'used' book excitement is that they buy used books and we have hundreds that won't fit in our new place! Maybe I'll get enough money from selling books that I'll buy myself a Kindle! That would solve the problem of buying more books!

Success!

George and I ran in a 5K Fun Run on Saturday night. It was the Starlight Run in downtown Portland. The route follows the Starlight parade route & happens just before the parade so there were something like 100,00 people cheering us on as we ran! We both finished faster than we thought we would. I'm not about to post our times because they weren't impressive except to us!

Here we are before the race.

And after the race....we look amazingly good for a couple of 55+ people who have never been runners!

On the way home, I said, "That was fun. We should do another one in September." George replied, "Talk to me about that in a week or two not right now." He thought this sign explained exactly how he felt!

Home Sweet Apartment!

After much discussion and thought and prayer George and I finally decided to rent an apartment in Portland instead of buying a condo. So starting in August we will call this apartment complex in Lake Oswego, Oregon home!

Here is George walking up to our new place. It is in a beautiful spot right on the Wilamette River.

There are walking paths by the river that take you to the little town of Lake Oswego. That will be fun.

We are on the 2nd floor. The first two windows are the living room and the second two are the bedrooms. It will be cozy in 1300 square feet. For the first time we'll be empty nesters and we feel like newlyweds again. Now we have to figure what to take and what to leave here for Matt and Scott. They'll be staying in our house.

I'm continually amazed at the twists and turns life takes and the new adventures we encounter!

Rockaway Beach, Oregon

No words necessary! We love the beach.

La Casa dels Aigua Molls

Saturday night we enjoyed great company and a super dinner with friends that we knew in Spain, Kim and Mark. Kim is an accomplished chef who teaches cooking classes and caters in the Vancouver, Washington area. They also own a beach house in Rockaway Beach. Once a month during the season they open their home for an "underground restaurant"!

The food was wonderful and the company delightful. There were thirteen guests, including two mayors. One was from the Oregon Coast and the other from New Zealand. Here is Kim with Mayor John from New Zealand.

We ate grilled flank steak with an orange fajita marinade; green rice (rice cooked in a puree of mild chiles and herbs); shrimp quesadillas with three cheeses; homemade tamales filled with roasted corn, zucchini and jack cheese; nopales (roasted cactus paddles) and beet salad with a marjoram vinaigrette; baby greens and roasted poblano chili salad; homemade corn tortillas; fresh salsa; and a dried apple and pine nut tart served with whipped cream! Doesn't just reading that make you hungry?

If you're ever going to be on the Oregon Coast, check out Kim's website. If it is a night for the 'underground restaurant' you're in for a treat! http://www.class-ooking.com/underground.htm

Portland

It still sounds strange to say that I'm in Portland visiting my husband! Don't worry when you look at this picture that we are having such a boring time that I've started taking pictures of a trip to the grocery store! I did take a picture of putting the groceries in the car but it is because I wanted to record the moment of SUN! Notice that it is bright and that you can see our shadows! Yesterday was a SUNNY DAY in Portland, Oregon. Today it is back to cloudy but it isn't raining so I'm happy.