Challenge Accomplished...Now What?

If you've been following along, you know that I just completed my "100 Happy Days" challenge.  I figured while I did that, I didn't need to blog since all of my "faithful followers" would be waiting anxiously each day to see what exciting events were happening in our lives here in Switzerland.  Turns out the past 100 days were pretty eventful...in summary...

• Our family celebrated 11 birthdays...2 of our 3 children, my father-in-law, 1 of my 2 brothers-in-law, 2 of my 3 sisters-in-law, and 5 of our 8 nieces/nephews.  Hope I didn't miss anyone!
• Went on five short trips - 2 nights in Zermatt, 2 nights in London, 2 nights in Hirslanden ;), 3 nights in Italy/1 night in Mürren, and 3 nights in Croatia.
• Broke one wrist...resulting in two casts, one operation (so far...), and the above 2 night stay in "the spa" at Hirslanden!
• Saw an exhibit on the fine art of "Scherenschnitt" - Swiss paper cutting!
• Took over leadership of the Room to Read Zürich Chapter Gala (October 25, 2014!!)
• Moved out of Minervastrasse and onto Kirchgasse.
• Celebrated the Badgers' Final Four appearance.
• Endured my first "boot camp".
• Met up with Meghan twice and Patrick once...looking forward to seeing Connor in a few short weeks!
• Learned how to "arm knit", color with oil pastels, make delicious chocolates, choose the proper wine for your food, and "Draw from the Right Side of the Brain".  
• Started "following" Hank the Dog (@BrewersHank, #ballparkpup), the Brewers' new stray dog turned mascot-public relations/marketing machine!
• Didn't hear Juan Pablo tell Nikki he loves her...
• Had the last few glüweins of the season and the first few Aperol Spritzes (When will the "Leo"- Zürich's 2014 drink of the summer be available???)
• Said good-bye to two good friends and their husbands who moved back to the USA :(
• Enjoyed 70 degree weather in March...followed by the return of winter in late April and May.
• Had my photo taken with most likely the world's largest explodable snowman.  A few days later watched him explode for the third year in a row...once again, without capturing the final explosion on film.  Perhaps it's "fourth time's a charm" for the Böögg and me!
• Watched and sang/danced along to countless "Happy" videos...favorites include the versions from Harajuku, Tokyo; the Milwaukee Brewers, Grand Hotel Le Trois Rois in Basel...and of course, Zürich!
• Said "tschüss" to my good buddy, "Fritz" :( .  Although we've stopped to visit him on the sidewalk a few times (see day 92)...he's totally confused, and a little bit ticked. when we don't go up the driveway and let him into the house!

Enjoying our weekend in Zermatt...pre broken-wrist...

Went to the Tate Modern in London and saw this photograph.
The woman in the middle looks just like my mother "back in the day"...
(at least to me)

Beautiful views of the Alps across Zürich See back in March.

This is not a drawing...it is paper cutting!!

Quick unauthorized photo of the David first thing in the morning...
too bad it isn't clear.

Life meets street art in Firenze!

The beautiful Piccolomini Library in Siena's Duomo.

Rooftops and the Adriatic...from Dubrovnik's wall.

Meghan and Patrick "saving a spot" for Connor :(.

Selfie with my man, the Böögg!

Zum Grünen Glas guild gearing up for the Sechsäuten Parade.

So what now?  What will the next 100 days bring?  Stay tuned...and feel free to send in requests!

Four down, 96 to go!

Wow...last blog post October 27, 2013.  A mere 92 or so days ago...it doesn't seem like it was that long ago!  Looks like somebody hasn't been keeping up with her blog.   However,  it is just about the perfect segway into the "100 Days of Happiness" project I just signed up for last week.  A newsletter I subscribe to included the following last week...

Don't worry, be happy

Can you be happy for 100 days in a row? What started out as an online project in Zurich, became viral and gathered more than 30,000 participants in less than a week. What do you have to do? You register and then you'll post a photo each day of something that made you happy and that makes your life beautiful. The sad news is: 71% fail. But the good news is, it's never too late for happiness.Take on the challenge!

I've never been much for New Year's resolutions, and this sounded a little bit like one of those.  But I DO like to take photos, I DO try to keep our friends and family updated with the goings on in Zürich through this blog (or at least I used to!)...and I DO like contests...challenge accepted!  Really - how long and hard can 100 days be??  Then I decided to count it out.  Turns out 100 days for me will end on May 2.  May 2?!  That's practically summer!  By May 2, we will have moved out of our current apartment and into our new one.  Steve's sister and her husband will have come to visit us in Zürich and we will have gone to Italy with them...and they will already be back home for OVER A MONTH!  Meghan will be done with the classroom part of her Master's program in London...and Connor will be almost done with his junior year at UW.  My friend, Teri, pointed out to me that her son's college graduation is May 2, so she will be counting down the days with me...but I'm not sure that she wants them to go as quickly as I might!  Wow...this may be more difficult than I thought.

So, why am I doing it...and more over...why am I actually telling YOU about it!  Well, I think my chance for success is greater if there is some pressure on me - everyone knows I'm doing it, and they will know if I fail (like 71% of people!!!!)  The challenge website says that people who complete the challenge end up being happier because they are looking for happiness in the world.  That definitely makes good sense - why not look for the good in the world?  The bad is pretty easy to find these days.  And besides, this is winter in Zürich...not the most "cheery" place of all.  We like to joke that Zürich can be "50 shades of grey"  (but not usually that way...) - so trying to keep a cheery disposition through the winter here is definitely a positive thing.  Don't get me wrong - I realize we don't have your basic foot of snow every week or 40 below wind chills every other week - but it's still no tropical beach resort.  So, if you so desire, follow along with my daily "#100happydays" photos - or better yet, join me in the challenge!  Their website is 100happydays.com.  What's the worst that could happen?  And by the way; if you actually complete the challenge, they send you a photo book of your 100 happy days photos!  Wonder if you can do it more than once...........