Are you in a slump, feeling like the world is out to get you? Are you constantly playing interference or damage control? Need help feeling better and brighter about your life? I get it. I really get it!
You could take a long nap, or long walk, spend some quality time with your girlfriends, book a massage appointment, drink your favorite adult beverage until you get sick or check out one of these wonderful and whimsical items. Each $20.00 or less, one is sure to lift your spirits in a flash! I promise.
1. Wear bright green latex cleaning gloves to make dishwashing and other chores less bothersome.
Gloveables Dish Gloves, $15.95, surlatable.com
2. Attack your workday with a smile, thanks to stickers you can adhere to your desk supplies.
Inanimate Character Stickers, $5.00, thinkgeek.com
3. Commit a random act of kindness and tell that person to pass it on.
4. Customize a deck of playing cards with a photo that always makes you smile.
Personalized Playing Cards, $19.99, shutterfly.com
5. Become friends with your internal optimist with a life message plaque.
 Learn Something Plaque, $19.95, signals.com
6. Add some color to your lunch.
LunchSkins Reusable Sandwich Bags, $8.95, reuseit.com
7. Make a list of all the amazing things you’ve accomplished and experienced this year, and then bask in the beauty of it all.
8. Elevate your mood by watching a good movie. Laura Schwarzbaum, movie critic for Entertainment Weekly, recommends Broadcast News, $10.00; Annie Hall, $15.00; and The Shop Around the Corner, $20.00: all available at amazon.com. Laughing will make you forget what it was you felt melancholy about. Laughing is good for the immune system too.
9. Cart a cupcake without creating a mess.
 Cup-A-Cake Single Cupcake Carrier, $2.49, organize.com
10. Visit the web site, It Made My Day where people like you and me can share little stories that made their day. Reality can be incredibly funny! And who knows, maybe you will be inspired to leave an account of your own someday?
11. Read the good book. No, not that one, although, it may help too. I meant, this one:
From the Back Cover: Smile lines, a Hawaiian beach shack, podcasting, children at recess, garden gnomes, downward facing dog in yoga, comfy chairs in large bookstores, pot stickers, bobsledding, painting the ceiling sky-blue, guitar lessons, and one perfect day.
14,000 Things to be Happy About, $8.95, amazon.com
12. Tell someone how much they mean to you. Say all the things that might make you feel kind of vulnerable, and then think about how special you just made them feel.
13. Let out your inner rock star!
 Shredder Guitar Cheese Grater, $12.95, amazon.comÂÂ
14. Speaking of music, the quickest way to turn your frown upside down is by turning on your favorite band and dancing your heart out! Music can calm and revitalize us in ways even a lengthy nap can’t. Music holds the power to elevate our moods above our worries and relieve stress.
15. Call a stranger’s attention to a beautiful sunset or full moon. Check out the site What Money Cannot Buy for more of life’s simple pleasures guaranteed to help boost your mood.
What are your favorite blues shaking tools?
Here’s hoping you’re smiling soon!
Photo credits: Daniel Y. Go, Sur La Table , ThinkGeek, Shutterfly, Signals, Reuseit, Organize.com, Amazon.com, Amazon.com
