What is a Happiness Formula?

I often read articles and books about happiness. Recently, I was wasting time doing research on Pinterest and I came across an intriguing idea. The pin led me to Oprah’s website. You can read the original article here. The author, Jenny Blake, suggests creating your own, personalized happiness formula. Could there be a formula for happiness? I’ve never been strong in mathematics, but I understand what a formula is and how it is supposed to work. Could happiness really be that simple? It turns out, not really. It’s not as clear cut as 1+1=2. But there are several formulas out there Read More

Strong Women Quotes Inspired By Women’s March

On January 19, I went o the annual Women’s March with my eldest daughter and a long time friend. It was my first time participating and I thought it was very well attended. We attended the march in San Jose, California. I went because I wanted to add my voice to those who were there. I don’t often get political here on My Cup of Cocoa, but I want to share a few thoughts and experiences I had from the march. Why did I go? Mainly, I wanted to use my rights as a citizen to say that the current Read More

15 Books From My 2019 To-Read List

Regular readers of My Cup of Cocoa know that I tend to read a lot. I set a goal each year to finish 50 books and always surpass that number. In January 2018, I posted my top 20 to-read list for the year. The post, like most of my book and reading related pieces, was a popular one. So I thought, why not make a top to-read list for 2019 and also review how I did with last year’s lineup.        A Quick Review of 2018’s To-Read List Out of the 20 books I most wanted to read Read More

19 Ways to Make 2019 Your Best Year Yet

I’m not much for making resolutions. I never seem to keep them and just feel discouraged when I break them. Perhaps it’s because I’ve set goals that are too lofty. Or maybe resolutions are often too restrictive. Usually we try to give something up or promise to stop a certain behavior. It’s often what we think we should do and not what we really would like to do. These days, instead of making resolutions, I make a list of things I’d like to do or explore in the new year. It’s feels less prohibitive and more positive to me. I’ve Read More