HAPPINESS ON THE CHEAP

Am I the last one to know about Triple Double Oreos?

Holy artery cloggers, Dr. Oz!  Are these dreamy cookies even legal?

Danny Boy was kind enough to let me try one of his...and then I sweetly begged for one more.

"May Mumsy, who is working two jobs to put you through college, please have one more, darling?"

(Yes, he's 19, but I still pull out all the "mom" guilt stops whenever possible.)

He gave me the equivalent of  an "I don't care" grunt, which I immediately interpreted as "Yes, of course, Mom! I love you!" and quickly grabbed another Triple Double out of the package.

Yum!

Apparently  a package of Triple Doubles costs $2.99 at The Fro (short for Frohlich's, our beloved local Super Valu). As packaged cookies go, that is well worth the time it takes for me to scrounge through my mad money vase for roughly three bucks in quarters.

Happiness should always be that cheap.

I mean, a mani-pedi runs 25 times the cost of  a package of Triple Doubles.  Way more if you go to the big city. However, while fun and great for the ego, a mani-pedi is not nearly as emotionally satisfying as eating an Oreo, be it the Original, Double, or Triple Double.  Add a glass of milk and you've got sheer heaven.. On the other hand,  enjoying a mani-pedi is zero calories. A package of Triple Doubles?  OMG. Let's not even go there.

My point -- and I do have one -- is that whether one finds happiness in a package of Triple Double Oreos or having a stranger beautify their fingernails and toes, how and where one finds happiness is pretty much a personal choice.

And thanks to Heather Wagner, author of "Happiness on $10 A Day", we are blessed with dozens of choices of economically feasible ways to make ourselves and our wallets happy.

"Forget the $300 therapy bills, the 197 secrets of happy people, the 18 steps to contentment," reads the back cover of the  entertaining little paperback. Happiness On $10 A Day is all you need to rediscover your joie-de-vivre -- without breaking the bank."

Oh, yeah...in case your French is a tish rusty, "joie-de-vivre" is a snappy little phrase for enjoyment of life, exhultation of spirit.  And couldn't we all use a good dose of that?

Interestingly enough, the book costs -- as well it should -- $10.  I was fortunate to receive mine as a gift. The book includes hilarious happiness ideas that cost absolutely nothing, as well.

I don't want to spoil the fun of reading "Happiness On $10 A Day" for you, so I won't go into intricate detail.  Suffice to say, however, I found myself smiling and feeling oodles happier in mere minutes by just reading the rest of the book's back cover.

"Feeling dramatic? Try harrassing a telemarketer. Craving cute animals? Stalk a puppy."

And that's only the tip of the happiness-on-the-cheap iceberg.

Well,  must run.  You know how Mondays are.  In an attempt to counter the usual manic side of Monday, however, I've started my morning by pursuing my daily dose of "joie-de-vivre". Just read Chapter 1, "Find Happiness Spending Quality Time With Your Favorite Person -- You!" 

My inexpensive happiness finder for today:  "Look Mysterious At A Cafe".

Why not?  Think I'll go to Main Street Pizza for lunch and do what the book suggests I do:

*Bring a book, journal or weighty, serious publication.
*Wear sunglasses.
*Frown slightly.
*Rest my chin on my fist occasionally.
*Sigh.
*Sit back and let le myste`re  unfold!

Ack. Who am I kidding? I only get a half hour for lunch. Faster -- and cheaper --  just to run to The Fro and buy my own package of Triple Doubles. As for mystery...well, do we really know what that luscious, creamy middle of a Triple Double is made of?