And so we begin...

Jamie Putting the Happy Books in the Mail from Jamie Ridler on Vimeo.

Welcome to the very first day of The Happy Book Mail-Around! This is going to be so much fun!

Blog Your Happy:

Whether or not you're participating in the mail-around portion of the adventure or not, please join us here on Fridays and share your Happy by posting something that made you happy this week. That's what the "Blog Your Happy" Mr. Linky is for. If you don't have a blog or just want to leave a quick note, feel free to leave a happy thought in the comments.

Video Your Happy:

For the first time, I've created a vimeo group where you can share videos of moments that make you happy, maybe your first sip of coffee or the way the sun streams in your window, your cat purring, your street. They can be short and sweet and simple. And who knows, they might just show up here on a Friday! By the way, I hope to be putting up a video shortly of me putting all 4 books in the mail on this cold Toronto morning.

The Mail-Around:

If you are one of the 108 people participating in the mail-around itself, you should have received an email from me with some instructions and also the name and address of the adventure buddy you are sending the book to. If you did not, please check your junk mail folder and make sure I'm on your safe-senders list. If that still doesn't yield results, email me and we'll figure it out.

On the blog roll, you'll see the four circles for the adventure. Feel free to use either the The Next Chapter: The Happy Book badge or the one for your particular group. The names on the blog roll are listed in the order that the book will be traveling.

Some things to think about:

• Please check your links. Also check that the person before and after you is who you are expecting to send/receive from. It's great to double-check everything now for smooth sailing ahead. If you don't have a blog, I've indicated that and just linked back here. Be sure to let me know if/when you've started your blog and I'll add the link.
  
• Don't worry about getting it wrong or messing it up. Scratch out words. Risk making a mess. Break the spine. Tape it up again. This is a work in progress. It's about making it happy and sharing, not about making it perfect.
• Don't worry about rationing what you're adding. Go for it. It's a big book with lots of pages. If they do happen to get full, we can tape in more pages or add an envelope. There is room for all of your happy!
• Don't feel like you have to be guided by what the people before you have done. If someone wrote with pen, you can too or you can use marker or crayons. If someone wrote neatly and small, you can still write big and crazy. This is a celebration of our uniqueness, our own special version of happy. So add your own flavour. It will fit in perfectly.
  
• Let's keep the momentum going. There's going to be travel time as the book journeys between Canada, the US, the UK, Denmark, Germany, Australia and the Philippines! When it arrives at your house, you have one week to play and then send it on to your adventure buddy. Remember, when it gets back to me, there will be prizes!
• Let's stay connected. Take some time to get to know your adventure buddies. Go to the blog of the person before you and after you and say hi. You're in this together! You might also want to subscribe to the comments so that you can keep in touch and get updated on where the book is.
  

The book is on its way to...

• Bliss: Gina in California
  
• Giggle: Pamela in Saskatchewan
  
• Mirth: Fiona in the UK
  
• Glee: Nadia in Alberta
  

Let us know when it gets there, ladies! When you receive the book, come on by, leave a comment and let us know. It's going to be fun to follow the book.

Share Your Happy this Week (open to everybody)