Oh, happy day!

It's the little things, folks. Big, stupendous events are great and all – winning the Powerball would certainly increase the excitement factor here in the Middle of Nowhere, for instance. But for everyday day-to-day happy, it's the small stuff.

A little more than a year ago I bought my Android phone. I'd been going back and forth about replacing my Blackberry with an Android or an iPhone, but it came down to two things:

• My wireless provider offers great service, reliability and reward points, but doesn't have a contract with Apple
• Instagram for Android was introduced

Joining Instagram was such a big deal
I made a note of it on my calendar.

When I learned that Instagram was going to release an Android version, that pretty much sealed the Android deal for me.

I joined Instagram a year ago today, one of those little actions that has provided a daily dose of serious happy.

As both of you know, I've been trying to complete Project 365 for years. Here's my first photo, taken January 1, 2008. It's still one of my favorites. Back then I had a flip phone that probably didn't even have a camera. Didn't we all? I was shooting with my Canon Digital Rebel. I had to upload the photos using a card reader, edit them in Photoshop and then upload them to my blog. Neither the computer nor the phone had Bluetooth (that was for Important Business People), and the whole process was, um, a bit cumbersome.

Certainly not as cumbersome as ordering prints and scanning them. My, my, we've come a long way, baby. But still. I lost interest in Project 365 every year around March.

My Instagram page.

In March of 2012, about the time I would have given up, the magic happened. New phone, Instagram for Android and fatmumslim's photo-a-day prompts, which I had started using a month earlier.

"They" say the best camera is the one you have with you, and for most of us it's a phone. There've been a few times when I've wished for a long lens on the Droid, but damned few. When I know I'm going to be in a situation where quality counts, I grab the Rebel and get a little strength training in.

'Cause it's HEAVY!

Fulfilling the photo-a-day commitment is pretty darned easy and pretty darned fun with the camera that fits in the palm of my hand. It's also easy to send photos directly to the computer, since I am, apparently, an Important Business Person with Bluetooth-capable devices that talk to each other. It's magic!

I use the photo prompt list as my laptop wallpaper, so I know what to keep an eye out for every day. (There are other lists out there, lots of them, but I'm happy with Chantelle's.) Most of the time I get it done early, and if another opportunity shows up later, I add another shot to that day's post.

All in all, this exercise has been really, really good for my creative soul. Oh, I've picked up a few followers, and my Instagram "likes" have gone from three or four per photo to about 20. I've printed a few of the photos, but printing them isn't the point. Noticing what's around me, finding the shot and then taking it: That's the point.

My favorite shots end up on my digital photo frame, and the entire collection is on my Instagram feed. I'm sure there are lots of things I could be doing with the images, but for now, I'm just pleased to celebrate one year of daily happy.

If you're looking for a creative exercise that will make you smile, well, you could do worse.