10 Things That Make Me Happy
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 4:43PM 
I was given this lovely Happy 101 Award at the blog Confessions of a Compulsive Eater and the timing couldn't be any more perfect as I am having the sort of day (okay, two days) that makes me want to list ten things bothering me. Focusing instead on ten things that make me happy is exactly what I need, I think!
The rules are to copy the award image and display it on your blog, list 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of those things today and then pass the award along to 10 bloggers who brighten your day.
So, without further ado, here are ten things that make me happy:
1. Seeing the hubby at unlikely times.
This is the one I got to do today! The hubby has off today so he came to my job and we went to lunch at Chipotle, mmmm. It makes my whole morning better knowing I get to see him at lunchtime - and then my whole afternoon is better because I'm so happy and relaxed after our lunch together.
2. When Buster pees on the paper.
Unless you've had to train a puppy, you cannot fully know the joy involved when your puppy, who has peed on the carpet half a dozen times in the past half day, decides he will FINALLY GO ON THE PAPER. (Note: yes, I know paper training is controversial and not always advised, but because Buster is/was so small (he's growing fast!) and it was so bitterly cold out for the past two months, he was not allowed to be outside so paper was the only option. We're planning to start him on walks soon - maybe today? - as long as this slightly warmer weather holds up.)
3. Finding a recipe that's relatively easy to make, not time-consuming, and super delicious.
The hubby and I have been world-class slackers in the cooking department over the past few months. This is something I plan to work at remedying over the next few months and on and ongoing basis. I want our son to grow up eating home-cooked meals at the table with both parents (when possible, based on work schedules). Right now, the hubby and I don't even eat together often. (Stupid work schedules.) So I love finding a recipe that isn't too involved, that I can whip up after work (or trust the hubby to whip up - he IS a good cook), and that tastes good enough to want to make again.
4. A clean, organized home
I hate clutter. Hate it. I hate stacks of things. Even if they're not physically in my way, they're visually in my way and seeing clutter definitely affects my ability to concentrate and be relaxed (hence my current "re-do my whole home" project). I actually don't enjoy the actual act of cleaning, it feels SO good after the fact, that it seems pretty painless.
5. Reading
Over the past five years, I haven't had as much time to read for myself as I would have liked since I was usually in school and that reading takes over most of my "free" time. But this past month, between semesters, I've really been enjoying reading for myself. I've read baby name books, pregnancy books, pregnancy magazines, and am plowing through Gail Collins' When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present (which I've been reading on my nook, oooh). I'm about 3/4 of the way through, so I'll save my thoughts on the book for when I post about finishing it, but if you're interested in feminism and women's rights, READ THIS. Next up on my nook is Margaret Atwood's latest, The Year of the Flood. However, my shipment of schoolbooks for this semester arrived last night and so I think my joyous free reading time may be pushed aside once again (although, thankfully, I often love when I have to read for school). If my nook were any smaller, I'd be trying to sneak it into my staff meeting today, for sure.
6. Closure
I don't like things being unfinished, so I get really excited and happy when something is completed. This week my financial aid for the Spring semester finally got settled, as did my final course grade for last semester (an A-, nice), AND my transfer credits are on their way to being applied, which will put me more more than halfway through my current degree program. I love the feel of a steady march forward and the small steps of completion along the way.
7. Penguins (obviously, if you've noticed the name of the blog)
Ohh, I just want to cuddle those baby penguins forever!!
(photo courtesy of Huffington Post)
Yesterday was National Penguin Awareness Day, which I didn't mention because I was so focused on National Cheese Lover's Day. But I do love penguins, too - probably 99% as much as I love cheese. Um, just not as a food, obviously. I think penguins are just such cool creatures. They're so interesting to look at and observe and I love that the female penguins go off and gather food (fish) while the male penguins stay and nurture the eggs and raise the newly hatched babies.
At Christmas, I wrapped my nephew TJ's presents in penguin paper. When my sister asked him what they were, he said, "Pengies!" I could have melted. So cute. Just as cute as those baby penguins.
8. Sonogram appointments
This pregnancy has confirmed for me what I already knew: I am no longer the girl that was known for being so laid back all the time. Nope, I am now a total chronic worrier. Unless I see my little baby boy on the sonogram screen and the tech is telling me he's perfect, I cannot fully believe that everything with him is fine. (I've also found this behavior stretching in regards to the puppy, too - if he's not making noise in his crate, I'm convinced something terrible's happened and he's sick or worse.) I hate to ask, but does this worrying go away after pregnancy? Something tells me it only gets worse. I don't want to be that mother that hovers over her child 24/7, so I need to get a grip on this. But for now, I look forward to the appointments where a doctor tells me everything looks perfect. The joy at those exact moments is immeasurable.
9. Reading (and dare I, writing?) poetry
Statue of Walt Whitman at my M.A. alma mater, Rutgers-Camden
Source
Admittedly, I don't get to do this as often as I'd like to. As an undergrad, poetry was practically a part of my everyday life since I was a creative writing major and heading toward a final undergrad project involving both writing and studying/analyzing poetry. I had a lot more free time as well as quiet time then and I've found it hard to make the time/space for poetry in my life as it is now.
Mark Doty posted on his blog today that he's teaching a graduate course on "Whitman, Dickinson, and their twentieth century heirs." I nearly spit out my coffee (decaf) when I read that; THAT is my dream graduate course: my favorite poetry taught by my favorite contemporary poet. What I wouldn't give to take that course.
So I need to find a way to get/keep poetry in my life without it coming to me through a course. No plan for this yet, but going to let the idea stew for a while.
10. Getting to see my friends
Since the majority of my friends are from my college days, none of them live nearby and I often go months, if not half a year, without seeing them. Even my friends (the ones I had before I met the hubby and his friends became my friends) who live in the same state, I don't get to see them more frequently than every 4, 6, 8+ months, unfortunately. It sucks tremendously. So when I do get to see them, I treasure that time like few other things. This weekend I get to see two good friends because they'll be at my niece Brooke's baptism and then next weekend, the hubby and I are hoping to get to Maryland to visit some friends. After this, the next time I'll see many of them will probably be at my baby shower (sometime in April). I hate that it's so rare, but I'm glad that these friendships can sustain the distances - of both geography and time.
Okay, so time for me to pass on this award to 10 bloggers who brighten my day! Not only do I read the following blogs regularly, but I eagerly await each new post. These are the folks who, when I see they have a new post, I get that "Ooh, yay!" feeling. The first five are people who actually know I exist:
2. I Can Grow People/Wife.Mom.Artist.Geek
3. Jeune Marie (Okay, she probably doesn't know of me, but she and her blog are too beautiful not to mention.)
4. Mommy Words
The second five are blogs I get that "Ooh, yay!" feeling for who have no clue I exist because they are way bigger in the bloggy world than me:
6. Girl's Gone Child (I know, I know; you know I love her - but her blog posts get the biggest "ooh yay" feelings)
9. The Pioneer Woman (I am officially a fan/addict now)
Candice |
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