My Happy List...

Love the one your with... take that a step further and love the things you've got.  In times like these, when the world is full of crazies and the sky is dropping ice everywhere and friends are losing jobs (and "Baby, it's cold outside...")  Why not appreciate and love the memories, people and things we already have in our lives - instead of wanting to buy more.  I wrote a list a few years ago and taped it on the inside of a cabinet door - I thought I'd share it with you (in the full & expanded version below) in the hopes that it might inspire you to write down the things that mean the most to you and help to brighten an otherwise dreary day.  

Things that make me happy

Hot Tea - cups and cups of it.

Index cards - 4 x 6 plain (no lines) -  a stack of them - and a gel pen - oh my!

Lists - lots of them - BIG IDEAS written on these index cards.

The beach - the smell of salty air feels like coming home.  I cannot imagine life without the sound of rolling tide.

Ice water - in my tervis tumbler, with a lemon slice - lots o' water - because I am part camel.

Yankee Candles (Buttercream, Christmas Cookie) - they are the best - and so are the ones from Pier 1, but in leaner times I have been known to burn stand-in candles. 

Magazines - I love magazines.  Country Living, Rachael Ray, Woman's Day, Everyday Food and the ones that come to my house without warning - Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Stonewall Kitchen - that give me big ideas and break the bank.

Snail mail - letters and cards from my friends and family.  I have a pen-pal and I love to get mail from her.

Pearls - single strand - love them love them.

Chuck Taylors - especially red ones, 2nd choice: classic white

Cute note cards to write letters to friends and family.  It makes my heart siiiiing!

Red wine - and not that I drink it all the time, because I don't.  I just need to know it is there. 

Diet Cherry Pepsi - I drink this in place of a more normal person's morning coffee.  Coffee is dessert to me - I must have my Diet Cherry with breakfast. 

Date night with Jim - when it doesn't involve Christmas shopping or grocery shopping - those are great, but dinner out is better.

Swinging - I love to swing - and I have passed this down to my boys.  These days I mostly swing on my "mama swing" that Jim built onto Owen and Miles' backyard swing set.

Packer Football - nuff said.

Popcorn & Diet Coke at the movies - that is a meal in itself and the finest one I can think of.

Mexican Food - all the time.  Alejandro Alejandro!!!!

Cilantro - in salsa - it deserved a line all to its self!

Hanging with my mama.  We enjoy just being able to sit in one spot, talk some trash and eat yummy things - we sure do!

Cookbooks.  Cookbooks. Cookbooks. 

Sweet tea - house wine of the south - lots of ice.

Grandma LaTrelle's biscuits.  They allude me - I cannot make them myself - this bothers me more than you know.

Key Lime Cupcakes from The Cake Corner - cream cheese frosting.  One bite will make you deeply ponder life and the meaning of it all.

Painting pottery at Makin' Memories.  There is something special about getting to paint as an adult - it is healing.

Working out at work on my lunch hour.  Gets it done before I get home and that makes me feel like I have done something BIG!

Friends - I have all kinds.  Some that I vent to about cooking, wiping runny noses and how to get skinny.  Some I meet for breakfast or lunch.  Some from work and we talk trash and laugh BIG and HARD till we almost pee on ourselves.  Some I only get to email, but we haven't missed a beat.  I need them all and they help me survive!

Frosties from Wendy's - oh my.

Books - books on audio for the drive, books to read at night - books and books, because I have to be able to read.

My pajama sweater - this is a sweater I bought recently from Sam's Club to replace my old, grey sweater that I had from when I was pregnant with Owen.  My old one was sadly retired after an unfortunate hole grew too big for me to respectfully walk around the house wearing in front of my family.  My new one is charcoal grey, long and thin and I wear it in the mornings with my pjs before I get dressed.  I would want to be buried in this sweater - and my pajamas.  Who wants to be buried in a stiff suit????

Being with my mom and her sisters, my aunts and my Grandmas - it feels good to be a part of something and man do we have a good time!

Eating out - by golly, for mothers and women who cook, there is nothing more gratifying than having a meal served to you and not having to wash the dishes later.  It a slice of heaven, for sure.

Dreams - I daydream a lot about things.  I think about what I want to do with my house - changes I would make - decorating ideas, places I would like to visit -  and even though I can't have it all right now, I need to have something to look forward to - to work towards.  I think everyone needs to have a dream - it keeps me going and it gets me excited.

Zac Brown Band - Chicken Fried & Hwy 20 Ride

Dove Chocolate, Mr. Good Bar, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Lifetime search for the best Macaroni & Cheese Recipe - a tedious and fattening job, but someone has to do it.

Lemonade - extra lemons, extra sugar - tart, thick & sweet - extra ice.

Jeep Wagoneer - yes, you heard me right!  Old and retired, but I love those faux wood-grain painted beauties! 

Blogging - sharing something that will bring a smile or a tear - this makes me very happy.

The Pioneer Woman - her blog and cookbooks excite me - they make me want to work cattle and I feel like I need my own pair of chaps. 

GAP 1969 Low-rise Boot-cut Jeans - oh how they were made just for me - I have 3 pairs!

My cowboy boots - they rock - even when I am not wearing them!  They rock, all by themselves, laying on the floor.  I only need my one pair and I will have them forever.

The art of wrapping gifts - I have a talent for this somehow - and it is a double-edged sword because sometimes the gift inside is not as great as the wrapping on the outside.  Ah, the trials and tribulations of not being able to give everyone the world... LOL!