480: Fifty Things that Make Me Happy
Posted by Lucy on February 12th, 2010. Filed under: Uncategorized.Author Jack Pendarvis wrote an article called “The Fifty Greatest Things that Just Popped into my Head,” a list of, literally, fifty things that popped into his head that he thinks are super. I like this idea, mostly because I’m spending so much time analyzing the nature of my existence, and today, I want to think about simple things that make me happy. So, here we go:
1. Funky mugs. As anyone who takes my classes knows, I love me a fun, festive mug for my tea.
2. Polka dots.
3. Dogs. My favorite part? The way their entire back ends skitter back and forth when they say hi.
4. Invisible pogo sticks. Whenever Sweetness gets excited about something, she does this little hop straight up and down, like she’s on an invisible pogo stick. Most of the time, she doesn’t even realize she’s doing it and someday, she won’t do it anymore. But for now, while I have it, I love it.
5. Light’s Apple Joke. She doesn’t tell it anymore, but just remembering it makes me happy. My end of the joke is an endless round of “Who’s there? Banana who?” which goes on indefinitely until I say, “Get to the juice, kid,” and she ends it with, “Apple you glad I didn’t say banana?!?” And I always was.
6. Fresh sheets. Considering how much I love crawling into a bed with freshly laundered sheets, you’d think I’d do laundry more often.
7. Seven. I love the number seven. No particular reason.
8. Electric blankets. Who thought of this? I love him. Or her.
9. Fluffy robes and comfy pajamas. These are two things that I love separately, but put them together, and life is sublime. That this is my standard work attire is even better.
10. Striped sock yarn. And, subsequently, wearing stripey socks.
11. My Kindle. You’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.
12. Barges. Tonight, as we were driving home, Jenny pointed out at the river and said, “Oh, look! A barge!” which was funny on a lot of levels, not the least of which is that we live on the river and see barges all the time, but they’re so cool, especially at night when they float past the house and their lights reflect on the water. Oh, and while we’re at it…
13. The river.
14. Light when she wakes up from a dead sleep. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go into her room and wake her just to get this, but every now and again she’s still in deep REM when it’s time for school and I go in and wake her up and she has that same expression on her face that she had when she was a baby, that blinking, blank-eyed shock that there’s a world going on outside of her own head. Every now and again, she does that herky-jerky hand thing that babies do when they wake up. She won’t be doing it much longer, but every time she does, I love it, I think mostly because there’s so little of my baby left in this gorgeous little girl.
15. The first day you smell the new season on the air.
16. When an animal lays on her back and leaves her stomach wide open for you to pet. That’s trust.
17. My Macbook.
18. Sauvignon Blanc. Doesn’t really matter what kind. I haven’t met one I haven’t liked.
19. BBC’s Pride and Prejudice. You know, Colin Firth in the lake doesn’t do much for me, but the scene where he finds Lizzie upset after getting the letter about Lydia… sigh.
20. Cracked.com
21. Tea and cookies with Jenny. Even better with Jenny and Krissie, but I try not to be greedy.
22. Rachel Maddow. I’m trying to follow politics less because I find Congress infuriating, but when Rachel Maddow takes someone apart, she does it so well, I love it. Especially when she did it to that guy who tried to say it was psychologically and morally defensible to de-gay people.
23. Jon Stewart.
24. Community. Both the show and the concept.
25. When Krissie comes to visit. She’s here this week. So awesome.
26. Office supplies. Especially Cadoozle mechanical pencils and Cristal Bic pens.
27. Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty.
28. Teaching writing. I love my classes, and I love the people who take my classes. I don’t know how I got so lucky to get the greatest people for students, but I did. And it’s so much fun to do.
29. TV on DVD. This is the greatest idea EVER. The first time I ever watched an entire season of a new-to-me show over one entirely lost weekend, I knew my life would never be the same.
30. That moment while reading a book when you completely fall down the rabbit hole. Every writer who has ever done this for me, I’ve loved forever.
31. Hardwood floors.
32. TJ Maxx. The best place to get fluffy robes and comfy pajamas.
33. Fresh bread. Wish I liked baking it as much as I like smelling it. And eating it. With…
34. Real butter.
35. Chickens. I have this fantasy about raising chickens. I love the idea of going out to the coop, getting fresh eggs. They even have chickens that pop out eggs in pastels. Easter egg chickens. Jenny and I considered the options in detail, however, and we realized we wouldn’t be able to eat something we had named, which means that eventually, we’d have a bunch of really old chickens that couldn’t lay eggs anymore dying of natural causes and getting buried in the yard. But still… easter egg laying chickens. How cool is that?
36. Alpacas. We also want to raise them and harvest the wool.
37. Unreasonable dreams that you know you’ll never realize. They’re fun to think about, anyway. Like Easter egg laying chickens and Alpacas.
38. Frogs and turtles. When my kids were small, it was decided that their totems were the Turtle for Sweetness and the Frog for Light. So now, every time I see a frog or a turtle of anything, it makes me happy.
39. La-Z-Boy chairs. Although the way they spell the company name annoys me. I try not to think about it while I’m holed up in one working, because there is no better way to work than on a La-Z-Boy.
40. Meditation. I love it and it’s good for me, but I don’t do it near often enough. Same with…
41. Yoga.
42. Book stores.
43. Attic apartments. Always wanted one, now I live in one.
44. Airstream trailers.
45. Tiny houses. I have a dream about buying a big plot of land, building a center community house where the living room, TV, kitchen, dining room, and laundry are, and then a bunch of us having those little tiny houses surrounding it. Like dorm life, only for adults.
46. Outdoor fire pits. I love the smell of a wood-burning fire, and sitting outside on a nice night with a fire and good conversation is the best.
47. Reconnecting with old friends. God bless Facebook. Yes, sometimes it can be weird and creepy, but it also got me back to my best friend from Jr. High, and a lot of other people I thought I’d never talk to again. It’s amazing.
48. The smell of fresh-brewed coffee.
49. Pine trees. Jenny will laugh when she reads that, because we played Apples to Apples one night with the kids, and I judged Pine Trees to be more dangerous than whatever she put down (have you ever gotten dried pine tree needles under your nails? Ow!), and she still hasn’t forgiven me. But I really do love them, especially walking down a woodsy nature path through pine trees on a warm day.
50. Log cabins. Give me a log cabin with beds with polka-dotted quilts out in the middle of a pine tree forest with an outdoor fire pit and a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, and I will be happy.
Well, I’ll be happy no matter what, but that would make me super-happy.
February 12th, 2010 at 6:38 am
I share your appreciation of so many of these, but 29 is something special. The season just passed will forever be known as The Winter Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
February 12th, 2010 at 7:28 am
Bravo!!
February 12th, 2010 at 7:40 am
My best friend and I e-mail each other lists of things we know make the other one happy whenever one of us is feeling down. (Most convoluted sentence ever? Possibly. But it’s early, so I don’t care.)
Except our lists look like this (and remember, we’re writing them for the OTHER person):
PUPPIES! KITTENS! DOLPHINS! RAINBOWS! CHOCOLATE BROWNIES! STARBUCKS! BUNNIES! CHOCOLATE PUDDING! ANTHROPOLOGY! BEER! POTTERY BARN! BOOTS! HERSHEY KISSES! ALIENS! SWEATERS FROM THE GAP! SNOW! PUBLIC HEALTH! HOCKEY! TENNIS! RUNNING SEMI-SHORT DISTANCES! BOOKS! MAKING OUT! NEW HAIR COLORS! REARRANGING FURNITURE! GORILLAS IN THE MIST! DANCING! GOLF! SNOWBOARDING! BRAS!
We call them HappyLists. Imagine a list littered with exclamation points and all your favorite things?
Love it.
February 12th, 2010 at 8:54 am
I’m right there with you on a few of these. Most notably, #1, I get a new funky mug wherever I travel; #4, my daughter does this, too; #10, sadly, I can’t knit; #15; #26; #30; #39; #42, I could spend hours in bookstores, but so rarely get to do so; #48, that smell is a constant in my house; #50, I actually live in a log cabin in the middle of the woods. No polka dot quilts to date, but I’m a quilter, so I could make one. I am currently making a brightly colored quilt for my daughter’s bed featuring many squares within squares. It’s every bit as cheerful as polka dots. It looks like square confetti.
The only one I can’t really get behind is #11. I have a sort of philosophical problem with Kindles. Books are one of the last things we have that don’t require batteries. I like them for that. I like the sound they make when you crack them open for the first time. I like the pulpy smell of new books and the musty smell of old ones; there’s really nothing like the smell of a used book store or a library to send me over the moon. I like the anticipation of ending one page and the action of having to turn to the next one to find out what happens. I like their weight; I like their feel; I like looking at a bookshelf lined with them and then choosing just the right one to stuff in my purse. Good God, I’m getting misty eyed. Suffice it to say, for me, Kindles just aren’t the same.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:18 am
Dee -
I know what you mean…but…yesterday I was on the bus. I finished what I was reading, and was thinking…I’ve been wanting to re-read Jane Eyre for a while. Then I used the somewhat dangerous (for me) power of the kindle, and starting reading Jane Eyre within about 3 minutes.
I don’t have to pack 25 pounds of book for beach vacations, and I don’t have to dislocate my shoulder with an extra book in my purse in case the one I’m reading ends too early. You don’t have to abandon your “real” books to appreciate the convenience of almost any book you want in one little package.
Sorry – new convert here : )
You can still buy real books, I wouldn’t want them to go away either, and I still buy some – so I can read in the bathtub.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:22 am
Chickens. You could have a rooster and occasionally let a broody hen hatch her chicks. That way you’d have a new crop of laying chickens and eggs.
This is how I came to have a flock of 28 chickens. Some of which layed the prettiest blue and green easter eggs. Then again there is something inherently WRONG with having 28 chickens and only getting three eggs. Or sometimes none. Apparently it helps if you have a light that shines twelve hours on and twelve hours off. I never found out.
Dogs are the best. The absolute best. Well okay, my kids are good too, but the dogs NEVER yell at me.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:23 am
Dogs also never refuse to get out of the car when they get to school. Which is what one of my sons did this morning. So today, Dogs WIN!
February 12th, 2010 at 9:34 am
Alastair, I’m envious of your Winter of Buffy I had one also, but it was before the DVDs, therefore TIVO driven. Great, but not as good as DVD. I wish I could erase the whole series from my mind so that I can sit down and watch them again for the first time.
Gotta echo the Kindle. Dee, I understand what you are saying. But the joy of having my next book handy anytime I want is a huge, magical pleasure. Also, one-handed reading on the subway is a pure delight. They won’t replace real books but I couldn’t live without mine.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:40 am
Susanna,
I see what you mean. And I understand, I do. But I’m a SAHM with 4 kids, which means two things. 1, I haven’t been able to read a book on vacation in 10 years. I look forward to the days when I may rejoin that crowd, but they’re far, far off. 2, I don’t stray too far from my books at any given time. So, it may take me a little longer to convert. I’m like that. I just got my first laptop at Christmas. That should tell you a little something about me. Not sure if it’s good or bad, but it’s something.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:42 am
I have visions of #45 also. I have designed that place so many times!
I have to add – books, bookstores and coffeeshops. Probably more but I’m thinking challenged right now.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:50 am
I always used to desire #45. There is at least one community like that in the Seattle area, maybe on Whidbey Island. I think it’s like the Pears and Cherries, or maybe the Apples and Pears, or something like that (there are pictures in a book about cottages I once got from a library). I love, and have always loved, the idea of living in a community of friends. (And yet, I live in near isolation ….)
And, for me, Cats. I love kitties of all shapes and sizes. The way they drape themselves across your knees while you read on the couch. The way they purr. Their complete and utter pleasure as you pet them.
I do like my friend’s dog: she just gets so excited when she sees me (the dog, not the friend). Of course, that could be because I give her a couple of small treats from her treat jar (again, the dog, not the friend, although it might also work on my friend!).
February 12th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Dee- I agree with you 100% about the Kindle. Holding a book in my hands has this magical power over me. I know that when I start turning those pages I will be able to escape into this amazing world that has been created for me. Holding the Kindle in my hands and trying to read of the screen doesn’t have the same appeal to me. Do I wish that I could get a book instantaneously? Of course, but I’ll wait the few extra days to have the book in my hands. If I happen to finish a book when I don’t have an extra handy I have no problem driving around until I find a bookstore.
Bookstores- Walking into a bookstore and seeing all the books displayed has this amazing calming influence over me. I love the smell of them, especially since there is a Starbucks in my favorite B&N. My husband knows that if he wants to give me the perfect date then he needs to take me to dinner and a bookstore and let me be for a couple hours.
Fire Pits- Every summer I drive to my sisters in Ohio to spend a few days with her and every night we sit out my the fire pit eating smores and catching up. I look forward to it all year long.
BBC Version of P&P-Also my favorite. I’m hoping the newly released Emma mini series is just as good.
February 12th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Can I have one of the #45 cabins? I’ll cook….
February 12th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Put me on the list for one of those tiny houses. That sounds perfect. And I grew up on the Ohio River but never thought to look too closely at barges. They are kind of peaceful how they slowly float along, no hurry, just enjoying the ride.
I love dogs, but I adopted my little orange tabby back in May and he’s completely stolen my heart. He does the lay on his back and show off his belly thing all the time. His name is Bumblebee, he never meets a stranger, and doesn’t have a skittish bone in his body. Though he’s stubborn and occassionally destructive, he’s brightened my life considerably.
My list would have to include music and my iPod. It’s not one of the newer, touch ones. I have no apps. Just music. Hours of it in the palm of my hand. I love my iPod.
February 12th, 2010 at 10:21 am
Terrio- How could I have forgotten my iPod. When my kids go to recess or lunch then I’m at my desk grading with my iPod. Mine is just music as well and it keeps me sane.
February 12th, 2010 at 10:25 am
We love pine trees as well and had planted 18 as a wind break on our property 30 years ago. The sound the wind made was wonderful and we enjoyed walking under them. Yesterday, all but one of the trees were cut down.It was very sad and the area looks like a war zone today. We are adding on to our house and the contractor needs the space for the new septic field. As soon as the addition is complete, I will plant more fir trees!
February 12th, 2010 at 10:36 am
#45 My bff/writing partner and I always come back around to the fantasy of a commune in a mostly gentle woodsy climate (northern California/Oregon ish) with basically the same set up you mentioned… although our plan involves double wides because they are faster, easier, and are much nicer these days than the ones my dad’s side of the family have been roosting in for as long as I can remember… but I digress.
#29 I’m currently running my own Season of Buffy – season 3 at this exact moment (having just run straight through 6 seasons of NCIS since xmas). Sigh. When Joss is good we get “The Wish” and “Hush” (and Firefly). When Joss is not good we get Dollhouse… ah well. This is about the happy, right?
#36 I also worked for a lady who owned llamas. I’ve had a small fantasy about junking real life and becoming a llama farmer. I can’t get anyone on board with me on this, though. But someday…
#44 Mobile silver twinkies. THAT is happiness defined.
February 12th, 2010 at 10:44 am
I found it! Cottage community: look for architect Ross Chapin and Pears and Cherries cottages. It’s online.
February 12th, 2010 at 11:09 am
You’ve struck a chord with # 45! My fantasy is to get like ten acres, and build little individual houses and then have communal spaces like an art studio, a music studio, a garden…
Yes, Rachel Maddow, Jon Stewart, stripey yarn (although I don’t know how to knit socks, but I have finally graduated from scarves to hats), TV on DVD, getting lost in a book, hardwood floors, meditation, and unreasonable dreams!!
And the apple joke also has a very special place in my heart. My daughter learned it when she was two. It was her first joke (although her version ended in “Orange you glad I didn’t say banana? … so I guess in our case it’s not really an apple joke…) At the time, she didn’t understand the concept of jokes… or their construction, but she used it as a template for making her own, which just consisted of naming fruit with random things. Her very first joke was “Banana Watermelon Headband”. She’s a funny girl.
A few of my own loves: Art, architecture, film and music from the first third of the twentieth century, California history, redwood forests and the Pacific Ocean, Sees candy, colored vinyl, vegan Chinese food, British music from the seventies, and comedians who seem sad on the inside.
February 12th, 2010 at 11:22 am
The Kindle, really? I have mixed feelings. I like it in theory but there’s something so nice about a real, ink-and-paper book.
As for office supplies, is there anything better than going into Staples knowing that you can spend as much as you want? (This has never happened to me, but oh, do I dream.) If you haven’t checked out Sharpie pens, you should. They are amazing.
And the turtle and frog thing is awesome to me personally because my mother made a turtle baby quilt for a friend’s grandson, and I liked it so much I insisted she make one for my as-yet-unconceived child. She said it was a pain to make, so she gave me that one and did another pattern for the friend. And then a few months later, the same thing happened with a frog quilt she made. Turtles and frogs. Love them.
February 12th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Out of my window looking at the night
I can see the barges flickering light.
Silently flows the river to the sea
and the barges too flow silently.
Refrain
Barges I would like to go with you
I would like to sail the oceans blue.
Barges, have you treasures in your hold
Do you fight with pirates brave and bold.
Out of my window looking at the night
I can see the barges flickering light.
Starboard shines green and the port is glowing red,
I can see the barges up ahead.
February 12th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
That there is a great list.
Thanks for #28. We feel just as fortunate to have found you. When I’m a famous author being interviewed on The Daily Show, I will tell my buddy Jon that “Lucy March* was the best teacher I ever had and I wouldn’t be sitting here with you had I not met her.” I’d tell Rachel, too, but I don’t foresee writing any political books that would land me on her show.
I’m also thankful for Jenny. Not just for her books, which I love, but because she first introduced me to your books. And she did Cherry Con, where I met the Pen and Cherries, especially Jenifer with one N.
*Only I’ll use your real name.
February 12th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Erin – I felt the same way about the Kindle. Then I got one and I love it. I still love the tactile feeling of a pen-and-paper book, but I also love having a library of books at my fingertips wherever I go without having to have a humongous purse. The screen is much better than I thought it would be, too. Much more like reading from paper than I imagined. Not the real thing, but closer than I thought possible.
And I can shop for books right from the Kindle and download them in under a minute. Actually, that part is pretty dangerous.
February 12th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
I’ll come slaughter your chickens if I must. I don’t enjoy it, but I do know how. I’ll also bling out your hoo hoo, I won’t enjoy it, but if you really wanted it, I’d help. I wasn’t going to mention it the other day, I thought people might think we were weird. But I just returned from that post and folks are gettin’ Crazy!!! So I thought I’d let cha know.
February 12th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Could the tiny houses be all different colors, with trim that’s painted a contrasting color from the rest of the house? With little tiny porches just big enough for a porch swing or a couple really comfortable chairs? Tiny houses in little groups of three and four, to make pods of 7.
Oooh, and little flower gardens out front and windy little paths all over, and blossoming cherry trees and a couple apple trees for making pie and applesauce.
We can hand off our Kindles to one another and swap iPods too. And a fireplace (or woodstove) in every tiny house! With down comforters and plenty of chocolate cookies and wine, and garden art outside. All set on a big clearing on a slope, so we can see when the Chocolate Cookie Truck is heading our way, not to mention the wine distributor’s truck. And the take-out delivery guys from the Chinese, fried chicken and pizza places.
Oh my yes.
February 12th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
HA! My friends and I have been talking about #45 for years. That, or putting together a B&B called the Bitter Old Bitches B&B where we could all live and torment those unfortunate enough to stay with us.
February 12th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Ditto on #’s 1, 2, 3, 4 – my kids had “happy hands’ and little “O” faces, #5 – my nephew’s joke was Knock Knock – Dwayne, Dwayne who? DWAYNE THE BATHTUB I’M DWOWNING! – still makes me laugh, #’s 6, 9, 13, 27, 30, 33 – and I bake it too, #’s 34, 41, 42, 46 – add some wine and s’mores and I’m there! #48 – though I don’t like to drink it, # 49 and #50 – LOVE LOVE LOVE Log cabins! add to those, re-decorating, baby laughs, snow (although I’ve had my fill now thank you!), snowmen, the smell of vanilla, cooking, baking, and having my house filled with people especially if my house was a log cabin!
February 12th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Wonderful list! I’ll have to make one of my own this weekend!
February 12th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Sara C. – THANK YOU! I’ve had that running through my mind all morning but was hesitant to post it. Glad to know I’m not the only one that remembers my camp/girl scout songs
February 12th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Monica – You’re a true giver.
I’ll have what Brooke is smoking.
Also second the little porch idea. Can the chocolate cookie truck bring brownies too? Those ones with the chunks of fudge that melt in your mouth with every bite. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm………
February 12th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Nice list.
Mine would consist of fuzzy socks. I love fuzzy socks and I’m not a sock person. Really I’d rather go barefoot, but fuzzy socks are soft, warm and just feels like home on my feet.
New books. I love the smell. I love being the first person to crease spine. Dog earring pages. (Usually that lets me know if the book is a keeper. If I didn’t dog ear I didn’t put it down.)
Also, when my daughter gets a new books. She guards them with her life.
My son when he pushes me aside to fix things. Like “Mama, I got this.” It both annoys and amuses the hell out of me. *He’s five and rarely can fix the things he’s pushing me aside for.*
My mama when she’s on a roll.
Days when everything cracks me up.
Things that make me rethink.
Huh. That felt good. I may have to start my days doing this.
February 12th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Goober sat on the railroad track,
his heart was all a-flutter.
Along came the nine-fifteen
and now he’s peanut-butter.
My baby sister used to love that. And this:
I eat my peas with honey
I done it all my life
It makes the peas taste funny
But it keeps them on the knife.
Sunny days make me happy and rainy days do too. First snow makes me happy. Baking makes me happy. Disappearing into a book makes me happy, and writing something magical.
February 12th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
What a fun exercise! It makes me feel happy just reading your list, so I’m going to have to come up with a list of my own. Thanks for the great idea!
Tawna
February 12th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I had chickens when I was a kid, including Easter egg chickens. We had about 8 of them, and they were pets, the disposal method for table scraps, egg-layers, and garden guardians. They would eat all the bugs they could find, and loved to hang around when we were digging so that they could grab the worms/grubs we’d uncover. Some day I will have chickens again.
I have to put snow at the top of my list. I’m living in Dallas right now, but have lived in Illinois and Montana at various points, and I miss the snow so much that it almost hurts sometimes. Yesterday we got record snowfall (12.5″ came down in about a day) and I was dancing in the kitchen. Orange sweet rolls, fresh coffee, great music on the radio, and snow outside my window created one of the best mornings I’ve had in a long time.
Some other things on my list – my currently cuddly parrot, old books, my stepcats, dogs who let you use them as a pillow, animals in general, my mom and step-dad, bike sculptures, closed captioning available in online videos, bonsai trees, coffee, fresh bread, and chocolate.
Oh, and your #4? I still totally jump up and down when I’m excited, and I’m 27. Some of us will never outgrow it. We just become more self-conscious about doing it in front of people who aren’t our best friends.
February 12th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
“25. When Krissie comes to visit. She’s here this week. So awesome.”
I hope she didn’t bring sequins or glitter or a particular not-to-be-mentioned crafting tool!
seriously, my list would be very similar. Except the chickens. Ew. They smell. I grew up around them, and I now have a thing about birds. And snakes and fish. Basically anything without a full set of arms and legs. And no, wings are not arms. They are morphed arms, but not arms. Anyway, way scarier than pine trees.
February 12th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Speaking of GHHs… http://www.comedycentral.com/tosh.0/2010/02/12/make-her-hooha-blush/
February 12th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Wow, I don’t know why it did that. Where are edit buttons when you need them? Oh well. At least the link still works.
February 12th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
I don’t have time to read the replies (which I LOVE to do) but wanted to say:
1) Amen to polka dots. I not only designed my website around them, but also the main bathroom of my new house (shower curtain in black and white polkas!), including the polka dot Christmas tree in there and wreath (yes, for the bathroom — so what?!)
2) I am not surprised about the number 7. It shouldn’t shock you at all that 7 is the number for “perfection”. Given your Life Before Lucy and the quest to please everyone, the irony is not lost on me.
3) I owned a chicken who did, indeed, lay pale, beautifully grass-green eggs. Don’t hate me.
February 12th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Monica – you are a true friend.
Whoever mentioned Ross Chapin – wow. Dig it:
http://www.rosschapin.com/Projects/PocketNeighborhoods/PocketNeighborhoodsOpener.html
THAT’s what I want. Someday, someday…
February 12th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
I swear my right hand to God, we are sisters. There was so much of this list that I went YES. Esp the community of tiny houses, Rachel Maddow, and the BBC’s P&P. (Though I will say if you haven’t seen the scene of Elliot Cowan in the lake in Lost in Austen, well, just maybe Google for that. It’s the best part of the miniseries.)
I also love when I have a group of people together playing In a Pickle, which is a word card game KIND OF similar to Apples to Apples.
The number one thing that made me happy today, well, actually it’s the number one thing that made me happy for the YEAR so far, was my son telling me he was HAPPY with himself. He’s been having quite a time of it lately and this made me so, so pleased.
February 12th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
the smell of babies, my dog, hot pink, bright orange, neon green, deep, deep turqouise, baking, the taste of chocolate melting on your tongue. Yoga pants, swimming pools and sunscreen. a fresh untouched piece of paper, my baby niece, livejournal, soapzone, soapnet, bookstores, cute shoes. the way the sun never seems to stop shining in Phoenix, the wide open sky’s back home in Iowa. mad men.
February 12th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
First, @Monica, you are a true friend, ready to slaughter the hens and bedazzle the hoo-ha, what a woman!
Next:
red lipstick
clean white sheets with that lingering tang of bleach scent
brownies cut from the crispy edge
anything with Smurfs on it
the smell of coppertone sunscreen
bright pink gerbera daisies
rain
anything by Cat Stevens or Jackson Browne
the BBC Pride & Prejudice and the BBC Jane Eyre
Hugh Grant movies (always hilarious)
TV on DVD (It’s the winter of Moonlighting & Highlander around here)
New socks
flannel pajamas
a hot shower
the small hand-painted resin woodland fairies my mom brought me from Tennessee when I was in high school
texting pictures
February 12th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Wow, I’m with ya with so many. I love dogs and will never live without them. I love my little niece’s jokes and how she laughs just as hard during the fifty-seventh telling as she did the first. I love the number 4 like you do the number 7. I love the BBC Pride & Prejudice, Colin Firth is all that is man…yum!
Office supplies are wonderful, but why are they so addicting? One of the greatest concepts ever invented – whole television series on DVD. My favorite so far is split between early Magnum, P.I. and Hart to Hart’s first season. TJ Maxx is amazing. I love taking my friends there to shop, break them out of their ho-hum wardrobe funks.
Love alpacas and hope to someday have some of my own. I have a few friends that raise them and love it. I’m totally down with turtles especially since the turtle is my spirit animal. There are many great legends about turtles from around the world, AND they’re so frickin’ cute!
I’m kinda lost on #45. I live right in town now, maybe I’m taking it for granted. I usually dream about a farm/ranch that is somewhat secluded.
One of the things that makes me happy is seeing animals interact with other species. I love pictures and videos that show the incredible nature of the animal kingdom. For me it’s evidence of a Divine Creator.
Here’s an example. This is a video of an elephant seal cuddling with a woman on a Canadian beach. It actually brought tears to my eyes. The trust this creature had was just beautiful.
I especially loved the penguins in the background. It looks like they’re dancing. Just incredible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-8WKskPBTA
February 12th, 2010 at 6:00 pm
#45 is a dream that can become a reality.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of Jay and Steve at Tumbleweed Tiny House Company my school is building a tiny house using their design.
Tumbleweed Tiny House Company’s Fencl
The students are so excited about this build. It may end up changing their perceptions of what they truly need in life.
February 12th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
You might have to click on the image to make it load.
The slide show is definitely worth watching. Is 130 luxurious feet enough for most people? Is it the perfect writing cabin? Don’t forget the loft for sleeping doesn’t count in the square footage, so really it’s pretty big. Certainly there’s enough room for one and even two if they’re close!
February 12th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Then there are the Katrina Cottages (http://www.katrinacottagehousing.org/). I can see small neighborhoods of tiny, brightly colored houses dotting the landscape, where no motorized vehicles are allowed within the compound. The micro-neighborhoods have the shared facilities, including guest houses so people’s friends and families can visit without needing to cut wholes in the walls to fit them in. The micro-neighborhoods are satellites to small-town-style downtowns with all the basics, and these larger groupings are satellites to places where you can get Indian food, TJ Maxx, and Costco. (The small downtowns would, of course, have the best bookstores, complete with up-to-date online ordering systems ….)
We can call them “Lucy-villes”.
February 12th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
Re#15: Yesterday was the first day I smelled spring in the air. Ok, I’m in SoCal and you people everywhere else want to pelt me with snowballs. But it was a very distinct smell of “spring” to me and I definitely think it was worth commenting on.
February 12th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
That’s a wonderful list.
BB and I have talked about #45, or a variation thereof.
I also love my Kindle. Of course I still read book-books. For traveling, the Kindle is wonderful. First time I flew to Japan it was 14 hours and 10 books, then having to find 10 more books for the trip back, and shipping the original 10 books back home, too. Last time I went to Japan, my Kindle and a guide book. Win!
February 12th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
8. Electric blankets.
When I was staying at a friend’s in Scotland, her house had the usual “central heating” of the UK – ie one radiator in the middlle of the house! But in the evenings I was introduced to… the electric blanket… that was UNDER the sheets. OMG it warmed up the entire bed, from those cold, frozen, crispy white sheets up through mountains of duvets and wool blankets. We couldn’t sleep with it turned on, but to just climb into a warm bed, tuck my popsicle toes into the toasty sheets… heaven. Absolute heaven!
February 12th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
It snowed here in Midde Georgia, which is unusual, and for the first time in about 10 years the snow actually stuck to the ground so we could go out and play in it. Hooray! The feel & sound of snow crunching under my feet is now on my happy list.
February 12th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
I just got the best mental image… teeny houses with Smart Fortwo’s in front of each one
February 13th, 2010 at 1:24 am
I can just see it: half the people in the country having teeny houses and teeny cars, the other half having humvees and mcmansions.
But, did you hear that there is some idea of making humvees into hybrids? With the carrying capacity in those things allowing for an unbelievable battery payload, what I’ve read said that they could end up getting better gas mileage than a prius. However, there is the amount of metal involved in making one of them versus pretty much any other vehicle on the road.
February 13th, 2010 at 2:44 am
This is great. What a bounce. I’m working on my own list, and now I want to plan a happiness week where I do/see/experience as many of the things on the list as I can. Not all of them can be had on command, of course, so I won’t necessarily get Christmas lights, sea turtles, a huge golden moon, or pear trees blossoming out like popcorn, but I think I can arrange a week filled with sliding across the hardwoods in my socks, being underwater, playing group games like Taboo, eating warm salsa with chips, reading good books, wearing sweatpants with pockets, watching good stand-up comedy, and listening to upbeat pop songs and dancing around. If I got really ambitious, I could probably arrange a hotel room with a minibar and drinking beer at a swim-up bar. And pretty much any week I get includes my husband being silly to make me laugh, my mom bragging on my kid, and my kid cracking me up. Life is pretty nice, looked at that way.
February 13th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Re: the Kindle
I have to chime in. I have found that my love of books is broad enough to encompass both paper and Kindle books. Happily, neither my paper books nor my Kindle requires monogamy. Just one example of why I love my Kindle: I found this blog from Jenny Crusie’s and reading it made me decide that I wanted to try one of your books. Thirty seconds later, Wish You Were Here was on my Kindle. I gotta love it!
February 14th, 2010 at 2:44 am
What a great idea Lani! I think this’ll be my next writing practice practice writing thingy. It’s funny, I was drooling at the Ross Chapin website not too long ago. So huzzah and another serving over here of what Brooke is having – especially the windy paths and cherry trees.
I had mixed feelings about the Kindle too, until I got one and found myself cackling wildly while blowing a couple hundred bucks on books in a giddy ten minute shopping spree. The next day I got to take all those books to work with me in my purse and and pet them and mutter “precioussess” whenever my then-boss gave me the stink eye for being in a good mood. Hubby and I have an agreement that some books are definitely to be purchased in trad format, but we can both read so much more via Kindle and other e-readers that we’d be depriving ourselves by sticking to paper.
And CrankyOtter – we had a nice long stroll in the sunshine by the beach today. I miss proper weather but summer in SoCal wins.
February 15th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
I’m with kelly J–I also live in Ga, and the snow was incredible–My five year old boys spent Friday with their faces and fingers pressed to the windows, watching fat flakes with complete and utter delight. Isn’t it great to be reminded of simple magic?
But a Kindle? Every cell in my body resists. I am a lit teacher. I love the smell and feel of books–new, old, used, well-loved books. Besides, how do you make notes in the margins of a Kindle?
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:10 pm
I’m a few days late, but I just wanted to thank you for this list. Not just the content, which made me smile, but the idea of a happy-list versus a shit-list. When I went to write my own, it took me so much longer than I thought it would (http://mouth-foot.blogspot.com/2010/02/fifty-things-is-lot.html). I wound up putting things on there that surprised me, that I’d forgotten about or never realized made me happy. So that’s why I wanted to thank you for this – it opened my eyes to things I’ve really been taking for granted!