You know what I’m really great at doing? Singing Air Supply ballads obviously. But also? Making lists.
Seriously, I am a top-notch creator of lists. I make lists of things to do. I make lists of things to buy. I make lists of things to think about. Sometimes, I even add a low hanging task (that I’ve already completed) to my daily to-do list, just so that I can cross it off. Boom! One thing completed. Brush my teeth- check! Feed the dogs- Done!
I currently have ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN entries in the Notes App on my phone. Lists for every grocery store I go to. Shit that I need to remember to do, like pay college tuition. Ideas for workouts that I’ll never do. It goes on and on.
Even worse, I still keep a paper day timer FULL of lists. And before you make fun of me, I RARELY forget to do something, so maybe my way is the best way? Consider it.
So, because we should all do more of what we’re good at- I’ve made yet another list.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so in the spirit of that I am creating a list of things that make me HAPPY. We should all do it, it’s a worthwhile reminder on the not-so-good days.
(**DISCLAIMER: Like all things on this blog, this is a lighthearted look into the inner workings of my brain. I am skipping all obvious things that make me happy, like my family and our health. Those are a given:-)
- WINE– You had to know this would be at or near the top of my list. I love all wine, except Chardonnay (Sorry, K). Red? Yes please, next to a crackling fire and with snow falling outside. A cold, crisp Sauvignon Blanc in the summer while the sun sets? Perfection. Some of my favorite trips I’ve ever been on were to the Napa Valley for wine tasting, although there was less tasting and more actual drinking. No one spits in those buckets.
- COFFEE– Sometimes, thanks to perimenopause or the farmer genes in my body, I wake up really early. WAY too early to start the day. I lay in my bed and will myself to go back to sleep. But, if that doesn’t happen, I start to think about coffee and how excited I am to drink it. Sometimes, I’ve had three cups before anyone else in my house stirs. This makes applying mascara a challenge, but I will not stop. I typically have one more cup in the afternoon-wait, this may explain the early wake-up.
- BOOKS– I love to read and have my nose in a book most mornings with coffee. Also during pool/beach vacations, and anytime I’m on an airplane. One of my favorite places to go in my alone time is Barnes and Noble. I love perusing the new books, the scent of the pages, and the thrill of buying a book that I can’t wait to read. Nerd? Guilty as charged. Right now, I am DEEP into an era of pure garbage books…chick lit, beach reads, maybe a spicy romance. It’s all that I can manage right now, anything of substance is a hard pass. Bring on the 50 Shades.
- DOGS– This morning on my Insta feed there was a story about the ONE THOUSAND rescued beagles from Ridgeland medical testing. These poor sweet babies had never felt grass on their feet, some of them had never been touched by human hands. My fragile heart shattered into a million pieces and it took every ounce of my shitty willpower (see Wine above) to resist adopting at least ten of them. The only thing that kept me from pulling the trigger is that my bed is not big enough.
- FOOD– Yesterday I was in the car with my 13 year-old and out of nowhere she said “I love food.” Me too, girl!! This was a statement from a child who is genetically a replica of her dad, so it was wonderful to see a small glimpse of me in there. I think about food more than I probably should. Breakfast. Snacks. Lunch. Snacks. Dinner. Dessert. Bedtime snack. This reminds me of a quote from the genius writer Nora Ephron: “I don’t think any day is worth living without thinking about what you’re going to eat next at all times.” Absolute truth.
- MUSIC– My Spotify playlists are widely varied, and probably terrible to anyone but me. They’ve got a large amount of yacht rock, some 90’s country, a gigantic number of Taylor Swift songs (come at me, I dare you) and nostalgic songs from every era of my life thus far. Noah Kahan took the top spot on my Spotify Wrapped ranking for the second straight year because he is a song writing genius. But one pass through his new album puts me in the bed and I have to counterbalance it with some Bruno Mars or Olivia Dean. See what I mean? I’m all over the place. There is music playing in my house from sunrise to sunset most days. And, that doesn’t even count the Hamilton sing-alongs with my girls several nights a week.
That’s it, my small dose of happiness for today. I hope maybe it inspires you to create one of your own.
XOXO
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