100 Things That Make Me Happy Besides Money

Inspired by a 43Things.com thread. They are simply in the order I wrote them down.

Archive for December, 2008

45. Studying good pics *

Friday, December 19th, 2008

I really want to be a good photographer. I don’t really remember when that skill became a desire, but it’s been there for a while. I have just recently started cultivating it, and what a feeling when I have carefully composed and image, see it flash on that tiny little LCD screen, and get tingles in my toes knowing that it’s gonna look amazing

44. Lightning bolts *

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

I already wrote about enjoying thunderstorms, but this subset of those window-rumbling displays of nature deserves its own place on my list.

Lightning just blows my mind. It’s one of those beautiful/destructive forces, just like ice storms.

43. Snow *

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

If you haven’t noticed already, I love precipitation, but I’m not preferential to the really wet kind. Snow is one of my all-time favorite weather conditions. It’s soft, beautiful, and romantic. I don’t know that living in Missouri is good for my love of snow. We’ve already had two beautiful snow storms here this winter [...]

42. Bubble wrap *

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

I love this stuff! And I know I’m not alone, either.

My favorites are the big bubbles. The little bubbles are okay, but the big bubbles are softer to my fingertips, and I like the way they feel.

I’m not saying I don’t like the smaller bubbles–their sound is really nice–but they are sometimes hard to pop and I always end up squeezing my fingers together too hard

41. Seeing a tree, house, or building lit up against a dark sky background *

Monday, December 15th, 2008

I first discovered this beautiful phenomenom in 6th grade while waiting for Mom at Neosho’s old Intermediate School (6th and 7th grades). The entrance faced east, so at 4:30, as the Sun was starting to set, it would light up this white plantation-style house across the street.

40. Reading my friends’ blogs *

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

I am so glad that I have more friends who blog now! Back when I first started blogging, I was pretty much the only one. But now I can keep up with many of my friends via their blogs and I love it, (I’ll say it again,) especially now that I am so far away.

My friends write about their days, ins and outs, ups and downs.

39. Going to a wedding **

Saturday, December 13th, 2008

Weddings are amazing. Every single one. I can’t hear wedding vows without remembering my wedding day and the promises Rob and I made. I am, for some reason, having a hard time finding the words for the feelings I have at a wedding. Of course it’s joy, for the couple, for their new life together, for the joys they will enjoy together, for the strength I hope they each find in each other. But there’s something more I can’t put my finger one.

38. Gumball trees *

Friday, December 12th, 2008

I am starting to realize how many of the items on this list take me back to my childhood, because this is yet another thing that makes me happy from that time in my life. Item #37, dogwood trees, comes from when my family lived in Neosho, but the source of my gumball tree joy comes from before then, when we lived in Overland Park.

37. Dogwood trees *

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Neosho is famous for its dogwood trees with their white and pink blooms floating like clouds down Oak Ridge Drive, starting in early spring and lasting for several beautiful weeks. Residents and visitors alike enjoy the dogwoods during the annual Dogwood Tour, and there’s even a 5k race [DOC file] to celebrate the event (who’s running it with me next time?!).

36. Finding a quote that speaks to me **

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

I really don’t know when it started because for as long as I can remember, I have loved reading and “collecting” quotes. First, started writing them in a specially purchased, beautiful diary. Later, I moved them to Google Notebook, and now, in true Web 2.0 fashion, I’m migrating my quote collection to Diigo (slowly).