Five things that are making me happy:
- Hosting Yu, the same Japanese exchange student who visited with us last year. And since my son attended his high school last summer, this is now the third time that these two boys have hung out. Also, when we first pulled into our driveway, he said, “Home.”
- Skyping with Yu’s family. He’s from Sapporo, and his father ran outside to take an iPad movie of the exterior of his house and the snowy street. There was two meters of fluffy white snow! Very cool.
- Pinterest. It’s a constant source of ideas and inspiration for me. I have a vintage library card catalog that’s been relegated to the basement. I saw an idea on Pinterest to add a mirrored top, which I think I think is genius! (My card catalog has no top, as it’s meant to be stacked.)
- Having a handy husband. I drove the boys to the Oregon coast and back again yesterday, to came home and find that my husband had installed the new/vintage soap dish tile in the shower. My younger son was horrified to find that it was held in place with his special zebra striped duct tape, but I was just happy to cross this chore from my to-do list.
- The feeling of freshly scrubbed feet and freshly shaved legs. Add a big dollop of lotion, and the clean tingly feeling is better than ice cream in July.
One thing that’s pissing me off:
- Food packaging. I just dropped our plastics recycling off on Thursday, yet our bin is almost full again.
Now you. What’s making you happy, and conversely what’s pissing you off? Please share your answers in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
Happiness is:
1. A hot cup of Lady Grey Tea
2. Donating holiday tchotchkes that have been clogging my closets to a White Elephant Sale to benefit a non-profit.
3. The holidays are over and my routine is back to normal.
4. Getting in some time on the treadmill, a great stress reliever.
5. My husband doing the laundry, (he’s definitely a keeper!)
Argh!
Having to write an actual letter to companies to stop the endless flow of catalogs. Calling means waiting in too long of a phone queue, and some don’t have a way to unsubscribe via their websites. It’s 2013 people, get with the program!
Could you tell me how the white elephant sale works? It sounds interesting. Is it simply a sale with donated white elephant gifts or is there more to it? Thanks.
Yes, the items are usually white elephant gifts, except in this case they are being sold and the money goes to help support the club or charity rather than just people exchanging the gifts. It’s fun and sometimes you can get something you want at a really good price. My mom’s group does theirs as a silent auction and the proceeds benefit her club for their activities.
Have you heard of Catalog Choice? https://www.catalogchoice.org/ They claim to unsubscribe you to things…I tried it a while back, and I *think* it worked for me, but then I moved and fell off a bunch of catalog’s mailing lists. Minimally it’s easier than writing letters!
I didn’t know about them. I’ll give it a try. Thanks for the tip. You may have turned my “Argh” into a smile!
Happies:
1) A free bowl of fresh fruit, courtesy of my office at work (honeydew melon and pineapple atm, already cut!)
2) A silver and teal Christmas gift bag left on my desk by my boss
3) Anticipation of the LAST book in a 15-book, 1,000-page-each-book series being released TOMORROW
4) Chai tea. Yum.
5) Wearing a blazer from American Eagle, that I bought for wayyy too much money in HS (10+ years ago), still fitting. And being quite fashionable. So it makes the $$ worth it now.
Pissing me off:
1) Bought a pair of shoes yesterday from a resale shop. For $10. Totally what I wanted. Fit great. Looked nearly brand new. And they are hard to walk in. My heel keeps slipping. So I’m going to bring them home and try sticking one of those heel stick-ums in the back to help it. THEY WERE NEARLY PERFECT.
1) My newly-reorganized pantry (with neat recycled glass canisters to keep my bulk products in)
2) Finding some used/upcycled items to redecorate my bathroom with. The decor in there right now is…beige. I’m upgrading to blackberry!
3) Getting an A on my first assignment for my Masters program! ^_^
4) Back to my daily bento lunches! (Hey, the only way I’m going to make myself pack healthy lunches every day is by making them cute!)
5) My awesomely pretty countertop compost bin given to me by my mother for Christmas. No more garbage bowl!!!
#@%&!) My kitchen counters. How in the WORLD can they be clean one day, and completely cluttered the next? @*&#$%!
We’ve applied to host a Japanese student for a month in the summer & I’m really excited! I don’t know if we are accepted yet, but the prospect is really exciting as I think it would be an amazing experience!! 🙂
Happy happy:
1) The delicious leftover spring mix salad from last night that just became lunch.
2) I spent 2 hours decluttering and reordering my nostalgia drawer (the bottom drawer of my dresser, where I dump all my cards/old artwork/yearbooks/etc) and the shelves in my armoire and easily filled a bag for donations and another bag for trash!
3) The brand new (and way bigger than we thought it would be) television that my hubby and I got as our one main Xmas present from his mom and stepdad. It’s a bit sad how much I’d missed being able to watch the news and my programs on a screen bigger than my laptop!
Booo:
1) It’s just myself and my husband in the apartment, we’ve run the dishwasher twice this week already and the kitchen counter is FULL of dirty dishes. How in the heck does it happen?!
Happies:
1 – getting to see my sister who lives 3000 miles away 4 times in 3 months, including last weekend and next weekend.
2 – these cold winter days when the sun is so bright and the snow sparkles.
3 – that I finished (today!) a shawl that has been on my knitting needles since august. wahoo!
4 – cleaning off our dining table and having space to work again.
5 – using my christmas present coffee-making beaker, and no longer burning my hands or spilling coffee all over the counter while pouring like I used to do when I made coffee into a big ball jar.
frustration nation: I can’t find shoes to wear in my wedding (in 6 weeks). I really want to buy them second hand, because it’s unlikely they’ll be something I can wear again, but the first pair I brought home looked horrid with my dress. Back to goodwill I go!
Best wishes on your upcoming wedding!
Happies:
1) the return of Downton Abbey
2) invited to dinner at a new friend’s house
3) my brother visiting from Massachusetts
4) books and cats (they go together)
5) my daughter’s upcoming theater performances (busy weekend!)
Crabbies:
1) department budget problems at work. I have been told I will be losing my overtime pay AND my assistant. Which means I get to work more than ever, and not get paid for it. Yippee. And these rules are of course mandated by people in my dept who make 4x my salary. Grrr…
Making me happy:
1) Living with my family in our cozy, cozy basement for the winter.
2) Cooking winter comfort foods.
3) Sushi. (OK, we’re buying it tomorrow)
4) Looking at pictures of the ports we sailed to last summer.
5) Playing the piano
Pissing Me Off
1) The fact that I can’t think of anything that’s pissing me off! 🙂
Happies:
1. Chatting with my Little Man as he eats a mandarin and I work
2. My freshly neatened up backyard. We spent two days cutting down dead trees and getting rid of the junk that the former owners had left behind the outbuildings.
3. My new apron that my sister got me for Christmas. It is so pretty that I don’t want to wear it, for fear of ruining it.
4. Homemade Laundry detergent! Who knew it was so easy.
5. The way my toddler falls into fits of hysterical laughter.
One thing that is pissing me off:
I cannot seem to gain traction on CLEANING– not organizing, but cleaning– my office and have ended up having to work in the kitchen, which is not the most effective place to work.
Yay: Aldi in Manhattan, and a bus from my apartment that will take me directly there!
Boo: Debt.
Smiles:
1) My kids
2) My kids’ bedtime
3) Two more weeks off from work before the Spring semester begins
4) Knowing that my 90 and 93 year old grandparents are now safely being cared for in an Assisted Living facility, as of yesterday.
5) Warm fuzzy socks and a mug of hot tea with almond milk
Pout
1) Hubby who works so much overtime. Great for us financially, but wish we could see him more.
Happy
1) Today I made two loaves of whole wheat bread, soft pretzels, pizza dough for dinner tonight and brine for a corned beef.
2) My blog has turned out to be a lot of fun and rather therapeutic.
3) I cut my sons hair today and I’m getting pretty good at it – he’s adorable no matter what but his hair looks pretty good!
4) Same son is really getting into duplos, I love Lego!
5) My Easter egger hen is laying again after molting – lovely green eggs.
Pissing me off:
1) All the errands I have to run tomorrow with a toddler in tow.
Isn’t blogging fun?! 🙂
Katy
1. Cooking new recipes with The Fresh 20
2. De-cluttering my life by doing a winter-cleaning of my closets and drawers. It feels good to get rid of things I don’t need!
3. Dunkin’ Donuts 99cent iced coffees
4. Gift cards and rebate cards that I will spend on clothes in Delaware next month
5. The Samsung Galaxy Note II….how did I organize my life bfore this?
I HATE NOT HAVING A JOB! SOMEONE HIRE ME!
Joys
1. Tuesday work schedule now starts at 9am (used to begin at 8am, YAY! Since I’m not an early morning person).
2. Working on a Valentine’s project.
3. Making sugar water for the hummingbirds.
4. Hot Green Tea with honey.
5. The COOL weather (I have my own internal heating).
Something I don’t understand…
Why don’t the floors mop and vacuum themselves? 🙂
: )
1)still haven’t turned on the heat even with the days all below freezing now.
2)I love that my roommy buys Clausen pickels because I love
Clausen pickle jars to store leftovers in the freezer.
3)It’s seven days into the new year and I haven’t spent a penny!
: (
1) I don’t think hot tea and toast represent all the necessary food groups, darn it but mmmm.
Happy:
1. Great Basque Skillet Bean recipe for dinner, made by my husband.
2. Freshly ironed curtains that I did not iron.
3. Going for a walk at lunchtime with a friend tomorrow.
4. Did well with a challenge at work. Proud of myself.
5. Silly teenage boys who play practical jokes.
Grumpy:
1. Going back to school online tonight. Two more terms. Boo hiss to less family time.
I love walks with friends! And silly teenage boys? Fuggedaboutit!
Katy
Happiness is:
1. Knowing my PhD applications are finished and my recommendations are in.
2. Annie’s white cheddar and shells for dinner.
3. homemade laundry detergent.
4. Knowing I still have two more weeks of vacation until the next semester starts.
Pissing me off is:
1. Having to wait till April to see if I got into any of the schools I applied to.
2. The flu that has infected my husband.
3. Knowing that I only have two more weeks to get my syllabi done and posted for my classes!
I have some happys to add:
Someone quite expertly changed the “STOP” signs at 39th & Glisan to “POOP” signs. I could not stop laughing.
I finally dropped off a couple of things at my son’s old middle school. I had felt bad about delaying this chore, and as a reward I found 21¢ outside the school!
I did so much cooking, laundering and chore-ing today that tomorrow can be filled with fun activities.
I cashed in my change at the credit union today and it turns out that I found exactly 365 pennies last year! In-freaking-sane!
The one Malcolm Gladwell book that I haven’t read is waiting for me at the library, an audio book form!
And one pissed off:
There is a big ruler stuck in my desk drawer that’s making it impossible to open up the drawer. This means that I can’t get to the card that allows me to download photos from my camera. Blarg!
Katy
We all need to see this POOP converted STOP sign – how about an instagram! lol
I tried to get my camera out, but there was traffic behind me, and the signs have since been converted back to their normal selves. 🙁
Katy
Positives:
– episode 1 of season 3 of Downton Abbey. Love it!
– hubby picked up a dresser at Ikea that seems to always been out of stock since September. My daughter’s room is now complete.
– delicious homemade black bean soup for dinner, again!
– feeling energized to declutter, after all, spring is coming!
– boss said “yes” to vacation time I asked for.
Negative:
The dog is very lame and requires expensive surgery. 🙁
sarah from #9: the way you get so many dishes with just the two of you might just be that you actually cook instead of warming the contents of boxes and cans. 🙂
joys:
two of my best students are signing up for more sewing lessons. i love sharing my skills. 🙂
i am working on an art quilt that is, thus far, turning out the way i envisioned it. 🙂
the ironing is finished…until next laundry day. >:-|
concerns:
how am i ever going to get my townhouse garden put to bed and my plot at the community garden. they produced well, but life intervened and now they are soooo overgrown and dead that a steven king movie could be filmed in them. 🙁
i remain stumped on converting a feather bed and a roll of foam into an angled diningroom window seat that is actually comfortable to sit on and might double as a bed. containing those feathers is a challenge, as is marrying the materials when the work must be done by hand. 🙁
Went to the drugstore to get more cough medicine (the cough is the pisser) and discovered a ton of art supplies in the holiday clearance section. Birthday presents for the two upcoming parties, done, for pennies.
Happy:
1) A leisurely breakfast of eggnog French toast, turkey bacon and Lady Grey tea.
2) A day home alone to work out my goals and intentions for the coming year
3) a beautiful sunrise just starting
4) Carpooled to work yesterday and am staying home today, so I have achieved my goal of 2 days without driving this week.
5) a week ahead full of gatherings with friends
Unhappy:
1) a slightly sore throat and stuffed up head making me fear that I am incubating a cold
Happies
1. A home exchange offer from a couple in France.
2. Discovering James Fenimore Cooper over Christmas.
3. Setting up a lunch with my former boss who will give me great advice.
4. My toddler is really talking up a storm after saying nary a word for the first two years.
5. My husband who just might be the most wonderful man in the world.
Pissies
1. The mystery that is my fertility. I don’t know what frustrates me more, not being pregnant when I want to be or my impatience with my own body for not being pregnant.
Happy
1. I recently just paid off my student loan!!
2. My boyfriend cleared out/organized our very tiny and what was a very cluttery apartment entrance
3. I’m very close to moving from a contract position to full time
4. Relaxing my high energy dog by burying him in blankets while I watch a movie (he loves it!)
5. Finally mastering making fry bread from scratch
Pissed
1. My passport expired and I FINALLY got around to getting my photos taken and then lost them 🙁
Let see……
1. The Packers won their first playoff game to the Vikings!!
2. We have started of 2013 with no one being sick or needing surgery. Last year both our daughter and my husband had to have surgeries. Our daughters was a tonsillectomy, my husbands was rather serious and unusual but all turned out good!!!
3. I’m going to see Rascal Flats in 2 days!!
4. We have had 2 days of over 30 degrees and we’re suppose to be in the 40’s on Thursday. This is almost unheard of in the UP of MI!!
Obviously there are many other things that make me happy, but that’s it for my list.
One thing pissing me off is that even though my hair doesn’t seem to be getting any longer the gray hair at the roots always seem to make an appearance a few weeks after I dye it.
happy:
1 Two tables on the curb last weekend that are now mine.
2 Cold milk
3 Talking to my daughter
4 New curling iron so I don’t have flat hair like I had all week.
5 I quit biting my nails about 25 years ago, and looking at my unbitten nails makes me deliriously happy even to this day.
not happy:
1 Devil Dog is coming over and chasing my hens.
2 All this rain with prediction of ten more days of rain.
3 Upcoming surgeries.