Five Things That Make Me Happy
- This picture of my now 17-year-old son holding a photo of his three-month-old self. It’s all the parenting emotions wrapped up into a single image.
- Having a Grocery Outlet store that’s an easy errand after dropping my son at school. I bought three full bags of food this morning for the low, low price of $38.99. This included normally expensive Columbus brand lunch meat, 20¢ yogurts, nice canned tomatoes, crackers and cheese and 25¢ tetra packs of chicken stock which I’ll keep on hand for the next food drive. Compare this to New Seasons Market (locally owned, on par with Whole Foods) which tends to run $50 per bag of groceries. Great quality food that allows me to stay on budget is a huge happiness factor for me!
- Living in an urban neighborhood that’s 100% walkable for almost everything we need. Whether it’s the library, consignment shop, grocery store, art supply store, food carts, movie theater, bookstore or
head shopsGoodwill, it’s easy to get to everything we need without starting up the car. (I joke that we live in the head shop district, as there are four, count ’em four head shops within a few blocks of our house!) We bought our fixer-upper back in 1996, and there’s no freaking way we could afford to buy our house in today’s real estate market. - My son is taking photography this year, and we were thinking we’d need to source a 35mm camera for him. But I remembered this morning that I actually already had one that my husband gave me as a gift in 1988. We’ll shoot a roll of film first to make sure it doesn’t require any maintenance, but my son should now be good to go.
- I get to go see my friend Greta Michelfeld’s semi-autobiographical film today as part of the Portland Film Festival. Sadly she lives in Queens, NY and won’t be able to attend her own movie premier, as it’s her son’s first week of school. However, I’m going with my mother and we’re going to cheer for her, hopefully in a way that reaches 3200 miles across the United States. It’s called As Good As You, and it’s getting amazing buzz!
One Thing That’s Pissing Me Off
- I’m fighting a dreadful headache this morning. I worked both Monday and Tuesday, which is a very dehydrating thing to do. (Nurses don’t have time to stay hydrated, and if they were to drink a normal amount, they certainly wouldn’t have time to use the bathroom!) I forgot to make up for it yesterday which is resulting in the feeling that someone inserted a ball of hot lava behind my left eyeball.
Now your turn. What’s making you happy, and conversely what’s pissing you off?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
I know what you mean about not drinking enough at work. It is the same at school. You barely have time to pee as well. I hope your headache goes away.
Thanks. I think the Ibuprofen is kicking in.
It’s my kiddos first week as a kindergartener and I am beyond ecstatic that the school we picked is very obviously the right one for him – and for us.
Thrilled that the morning commute to said school isn’t as bad or as difficult as I feared it would be (I have to take a freeway then a highway to get there).
Really liking having pitchers of iced tea in the fridge that I make by pouring my leftover morning teas into them. Quite a tasty flavor combo.
Our apple tree is producing heavily this fall – which is awesome since we love apples around here. Can’t wait till our new pink lady apple tree produces next year.
Husband is working from home tomorrow ❤️
The thing that’s pissing me off is also making be unbearably sad. Syria. Refugees. Babies. How many lives are lost before government leaders start doing something? And whoever thought it would be Germany leading the way in compassion?
Oh, yum! Pink Ladies are my absolute FAVE!! Enjoy!
1. Being able to spend time with our adopted daughter and granddaughter.
2. My youngest daughter’s kind heart.
3. A job I love (school librarian).
4. Air conditioning…..!!!!
5. Having dinner at the park tonight, so I don’t have to cook.
Pissing me off: people who think police lives are expendable and a good way to get attention to their cause
Aw, look at those adorable chubby cheeks and chubby arms! And he’s growing up to be quite a handsome young fellow.
Five things that are making me happy:
1. My husband got a call from a recruiter for a job that sounds right up his alley.
2. I had a call from the division that took over my old place of employment about a possible part-time position with them. Since the Mister and I are not working right now, that’s all a very good thing. Part-time/occasional is all I really want to work because I save a lot of money by doing black belt frugality at home.
3. Gave my dogs a bath and tested out a small amount of Dr. Bronner’s almond castile soap on Allergy Dog. She did not react and is happily snoozing at my feet. Dr. B’s is way less expensive than the hypoallergenic shampoo we were buying from the vet. (Much of my life revolves around trying to keep this poor dog from scratching herself raw.)
4. Been making and really enjoying homemade rye bread.
5. Had six total no-spending days at the end of August and am aiming for another stretch like that this week.
Nothing is pissing me off. Life is good and the road is open before us. 🙂
5.
5 things that are making me happy:
* My daughter adapting really well to school, and my youngest being ok by herself at daycare
* The in-laws coming to visit for the long weekend. I love them dearly
* Getting 350 grams of olives and 5 pounds of oranges for free because of prices errors
* My new house. It’s just perfect for us, quiet neighborhood, beautiful house, friends next door for the kids, enjoyable backyard, etc
* Having a gym membership that cost me only 120$ for the whole year
Pissing me off:
* Our old house that is still on the market after 2.5 months. Costing us about 800$/month to keep this empty house, and we are starting to see a big dip in our emergency savings…. Might have to pick up more hours at work until it sells (if possible) = less quality of life for the whole family. Depressing,
1. We have to replace our hot water heater and the local energy company is offering a $550 rebate on an energy efficient model which makes it cheaper than the regular kind.
2. Leaves on the ground promising cooler weather ahead.
3. Tried out a new (frugal) recipe from Budget Bytes website, it was delicious and cheap.
4. Getting a text from my daughter who’s off at college and knowing she’s doing great.
5. Found a $5 bill in a pair of pants that I bought from Goodwill. Score!!
One thing pissing me off is leaky pipes leading to a torn out ceiling.
Five things that are making me happy:
1. I had lunch with a friend today. She made sandwiches at home so it frugal. As we’ve been friends for fifteen years that kind of thing is perfect for us.
2. I finished knitting a toddler sweater. I used yarn and buttons that I had. Several people complimented the sweater. If it does not sell during a charitable fund raiser it will be donated to a group that puts together layette kits for under-privileged new mothers. I belong to a great group that does charity knitting/crocheting. I love our weekly get-togethers.
3. A friend’s daughter had a successful surgery yesterday. She had thyroid cancer surgery and by waiting a few months for a special surgeon to be available she was able to have just part of her thyroid removed and should be able to avoid needing to take synthetic thyroid medication. They did not see any signs of the cancer spreading.
4. My teenage daughter is very responsible. She thinks she has to keep her parents in line. We just smile and let her have her say. She also has a heart of gold.
5. There are swallowtail butterflies on the butterfly bush outside the window by my computer. They are beautiful to watch. We also saw a monarch the other day. I have left the milkweed that grows, as it is an ideal habitat for them.
One thing that is pissing me off:
I am allergic to something and I’m not sure yet what it is. A few years ago I developed an allergy to peanuts (making it hard to find snacky processed foods that I can eat. I seem to have a new allergy with the same symptoms and I’m trying to determine if it is tree nuts. If I can’t figure it out I’ll have to find an allergist (believe it or not the one I went to for peanuts did not test me for that and didn’t believe me, but she manged to test me for a bunch of other stuff, all of which were negative).
Things that make me happy:
1. My orange tabby cat Tebow.
2. Birds I see in my yard, love to birdwatching.
3. Breakfast for dinner, especially in the winter.
4. My relationship with my Lord.
5. My six healthy grandchildren!
1. Found the name of the beauty school and will schedule and appt. there to get my hair cut for $20 instead of $35 at salon.
2. Gas is down to $1.97/gal. Too bad I don’t go anywhere.
3. Dh is playing golf with the golf league at work this afternoon/evening so I had pb&j for supper.
4. Got the grocery flier for next week and will look through that.
5. Grouped my errands in a batch to save gas. So I guess I go out every now and then.
6. Thing pissing me off – I keep getting night sweats. Yuck. I’ve been period free for 4 years. Still menopause? Have appts. set up for GYN and my physical.
My friend has some wicking pajamas that she raves about for this very reason.
Eliminating gluten from my diet made all the difference in the world for me. I’m not hard core but eliminating the obvious gluten helped tremendously.
Ah, the years pass so quickly!
You are smart to savor every moment!
Who dyes their hair at a guest cottage???
I know, right?
LOL, someone on the run, changing their appearance to hide their identity!
Okay, I had heart surgery last week and I am watching way too much TV while I recover!
Things that are making me happy:
I have a job I love.
My children and DH (for the most part) are healthy.
My garden is producing great.
My bills are paid, with a tiny bit left over.
My parents are coming to visit next week for two whole weeks!
One thing pissing me off: All my hives got wax moths, so the year was pretty much a total loss. No honey and out the money for bees.
Happy things:
1. Was given 4 burritos at work today along with rice and beans. Sometimes I get leftovers – sometimes not – always a plus when I do!
2. The dog hates being crated – left him for 6 hours today with no accidents and a much calmer dog to come home to.
3. Taking my daughter to lunch for her birthday tomorrow and she has a coupon for a free lunch at Noodles and Co so that’s where we are headed.
4. Quiet long weekend at home with meals planned so no eating out necessary.
5. Realized today that through Apple TV we can watch Fox TVshows – going to binge watch Empire over the weekend!
I got nothing on being pissed off – things are good around here!!
Oh man, I know about that not being able to afford it now feelings. Sure, we could make $$ for selling in Seattle right now, but couldn’t afford to rent on the West Coast in any major cities! I remind myself of how lucky we are to have bought at the end of 2010 when I spend my weekend on home maintenance projects I’d rather not do.
1. Grateful for the use of two portable ac units borrowed from a friend after our house ac died. Temps are forecast to be in the nineties for a few more weeks around here.
2. Both foster dogs have prospective adopters. I don’t usually allow two homeless dogs to stay here at once, but how do you say no when a life is on the line? Sometimes I can’t.
3. I have such nice kids. They are back at school now and I keep hearing from others how kind they are. Makes me all squishy inside.
4. Family nearby. When I first married I thought of my in laws as my husband’s family. But they are definitely “mine” now.
5. Finally finished what should have been an easy diy job, replacing the bathroom vanity
Which leads to 6. the darn vanity cabinet! Nothing fit correctly. The wall is not straight. The cabinet was not level. The supply line was placed oddly. The re-used sink was not symmetrical. Everything, everything needed to be adjusted ever so slightly. Took two days when in theory swapping out a cabinet should take an hour or less. If it starts leaking I may set my bathroom on fire.
Things that make me happy:
1) The one month in hell i.e. baby teething seems to be coming to an end. I may have my sweet baby back soon.
2) We have eaten leftovers for the past 4 days and not one person has complained so far!
3) I didn’t have to buy my daughter a new bag for school because I dug out my old one from 1995. Vintage is so chic.
4) My husband is pretty hot. I’m one lucky gal.
5) I was sick last week and being a huge pain in the butt. The hubster decided to get me pineapple and flowers anyway.
One thing that pisses me off:
1) raisins. They are gross, my kids drop them all over the floor, and the dog won’t eat them. Now my floor is covered with doghair covered raisins…it looks like some small critter has been pooping all over my house!
Elise – please be careful, as raisins are toxic to dogs (and might cause you a significant vet bill!). Perhaps the dog is aware of their toxicity, and is trying to save you some time and money?
1. Happy that my daughter calls nearly every day just to talk and my son calls at least once a week for the same reason.
2. Enjoying the rain lately after an unusually hot and dry summer. No need to water the plants and shrubs in the yard this week. No dreading the water bill this month.
3. Glad that my husband says the only thing he wants for his birthday (tomorrow) is a dinner featuring homemade meatloaf. He’s easy to please.
4. Grateful that my best friend from high school made a real effort over the years to stay in contact. We live on opposite coasts, but she visited last month and it was wonderful to see her.
5. Lucky that I am able to work part-time and still get good health, dental and vision insurance through my employer.
The thing that’s making me very unhappy right now is the grim news from the dentist that I now need to see a periodontist. Last month, it was the endodontist, this month, the periodontist. And I am a real sissy about dental work.
1. My husband is about a week away from finishing his all day everyday work on his show car and will again be available for “joint projects.”
2. We went out to eat tonight with a coupon (88.9 degrees on my thermometor).
3. Pool party/picnic/double birthday party at my sister’s on Saturday.
4. Big estate sale and bigger yard sale very close to me tomorrow.
5. Picked up a tour book today from AAA for Florida trip in Jan or Feb so I can dream and plan.
Pissing me off:
If husband gets car fixed, I’ll have to go to a car show the weekend after Labor Day. I have to be supportive but I’ve been to car shows since 1985 and I’m tired of them!
Ugh, I remember those kinds of days when I’d work 12-14 hours straight and have no time to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom. And management thought it was silly to try and keep to meeting agendas so that attendees weren’t just prisoners of back to back meetings. Awful.
All day I thought it was Friday but now that it’s nearly bedtime, I find that I don’t mind having one more day before the weekend. Our kidling has been sick with hir first cold this week and that was pitiful but I think ze is getting better. I think these are things that make me happy.
The state of the world today makes me sad, though. The rampant racism, the difficulties in achieving any meaningful change. I love this country because I think we are capable of so much more greatness than we’re showing right now. So I hope we do change for the better.
1. Asking a person on the bus stop – Have bus arrived, wtf, if bus arrived then why I am waiting for
2. When friends tell same story 100s of times
3. When you arrive home and forget to bring something that you have to have
4. Talking to a person and he/she looks somewhere else
5. Travailing with some people which I don’t like
Yes, it is important to drink lots of water and I can see how easy it is to neglect that when you are working. Hope the headache goes away very soon. In England we call your a goodwill shops “Charity Shops” and most of our towns are over run with them. Always interesting to browse in and I donate regularly too. In our town we have 7 Charity Shops, all different charities!
Hydration at the top of my must have list. I am an early childhood teacher and it is like pulling teeth to get a potty break!
1. Working for a great company with managers who are fantastic. seriously. fantastic!
2. Having a 16yo son who is honest, respectful, funny and freakin’ cute! I am always being told by people what a wonderful kid i’m raising. (MMA helps a lot i think – he’s on his way to becoming a 2nd degree black belt).
3. Having a clothes line and a neighborhood that doesn’t care if i hang my clothes.
4. knowing that in 2 weeks, the contractor is going to start ripping apart my house to fix the damage caused by 3 weeks of snow in February. 2 new bathrooms, living room (back 1/3) and the back dormer/closet for my son. it will look so nice when finished…and….the insurance will cover all of it! 🙂
5. Having a small mortgage since i bought my house in 1997. 6 months later and we wouldn’t have been able to afford a home at all!
pissing me off?
Where do i begin….Since when did only one race/color matter? shouldn’t EVERY life matter!?! Everyone has a mother/father/family member who loves and cares for them and wants them to come home safely. I wish people would remember that when they are lining someone up on their gun sight. As a mother of someone who has been considering a life in the army or law enforcement for years, i worry that he won’t be able to fill up his squad car without being gunned down like a wild animal. Just shameful. This country is capable of so much more than violence.
I can’t imagine being on my feet for twelve hours with little to eat and drink. I’m sure you are so busy you don’t notice, but the fallout when home sounds brutal.
Five things making me happy:
1. sub jobs are starting to come in and I’m starting to make more money…no more credit card debt!
2. Tried out a couple of new recipes to start incorporating into my diet and feel all the better for it.
3. My fiance just made coffee and it’s ready…woo hoo!
4. My cat’s test came back negative recently–no more giardia!
5. Thankful for the overall feeling of calmness that has come from switching to 60 hour workweeks to 35 hour ones.
One thing pissing me off:
My cat had an all-night disco party in my bed last night, making sleep very spotty.
Of course all lives matter. Black Lives Matter is not trying to exclude other races. As someone aptly put it on Twitter, “People saying ‘Save the Rainforests’ are not saying ‘F— all other types of forests.'” Both causes are focusing on serious problems, in this case, the vastly disproportionate amount of unarmed black men (and women) shot by police officers.
The movement does not condone violence against police officers, and the man who shot the officer in Houston was not associated with the movement. Any time an officer is killed is sad, but so are the many, many more times young black men are killed, usually not being aggressive against the police.
Congrats on kicking the kitty giardia!
Just had to chime in re BLM: You’re so right. If all lives mattered, which they should, then we wouldn’t see the disproportionate responses to black men, women, and even children that we do. So BLM isn’t pointing out that black lives are more valuable, it’s that they are disproportionately less so.
It’s absolutely terrible for a LEO to be killed. Absolutely. It should be just as terrible for innocent black men, women and children to be killed when they have committed no crime: for routine traffic stops, for playing in the park, for sleeping in their beds.
Thumbs up to this. Great response.
Five things that are making me happy:
1) I finally tackled the giant stack of papers I have on my desk at work, and we hired a temp to file them all for me so I can deal with the end of the fiscal year. Yay for the reduced responsibilities at work! (Not that I like not having anything to do, but the summer here gets CRAZY. I’m talking 3 foot stacks of contracts to be dealt with. Now I just have three 3 foot stacks of paperwork to be filed, hence the temp).
2) We’re moved in to our new house enough that I feel like we’re living in a home again. We still have some boxes to unpack, but overall I think we’re about done!
3) I just took advantage of the Scholastic book program at my son’s preschool and ordered a bunch of new books. The thrift stores here rarely, if ever, have children’s books and both of my kids are avid book fans even though they can’t read yet. Even though we have a ton of books, I’m going to punch a wall if I have to read Octopus Opposites or The Foot Book again. Spending $$ on books is a better option, and I know they’ll be loved and read and cherished and eventually resemble a grubby doormat more than a book.
4) Our local grocery store recently had a deal where they were selling a multi-species meat pack for $19.99. The total price on all four packages of meat in it was $63, so I bought two and feel quite thrifty! Related- anyone have good ways to cook chicken legs? The whole leg, not just the drumstick?
5) Rabbit hunting season is open again, so my husband went out with his friend yesterday and brought home 10 rabbits and a few birds. This is by far the cheapest meat we can get, as we buy shotgun ammo in bulk and it costs us about 5 cents per round. Hubby’s friend provides the truck and gas, Hubby provides the ammo, and it ends up being about 45 cents per rabbit. Way cheaper than grocery store meat, and my kids LOVE it.
One thing that’s pissing me off:
1) We’re sinking back down into debt, mostly thanks to buying a house and immediately having two ER bills land on us, along with tuition, books, closing costs and other bills that drained our house fund, savings account, emergency account, and don’t-touch-it-unless-the-sky-is-falling accounts.
I agree with Carol M- the “Black Lives Matter” movement isn’t about discounting the lives of people of other races, it’s about bringing attention to the disproportionate number of deaths in the black community at the hands of police officers. It’s unfortunate that some people are using it as a smokescreen to commit violent acts against police officers, but this is a major issue that needs to be brought to light.
i would be surprised if an old film camera is acceptable for class. They likely are teaching digital photography – not film photography with dark rooms, chemical processing, etc. You’ll need to get him a DSLR with a removable lens (not a point and push).
My 5 Happy Things:
1) An amazing hubby whom I love to pieces….and he feels the same! 😉
2) My 2 Furry-babies! I look so forward to getting home from work each day because no matter what, the world absolutely STOPS when Mom walks in the door!
3) A loyal, caring, passionate BFF of 6 years- I can always, always count on her!
4) My other BFF of 25 years is coming to visit for about 2 weeks and I can’t wait! He lives in Hawaii and doesn’t get hone (where I live and he is from) nearly as much as I’d like!
5) The relationship my hubby had with both of my BFFs is awesome! Especially considering one is a guy could make things tricky if he were the jealous type or they didn’t like each other!
The Negative – I am no longer happy WHERE I work….I LOVE my actual job, just not what the school I work at has become. 🙁 Changes are “acoming” soon!
My husband retired earlier this year. We planned for years, so that we would have no mortgage payments and no car loans. And we succeeded! We do set aside funds every month for the property taxes to be paid in full (discount for paying in this manner).