It’s time again for Five Things That Make Me Happy And One Thing That’s Pissing Me Off. Why add the “One Thing That’s Pissing Me Off?” Because I’m a realist, that’s why.
Five things that make me happy
- My neighbor and I enjoyed a lovely walk plus brunch this morning, which was her way of thanking me for watching her cats while she was out of town. I suffered through terrible horrible no good very bad next door neighbors for an entire decade, but was later rewarded with the loveliest people!
- The Oregon sunshine has finally emerged from its perpetual cloud cover, and our blooming gardens are a sight to behold. Pale and bleary eyed Portlanders have emerged from their homes to greedily soak up the vitamin D, and citizens all across our dreary city are remembering why we live here.
- My husband and I each get paid every other Friday, which means that April is going to be a five paycheck month! Excellent timing too, since we just paid out a whopper amount for our older son’s college tuition plus room and board.
- The Happier podcast from Gretchen Rubin and her sister Elizabeth Craft. I really enjoy listening to these disparate sisters discuss happiness, habits and human nature. As much as I’d like to be an upholder, I’m a rebel, but am coming around to the positive aspects of my imbedded personality. (I insist on constantly reinventing the wheel, but as a result I often get a better wheel.)
- I finished my two-day work week yesterday, and don’t work again until next Thursday. Yes, my RN hospital shifts are long, but the days off make it worth being gone all day.
One thing that’s pissing me off
- The squirrels in my backyard ate through my rope clothesline, which means that I’m going to have to buy a plastic one, which annoys me since I hate to A) buy anything unnecessary, and B) buy plastic. Good thing those rascally critter are cute!
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.”
{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
The squirrels in my yard run across the top of my house all hours of the night keeping me awake. They are cute but darn it, I’m sleepy! We are enjoying some nice sunshine right now after some pretty heavy storms. I’m just hoping it washed away some of the pollen, as I am an allergy sufferer. It doesn’t snow in Mississippi, it “pollens”. Everything here is covered in a thick neon yellow powder**sigh, I digress. It’s great to have nice weather, good you are enjoying it.
I feel for you regarding the squirrel! I have one that’s apparently trying to tunnel is way into my house, for whatever reason. I keep sprinkling cinnamon on the board where’s he’s tunneling. We’re going to have to put metal boards around the sides of our front door to keep him from destroying it. Those little buggers are evil!
1) I shopped at the Library today picking up two more audiobooks and dropping off one that I finished.
2) I scored a stoneware tortilla warmer at Goodwill yesterday, plus two Jane Austin novels.
3) I have tomorrow off. I’m so excited to get a 3 day weekend and get to spend two days at a wildcrafting festival with my friends. It’s going to be a blast.
4) We had pizza for dinner last night, so plenty of leftovers tonight.
5) I’m thankful gas prices are still at $1.89 a gallon at the station I frequent. It certainly has helped me save on my commute.
You can make a rope out of plastic bags. FREE! and fun. Google it.
Wow! Love this idea.
1. Painted my $5 chairs white with spray paint i bought at WM with the price match guarantee. Menards is 4 miles south and WM is a few blocks out of my way on my way home from work.
2. Been making chiicken meals all week because of the weekend chicken tenders sale at Aldis last week.
3. Resisted buying fabric for a back of the couch quilt by looking through my fabric stash.
4. This is my 4th week of ebay selling. Haven’t done it for a year or so. It’s been going well. Helps my post office is 8 blocks away.
5. Decided to repurpose a trash picked dresser for my tv stand. Plan on getting it from my daughter’s house and painting it tomorrow.
What pisses me off:
Even with dental insurance, my copay was $180 for recent dental work.
Debra, I sell on ebay too…just wanted to share that you can request a free carrier pickup through the usps.com website and your mail carrier will pick up your packages for free 🙂
Hi. I sell on ebay also. The only time I had a problem with shipping was when I requested a carrier pickup. It is not your regular postal carrier that picks up, and unless you are home to hand it to the carrier and have a S.C.A.N. form, I would walk the 8 blocks. Be sure to not just leave boxes for pick up.
We are having the same beautiful sunny weather (after an extraordinarily wet fall/winter) here in Seattle too, and my 14 year old son and I took a walk yesterday. He covered his eyes and said “the sun is brighter than I remember”. I’m sure you can relate!!
The squirrels in my yard chewed through my windshield washer fluid tube under my carhood!
While my daughter had my car for college use, squirrels got under the hood, chewed almost all the way through the automatic transmission wires, and it cost $500 to repair. Not covered by warranty. Now she hates squirrels.
1. I found a dollar on the ground yesterday.
2. I made a cobbler out of apples that were going bad on the counter and bits of various bags of fruit from the freezer. It was delicious!
3. Read a new book with an interesting diet that I think I will try. I don’t usually get into fad diets. I can’t do all the things that are recommended in the book but I like the overall concept. Hopefully, it will be the boost I need to get me back on track.
4. My kids made me laugh on the way home singing an Adele song to the very top of their lungs.
5. I’m cooking some reduced chicken thighs with just simple lemon pepper seasoning and some lemons I cut up and froze last year. Love it when I can see my efforts pay off!
One thing that is pissing me off is all the politics every time I get some spare time to watch TV, ugh!
1. It’s spring break, so I am not missing work to be sick.
2. The daffodils are in bloom.
3. Both my sons, who moved back home in November (and brought a dog), now have jobs, so they can start saving to move back out.
4. I discovered James Patterson’s “Private” series. I love it when I find a new series in the library!
5. I finally figured out a way to remind myself to download the Kroger Friday Freebies each week; I clip the bit of info out of the flyer and put it next to my laptop. After I download it, I then clip it to my grocery list, to remind me to go pick it up!
Pissing me off: my son’s dog sheds everywhere and it’s always drifting around, even though she is not allowed in the house.
I ♡ all of James Patterson’s books! I’ve even read most of his young adult books.
Squirrels. Hmpfffff! Rats in fur coats is what they are! I think I would opt for the plastic-wrapped wire cable for the clothesline. Can you tell I’m not a squirrel fan?
1.) Checked out season 1 of Outlander from the library. I’ve wanted to see it since it first came out on Starz, but not bad enough to subscribe.
2.) Made cards with supplies on hand and mailed with real hand-written letters inside.
3.) Always jealous of your grocery bargains. We have no grocery competitors, so a real lack of bargains. But I figured out how to download digital coupons from our grocery for only products I need and will use and have them delivered to my phone…no forgetting paper coupons. Saved $9.33. Won’t get me on Extreme Couponers, but it’s $9.33 that stayed in my pocket.
4.) Scheduled 2 days of work per week for the next 6 to 8 weeks.
5.) Doubled recipe last night, cooked, packaged, and froze half for future meal. Cook once, eat twice…my favorite motto.
Aren’t rats in fur coats just rats?
Squirrels: fuzzy tail tree rats.
Chipmunks: brown striped rats.
Deer: tall rats, sometimes with horns.
Seagulls: flying rats.
If this Rat Chart was illustrated, I would frame it.
1. Sooooo happy my sore neck is getting better,Did way too much yoga for this getting-older body,last week.
2. Happy Gray’s Anatomy on TV in just a little while.FREE!! (Local channels I can get with my antenna!!!!!)
3. Happy I used up veggies in refrig.. stir fry over some leftover rice.Not the most gourmet meal, but hey..
4. Happy with awesome Arizona weather,breezy,warm.Bike riding weather!
5. So happy my son and his gal are happy this week.. lots of good stuff going on with them!!!
Pissed off that we keep getting so many different licensing and registration requirements letters, for having a small home business..! Yikes! Can’t we just work at home quietly!! We pay taxes..there are so many local and other requirements!!!!!!!)
1. Worked today and didn’t pay dog day care – they were full because it’s spring break – dog doesn’t seem to mind.
2. Today would have been my dad’s 93rd birthday – heard from most of my far-flung sisters.
3.Am re-working the mantle decorations post Easter and know that I will use what is here to make that happen – and be super cute.
4.Went to the library to sort a massive donation for upcoming book sale and walked away when I was overwhelmed – avoiding bad decisions.
5. Even in MN I am starting to see things beginning to sprout.
The bad thing – what are those things beginning to sprout????
Squirrels = peanuts scattered in my yard where my allergic dog can dig them up…my vet bills yikes.
1: my yard is tidy thanks to hiring a gardener (not NCA , perhaps, but supporting local economy and saving my back are good things)
2:peace of mind and not stressing over my yard
3: I managed to wash most of my floors on my hands and knees
4: kid cleaned out my car! Yay!
5: dh didn’t comp,ain about the frugal vegetarian meal I made
Thing that pissed me off – lousy neighbors. Been 8 1/2 years so I’m encouraged by you, Katy.
1. Like Katy, I am happy that our Northwest weather has taken a turn for the better. Today was so warm and sunny, everyone seemed to be smiling – including me.
2. I am also happy to have wonderful neighbors. I am good friends with the neighbor next door and the ones across the street. I don’t know what I would do without them sometimes.
3. I am glad that I am someone who truly enjoys the little things in life. I love things like doing a crossword puzzle, going to the library, walking with a group of neighbors, talking on the phone with my adult children, watching a video with my husband.
4. I am grateful that my 2 sisters are making plans to help me celebrate my birthday (in June). We are all planning to get together then which will be fun, fun, fun. Since they both live in CT, I don’t see them as often as I would like.
5. So, what has me annoyed? Well, I mentioned this once before, but I am still annoyed: our cell phone provider has notified us that they “can no longer support” use of our old model phones. I will upgrade, but, by golly, I’m going to switch providers. So there!
#5 Sounds like a bunch of baloney to me. I’ve never had anything but an old cell flip phone–for 20 years with Verizon…hope you find a great new provider soon!
We live in the country and seeing mice in the basement happens in colder weather. This year they seem intent on moving into the kitchen, and nothing messes with my head like vermin in the kitchen. They ate half my dish towels—chewed up the ones in the back of the drawer and apparently nested in them. Ok, I had a lot of those, I’ll use the shreds for rags. We have gotten 2 mice with traps but they were clever mice–they stole the bait a few times without getting caught. Now they have gone TOO FAR. We have to feed our elderly cat prescription cat food for her thyroid problems–It’s like $50 for the normal $6-7 dollar size bag. Opened the bottom drawer in the stove to get a baking pan out the other day, and the mice are apparently stealing cat food and stockpiling it for future use–my cast iron cornbread pan has the cat’s kibble in all the sections!! Now there is a mouse trap or two in that drawer—and so far, no one has gotten caught yet. I just know I’LL be the one–I’ll reach in when I’m making dinner and snap it on my fingers for sure! I HATE MICE. And the cat is no help–she used to be a good mouser but she’s over 13 now and wouldn’t run after much of anything these days.
I had evidence of a small mouse in my silverware drawer. Traps were not helping. Turns out I was using too much bait (peanut butter). A friend who knows mice told me to put a tiny tiny amount near the furthest end. Next day, success. Hope this helps.
The furthest end of the bait area.
1. After a very busy start to the year, work is having a quieter period. It feels nice to be able to work at a less frenetic pace.
2. My garden is full of new plants.
3. I invented a ricotta and zucchini pasta dish that the two vegetarians loved.
4. I’ve been getting up for a run almost every day this week and last week.
5. We don’t have squirrels in Australia 😉
Pissing me off is I ate way too much chocolate over Easter and now have to ‘reduce’ as they called it in the 50s. Consarnit.
1. Happy that it’s Friday night here… Reading blogs and eating gifted Easter eggs as a party for me, myself & I!
2. Am still enjoying handfuls of fresh strawberries from my plants each day – delish!
3. Having lots of fun with Stanley our new puppy – an 8 week old pug, so ugly he’s cute and way more entertaining than TV (even for my boys!)
4. Happy that I am on a roll with working through my ‘to do’ list. It’s pretty extensive stuff (not my daily to do list) and I haven’t broken it down further of I’ll get overwhelmed – So it’s a thrill to cross of some big stuff!
5. Happy that we basically only have hedgehogs, rabbits and possums in NZ (+ rats/mice). Possums are an official pest here as they destroy native plants and birdlife. Hedgehogs are great – eat the slugs & snails in my garden!
Pissing me off : we hired a large skip for our garden waste & too big rubbish (only collect rubbish (garbage) bags, paper/plastic /tins/etc.. & glass here) but people keep throwing their dog crap in it on the way past to the nearby park. Not huge amounts and better than leaving it but the basic cheek of it is annoying me!!
With all the global exchange of flora and fauna (trees, earthworms, insects, squirrels, etc.), I am really surprised hedgehogs never made it to the states (at least the non-pet ones). They are do darn cute!
Happy:
* Starting a sugar detox today and this makes me feel in control and doing something healthy to quick start my weight loss, so yay! Long way to go (100 pounds) but I am confident I can do it.
* Friday, which means week-end is starting in 3 hours for me (I work only mornings)
* Having loving in-laws/BIL/SIL (and goog neighbors!)
* My house!! Still makes me super happy 10 months after buying it! (and having sold the old house!)
Pissed :
* At myself. For letting myself getting this big and having all this weight to lose now… (with the loose skin that will surely come with it…)
* GOOD, not “goog”
Best wishes for a successful weight loss!
1. I’m happy because it’s FRIDAY and I don’t work weekends, except housecleaning, of course.
2. I kept my oldest granddaughter (10) for three days this week while her mom was out of town for work. She’s the sweetest little girl, even though I shouldn’t brag on my own grandchild. She makes me happy.
3. I’m happy that my new kitchen compost bin is working great at keeping out the fruit flies. My old method of collecting scraps did not! Not NCA to buy it new, but I’d never found any used compost collectors at all, in years.
4. I’m happy that I can keep the A/C and the heater off for a while longer.
5. I’m happy to see the cute pair of wrens nesting in the bird house we put up. Plus, they search for insects amongst our container garden plants. Good birds.
One thing pissing me off — the large, dead rat that my cat left in the living room for me to find this morning! At least it had been an outside rat and we don’t have them in the house — that much at least I can be happy about.
We re-use plastic ice cream or cookie dough tubs with secure plastic lids to collect our kitchen compost…
We tried that, but the smell still got out with the lid on. And the fruit flies dive bombed their way in every time we opened it for more than a second. We also tried keeping the scraps in the refrigerator — and got fruit flies in our refrigerator. Then we tried the freezer, but had to thaw the container to remove the contents, and then the smell and the flies began again. Part of our problem is a hot, humid climate and bringing in our garden produce, which usually brings in a fruit fly or two with it. My husband begged me to give it up and buy a good compost container.
I use large cookie jars, or flour jars, the kind people sometimes keep out on the counter. We do have to empty it pretty much every day, because we eat a lot of fresh food and coffee.
That’s what I use too – no smell when closed & insect-proof. We empty everyday also, no use keeping it inside for longer than necessary as the worms can’t do their thing till they get it!!
Why not brag on your own grandkids, JD? That’s what they’re for!
Five things making me happy:
1. Springtime! After a long, wet, gloomy winter, we are at last having days with sunshine and breezes. It’s been great to have the windows open for free air conditioning.
2. Our big folding drying rack, which makes doing laundry so much easier. This was especially important this week while the dryer was kaput.
3. My tiny econo-box car, which fits into the spaces at work parking that people can’t get their behemoth trucks and SUVs into. It’s difficult to find a parking place due to high demand and the wee car makes it easier. And it needs a fill-up only every two and a half weeks.
4. Our local thrift shops, which provide half my wardrobe and half my husband’s work clothes at a pittance, and our purchases support great causes. The Mister looked especially spiffy this week in his latest “new’ dress shirt.
5. Coffee from the clearance rack at the grocery store. $3.99 a package for excellent java? Yes!
One thing that’s pissing me off:
Broken down office equipment at work. I was on the very end of the hand-me down chain and have an ancient PC so slow it takes 15 minutes to send an e-mail, a printer that doesn’t work, and a phone that’s half-broken. Have been using my own phone, brought my printer (can’t bill the clients if we can’t print their statements) and scanner from home as a temporary measure, and have fired off a flurry of e-mails to get things fixed.
1. Watching my indoor cats chatter at the birds outside through the windows.
2. Seeing the biggest red headed woodpecker I’ve ever seen hop up my tree just outside of the window.
3. Eating fresh eggs given to me at work.
4. A surprise gift of a globe from my son: he knew my Dad and I loved globes when I was a child, and I received it the day I got home from Dad’s funeral.
5. Planning my new garden bed!
Yuck: I ate too much fast food on the trip.
#4 — that was so sweet!
Agreed!
I really like Gretchen’s podcast, too. And her books; I’ve bought them all (except the one I got for free). I’m an upholder. And I think I have a rebel daughter and I totally don’t know what to do with her!
I have one rebel son, and it’s a challenge for sure!
1. Had 2.5 weeks holidays for Easter from work
2. Weather was lovely and dry and we were out everyday
3. Spent full 2.5 weeks at home with my 2 year old son & husband bringing him to the park, for walks and to meet friends and family.
4. Sister cooked a lovely healthy lunch for me today
5. Husband cooked delicious stir fry for dinner this evening and there is even enough for tomorrow..
6. Don’t think anything pissed me off this week apart from the rain arriving today!! Can’t change the weather unfortunately :-))
Are squirrels an emerging problem everywhere or are they just cute pests? To recount this winter’s adventures: two squirrels got into our house through the three story high chimney and down into the fireplace which we fortunately have glassed in: one of them stayed with us for a couple of days until our pets showed us where it was hiding and we managed to shoo him out. Anther pair was found in our car – we had inadvertently left the back window open a crack and somehow they got in. Our beagle felt this was her opportunity to take one down so only one lived to tell the sad tale of a potential new home base thwarted. Our neighborhood newspaper called them a “neighborhood problem” so I assume others are facing the same difficulty. No solution was identified unless you count plastic clotheslines and closed car windows.
Good Luck to all in finding a solution for this problem which is both pissing me off and a source of much amusement.
Making Me Happy:
1. My husband has been much better lately about being active and eating better. I now have an evening walking partner and he is losing weight. That should keep him around longer and he can already fit in many clothes that he had outgrown.
2. The weather has been reasonable. That combined with the additional daylight has been good for my psyche.
3. I have downloaded a lot of library books lately. It’s so handy to have them all on my Kindle. I also love the library for borrowing DVDs.
4. Next week I will have the chance to spend a couple days with my sister. It can be difficult living far from your family.
5. My daughter brought me home most of a vegetable tray that was left as the result of an April Fool’s joke. I ate the tomatoes and froze the broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. Also yesterday I made soup to use stuff hanging around the refrigerator and freezer. I’ve made soup so many time that I often don’t use a recipe.
Pissing Me Off:
My favorite neighbors will be moving away this summer and one of my good friends is planning to move far away in the near future. I know new people will come into my life but both of these are hitting me hard.
Making me happy:
1) My son’s 7th bday party went well yesterday. Homemade cake, waffle bar, goodie bags with a mixture of DIY treats and dollar store trinkets, entertainment was dragging our entire collection of legos in to the living room and letting the kids play. I haven’t added up the cost yet but it is well below taking them to the bouncy place.
2) Benefits of having the party at home, the house is clean. Also, I have cake.
Pissing me off
It SNOWED yesterday and last night. SNOW….ahhhgh!
Oh and I love the podcast Happier too. I’m an obliger. Knowing your a rebel actually makes the blog make more sense in a way I didn’t realize until I knew you were a rebel. Very interesting.
I don’t like doing things that I’m “supposed to do,” for the sake of tradition. It’s freeing, but also frustrating as life would be easier if I didn’t question every little decision that came my way. It’s why I don’t wear makeup, shave my legs more than a few times per year and I’d rather garbage pick than go online shopping.
Why not a metal cable clothesline?
I wouldn’t want rust that could get on our clothes.