What Makes Me Happy

The following is from a previously published column. Enjoy!

I am happy.

I am a happy person with a great life. And no, it’s not dependent on the price of gasoline.

Here’s what’s currently making me happy:

1. I didn’t have to work today.
2. Dinner tonight was healthy, cheap and well received, (pizza from scratch).
3. I did most of the dishes, but no one cares if I finish up tomorrow.
4. Both my kids had friends over after school today, and there was only minimal whining about no video games.
5. My 12-year-old has been drawing more since I took away said video games.
6. I have four great movies from the library right now, and three whole weeks to watch them. (Juno, Charlie Bartlett, Extras: Series Finale and Star Trek: Enterprise, the Second Season.)
7. I gleaned a perfect Swiffer today from a neighbor’s garbage pile. I can use it with towel rags, which work perfectly.
8. My husband just got his dream job, which he’s been working towards for eight years.
9. The rock wall in my backyard is almost done.
10. I was able to get all the rocks for free from craigslist.
11. I picked up a check for $92 from the children’s consignment shop today, for clothes I had dropped off months ago and forgotten about.
12. I can beat my book-smart older sister at online Scrabble. Sometimes.
13. I played the word, “egads” today for 34 points. Egads is simply a terrific word.
14. I can beat my ten-year-old at Sorry, and he doesn’t cry or pitch a fit.
15. I got four beautiful zucchini from my friend Nadine, and have worked them into dinner two nights in a row.
16. I went to The Dollar Tree store today for shampoo and conditioner, and nothing else snuck its way into my basket.
17. The book my ten-year-old son wants read to him at night, is actually really good. (The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan.)
18. I am reading a great, funny book from the library right now, and it can easily be enjoyed in short spurts. (The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World., by A.J. Jacobs.)
19. My pants are kind of loose around the waist, (although it may simply be because they were line dried.)
20. My mom lives in town and was able to drop by today for a cup of tea and a homemade muffin.
21. I found a great second hand birthday present for my little sister at the consignment shop for only $2.
22. The humidity from all the rain meant my 12-year-old’s thick, platinum blond hair was all wavy with curls at the bottom. Like when he was a toddler.
23. My husband took the kids to a nighttime soccer game in the pouring rain. And let me stay home, warm and dry.
24. When the news on NPR got to be too much today, there was great music playing on the other stations.
25. Both my sons are still really snuggly.
26. No one has found out yet where I hid the video game system. Although they may have found a few holiday gifts.
27. We only produced half a grocery bag of garbage last week.
28. Apparently having a swanky grocery store being built up the block will increase the value of our house “up to 17%,” according to an article in the newspaper.
29. It’s flannel sheets weather, and I love my Garnet Hill flannel sheets. (Purchased pre-Compact.)
30. I’m suddenly back in touch with almost everyone I went to college with, and we’re all much more bearable now. Pretty much.
31. I have a job in the health sector, which is pretty much immune to economic roller coaster rides.
32. My neighbors will stop to have a chat, even in the pouring rain.
33. I have wonderful friends, who bring me garden surplus. And are always happy to stop in for a cup of tea, and maybe a scone.
34. No one in my family gives a rat’s tuchus that all their clothing comes fromGoodwill.
35. I have seat warmers in both my cars.
36. I still have lettuce growing my my wheelbarrow.
37. My couch is long enough to fully stretch out on. 
38. My four-year-old $45 washing machine is still going strong. (Yeah, craigslist!)
39. Both my kids eat a wide variety of foods, even if it’s just a no-thank-you-bite.
40. The Japanese teacher we hosted a few years ago is pregnant with a boy. And she’s going to be an incredible mother.
41. She once told me that Japanese mothers don’t kiss their kids as much as I do, (my kids are irresistible!) but she had decided it was something she would do.
42. Wool socks.
43. Having neighbors that admire my clothesline, instead of reporting me to a homeowner association.
44. The friends, (Max and Julia) I’ve made through being part of The Compact. (Buy nothing new!)
45. Being able to say I turned down an offer to be on the reality TV show Wife Swap.
46. Knowing I have regular Non-Consumer Advocate readers in Tanzania, The Czech Republic, Canada, England, Scotland, Australia and France.
47. Singing the Sisters song along with my Puppini Sisters CD. Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters!
48. Being 40-years-old.
49. Knowing, that by choosing to buy nothing new, I am not contributing to all the environmental mess that comes from unnecessary manufacturing.
50. The health of my family and loved ones.

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