What Makes Me Happy

by Katy on October 4, 2008 · 8 comments

 

 

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 from Goodwill.
  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.
What makes you happy? Tell us your list in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Kel October 4, 2008 at 2:17 am

hi katy. been looking at your blog for a few days, i think i found you from a comment on no waste??? and blog hopped over. i like your blog, your humour, your zest and i really like your list. its lovely. My most happy inducing things at the moment is the laugh from my baby which comes complete with a scrunched nose, my 13 y/o sharing things with me i would have never shared with my mother and my 10 y/o is at a sleep over!
kel

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Kristen October 4, 2008 at 7:32 am

What a great list, Katy! My husband has a job in the health sector(he works in IT for a healthcare company), so that is certainly something that makes us happy.

Do you mind if I borrow your idea and do a post like this on my blog? I won’t have time today, though, because what is currently making me happy is two free tickets to Six Flags for my hubby and me to use today(and babysitting for four children is making me happy too!). I posted about it on my blog.

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Kristen@TheFrugalGirl October 4, 2008 at 7:34 am

Hmm…I don’t know why my name didn’t link to my blog. I keep having this problem since I switched to my own server. I think I’ve fixed it in this comment, though! lol

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Andy October 4, 2008 at 1:25 pm

You should have added a 51. Being able to list 50 things that make you happy. I think most people are often too miserable to take the time to count a lot of happy things, but your list is fabulous!

Here’s some of my happiest things…
1. I don’t own a car, which means I get an hour work out bike commuting through a valley to work and back.
2. I work for an organization which gets more business as gas prices increase. It’s a non-profit carshare.
3. The farm I volunteer on twice a week in exchange for food picked over 500 pounds of tomatoes last week, of which I have frozen or dried nearly 50 pounds of since we were unable to sell enough, even at 50 cents per pound for organic heirloom tomatoes!
4. Today I biked to the farmers market and bought 8 quarts of local plums that will soon be fruit leather to enjoy this winter. Biking them back up the hill was my workout for the day
5. I also biked to 3 different open houses as part of the Green Building tour. I was happy that 2 of them were very green and hyperconscious of every aspect they chose to modify in their house.

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Peggy October 4, 2008 at 5:06 pm

I love this “list” idea. It is a great way to slow down and ponder the good things in one’s life, things we might be too busy or harried to consider otherwise. So, thank you for this inspiration!

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Alison October 4, 2008 at 6:58 pm

You’re awesome, Katy. Thanks for sharing and congratulations!

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Caroline October 5, 2008 at 1:49 am

Ahhh, great post. The things that make me happy include;

– bantering with the everlovin’
– giving/receiving affection from our foster cat of the moment
– buying our food at local farms
– reading a great book
– learning something new

it’s always the simplest, most basic things that make me happiest.

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