Things That Make Me Happy #17

Swimming. Love the sun, love the water. Just love, love, love it. If only it made sense to turn our whole backyard into a sandy "beach"....

Things That Make Me Happy #16

Chick Fil A's milkshakes. Particularly the cookies 'n cream and mint cookies 'n cream shakes. Yummm-o!

Things That Make Me Happy #15

A good country song. I mean one of those that has lyrics that make you laugh, cry, or both, while also tapping your foot or keeping beat with your hand on your thigh.

Recently, my hubby and I bought the Live at Texas Stadium CD, which was recorded at the May 2004 concert featuring George Strait, Jimmy Buffett, and Alan Jackson. The CD is awesome. King George is awesome (and gosh, he's pretty). Alan Jackson rocks. And Jimmy, of course, is near and dear to so many hearts. George and Alan's hit "Murder on Music Row" is on the CD. Good stuff. George also sings "Milk Cow Blues," which I love. Alan Jackson's "Five O'Clock Somewhere" and "Where I Come From" are also featured--both good ones. George and Jimmy have so many "hit ya riiight thahre" (that's my phonetic representation of a good ol' drawl) songs, I just won't even begin to list all their great songs. Oh, one of George's more recent songs, "She Told Me So," is a great example of a good country song. Here's a sample: "I'm her world and she revolves around me/Just being close to me makes her love grow/Each night she thanks God for the day she found me/Why, when she came home this morning, she told me so/And there's roses blooming in the Arctic Circle/Icebergs in the Gulf of Mexico/And there's not one star in Heaven/Or a sunrise every morning/I'd believe it if she told me so." We can just be so stupid in relationships. But what I love about country music is that it makes it a little easier to get over the hurt with clever lyrics such as those. When I was growing up, one of the local country radio stations had a "Cryin', Lovin', and Leavin'" show for listeners to call in and request songs. I love that after a few years, they changed it to "Cryin', Lovin', Laughin', and Leavin'"--gotta keep your sense of humor, right?

Oh, and guess what...I was at the Texas Stadium concert. Once-in-a-lifetime shows make me happy too.

On a side note, Brad Paisley, hubby of Kimberly Williams-Paisley, is pretty good at penning some of the good country songs of our time. Check out "Flowers" and "I'll Take You Back" on Time Well Wasted. And then there's Lyle Lovett. Oh, I love Lyle. Jimmy Buffett sang "If I Had a Boat" (by Lyle) at his concert in Frisco, Texas, a couple of weekends ago. So exciting. :) I recommend Lyle's Live in Texas CD. Listen to "That's Right (You're Not From Texas)" and "Church," and see if you don't love him too. One of his singers, Francine Reed, sang "Funny How Time Slips Away" with Willie Nelson on his Milk Cow Blues album. Love it. Love them. And then there's Guy Clark. He's such an amazing songwriter, I just don't know what to say. He wrote "Out in the Parking Lot," "Boats to Build," "Texas Cookin'", among others. These songs have been recorded by other musicians in recent years, but you gotta hear Guy Clark sing them--gotta honor the man who created 'em.

So, then there's the blues. Just the phrase "the blues" sends shivers through my body in a soul-deep kind of a way. I don't completely get people who don't get the blues. Saw Buddy Guy at Billy Bob's a year or so ago, pretty much on a whim. Oh. My. What a guy. And then there's B. B. King....Well, all I can say is thank God for country music and the blues. Think I'm gonna go sit on my back porch and listen to some tunes....

Things That Make Me Happy #14

Croissants with butter and guava and strawberry jelly.

Haven't had this for a while for breakfast, but I did daily when we were in Hawai'i and for about a week or so afterwards.

Better add croissants to the grocery list.

Things That Make Me Happy #13

Books.

I love how they feel, how they look, what they hold inside.

Things That Make Me Happy #12

Soup.

Had a delicious bowl of chicken tortilla soup this past weekend. If you're in the area of Frisco, Texas, try Cristina's. It's a great Mexican restaurant. I highly recommend it.

I also love La Madeleine's potato soup. And homemade tomato soup. My mother-in-law gave me her mother-in-law's recipe, and it's just incredible. Very simple, but pretty close to perfection.

Things That Make Me Happy #11

Baked potatoes.

With lotsa butter, sour cream, bacon bits, and green onions.

Today I had my first BBQ tater -- had the essentials listed above plus chopped beef.

In the words of Rachael Ray, yumm-o.

Things That Make Me Happy #10

Accents.

Last night at church a minister from Glasgow, Scotland, gave the message. Billy Wilson is a wonderful preacher -- very inspirational. Makes you want to jump up and do something. If you're interested in hearing him, click here and look for his sermon dated April 25, 2007. It was the kind of message that makes you want to strap on your battle gear to face the day. Every day. Billy will be going to Australia soon to become a minister there. Australia -- another fun accent.

Anyway, I love accents. I remember my mother spontaneously speaking in an English accent around the house...for fun. When I was in high school, there was an English exchange student in one of my classes. I tried out my English accent, and she was surprised and impressed. Guess it was all that practice growing up. I'm sure it's no surprise that My Fair Lady is a favorite of mine to watch.

Accents -- love 'em. And language in general.

G'day, mates. And cheerio.

Things That Make Me Happy #9

Roses.

And I mean the fragrant ones. Not your typical florist offerings. I mean, the ones someone has nurtured in their own garden. And I think mine are some of the best. About 3 years ago, I decided to get some roses. Fresh flowers do wonders for one's mood, but it seemed ridiculous to constantly be buying flowers at the local grocery store. And they don't even really smell! Well, buying rose bushes was one of the best decisions of my life.

Right now, I have 3 Double Delight roses (yes, roses are named) in a vase (well, an old glass that got chipped that I love and couldn't part with) on my coffee table now. They are pink and creamy and smell...delightful! Yes, they will die. But my rose bush will give me new ones soon. My other 9 roses are doing well too. My favorite, Sheer Bliss, is a light pink rose, and the fragrance is unimaginably divine. She has three buds on her, which will probably bloom in the next few days. Sheer Bliss was my mother's favorite rose. I have my mother and grandmother to thank for imparting to me a love of roses. Roses also make my husband happy, and that makes me happy.

Things That Make Me Happy #8

Blue Bell Cookies 'n Cream ice cream.

And then there's Rocky Road and Dutch Chocolate and Moo-llennium Crunch and Mint Chocolate Chip and Fudge Brownie Nut and Chocolate Brownie Overload and Triple Chocolate....Do you sense a pattern here?

Things That Make Me Happy #7

Flip-flops.

I like the sound they make. I like that my feet don't feel constricted and suffocated as they do in socks and shoes. I like the different colors and patterns they come in. (I think I have about 8 pairs of them.) And I like what they stand for: warm weather.

Things That Make Me Happy #6

Watching my Rusty Dog sleep. And hearing him snore. Unless I'm having trouble sleeping. And then the snoring doesn't make me happy.

Things That Make Me Happy #5

Breakfast tacos.

Particularly bacon, potato, egg, and cheese breakfast tacos. With a dash of salsa.

Yum.

Things That Make Me Happy #4

Clean sheets.

They smell good, they feel good, they are good.

Things That Make Me Happy #3

Planting things.

Last year at the very end of the summer, my husband and I scored 3 crepe myrtles for 50% off the original price. We planted the two smaller ones quite a while ago, and they've been doing very well, despite the snow we got here a couple of weeks ago. One is pink (Pink Velour) and in our backyard, and one is white (Natchez), which we planted in our front yard, near the side of the house. (They haven't bloomed yet, but the tags said they'd be those colors.) Yesterday we (okay, mostly my hubby because I was kind of working, but I helped some) planted the largest one. It is a Sioux crepe myrtle and will have pink flowers. We planted it closer to the street. Next year we'll plant bluebonnet seeds around the base of it.

I love planting things because watching trees, flowers, shrubs, and plants grow gives me hope. It renews my spirit.

And...

...because I like getting dirty. It's fun. And I love water, so getting dirty is a perfect excuse for getting wet.

I love spring.

Things That Make Me Happy #2

Baseball.

I began watching baseball a few years ago because my boyfriend (now husband) loved it.

And now I schedule my errands around the Texas Rangers' game schedule. Last week they were traveling on Thursday, so we went grocery shopping in the evening because there wasn't a game. I'd say that's sad, but it's not. It just shows my devotion. Let's just pray that their next game is nothing like the last two against the Mariners. Ouch.

Now, I know a lot of you aren't baseball fans. I understand that it's not fast-paced like basketball or football. But that's part of why I love it. It's also very psychological -- players can get into each other's heads. Pitchers can do all kinds of things to mess with the head of the guy at bat. It's a game of mental prowess.

I do love the sport, but I also love baseball because it reminds me that spring is here. Go to a game at the ballpark. Feel the sun on your skin. Eat a hotdog and peanuts (and throw the shells on the ground!). Heck, go ahead and get some cotton candy too. It's a beautiful sport. It is America's game. It's patriotic to love baseball.

Things That Make Me Happy #1

I've recently had the thought that maybe if I post just short posts that I'll actually post. Rather than feel that I need to write a long, drawn-out essay, perhaps I need to just get something out. So, I've thought that I'll try to regularly post about something that makes me happy. So here it is....

The $1 shelves at Target make me happy. Last week I bought 3 6.6-ounce bottles of scented handsoap for $1 each. The scents aren't quite as good as those of my usual Bath & Body Works handsoap selections, but hey -- for $1, who cares? The soap gets the job done and it does smell good. I purchased one cherry blossom, one vanilla, and one green tea. I haven't tried the vanilla yet, but the other two are quite nice.

In the past, I've bought all kinds of things from Target's dollar shelves. It's great. I suppose I should also say that Target makes me happy. The Target sales brochure that comes every Sunday in the newspaper makes me happy. Their Archer Farms brand's salt and vinegar chips make me happy (just tried those last week).

As I say quite often, I luv Target. And I think when I say that, it makes my husband happy. (I'm just so darn cute when I say it!)

One Big One or Two Small?

In my last post, I discussed my victory at the Tuesday Morning game. I have to add that at Christmas time, I scored some awesome plastic Chinese takeout-style containers to put the dog biscuits in for the family dogs' holiday gifts. Oh, and an ornament to give someone. Love that place. Anyway, one of the items I bought was a ginormous (that's a combination of "gigantic" and "enormous" for those of you unfamiliar with this technical term) suitcase. I mean, this thing is huge. I bought it in preparation for our trip to Maui, Hawaii. Some would say this was a stupid purchase. My husband bought a similar one back in the summer and has used it a few times and loves his. So I didn't see any potential problems. And I still love it. By the way, it's red. RED red. But there are some possible inconveniences and dangers that come with such a large piece of luggage (along with the toiletries bag, accessories bag, laundry bag, shoe bag, garment bag, and plane ticket/passport holder). First, the cons of such a monstrous suitcase:

1) Even if most of your shoes are flip-flops, you may go over the 50-pound weight limit for free baggage and have to pay $25 to have your bag put on the plane, which is somewhat necessary if you want to use your big bottle of lotion while on your trip since you can't carry lotion in big containers on the plane with you.
2) If #1 is the case, you'll probably have to rely upon airline workers to lift the darn thing onto the scale when you're checking in. But if you smile really big and act grateful (which you should be!), then they'll be happy to help you (I hope).
3) Two words: baggage claim. First, getting the darn thing off the carousel. Second, everyone on your flight knows what a doofus you are for having such a huge suitcase.
4) Toting your luggage to the parking lot. Thank God the Kahului airport isn't too big.
5) Such large suitcase often have quite a few pockets on the outside and inside of the bag. These can be helpful for organization. But you may have trouble finding your panties b/c there are just too many pockets to check.
6) Related to the numerous pockets, nooks, and crannies of the bag -- the TSA worker going through your bag may hold up the entire line of people trying to check in. I think the guy who checked mine was working his first day in a new job. It was ridiculous.

Now, the pros. And yes, there are pros.
1) If you check one enormous bag on the way to your destination, then for the return trip, you can always buy a new bag in which to pack all your souvenirs and gifts. You're allowed two bags for free (plus any overweight charges), so if you packed two bags on the way there (as one older lady told me I should have done), then what do you do with all those shot glasses, t-shirts, and mugs?
2) If someone else has to help you with your humongous bag, then you're providing that person with a great sense of accomplishment as well as empowerment, as he or she is helping someone else. And don't we all love that feeling?
3) With such an enormous bag, you know that bag is yours. And if said large bag is red, then you can laugh at all the black or charcoal bag owners who have to check a million luggage tags to see if the passing suitcase is theirs.
4) You can get in some strength training exercises without even planning to. Baby, my biceps look good.
5) Those various pockets do help a lot. I had one devoted to pj's and undergarments, rather than a corner of the main compartment-- that never works.
6) You can teach people to be patient while waiting for the TSA go through the last 20 pockets of the suitcase. We are all responsible for developing the character of our nation's citizens, are we not?

So what shall I do next time? Pack my big suitcase (but not so full) and bring a relatively empty carry-on bag that I can check later with all those shot glasses, regional food items, and t-shirts. Any other suggestions? Other than buying my own jet, complete with staff?