Tuesday Ten

The last few days have been a bit rough. Nothing like run over by a truck rough, but just blah. So, in a giant effort to cheer me up, I thought I would think of 10 things that make me happy.

1. Looking at old pictures. No one takes a picture of you sitting on the couch looking like you lost your best friend. They take pictures of happy moments like vacations and birthdays and other celebrations, or of pretty things. I love to look through my pictures.

2. Flowers. I'm a sap, nothing makes me happier than my husband or kids walking through the door with flowers. The husbands usually come from a flower shop. The kids usually come from my gardens in the yard. Both make me happy!

3. Exercise. Nothing takes the edge off like a good old run. Or wicked hard class at the gym. Which I have tomorrow at 9:30. I plan to "have at it".

4. Spending time with my kids. Tonight we whipped through homework and dinner, took the dog to the middle school near our house and just walked. We watched the older kids practice football. Dylan and I shot a few hoops... Morgan and I jumped curbs with Diesel. Good stuff.

5. A Clean House. I know it takes a lot of work on my part, but coming home to a clean and uncluttered house is... zen-like.

6. Talking to my mom on the phone. It's not as good as dropping by for a cup of tea, but since she lives about 500 miles away, a good chat on the phone works wonders. We usually end up giggling over something stupid like farts.

7. Talking to my sister on the phone. Gosh, I have no idea how many miles it is from NJ to Denver since I haven't driven it. She has, and may have an answer. And since my bank account really doesn't want me to fly to Denver for a cup of tea, we talk too. It's great to talk about the kids and husbands and just STUFF. I can't wait to see her in person in a few weeks!!!

8. Vacations. I might bitch and moan and groan about all the prep work, but the minute we hitch up the truck and hit the road I start knitting. And as the knitting turns into something and the miles go by, everything seems to just start to unwind and relax. We're heading to the Fryeburg (Maine) fair in a few weeks. Yeah!!!

9. The barn. Oh my, how is that so far down on my list? I love spending time at the barn. We recently came back from riding and went right to a football game. Some of Morgan's friends didn't want to play with her because they said she stunk. I told her it was the BEST smell on earth. Horses, hay, grain, poop, old leather all rolled into one smell.

10. Running with Diesel. Not really the same as exercise, it's kind of my time with my bud. Morgan walks him every morning before school. Dylan lays on him like a pillow when he's watching TV. He chases bears out of our yard inbetween. My time with him is our runs. He's so beautiful and graceful to watch - and just keeps going with me. We usually average around 4 miles.