It has been one helluva week. So many things have happened - both to me and to people I care about - that made me revisit the piece I wrote about karma earlier this year. A friend saw the re-post, and asked what was going on. At first, all I could say was oy vey. Then I told her about the deaths and grave illnesses I learned about, the difficult decisions and even more difficult discussions, and progress reports on a few ongoing issues (and newly developing ones). So much suffering in so many directions ... surely, things have to balance out somehow.
My awesome friend offered her sympathy and positive energy, as she always does (just one of the many reasons I love her so much). She reminded me to focus on the good things in life, even using some of my own ideas against me: "generating good and happy feelings will do just that ... generate more good and happy feelings: that's some form of karma i think." She suggested that I make a list of the good things in my life ("even the silly things like 'i love my keurig,'") as a way of getting this happiness ball rolling. I absolutely loved the idea, and promised her I would do just that. So I started thinking back over the past week or two, looking at the world through my peace, love & happiness filter ... and here's what I came up with:
Things that Made Me Smile
- I love my keurig! Ok, maybe that's cheating, 'cause she said it first, but it's true! You all know that coffee is my simple pleasure, and just this week I brought a mini-keurig into my office. LOVE it!
- Sitting in the movie theater last night, at a very quiet moment in the film, someone sneezed. And then about 6 different voices from all parts of the theater called out "bless you!"
- Crazy Stupid Love (the movie). It was touching at times, sad at times, sweet at times, and much funnier than I expected. Overall, it was all that I hoped for and more.
- Anticipation! I'm going to see some really great
friendsfamily this weekend for a 70s themed party. Groovy, baby! Also cool: I didn't really have to buy much in terms of a costume, since some of my favorite clothes & accessories are straight-up hippie! Peace, man! - Just the idea of writing a list of things that made me smile ... made me smile!
- Spinoccoli pizza at a nearby diner after the movie. Spinach. Broccoli. Tomatoes. Garlic. YUM!!!
- Tres leches cake for dessert at another restaurant a few days earlier ... with cafe con leche. Now by my math, that's cuatro leches!
- Getting a pedicure (actually, working on this list while getting pampered!)
- Though I've gained a bit of weight over the past few months, my absolute favorite jeans (buttahfly-embroidered bellbottoms, which I was hoping to wear for the 70s party) actually still fit!
- Spoke with someone (for work) the other day, who was taking a message for the person I wanted to reach. I asked if I could note that I spoke with her husband, and he said (after a moment's pause) "... uh ... sure, you could say that!" I asked if it would be the truth, and he joked that it was this week, but who knows if he'd do something stupid and she'd kick him out. I joked back that he should at least stick around long enough to do the Making Strides walk with her in October, and he agreed. It was just a really funny conversation, and it made me laugh.
- I found a pen case I'd been missing for days. It's not just the idea of finding something lost. I color-code my appointment book (that falls under the nerd category), and I needed my green, pink, and purple pens to add in new activities!
- Heard about an incident that seemed to show karma coming around to take care of things. That gives me hope that other things will balance out, too.
- Toast with butter. I bought a new organic multigrain bread, and organic butter (for the past year, I'd been using a healthy oil spread instead). So simple, yet absolutely divine!
- The Yankees are back in first place (let's hope it stays that way!).
- Summer Fridays! So awesome to get out early enough to accomplish other things (like eat leftover spinoccoli pizza and get a pedicure!)
- The friendly person I allowed to cross the street in front of me while I was looking for a parking spot ... who (a few minutes later) held the elevator for me when I got to our building, and started chit-chat about parking.
- The view from where I park my car every day.
- Don't laugh - the new MTv version of Teen Wolf. (ok, you can laugh)
- Hubby's blood pressure is down!!! Yay!!
- How easy it was to come up with this list (and how quickly it's growing)! I'm thinking this might become a regular thing ... maybe a weekly list?
- The eagerness of some volunteers who want to do all they can to help the cause.
- I read an article in the news that Abercrombie & Fitch wants to pay one of the guys from Jersey Shore NOT to wear their clothes. That is just so awesome!
- Watching the game, saw Scott Brosius (Yankees 3B from 1998-2001) in the commentators' booth. That just reminded me of one of the best fan-made signs I ever saw: it took about 4-5 people to spell out SupercalifragilisticexpialoBROSIUS!
- Another awesome sign I saw recently:
- At the restaurant we went to the other day (with cuatro leches), they take pictures of the customers and post on their facebook page. Our picture was listed first in the album for that day. What made me smile was not so much seeing our picture, but seeing hubby's smile about the fact that our picture was up there.
Yeah, that was definitely fun, and definitely needs to be repeated (Thanks, Julie!). So ... what are some of the things that made you smile recently?
**If you like what you read, tell a friend! Actually, tell me too - post a comment below!! If you don't ... well ... I'm all for honesty, but please be gentle.
