Happy, Happy, Happy

Sandra over at My Travels to Becoming a Better Me gave me this great Happy 101 award. Thank goodness! I was seeing them all around and about ready to feel really left out!

Here are the instructions:

• Copy the image and display on your blog.
• List 10 things that make you happy
• Try to do at least one of them today
• Pass on the award to 10 bloggers who brighten your day.

I decided to keep the things that make me happy geared very much toward the present and specific. Here they are:

1. I feel really happy when we've finished a cardio session, swam a bit with no rush at all to get anywhere else, be anywhere else, or do anything else. . . and then we amble over to the hot tub and stretch and just sit. It's like a mini vacation. (I already did this today and the extra happy bonus was that the hot tub was outside so it had all this steam over it, and we sat there in the rain, luxuriating in the hot/cool variations.)
2. It makes me happy to have my big puppy (~50 lbs of her) on my lap to snuggle with--esp when she's calm and not trying to chew on my hand. I'm deliously happy when she lays her head against my chest. . .I should figure out how to teach her to do this.
3. I feel happy when I eat a wholesome, nutritiously self-righteous meal. My new favorite is either yogurt with chopped pear and a Special K 90 calorie granola bar crumbled over it. It's also good with cottage cheese instead of pear.
4. I feel happy when I get over my self-conscious and prejudiced feeling in the gym and talk to fit people. Turns out they are nice people too! A lot like me. . .! :)
5.  It makes me happy to get comments on my blog. It feels really weird to put yourself out there and hear nothing. Plus I'm trying to make more friends, and virtual is a good start. Who knows, maybe one of you lives near Atlanta. . .
6. I am happy to be going to museums this PM with Hubby while we are here in Nashville. I always find looking at art thought provoking and inspiring.
7. It makes me happy to feel moved enough by music to want to dance. I especially like it in my own kitchen. . .! I call it hip-swaying music.
8. It makes me really happy that Hubby is exercising with me. It makes it so much easier to get up. It gives us something to talk about. It makes us feel positive about our future. It makes us dream about things we want to do together. It helps us touch more and think physically.
9. I am super happy to have a job that I enjoy most of the time and that I don't mind going back to after a 3 day weekend. And a bonus is that I have super people who report to me--all smart, invested, and caring--and the same goes for my boss.
10. I am happy not to be in Haiti or another country that is really poor and at risk for natural disaster. Feels like this is kind of luck of the draw in this world. And I'm equally glad to be working for a company that is donating money, married to a guy who thinks about donating and will follow through on it, and surrounded by people who are moved by the dispair and tragedy. A really beautiful post about this today is on Kelly's Sunday Citar post on Compassion--take a look.

Here's who I'm sending the award to:

1. Kelly at My Voice, My View
2. Bel at The Itsy Bitsy Monkey
3. Sean at The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser
4. Jo at Memorable Meanders
5. Roxie at Gravel & Rust
6. Leslie at Something Brilliant Is Brewing
7. Project365
8. Losing Waist
9. Bee at Gutting it Out
10. The Grandpa at The Word Mechanic