11 Things Making Me Happy Lately

Veronica, making that all-important decision

This is probably kind of an obnoxious post, especially if you as the reader aren't feeling especially chipper as of late.  So please feel free to skip this one.  I still love you.
When something is making me happy, I try to take the time to feel or even express gratitude for those moments of happiness.  That helps to offset my grouchy days, I hope!  
One of the bloggers I enjoy occasionally posts about little things that are making her happy, often products or services or even mindsets.  I love those posts!  So I thought I'd give it a shot.  Please note that family and friends are always my main source of happiness, so that goes without saying.  

Grocery pick-up:  My overall life contentment has trended upward ever since I started using a grocery pick-up service from your least favorite supercenter.  I don’t have to give up time that I could be reading to meandering through the aisles of a grocery store, almost ramming into someone every time I turn a corner.  Plus I would usually forget to grab at least five things every time.  Now it takes me about five minutes to order and then five minutes to pick it up.  Anything that saves me time makes me happy.

Culver’s Flavor of the Day:  Now that alcohol is out, as are espresso drinks (for the most part), I’m letting myself indulge in something that not-pregnant Kimberly isn’t really allowed to have – ice cream!  One scoop of the flavor of the day from Culver’s a couple of times a week is exactly what the fetus wants.  Yesterday I had this Oreo Chocolate Volcano thing with M&M’s and Hershey’s chunks and Oreos.  It was disgustingly wonderful.

Online shopping:  I feel like, especially in Bloomington, there is nowhere left to shop for clothes.  Macy’s, Bergner’s, Gordman’s – all shuttered and no longer part of my lunchtime shopping rotation.  While my 2020 apparel goal is to buy nicer crap, I’m not about to drop too much cash on something to dress the watermelon.  Thank goodness for specialty online stores with 30% off coupon codes and free shipping.  I just discovered PinkBlush on Monday and it could become a problem.

Book Club:  I just really appreciate the opportunity to read books that I otherwise would not have ever picked up.  I enjoy diversity in book selections, but still have a long way to go in terms of widening the scope.  Still, my book club has helped enormously and I love the lively conversations.  We’ve been together over 10 years and are always welcoming new folks into the fold. 

Netflix:  Jeff and I have finally found a show we both enjoy!!  While I’m not one for binge-watching something (I’d rather sit and read a book than watch 12 episodes of a show in a row), I do love the routine of having everything done at night and spending some time together.  Plus, this one sparks a lot of good conversation.  (Designated Survivor with Keifer Sutherland, in case you’re wondering.)  Thank goodness for Netflix and other similar options that provide tons of variety in programming. 

30 minutes in the morning:  Somehow, the morning routine is such that I’m able to have 30 minutes to myself each morning after everyone else has left for school and work.  It’s the best thing ever!!  I think not feeling rushed positively impacts my whole day.

Upcoming plans:  I’ve got a trip to a conference in San Antonio coming up, and I’m pumped!  The conference should be good, but I admit I like travel days too.  Flights = reading time.  Airports = reading time + coffee + bookstores.  Hotels = big beds for reading and sleeping.  Plus, I enjoy any blocks of time that laundry & dishes are not part of the equation. 

Not having to suck in my stomach:  Everyone tells me that my fat belly is cute and I don’t think I fully appreciated this feeling enough the first three times. 

March Madness:  I don’t care a whole lot about sports, but I have become increasingly competitive in recent years and I therefore have come to love March Madness.  I just filled out my brackets and look very forward to ignoring all of my responsibilities in the coming week as I watch teams I don’t care about play basketball, so that I can feel self-righteous about my selections.  Then it’s almost just as enjoyable to gripe about how my bracket is busted to anyone who will listen.  (One year I did win when I selected Harvard to go decently far and everyone else had them losing right away.  The best part was that my bracket was openly mocked upon completion and then I kicked everyone’s butt.)

The library: I know I don’t need to elaborate, as I recently dedicated an entire post to the library.  Still, Veronica and I have started going there together from time to time and watching her select books transports me right back to when I was 12 and trying to figure out what I wanted to read.  Thank goodness for libraries and their wonderful variety (like Netflix!  Except better cuz….books!)

The sun:  Do I even need to explain this one?  I can walk outside without freezing my buns off now!

How about you?  What's making you happy these days?  

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