I'll add:

a long walk this evening

fresh baked chocolate chip cookies

Fly - I love your outlook! I believe you were the one who gave me such encouragement regarding volunteer work. I hope I remembered correctly!!

tina

Instead of thinking up my own responses, i'll post my takes on the OP's list, as well as to some selected previous responses from others....

> Showers for two
My shower is only 32x30", so we have to stand really close. Which is why I love small showers!

> -Breakfast out
Not unless I can sleep in late, which means the only places still serving breakfast are IHOP and Denny's. But I love *dinner* out.

> a pup who is always happy to see me
As long as it isn't my dog. Dogs are too high-maintenance for me.... but I do love dogs - other people's dogs.

> redbuds
Grass. Trying to grow grass in my back and side yards. There's mostly dirt and mud where the grass should be, which not only looks ugly, but gets tracked indoors and on our carpets. If that works, then I'll try growing some flowers.

> sun shining
Always thankful for that.

> Fleetwood Mac
Thank you Stevie Nicks for immortalizing my hometown of Silver Spring, MD in song (even if the song has nothing to do with the city, but it is indeed named for it). I've got Mac stuff on my iPod dating back to the Peter Green era (1967) to their most recent album, so much great music.

> Sue's good news!!!!
Missed that thread, but glad there's good news for Sue whatever it may be.

----

> Road trips
Haven't taken one for a while now. Getting expensive with fuel prices where they are. But I love getting away.

> Having dinner at a fabulous restaurant with someone I care about.
Again, me too.

> Staying at a luxury hotel
Can't even afford budget hotels, but I'll take whatever I can get.

> Buying people gifts
Increasingly I like to make something myself rather than buy something off-the-shelf. Less expensive, but more meaningful. A gift that's one of a kind, made just for the recipient with her tastes tended to.

> A relaxing soak in the tub, fragrant bath gel, alone
A relaxing soak in the tub, fragrant bath gel, not alone

> My Macbook
I'd love a Macbook, but at least I have an iPod nano, an iPod touch, and a Thinkpad.

> Kidneys that work.
> Eyes that see.
> Legs that are bruised and scarred but take me where I need to go.
I treasure any of my body parts that still work. That seems to be fewer and fewer each year....

> My mom finally becoming independent of my dad! (after a difficult divorce)
My brother finally divorcing his wife after 20-some years in a parasitic relationship. Yes, this is good news for everyone involved, including their kid IMO.

> DD telling me she wants to minor in music in college
I wish her luck - I tried to major in music, but had to pass an audition to become a music major. Despite 10 years of lessons, I failed the audition and had to major in another field. Tried to get into some music classes anyway, but never made the cut.

> fresh baked chocolate chip cookies
CC cookies - the only dessert that matters.

> a long walk this evening
I love long walks under the moonlight.

** Brief side bar** lee676- another Marylander? yay! I am in Baltimore, and I am the Sue with the good news. and that is another thread.
I didn't know Stevie Nicks sang about Silver spring! who knew? Good excuse to get out all the old albums and turntable.

Love all the replies.

Well, Tuesday ended up on an even higher note! My 32 yr. old son received a very prestigious (sp) Engineering award for a road he designed!

He takes up after me. :)

Nancybee- I echo your appreciation for Tina's thread. It is a wonderful exercise to take an inventory of what makes us happy!

Tina- my tulips are multi-colored! Yellow, red, hot pink, white, etc. Yes, you southern lady, you need a camellia in your landscape...you'd love it.

Leacate- nice thing to say. Thanks!

Demifloyd- I disagree with you that you don't "do" happy! My definitition of "happy" is awareness meeting gratitude for the blessings in and around our lives.

You seem to have cultivated both an acute awareness of your blessings and a deep gratitude for them.

Perhaps you just prefer the word "contentment" and I agree, most of us can't sustain a state of tickled pink happiness 24/7 (and I wonder if we even should!) Yes, contentment and reason to smile are wonderful states of being, and as Leacate implied, still difficult for many to attain. Without awareness and gratitude, there is no contentment or reason to smile.

I think it's beautiful that you think about having kidneys and legs, and how they function! Maybe the more rooted one is in the most simple things in life, and the less they take them for granted, the more blessed they are, and content they will be.

'Tis a blessing not to require a Mercedes Benz in order to "do happy!"

Isn't it interesting that no one mentioned luxury cars and the like on their lists? When it comes down to it, we really find the most joy in the simplest things.

cooper & lee -- I'm no longer on the east coast, but my MD hometown was immortalized (o.k., I think it was another "Rockville", and the only thing that fits is the chorus, but hey) by REM :)

Congratulations to oakley's son! We need more attention paid to our national infrastructure by intelligent, committed people, and it sounds like your son is one of those: )

Oakley, I can imagine your delight! Your son's accomplishments must have you beaming! It must be so rewarding to see your son grow up and use his gifts and talents (and yes, surely he takes after his good mom!)

We are going to be grandparents ! DS1 and DIL in VA , first one for all of us.

DS2 , after years and years of depression and anguish and run ins with the law has made some huge changes in his life and is really on the road to recovery. He is meditating every single day and is so at peace. He called and talked for an hour last night. He now calls his sibs too and talks. It is such a blessing to him and to us all.

Thank you for staring this wonderful thread. It is so wonderful to have you all to share with . thank you....c

Congrats Trailrunner! I saw the article in Southern Living magazine about The Red Hen, it also mentioned your son and DIL names. Very impressive!

Oakley, will I be driving on that award-winning road someday? HA!

So nice to read all these responses. I was in a great mood yesterday morning, and just thinking of things that made me happy. After re-reading this thread I realize how blessed we all are! So I thank YOU for responding and sharing with the rest of us.

Congrats Trailrunner!! That is wonderful news!!

tina

How wonderful, trailrunner! First, their restaurant was their baby, and now that it's safely established and growing, they can make their second : )

And it's equally wonderful to hear about your DS2. I can only imagine what peace that must bring you and your family. Life is too precious to let it slip past us...

Congrats, Oakley and Trailrunner!

Trailrunner, that is awesome!! You must be beside yourself with happiness on all fronts!!!

I haven't contributed to this thread but I've been basking in all your happiness. I've been somewhat consumed with sadness about my Dubs, who is seemingly going downhill much quicker than I can prepare myself.

Thanks everyone! No, Caleb does NOT take after me (except our personalities and looks, lol) in the Math department. My dad was a Civil Engineer, my dh is an attorney, and I was born with NO math or "intellectual" skills at all. But they still love me dearly. :)

Ollie, DS's in charge of the whole NE quadron of Oklahoma. He was made "boss" of his department in his late 20s, beating out other's twice his age. This is for ODOT, OK. Dept. of Transportation.

On a side note, this kid had math trouble all through elementary school and part of high school until it just "clicked" one day, which I was home to witness it. So you moms out there, don't despair! lol

Anyway, the State is desperately trying to get good roads built but it takes a lot of time and a LOT of money.

TRAIL!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!! The love you feel for your children will multiply by a zillion for your grandbabies. You will have a blast!

Trailrunner, that's such exciting news! First a restaurant, now a baby! Those two will make awesome parents, and you'll be the coolest grandma ever! Thanks for sharing the happy news about your DS2 as well!

Thank you olliesmom! We sure are very happy.

And you too tina for this thread...such a sweet way to share with everyone. Thank you !!

fly: yes indeed it has been a lot of years of anxiety and calls in the middle of the night. He is so much better. The whole family is hoping that he can maintain this. Every day that he moves in the positive direction is a good one that sets a precedent . And the kids are definitely going to nurture the new baby too !!

Thank you nancy !!

Gold I am so sorry about Dubs...please do share with us as that plays out. Thank you for thinking of me.

Oakley CONGRATS to you and your son. That is so great. And thank you we are very excited.

Thank you stinky...all fronts are doing good for sure. It is such a pleasure for us all. And very nice to come here and share. c

I'm back from the gym and had a good work-out.

I skyped with my niece and sister this morning.

I'm going out to dinner with my Mom tonight (for Xmas I gave her a calendar and on each month I wrote that I would treat her to a meal a particular restaurant).

May I be so nosy as to ask, Hhireno? Which restaurant?

Wellll...

I heard "Rock and Roll ain't noise Pollution" by AC/DC in my shoulder-therapy this morning...!
THAT made me happy!

Then, coming home to our silly Samoyed, Callie, waiting for me at the top of the stairs! Gettin' my face licked a lot too!

Faron

Our pups and the anticipation of spring and time in the garden again!

Stinky,
I guess I didn't explain it well. Each month the calendar lists a different restaurant, some here in PA, some in HHI (to indicate that we will be in HHI together). I picked them randomly, just going from A to L, and told her we can actually go to any restaurant, not just the one listed on that month.

So far we've done Apollo (which was probably in business when you lived here?), Cosmopolitan (brand new) and Copperhead (about 3 years old).

Thanks for your reply, Hhireno! First place that came to mind was The Apollo Grill! Yes, the other two didn't exist when I was there. Sounds interesting! It's quite a contrast, dining one day in the LV, the next in HHI! You ladies have fun!

Tina - Did you get my email?

Congrats Trailrunner!

-Sun
-DH, furkids, family
-I might not be able to run again yet but I have my legs and can walk.
-Going to bleach out a drop cloth to see exactly what color it gets. I am really excited about this, lol.
-My hair seems like it grew a bunch over night!
- My stairs.

Bwwahahaa, j/k. I still don't like my stairs very much. :)

Learning that our first grandchild, born a week ago, 4-5 weeks prematurely, will most likely be discharged from the NICU tomorrow and going home!!!

Health
family
3 dogs
a cup of coffee
the sun is out
didn't have to cook today

Thank you everyone for your good wishes !! And Barb you have all my positive thoughts coming your way for the sweet new grand that you have !! Congratulations to you .

It is so nice to see this thread continuing. Everyone has something special to share and we are all made happy in such an interesting variety of ways. I hope we can all keep adding to this as the mood/need arises. c

Watching DS nap, it takes my breathe away!

1 week with no caffeine! I didn't think I would make it. :) I kind of drank a LOT of unsweetened ice tea.

Grats Trailrunner and barb5.

Skypeing with my daughter and new son-in-law, who live WAY too far away!

Today - just thankful for the absolutely beautiful, perfect weather kind of day. Spent several hours outside and then even napped (very rare) - thanks to allergy meds LOL. Pup curled up with me.

Boop - we've used decaffinated tea for years. Can't live without iced tea around here LOL.

Barb - congrats on the new grandchild and best wishes for good health!

tina

That it was 50+ degrees at 8:45 am when I left the gym this morning. Isn't if wonderful how when it first dips to 50 degrees in the fall it feels cold but when it finally reaches 50 degrees in the spring it feels warm? That warm feeling may have been assisted by my post work-out "glow" but still, I didn't need to zip my coat and that's the first time in months.

Aww.... thank you for the good wishes. The baby was given the OK to go home last night and DD and DSIL were told to pick her up this morning.

Well, they were not going to wait another second! They took her home last night.

I haven't talked to them yet this morning in case they are sleeping. But I imagine DD and DSIL, in their PJS, mugs of coffee in their hands (maybe not DD, don't know if nursing moms are supposed to avoid caffeine), tired, frazzled, and oh so HAPPY, with their little one tucked in the crook of their arm, or sleeping in the bassinet. The three of them, a family.

It is truly a happy day.

Lol barb...your imaginings of their first night with baby sound so sweet :). Much as I imagined our first morning with new baby would be when he had his nicu release.

I expected to be sipping coffee in front of the fireplace in my lovely pjs rested, gazing on our dear sons contented face......zzzzzziiiiiipppppppp

Reality, totally and desperately exhausted because it was our first night nursing...the preemies like smaller feeds more often, I was holding onto that cup of coffee with a grasp king kong couldn't have pried apart. Dh was glass eyed after trying to help all night but the crying baby kept him awake....he had a similar hold on his coffee cup. Firewood was wet because we forgot to bring it in so my crackling fire is smoldering and hissing and instead of my pretty new pjs I'm wearing one of dh's tee shirts and MIT he'd matched bottoms because ds threw up on me after each feeding (preemie tummies are delicate). We did gaze at him with a mixture of adoration and fear....fear he'd wake again lol

But still we were happy heh heh. Just not normal Rockwell happy lol

....just knowing I can have fun here with my GW friends almost every day!

Joys, sorrows, triumphs & travels...., & all the goofy fun stuff here!

You guys make ME happy!

Faron

This morning I spent about 10 minutes watching Po and his mom, Lun Lun, on the Zoo Atlanta Panda Cam. It was such a relaxing break.

Here is a link that might be useful: panda baby: Po

I made my mommy a great breakfast this morning when she came over.

And I bought some killer zebra luggage from T.J.Maxx, simple gorgeous. Oh yeah, and it was a sunny day out today.

.....Jane

My roses are blooming in a HUGE burst. it is amazing.

I was accepted as an intern baker at a wonderful bakery in Montana. I have one week of baking beside a pro from 3 AM to 6:30 PM for 7 days. We may start at 1:30 AM part of the time. We are in the mountains and DH is going to cook for us all since he will be with me . I am so excited. c

Gosh, Caroline you live a completely full life, I swear.

Congrats on the cooking school in Montana.

....Jane

Today it makes me happy to plant two new dogwood trees!

tina

This is my first time seeing this thread and it's an amazing read, I REALLY NEEDED IT!!! lol

Congrats on all the new little ones, family and happy moments for everyone! You do have such a full life Trailrunner! Congrats on your new adventure.

I woke up today to the sound of birds outside our window. Love that.

And I'm so excited, this is the first weekend in a long time that has warm sun in the forecast. Spring may finally be showing itself in our neck of the woods! Yeah!

Being where I am at this moment, in our own home with the peace that mornings brings makes me happy always.

My birds are so silly and just crack me up.

The feeling that today is a new day, new start and some baggage that has needed to go has finally left.

Almost two weeks done with my crutches- May 23 come on ba-baay.

Haven't read this post yet, glad I did...It makes ME happy!

Other things for today, second day of waking up pain free and basking in the wonderfully funny dreams I'd had.

DH actually left the seat down in the master bath.

Going to bake banana bread, baked ziti, and a whole host of things so we've got them packed nicely in the freezer. I'm SUPER busy at work and need to be able to have dinner ready to go when I get home two hours later than usual...

Anticipating my visit with DS tomorrow morning, then an afternoon spent scrapbooking with a good friend.

The fur-kids. Granddog Ruphus spent the night and he & Aurora do not have off buttons. Seeing them frolic, with the others joining in (even the cats) is so much fun.

#1 - watching my Grandson grow up - I get to keep him 2-3 days a week. Even better - watching my son WITH his son.
Awesome!

#2 - watching the hummingbirds that come into my yard and spend the winter

#3 - watching the butterflies that come after the hummers leave in the spring

#4 - being married to my high school sweetheart for 40+ years and knowing that he is happy

#5 - knowing that so far we have been blessed with pretty good health and pray that it continues that way

I guess that #5 should be in the top two but hey they are all equally special!

Today, DH and the new shower head he installed make me happy. The most amazing shower I have ever had. EVER!

Here is a link that might be useful: most amazing thing ever :)

I'm happy the sun is shining after all the bad weather yesterday.

I had a Thanks for Sharing (Macy's) card I needed to spend, so I ordered the grandbaby coming in August a few things. Received partial shipment yesterday. Something about onesies. lol

I'm happy that it was a cool but beautiful blue sky & sunny morning and I was able to walk outside instead of on the treadmill at the gym.

I'm happy that I will be seeing my brother & his family this weekend.

I'm happy that 2 tickets for tonight's sold-out talk with author Elizabeth Gilbert fell into my lap this morning.

I'm happy that my garage (technically a detached carriage house) is finally cleaned out and ready for my car! Woot! Only two more things to get rid of before it's totally clean. One is a barbeque and the other is a gas melting furnace. Placed an ad for the furnace, now to find new home for the smoker/barbeque. Shouldn't be hard.

Goodbye junk!!!

These two always make me happy!!!!!!!!!

The living room lamp I ordered from lighting universe arrived today. It looks just right and I won't have to spray paint my other lamp to go with it, as I had thought. Spray painting does NOT make me happy!

Swallowtail cats on the dill and a nest of cardinal hatchlings in one of the azaleas.

Natal's photos of the babies! I've got goosebumps! Our pet birds are nesting a clutch right now, so maybe we'll have babies soon too!