Things that are Making Me Happy~!
Hello all!
Today we are going to go through all the things making me happy at this moment. I am in a good mood and I’d like to share that with y’all. This week has been a nice one and I’m going to keep that feeling going.
Number One: Hanging out with friends
A few weekends ago we got to see like 7 people all in the same weekend. It was INCREDIBLE! I used to think that I was a reclusive person, someone that didn’t enjoy socializing at all, but now? Omg I love hanging out with people. I’ve missed them all so much! It was worse since Cinnamon was recovering, and we didn’t want anyone coming over while she needed to stay quiet. Lately, things are getting back to that normal feeling, and I want to make every excuse to see everyone. We’re planning on doing game nights with friends and family, and I’m sure if you’ve read previous posts you’ll remember that we’ve got outings planned.
Payday
I don’t know a single person that doesn’t like payday. It’s the best day of the month. I don’t make a lot, and I’m mostly paycheck to paycheck so that sweet rush when I check my bank account and see it full makes me completely thrilled.
Seeing the kids
We got to take my niece for the day recently, and it was great. In 2019 I made a promise to my niece that she’d get to hang out with Miayah and myself at least once a month every month, but that went to the wayside with covid. We hadn’t really gotten to hang out at all for nearly an entire year. She’s the cutest thing, and she’s getting so big!!! We played dress up. We did makeup. We watched The Mitchells versus the Machines which was surprisingly good. We went out to an arcade and ate pizza and played games. It was such a gratifying experience, and a lovely way to get back into the habit of hanging with her.
Going out to eat
Take out has its perks, but we’ve been going out lately, and it’s a whole different experience that I forgot about. There are good pieces and bad; for example, a bad part is that it takes a lot more time to go to a restaurant than to order in. Miayah mentioned it in her post earlier this week - when you order food you don’t have to travel, you can keep doing whatever you’re doing while you wait for the food to show up. The good pieces though are wonderful: you get out of the house; you get into a new environment; there are different sights and smells and sounds; and the food is SO much better when it’s steaming hot right out of the kitchen. We had Chicago-style sandwiches recently, and I can’t imagine that they would have been nearly as good if they’d taken an extra 30 minutes to get to our house after they were ordered.
Cute clothing that fits right
So this is actually a bit of a mixed bag. I’d written this down in a list as a good thing and it IS a good thing, however, I’m not having as much luck with well fitting clothing as I’d like. I found the best pair of pants that I’ve had in a very long time which I am greatly enjoying. I ordered $250 worth of dresses, and not a single one fit. I was very disappointed, but luckily the website I ordered from gave me a full refund when I sent them back. It’s not quite the result I was hoping for. Maybe I’ll go shopping again this weekend, but in an actual store this time. I’ve gotten very reliant on purchasing things online this last year, but I’m remembering now that the products I purchase make me much happier if I see them before whipping out the credit card.
Coffee creamer
I know this one seems odd…. Many moons ago I took creamer out of my diet. I have a lot of trouble with dairy, and a lot of shelf stable creamers use coconut, which I’m terribly allergic to. I’d stopped looking at the back of bottles because I’d inevitably be disappointed. Miayah and I took a little day trip recently and stopped at Buccee’s, and she happened to pick up a bottle of refrigerated creamer. She called me over and was like - I think you can drink this! I looked it over and it turns out it’s non-dairy, refrigerated, and doesn’t contain coconut!!!! I’m so delighted. The first flavor I got was peppermint mocha, and I’m absolutely in love. It’s such a fun variation to my morning coffee that I haven’t gotten to indulge in in nearly a decade.
Permission from professionals to look for different options
My job has been driving me nuts lately and I know all jobs do, but I’ve been feeling really trapped. This last year I had a lot of difficulties with insurance and it made me scared to move to a new job and have to start all over with a new insurance plan. I’d have to transition into a new company where there’s a possible lapse in benefits. I have medication that is extraordinarily expensive without insurance, so I feel like I have no options in changing jobs and that’s weirdly overwhelming and I feel so trapped. I went to my psychiatrist recently and expressed my concerns. He immediately said, “Don’t worry about that at all, don’t even consider it. You are free to change jobs and get into something that makes you happier, and we’ll figure out the medication with no problems.” It was so FREEING. He’s always been such a supportive guy, and it’s a relief to know that I have my medical professional at my back.
Rereading 1Q84
I’m finally reading again! My attention span has gotten shorter and shorter this last year. Everything felt too hard to pay attention to; reading was one of the first long form things that went away. Movies left next - I could only do episodes of a show, short form articles (not even these sometimes!), and TikToks. This month tho - I’m reading! I’ve chosen one of my favorite books to re-read: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Murakami is definitely one of my top authors, despite his sometimes problematic language. The sense of melancholy he evokes is really great.
Yerba Mateo and Earl Greyson
Lastly: the new birb babies! If you’ve seen our Instagram recently we’ve posted photos of our two newest feathered loves. They’re starting to get along and it’s making us very happy. There’s always a concern when you introduce a new pet into the family that they all won’t get along but so far so good!
With all these lovely things in my life it’s no wonder that I’ve been in a great mood lately.