identify 100 things that make me happy.

Walking Dead. I cannot WAIT until October. The comic book is SO different and I didn’t think I liked it, but now I constantly wonder what’s going to happen next. Come on October…

Matthew Gray Gubler. Though, he is a bit weird…

Whether it was 8th grade, high school, college and now in grad school at the age of 37, the Beastie Boys can keep em comin until they are 88 and it would be fine by me. Their new album that stars Elijah Wood as Ad Rock, makes me so, so happy.

91. 91 should be way up at the top like around 3 or 4, but, when you get so used to things, you kind of forget about them. 91 is my favorite baseball cap. It seems only men understand this. Its old and raggety and about to rip any second, but Ive had it for 13 years. Men come up to me and I get everything from “nice rim” to “that is the most awesome hat”. I just smile and then we share stories about our hats. I mean this in the nicest way possible but honestly, with men and me and our ball caps, I really think we love them more than we love our wives. Sorry baby.
92. Smart wool socks. They are a little expensive, but honestly, so worth the investment. If you have a chance, get a pair. I got the colorful striped ones and adore them.
Here is my honey. Im afraid to wear it because seriously its gonna rip any second so I have to choose carefully when and if I wear it anymore.

90. Coffee with George.
I met george about 7 years ago when I worked at Barnes and Noble. He came in everyday, drank coffee and ate a bagel and sat in the corner and wrote for hours at a time. When I would ask what he was writing, in his thick indian accent he would say “crap Tara. All crap”. One christmas I invited him to my family’s home for the holiday for dinner. He laughed and said, “Tara, you know I have a family right? I promise you Im not homeless.” My bad. From then on it was free coffee and bagels for George. 6 years later, we are still the greatest of friends. He is zen. Talking to him is peaceful and mindful. People who meet him cant stop taking about his energy and intelligence. Oh, and the crap he was writing, he just sold 2 manuscripts to a publisher in NYC. But, when we can, we get together, talk about life, religion, buddhism, christianity and all of the things that make it intersting to be human. To this day when he calls me, in his THICK accent he still says “Tara, this is George from Buffalo”...HA.
Today was an awesome 2 hour coffee break with George. When I got home and went on facebook to check my farm on Farmville, I posted that sometimes, you have to stop and give thanks to fate for introducing you to the most amazing people. Like George.
Thats him. Get a look, he’s gonna be famous soon. :) He deserves every second and every dollar of it.

89. Captain_Awesome. His posts have me rolling every morning and help me deal with the day. He is…well, awesome and I wish to share him with all of you. Check him out.

87. Farmer’s Market in Williamsville every Saturday. We get a bran muffin and a cup of coffee while we walk and support the local farmers. All food is from within 50 miles. Get to meet nice, friendly people every week and maintain a low eco footprint. I love that.
88. Dahlias. I discovered them a few months back and they have replaced daisies as my favorite flower. I was able to buy some at the market today. What a fantastic morning it was.

Mine are like the deep red one on the left.

I forgot to add this one previously, sorry.
86. The Newbie Chronicles. It is an article that Runner’s World has every issue written by….something Partner. Chris Partner? Mark? Either way, last name is Partner. He writes about being new to running and it is hilarious. I was looking at old issues because we save all of our magazines and then give them to schools or hospitals. I was looking at Nov 2008 and I could not stop laughing. Tears were rolling down my eyes and I was laughing out loud. I had never noticed it before in other issues, so I have started going back and reading them. Everything he says is true. Its hard for those who start running. Its nice to know Im not the only one who isnt gung ho, just wondering what its about and trying it.
The one that made me laugh so hard was this one:
Why should I run?
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-380-383-492-12926-0,00.html

85. Finding things I thought I lost. I have this umbrella my mother gave me, I think its what you call a Monet umbrella. It is mostly wood and has all of those pretty colors used in “Le Jardin de Monet, les iris”. I always felt so special walking around with this bright, beautful umbrella while the world walked around with black ones. I thought I lost it last year so I myself have been using a plain black one.
This morning as I was looking for my stand by umbrella (the humane society one) because I left the black one in my car which, is being repaired, I saw a wooden loop handle. I just stared at it and thought “what is that?...” I pull it out and there were all of the bright pinks and purples and greens. YES! YES TOBEY (my cat), YES.
It made me smile. It was something my mother had owned but saw how much I liked and gave to me. It was the first thing I can remember that my mother sacrificed for my happiness instead of hers so it means the world to me.
So glad I found it. Of course now, it wont rain.

77. Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl really. I have loved him since he was a drummer for Nirvana. Who knew he could sing so well.
78. Ice cream
79. Arnold Palmer ice tea. I will save 3 points any day for a can of Arnold Palmer.
80. Laughing. Im an open mouth laugher. I will not fake it. If it isnt funny, I will not encourage you. I love to laugh way too much.
81. Saturday Farmers Market in Williamsville. They have a stand called Great Harvest that makes the BEST muffins. Everything is within 50 miles of the market so its better for local farmers, the economy and the environment.
82. Low Fat Carrot Bran Muffins from Great Harvest. We have to call to see if they have them, they only make them occassionally.
83. Scrubs. That show still makes me laugh my ass off.
84. Getting lost in secret thoughts.