list three things every day that made me happy

1. I temporarily traded clothes with some friends – it’s like having a whole new wardrobe!
2. I painted my fingernails and toenails – it was time consuming but made me happy enough that it’s probably worth it.
3. I got to bed sort of early!

1. Went to see “Superbad” with my brother. We went to this little theater where everything was super cheap and there were only 2 other people watching the movie with us, and it was just really nice.
2. Since we won’t be able to make it to my extended family’s Labor Day barbecue tomorrow (because of my dad’s injury), my aunt/uncle/grandpa/grandma brought over a lunch for everyone today.
3. I really enjoy online poker (not for real money, sillies!), but I’m quite terrible at it. I let my brother play for me for a little bit today and he won me more points than I’ve ever managed to have. Now, to figure out how to win that myself…. :)

1. I helped my dad and brother close up the pool for the winter today, and it was actually kind of nice. It was light manual labor, but it kept me busy enough to be occupied in and interested with what I was doing. y’know?
2. The beach with some old friends whom I haven’t spent time with in a couple years!
3. A good chat with him.

1. I passed my spanish test!
2. “Love Actually” – incredibly, unrealisitically movie-perfect but still so good.
3. Quality family dinner time.

1. The Daily Puppy! Why wouldn’t pictures of a cute puppy frolicking make me happy?!
2. A practice that was just right – hard enough to feel rewarding, but not hard enough to be completely miserable.
3. Football game + a quality chat with my chicas. Talking in lisps has never been more fun.

1. He and I sent each other stupid picture messages with sound effects – a picture in the bathroom mirror with the sound of him brushing his teeth or a picture of my Slurpee with that gurgling straw sound. It never fails to make me smile.
2. I met the cutest little girl today who adored me. Is there anything better and less complicated than being loved by a kid?
3. My last day ever at Baxter! The people there were great, but I won’t miss it.

Thursday
1. The first race of the season and I actually did all right! All my fears were mostly ungrounded.
2. Sleepover party – we played 10 fingers and learned some surprising facts about some people.
3. Two words: SPEED SCRABBLE.

Friday
1. I went on a mini road trip by myself – open windows, favorite music blaring, and an almost empty highway ahead of me. It was a drive full of possibilities.
2. I re-learned the card game Spit and found that I have somewhat of a talent for it.
3. The Office always makes me happy. Period.

Saturday
1. I stayed up until 5 am with him, playing the question game and trying to fall asleep on his bed but failing because he kept asking, “Hey – psst – are you awake?” (Well, now I am!) It was like a sleepover.
2. I talked un-awkwardly with his family… phew!
3. We made a sand fort! Making structures on the beach has never been so fun.

Sunday
1. Home sweet home! I went to bed early and it was excellent.
2. On a bike ride in Manistee, we happened upon the camp my friends worked at this summer and stopped at it. It was fun to be in a place that made my friends so happy.
3. Watched “Little Miss Sunshine” with my friends – the night was poorly planned but turned out well.

Monday
1. I got to sleep in for the first time in forever! It was a wonderful feeling to wake up and be able to drift off into sleep again, guilt-free.
2. The magic number of today is… two. I really can’t explain any more than that, so just take my word for it.
3. The bright side of our worries: I realize now how much he really carries and really honestly feels that we’re in this together.

Tuesday (today)
1. I rode my bike to practice today, and apparently it was an ozone action day, so not only did I get an enjoyable bike ride, but I unwittingly helped save the ozone layer. :)
2. Buth made me a list of relatively unknown “useful words for word games” such as ewer (a wide mouth pitcher), sloe (small dark globose astringent fruit of the blackthorn tree) and apse (projecting part of a building that is usually semicircular and vaulted). It was cute and absolutely unexpected.
3. Stupid pointless picture messages – instead of being incredibly obnoxious, which they should have been, they made me smile.

Monday, August 20, 2007
1. By sheer dumb luck, I actually won $3 in a poker game! I don’t even enjoy poker very much, so I was actually trying to lose so that I could stop playing, but it turned out that going all in worked for me.
2. My absent friends are finally home after 5 weeks! I missed them.
3. I went out to dinner with the recently returned friends and several others, and it was absolutely amazing to joke around with them and crack each other up again. I honestly stopped and thought to myself, “Wow… I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to have found these people and made friends with them!” Really, I have the best friends ever.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007
1. I watched The Bourne Ultimatum with some friends and actually enjoyed it, despite not having seen the second movie and remembering nothing about the first.
2. A friend and I grabbed a snack at Panera and chatted a little – not about anything too serious, but it was great nonetheless.
3. My cross-country team is ordering some really, really cool clothes this year and I’m so excited for them! I hope everything works out well.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
1. An easy day of babysitting… I’m always grateful for that!
2. Tentative plans to go to his cottage (well, time-share, I think) on Lake Michigan for an overnight stay this weekend. It would be so exciting!
3. I went to Panera with my brother today to buy myself a bagel, but I only had $2 on me. It would have been enough for two bagels, but my brother was only interested in a drink, so I asked how much the drinks were and had to tell my brother that I couldn’t afford it. The lady working behind the counter rang me up for my bagel and then handed us a cup and said, “I won’t tell anyone.” It was so nice and so unexpected! It really just blew me away. I hope she knows that she made my day. Thank you, Ruth!

Sunday, August 19, 2007
1. I don’t get to go to church often, but on Sunday I had to go to a friend’s church (for reasons I don’t feel like explaining), and it actually ended up being completely worth it. I was in such a good mood for the rest of the day!
2. I did a lot of church-inspired introspection, and I really felt like I cleared something up for myself.
3. It rained all day, but it wasn’t dreary at all, just cozy and the kind of rain that makes you happy.

to be continued at a more convenient time….

1. Playing on a playground and garage sale-ing with a friend. We didn’t find anything other than junk at the garage sales (it was pretty late in the day), but it was fun to drive around looking for sales, so it was worth it.

2. Time-trial today and I beat her by a few steps! I feel like I’m reasserting myself. To be honest, this situation is really ideal for me – we’ll be able to run together for most of the race, but hopefully I’ll be just a little bit ahead by the end. eek, I’m selfish, I know.

3. Writing in my journal! I don’t do it nearly often enough, but I really love it.