list three things every day that made me happy

1. On mornings when the chum wakes up at 5:30, you know what makes me happy? Sesame Street on tivo. New season too. 5:30? Cripes! It’s pitch dark and cold!

2. A nice little run followed by push-ups and sit-ups while watching a Project Runway repeat. The chum was delighted by PR (“I think it is one of my favorite shows. maybe.”) The language is a bit sketchy for me to want to show it to him, though.

3. Farmville finally opened up the 24×24 expansion. I know that’s so dorky to discuss but it made us so happy we squealed with delight. Our farm is really ridiculously beautiful and now it has a bit more room to be less squished.

1. Getting a facial. Especially rewarding since my skin had gone absolutely berserk. Professional care stopped that right away.

2. Grabbing a coffee with GG, he ran into someone he used to work with. Seeing GG with other men in his age group always makes me appreciate my husband’s lack of stomach, full head of hair, and general hotness. Vanity by proxy.

3. The chum and I went out for dinner at Underwood. Posh night out for the small. The chum wore his tie. The funny part was we met one of the chum’s best buddies just going in with his dad and brother just as we drove up. So we made it a party. The chum still did good manners and it was a good time, though not what we had planned. And I got the flatbread I love. And a mangotini.

1. It appears that the magic elderberry tonic has done its work again. I am 500% more healthy than yesterday. Hurray!

2. The chum looks so funny with the centipede tattoo on his face. Makes me smile each time I see it.

3. Picked up the scooter. It’s only a 50 something so doesn’t have a lot of power – like maybe 45 mph tops? So cute and pink she is. I don’t think I’ll learn to ride her til the new year but I’m looking forward to it a lot. How cute will I be, pulling up at a race on my scooter? Quite.

1. Got tickets for the SF Ballet’s Nutcracker for me, mom, ad the chum. I was kind of excited before but once I got the tickets I got super excited. Funny.

2. A nap. I have the weirdest dreams when I nap.

3. The chum getting all dressed up as Batman to dance along with the TV as I folded laundry. And later trying some really impressive, “Run, leap, and spin” tricks. Funny boy.

4. A nice talk with GG in bed with the lights out.

How funny and appropriate is this cartoon? I love the internet.

1. A nice bike ride. Cool but not too cold. Even though I was nervous there were several points on the ride where I noticed how much more skill I have on the bike now. If only I could use hand signals.

2. Lying down in bed and reading a magazine for a bit in the middle of the day. These small treats are so important.

3. Nice times with babies at family dinner – Celeste jumping up and down as I held her (strong legs for one so very rotund) and Pepper all fascinated by the chum and talking with him. And the chum whispering to Pep, “I love you.”

1. Finally a late morning of sleep. With GG under the weather, it’s been early mornings for me for a week now and I’m really not at my best before dawn. Felt so much better and caught up.

2. A bit of a trying afternoon with the chum in Santa Rosa but even the worst behavior is now able to be curtailed with open ended threats of “a penalty”. Never had to actually come across yet with what the penalty might be.

3. The chum’s silly dance to The Way Things Work theme song. It gets more polished each night.

What a day!

1. GG won a pink 2009 Vespa LX 50 and he’s going to give it to me! Check out Lyle signing it!

2. Great race with a really good time.

3. Watching the chum pedal his little heart out up and down the bike path.

1. The chum and I planted a pumpkin patch for next year. We smashed the jack o’lanterns, sprinkled the moldy and wet seeds and goo, and covered it all with a layer of soil. Then we dragged some wood around it to stop mowing in spring. Hope it works!

2. We rode the bicycle B-4-2 into town for a birthday party (4+ miles). The chum is getting much better on the bike. No more wobbling and fooling and he listens to instructions right away. Much safer to be out with.

3. Nice birthday party at Gavin’s. All of The Buddies were there so it was super wild but tear-free. The chum used really nice manners throughout (without reminders) and there were Vodka and Tonics for the parents. What’s not to like?

4. Going out to a John Hodgman interview in SF. My, how he makes us laugh.

1. The chum disappeared in his usual manner after being asked to get dressed for school. When I peeked into his room to see what he was doing, I found him in his chair, reading a book to a bedtime friend. Hard to interrupt that!

2. The chum fascinated by a turtle at the feed store. He kept coming back to the tank to watch and give the usual chum running commentary. Very cute.

3. GG well enough to cook dinner. Real food again!

1. Well enough to do a run – just 2 miles but I felt so much better and happier than I have in days afterward.

2. All sorts of animal life on the deck right outside the french doors today. Several squirrels were using the railing as a highway between walnut trees and stopping and nibbling while keeping a beady eye on me. Also a very fat and persistent robin who kept trying to pick up and eat pumpkin seeds. Not as much luck, but he did managed to put a few into a candle cup for reasons known only to him.

3. My arm, shoulder, and neck felt much better after the emergency massage. Still painful and tender but not to the point of nauseating pain as before.

4. Last night for the Jack O’ Lanterns. They’re very spooky with the additional layer of mold and their attitude of caving in. This afternoon, the chum and I will bury them and their innards in the hopes of a new pumpkin patch for next year.