identify 100 things that make me happy.

1. Snuggling with purring cats
2. Really great textures
3. Sun-showers
4. Ripe tomatoes and feta cheese in the summer
5. Cinnamon-spiced butternut squash soup in the winter
6. Getting A’s
7. Finding unique old knick-knacks at thrift stores and garage sales
8. Getting lost in a good book all day
9. Warm breezes
10. Sleeping with the window open and a pile of down comforters on cold winter nights
11. Growing my own food (although all I’ve been successful with is tomatoes, herbs, and very anemic looking zucchini)
12. Exploring new places, rediscovering old ones
13. The scent of campfires
14. Long full-body massages
15. Cooking with and for my friends
16. Stimulating conversations in which I don’t feel as if my intellectual merit is being weighed and measured
17. Shamelessly reveling in my various geekeries (diseases, knitting/crocheting, trivia, RPGs, star wars)
18. Sunning myself like a sleepy lizard on the driveway
19. Peaches so ripe the juice dribbles down your chin and berries so ripe they melt in your mouth
20. My mom’s unconditional love and support
21. Sitting around in my underwear
22. Giving the perfect gift
23. That giddy weightless feeling you get in your lower abdomen when you go on roller coasters or driving really fast
24. Really funny-sounding laughs
25. When I love every single song on an album
26. Being near the water, especially watching the ocean waves at night
27. Those moments when you’re talking with another person and all of a sudden you really SEE each other. Its hard to really put into words, but that genuine connection is something I live for.
28. Striking a balance between my need for independence and desire for intimacy
29. Having friends that are family and finding a sense of home in their company
30. A sense of accomplishment
31. Aesthetically-pleasing writing utensils and stationery
32. Watching dogs twitch in their sleep and wondering what they’re chasing in their dreams
33. Hiking in the Carpathians
34. Getting lost in Wikipedia for hours
35. Taking a picture that just feels perfect
36. Saving money towards my travel and living goals
37. Lolcats and the fact that I might be doing my honors thesis project on this phenomena
38. Dry heat and mint tea
39. Pterodactyls and raptors
40. Learning about my family’s background: the good, the bad, and the ugly
41. Lilac bushes that are taller than me, in bloom
42. Swings: rope, tire, plank, metal set… doesn’t matter
43. Wrap-around porches with rocking chairs and home-brewed ice tea
44. Experimenting with breadmaking
45. Learning new languages (with fun-textured words like “pamplemousse” and “fernseher”)
46. Developing a solid post-apocalypse skill set
47. The post-workout exuberance I get after a pilates class
48. Breathing in a lover’s scent
49. Succeeding at calculus exercises
50. Pulp / noir style costuming (complete with 1940’s hair, pencil skirts, and garters)