Thursday, March 25, 2010

Daily Pleasures

I had a friend post a fabulous article entitled "5 Habits of Happy People."  It explains that getting a "make over" can mean more than losing weight or cleaning out your closet, but it can also mean to change your prespective to a positive one.  "While unhappy people, to paraphrase Tolstoy, might be dysfunctional in 10,000 different ways, upbeat folks have some habits in common."  Those habits are to Reach Out, Be Thankful, Live Your Passions, Make Do, and Enjoy Simple pleasures.  Isn't that the truth?!  The best things in life often aren't things and they're usually free.  Since one of the key tenets of happiness is being able to savor small pleasures, here's my list of 101 Pleasures...


  1. coloring (yes, grown-ups can do it, too)
  2. temple trips
  3. a check on my To Do list
  4. freshly cut grass
  5. s’mores
  6. a home cooked meal (thanks, Mom!)
  7. Dad’s omelets on Saturday morning
  8. James Taylor
  9. a smile from a stranger
  10. afternoon naps
  11. an email from Liang
  12. red toe nails
  13. Bones
  14. art museums
  15. a great hair day
  16. babysitting the Larsen girls
  17. birds singing in the trees
  18. bright blue skies
  19. cheesy, uplifting musicals
  20. watching Daniel do Bushi Ban karate
  21. Christmas lights bright against a night sky
  22. church steeples
  23. Alex-isms (he says the FUNNIEST things!)
  24. a great book
  25. fresh, fragrant sheets
  26. cloud shadows racing across the mountains
  27. cousins
  28. eating with chopsticks
  29. daddy hugs
  30. eyelashes on a sleeping child’s cheeks
  31. fair food
  32. finding forgotten dollars in your pocket
  33. finding the perfect outfit...on sale
  34. a sincere compliment
  35. fluffy towels
  36. fountain soda
  37. painting a room
  38. fresh bread and butter
  39. Girl Scout Cookies
  40. great stories
  41. blogging
  42. Friday nights
  43. green lights all the way home
  44. Beatles
  45. a laugh out loud surprise
  46. happy endings...even if they're fictional
  47. Christmas Eve program
  48. hot chocolate
  49. inspiring blogs
  50. lunch with old roommates
  51. ice-cream cones
  52. movie theater popcorn
  53. a moving melody
  54. my nerd shows (AKA the Sci-Fi Channel)
  55. listening to Ian read
  56. new destinations
  57. old friends...
  58. ...new friends
  59. old photographs
  60. oreos and milk
  61. pay day
  62. playing hookey
  63. a stylish haircut by Tricia
  64. massages
  65. a warm wind on my face
  66. concerts with Chris
  67. staying in my pajamas all day
  68. a stamp in my passport
  69. Pride and Prejudice
  70. scratching my brother’s back through Sacrament meeting
  71. Project Runway
  72. reading a child a bedtime story
  73. chocolate
  74. when my students realize they ARE smart
  75. walks with nephews, nieces, and my camera
  76. really great advice
  77. Josh’s giggle
  78. saying thank you
  79. singing along to the radio and knowing all the words
  80. sky-blue-pink sunsets
  81. sleeping in
  82. Loriel’s desserts
  83. snuggling with my brown and white quilt
  84. soft pjs
  85. Christmas music
  86. sunshine
  87. Text Twist
  88. office supplies
  89. my pearls
  90. swimming on a hot day
  91. the first flowers of spring
  92. Indiana Jones
  93. the perfect taco
  94. Facebook games with Lisa
  95. the library
  96. using your favorite dishes
  97. singing with the choir
  98. watching a fire crackle
  99. my marked up scriptures
  100. planting flowers
  101. forever families

2 comments:

  1. That could double as a list for reasons why we are all happy to know you. I shouldn't have read this post this early in the weekend, though. Now I want to color and reread P&P instead of cleaning my apartment and grading papers. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A list of 101! Dang, you're good!

    ReplyDelete