Thursday Thirteen: Things that make me happy

I have had quite a week. This week will not go down in history as one of the easiest weeks of my life.
Somehow I need to clear my head of all this funk and so I am going to start by listing thirteen things that make me happy. I have made a list like this before, but it's time I did it again.

1. My sons make me insanely happy. They are a challenge to be sure, but they bring a smile to my face every day.

Here is photo I took of Max this week. He was helping me to unload the groceries. He is a fantastic helper. in fact he is most happy when he is helping. He loads the groceries onto his truck and deposits them at the back door.

Here is a pic of Cael. This rug is at the library and he runs around and around the alphabet and when he stops on a letter he wants to me say what letter it is. Then he rests!

2. Spaghetti with browned butter and mizithra cheese.
I first had this dish when I lived in Ogden and ate at the Union Grill there. I LOVE it. I haven't had it in a while because, well, because it is pretty impossible to find mizithra cheese where I live and there is no place I have found that serves it. It doesn't make me love it any less!

 

3. Kenny Dalglish.
Some of you may not know who this is, and to you I say, "WHAT THE HEY?!!"
You are obviously not followers of Premier League Football. King Kenny is the Liverpool manager for the second time and I am so happy I can barely contain my joy. He is a class act and I think the epitome of a great leader.

4. Snuggly beds.

5. The Iditarod 
I think this race is one of the truly "amazing" races still going today. I am not a fan of winter, or the cold, so I am amazed that these athletes brave the cold and go without sleep for days, travelling hundreds of miles out in the middle of no-where. One of the races opposition comes in the form of animal activists. I understand where the activists are coming from, but I personally believe that these people - whose livelihood depends on their dogs, are not brutal in any way. In fact, it is the relationship between human and animal in this race that makes it so appealing to me - and the fact that the race is run by men, women and youth all with equal opportunity to compete and to win. It starts again in a few days and I will be watching closely you can be rest assured! (you can follow along online - this year there is even a musher from Jamaica!)

6. Books.
I love to read and I am enjoying reading a lot recently. I go through phases when I read a lot and when I don't and I am currently in a "read a lot" phase. Goodreads makes me happy also. It is an awesome way to track what  I am reading, keep lists of what I want to read, and it has been a fantastic resource for me to find books I never would have thought of that I have thoroughly enjoyed. If you are a reader at all I highly recommend getting a Goodreads account.

7. Facebook.
I know there are some people out there who don't like it and who never will, and others who are bored with it. I am not one of these people. I love it. I love being connected to my friends and to my family. I love to see photos and updates and send messages back and forth. I protect my privacy to the "nth" degree because my spouse is a conspiracy theorist. I still love it.

8. Blog friends
It's actually a bit of a surprise to me how long I have been blogging. I like to write, and I like to check out other blogs, and I could spend a LOT more time doing it than I do. Having said that, I have really not made any blog "friends" because I typically don't spend the time to go out and comment all the time (even though I want to) and believe it or else - I am somewhat shy - so for the amount of time I have been blogging I have made surprisingly FEW connections with other people - until about the last six months or a bit more.
Now, I ACTUALLY have followers on my blog! I know who some of the people are and I check their sites regularly, and comment sometimes even. I can count on two hands the people I feel like I have made more of a connection with than just "random name" person and it makes me happy - and a little nervous. What if they don't like me and find my posts boring and never comment on my blog again ? Or what if they are so turned off by something I post ( though who could be offended by a list of things I like I have no idea - But I could see my attraction to Dennis Rodman being a little questionable....) that they change the name of their blog so I can never find them again or suddenly go private and block me? Oh dear. I am making myself nervous instead of happy! NEXT!

9. Kobo E-reader.
I don't actually have one yet, but the realization that one day I WILL have one makes me very happy.

10. IPAD
Same as above!

11. SLEEP makes me extremely happy. One day I will have some!

12. Skype
It's been a LONG time since we have had a working computer at home ( we are still in the process of saving to get a MAC) and I only JUST joined skype. My parents live in South Africa, my closest relative is over 500 km away and I am just far away from all my family and friends.
I created a skype account and low and behold - I am connected! I have had a lot of fun talking the three times I have had a chance to my sister and to see my nephew and niece. They play, make faces, and  hang upside down in front of the camera, but I CAN SEE THEM! I can't WAIT until we get connected at home so that my boys can see their grandparents, their cousins, their FAMILIES and get to know them - as opposed to seeing photos only.
YAY SKYPE!

13. Doctor Pepper. I'm a Pepper! I particularly love the DP one purchases in the USA - it is a different recipe than the DP in Canada. What makes me particularly happy about this is my spouse is headed to the USA and I'm certain her carry on luggage has room for at least ONE can!

Link to other thursday thirteen participants HERE