Things to Be Happy About ~ October Edition

Goodness, I have been bad blogger! I haven't blogged in a week. Where has the last week gone? Life has been busy and we've been out of town with another trip planned this weekend. November is upon us and 2010 is nearing it's end. It's time to post my "things to be happy about" from October. If you are new to this, I received a bright yellow, page-a-day desk calendar for Christmas last year and it sits on my desk at work. Each day the page lists various things to be happy about. Throughout the month I keep up with my favorite things the pages list and blog about them at the end of the month explaining why it makes me happy. I'm a person who tries to find happiness in the littlest of things and so many things excite me. I'm easily pleased. If you want to catch up, I started this in January so you can always look through my archive.

Here are my October things to be happy about...

• Lattes ~ Yum! My favorite drink at Starbucks and visiting Starbucks makes me happy.
  
• Service with a Smile ~ I love a good "customer service representative" or a person that works in retail with a smile and good attitude. Sadly these days it seems like more and more people that work in stores are rude or are so negative.
  
• Screaming for Your Team ~ I LOVE sports! High School, College and Professional and I LOVE cheering my teams on. I admit, I can get a little intense too!
• Saturday Nights ~ This is usually "Date Night" for me and my sweet husband whether out on the town enjoying dinner, dessert and a movie or staying in at home for a fun meal and board games. Saturday nights bring me lots of happiness!
• Paying Cash ~ Dave Ramsey and his system are amazing. We have been doing the Dave Ramsey "thing" for over a year now and it's been such a blessing and helped us a great deal. One of his methods is paying/using cash for as much as possible via "the envelope system" so it's worked out really well. It took some adjusting at first, but now we love it.
• Spongebob Squarepants ~ Such a funny little dude that makes me laugh!
  
• Hamster Wheels ~ This makes me happy not because I love hamsters, nor have I ever had one, but John often refers to me as his "HamsterMonkey" (which is a whole other post), but it has to do with me and my OCD, to do lists and need to keep up with too much at once. If I have a lot going on or I'm going in a million directions, we joke about me getting in my "hamster wheel".
• Getting exactly what you ordered ~ I tend to have bad luck at restaurants with many stories I could share, so it's always nice to receive exactly what I ordered
• Christmas Wish Lists ~ I've been working on mine! I also love knowing what my family and friends are wishing for...especially our nieces and nephews.
• Frying Donuts ~ This reminds me of my Grammy. She would make us and also taught me how to make little cinnamon and sugar donuts out of biscuits. They are very tasty and it's a precious memory.
  
• Halloween Candy Stash ~ Halloween candy is fun because we never buy that much candy at one time and such variety any other time of year. Once I had our Halloween candy out in bowls this year,. we would grab a "fun sized" item from time to time. We had a record 170 trick-or-treaters (yes, we count them) and that was even with running out of candy at 8pm or we could have had more.
  
• A Roof Over Your Head ~ I'm thankful for this every.single.day! Especially when I drive by and see homeless people. I feel for those living in horrible environments or in homes falling apart. Just a couple of weeks ago (on a Saturday) a house about 1/2 a mile from us completely burned. We pass by the dark black remains of this home every day and it's so sad that these people not only lost their home, but everything in it.
  
• Baked Beans ~ I'm not a "straight out of the can" pork & beans fan, but I love me some baked beans. My Dad's recipe is the best - YUM-O!
  
• Beef Stroganoff ~ This is on our menu every month - one of our favorites. We use my Grandpa's recipe that's in their church's cookbook from many, many years ago. I love making my grandparent's recipes and favorites in my own kitchen.
• The World Series ~ We just have the pleasure of enjoy this. Unfortunately, our Texas Rangers came up short and were beat by the San Francisco Giants and their awesome pitching staff, but it was fun! We are big Rangers' fans so it was a thrilling year - thanks for a great a season guys.
• Getting Engaged ~ This happened to me on April 16, 2002 - 8 1/2 years ago. It was one of the happiest days of my life.
• Leaving on a Road Trip ~ We really enjoy traveling together and are always up for a road trip and have taken many. We have a few planned over these next couple of months with the holidays nearing.
• Cherries in Fruit Cocktail ~ My favorite part! I don't eat it too much, but when I do or I buy it I like to get the "very cherry" for extra yumminess.
• A Triple Word Score in Scrabble ~ Oh the excitement in an enjoyable game!
  
• A Newly Trimmed Lawn ~ Fresh cut grass makes the house look and feel so nice.
  
• Waking Up Without an Alarm ~ A.K.A. SLEEPING IN - that makes everyone happy when we are able to do that.
• A Mug of Hot Cider ~ A warm fall treat! I actually had some the other night while I was working on things around the house. Have you had a "Carmel Apple Spice" at Starbucks? - get one!
• Cooking at Home More ~ I love to cook and bake and wish I had more time to do it. I have time now, but I can't get enough. After working all day and making the drive home, I still enjoy making supper and sitting down to eat with John. I really enjoy cooking on the weekends when I have additional time. I love to try new recipes and I really enjoy making desserts.
• S'Mores ~ Finger Lickin' Good! They are the best with a campfire, but we have a tabletop s'mores maker that works really well and is super neat.
  
• Erasers that Work Well ~ I can't stand a pencil with a crummy eraser or one that leaves colored streaks. A good eraser = two thumbs up!
  

I have a lot to be happy about this time of year with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching - such a special time of year. We have lots of fun plans with family and also just for the two of us. It will be a busy time with lots going on, but life is good. God is Good!

I hope you find something to be happy about each day.
Until we meet again!
Riley