I made crock pot ribs and my favorite chocolate cake recipe for Valentine’s Day yesterday, but I forgot to buy one ingredient so I had to run to the store at 2:00.
Do you even know how many men were standing in line buying flowers for their loves at 2:00 at teh HEB gorcery store on old 183 in Cedar Park, Texas? 982. I’m serious. (Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. But still. There were A LOT of dudes there buying flowers.)
Even though most of those men stood there with grimaces on their faces, as if they were waiting in line for a colonoscopy, seeing those flowers on their way to new homes made me this happy:
I know all of our holidays are over commercialized here in America, but love is such a happy thing. Holidays that coerce us into being kinder and more generous versions of our usual selves are good for us.
We need more happy in our lives.
I realize that as Christians, happy is not one of our real spiritual goals, but I still think we need more of it. Happy is a baby step toward joy. Happy can be the precursor of gratitude. It is often the natural byproduct of kindness.
Happy is good for us. Let’s be happy.
There are a few things making me ridiculously happy these days. I made a list for you so you can see if they make you happy, too. But maybe you already have your happy things? If so, tell me. I’m always looking for more happy things.
These $8 wall hangings. The House of Belonging is doing all kinds of lovely things in their shop. But the sale price on the swaddles/wall hangings is cuckoo. I love the ones I bought for forever and three days. (Side note: Anyone want to come help me paint these rooms? Gross Builder Beige needs to be cast out into to the design wastelands.)
Shaun White hugging his mom and SOBBING after winning gold. Should any of my children ever win an Olympic gold medal and neglect to cry and hug me IMMEDIATELY afterward, I will make them give the medal back. The End.
My new Bluetooth thingy for my car. I drive a SWEET 2001 Sequoia, which sports the cutting edge technology of a TAPE DECK and a MULTI-DISC CD Player. I have all the Audio Adrenaline mixed tapes my husband made in the 90s, two “Best of the 80s” CDs, and a George Strait CD. Despite these great options, I shockingly often choose SILENCE as my favorite drivetime playlist. Until this Amazon purchase provided a total game changer. The whole world of Spotify is now my oyster:
A Wrinkle in Time! The movie comes out in a couple of weeks and I’m rereading the book before I watch it, so I can either say, “They did right by you, Madeleine! #fistbump” or be all snobby like, “The book is SOOOO much better.” But truly, I’m super excited for the movie and I love any excuse to escape into Meg’s adventure.
Live tweeting from middle school lip sync events. Because middles school is the best kind of horrible drama.
Overalls and Clogs. Morgan DESPISES these fashion trends, and the fact that they’re back and I could potentially bug him by making him buy them for me for my birthday is an added bonus. #bohofunforthewin
The best chocolate cake recipe: JUST MAKE IT. It has three layers and is fudgy and rich and perfect. You will not be sorry.
Ina Garten’s Wedding Soup recipe: It’s cozy. It will make you happy. It will make your people happy (although I leave the spinach out of my kids’ soup, because, hello screaming. Ain’t nobody got time for that.)
What’s making you happy today? Maybe all the Valentine’s Day candy that is on sale for 175% off? I may run to HEB again in a minute, actually….