Things that make me happy (because I need a reminder)

*The weather we've been having. Lovely 70 degree days with the barest of breezes. Days where you go outside and you can feel the perfection and softness of the air on your skin, just the right temperature. Days where your sun-parched body drinks up the warmth after a long winter's hibernation.

*The smell of clean clothes. Something about the mix of my Surf detergent and Downy liquid fabric softener makes the whole house smell nice when I have clothes hung up to dry.

*Real Simple magazine. I know I've raved about it here before, but I really do like this magazine! The layout is minimalist and clean-looking, making it a pleasure to look at for the entire time it takes to read the whole thing. Some of the recipes are a little far-fetched for us (lamb kebabs? really?) but I do want to make some of them, someday. I love the simple "Why didn't I think of that?" cleaning/storage/shopping tips, and while most of the clothes and accessories are out of my price range, I still like seeing the fashion articles. The essays are always interesting, and long enough to get a full sense of what the author is talking about while being brief enough to finish in one sitting, between work and dinner, or blog-checking and bed. Even the paper is different from normal magazine paper: not too shiny, thick enough to feel like it's of a bit higher grade.

*Creating. I seem to have gone through a dry spell for several weeks, not doing anything crafty but the bit of knitting I'd get done at Weekly Fiber, my Wednesday-night crafting group. But I can see the surface of my sewing table (still!) and have begun peeking through my fabric stash. I'm getting inspired for cotton sundresses and vintage button-up shirtdresses, though I'm not to that point quite yet. For now, I'm content with cutting out circles and stitching them into cute, useless (for now), maybe slightly tacky yo-yos, and knitting simple garter stitch armwarmers and little cotton baby hats. Be on the lookout for a little tutorial in the next week.

*Things I am thankful for. This ranges from clean, safe drinking water to my shelves and shelves of books, from a good job to my health, from my great husband to my loving family. I should never take any of those things for granted, because there are millions of people in the world that do without them, that will always do without them because there is no way for them to have such things.

I just need a little reminder sometimes that things aren't as bad as my silly brain tries to convince me they are.