Happiness is....gigs, gigs, gigs, pouring out of the sky! Two more gigs just landed in my lap this morning!

Happiness is....my li'l lottery subscriptions department just had a major prize winner ($200,000), and it's the first major for us since I've been here, and it's an elderly couple who said their granddaughter is in hospital and her unfunctioning kidney JUST started functioning again minutes before they got the phone call from us, and they are just sooooooo fucking happy about life......

one of my oldest, dearest friends returning my sappy, super sentimental affection, telling me he would be my friend, girl, boy or other, and ending with: "you're my girl, dude."

finally going out for a rare night out in my old neighborhood, and being constantly peppered with complements, a bartender telling me he loves seeing me because i "have amazing energy." and getting ready to go out on a limb artistically, inspired by another bustie.

Made the final payment - $271 - on my guitar last night.

Bazil is mine, all mine!!!

Now it's time to start looking at new electrics.....

Mwahahaha.....

Ripe, juicy nectarines.

Juicy farmer's market sausages for breakfast.

Lovely, lovely books from my local library.

And dumping bags of old books and clothes at the charity shop.

puppy sneezes

puppies dreaming and whimpering, barking and twitching.

all things puppy really.

birds hopping around.

chai latte's.

raisin bread.

running in the rain.

the library.

the smell of baking, and of course the baking itself.

new make up, particularly eye shadow and any eye make up.

Things I like:

doing dishes while listening to Nina Simone or good public radio shows

veggie burgers w/ BBQ sauce as a meal for one

cooking a new meal for Mr. Stank and impressing him

thrift stores and garage sales

hogging the computer to myself with no interruptions

using the herbs I grow to cook

yakking with my sis all the live-long day

basset hounds

Watching a really heavy rainfall from the comfort of my apartment.

Also the fact that I live in a high rise with a great view of the city.

Thunderstorms!

The couple that buys bicycles together stays together....?

His is green; mine is red. We're going to look like a Christmas tree when we ride together.

New blender with superb ice crushing ability. My old one left chunks of ice in my smoothies & shakes.

My wedding date is set! YAY!

Good coffee

Drooling over new bikes (doodle, you got me thinking about getting one!)

Finding the perfect denim blazer - perfect fit, perfect shape, perfect colour, plus it was on your "list" and you've been looking for 2 years - for 8 bucks at a thrift store.

Happiness is a beautiful new kitty, even if she's too shy to come out and say hello yet.

Rain
Talking to a good friend
Petting a puppy

making out on a sidewalk late at night and not caring if anyone sees

feeling a cool breeze come through my window

blowing bubbles from my apartment balcony

lounging in bed with my kitties
a very busy man who calls &/or texts, no exceptions, even if he's trying a case in court next week
going swinging on a first date
taking a walk on the first date, and he holds my hand because I'm rocking the orange Fluevogs I wanted so long

a second date with yet another man tonight--willing to take me to Julie and Julia--the food porn dreams I'll have tonight

A huge, throbbing cock that is hard for me.

Ohhh, that's not 'little'!

Warm, silky, sultry summer nights. God, when I step out into the night and feel that warm air my knees just go weak...

Biking really fast down a smooth hill in the dark.

The perfect, juicy peach I just ate.

Getting tons of free organic produce and fresh-baked bread from work.

Dates. They're like caramels that grow on trees!

The word "douchebaggery."

Flirting.
Early morning rain.
Shopping with a friend for the perfect shoes to go with my dress.

The smell of Mrs. Rouge.

I'm wishing my "women who work in male jobs" thread had survived, because I think that'd really be the place to post this. That being said, I had the greatest thing happen today.

As you may know, I work in refrigeration-sometimes very sophisticated, specialized refrigeration. I was working on this guy's environmental chamber-he does research on the space industry-testing materials to be used in space flights, etc. So his environmental chamber is designed to simulate conditions in outer space to test durabilities and things.

His refrigeration system didn't work. Sooo, the cool part was not the part that I got called to fix it...that happens all the time. The cool part was that he didn't get all MACHO about it and this was the great part. He asked me real, intelligent refrigeration-related questions...and believed me when I answered. Most guys ask me questions to try and test me and then try to prove me wrong. This guy just took me as an equal and then didn't do all the male posturing, "but, you can't POSSIBLY know about this technical stuff" that males tend to do with me. It totally made my day.

And that is my little piece of happiness for today.

that's awesome, tree. I hope he breeds. (I mean, you know? There's enough macho assholes out there trying to propagate themselves, teaching boys that the only way to be a man is to dominate women.)

My pieces of happiness:

fresh aloe vera, for eczema and flea bites. Thank you, aloe vera plant. I'm sorry I have to cut you, but I thank you.

Concord grapes. Little tart bags of complex berry-like sweetness.

Cat who is on the mend enough that he'll put up a good fight when I try to get him into the carrier for next week's follow-up appointment. Howl, howl, howl!

Friends who support me and each other, IRL and here in the Lounge. The caring and thoughtfulness on display here is like an oasis.

My sight (and I'm sorry, eyeballs, that I'm not taking better care of you, I'll do better).

The fact that I have no major diseases.

Pop chips.

Shimmery, electric turquoise, quick-dry nail polish.

Carrots straight from the garden.

Hot sauce. I could eat rats with enough hot sauce.

my favorite pair of jeans (soft, comfy all over, 8 years old but not dated)

big dark night sky with millions of tiny stars

autumn!

new "cop" style sunglasses

Getting this group email from an outspoken male writer, feminist, teacher, and community activist:

"Just watched a great film about writing and the power of art. The Lives of Others (by writer and director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck) is set in East Germany around the fall of the Berlin Wall and is about art in the face of Stasi oppression.

Unfortunately, it is a very male story (erm--the only female character gets hit by a bus!). It made me go back and look at that long list you helped me compile and notice how male-dominated it is. Curious. "

I love feminist men!


Also, having the house all to myself and being able to leave my journal open, wherever I want.

Listening to Ida Maria's album over and over.

Eating cookie dough for dinner.

Writing all night if I want, or sewing, or doing anything else with really loud music or a documentary of my choice because I'm all by myself!!!

License plate on car ahead of me:

BRRAPPP

I giggled for the entire time I was behind it, until they turned off my road. Yeah, my sense of humour includes the Beavis and Butthead variety.

Watching my cat clean his head by licking his paw and then rubbing furiously at the little spot between his ears.


annnddd...

THE RETURN OF AUTUMN! THE BEST SEAOSONNNNN! Yummies of the pumpkin flavored variety are back on the store shelves! The nights are cooler! Leaves will be turning soon! Hurrah!

imperial cookies

After 2 years on medication......my insulin levels are back down to that of a NORMAL PERSON! WOOT!!!! *kicks insulin resistance in the head*

My boyfriend and my mother finally met, after a year of me going around with him....and they got along just dandy.

Congrats doodle! That's really sweet to read about your boyfriend and mother meeting.

Little pieces of happiness for me: Being able to spend time with my nieces and little cousins now that I'm living back home. For some reason, these little buggers like spending time with me.

all things autumn (word, madamhooch):

autumn rain
spice candle ("candles are the new cats")
martha stewart et al. seasonal craft magazines

actually being able to sleep in until 9 today. and having the option to go back to bed.

new pajama pants
bright yellow nail polish
making tofu pot pies and pumpkin-cranberry scones
mini pumpkins and gourds
pointless showers- just took one without washing my hair (or caring that the steam was making it gross) and I feel sooo good right now.

I gave a hand woven Pima basket to my mother in law, and she really loved it.

Making a better acquaintance with a woman who works in my dream industry, who gave me great advice and insight and was so fun to talk to.

Learning new dance skills.

Have a couple of weekends off where I don't have to work.

The month of October. Halloween, horror films, autumn, my birthday.

-moving to a new apartment that is a 10 minute walk to work.

-buying a new couch.

-shopping with a cousin who came all the way from the Netherlands to visit you.

chocolate custard

aunt and uncle planning visit from London in July just to see my new baby, due in March

the home stretch to the end of the school year: *loving my seniors sick* every day I have left with them

soft furry cat purr cuddles

Hot chocolate mixed with hazelnut coffee, which I drink every morning. Mmmmm.

Wonderful breakfast with two great friends.
Cuddling three-month-old twins.
Husband coming home from 600 miles away in 3.5 hours.

Busties, in every way shape & form everyone comes in.
sometimes I feel so incredibly lifted up by all of you..... I'm actually feeling a little veklempt right now!

Friday!
Dinner reservations tonite with friends to celebrate our anniversaries and new houses.

Sunny and warm day! I am happy!

My two fur-babies (two cats).

Seriously, I don't think I would have been able to get through half the shit I did over the past two years without them. That might be lame but I love them to itty bitty kitty pieces.

http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/
this is awesome

smoking a joint and having a "deep, philosophical" conversation with your latest crush.

When you start drawing up song charts for your band's new bass player and realize 90% of your cover material consists of songs by women artists…..and not only women artists, but women rockers and blues players who write their own damned songs and play their own damned instruments and who depend on their talent rather than their sexuality for their success. It’s a fine moment of womanpride, I tell you.

When you play the aforementioned songs in public and notice how people - female AND male - REALLY FREAKING LOVE THEM, and you are the only band in town that plays 'em. I think I've secured me-self a niche, folks.

having an erotic dream and actually making it to the end...and the orgasm is what wakes you up!

Oh, tree, that's divine!

How the blueberries that I put in my cereal every morning turn my milk purple. It totally makes my day.

I'm so lame.

christopher walken and imitations thereof.

Sunshine!