Thursday, December 17, 2009

Come on, Get Happy!

I'm a winner! And Lauren (Salt) at Salt Says... said so! First, I finally found a recipe for chocolate chip cookies with wine in them. Remember THAT day? So random... So stupid... So typical of my days... Anyway, Lauren said that "I win at the internet." (!!!!) And then she gave me this fancy schmancy award! An award y'all! Thank you Lauren! (She's one of my new favorite bloggers, you should go read!)



There are rules though. The first is one I made up. You have to click on this link and listen to this song while reading this blog. It makes it just *that* much happier. Yes, I've had too much caffeine, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. Read this at warp speed and you'll be reading almost as fast as these words are running out my head.

Ok, official rules...

1) List 10 things that make you happy, and try to do at least one of them today.
2) Tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.
3) If you are one of those 10 lucky (happy) bloggers who get the award, link back to my blog and create your happy list!

Fun, right!? Except, I'm over-caffeinated so, hopefully I remember how to count.

Ten Things That Make Kallay Happy

(One) Family, my niece and nephew in particular. I mean, I *did* just decide to subject myself to frostbite for them. If that doesn't show happiness, I don't know what does.

(Two) Hercules and Madeline - Hello, look at these faces! Not that I'm all about looks. (Ok, maybe a little... see number nine.) Honestly, these two are my children, for all intents and purposes, and I love them as if I birthed them myself. And judging by the size of Hercules, I'm glad he's adopted. I love Maddie's sense of humor. (e.g. she bats my cellphone off my dresser in the morning when the alarm goes off. hysterical.) I love Hercules' big brown eyes, how every time I leave the house he looks like his heart is ripping out of his chest, which then, in turn, rips my heart out of my chest. I think that's actually his plan, but I'll let him stick with it. It makes me feel loved and I'm a sucker for that.



(Three) Pink Crap - As Oviler says, everything I own is pink. It's true. The only thing I don't own is a pair of pink boots. But, as a rule, if it comes in pink, I want it. And I want it hard core. I got so mad in elementary school. One day they took away the small crayons and gave us the big fat ones because some idiot at table 4 had an appetite for colored wax. (Guess what didn't come in pink in the 80's?) I asked my teacher if I could have the Carnation Pink crayon and she lied and told me she didn't have any. Excuse you, lady, 5 year olds are not stupid. Don't ever get between a girl and her pink crap. (This is the same teacher who ate my Double Stuffd Oreos that I brought in for snack time. Bitch.)

(Four) Yoga *sigh* I haven't been able to do this in a while. (Ok, I just heard half the planet go "Pffft!") Just hear me out. I started yoga last year when I lived in Knoxville, had the *best* instructor and really started to get good at it. My lower back thanked me every morning. It was a (mostly) free class. A "Karma" class, as they called it, which basically meant that it was free or very cheap. You gave what you could. When I moved back to Michigan, I obviously lost my free/inexpensive yoga privileges. Now, sure, I could totally do yoga on my own and downward dog my brains out, but it was his *voice*. He would correct our positions and then during what I always called sleepy time, he would go through every body part, telling us to release all of the tension, that "we didn't need it anymore". Imagine James Earl Jones yoga. Mmm... it was like soft serve vanilla ice cream after being at the beach all day. Doing yoga on my own just isn't the same kind of relaxation. Maddie's ubermeow in the background plus Hercules thinking I'm playing "Where's Mommy?" is not a good combo.

(Five) Finding new music - I'm one of those people that loves to listen to music that isn't on the radio yet and then when they make it big, I'm one of those people that get all atwitter because "I HEARD THEM FIRST!" Mmmhm. I admit it. Jack Johnson? Imogen Heap? Joshua Radin? Etc. Etc. I'm happy for them. I am! But I'm also proud of myself for having good ears! (<---- So Vain! But you asked!!) (Here's some cool stuff if you like this sort of thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2hMQRlU_S4)

(Six) Writing - I have loved writing since I was a kid. I wrote things as a 7 year old that would be considered politically incorrect. I guess that's what happens when you spend a lot of time with adults. It's funny though, I read these stories now and I want to take my little girl self aside and reprimand her! "What were you thinking? Do you have any idea what this word means?" No, I sure didn't! Sure. Didn't.

In my teenage years, I used writing (and reading) as an escape from the "real" world. This was when I became a self proclaimed "poet". (I sucked.) I can't read much of it at a time. It's dark. It's depressing. I want to give my teenage self a hug and tell her that one day she'll be beautiful. One day she'll have friends. One day she'll be okay. But she would do the teenage door slammy trick, the one where they simultaneously lock the door while slamming it? How the hell....?

Writing has gotten me through so much. I finally learned to use my humor as a way to deal. Write about life, make it funny, even though sometimes the situations I end up in are so far from it. Like ending up in the ER on my birthday unconscious last year? Not funny. Couldn't make it funny. So I skipped it. There's a lot more to my life than what ends up in this blog. Eventually the funny finds me and then you get to hear all about my running over bunnies (:( or the latest crazy alarm when people of the Earth are in rare form for the day. I love writing about this stuff. It helps me remember. It helps me forget. It just helps.

(Seven) Coffee - I wrote an Ode to Coffee in high school, one of the only un-depressing poems I wrote during those years. It began, "Coffee, coffee, friend of mine..." Still true. I love the smell and even as a little girl, it was one of my favorite things to wake up to. Now, it's the only way I function. I tried decaffeinating myself for about six months in 2006. What a dumb idea that was. Picture this: Three day headache that no amount of Excedrin could touch, drinking peppermint tea until you morph into human menthol and no jitters. Awful right?

I happen to like feeling like a vibrator thankyouverymuch. So, there. I love the taste of coffee and drink it with just about everything. Coffee is my breakfast and more often that not becomes my lunch as well. Pie without coffee? Is that even legal? When I was a cafe manager and barista one of my favorite chores was grinding coffee. Those fresh oily little beans (they totally look like vaginas, have you ever noticed that? gross.) rolling around in the hopper and wafting into the air the most luxurious smell. The aroma is caffeinated, I can almost swear by that. Yems. I've said it before, I'll say it again, hook me up to a dialysis machine, replace my blood with coffee and we are in business. Biz. Ness. Plus, all you water people... you get some cool water bottles, sure. Coffee gets special treatment. I mean there's water glass, water bottle, the end. We have espresso cups, latte bowls, coffee mugs (in all sorts of sizes), cappuccino glasses... What's not to love? Plus... coffee was at some point just plain old water, so really, coffee is just diva water. All dressed up. Places to go, people to see, bloodstreams to caffeinate. And for the love of, don't make me drink Starbucks. I beg. I plead.

(Eight) The City - I've always been an adventurous person. Not really suicidal, I mean you won't see me jumping out of planes or Russian Rouletting it up in Vegas. I do love a good walk down a hustling bustling street though. Getting lost in a concrete grid. Talking to strangers. Eating weird food. I've been to most of the good ones: New York, Seattle (lived there for 2 years), Philly, Boston, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Portland, and Chicago. Hands-down my favorite city is Seattle. But Chicago holds a big chunk of my heart too. The buildings, the people, the food, the coffee, the neighborhoods, culture... I could go on. I just love cities. I feel most alive, the most like myself when I'm walking down a busy sidewalk with a full tumbler in hand. Horns blaring, cellphones ringing, it's noisy, it's invigorating, it's me. You'll never see me smiling more than when I'm in a city. Kids in a candy shop are tame in comparison.

(Nine) Mascara/Lip gloss - It's no secret that my eyelashes are quite possibly my worst feature. When I wake up in the morning with a fresh face and no makeup, I look similar to a cancer patient. You think I'm kidding. You would be wrong. My eyelashes are so white and short, they poke straight out of my eyelids and they *still* don't reach my glasses. It's pathetic. So mascara is without a doubt my very favorite beauty product. I've tried them all. I've tried extensions (thanks Ma!), I've tried fakes, I've tried the double sided wand things with the special extender formula on one side and the mascara on the other. My current mascara of choice is Lash Stiletto. I love the brush! I usually have two different mascaras, one for the top lashes and one for the bottom lashes because the brushes really do make all the difference. But Lash Stiletto takes care of both. Hello, Miss Multitasking Mascara. Welcome to my beauty regime. Second favorite is lip gloss. I have every color, every brand. The push up, the sponge applicators, the squeeze tubes, I'm a lip gloss freak. Don't even get me started on lipstick. It's asinine. I used to sell Mary Kay, so the leftover product bin is my own personal lip product arsenal.

(Ten) Guilty Pleasures - ;) (I love all the assumptions happening right now, love them. Assume away, you might be right.)


Of course I love these ten bloggers too. I read them like it's my own personal religion. My dashboard is my friend. And these blogs simply rock. (If she wasn't the one who graced me with this award, Salt would totally be on this list.)Here we go:

Ten Blogs That Make My Days
(some old, some new, some popular, some under appreciated)

1. The Anti-Journalist
2. Magnolias and Mimosas
3. 2birds1blog
4. Hooking Up Smart
5. The Date Girl Diaries
6. Mental Poo
7. Mandi Speaks
8. The Dog's a Boy, Too!
9. That Girl Blogs
10. The Ungourmet

And so many, many more. I think I read about a novel a day with all of these great writers sharing their life experiences, I just can't get enough.

By the way, how many times did you push play? It's a great song isn't it? *love* Judy Garland.

21 comments:

Moooooog35 said...

Thank you for the shout out and the award.

Sadly, I typically don't do the 'tagging' thing unless it involves bondage of some sort. Even then it scares me.

Regarding the 10 things that make me happy, I would say that probably 9 of them involve different types of pornography, and then the tenth would maybe be my kids (don't worry - I make sure they're fast asleep before I fire up the other 9 items).

If you check my blogroll on my site, I'd say pick any 10 out of that list - I pretty much read every one of them every day with LivitLuvit.com, thebloggess.com and steammeupkid.com probably highest on the list.

All women.

Go figure.

I may have deeper issues.

I forget where I was going with this.

OH - I will put this up on my awards page as soon as I can.

Thanks again! Keep reading!

{leah} said...

Oh THANK YOU!!! I enjoy reading your blog... you make me smile!! I love your humor.... and your guilty pleasures ;)

Thanks for stopping by my blog on my big day!


{I'll be back.... {read in the terminator voice :) }

Anonymous said...

You are most definitely deserving of all the wins and awards. :) This is great! I don't think I knew you loved yoga too and that makes me think you are even more awesome.

I lived in LA for several years and when I moved there I stopped through Chicago for a couple days. It was in September and the lake was SO pretty and blue and I just loved the city so much. I always tell M that I would move there in a heartbeat if it didn't get so damn cold in the winter. :) Big cities are wonderful. I wish I had gotten a chance to go to Seattle while I was out west.

And I love your kitty and pup. Both our cats think it's playtime when I do yoga at home so now I roll out a mat just for them so they can do yoga in their own space. It actually works.

Anyway, yay. This is a great list. I love mascara too.

Mrs. Match said...

Thanks for the award! Jen beat you to it :-) I'll be blogging about my ten things soon! And thanks for reading. I love yoga too, and it's been far too long since I went.

SurferWife said...

How cute are your little furbabies?! Congrats on your award. I a visiting from Magnolias and Mimosas....

secasey said...

as Dani would say, "Squeeee!!!"

thankyouthankyouthankyou for the award!! i feel so honored! (and it's also nice know someone enjoys sympathizing with the ridiculous ravings and tantrums i throw on my blog)

i am SO pumped to make my list of ten and sport my shiny, new award!

Allyson said...

Oh girl...I really thought I was the only one who thought coffee beans looked like vaginas. That's totally fantastic. I have dedicated tomorrow morning to blogging about 10 things that make me happy. Well, it's 1:35 AM...so let's say "tomorrow afternoon" to be on the safe side. :D Thanks for the luv!

theUngourmet said...

I love your doggy and your kitty! Who could resist those sweet faces?

Thanks so much for passing me this fun award!

I loved reading about you. I am a lover of all things pink and a lip gloss fanatic as well! :D

Kallay said...

I'm so behind on these comments. One more reason to consider moving to Wordpress.

Leah - Thank you! Awards are so much fun, so you're welcome! I'm so glad I can make you smile, your kid adventures crack me up. They are so much like my niece and nephew. Personality oozing all over the place. Gotta love that!

Lauren - Thank you again! This was my first award, and definitely a fun one! I love passing the blog luv on! Also, yes.. I love love love yoga, wish I could speak animal to let the furbabies know that it's mommy time.
I play hide and seek with Hercules' bone and when I do pigeon he always thinks that I have it and tries to paw at me to find it. It's pretty funny.
As far as cities go, you must take a vacation to Seattle. It's a beautiful city with so much to do and more great coffee than you can possibly drink in a day. (Unless you're me... lol) And Chicago is great, but you're right it's unforgiving in the winter.

Date Girl - You're welcome! I look forward to seeing your ten happy things!

Monique - Thanks! They are pretty cute. (in pictures) They have a ton of personality too. Such fun. I visited your blog last night and have made myself a follower. You're a hoot!

Sarah - I can't wait to see what you cook up over there! You totally deserve to be a well known blogger. I loves your rants (and raves), I can always identify. (And LAUGH.)

Ally - It's true though isn't it? Upon close inspection, they are totally female parts shrunken down to caffeinate humanity. I love your Odes to Neal. So sweet. (and hysterical, as you always are.) Looking forward to your happy blog!

Kim - You are so welcome! I love your blog, you're so creative, you could totally be The Ungourmet gone Martha. Love it!

Katie said...

Stopping by from SITS! Happy Saturday Sharefest!!! It was a good read visiting your blog! Happy Holidays! :)

Sarah and the Gentlemen said...

Congrats on the award! I loved your remarks about the pink crayon/teacher. Good stuff.

I read some of your other posts too. Do you really think six trees is enough? They're beautiful, by the way.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Anonymous said...

Pink is the greatest invention ever! I have been lucky enough to drill that into my nieces brains. Although now, I can't buy them anything NOT in pink. And sometimes there are cute thing sin brown...my other favorite color. So yes, I can sometimes look like I work at Baskin Robbins with all the pink and brown. Happy Saturday Sharefest! I used you as my person above me in roll call!

Luschka said...

I love the decor on your blog. It reminds me of the very luxurious pregnancy/mum's spa I attend at times. Luxurious, rich, with tasty bites. Very nice :) Stopping by from SITS

Jamie said...

I just stumbled onto your blog and had to tell you I think it's FABULOUS!

Emily said...

Cute blog! :) Merry Christmas.

Unknown said...

Congrats! It is always great to have someone notice your work. Great blog.

Stopping by from SITS!

Allyson said...

And PS...thanks for leaving The Fox Den for me...I owe you some of the chocolate gravy on The Ungourmet's blog!

Shell said...

I'm a pink girl, too!

And I totally understand about the yoga instructor. I LOVED mine. Such a relaxing voice and really helped me get through my practice. Doing it by myself is not the same.

Stopping in from SITS.

ann ominous said...

anyone that writes poetry about coffee has a great blog in my opinion!!!!! stoppin by from sits :-)

Confessions From A Work-At-Home Mom said...

Stopping by from SITS-- congrats on your award!!!

A cookie recipe with wine??? Yummy, sign me up!

~Elizabeth
http://confessionsfromaworkingmom.blogspot.com

Krysten said...

Love your list! Some of those things make me very happy too - especially coffee, mmmm!