Friday, May 14, 2010

Simple Pleasures

The Playfriends are ramping up today to set up the fabulous Heart of Dixie Romance Reader's Luncheon tomorrow with New York Times Bestselling Author Julia London. We will be scuttling about for hours, hauling gift baskets and stuffying goody bags, so I thought I'd post today about something near and dear to my heart - the small pleasures in life. I recently ran across a list on Shine about the 101 small pleasures you can enjoy every day. I think a lot of us get hung up on the big stuff and don't take the time to enjoy the simple little things that are all around us. They usually don't take much money or effort, just the forethought to stop and take notice.

Here's what they included on their list:
  1. coloring (yes, grown-ups can do it, too)
  2. crisp cotton sheets
  3. soft skin
  4. old family recipes
  5. the first daffodils of spring
  6. sleeping in
  7. an exercise endorphin high
  8. window boxes
  9. a perfect cup of coffee
  10. a genuine compliment (giving or receiving)
  11. the way babies smell
  12. a handwritten letter
  13. waking up in a good mood...for no real reason
  14. singing in the shower
  15. finding a couple forgotten dollars in your pocket
  16. doing something nice for your neighbor
  17. a home cooked meal
  18. laughing
  19. movie theater popcorn
  20. playing hookey
  21. a bubble bath
  22. swimming
  23. an afternoon nap
  24. street musicians
  25. your favorite song
  26. saying thank you
  27. helping someone in need
  28. old fashioned photo booths
  29. fresh whipped cream
  30. inspiring blogs
  31. a glass of wine
  32. rainy afternoons
  33. the funny things kids say
  34. a novel you can get lost in
  35. finding the perfect piece of clothing...on sale
  36. clean laundry
  37. the wind in your hair
  38. treating the person behind you at the drive-thru
  39. sharing an umbrella
  40. the smell of lavender
  41. a long walk that clears your head
  42. a bear hug
  43. The Beatles
  44. smiling at a stranger
  45. eating with chopsticks (Chinese food optional)
  46. butterflies
  47. staying in your pj's all day
  48. singing along to the radio and knowing all the words
  49. fresh herbs
  50. ordering in pizza
  51. happy endings...even if they're fictional
  52. flying a kite
  53. puppies
  54. root beer floats
  55. holding open the door...
  56. ...or having someone hold the door for you
  57. fountain soda
  58. white, fluffy towels
  59. sunshine
  60. spending an afternoon at a museum
  61. really great advice
  62. green lights all the way home
  63. the sound of rain hitting the windows
  64. sitting in a booth
  65. holding hands
  66. a great hair day with no effort
  67. building a fort with your kids
  68. when someone falls asleep with their head on your shoulder
  69. fireflies
  70. the perfect taco
  71. geraniums on a windowsill
  72. slow dancing
  73. the smell of fresh-baked bread
  74. cheesy, uplifting musicals
  75. great stories
  76. the smell of gasoline
  77. the cold side of the pillow
  78. love letters
  79. old friends...
  80. ...new friends
  81. a pull-through parking space
  82. a baguette -- crisp on the outside, airy on the inside
  83. when a dog licks your hand
  84. sitting at the counter at an old-fashioned diner
  85. using your favorite dishes
  86. reading your child a bedtime story
  87. Girl Scout Cookies
  88. flossing
  89. kissing someone you love
  90. the smell of onions and garlic cooking
  91. hot chocolate
  92. jumping in puddles
  93. old photographs
  94. birds hopping on the sidewalk
  95. Ella Fitzgerald
  96. a spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar
  97. your softest t-shirt
  98. a new magazine in the mail
  99. fireplaces
  100. having exact change
  101. bacon and pancakes cooking on Saturday morning

What's your favorite? Got any you'd like to add? Personally, I love peanut butter, staying in my PJs all day and puppy kisses (all dogs are puppies to me). But I'm baffled by the inclusion of flossing and the smell of gasoline. Is flossing really a daily pleasure? Maybe I'm doing it wrong.
SP

9 comments:

Angel said...

I'm starting early this morning. Little Man got me out of bed at 4am and could never go back to sleep. I may have to slip to the hotel for a nap this afternoon. :)

Simple Pleasures: a really hot shower, ambrosia cookies, holding one of my children while they sleep, new shoes

Angel

Katherine Bone said...

Simple pleasures... friends like you! ;)

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Angel, we sound like we had the same morning (only Zilla woke me up leaving for work). I was contemplating a nap at the hotel too.

Simple pleasures? A quick kiss as the girls jump out of the car for school. Bright blue skies. A warm blanket.

Instigator

PM's Mother said...

Oh, this is easy -- phone calls from my daughters or distant friends, the smell of lavender, a home baked cinnamon bun fresh out of the oven.

Stephanie said...

I am a big fan of a day in my PJ's and a happy ending. There is nothing I love better than to pile up on the couch and read all day.

The smell of fresh baked cookies and someone to share them with is also a good thing.

SP-Maybe they slipped in smelling gasoline and flossing to see if we were paying attention. :-)

Playground Monitor said...

Crisp cotton sheets! I'd love to have someone change the sheets on my bed daily. I must have inherited the "love lavender" gene from my mother (and mom, I need to find out where you ordered those lavender roll-ons you gave me for Christmas cause they're nearly used up).

Movie popcorn ceased to be a simple pleasure when the price approached the gross national product of a third world country.

catslady said...

My 23 year old daughter still says she's mad at me when I stopped coloring with her - she was in jr. high or high school by then. It was always my favorite activity with her and she is going to college for graphic design. Maybe I ought to start it up again lol.

Laure said...

Ooh, love coloring. Of course, I'm an art major, so I kind of do that all the time now.

*Listening to a cat purr.
*a rerun of your favorite tv show
*a box of books you ordered finally arrives
*a phone call from your best friend
*an inside joke

Laurie G said...

call from one of my 4 children makes my day!

I love The Beatles. My youngest Jason would play them all the time. It always makes me smile when I hear one of their songs.