1. Watching someone enjoy something you also enjoy.
2. Daydreaming about characters you made up.
3. Waking up before the alarm.
4. Doing what you want to do.
5. Sitting in grass you’re not sure is wet, and it’s not.
6. Solving problems.
7. A really great season finale.
8. French onion soup topped with onion rings.
9. Sharing with appreciative people.
10. Picking up exactly where you left off with old friends.
Liked the Glee photo, have just started watching it over here. Love it!
Agree with all your points bar no.3. Too often I wake before the alarm and then can’t get back to sleep.
Craig – what a GREAT list!!!
Milo – boy do I know what you mean. I agree with Craig on #3 when it’s a matter of waking up JUST before the alarm. Not when it’s a matter of waking up in the middle of the night hours before the alarm. Insomnia is the worst.
9, 1, 6, and 10 are my favorites, more or less in that order
I’m with Milo. Even if I only wake up 10 min. before the alarm goes off it pisses me off that I’m missing out on those 10 minutes of sleep. Maybe if I went to bed earlier I wouldn’t be so resentful.
I especially love #2 and #4.
Really? I LOVE waking up before the alarm. If it’s 10 minutes before you can bask in the relaxation of being able to stretch out in bed and wake up slowly. And if it’s a few hours before you get to go back to sleep! I guess that’s only if you’re like me and you usually don’t have trouble falling back to sleep.
Craig – I’m totally with you on waking up (shortly) before the alarm. I love it when my body is trained to get up at around the same time. I *HATE* being woken up by an alarm!
Tam – waking up 10 minutes before an alarm doesn’t bother me at all. It’s definitely only a problem if I wake up *hours* before the alarm and can’t get back to sleep. I had a protracted period in 2008 of severe insomnia for about 6 months, at the worst of it, getting only 1.5 – 2 hours of sleep a night; 3 tops. I was crawling up the walls
Justin/Tam – not infrequently I may wake up sometime after 5am, then not get back to sleep until my alarm goes off at 6.55am. Not ideal. That said, when my alarm goes off, I have 20 mins snooze time and get out of bed at 7.15am.
I guess I factor in my lazy time. My alarm goes off at 6:10 but I know I can lay there until 6:30 if I push it, maybe 6:40. I don’t have to leap up right away. Last night I woke up at 5:00 but was able to get back to sleep until 6:00. Still awake before necessary but I don’t usually suffer from insomnia. *knock on wood*
This list reminds me Rocky Dennis’ list at the end of Mask:
These things are good: ice cream and cake, a ride on a Harley, seeing monkeys in the trees, the rain on my tongue, and the sun shining on my face.
These things are a drag: dust in my hair, holes in my shoes, no money in my pocket, and the sun shining on my face.
awwwwwww
Actually I realized if I really push it I could lay there until 7:30. I have flexible work hours so as long as I put in my time I can arrive anytime before 9:30. I usually leave at the same time my daughter leaves for school though, about 7:45 getting to work at 8:30 ish. However when she doesn’t have to get up I tend to come in a bit later and leave for home later. Thankfully I don’t punch a clock.
Craiggers: Nice list, except, I’m not with you at ALL on #3. I hate getting up, period. I’d sleep in every day until 10:00 if I didn’t have to get up. It’s bad enough to be woken by the alarm, but to wake up 15 minutes beforehand, and know that I’ve got to be up in 15 minutes just pisses me off. I want to spend that 15 minutes sleeping! And #8, sorry, don’t French Onion soup or onion rings.
I’d add, though..
#11: crawling inbetween freshly laundered bedsheets, still warm from the dryer.
#12: Being greeted by our dog when you come in the house, toy in her mouth, tail wagging like a flag in a hurricane, so excited that you’re home and can play with her.
#13: lists of things that make fellow cool bloggers happy (even if you don’t personally agree with all of their choices)
#14: Getting to pay a surprise visit to 8 of your online friends, accompanied by another online friend.
#15: Watchign Glee for the first time.
HUGS…
1. Totally
I bliss out on broccoli cheese soup now.
2. Never done it
3. I actually hate this
4. Duhr.
5. Hmm, I’d be more relieved than happy, but I get it.
6. Totes
7. I guess….
8. I love it, but don’t eat it anymore now that I keep kosher. Beef broth plus cheese = treyfe.
9. Yup.
10. Yup
” I bliss out on broccoli cheese soup now.”
You have a good imagination David. Broccoli soup, ick. I can choke down plain broccoli to be a good Mom but that’s my limit. Maybe you could make French onion soup with a vegetable broth? Worth a try.
Um, yeah, #3 has got to go. The alarm clock is my mortal enemy and it annoys me to no end if I wake up before the alarm. Even if it is only five minutes that is still five minutes I could be sleeping! Although I do understand the wanting to wake up slowly; I actually set my alarm clock ahead ten minutes so I can have that time to stretch out and come to my senses before getting out of bed.
As for #10, that wouldn’t have anything to do with your Facebook stalkery the other day would it?
Oh, and let me add:
11. Taking a nap on the couch snuggled up with my son(s) or daughter
12. Having the your code compile on the first try
13. Finding an elegantly simple solution to a complex problem
14. The excitement of cracking open a brand new book and getting teleported to another world.
15. The first sip of scotch/brandy/bourbon after a long day
16. Reliving the excitement and discovery of childhood through my kids
Tam, honestly, you can “choke down plain broccoli” but you spurn the idea of broccoli actually *MADE APPETIZING* with cheese? That seems kinda backwards to me
David, I certainly hope you pronounce “treyfe” with a nice Yiddish accent. It’s just more fun that way.
As for the topic of alarms — full disclosure: I *NEVER* use an alarm anymore. Partly because of the bad experience I had with insomnia, and partly because I have flexible hours at IBM, and partly because I tend to wake up around the same time every day anyway and I just don’t need one. Mostly, however, because getting woken up by an alarm is such a horrible unpleasant experience — and if the alarm happens to wake me up in the wrong part of my sleep cycle, I’m in a fog for the rest of the day.
The only time I ever use an alarm anymore is if I have an insanely early business meeting I have to call into at the crack of dawn (which happens sometimes because half our team is in Dublin), or if I have a plane to catch at some ungodly hour, or some such similar thing. It always sucks to be woken up by one, but the knowledge that it’s a very rare thing helps
Oh, I like this list. Except #3 and #8 for me. I don’t like either.
I would add watching the birds outside my window. Which is what I’m doing now.
GoKitty – don’t make me cry!
M. Nico: Yes!! to #14. Even better when in a bubble bath or curled up in bed.
M. Nico: I wondered the same thing about #10! LOL!
1. Agreed.
2. Dunno, never done it.
3. Hells no! I wake up before the alarm every day and it urks the hell out of me. I’m not, and never have been, a good sleeper. The problems started in infancy and have continued through my entire life. On average, I get about 5 hours of sleep a night, but it is broken up into short stretches of sleep. I’m pretty used to it as it has been going on my whole life. Every once in a while, I get a good sleep, but there are nights when it is bed at 11, up at 11:20p.m. and awake until 5:00a.m. Those nights suck pretty hard.
4. Totally.
5. Never experienced this specifically, but a dry butt is a good thing.
6. Agreed.
7. Agreed.
8. Um, no. Not a fan.
9. Agreed.
10. Yeah.
I also agree with Polt on the fresh sheets. LOVE that! I also submit for your approval: bunny kisses, finishing a project, being treated the way you want to be treated and a nice, hot shower.
I like waking before the alarm because that usually means that I’m fully rested. If I went to bed late, I’m not going to wake up early.
Wow John yeah I don’t know how you manage that. I was absolutely pulling my hair out and it only lasted 6 months
But as I said at the worst I was getting a lot less than 5 hours.
If we’re adding things, mine have to include:
a. Sunsets. Favorites include the sun setting over Cape Cod Bay from Wellfleet, and the sun setting over a field of strawberries in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
b. Seeing a fox or a deer in close proximity. Being so close to the deer that you can hear her munching on grass.
c. Seeing a friend’s face light up when you see each other for the first time in a long time
d. Dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs. Having your dogs say hello to you first thing in the morning. Watching them prance with a proud jaunt while walking with you on the leash. Watching a dog you rescued from the pound stare up at the sky and the treetops in amazement as he walks because it’s the first time he’s seen them. Dog hugs. Dog kisses. Dog cuddles. Having your dog flop on the couch next to you and put his or her snout on you and fall asleep. Watching your dog dream. Watching your dog sleep.
(BTW, fresh sheets, <3. WARM sheets, not so much. I like my sheets to be cool.)
Nico: I wish #12 happened yesterday.
Justin: Broccoli is a solid, cooking it and whipping it until it can be sucked through a straw is just wrong. Solids should be eaten as such, liquids as such and never the twain shall meet. Also soups like that tend to have a cream base which makes me gag even thinking about it. I can’t eat cream based soups/sauces. No amount of ooey gooey melty cheesy goodness can save it.
Justin: So you wouldn’t be interested in this SERVICE? I can’t sleep if I’m cold, warm is good.
Tam – I have a broccoli soup recipe I use ALL the time. There’s no cream or cheese. It’s delicious:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/creamy-broccoli-soup
*and I use frozen broccoli florets, because I’m lazy.
#11 – Glee soundtrack (Da da da dadada da da da dadada)
yay, Michelle M. and I dislike the same numbers!! We’re twins! Or we’re Super Friends, like Wonder Woman and Superman!
HUGS…
Michelle: Eww, eww, no. Liquid broccoli. Gag. Liquid vegetables of any kind are wrong. My daughter is 14 now, I no longer have to deal with baby food, thank god. Someone get me a bowl of Minestrone. Beef Barley?
Speaking of soup (or food), I’m off to the cafeteria for something SOLID, like pizza. No liquid, no broccoli (one hopes).
Tam: Reading that, all that comes to mind are bedbugs and lice.
Will they use the bathroom and warm up the toilet seat for me too?
Okay – when you visit we’ll have our liquids in the form of margaritas. Or martinis. Or… well, you get the idea.
Polt – we’re Super Duper Friends!
TwoPi – ew.
Tam — sure, if the sheets are *ICE COLD* then I need them to be warmed up. I even have an old-fashioned British hot water bottle for that purpose.
Little tip about hot water bottles btw — don’t use boiling water. Doing so will degrade the hot water bottle. And you REAAALLLLLY don’t want the bottle to leak in bed.
Ryan has it exactly right on the alarm thingie.
If it’s super-de-duper-de-freezing, I like to use flannel sheets instead of regular ones. But even when I do, I prefer to use regular pillowcases rather than flannels. It’s very important to me for the pillowcase to be cool. I belong to this group on facebook.
But I definitely DO prefer it on the cool side in the bedroom. Around 60 is pretty ideal for me. I can’t sleep if it’s too warm in the bedroom. Nothing better than being snuggled under a big heavy duvet all toasty and warm when it’s nice and cool in the bedroom!
BTW — I’m also not a HUGE fan of soups that have nothing solid in them. I prefer chunks of stuff. For instance, cream of mushroom soup had better have some actual solid mushrooms in it too. Squash soup should have something nice like chestnuts in it. If I’m going to have a cheesy broccoli soup I’d like real broccoli florets.
Michelle M — if you include cosmos and sangria, we’ve got a date!
TwoPi — not only “ew” but … “wat?”
I’m in Michelle. Alcohol definitely meant to be consumed in liquid form (or slushy works). Soup in the cafeteria was cream of aspragus. Ugh. Burger and fries. Yum.
Justin: I also like cool bedrooms, as long as I have enough blankets to stay warm. I hate it when it’s cold and all I have is a flimsy blanket that doesn’t do enough. I end up waking up at 5:30 and not being able to go back to sleep.
didn’t john lennon say…happiness is a warm gun…
In my life the grass has ALWAYS been wet. Always.
How about finding money in the pocket of something you haven’t worn in a while?
That makes me pretty happy
Ryan, you are so right; totally. Flimsy blankets — HORRIBLE!
I’m such a stickler for cool bedrooms that I will max out the air conditioning in the summer and STILL sleep with my down comforter!
Paul — that’s another good one, too. Unless the thing I haven’t worn for a while is something I can no longer fit into, in which case the happy and the sad cancel each other out into a “meh”.
Kelly: that would be a great first line for a novel
Or maybe the last line of the first paragraph…
For the Glee fans (in light of the header). Someone I know posted this the other day.
^Happiness^
Haha
Somehow I suspect that this picture is the tip of the iceberg. There is probably some more explicit glee gay cartoon porn out there by now 
Tam: that cartoon would make my list of happiness. A photograph of it actually happening would instantly occupy the top of my happiness list!
HUGS…
Paul: Great one!
Justin: I’m used to it. I have spells of 2-3 hours a night, but it averages out to 5. There are days when it sucks, but for the most part it is workable.
Justin: I LOVE a cool bedroom, the cooler the better! I would leave the window open in the middle of winter if the Mrs would let me; and yes, I flip my pillow 2-4 times a night to get to the cool side.
TwoPi: Why stop at the toilet seat? Wouldn’t people like their clothes to be warmed up in the morning? Toasty undies? Yes please! What about those leather car seats in winter? My desk chair could use a quick warm up in the morning. We could start a new service; hire a person to precede you everywhere by ten minutes to make sure you never have to expend your own body heat to warm things up. Brilliant!
M. Nico: How will my doppelganger know where I’ll be in 10 minutes time? Reminds me of the stripclub scene in “What’s New Pussycat”, when Peter Sellers bumps into his patient, and claims he’s only there because he was following the patient. “How then did you contrive to get here before me?” “I followed you *very* fast.”
I must say I like the idea of someone running the hot water for a few minutes before I go to shower or use the sink, though.
M.N. – as long as you are able to manage and are not psyching yourself out about it emotionally (which I definitely was doing: one of the reasons why insomnia is such a self-fulfilling vicious cycle — stress is not conducive to sleep, and stressing about whether you are going to sleep is a good way not to.
Heh. “What’s New Pussycat” is a movie I haven’t thought about in a long time
Happiness is also strutting around with your sexxxy tank of oxygen!
1. I’d rather be doing it!
2. I used to do this all the time, but now I just daydream about mahself being famous.
3. I prefer to wake up in Vegas.
4. Cuz I’m hot…hot…hot?
5. I’d never sit in grass! Stains!
6. I hate problems, especially math onez!
7. I don’t care enough about TV to have an opinion.
8. Broccoli & cheddar for the winner’s circle!
9. I’m selfish and don’t share.
10. Dis is for troofz since I rarely see three of mah four BFFLz outside of an every-six-month get together!
1. I had a close friend once, and whenever I was able to make him smile it was like being warmed by a million light rays from heaven.
2. I had a series of dreams about snakes that would morph into human form. I dreamed that I fell in love with (a female) one. It was a tragic love story. All of my youthful dreams about women tended to be tragic.
3. If I wake up shortly before my alarm and feel refreshed that is good. Any other time, and I would be better off if I just stayed asleep.
4. I just had a moment of realization last week. I have my own house. I eat when and what I want. I go to sleep when I want, I wake when I want (most days due to my flexible working schedule). I really like my freedom! If I ever feel sorry for myself then I am a huge ass.
5. I have not done much grass sitting lately.
6. I love solving problems! That is why I like computer programming so much.
7. I guess you experience more of these than I do.
8. I like onions, but over the past few years I have realized they do not like me so much. Still, every now and again I will indulge my appetite for onions and deal with the consequences.
9. This is fun. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
10. This gets easier with age. Maybe it is because we HAVE more old friends as we get older. There is a comfort to old friends.
CHRIS: you realize of course that the fact that your so-called “female” love interest in your dream was a friggin’ **SNAKE** is something that it doesn’t take Freud to figure out
Your description of #1 is phenomenal.
#6 — exactly. Same here
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For me, happiness is having enough free time to read blogs again! Oh, and good music obviously.
I agree with everything on your list and yes I do also like to wake up before my alarm. It gives me time to lay there in the warm bed for a while before having to get up. Definitely agree with you about the French onion soup too.
I especially like your #1. It’s wonderful to watch someone enjoy something you do. And terrible to watch someone dislike something you like or love.
My list would include spending time – doing anything – with Mom, Nicolle, Craig and Patrick. Rocket, my dog also lights up my life every moment of the day. Going to see the Giants live was also an incredibly blissful experience, even though they lost. It was the same happiness I felt when we used to go to Star Trek and Horror conventions to see our favorite stars.