What is love

There are some things that just make me incredibly happy. I started compiling a list a while ago and have since lost it. It might just be buried deep in my tumblr, I can't remember. Nevertheless, I started a new one today....while I'm TAing and essentially doing nothing. This week I've finished a freelance project and started Downton Abbey! What a tough life I lead. Anywho, hopefully these things make you joyous as well.

When someone tells you "you'd love it here."

It just means they are somewhere you're not, have taken it all in, and have thought about you in particular while being there. Isn't that kinda cool? This just happened today. My friend went on and on about the city she's in, and ended it with: "You'd love it here. Let's go one day." 

When someone asks you a ton of questions.

This doesn't seem like much, but when's the last time anyone seemed genuinely interested in you? 

Begin rant: What I don't mean is you blabbering on forever and subjecting people to listen to you. I mean people sitting down and asking you real questions. It doesn't count if you are just talking and don't ever shut up. End rant.

The way I am, especially with new people, I always try to ask questions, and don't usually offer much info unless they ask. This comes from a simple thought process: no one really cares about you, but people loooove to talk about themselves. So get them talking. Once every blue moon, the tables get turned. Today at lunch, I sat with a teacher who I barely knew. I started off asking about her and what she's teaching, and then she bombarded me with questions in return. Not a bombardment, that's harsh, but more like she asked questions, asked more that stemmed from that, and actually seemed interested. She didn't try to one-up (one uppers are the WORST!) and I left the conversation thinking "wow…that doesn't happen very often."  

When you make dinner and have everything cleaned up before you eat.

I've only really discovered this joy of life this summer. Since there are 4 kids plus Shannon living at my house, we're all required to pick a day of the week and make dinner for everyone. It's so easy to make dinner and sit down to eat right away. The hard part is finishing your fabulous meal and then realizing you have about 10 minutes of cleaning up to do - all when you're full and just want to watch TV. So, I made the switch to cleaning up as much as possible before eating, then just having to pop dishes in the dishwasher afterwards. Voila.

When the Nationals win and beat the pulp out of the Mets/Braves. 


This is self explanatory.

When you run for a long time and then realize you can eat whatever you want all day.

When the teacher I'm TAing for plays Hot Rod, Nacho Libre, Parks and Rec and the Graduate during all the breaks and I realize there is good still in this world.

Maps. 


If there's a map on the wall I'll most likely study it for at least 10 minutes, 20 minutes if no people are around.

Epic Soundtracks.

Check Pandora for more. When you're doing homework or cooking or whatever just put it on. Trust me.

Quotes.

Whether they're cheesy inspirational or hilarious, I'm constantly on the prowl for them. Finding the perfect quote for any situation is like finding the corner piece in a puzzle.

There are others, I'm sure I'll think of more as the day goes on. Probably right when I publish this, that is life. 

Its the simple things.