Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

Things that make me smile right now…
My new toy…this computer to be exact! It is so much fun and it’s exactly what I wanted in a laptop: lightweight, portable, pretty, etc. And, it’s got a lot of bonus fun things that make playing with it double-the-fun: touch screen (I can’t wait to pay tic-tac-toe with friends on my next travel trip), fingerprint swiper (now my index fingers are doubly useful), swivel screen (who wants to watch a movie over a keyboard?), etc. Last week Dad wired the internet connection up to the house (it had been only accessible it in the shop at the desktop computer) and now I can check my email without even climbing out of bed! Life is sweet!
Cooking…yes, cooking. Any kind, any size, anywhere. I LOVE to cook! And I get to cook as much and as often as I want when I’m in a house…unlike the OTC where my choices are cafeteria food, energy bars, or starving). Tonight we had some family friends over (we’ve had an unusually high number of people at the house lately…all visiting my mother as she recovers from the knee-replacement) and I usually encourage them to stay for dinner because then I have a reason to perform well in the kitchen! Tonight I whipped up a batch of Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Pilaf…it was absolutely delicious (I don’t care if my judgment is considered biased because I cooked it and because Butternut Squash is probably my favorite food)! As I was working at the stove, I realized that it was the first time that I have ever, personally, used a Bay Leaf in food preparation. I believe this officially means I have graduated from PB&Js and scrambled eggs!
Top Gear. Now I’m pretty sure that not too many people will know what I’m talking about when I mention the television show Top Gear but it has to be my favorite show of ALL time. I am addicted to British comedy and this is the just the funniest of all time. It’s actually a show about cars, get it: “Top Gear,” but the three show hosts: Jeremy, Hamster, and Captain Slow can make me laugh even if they are taking about disk brakes. Some of the episodes revolve around a new car on the market and they test it, time it, and talk about it good and bad features. But my favorite episodes are the adventures or challenges they do…like having a race to the North Pole, dog sleds versus a Toyota truck (you might be interested to know that they were attempting to be the first people to DRIVE to the North Pole…I won’t ruin the hilarity by giving away the results of the race). Anyways, between watching the episodes that are recorded on our Tivo and those that have been uploaded to YouTube, I’ve pretty much filled most of the spare time in my days!
The sunshine…remember, I’m still in Florida (the Sunshine State…at least our motto makes sense, what does “the show me state” mean???). I haven’t been this tan since I retired from my life as a swimmer and move to Colorado where all the pools are inside! I just got home from another two hours in the beautiful outdoor Port Orange YMCA pool…yes, I had my sunscreen on (don’t forget yours). There are no bad moods or any type of depression that a little time in the sun can’t cure, and if you are already in a good mood, imagine how happy you can be!