As I got ready to leave work yesterday, I was quite excited with the thought of the maple sweet mashed potatoes I would be making as my dinner side dish. I thought of how awesome this simple food dish is, which got me thinking of all the little things I love. So as an exercise in gratitude, I made a list of five “small things” I absolutely love and make my life that much easier/enjoyable (I didn’t include family, friends, or God because I think those are implied. They are also not little ;-)).
1. New Book Smell – I know the world is moving to e-books and, to be honest, I may go that way someday myself. But nothing can replace the awesome smell of pages fresh from the press. As a kid, I loved smelling books. To this day, I still smell the pages when I get an order in from Amazon. I know, I’m weird.
2. Baby Laughter – Seriously, how can you not hear them laugh and keep a straight face? I don’t have a kid and don’t want kids for quite some time. But when I’m out and see a little munchkin in her stroller, I always smile. The heartiness of a baby’s laugh provides a bright spot on even the most crap-worthy day. Case in point:
See? You couldn’t keep yourself from smiling could you?
3. Tabbed Internet Browsing – I’m really ADD when I surf the web. The ease of pressing CTRL + T to get the information I want is such a fabulous convenience. Every now and then, I’m on a computer that isn’t mine and isn’t equipped with tabbed browsing. The clutter of all those windows brings about my sad panda face 😦
4. Bobby Pins – For most of my life, I had super long hair (mid-back length). I cut it short when I graduated college in 2008 and haven’t looked back since. For a while I looked like Posh Spice with the short back and longer bangs. Then I cut it even shorter. Now I have a pixie cut with long-ish bangs. This is when I became fond of bobby pins. I can’t put my hair in a pony tail, but I don’t like having bangs in my face most of the time. Bobby pins are a simple wonder that I am infinitely grateful for. Eating my bangs doesn’t sound pleasant.
5. Maple Sweet Mashed Potatoes – While the thought of eating my bangs is unpleasant, I could eat sweet mashed potatoes every day! And they are so simple to make. I use the recipe found in Jae Steele’s book “Get It Ripe.” She adds a bit of maple syrup to her mashed ‘taters and I have to say it’s a delicious addition! Here is the batch that I made last night:
Om nom nom!
What’s one “small thing” you would add to this list?
