Things That Make Me Smile: Hot Tamales

This morning as I was driving to work, I looked in the rearview mirror and noticed I hadn't put on any mascara. So I stopped at Walgreens to buy some and right by the register, I saw it: a giant box of Hot Tamales!!

I love cinnamon flavored things so Hot Tamales have always been one of my favorite candies. Wade Weaver used to have a giant jar of them in his office at Altamesa and I would always go and grab a few before I did anything else at church. I haven't seen them in a while, so it definitely made me smile today. And the fact that I walked around sharing them with my coworkers near me made them smile too! What a great way to start a Friday. :)

Things That Make Me Smile: Upward Cheerleading

Now that I'm finished with Grad School, I finally have time to do "extracurricular activities" that I enjoy. So this year, I have started coaching a 4th grade cheerleading squad with the Upward Basketball program! I've been pulling from my high school cheerleading days and using some of my old cheers and chants - the girls are really picking up on all of it very well. We had our first game today and my cheerleaders are just precious. I am having so much fun! It really makes me smile. :)

Things That Make Me Smile Part 5: Extra Cherries

A couple of years ago, I did a short series that I called "Things That Make Me Smile." Lately I've realized that its the little things in life that just make my day happy, so I've decided to start it up again.
Today I was running some errands and decided to stop at Sonic to get a Diet Cherry Coke. This is something I used to do a lot when I lived close to a Sonic and I think its been probably 2 or 3 years since I was able to go there regularly. They are supposed to put a maraschino cherry in it, but they only do about half the time. Days that they don't kind of suck. But days that you get 2 cherries are the best! So today after I had finished most of the drink, I looked inside to see if there was a cherry....and I had hit the motherload! There were FIVE! I didn't know anyone who works there, I didn't ask for extra cherries, someone inside just decided to give a ton of cherries for no reason. And it truly made me smile. :)

Things That Make Me Smile Part 4: Entertainment Weekly

Its the highlight of my week...I go out to my mailbox, open it up, and there it is: the new Entertainment Weekly! I love reading about all of the goings on in the entertainment business, making lists of books that I want to read, movies I want to see, and plays that if I ever happen to get out to NY I want to watch. I find the Nielsen ratings fascinating, look at the best-sellers list for books, and love reading the featured articles about movies that are coming out. The writers are witty but keep the magazine's integrity by staying (mostly) away from interpersonal Hollywood gossip and sticking to the artistic issues. Even so, its not so stuffy that they can't take jabs at famous personalities (ex. "Failure to Launch rules box office. And this despite football guru Terry Bradshaw getting naked. (not exactly Sharon Stone in that department. Or Sly Stone for that matter.)) Entertainment Weekly, you make me smile. :)

Things That Make Me Smile Part 3: This

This makes me smile. :)

Things That Make Me Smile Part 2: Sunny Days

It makes me smile when I go outside and the sky is blue and it is warm. I am cold natured, so when this switch between winter and spring starts happening, I get very happy! I love being able to pull out my short sleeved, bright colored shirts. I love being able to take my time walking from my car into a building because it feels good enough outside to not have to run. I love when my friends can suggest sitting outside at a restaurant and I don't have to cringe at the thought. We've had about a week of returning to the cold, but this afternoon was beautiful and I'm thinking that we'll be able to be in full spring-time mode any day now! :)

Things That Make Me Smile Part 1: Old Friends

Recently my life (and blogs) have been filled with stress and annoyances. So I have decided to devote one full week to things that make me smile.
It makes me smile when I can talk to an old friend and its not weird. So many times after someone stops being a part of your daily life and you lose touch, when you talk to each other again it is a little awkward and never goes past small talk about what you are doing in life. Well today I got a message from one of my old friends from ACU, Brad Benham, on myspace. We exchanged IMs and talked for about 2 hours. It was really great. He's in California in Pepperdine Law School now, so we really haven't talked much since graduation, but it was one of those conversations that went beyond "So, how's school?" and into actual dialogue. It made me very nostalgic and although it really made me miss my college friends, it made me happy tonight. It feels great to find another friend that I really think will continue into the next part of my life. It always feels good to end a conversation with the other person saying " i like this, it makes me smile, bye!!!!" And it makes me smile too. :)