Measuring Happiness

As with most internet memes, once I am hit by them I cannot help but follow their rules. Of course I don't actually believe that if I don't forward an email to 25 people a haunted widow will gauge out my eyes (nevermind the fact that I lack 25 individual email addresses to forward to...) or that if I spell my name backwards in Notepad my *crush* will notice me...but it's still fun, right?! Anyways, Tina tagged me at her blog...and now the rules state that I need to reciprocate and post the same thing. No ultimatums of midnight ghouls or soul-mate discovery in this one, though, just the self reflection of what makes you happy.

Rules:

1. List 10 things that make you happy
2. Try to do at least one of them today
3. Tag up to 10 bloggers that brighten your day.

Ten things that make me happy…:

1. My puppy: There is not very much in this world better than waking up to floppy puppy ears and a cold, wet nose in your face. Watching as Zoey discovers new things, learns routines, and grows is the most rewarding feeling I've experienced. I cannot even imagine what it is going to feel like when I eventually become a mother...for all these things I'm experiencing with my puppy to be happening with a little human that I created. It's gonna be bizarre.
   
2. Cooking: Well..cooking, baking, churning, decorating...maybe I should have labeled this as "manipulating food." I very seldom do just one. It all depends on my mood.
   
3. Getting mail: These days this mostly involves bills...but when I get something interesting and unique, it makes me happy.
   
4. Cleaning kitchen floors: There is something that is just incredibly zen about flooding, scrubbing, and squigy-ing a kitchen floor to me. I can't describe it.
   
5. Ice cream: No matter the flavor, the form, the texture...ice cream always makes it better.
   
6. Travel: There are two things in this world that make me the happiest...food and travel. They go hand in hand, and I cannot get enough of either of them. If I were independently wealthy, I would pay off every bill I have and spend the rest of my life traveling until I physically couldn't do it any longer. I don't want to settle down until I find my perfect place...and how will I know unless I look for it?
   
7. My grandparents: I love these two people more than I could possibly love anything.
   
8. Stimulating my mind: I love researching, learning, pondering and brainstorming. Something is always being worked out in my head...sometimes it is exhausting but most of the time I enjoy it.
   
9. Living with my best friend: I have been living with my best friend(/boyfriend) for over a year and it is the most fun thing ever. Even though we both work a lot, I always know that I can talk to him about anything. My day, my thoughts, my feelings. Last summer I got to live with BOTH my best friends and it was one of the most rewarding experiences. Of course there were ups and downs, but I loved being able to go home and know that my two best friends were right under the same roof.
   
10. Sunlight: As much as it sucks waking up early, working mornings is amazing. I get to see the sunrise every morning and feel Vitamin D do it's thing while I'm doing my job. I thrive on sunlight, and without it I am honestly, truly, miserable. You are my sunshine, sunshine.
    

And the 8 people I am tagging are (and I won't hold it against them if they don't participate...):

1. Terra Bites (even if she has already done it :P)
2. The Messy Baker
3. Crazy Dumbsaint of the Mind
4. Press Start to Begin
5. The DemonWeasel Speaks
6. Elle's New England Kitchen
7. Joy of Desserts
8. Hide the Bagels