10 Things That Make Me Happy: A Tag

Posted on by Maribeth in Tags
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Amelie of Swordmaiden of the King sent me this tag back in November, and now I’m finally getting to it! With a busy weekend behind me and not much time to blog, this is the perfect kind of post for a new week.

10 Things That Make Me Happy…

1. Tennis shoes

“Say what?!” you choke–but I, an intellectual, calmly reply, “Tennis shoes are incredibly comfortable; they don’t slip off, they keep your feet warm in the wintertime, you can be on your feet all day long and your heels, arches, and knees will never hurt–and unless your laces come untied, they’re probably the safest shoes you could possibly wear.” Three cheers for tennis shoes; they haven’t let me down yet.

2. My art collection

In my writing nook, I have five pieces of art that are all very precious to me: three bunny sketches done by my talented aunt, Gail Lloyd (check out her Facebook page here!), a canvas my baby sister Joy gave me featuring fabric flowers and the gold-painted words “Faith, Hope, and Love,” and a painting of Peggy Carter done by my sweet friend Nichole. The latter piece features the quote, “I know my value–anyone else’s opinion doesn’t matter,” which means a lot to this recovering people-pleaser.

3. Russian Hymns

The first time I heard my grandmother use Sacred Treasures III: Choral Masterworks from Russia and Beyond* during her Christian yoga class, it was “love at first hearing.” The slow, meditative music helped me focus on both the exercises and the Lord’s presence more than any other music she’d used before or since. As I cultivate both the rich traditions and joyful reverence of the early Church in my own life, I know I’ll be listening to these enchanting, calming hymns on a regular basis!

“Alleluia,” by Thomas Cooper Gotch
4. Lily’s Chocolate

My mom puts a bar of Lily’s Chocolate in our Christmas stockings every year, and this Christmas I got the salted caramel one. Lily’s Chocolate is stevia-sweetened and each bar is divided into tiny squares, so I can nibble on that bar for days without guilt.

5. Nuclear science

I received the book Midnight in Chernobyl* for Christmas (holly-jolly stuff, I know), and while details of the disaster itself are never pleasant, the highly-scientific second chapter left me enamored with the science behind nuclear energy. For someone who wasn’t all that interested in science as a kid, it’s strange to feel so giddy over this powerful aspect of God’s creation now! Magic is real and it’s called “science,” people.

Oh look, I made a meme.
6. Writing

This sounds like a no-brainer coming from me, but if you’ve ever known the breathtaking joy of writing again after months of Storyteller’s Block, then you know why I’m including this. It’s been a looooooong time since I’ve been so eager to play with my characters. To be fair, they’re not mine–I have no real claim over Rey Skywalker or Ben Solo, unfortunately–but they’re great playmates anyway. (*grins*)

7. Emailing and texting my fellow fangirls

When no one else in your house has seen a Certain Movie and can’t relate to your abject suffering over Certain Characters, it’s such a relief when your friends start frantically texting you poems they’ve written, tweets they’ve seen, jokes they’ve heard, or meaningful little plot points all related to the Aforementioned Movie. Friends, you know who you are, and I appreciate you. We love one (1) Disney Princess and one (1) Disney Prince, forever and ever, amen. (See #6.)

We only serve facts on my Twitter account.

8. Making plans!

On New Year’s Day my hopes for attending the Anselm Society’s Imagination Redeemed Conference in April finally became concrete plans, and I am SO. HAPPY. I can’t wait to soak in the wisdom and whimsy of these passionate Christian artists!

9. Getting back to the old routines

Holidays are lovely, but there comes a point when I, hobbit that I am, need my daily rhythms back. Last week I was able to get back into a daily writing routine, resume my Hope*Writers studies, return to handbells and choir rehearsal, and ease my three youngest siblings back into piano practice. I even got to work out three days in a row. (*relieved sigh*)

This meme isn’t at all related to the previous paragraph; I just think it’s hilarious.
10. The Rocky Movies

My sister Lillie, who just turned 13, recently watched all the Rocky movies* for the first time–which, of course, meant that we got to watch them all over again, too! These films will always be family favorites; they may feature some pretty unnerving fight scenes, but they still tell the story of a wholesome, kindhearted underdog who triumphs through perseverance and love.

What are some of the things making you happy these days? I’d love to know!

13 thoughts on “10 Things That Make Me Happy: A Tag”

  2. Oooh, ten? (I *almost* capitalized that… 😶)
    1. Doctor 👏 Who 👏 Audio 👏 Dramas 👏👏👏👏👏 (I’ve started listening through the Big Finish audios featuring the Eighth Doctor and Charley and I HAVE FEELS)
    2. Shipping…. Yeah… I’m Predictable™ and I’ve discovered this thing that exists in Doctor Who known as “multishipping” (can you tell I’m obsessed with DW? 😂)
    3. Stickers. Like the nice vinyl ones you can put on water bottles and phone cases and computers and etc. I love the things!!
    4. Coffee!!!!!! Needs no explanation.
    5. XtraTufs (which y’all will probably need to Google. They’re a Pacific Northwest thing). They are quite possibly THE MOST COMFORTABLE boots EVER, they’re totally waterproof, you can wear them tall or short (some of them have pretty patterns on the inside lining so you can roll them down) and they’re rubber with neoprene lining, which means that even if it’s cold out you can wear thick socks and they’ll keep your toes toasty! (Ugh I sound like an infomercial 😆)
    6. My kitty. She’s a great mouser and very snuggly and she crawls under the covers with me at night and it makes me happy … 😊
    7. Writing. I have way more ideas than i have time (especially fanfiction ideas 😵) but it’s just so fun to come up with characters and plotlines and create that.
    8. Jesus!!!!
    9. My friends. I love talking to My Peeps (*Prince Humperdink voice* “My people!!!”) and fangirling or just chatting and discussing life (but I’m much more comfortable fangirling than i am in normal discussion 😆)
    10. Mountains. Like I said before: I’m a Pacific Northwesterner and I’m somewhat lost without mountains around me 😅

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    1. I love all these things!! As a Louisianan I don’t have too much experience with mountains, so when I venture into states that DO have mountains I become an obsessive photographer overnight, haha! I’m just in complete awe of them.

      I’ve heard so many good things about Big Finish! It does my heart good to know that it continues the stories of all the various incarnations of the Doctor…and that they expand River’s story, too!

      Your kitty sounds like an absolute dear. My neighbors have a cat who thinks, most of the time, that he’s a dog. I call him “The Goodest Boi”–definitely one of my favorite animal friends.

      And YES to coffee. Coffee is a Gift.

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  3. Such a fun posty! Loved reading this.

    Fangirling is the best! I need to be on Insta and Twitter more often so we can send more fun stuff. Love fangirling, and I bet you’ve got treasure troves of memes on your phone like I do (*winks*)!

    AND THAT POST ABOUT DANTE WRITING FANFICTION IS PERFECT. Dante literally inserted himself into a fanfiction of the Bible. And that’s the Divine Comedy, people. And it’s one of the greatest works of literature that I heard mentioned while at school last semester. Someone needs to shout this from the rooftops. Literally, I love that post so much.

    Have fun with Ben and Rey 😉

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    1. Oh, I would love it if we could chat more on Insta or Twitter! And you would be quite impressed by my growing collection of memes, fandom art, and fandom photos. If I were to put the shifting trends of my camera roll into words, it would go something like this: “Doctor Who Doctor Who Doctor Wh–BABY NIECE BABY NIECE BABY NIECE Christmas Christmas Baby Yoda BEN AND REY AND BEN AND REY AND BEN AND REY AND BEN AND REY.” XD

      I really need to re-read Dante, to be honest. I didn’t enjoy it at all when I was in high school, but my knowledge and appreciation of church history and literature in general has grown so much since I was 18. I would probably enjoy it a lot more now…especially if I found a more modern, easy-to-read translation than Longfellow’s (which is the one I read in school–not fun–not fun at all).

      I am having BOATLOADS of fun with Ben and Rey. To paraphrase Jane Austen, “My Skywalker Babies shall have, after a little trouble, all that they desire.” 😉

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      1. Quite embarrassed that I’m only just seeing this now – my WordPress notifications were being naughty, it seems!

        Your meme collection sounds just like mine! Doctor Who memes are the best and all those random family photos thrown in too 😂😂 your baby niece is such an adorable little thing! So cute!

        And yes – daunting Dante. Medeival Italian men (while intellectual and handsome) had something of a laborious way of saying simple things (let’s not even begin to discuss Machiavelli either – God help us!)

        But yes! We must talk more on Insta – I have loads of memes dying to be shared 😂😂😂 and Wholock fanfiction ideas for future stories 😂 Eleven and Sherlock have the funniest conversations in my little head. 😄

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  4. This was such a fun post to read! Things that have been making me happy recently are gummy bears and books, haha! It’s a winter break mood 😂😂 My semester starts up next week and I’m looking forwards to getting back in the routine again as well!

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    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post! I had a lot of fun putting it together.

      Oddly enough, I have fond childhood memories of gummy bears: my dad often took me to the local frozen yogurt shop after my piano lessons, and I’d always top my vanilla fro-yo with gummy bears. My dad got a big kick out of it–he thought it was weird, but hilarious–while I thoroughly enjoyed my snack.

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  5. Lovely post, Maribeth! I love all your answers!!
    Ooh, those chocolate bars sound amazing! Salted caramel chocolate is one of my favorite flavors EVER, so I might have to check those out! 🙂
    Oh my goodness. Rey: *literally just exists* Ben Solo: THAT’S MY WIFE! *dies laughing*
    Tennis shoes! (And hilarious meme XD)
    Your art collection sounds so beautiful!

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    1. Thanks for sending me the tag, Amelie! I told you I’d get to it after New Year’s, and I kept my word, haha! 😉

      HIGHLY recommend Lily’s Chocolate, especially if you’re trying to cut back on the sugar. I’m kinda sad now that I’ve eaten it all 😛

      Rey and Ben are totally “Force-Married” as far as I’m concerned, so yeah, he’d be hollering “THAT’S MY WIFE” all over the place in a happy alternate universe where he lives and they can be Jedi together 😉

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