This may've cropped up sometime last year, but I never got around to really thinking about it. So here we are - people and things that make me happy, in the typical ADD "free flight of ideas" order: playing flute, performing music with the orchestra, my friends who care about me and make me laugh both here and at home, Sam LL, horses & riding under Davee's instruction, my family (when we all manage to get along ;), my dog (my Red :), being mobbed by Red and our other dogs whenever I'm home, learning about medieval history, hugs, feeling loved, being warm, learning to act in character for D&D, being useful, being appreciated, having people actually listen to me and value what I say, tickle fights (both won and lost - you laugh either way ;), working crosswords with Abby and other people in the lounge at lunch :), losing myself in a good book for hours on end, being 'clever', solving puzzles in FF6 and other entertaining games, cleverly presented puns, mock sword-fighting with Jimmy, mattress-diving from the mantel, Star Wars (movie and music), Lord of the Rings (books, movies, and music), pine trees and mist-shrounded ponds, autumn in east texas, a crescent moon and stars in a night sky, mythologies, Harry Potter (books, movies, and music), Beowulf (Seamus Heaney edition), Shakespeare, German, Latin, mocha frappucinos, small birds like sparrows and wrens that hop around the tables by the red door and chandler, squirrels, forests, foxes and wolves, open spaces with little to no trace of civilization, rock scrambling, hot tea, iced tea, daydreaming, writing (prose or poetry), the Dragonriders of Pern series, painting, sketching, sculpting, creating figurines and other sundry items with 22+ gauge wire, working with my hands in general, shoulder and back massages, feeling sand between my toes, the PCH, swimming in the ocean (but only in summer and fall), traveling to Ireland and Germany :), hope, feeling in control of my future, seeing the frosh have fun, watching the smores celebrate being off core, peace within the house, good health, yoga (the way the previous teacher taught it... -sigh-), lying on the grass and watching the leaves move in the breeze, sun glinting off ripples in water, roller coasters, spaceflight, listening to celtic, classical and jazz music, virtually anything by Ella Fitzgerald, driving out to the stable through the lovely green mountains....

Goodness, that's a long list. I have a lot to be thankful for... gotta remember this when my spirits are low.