Vox

He "Woked Up"

Love to hear stories with a happy ending. I'm glad the doctors were wrong.

Happy Birthday to Us

One of the best versions ever:

Very cute, very accomplished, very young

Our local American Idol

Just for good measure, America the Beautiful

Hello, Sunshine

Happy Summer, Everybody!

The Will To Live

A mother who decided to abort her son because he may have inherited a life-threatening kidney condition is overjoyed that he survived the procedure.

Quite a story, and a happy ending.

In November, Finley was born three weeks premature. He had minor kidney damage but is expected to lead a normal life.

Happy - 28

Monk marathon - all Tony Shalhoub, all day. With occasional bits of John Turturro thrown in.

Mmm hmmm!

Happy - 27

Spending the afternoon and evening with SG and his kids/nephew - three teenage boys in all - made me happy. They were funny and they were sweet.....and they were just regular teenage boys. I always like it when SG jr hangs out with us, and this was just magnified. They had me cracking up a lot.

We watched Jaws, which I had never seen (I know, I have been tragically deprived of several blockbuster movies in my life), and Mystery, Alaska, which I had seen and really like. Thought of you, Lori, since your boy is in it.

Another good day = happy

Happy - 26

The whole afternoon with SG, including a stop for hot wings at Driver's Sports Grill. Their wings are sooo good, the happy hour pricing is fantastic (I think it is like $6 for 2 dozen), and they are generous. Very, very happy.

Happy - 25

Hmmmm....Playing hooky from work (I had permission) allowed me to enjoy:

Little girls in little tutus dancing their hearts out - and none of them bumping and grinding. Just cute, sweet dancing. But I forgot my camera.....

Sitting with a friend chatting over coffee - OK, I had a smoothie, but it was at a Coffee Plantation. That was nice.....

Floating around the pool, very nice. Though the water is getting to be a bit chillier than I like. Don't know how much more use I will get out of the pool this year.

Dinner with SG. Actually, dinner cooked by SG. He is a great cook and often treats me to yummy meals. The spaghetti sauce he made this past week is the best I've ever had (I usually don't enjoy red sauce but his is soooo good) and the chicken he made last night was unbelievable. Such a treat - I am so spoiled. Then just cuddling up and watching stupid TV shows.

A really nice day. That made me happy.

Happy - 24

I got the lien release for my car today - woo-hoo!

BTW: This is the story behind the Happy posts

Happy - 23

My step-father is in the Phoenix Symphony and also teaches private lessons. Most of his students (tuba) aren't complete beginners, but they aren't virtuosos, either. Since his music studio is in the same building as our office (just a hallway and a couple of doors separate us) we get to listen to some interesting sounds.

The Symphony Season is about to start, however, so he has had one of his fellow musicians (trombone) over the last couple of days so they can get back in the swing of things. So this week I have been treated to lovely low-brass concerts from two truly talented tooters! (I have a weakness for alliteration, sorry) Beautiful music makes me happy.

Happy - 22

One of my oldest girlfriends, JJ, lives very near my office - almost directly across the street. I went to visit her this morning before settling in for my day - and she had a stack of magazines for me.

Magazines are one of my vices, and I used to spend a small fortune on them. For the last few years she has collected her discards, as well as those from her family/friends/clients, and gives me boxes of them from time to time. It is perfect because I don't need to read them when they first come out - I am working on some from last summer - and I don't have to mortgage my house for a fix.

JJ and her hand-me-down magazines made me happy today.

Happy - 21

Law & Order: SVU marathon - all Benson & Stabler, all day.

Woo Hoo!

Happy - 20

SG surprised me today and made the trip to my side of town. After I took the dog to the vet to get some more bloodwork done, I jumped in the shower - and he was nearby waiting for me when I got out.

Then he took me to lunch. At Oregano's - - mmmmmmmmmmm! Chicken Caesar Salad, Meatball Sandwich...PizzOokie. Yummy, but I ate too much - of course.

Then we went shopping. We ended up wandering around MetroCenter for quite a while, but didn't really buy anything. He got some treats for the dogs and some presents for SG jr - nothing big.

Then he brought me home to pick up my car to head back over to his place.

Great day + great food + great company = HAPPY.

Happy - 19

Spending time with, A, an old friend from California (10 plus years) and one of his old friends (8 plus years) who happens to live in Scottsdale made me happy today.

He was in town for just a day and I met them at her place for lunch. And chatting. And sunshine. They were swimming and I was just enjoying the weather. (Did I mention how much I love Phoenix in the summer?)

Chatting with him about old times did make me realize how different my life is now..and my priorities. It made me miss that girl I was when I was younger just a little bit, and I envy how comfortable they both seem to be in their own skin. I think it is definitely a goal to strive for, knowing who you are/what you want. Every time I think I've got that nailed, I realize I missed the nail head and hit my thumb.

I was happy to see him. I don't get to very often.
I was happy to meet her. She's so close by, perhaps we'll get together again....

UPDATE: I forgot to mention - he brought me a gift. Maria Callas - La Divina, which got immediately ripped to my Nomad.

Happy - 18

Some of you may remember the bird my mother found a few months back - the bird I promptly adopted. We tried to find her owner, I even put an ad in the paper, but had no luck so she is still with me. I have a borrowed cage that she has been living in (well, I let her out when I am home so she can stretch her wings) that is not as large as I would like. I hate to have her cramped in her living quarters. Unfortunately, pricing cages has left me quite depressed ouch!!

In the neighborhood where my office is, it happens to be the week where people can put out their large trash for pick up. And someone decided to throw away a large bird cage - complete with ladders, a cool perch and a nesting box - so I grabbed it. I know I have to do a very thorough cleaning/disinfecting before I put her in it, but she will love the extra space.

Being lucky, and being able to give her a good home, makes me quite happy!

Happy - 17

Knowing I can be late for work for no reason and I won't get fired makes me happy.

Knowing I have a reason for being late for work is even better.

Happy - 15

Happy - 14

Freshly made bed with freshly laundered sheets at home makes me happy.......

 
and then getting a better offer. That makes me even happier

Happy - 13

A trashy bikini (literally, I got it here) and the mood huevos to wear it. The mood wasn't happy, but it gave me a kick in the butt. And that made me happy.

Happy - 12

Platelet count back up to 211 - which is quite a jump and means she gets to cut back on her steroids to one a day. Yay.

Happy - 11

Making the other girls in the office laugh - my sister was laughing so hard she turned bright red.

I'm always happy when I make someone else happy.

Happy - 10

SG has two kitties, one of whom is a bit neurotic. A lot neurotic....

She wants her water moving before she drinks it - which results in glasses and dishes being spilled frequently. Hopefully that is over with because she has a new appliance to satisfy her, SG bought her a drinking fountain.

     

yeah, that's me (and SG jr) in the mirror

Happy - 9

Getting the giggles in the middle of the night. Not being able to stop and laughing so hard there are tears rolling down my cheeks. Laughing even harder at SG laughing at me having the giggles.....

"Holy Toledo!"

Happy - 8

I stopped in to Taco Bell for dinner tonight (always make time for a healthy meal ) The man in line ahead of me wrote down his order...then answered the "for here or to go?" question with a gesture.....could he be deaf...?

So I signed to him, and he answered with a smile. I told him they were playing really old cheesy music, he said sometimes it is handy to be deaf. lol.

My skills are incredibly rusty but still, having the ability to chat with a person that most people can't, and having them appreciate the friendliness, makes me happy.

Happy - 7

Laying around in bed in the morning, reading the Sunday paper & drinking chocolate milk with SG.

Happy - 6

Summer! Yep, that's right, summer in Phoenix makes me very happy.

I love the sunshine. I love the heat, especially in the early summer months when it is hot and dry. I love the monsoons, despite how destructive they can be. I love the thunder and lightning that is like nowhere else I have ever been.

And today summer gives me some specific happy things:

• Finding a raft for floating in my pool, finally. Most places are clearing out their summer stuff and I had trouble finding anywhere that had them in stock - Osco came through.
  
• Sunblock that smells like summer and beaches and relaxing - Banana Boat today, but I think Hawaiian Tropic usually works, too.
  
• Aloe Vera straight out of the refrigerator.
  
• Finding the sunless tanning lotion I like to use (Banana Boat, again) at the dollar store! Nice.

Happy - 5

My sister is Happy Blogging.

I really like it when she posts - it makes me happy.

Her Happy Blogging is my Happy for the day!

Happy - 4

Large strawberry slush. Mmmmmm - that makes me berry happy :-D

Happy - 3

My Mommy loves me. I know my mommy loves me.

No matter what, I know my mother will always love me.

How could that not make you happy.

Happy - 2

Looking out at my back yard after my lawn guy did an amazingly thorough job. All the debris from the storms and the palm trees (and the dogs) was miraculously cleared away.

That makes me happy.

Happy - 1

I am going to try and follow Stacy's lead, following Big Orange Michael's Meme.

Easy today, as I woke up to an email announcing my favorite English Rock Band is coming back to the states for a week. That definitely makes me happy.

We had such a successful trip to North America in June that we've decided to come back! Sorry for the short notice but we figured that since our visas (from last year's Marbles tour) run out in September, we might as well make the most of them... Los Trios Marillos will be playing 6 gigs on the West coast of the USA - full dates listed at www.marillion.com/tour