10 Little Things That Make My Day

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The day-to-day life of a homeschooling mom, while ultimately rewarding, can be fraught with frustration and stress. It’s those days that make me thankful for those little things that make me smile.

I hope y’all aren’t expecting me to say anything spiritual or deeply profound. And, I’m not getting all gushy. Of course my husband and kids make me smile (usually). That’s a given. Nope, this list is probably going to be made up of weird, unsocialized craziness…with a little bit of normalcy thrown in so y’all don’t think I’m really crazy.

10 Little Things That Make Me Smile

 

1. Sweet tea. I mean, really. Y’all knew sweet tea would top the list, right? You want to know something that’s going to shock you to your very core? I ate at this previously unknown to me place called Jimmy John’s three times last week while I was in North Carolina. We don’t have them where I live. {Except for, oh-my-gosh, we do! I just searched to see where the closest one is and there’s one not 10 miles from here! Guess where I’m going soon??}

That’s not the shocking part though.

sweet tea

Here it comes. Are you ready? The sweet tea at Jimmy John’s just might be better than Chick-Fil-A’s tea.

I know, right? It’s amazing! That is the highest honor I can think to bestow on somebody’s tea. Their sandwiches were pretty doggone tasty, too. I should totally open a franchise.

Jimmy Johns

2. Spark. Have you seen that photo going around Facebook that says something about smiling at night thinking about being able to drink coffee in the morning? That’s how I feel about my Spark. I love that stuff! And, seriously, there really have been times I’ve gone to bed at night smiling at the thought of drinking my Spark in the morning.

spark

Hey, it’s not any more crazy than you and your coffee.

3. My cats. There just nothing quite like when this little girl:

Luna

…is downstairs and she comes running up the stairs to me when I call her. She makes this little sound before she runs up the stairs that makes it seem that she’s so happy to see me.

The other one, Lily, makes me laugh, too. I think she thinks she’s a dog. She plays fetch (really) and you know how most cats will claw you if you touch their bellies? Not Lily. She loves to have her tummy rubbed.

4. My dogs. My sister used to have this quote on her wall that said, “Be the kind of person your dog thinks you are.”

If I could be the kind of person that Peanut thinks I am, I would probably win the Nobel Peace Prize for something. His enthusiasm when he sees me always makes me feel so loved.

5. The amazing people I work for. I can’t even tell you what a great honor it was to spend last weekend working with “Uncle Josh” and Denver from Geography Matters. They are such incredibly nice, down-to-earth people just like everyone else I’ve ever met from the company.

If the fact that a homeschool publishing company is run by truly kind, caring people makes you more likely to purchase from them, add Geography Matters’ products to your shopping list. They’re the real deal. I was so deeply touched when Josh prayed with me before my workshop and Denver prayed for my safety on my way home the night before we left.

Never mind the fact that they laughed at me for planning on getting started toward home at what is, apparently, the insanely late hour of 10:00 in the morning. In my book, it’s the crazy people who get up at 4:30 AM on purpose. {cough: Denver: cough}

On top of that, I got to meet Chad, Sandie, and Darcie from Lexercise. I credit Lexercise turning Josh’s reading around and I am now working as their social media manager, so it was nice to get to meet them face-to-face, too. It makes me smile to think about getting to work with people who have been such a blessing to my life and homeschool.

6. Driving my car. I’m sure the time will come when that become commonplace again, but for the time being, it makes me smile every time I get to go for a drive.

Ford Edge

7. Sunflowers. Sunflowers are my favorite flowers. They make me smile. They really make me smile when they’re sitting on the table waiting for me after a weekend away from home because my incredibly thoughtful husband missed me and wanted to show how much he loves me.

sunflowers

Yeah, I’ve got a good man.

8. Chick-Fil-A mints. I always grab a couple of extra – yes, a couple, not a handful – and stash the in my car. It always makes me smile when I discover one in a jacket pocket or something, though. Yum.

Chick-Fil-A

9. A high-scoring word in Words with Friends. Yes, I’m a little addicted to the game, I think. I do love when I get a really high-scoring word, though. Breaking 100 points is guaranteed to put a smile on my face.

10. Friends. I am also pretty addicted to Friends. I watch it on DVD every time I walk on the treadmill or ride the spin bike. I can almost always think of some applicable Friends episode for whatever may be happening at the time…and it always makes me smile. “Pivot!”

What are some little things that make you smile?

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesday and iHN’s Ten in Ten.

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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13 Comments

    1. Although I’ve heard about it and wanted to, I’ve never eaten at Chipolte. I don’t think there’s one around here. I need to check, though, because I didn’t think there was a Jimmy John’s either.

  1. I love that you started your list off with Sweet Tea. I’m an affecionado, too. Walking into the work cafeteria at lunch and not drinking sweet tea was the tip off that I was pregnant when I worked. You have a great list. Visiting over from Ten Things Tuesday.

  2. As a homeschooling mom one of my favorite things is when both my kids are writing quietly. I can’t decide if I really love the sound of the pencil scratching against the paper or the just fact that I’m not hearing “hey, mom…” for the 4 billionth time in a day. 😉 As just plan old me, Chocolate makes me smile… every single time. And yes it should be capitalized. Seriously, what could be more important to a woman’s sanity? Other things that make me smile: daffodils (even just pictures of them) and the smell of honeysuckle (anyone know of a good honeysuckle candle?) and sunshine. Even if I know we need rain nothing makes make me smile like the sun on my face, especially if there a breeze to go along with it. Last thing… Mi Casita salsa. Mi Casita is a mexican restaurant with multiple locations in and around the Fayetteville NC area and they have the BEST salsa. Every time I go home to visit my parents I have to go get Mi Casita.

  3. The way you feel about Friends is how I feel about Gilmore Girls. I am currently watching all seven seasons for like the third time. It is my little pleasure time when I can relax and just enjoy some good TV.
    Blessings
    Diane

  4. Chicken Express=Most Amazing Sweet Tea….lots of locations in Texas. And they give you the option of this GIANT size mug of it! Enjoy!

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