Tears are liquid emotion. They can bring everything you're feeling into relief and truly let you experience what's happening so much better.

There's an email going around about the 7 wonders of the world.

To see
To hear
To touch
To taste
To feel
To laugh
To love

... good points...

I had drinks with a friend the other night. Just the two of us, sitting at a bar we don't really go to, enjoying each other's company.

There's something very relaxing about being able to focus on one person and leave everything else behind for the moment.

This is honoring neighbors who leave things in your fridge.

This is not a little thing, mind you, but a simple thing... because of how simple it is to leave something behind for your hosts to enjoy later, but how huge of a blessing good neighbors are.

And tonight, I came home craving flavorful beer of the variety I enjoy (and hugely enjoy) on a rare occasion, and lo-and-behold there's an oatmeal stout. I didn't buy it, but there it is and neighbor has said what's left behind is fair game.

It tasted good. Simple blessings make life worth living.

Living in the frozen tundra has made me more accustomed to certain things I'd think were odd elsewhere. Like automatic car starters.

This is a device affixed to the engine controlled by a remote. When pushed, the engine starts and runs, but the car will not drive until the key is inserted in the ignition. Thus, you can start your car without leaving whatever building you're in, and get into a car that's already warmed up.

This is a huge convenience when your car sits outside for a 10-hr shift and then you're supposed to get into it and just sit there and drive.

Maybe not such a "little" thing... but hugely appreciated!

We received a new wool quilt a few weeks back. It was sent to us by his grandmother, who made it especially for him, and has been sitting in our spare room.

Yesterday, I decided it was time for flannel sheets on the bed - one thing I love about winter. Just to try it out, I put the wool quilt on the bed last night, and took off the extra blanket.

Sooo cozy. I even turned off my space heater (I get cold fast!) and just slept under my flannel sheets, single blanket, and nice wool quilt. Cozy as a bug in a rug - and I love being toasty in bed!

***

Here's your public service reminder: lots of folks in this country weren't half as warm as I was last night. If you have extra blankets lying around the house, please look up what organization in your area collects blankets for the homeless. A good place to start is by calling/visiting the website for your local TV station. Kare11 in the Twin Cities will get them in the right hands!

It was the first snow fall today.

That's always a fun time (oops, and actually we had snow in October briefly). It's the crispness in the air, the fact that the cold actually feels like it belongs, and the softness of the flakes.

And then, I stop at Target on the way home and look up in the parking lot and all you see is a mass of flakes in the parking lot lights. Ahhhh.....

Loving my sweats...

I got a 5am call to go help out a neighboring store. Fine, grand, especially since I got paid for it. Then I came home to relax.

Relaxation started the second I pulled on my sweats (where did I get these????) and my beaten-in Van Halen concert t-shirt. That got the mind in the right frame. Then, 2 hours later, rather than cranking up the heat I decided to add layers.

Add on some nice, thick men's tube socks and a old sweatshirt to the mix, and I have perfect, relax-all-day-on-a-cloudy-November-Saturday attire.

I'm sitting here on a brisk afternoon, watching the sky fade away and drinking a hot beverage.

It's the hot beverage that's most important - the brisk makes the house warmer by comparison and thus cozier, and the impending dusk makes the glow from lamplight that much cozier... but I had all that going on when I found myself craving the hot beverage.

It really doesn't matter what the beverage is. Mine is a fake-cappucino-from-a-can, but tea, cocoa, or coffee would work as well. It's the experience of curling my legs up under me, resting the mug on my stomach and wrapping both hands around it that brings the whole experience home.

Cozy, content, peaceful... one of those everything-is-right-with-the-world moments.

And it doesn't hurt that the mug is the one with pictures of my nephews.

It seems we're always looking for the thing that makes us happy... a grand vacation, the start of baseball season, a new child/spouse/pet. In searching for these things, have you ever thought what we're missing?

Every day, the simple, mundane things of what makes up our day are, in fact, making up our lives. The cup of coffee in the morning energizes you... and also has health effects/benefits (you can find studies supporting either). Your drive to work is merely what gets you there (alive!), while what you listen to informs your view on the news/sports/celebrities. All these small things we overlook as we strive for the next best thing are, in fact, making up our lives.

Celebrate your simple things. Understand that while you're intending to 'make some changes' your life is still happening. While you're waiting for euphoria, simple happiness comes along every day.

I'll do my best to help.