Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Hot Apple Cider

-Looking for funny birthday cards to send to friends and family

-Carmel

-Shrek

-Kazoos

-The movie starring Michael J. Fox, Doc Hollywood

-The cricket in the Disney movie, Pinocchio

-Resetting the clocks after the power goes out

-Remembering all the name of the reindeer and the seven dwarfs without having to say them in order

-Chocolate covered cashews

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Three day weekends

-Fruit so juicy that I have to eat it over the sink

-Mini subcompact cars

-Cheesecake

-Ice cream sandwiches

-Gummy bears

-The sweet relief of Ibuprophen (taken in the recommended dosage. I don't want to fry my organs.)

-Red Lobster

-Riverfront Park in Nashville

-Getting to leave work early today because I worked late yesterday.

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Vanilla yogurt

-Chocolate pudding and Boston Creme Pie

-Relaxing after running errands on a 100+ heat index day

-Egg Beaters over buttered toast

-Mary Poppins

-Farrah Faucet's hair from the 70's

-Milk mustaches

-Handle bar mustaches

-Looking forward to a night out with friends

-Corn Bread

-Mammoth Cave in Kentucky

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-America's Got Talent

-My 3 year wedding anniversary

-The cold rush of air when walking into the house from the heat

-Diversity

-Comfy shoes

-Taking a vacation day

-Trying on clothes and having everything fit properly

-Movies that draw me into the story

-Mongolian Grill

-Silk ties

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Chocolate dipped/covered doughnuts
-Happy it's not supposed to rain tomorrow
-The baby tigers at the Nashville zoo
-Looking forward to my wedding anniversary next week and having that day off at work
-Good hair days
-Badly dressed mannequins
-Getting sucked into a book or movie and NEEDING to know what will happen next
-Blue corn tortilla chips
-Pumpkin bread
-Lemon and poppy seed muffins

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Ginger snaps

-String cheese

-Alligator teeth

-Recitals

-Painted toenails

-Baby seals

-Salvation Army bell ringers

-Watching a dog chase its tail

-The cool rush of air-conditioning on a hot summer day

-Fresh lemonade

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Oreos

-Watching kids play with drum sets

-The sprinkler in the summer, especially when it's humid outside

-Mary Poppins

-Moments of inspiration

-The public library. I recently discovered downloadable ebooks through a service the Nashville Public Library uses. :) Yippy!

-The CMA Music Festival and downtown Nashville

-Irish jigs

-Bumper cars

-Cotton candy

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Shiny nail polish

-Marigolds

-Cartoons

-Elephants

-That radio is still free

-Neighborhood wide garage sales

-Buried treasure

-Digging for diamonds in Murfreesboro, Arkansas

-Daisies

-Watching kids splash in puddles

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Blueberries
-Fridays
-Duct tape
-Drumsticks (both chicken and ice cream)
-The music the ice cream truck plays when it drives through the neighborhood
-Orchids
-Watching a bride throw her bouquet
-Blue Jays
-Velcro suits
-Pay day

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Little Caesar's Pizza

-My new treadmill

-Scary movies (not the ones that are overly bloody, but psychological type stuff)

-Sunflowers

-Painted toenails

-The farmer's market

-Strawberry patches

-The Great Pumpkin

-Daisies

-Looking forward to my wedding anniversary

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Seeing friends from out of town

-The image on TV right now of Conan O'Brien running on the beach in a suit

-Fuzzy socks

-Opening the mailbox and having no bills along

-Getting a personal snail nail letter from a loved one

-Cartoons

-The moment the morning caffeine kicks in

-Looking forward to the holiday weekend

-The fresh from the dentist feeling after a teeth cleaning

-Warm biscuits

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Rubber Duckies
-Velcro
-The sound of the coffee pot as it perks
-Interesting tattoos
-Podcasts
-Holiday weekends
-Boston cream pie
-The feeling of cotton balls between my toes when I paint my toe nails
-Fire breathing dragons
-Finding a tooth pick when I really need one

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Corona

-Pasta

-Estopa (They're a Spanish Band)

-That even with a wire chain holding the bird feeder, the squirrels have managed to wreck another bird feeder. I think if you put a human and a squirrel on the evolutionary food chain for survival in the wilderness, the squirrel will win.

-Almost being finished with a couple of my stories

-Good hair days

-Losing weight

-80s music

-Recumbent exercise bikes

-When all the laundry for the week is finished

Ten Reasons I Still Call This My Writing Blog

-When I'm being positive, I tend to write more

-When I'm aware of my negativity and the real reasons for why I'm angry, cranky, tired, etc. I can channel that energy into an evil/angry/tired character rather than just bitching about being angry.

-Ever since starting this blog, I've spent a lot more time writing. I think that looking at the little things of life helps keep things in perspective. Letting go sometimes helps to then dig into a plot and forget about real life for awhile.

-Sometimes characters need all those little things that cause them to stop and smile too.

-The ten things that make me smile exercise itself makes me smile :)

-Living in the present helps to get bigger projects done. Maybe I can't finish an entire novel in a short amount of time, but I can focus on what I can do for the project today.

-I have more of a Q & A type writing blog at jenbluekissedwritingqanda.blogspot.com as well. I'm going to keep this one about the 10 things that make me smile, a little poetry, and some discussion on writing conferences. I do hope to attend Killer Nashville again this year.

-Lists help me to write. Organization of my thoughts is a wonderful thing.

-This world needs more positivity. I usually write these posts while I'm watching the news on TV.

-It's my blog, and I can do what I want with it! :)

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Team Spirit

-People who lose gracefully

-Hot dogs at major league ball parks

-Grand slams

-Sunflower seeds

-People who use correct grammar

-Altoids, especially the mini ones

-Comb-overs

-Old wedding pics, especially the bridesmaid's dresses

-Jazz bands

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-The Biggest Loser TV show

-Weight Watchers Lasagna

-Putting in 40 hours per week at work

-Overtime when it's available while my husband is out of work

-Evening gowns

-Teddy bears

-Sprinkles

-Suitcases on wheels. What an invention!

-Gummy worms

-Soap opera endings

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-The 24 mph sign outside of the Opry Mills Mall in Nashville, TN

-The 21 mph sign I saw yesterday in Hendersonville, TN

-That the bird feeder is finally squirrel proof (we think so anyway).

-French vanilla coffee creamer

-Mother's Day

-Fresh strawberries

-Sleeping in, even if it's just a little bit later than usual

-Warm weather

-New lipstick

-The snail I saw on our driveway yesterday when I came home from getting groceries

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Working a later shift. Traffic is horrible early this morning from thunderstorms, so I'm glad I'm not driving in it yet.

-My husband fixed the bird feeder. It now has metal rather than rope from which to hang. The squirrels still got into it.

-Activia

-Blueberries

-Honey Puffed Wheat

-Quiet time

-Daisies

-Taking life one day at a time

-Sherbert

-Granola

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Living on high enough ground not to have to worry about flooding
-The California gold rush
-Salamanders
-When my first cup of coffee for the day kicks in
-Warm laundry fresh out of the dryer
-Getting two paychecks last week, one from my past employer, one from my new employer
-Being on biweekly pay; getting 3 paychecks in May
-Milky Way
-Horses
-Sugar snap pea pods

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Watching the squirrel chew through the rope holding our bird feeder. The feeder fell onto the deck and seed spilled everywhere. No wonder I've gone through 3 feeders in a month! Smart little critter!
-Having enough money in the checking account to pay bills
-Writing cohesively during my rough draft
-Fresh strawberries
-DQ Blizzards
-Exercising
-Vanilla yogurt
-A toothpick right when I need one
-Sweet corn
-Being employed full time. Yay!