100. One Hundred. Hundo.

To celebrate my hundredth post I thought I would make a list for ya. I love lists and I love this website on the power of the "List of 100." Listing 100 things on any topic definitely makes you think really hard, dig deep, and get a little creative.

Since it's the holiday season, and I am getting over my Grad School Blues a bit, I think I will grace you with:

100 Things That Make Me Happy

It may seem a little lame, cliche', or tamer than the things I have been sharing lately, but I think it is such a good evaluation of life sometimes, to remind us that there are at least 100 things to be happy about. Enjoy!

1. Woolen socks on winter days.
2. Philosophical conversations over hot coffee.
3. Working for an organization that I truly believe in, and support their mission not only through my work but through my personal actions.
4. 4-legged friends.
5. My roommates. They are some of the most vibrant, dynamic young women I have ever had the pleasure to know.
6. Fast-forwarding though commercials.
7. A big beautiful, blank canvas and an afternoon.
8. Midday naps.
9. Christmas movies (especially when enjoyed in summer).
10. Picking apples off the tree and eating them in the orchard.
11. Doing the crossword in bed on a weekend morning.
12. Singing in the car.
13. Summer evening rainbows.
14. Purring cats.
15. Wearing summer dresses to local art fairs.
16. Talking to strangers in airports/on airplanes.
17. Black and white photos.
18. Being in triathlon shape.
19. Shivan's "Hangover French Toast."
20. Freshly washed, still warm from the dryer bed sheets.
21. 2 f0r 1's @ Stella's on a Saturday night in "the" upstairs corner booth.
22. Weddings. Wedding dances. Getting dressed up for weddings. Being so honored to be asked to be in a wedding. Celebrating love. Weddings are the best!
23. Tacos.
24. Free stuff.
25. When strangers buy coffee for each other.
26. Sun porches.
27. Early morning breakfasts.
28. Wii Tennis championships in the living room.
29. Surprises.
30. Emergency preparedness/planning.
31. Nightly roommate pow-wow in which the following topics nearly always come up: school (we hate it but we love it), funny things we did as undergrads, men (the good, the bad, and the ugly), and food.
32. Fresh snow on all environmental surfaces EXCEPT the roads.
33. Getting to the on ramp right as the idiot light turns green. Wahooo!
34. Getting lost and then found again.
35. Mittens.
36. Going barefoot anywhere it is acceptable.
37. Skipping.
38. Telling "college" stories. What a unique experience to have such a padded place to test your wings.
39. Birthday Week (one day does not have the capacity to contain all the fun I prefer to have for birthdays).
40. Yellow shoe laces.
41. Making Christmas cookies with the "Muehe" ladies. I do not remember a Christmas that we have not had an afternoon of rolling, cutting, baking, frosting, sprinkling, goofing up, "breaking" the cookie to eat it, and some hysterical laughter.
42. One woman dance parties. It is absolutely imperative to one's mental health to celebrate their own accomplishments.
43. The ocean.
44. Being able to consider my immediate family my best friends. It has been wonderful to have a collective 126 years of life experience to draw from!
45. The Spoonbridge and Cherry. Easily my favorite place on the planet. This makes me think that it is funny that no matter how well traveled I am (and I would consider myself moderately to fairly well-traveled for someone my age), it's still things close to home that make me happiest. This is a true testament to the fact that amongst all the other "rights" in my life, I am in the right geographical place too. What a lovely feeling.
46. Car rides. If the walls of cars could talk, they would tell the most intimate of secrets.
47. Driving a manual transmission car. Vrrooom Vrroooom!
48. House plants.
49. Custom Nikes. Love love love love love.
50. Being able to say I am halfway done with large tasks.
51. Realizing I have less to do on a large task than I have already accomplished.
52. Flirting.
53. Giving presentations. If you can't dazzle them with science, baffle them with bullshit.
54. Being respected for being intelligent and praised for being a hard worker. These are some of my favorite qualities of myself.
55. Getting my haircut.
56. Easy to open pistachios.
57. Getting mail.
58. Making faces.
59. Being able to tell your dreams and aspirations to someone and have them love and respect you for it rather than think you are crazy.
60. Sledding.
61. Sailboats.
62. Giving to charity; whether it is time, money, donated goods, or simple well wishes and a thank you.
63. Hot tea before bed.
64. People with an inherent calmness to them. This may be jealousy, as I am not inherently calm but rather a bit of a firecracker. Nonetheless, I enjoy being in the presence of calm.
65. Watching TV shows from my childhood: Captain Planet, Saved by the Bell, Full House.
66. Grammar and spelling. Not that mine are always perfect.
67. A solid "I am here for you" hug.
68. Surprising people.
69. Installing something--anything-- by myself. Like: internet service, shelving units, etc. It reasserts my power over complicated material things.
70. Buying select groceries from the local co-op. While it makes me feel a little poor, it simultaneously makes me feel hip and good for the planet. Plus, organic cheese is the cat's meow.
71. First dates. Even when they rarely become second dates, and almost never become a third, first dates are typically so fun.
72. Butterfly gardens.
73. The sound of running water.
74. People who acknowledge the need to extend human rights even when their own cultural or religious experiences has not.
75. Traveling.
76. Listening to people speak in languages other than English.
77. People watching.
78. Catching someone "people watching" me!
79. Wonderful and supportive classmates @ The School of Public Health. There will always be a unique bond with the people I have shared this crazy experience with.
80. Finishing things significantly before the deadline.
81. Finishing things right before the deadline and having that magical "Phew!" feeling.
82. Bubble baths and a bottle of wine.
83. IKEA furniture that lasts more than 6 months.
84. Completing things you never thought possible.
85. Making a mistake and discovering it was better than what you had intended in the first place.
86. The smell of freshly cut grass in the summer.
87. Balloon hats. And newspaper hats for that matter.
88. Driving with the windows down in the summer.
89. Happy dogs.
90. The absolutely massive variety of hamburgers at King's Cafe in Miesville. I would recommend The Slider.
91. LEGOs.
92. Picking up where I left off.
93. Starting over.
94. A little lesson I learned from my childhood dog: sometimes the only movement you really need to do throughout a lazy, relaxing day is to relocate yourself to the "sunny spots" throughout the house as the sun bounces from one horizon to the other.
95. Crunchy peanut butter (now in organic! My heart be still. . . )
96. People who are thoughtful. I am trying to take notes.
97. Ladybugs on windowsills.
98. Reading the newspaper in print form, rather than online at least once every two weeks.
99. Understanding that someday big milestones will feel little, maybe even become part of the background noise and that the little things may be what ends up defining part of my character. And being okay with whichever way things go.
100. Crossing the finish line.