Forgetting the Bad Days

I had a horrible day yesterday.

Horrible.

Downright nasty.

I swear, I almost slugged someone I was so mad.

And I had plans to re-hash it all here. I was going to rant and rave about the unprofessional nature of American culture and how a lack of work ethic seems to be our society's defining characteristic. I was going to wax on about the necessity of common courtesy, punctuality, and graciousness. I was going to beat the pulpit and sound a battle cry for reformation like none other.

And then, I decided against it.

Because negativity breeds negativity.

And no matter how justified I may be, it's not doing anyone a bit of good to focus on the bad.

Especially when there's so much good in the world.

Case in point: My Name Twin.

Yes, the little proprietress over at Molly Lou Gifts and I rock the same name and love it. (She's not the only one out there, either.)

And Mrs. Molly Lou really is one of my kindred spirits. She always makes me smile and laugh and swell with encouragement when I need it the most.

Like when she gave me the following:
It's the I Love This Blog Award!

See? She really is the sweetest.

So, today, instead of dwelling on my down moments, I'm going to look up and hand out some love.

But first, I'm required (by Blogging Law) to list 10 things I love:

1. Books and places filled with them - When I'm old, I'm going to have a library in my house. The walls will be lined with dark cherry shelves, and I'll have an elegant silver ladder that will move on a tracking system around the entire room. I'll whiz about the room on the ladder, picking books and jumping into a plush reading settee, where I'll sip coffee and read, read, read. This, my friends, is exactly why I won't buy a Kindle. Because I love reading books; I love holding books; I love sitting in the presence of books; I love sniffing the pages of books; I love it all a little bit more than the average bear. Libraries and bookstores are my own idea of heaven, at times.

2. Cheese - I'm not sure how this one happened. I wasn't raised in a big cheese-eating family. But now, oh man! I love me some cheeses! Feta and gouda and bleu and sharp cheddar and, well, yum! It's gotten to the point that I make it my personal goal to find a cheese that matches every meal I cook. I'm pretty successful, most of the time. Although, Asian cuisine still eludes me.

3. Floral prints - Ask my mother, who had to drag me away from every floral print couch, recliner and dining room chair we found in IKEA last month. I have a thing for florals, and it's serious. You can't have too many in a room, in my opinion. If I had my way, my poor husband would have to exist in a fabric garden. Oh, how they make my feminine heart sing!

4. Grading (except not really) - I don't know what it is about grading papers that gets me. Perhaps it's all the grammatical errors. Perhaps it's my overuse of the phrase "NEEDS MORE PROOFING." Perhaps it's simply the fact that I have a stack of essays on my desk that never seems to recede. It mystifies me, really. Still, the point is, whatever the opposite of grading papers is? That's one of my big loves. That feeling when there's nothing left to grade, i.e., summer, makes my heart sing.

5. Big dogs - I like animals a lot. And, really, I love almost every dog I've ever met. Big. Small. Old. Young. Scruffy. Smooth. I'm a fan. But when it comes to owning a dog, I like mine large. I like a dog I can full-body hug, and while I love snapping up a puppy in my arms, I don't miss holding a dog every chance I get. I like watching my big Dane-mix lumber along. I even enjoy the huge flaps of fur and skin he has bunching around his mouth and neck and hindquarters when he's just lazing around. I like sitting next to them on the floor, a big old dog head snoozing in my lap while I read a book. I even think it's cute when they try and act like a little puppy and attempt to fit back in my lap, only to squash me with their sheer size. Nothing sweeter than a big dog, in my world. Nothing.

6. Techno music - I know this makes me a freak, but I'm just going to admit it. I love techno music. It's the only kind of music I like that has minimal lyrics and a driving beat. Blame it on the fact that I'm fitness instructor who listens to this stuff for a living, but the fact is, I'll even listen to it outside of the gym. So, go ahead. Judge me. I'll just be hear be-bopping along to a synthesized beat.

7. Bracelets - I wear a lot of them. Cuffs and bangles and beads and stacks and stacks of pearls. I always wear bracelets. I even have a student who walks into my classroom every morning, takes off my bracelets, tries them on, and then puts them back on my wrist. A little weird, but I consider it our thing.

8. Babies - It's probably just because I teach high school, and anybody who spends that much time around teenagers wants to return a little bit more to the innocence of youth. But honestly, it's all I can do not to swoop up every baby I see in the grocery store and sniff that delicious smell that comes out the top of their head. It borders on an obsession.

9. Popcorn - I think I've covered this enough around here. Popcorn and I are soul mates.

10. Homemade desserts - I'm not a huge cookie-lover. I can take or leave cake. And pie and I aren't all that close. But when they're homemade, fresh out of the oven, made from scratch? I'm in. That's when every buttery, sugary calorie becomes worth it.

Now, I want to pass the love along to another 10 women who's blogs I love:
1. Taylor at Then There Was Three...
2. The Shabby Princess
3. Sam at The Ruby Turtle Hippie Times
4. Katie at The Perks
5. Marlessa at Southern Loves
6. Mrs. Bee at the Secret Life of Sass & Lex
7. Alissa at Newlywedded; Life, Love and Me
8. Lisa at Must be doin' somethin' right...
9. Jenny at Lucky in Love
10. Jules at Chic & Pink

Enjoy ladies! And Happy Thursday everyone!