Hey Friend! It's A New Day.

The more I see this message, the more I think it's the perfect way to start a conversation. My girlfriend has been texting me this most mornings and I'm obsessed with it. I've shared in previous posts that I've been struggling with one really full plate lately. And while I'm making progress to feeling WAY lighter than I did before, some days are still rough and tough. So when I see this text in the morning, it is THE BEST reminder to get back to the NOW and work on creating this moments memories.

This got me thinking about other ways that get me back to my NOW. And what popped into mind was a game my roommate, Becca, would make me play: The Things That Make Me Happy Game. Ok lame name. But self explanatory. We would take turns just rattling off things that made us happy. If you play long enough, you'll realize the saying things like: "family", "vacations", "pets", "weekends" gets you 30 seconds into the game. Becca and I would play for 30mins! You cant repeat anything, so you gotta be specific. And being specific elevates your mood faster! The difference between: "candy corn" and "eating candy corn pumpkins straight from the bag while sitting on the floor, candy sprawled out from my FULL king size pillowcase, trading candy with my family" feels dramatically different. (Also, leave my love for candy corn alone. I'm currently thriving in this candy corn season that seemingly gets longer and longer every year. July 5th-Nov 1st ahhhh I love you Giant foods).

So this week, again, I'm keeping it short. Just gotta write some of my most memorable mentions while playing with Becca. I hope they make you smile. And more so, I hope you play the game with your friends and even share a few with me too!

Here we go:

Watching the Final Challenge of the TV show Double Dare and hoping they would find the hidden red flag at the bottom of a whipped cream covered tongue (Oh gosh, please tell me someone else loved this show that much?)

Playing in the backyard on our swing set. Swinging as high as we could go, and jumping off. Only to stick the landing like an Olympic gymnast, present to the judges and bow to the imaginary crowd cheering.

Rollerblading down the neighborhood's most steep hill and feeling the wind in my face.

French toast on a school morning. 2 thick pieces of challah bread french toast, COVERED irresponsibly in powdered sugar and maple syrup.

Adult version: ordering crab cakes at a waterfront restaurant on The Chesapeake Bay and getting an INSANE amount of horseradish and tarter sauce. And some hot, salty sweet potato french fries.

HOURS on the phone with my bestie, as a teen, watching the same TV shows at the same time. Not talking, just "hanging out".

Adult version: HOURS with a friend (phone call or in person), talking and laughing, so much that you dont realize its been 2+ hours!

Getting to the top of the line at the swimming pool's massive water slide and knowing your turn was next to slide down! And later after swimming and sliding for HOURS, getting nachos with cheese dip and a green snow cone as "lunch".

The adult version: hiking for hours from our campsite and arriving back to our RV to have a kombucha, campfire BBQ and a s'more (or three).

Walking through The Haunted Forest for Halloween and screamingggggg and throwing my younger brother, or girlfriend, in front of me, in hopes they would attack them instead of me.

Look through old photos. Old photo albums my mom made, or even just "old" (last week) photos in my phone.

Watching a movie on a Friday night with my hubs, and commenting about all the ridiculous and impossible elements that couldnt happen, all while accepting aliens/apocalypse as totally normal.

Doing a crazy workout with friends, being sweaty and tried, and all sitting around drinking coffee and talking about it afterwards.

Taking a Sunday Drive with the fam, on the back roads, on a sunny/warm day, with the windows down, while making our way to a yelped reviewed epic lunch location.

Putting on a fresh pair of socks, straight from the dryer.

An endlessly long HOT shower after being in the sun all day.

Loading an airplane and realizing you have the ENTIRE row to yourself.

I could continue for DAYSSSSSSSS..... but the point of this isn't to tell you everything that makes me happy (although it's making me feel amazing), but to inspire you to dig into your memory of things that make YOU happy.

Happy Monday, Ya'll! Please share below any and all the things that make you smile. Selfishly of course.... shared smiles = a better new day.