It's the Little Things That Make Me Happy

I woke up this morning thinking about all the things that make me happy, which I have to say was a delightful way to wake up and immediately put me in a lovely mood.

Here, in no particular order, is a partial list of what I came up with as I laid in bed:

• A heated mattress pad. I don't know who invented this, but whomever it is deserves a Nobel Prize in something, maybe humanitarianism or something like that. This creates a wonderful little cocoon that I never want to leave in the morning and has given me better, deeper sleep since I got it in December. Best money I spent in ages.
  
• A made bed and a clean bedroom. There's just something incredibly calming about walking down the hall and seeing my room, my oasis, clean and waiting for me. Sometimes when I need an escape in the middle of the day, I just walk into my bedroom and inhale and exhale deeply and I feel calm again. Plus, when I make my bed first thing in the morning, I feel accomplished before I've even brushed my teeth.
  
• A full tank of gas. This is especially happiness-inducing in the winter when it's cold and the winter elements are likely to develop at any moment without notice.
• A purring kitty. Nothing puts a smile on my face faster than when Betsey or Ross are purring so loudly that I can hear it across the room or when they unexpectedly hop onto my lap and just start purring. Pure bliss.
  
• Clean and folded laundry. I love the fresh crisp scent of clean laundry.
• The scents of lavender and vanilla. Together or separately.
  
• Dinner on nice dishes. Because I tend to cook a lot and then divide it up into single serving containers that I freeze, I usually just heat that up and eat out of the container. It's more efficient and means I don't have many wash to dishes. But at least one night a week, I make myself set the table, even if it's just for me and eat dinner properly off nice dishes.
• Seeing the sun any day between November and April. I live in Chicago. Nothing more needs to be said.
• Reading the newspaper cover-to-cover. The actual newspaper. Not the online version. I don't do this very often, so when I really take the time to hold the real paper in my hands and savor the ink bleeding on my fingers as I read all the stories (and the comics), I just love it.
• Books. I love to read. I'm currently reading four books. I have books all over my house. My dream is to have a house with a library where I can just retire to browse through my books and write letters.
• Letters. I love to write letters and receive letters. Good old-fashioned handwritten letters. Emails, text messages, sky writing, smoke signals, etc. are all fine, but nothing quite compares to being able to hold a handwritten letter in my hand. That said, I'm embarrassingly behind with writing letters (mostly thank you notes) at the moment and it's causing me all kinds of stress. I will tackle this this week for certain and then I'll feel better. My favorite letters are saved in a "love notes" file that I visit every now and again. That file is one of about 5 things I'd grab if my house burned down again.
• Music. I often like to start my day with uplifting music. I lifts my spirit and fills my soul like nothing else. I often use music to energize me when I have to do something I'm not excited about doing.
• Surprise phone calls for no reason whatsoever from people I love.
• Long, hot bubble baths with candles.
• Lazy weekend mornings. Today was not one of them. I was up fairly early because I had things I wanted to accomplish.
  

There are obviously many things in life that make me happy, but those are the things I thought of first thing this morning.

What simple pleasures in life make you happy?