Obviously I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately.  I will admit that lately I’ve been second guessing my ability to do this: be a freelance writer.  It’s not the writing that’s hard, it’s the writing enough that is.  In order to really make a living doing this I pretty much need to write from morning till night, and even though my work ethic is there, my ability to think clearly is not.  Sometimes I just don’t know what to write about, and I’m really struggling with my desire to be a person, have friends, go out, visit the gym, watch TV, and my desire to really establish myself professionally in a career path I never expected to be in, but now that I’m here really want to rock.

That’s my funk, but I need to get out of it, because it’s not productive.  Dwelling on the hard stuff never makes it seem easier, if nothing else it makes it all seem all the more insurmountable.  So, in my pro-active way of being, I’ve decided to compile a list of things that always seem to bring a smile to my face.

10. Kitchen Stuff: Today I was wondering around Williams-Sonoma and my mind was immediately in fantasy zone. There, in my mind, I got to decorate my dream kitchen full of Le Crueset,  a KitchenAid mixer, pretty aprons, cloth napkins and gadgets of all shapes and sizes.  None of it is real…yet, but those few minutes of fantasy really do put me in an all around happier place.

9. Haagen-Daaz Vanilla Honey & Granola Frozen Yogurt.  This is the best stuff on earth.  There is no ice cream, gelato, sorbet, or fro-yo that I would rather have.  When it comes to creamy, cold, dessert time, this stuff is the bestest.

8. Bookstores.  I don’t necessarily need to buy anything, I just like to be there.  There are so many ideas floating around there, so many peoples life’s work available for purchase, so many books that I actually want to read!  I love it there.  I love to touch the fresh pages and people watch.  And who am I kidding about not buying anything, I always leave with something.

 7. Coffee.  Coffee is my comfort food of choice.  It soothes me.  When I’m stressed and feel like I can’t think or cope, or stay awake, the first thing I reach for is coffee.  It brings me to my happy place.  I read an article recently that noted that even people that don’t like coffee are positively effected by the smell of freshly ground beans.  Apparently the smell is a serotonin releaser. 

6. Netflix.  I don’t know why, but it always feels like Christmas morning when a new movie comes in the mail.  Oh, and the Watch it Now feature, it’s AMAZING. 

5. Screaming Children.  Okay, this one can seem weird to people.  But I always laugh when I see kids screaming, not because I think it’s awesome that the kid is upset, but because I think it’s awesome to be able to express being upset like that.  There are times when I just want to scream and cry and stomp and yell in a room full of complete strangers, but somewhere along the road I was conditioned that that’s not appropriate behavior.  I love that kids still have that freedom and lack of social conditioning.

4. Hooters.  If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, or if you know me in real life you probably already know about my love of Hooters.  I get the whole, “don’t you think that it objectifies women?” argument a lot from people who are generally baffled by my love of the tacky yet unrefined chain restaurant.  To that I say no, I think the women that work there know what they’re getting into and work there for a reason. There are plenty of other restaurants out there.  I personally believe that being a feminist means believing that all women have the right to be whatever type of woman they want to be without judgement.  I think the food is sort of gross, but gross in a fun way, gross in a yeah I like to watch football, drink beer, eat wings and be around girls in hot pants as much as the next guy, kind of way.  I like Hooters because it’s not pretentious and in a city where almost everything is a little bit pretentious it’s kind of a relief.

3. Karaoke.  I’ve taken voice lessons for most of my life, but they’re not exactly freeing.  More of an occupational pressure.  Karaoke on the other hand has to be one of the things in life I have the most fun doing.  Every once and a while my friends and I rent out a private room and belt out every song we can think of.  I swear it’s like a drug, it’s a total high, and it’s fun, and there are laughs, and the end of it all it’s actually a great stress reliever. 

2. Shopping.  Okay, so maybe it’s a cliche, but shopping really does make me feel better.  Grocery shopping makes me feel good, clothes shopping makes me feel good, shopping for gifts makes me feel good.  I don’t know what it is, but it’s very soothing to go out in search of something, find something you love and bring it home with you.  Having said that, I do not like to shop with other people.  It’s really a very cathartic, solitary activity for me. 

1. My girls.  Those are my two best friends.  They’ve been my best friends for the majority of my life and no matter what’s going on in life, good stuff, bad stuff, heartbreaking stuff, or just a pizza on Friday night, they’re the people I go to.  I don’t know that I believe in soulmates, but if I did, I wouldn’t think it would necessarily be someone you’re involved with romantically.  I think that if there is such a thing, the two lovely ladies above would be mine.  They’ve known me my whole life and they still love me-that says a lot!

Okay, so I just finished this list and you know what?  I have a huge smile on my face.  There are a lot of simple pleasures out there; things that can make the cloudy and overwhelming April days seem a lot more manageable. That’s my list.  What’s on yours?