Me, in no particular order…
- Baking. Cakes, cookies, bread, pizza dough. Mmm, pizza dough…
- Having a cup of tea and doing absolutely nothing other than existing for brief moments of respite in the afternoon while the baby takes her nap (this joyous occasion usually takes place between 1-3 p.m.).
- Dancing. That’s it… Just dancing and getting lost in the music.
- Taking obscenely long showers without feeling like I have to hurry, so I can do ALL THE THINGS, like a hair mask, a face mask and shave my toes (hey, keepin’ it real)
- A 90-minute deep-tissue massage
- S-l-e-e-e-e-p
- Tabs on my lap while I write
- Having other people cook breakfast for me (this doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s GLORIOUS).
- Finishing a grueling workout
- Feeling supported and understood here in the MBB comments 🙂
- Accomplishing something that I didn’t think I’d be able to do at first
- Having a clean house and knowing exactly where everything is
- Finding something that was lost (especially jewelry)
- Finding money in a jacket pocket, or my purse, or, better yet, randomly on the sidewalk while I’m just walking around!
- Pulling up to a parking meter that still has enough time left on it for me to park and do my bid-ness
- Finding parking right by the main entrance at Costco the instant I pull into the lot (this has only happened once, and it was AMAZING)
- Feeling ? loved by friends and family
- Exploring a new town — basically, visiting new places
- Getting it ALL done and handling my sh*t
You?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Hi Karen ,
My niece / housekeeper came yesterday to clean . She always goes the extra mile by helping me control my clutter .
Sooooo yesterday we went thru my many bins of handbags ?
What was I thinking?
Some of them were rediculous .
Anyway , all cleaned up , no more bins . I chose the winners .
Feeling accomplished .
A great feeling !
Hi Michele,
Cleaning/decluttering definitely helps me feel better too. You’re so smart to have someone with you, because it helps to have someone there to keep you on task and prevent you from putting stuff back!
By the way, I used to collect handbags too and some of mine were super silly. LOL! Ahh, fashion…
What makes me feel awesome…
– cooking a good meal from scratch
-when my hair/makeup/nails turn out like I wanted, ha ha!
– when the bus is on time and not packed like a can of sardines
– my morning routine (if I work in the evening) of reading and tea, while cuddling with my dogs. Bliss.
– relaxing with my husband when he comes home from school
– accomplishing something new! A very good friend of mine has dedicated her time and $$ to teach me how to drive, (fear always prevented me from trying to learn again) and while I’m a long way off from taking the test and driving by myself, I’ve come a long way from the belief that it would be something I’d never ever do.
Hi Savannah,
Oh, kudos to working on driving. I totally get it. It’s scary! But like any skill you just keep working on it and eventually you’ll get there. 🙂
I live out in the burbs now so I rarely take public transpo but when I lived in the San Francisco I LOVED IT when I could get on a bus and immediately grab a seat without having 5 butts up in my face.
getting par on a par 3 this week
#awesome
Forcing myself out of my comfort zone makes me feel awesome. As I get older, the less I like to try new things or learn new things. So whether at work or in my personal life, I try to make my brain learn something new or do something I wouldn’t normally do. Also, going to the gym on a Saturday morning when I could be sitting on my butt watching cooking shows! And having the money to shop, and then going shopping!
YES, GIRL! I’m the same way. Within the last few years I’ve found that it gets so easy to get stuck in my comfort zone. Gotta keep pushing to break out of it!
What makes me feel awesome:
Going to Starbucks with my girlfriends and gossiping and laughing about everything we can
Naps with my pug
Really good conversations with my husband
Listening to my kids talk with their friends
Watching my husband make grilled cheese sandwiches for our teenaged girls, that father-daughter bond is amazing!
Painting my nails
Baking allllllllll the cookies
Eating alllll the cookies too! Lol
Sanding down the stairs in our house and seeing the original wood come through the layers of brown paint!
Oooh this sounds beautiful! You’ll be glad you restored them!
Being able to help someone in any way
Actually being recognized and appreciated for a job well done
Dog Kisses
Laughing with my husband
Waking up from a great dream
Living in a house with breathtaking views, it is such an antidepressant
Discovering a new food you love that is actually healthy
When you lose a pound, or see a muscle that wasn’t defined before, or ARE satisfied without the ice cream and that feeling of pride
Those rare occasions when your feet actually DON’T hurt!
Nailing that being-an-aunt thing, like today when I helped ‘Thing 2’ finish her end of year Career Prep presentation. (Yes, they’re doing Career Prep- they’re eleven!! What happened to having a childhood?) The awesome poster we did made up for some of those “OMG, I’ve ruined my kids!” days.
Also, finding the most elusive pair of shoes out there: the ones that are both cute and comfortable.
Having the house to myself for a while. Remote control ownership, lol.
It used to be being with my dog. He was like a four-footed angel to me. He is deceased, and I never got another dog. I better hurry up about getting a new one, but my living situation might be changing radically, so I can’t do that until I can provide a decent, stable place for the new dog.
It has occurred to me that I never really feel joy anymore. That is probably partly due to being over 50; I don’t know. Dealing with cancer and two deteriorating parents isn’t easy, either. I don’t believe I’m clinically depressed – I call it “bad life syndrome.” (Psychiatrists are gradually coming around to realizing some people actually have good reason to be basically depressed all or most of the time.)
I just want to say to CL that as a psychotherapist, I don’t believe that depression is something that randomly ‘happens’ to people but is a natural reaction to life events, just as she describes. How can you be full of joy with stuff going on like that? Just feel your feelings of fed-up ness, CL because the only way out is through.
In the meantime, maybe start thinking about that new dog…dogs can cope with changing situations as long as they feel loved and there’s no problem with that because I can tell that you have lots of love to give.
I’m really impressed by all the things on your list. I think that’s important for feeling awesome as often as possible! 🙂 But, now I feel a lot of pressure. HAHA!
Definitely sleeping in, which happens more often now that the kids are older (and we’re not up at the crack of dawn every weekend day for hockey, etc). I’m not a baker but I do like to cook. I feel especially awesome when someone else does the cleaning up. I love the feeling of finishing a project (which could be something big or something as little as vacuuming so everything looks fresh and clean). Hanging out with my friends is always awesome and we’re also able to do it more often since all our kids are getting older. Just watching movies and drinking some wine on a weekend night with the Hubs. Having a day or, let’s be honest, an hour when there’s no fighting with, arguing with, or nagging the boys. Oh, and when they come home with good grades, or have a good game. When I’m happy for someone else, that’s probably the best feeling. 🙂
I would have to say doing really grueling workout classes like HIIT, boxing or interval training classes. I was able to lift a 44 pound barbell to do deadlifts a couple of weeks ago. Also, decluttering and making a yummy meal from scratch. Also, getting out of my comfort zone, I recently lost my job a few weeks ago, so I’ve been going through the arduous process of applying for jobs, phone interviews and studying Microsoft Office. There are so many shortcuts I never memorized until now! I was always a mouse clicker! I am introverted and physical interviews are tough for me because I need to learn how to sell myself. I would feel awesome if I have a good interview and got a new job!
Food lol ! I love baking, cooking and eating ice cream . Flowers, having a walk or sitting in the garden simply looking at the sky. And reading a good book, my makeup, and so much more. When you have serious health issues and your own father suffers from an orphan disease too, when friends have gone because ( quote ) they think there is a curse here .. Thanks God I am an atheist ! But they go to the church on Sunday for some of them … So I am trying and enjoy every second now, I know our life is too short. Even when you suffer in this life, there are happy seconds or moments .
Great list!
Watching netflix, eating yummy food, when my dog runs towards me to say hello, cuddling, and buying new makeup! I also love when I travel and get to see new places. I also like spending quality time with my family. I love when we all get together.
I hope you have a lovely weekend! Happy Mother’s Day! 🙂