things that make me happy

1.) holidays.

i think it's safe to say that the 4th of july is my favorite holiday. i don't really know why; it just is. there's just something i love about a day where the entire country takes off work, invites over friends, bar-b-ques stuff, eats watermelon, and then goes to watch fireworks after dark. i will admit that i'm an overly patriotic person, which probably has a lot to do with it. i grew up in the military culture - you don't really have a choice. i mean, i love sitting through the three hour, 105 degree in the shade, independence day parade in d.c. i could watch the july 4th concerts done by the national symphony and the boston pops all day. i can even for just this one day endure the sickeningly smarmy lyrics of "proud to be an american" without wanting to hurl. it's the same reason why i spent four years in college studying US history and still am not tired of the subject. i was thinking about this yesterday while watching movies, because i realized that my favorite movie scene is probably the one in the sandlot where the kids are playing baseball under the lights of the fireworks to ray charles' version of "america the beautiful".

2.) vacations.

i had a great time at the beach. i slept a lot, read a lot (see #3), and ate a lot. it was wonderful. and i managed to make it the whole week without getting really sunburned.

3.) the stephanie plum series.

i am absolutely addicted to janet evanovich's books. they are hilarious and great mysteries at the same time. i want to marry joe morelli.

4.) washing machines.

i'm in the process of washing most of my clothes to get the "mothballs and really old house" smell out of them, and it's taken me all day. (literally.) so i'm very thankful that i'm not having to do all of this by hand.