Things That Make Me Happy

I've been thinking about the rut I'm in so much that maybe I'm just stuck here for lack of looking elsewhere. So� I think I'll concentrate on some other things and see how that goes.

This isn't exactly great, but I was happy to see a daffodil come up in my side flowerbed. Unfortunately, it was the only one. There used to be at least six there, but only two plants came up, and only one of those bloomed. One of the reasons was because Hammy put a bag of dog poop right on top of where they were planted instead of taking it down to the garbage can. The other reason appeared to be a weed infestation. The weeds didn't seem to mind having a bag of dog poop on top of them, and in fact, flourished. The lone daffodil didn't even make it long enough for me to get my lazy butt out there to take a picture, but at least it was there.

My other bulbs in the front have sprouted greenery but nothing else. Considering I let those bulbs sit on my porch for many months before finally planting them last spring, even getting a plant without a flower is a good thing.

My house is pretty damn clean, and that's always good. Despite my questionable mood, I've managed to stay on top of the housework, and laundry is even getting done in a reasonable manner. I made my bed four days last week (that's a bigger feat than you can imagine), and we've been eating at the dining room table because it's still clean. I even made dinner yesterday. I'm no Donna Reed just yet, but I think I'm ranking in the acceptable range.

What really got me started with the refocus on good things is this drawing by Booie. It's on her bedroom door, and it makes me laugh every time I read it. I love the spelling errors; "wack" for wake and "madd" for mad. The way she says it kills me too. She tells it like it is. What's particularly ironic about the whole thing is she is usually quite happy when she wakes up in the morning. I get her up every morning for school, and she almost always wakes up with a smile on her face. But she was inspired, and this is what came out. I love the drawing of herself as an angel too. That is just sweet.

The part that always makes me laugh out loud though is the bottom. Not only is that devil with a pitchfork absolutely hilarious, but the "warning for Hammy" never fails to send me into giggle fits. Maybe it's just because she's our kid, but John and I both can't help howling over this warning.

What caused her to draw this was a warning Hammy put on his own door. I've told him he was a baboon for I don't know how long, and he is rather taken with the notion. I often call him Baboon Boy, especially when he is being particularly rambunctious. His warning goes into great detail, and unlike Booie, he is much more apt to actually be crabby when he wakes up.

His wording and specifics kill me too, but he's a little better at the spelling. The "non-other" part is a riot as well as the recap. Where he got the "knock 5 times, wait 3 seconds, knock 5 more times" is beyond me. His hours are according to his school schedule. It's hard to see, but John and I get an exception to this warning. That would leave Booie and the animals as the ones affected by it. I'm sure being singled out as the only human (and the only one able to read!) spurred her to take her own action.

And since I'm on the kids' art kick, this drawing makes me happy too.

I don't have anything recent from Hammy. He's been busy with tests and reports and other boring things that wouldn't be too exciting scanned in for viewing. He has been getting almost all A's though, and that does make me very happy, especially after having so much trouble with his work not that long ago.

Oh, and another reason I haven't been writing is I got Myst III this weekend. Of course, I played every single minute I could until I beat it yesterday morning. I only needed one itty bitty hint to do it too. I could not get past the damn rabbit creature (they're called squee in the game) on the nature level, all because I didn't move the stupid pink fruit or nut thing. I got past all the hard stuff and got stuck on something stupid. I spent something like three hours trying to figure out what to do next until I finally gave up and went to bed that night with a headache. I messed with it again the next day (yesterday) for a while until I decided to look up a hint. Then I proceeded to smack myself in the forehead for being so stupid and beat the game.

On the first two games, I won both times right away. On this one, I lost the first time by watching the book I needed get thrown into oblivion. I lost the second time by being smacked over the head with a mallet. I lost the third time by going back to the beginning and then getting smacked over the head with a mallet. I finally figured out what to do the fourth time, won outright and even let the "bad guy" go back to his family. Now I'm anxiously awaiting Myst IV. I love those games, even if they do consume me for days.

So it's not all gloom and doom around here. I'm still working on the Great Cindy Funk that is hanging over my head. I haven't worked out in a week, and I have totally pigged out on chocolate and candy and Easter fixings for the past few days. I have a lot of work to do, but I have a lot of things that do make me happy, and if I pay more attention to them, maybe I can finally kiss The Funk goodbye.