Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Blueberries
-Fridays
-Duct tape
-Drumsticks (both chicken and ice cream)
-The music the ice cream truck plays when it drives through the neighborhood
-Orchids
-Watching a bride throw her bouquet
-Blue Jays
-Velcro suits
-Pay day

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Little Caesar's Pizza

-My new treadmill

-Scary movies (not the ones that are overly bloody, but psychological type stuff)

-Sunflowers

-Painted toenails

-The farmer's market

-Strawberry patches

-The Great Pumpkin

-Daisies

-Looking forward to my wedding anniversary

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Seeing friends from out of town

-The image on TV right now of Conan O'Brien running on the beach in a suit

-Fuzzy socks

-Opening the mailbox and having no bills along

-Getting a personal snail nail letter from a loved one

-Cartoons

-The moment the morning caffeine kicks in

-Looking forward to the holiday weekend

-The fresh from the dentist feeling after a teeth cleaning

-Warm biscuits

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Rubber Duckies
-Velcro
-The sound of the coffee pot as it perks
-Interesting tattoos
-Podcasts
-Holiday weekends
-Boston cream pie
-The feeling of cotton balls between my toes when I paint my toe nails
-Fire breathing dragons
-Finding a tooth pick when I really need one

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Corona

-Pasta

-Estopa (They're a Spanish Band)

-That even with a wire chain holding the bird feeder, the squirrels have managed to wreck another bird feeder. I think if you put a human and a squirrel on the evolutionary food chain for survival in the wilderness, the squirrel will win.

-Almost being finished with a couple of my stories

-Good hair days

-Losing weight

-80s music

-Recumbent exercise bikes

-When all the laundry for the week is finished

Ten Reasons I Still Call This My Writing Blog

-When I'm being positive, I tend to write more

-When I'm aware of my negativity and the real reasons for why I'm angry, cranky, tired, etc. I can channel that energy into an evil/angry/tired character rather than just bitching about being angry.

-Ever since starting this blog, I've spent a lot more time writing. I think that looking at the little things of life helps keep things in perspective. Letting go sometimes helps to then dig into a plot and forget about real life for awhile.

-Sometimes characters need all those little things that cause them to stop and smile too.

-The ten things that make me smile exercise itself makes me smile :)

-Living in the present helps to get bigger projects done. Maybe I can't finish an entire novel in a short amount of time, but I can focus on what I can do for the project today.

-I have more of a Q & A type writing blog at jenbluekissedwritingqanda.blogspot.com as well. I'm going to keep this one about the 10 things that make me smile, a little poetry, and some discussion on writing conferences. I do hope to attend Killer Nashville again this year.

-Lists help me to write. Organization of my thoughts is a wonderful thing.

-This world needs more positivity. I usually write these posts while I'm watching the news on TV.

-It's my blog, and I can do what I want with it! :)

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Team Spirit

-People who lose gracefully

-Hot dogs at major league ball parks

-Grand slams

-Sunflower seeds

-People who use correct grammar

-Altoids, especially the mini ones

-Comb-overs

-Old wedding pics, especially the bridesmaid's dresses

-Jazz bands

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-The Biggest Loser TV show

-Weight Watchers Lasagna

-Putting in 40 hours per week at work

-Overtime when it's available while my husband is out of work

-Evening gowns

-Teddy bears

-Sprinkles

-Suitcases on wheels. What an invention!

-Gummy worms

-Soap opera endings

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-The 24 mph sign outside of the Opry Mills Mall in Nashville, TN

-The 21 mph sign I saw yesterday in Hendersonville, TN

-That the bird feeder is finally squirrel proof (we think so anyway).

-French vanilla coffee creamer

-Mother's Day

-Fresh strawberries

-Sleeping in, even if it's just a little bit later than usual

-Warm weather

-New lipstick

-The snail I saw on our driveway yesterday when I came home from getting groceries

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Working a later shift. Traffic is horrible early this morning from thunderstorms, so I'm glad I'm not driving in it yet.

-My husband fixed the bird feeder. It now has metal rather than rope from which to hang. The squirrels still got into it.

-Activia

-Blueberries

-Honey Puffed Wheat

-Quiet time

-Daisies

-Taking life one day at a time

-Sherbert

-Granola

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Living on high enough ground not to have to worry about flooding
-The California gold rush
-Salamanders
-When my first cup of coffee for the day kicks in
-Warm laundry fresh out of the dryer
-Getting two paychecks last week, one from my past employer, one from my new employer
-Being on biweekly pay; getting 3 paychecks in May
-Milky Way
-Horses
-Sugar snap pea pods

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Watching the squirrel chew through the rope holding our bird feeder. The feeder fell onto the deck and seed spilled everywhere. No wonder I've gone through 3 feeders in a month! Smart little critter!
-Having enough money in the checking account to pay bills
-Writing cohesively during my rough draft
-Fresh strawberries
-DQ Blizzards
-Exercising
-Vanilla yogurt
-A toothpick right when I need one
-Sweet corn
-Being employed full time. Yay!

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Pulled pork sandwiches
-Cold ice water
-Warm, sunny days
-Internet access
-Sterling silver jewelry
-Bandaids with fun pics/cartoon characters on them
-Comic books
-Fuji and Gala apples
-Looking forward to pay day
-Hula hoops

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Finding out my release date for an anthology
-Chocolate chip cookies straight out of the oven
-Cheesecake
-Laughing at my first draft, wondering what I was thinking
-Tortilla española
-Being dealt blackjack
-Sharpies
-Spending time with my hubby after he was gone for a week
-Banana cream pie
-Elephants

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Watching mama birds feed baby birds
-Warm Spring days
-Signing my contracts
-That my husband returned from a trip.
-Stroking his beard. I haven't seen him in one in a few years.
-Plums
-Wikipedia
-Scented candles
-When people do nice things for me out of the blue
-Magic beans (think Jack and the Beanstalk)

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Bumble bees
-M&Ms
-Hawkeyes
-Olive Garden's biscuits
-Heated seats in my car
-That I haven't had a splinter stuck under my skin in a really long time
-Dairy Queen Blizzards
-Quiet moments for reflection
-People in costume, like Mascots
-Waffles

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Cough syrup
-Not being on COBRA as of May 1
-The Purple People Eater
-The Monster Mash
-Men in uniform
-Pinstripes (both on nice suits and on baseball uniforms)
-Pujols and his RBIs
-Historic buildings
-Castles, especially in Spain
-Gothic Cathedrals

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-The pillow I just bought. Now my next doesn't hurt anymore when I awaken in the morning.
-Sugar snap pea pods
-Carnival rides
-Butterflies
-The first robins of spring
-Silly pictures
-Doritos
-Parchment paper
-Blowing the seeds into the air from a dead dandelion
-Oreo pie

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-That I made it home safely after my 11 hour drive today
-Homemade chocolate chip cookies
-Garage sales. I got a leather jacket in pristine condition for $4.00
-My health
-Peter Pan
-The Tooth Fairy
-Licking my fingers after eating fried chicken
-Finally being a direct hire tomorrow rather than a temp
-My new pillow
-Lemonade at the county fair

Ten Things That Make Me Smile

-Knowing I have a new job waiting for me on Monday.
-The end of tax season nearing, being glad mine are done!
-Cold, Diet Dr. Pepper
-Chocolate covered doughnuts
-Zamboni
-Being under a tornado warning but not having one form
-Cars with good gas mileage
-Italian style green beans
-Pretty nail polish
-Blueberry pancakes from Ihop