Simple Pleasures Sunday!

A new addition to the blog! The purpose of these posts will be to proclaim my gratitude for life’s little things to all and sundry! What pops up here may be something that inspires me, things that make my life easier, things I like or love, or things that bring me joy and that I want to share. I am not sure who said it first, but it really is the little things in life that…make it worthwhile, bring the greatest joy, open our eyes, help the most, etc. I am of the mind that we need as much of that as possible, so this is my little contribution. I hope you like it/get something from it/will add your own simple pleasures/ideas to the comments!

For the inaugural edition of this post, I had a particular thing in mind, but something else came across my path that demanded to be first!

As my mother will attest, I have a bit of a greeting card problem. I just love them! I try to be diligent in acknowledging birthdays and anniversaries…To me, it’s so important to acknowledge the accomplishment of making it through another year, which is sometimes easier said than done!! Also, it’s my way of saying to the recipient, I am SO glad you are here and in my life!! I am grateful for YOU! 🙂 SO, when I moved to Scotland in September last year, I totally fell off the sending cards wagon. So, this year I am reaffirming my efforts/intentions in getting the mailing of birthday/anniv greetings back on track. I try to buy my cards in big chunks at the beginning of the year, so I don’t have to worry about them later. Here’s the stack I have so far:

And I’m still missing cards for 21 people!! EEK!

They are in chronological order of birth/anniv date, labeled (with a postie) by recipient, and ready to be filled out and mailed.

Anyhoo…whenever a card comes in comes in it’s own packaging, I always check the back to see if it says what greeting is written inside. One of the cards I had chosen had this message, which totally made my day!:

In case you can’t read it all, it says:

Be nice
Think happy thoughts
Champion silver linings
Love all things (not just cute things like babies and kittens)
& When you do love – love like they do in power ballads (you know like on a cliff with the wind in your hair & your eyes shut, knowing you’ll never know another love like this)
Watch out for dogpoo
Smile at people – even grumpy ones
Be nice (Oh I already said that)
Remember that anything is possible
& Whatever you do
Always try to look on the bright side

I love calls to action/reminders like this. It really makes me think about how well I am living my life and whether or not I’m being of service to others…even if I only take a few moments to do the mini-self-check-in, I am better for it. A big stack of b-day cards: a big stack of dollars (or pounds as it were). Sending the bulk of the cards to my mom so she can pass along her well wishes (because they’re her fam too!) *and* use American postage so I don’t have to pay international postage: a smaller stack of dollars. A lesson in life’s priorities courtesy of the back of a greeting card: priceless!

Gratefully,

Me! 😀

P.S. Real quick without thinking about it!…What was the first music video that popped into your head when it mentioned the power ballad/top o’ the cliff/wind in the hair action?? (Let me know in the Comments!)

For me, hands down, “Blaze of Glory” by Jon Bon Jovi. It doesn’t have the close your eyes and feel the love sort of thing going on, but there’s at least ten kinds of on a cliff/wind in hair scenarios happening…which given that I’m in a bit of a Bon Jovi phase presently, I can certainly appreciate. 😉

P.P.S. Speaking of “Blaze of Glory”, I totes remember when that song came out it was kind of a big deal because it was Jon’s first solo thing. I remember seeing the video thinking, where’s Richie and the curly haired dude, and all the other band peeps whose names I don’t know?? WTH?

P.P.P.S. Also, I remember when the first “Young Guns” came out thinking it was SO bad a$$! Not exactly ideal viewing for an 8 year old, but my mom was super progressive in that department! (Props to the Granimal!) That was back when Charlie Sheen wasn’t getting arrested for doing coke and playing with prostitutes. *happy sigh* Those were the days!!

P.P.P.P.S. Last one I promise! Am I the only one who feels super awkward when watching Jon Bon Jovi act?? I remember my mom and I rented “Moonlight & Valentino”. It was SO surreal to see him acting…making all kinds of efforts to BE an ACTOR. So weird.