OyChicago blog

Winter. Ugh. Still here. Snow. Slush. Nearly freezing temperatures day after day (after day after day, etc). Never ending. Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

While winter is certainly STUPID, I have no chances to actually live in a warm climate any time soon, unless I can fast forward my life fifty years to my future snowbird days.

The temperature continues to drop, and with it goes all motivation to leave my house. I go into a hibernation-like state, curling up on my couch watching endless hours of mind-numbing television (most of which isn’t even that good…Teen Mom 2 anyone?).

It can be seriously hard to shake those mid-winter blues. Sometimes, the easiest way is to remind yourself of the things that make you happy, that invigorate your spirit and bring a smile to your face.

I have this theory that when you’re down and feeling uninspired and lazy about life, one of the greatest ways to shake it is to take those thoughts and make an actual list. Write it down. A tangible collection of things that make you smile.

So because there are 53 days until spring arrives (yes, I’m counting), here are 53 things that make my list:

1) Comfort food – especially macaroni and cheese
2) Having a really good sweaty workout
3) Sunshine – even when it’s cold out
4) The smell of baked goods
5) Having friends around to help you eat the baked goods
6) Playing competitive Rummikub with my family
7) Sons of Anarchy – currently the best show on TV in my humble opinion
8) Moving back to the city from Evanston this summer
9) The wonderful friends I’ve met in Evanston through Kellogg School of Management and the prospect that many of them will stay in the Chicagoland area after graduation
10) The smell of a campfire
11) New shoes
12) Receiving snail mail that isn’t junk!
13) The Food Network
14) Babies – I am seriously obsessed
15) Having the best husband a girl can ask for
16) The fact that my husband is not completely driven crazy by #14
17) Spending a whole day in pajamas
18) Australian accents
19) Finding a great deal for a place you already go on Groupon
20) Closing in on our last few months of living as a one-income family
21) Being the only girl I know who hasn’t succumbed to the Real Housewives series
22) Reading Oy!Chicago
23) Sushi sushi sushi – I love me some sushi
24) Dance parties
25) Supporting great causes – like the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the Jewish United Fund
26) The warm fuzzy feeling you get when you help others
27) Finding outlets for creativity
28) Window shopping
29) My Kindle (see #15 – thanks for the best gift ever)
30) Learning something new
31) Netflix
32) Weekend getaways
33) When my nails actually grow to the point of having white at the tip of each one, which doesn’t happen all that often, despite my best efforts
34) Hosting cocktail parties and Shabbat dinners
35) Mega Sudoku
36) Eating Cheez-Its while watching the Biggest Loser…fail
37) Making new friends
38) Akemi Fitness in Evanston
39) Getting good news
40) Hearing your favorite song on the radio and singing along
41) Reading a good book that you don’t want to put down
42) Having friends like fellow blogger Ron Krit who remind me that I’m still young, even as I feel older each year
43) Homemade greeting cards
44) The fact that I’m lucky to still have 3 wonderful grandparents
45) Cheesy romantic comedies
46) Hippies – even though I could never pull off the carefree lifestyle, it makes me happy to know that there are people out there who can
47) Dinner dates with old friends
48) Half-birthdays and people who celebrate them
49) Trying new things – whether it’s a new recipe, a new restaurant or a new experience!
50) Watching shows like Dexter and Big Love, with main characters that are so morally reprehensible and yet so loveable
51) Having something to look forward to
52) Movie Theater popcorn
53) Costume parties

What makes you happy?