Have a happy Monday with...springtime!

I think...maybe...finally...spring just might be here!  I got sunburned on the weekend, which is always the biggest indicator for me that it's springtime - not to mention it's the only time of the year I actually don't mind a sunburn.

I do love the springtime, with the warmer breeze, the sunnier days, even the warm rainy days that help bring the bright green leaves back.  It feels so fresh and new and full of possibilities.  And I feel so liberated, strapping on my sandals (no socks!) and going outside with bare legs and no jacket. 

Aaaaah, spring!

Have a happy Monday with...orange toenails

Because spring seems to be taking the long way around - and waking up to a snowstorm yesterday was a little disarming - I decided I needed orange toenails. 

I've been obsessed with orange lately and even have three bottles of orange nail polish.  But it's just so pretty!

(Not my nails and I decided against showing a picture of toenails, mine or anyone else.  But that is the nail polish I used!)

Have a happy Monday with...the playoffs

Okay, so maybe you're not the rabid hockey fan I am (and I've been admittedly less rabid this season) but Wednesday marks the happiest time of the NHL season: the start of the playoffs.

It's exciting to go into the playoffs with a Canadian team, the Vancouver Canucks, as the favourites to win it all this year.  But, oftentimes, the favourites are the first to falter (though I do hope that's not the case this time).  The Canucks will face their arch-rivals - and defending Cup champs - the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, which will be kind of awesome.

And the first round is always the most exciting.  It's when the teams that just squeaked into the playoffs meet up with the league leaders for a best-of-seven match-up that could go either way.  Cinderella teams emerge, heavy favourites falter and dark horses surprise. 

Oh, and there's at least one game (sometimes as many as four!) on every night.  EVERY NIGHT. 

Truly, this is the most wonderful time of the year.

(I'm going to weigh myself tonight when I get home.  Only it's 8:30 pm and I'm still at work.)

Have a happy Monday with...commercials

Yes, I understand that in this day of PVRs, TV on DVD, internet downloading and all other ways of watching television without actually sitting through a television show, commercials are not always tops on people's must-see lists.  But sometimes, commercials are worth watching for the smile they put on your face, much like these ones do for me.

Some kitty love...


 ...and a little chocolate...


...then things get sexy.


Love love love them!

Have a happy Monday with....coffee and a crossword

Last week, while enjoying the sloth that was my Family Day, I neglected to write a happy Monday post, so I'm doubling up this week with two things that are among my favourite in the world: coffee and crossword puzzles.

I have to say that one of the best things in life is getting up on a lazy Sunday, making a hot cup of coffee and opening the newspaper to the crossword puzzle.  It's made even better when I'm at the Beau's parents because they have the best breakfast nook, with a table tucked in a window-filled corner that is so bright and cheery, no matter what time of year, that it just adds such joy to my caffeine and words.  Not to mention that the table allows me to still see and talk to the others who come through the kitchen, going about their morning routine. 

Wonderful.

I've been an avid crossworder for about 20 years now, thanks to my dad.  He's a big word puzzle fan and when I would go visit him when I was younger (my parents are divorced), he would tear puzzles from his puzzle book that I could handle: mazes; spot the difference; colour in the areas to reveal the picture, things like that.  I would do those but eventually I became too smart for them and I'd start turning the page over, to see what wonderful "adult" puzzle was on the other side. 

And a word game nerd was born.

As for coffee, I developed my taste for it much like with wine: I started with the sweet stuff and eventually learned to like the "real" stuff.  In my teens, it was Tim HOrton's French Vanilla cappuccinos all the time.  In university, hazelnut or Irish cream was preferred, but vanilla was also good.  Nowadays, it's a nice medium roast with milk and sugar, though I'm contemplating trying to go black.  Although I'm still a Timmie's girl, through and through.

Have a Happy Monday with...knitting

Do you like to knit?  I like to knit.  In fact, I love to knit.  When people ask what I can knit I like to say, "Anything!"  And I'm pretty sure I could knit anything - at least I'll try.  I may not always succeed but sometimes I'll end up with something great, like a monkey:

 

 

Someone had to keep an eye on the cupcakes.

I also decided I could make fingerless gloves without a pattern.  Okay, it wasn't completely without a pattern; rather, I took elements from a few different patterns and then made it up as I went when I got stuck.  I must say, I was rather pleased with the result:

Birthday gloves for the Beau.

I go through fazes with my knitting; sometimes I can knock off a bunch of things in a week and other times it will take me months to knit a simple square.  But I do so enjoy it and one day I will have all my yarn and needles and patterns and accessories organized and at my fingertips for whatever project strikes me.  But until then, I'll just keep on churning out the monkeys and gloves and one day I'll finish that square that is going to become a pillow for the kitty.

Have a happy Monday with...Midsomer Murders

I have a soft spot for British detective fare.  I love my Brit-cop books and I've recently discovered Peter Robinson who, though not as good as my main man Reginald Hill, is pretty decent.

Well, hello Sergeant.

But I've also got a deep love of Midsomer Murders, a great small-town British copper show that's as quaint as it is deadly, although it's (refreshingly) not graphic.  It focuses more on the characters and each episode always has its share of quirky elder folk. 

The show follows DCI Tom Barnaby and his young Sergeant as they solve the cases and it doesn't hurt that the Sergeant tends to be rather adorable.  My favourite is Ben Jones.

I'm not a huge fan of Mondays, so it's nice to have my lovely little show to enjoy each week.  

Have a happy Monday with...a good book

When I was a waitress, I used to love Mondays.  Monday meant the restaurant was closed and I had one full, glorious day off; I could catch up on sleep, tidy up my apartment, go shopping, read a book, do whatever I wanted.  But since my career goals took me away from restaurants and into the 9-to-5 grind, I've come to dislike Mondays as much as anyone.

But this blog isn't about what sucks, it's about being healthy and part of being emotionally healthy (happy healthy) is to find the things in life that make me happy.  So to counteract the Monday blues, each week I'm going to post about something that makes me happy.  Whether big or small, there are so many wonderful things in my life that make me happy but sometimes I need to slow down and actually focus on those things, which is what I'm going to do here.

For the inaugural Happy Monday, I'm going to start with books.  (Surprise, surprise.)

I love reading and I love books.  I've read a lot of books, across many genres, my many authors.  I have my favourites (Reginald Hill, Terry Pratchett) and I have my must-read lists (Never Let Me Go, V for Vendetta) and I have no problem indulging in a guilty pleasure read every now and then (whatever is offered for free for my Kobo), but every so often I come across a book that stays with me; a book that I didn't want to end, because the story was just so good I wanted it to keep going, forever and ever; a book that I want to read again and again, but don't want to read again because I'm still enjoying it two years later.

The book in question?  The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

It's been about two years since I finished it and I think about it constantly.  It is a beautifully written story spanning three generations and takes you across Eastern Europe on a hunt for Dracula.  Oh, and there's a love story in there too.  It's everything Twilight wants to be but is not.*   This book is the perfect mash-up of literary and genre fiction and if you haven't yet read it, GO READ IT NOW.  RIGHT NOW!  GO!

Realizing now how much I still think about this book makes me aware of how happy it made me when I read it and I think it's time to pick it up again, because it makes me so very happy.


*I will respect your right to love Twilight, as long as you respect my right to mock it relentlessly.