I recently published a blog post about the Things that make me unhappy and it seemed to have resonated with a lot of readers. If you haven’t read it yet, here is the quick link to that blog post so you can catch up:
♡ Related Blog Post: Things that Make Me Unhappy
Naturally, it made sense to make another list, but this time focus on the Things that make me happy. Such an original title, I know! 😅 Anyway, here is my list of 11 things that make me happy. Please keep in mind that this list is not presented in any particular order. Each list is unique to the individual, so my list will likely differ from your list. Let’s get started, shall we?
A List of Things that Make Me Happy
1. My cat, Timon. Timon is an absolute blessing in my life. We adopted him in Spring 2019, when I was really depressed and feeling overwhelmed with anxiety. Even now, when I’m anxious, the warm cuddles from my cat bring me immense comfort and joy 🐈⬛💕
2. My family. Apart from my immediate family which includes my children and husband, my parents who live across the country are also a key part of my family. Despite our past issues, we try to stay connected through phone calls and have found that it is much easier to get along when we aren’t living together.
3. Steeped tea & MCDs coffee. I’m a huge fan of Tim Hortons steeped tea and McDonalds coffee. Even though I can make the coffee from home, nothing beats the joy of buying it. Steeped tea is something that I simply can’t replicate and will go out of my way to get, even though these feelings of happiness are fleeting.
4. Bubble tea. I think I enjoy bubble tea more than the average person, even though the pleasure is only temporary. Unfortunately, I can’t afford it on a regular basis, so it has become something of a guilty pleasure! Although I can make it at home, I still prefer to buy it at a tea shop. It’s more fun that way!
5. Bubble baths. I absolutely love taking hot, bubble baths to warm up on cold days where I live. They give me a much-needed break from the chill and serve as an escape for some relaxation and self-care. Not only that, but it also helps to reduce stress levels and soothe my mind.
6. Walks in nature. On a beautiful day, I will take a pleasant stroll outside. 🌞 Walks outside are far more enjoyable than walking on the treadmill. I try to limit my indoor time to three days or less, as feeling trapped indoors for extended periods of time can be mentally exhausting. The longest period of time that I stayed indoors without going outside was a depressing 3 weeks – something that I never want to experience again!
7. Saving money. I tend to prioritize saving my money rather than spending it because the feeling of having a substantial amount of money in my bank account is much more satisfying than the fleeting pleasure of buying something. Moreover, I enjoy living a debt-free life as I have worked hard to get to this point and would like to maintain it.
8. My iPhone. Despite my struggles with smart phone addiction, which I previously mentioned in [this post], I am incredibly thankful for my iPhone SE. While it may not be the newest model on the market, it still works and brings me immense joy every day. My iPhone allows me to stay connected with people all over the world! 🌎
9. My blog. I am eternally grateful for having my blog and access to the awesome WP community, as it has allowed me to build strong connections with people who share similar interests and passions. I’m filled with joy to respond to comments and connect with my friends on this platform. Every single one of you leave such beautiful and kind comments, which I always look forward to reading each day.
10. Podcasts. If you see me with airpods in my ears, it’s almost certain that I’m listening to an educational or self-development podcast. Podcasts are my go-to source of entertainment and I often find myself learning something new. Occasionally, I’ll listen to some music, but almost exclusively instrumental pieces; lyrics tend to distract me too much.
11. Animal Crossing. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) has been a source of great fun to me. Even though there’s other games to play on the Nintendo Switch, I still find myself playing ACNH often. Animal Crossing has provided me the opportunity to step away from my depression and concentrate on building something beautiful.
(っ◔V◔)っ Please Note: Unfortunately, I cannot give players a tour of my Animal Crossing Island without renewing the online subscription first, which is a scam in my humble opinion. I am not paying for it this year! 🙇♀️
(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ FINAL THOUGHTS ♥
As you can see, there are 11 items on my list again which was intentional btw. I wanted to ensure the negative list and positive list were evenly balanced. And like I said last time, if I sat down for an hour to really reflect and journal about it, the list would be much longer. Overall, I think that it’s important to take time out of your busy day to think about the things that bring you joy and to practice gratitude. I highly encourage you to create your own list of the things that make you happy.
Thanks for stopping by! ❤️
I’m glad that you have so many things that make you happy, Hilary! my iPhone 12 is awesome, no wish to “upgrade” to the 14. My blog keeps me busy every day and I enjoy interacting with followers and their blogs too. We have similar interests. ☺️
I heard good things about the iPhone 12 and I’m glad you like your phone. I’ll keep using my iPhone until I need to upgrade… even though most places don’t sell cases for the iPhone SE anymore, I managed to find a super cute phone case in Singapore 🥰
That’s cool that you found the case you want. The 12 is working really well so there’s no reason to spend money on a new iPhone.
I grew up using a phone attached to the wall with a coiled cord that stretched into the next room and a rotary dial. I just dated myself! Today everyone is so used to having so much technology in their pocket including me…
My mom has a phone attached to a cord and refuses to get a wireless landline phone. As a kid, I thought those dial phones were cool so I got a turquoise one (with buttons) for my room. It was the shape of a dial phone without the dial. It had an awful loud ringing sound so I think my parents eventually got rid of it.
It wasn’t a Princess phone… ☺️
No, I didn’t have princess-themed stuff. I was more of a Lion King girl, not a Disney princess girl 😂
Hate to sound condescending if it does, but this is so cute! ☺️ Especially the McD coffee and the tea. The little things are always the best. I love my phone. I have the 11 pro max and I’m so grateful for it. I love my phone and I love my old Lenovo laptop.☺️
I love your blog too.😁
Thank you so much, Feets! 😊💕 Despite feeling depressed this week I still wanted to publish this blog post. I needed a short walk today to clear my head first ☀️ Ah, that is a nice phone – tbh I wanted the iPhone 11 and was so close to getting one, but then settled for the iPhone SE. The iPhone 11 is a gorgeous phone.
I get it. I’ve been feeling depressed for a while and sick and didn’t want to post about that and instead post about something else.
I only got a iPhone 11 because I wanted to take nice pics with it, but all of it would be the same to me. I used to be a big technophile, but I burnt out because everything is so expensive.🥵
It’s impossible to keep up with the latest and greatest technology – it changes so quickly. I think you made the right choice getting the iPhone 11. It does have a great camera! Also, I think it’s okay posting even when you are depressed… you’re being real and authentic. I hope you have a better day today! ☀️
Thank you so much!
I like buying the best of what I can get so I don’t have to keep buying new stuff over and over again. (Unless it comes to art supplies and I just buy them without thinking 🥵)
That is relatable. I am this way with stationary 💌 The sky is the limit! lol
I get it! Stationary is fun to splurge with!
😀 😀 😀
And thank you, you too!
Awwww Hiliary I love this. You mind if I do the same?
Please do it, Belladonna!! I would love to read your list of things that make you happy 😊☀️ If you don’t mind, can you tag me? Ty 🙂
Yayyy! Thank you and I susre will!
Awesome! 🤗🌼
A beautiful post I love walking in the nature midst and noise of birds singing.. makes me feel relaxed and peace.. very well and glad that so many things makes you happy 😊
The sound of birds is very peaceful and relaxing…unless the birds wake me up at 6am in the morning, then not so peaceful lol 😂
Oh yes ha ha sop true LOL 😆
https://healthylifestyle382143442.wordpress.com/
Please have a look into my world of positive thoughts 😊
Thank you, Sherine. I will check out your blog when I get a chance! 🙂
I am soo glad that you are happy with so many things in life 🥰😊
P.S. I also wrote a blog post about the things that make me unhappy. Still, it’s good to practice gratitude every day.
This is sweet!!
Stay healthy and happy
Best wishes 🔆
Thank you, Devang! 🤗
These are all wonderful things and I’m with you about the bubble tea. I don’t have it too often but whenever I do, it just makes me so happy 😊
Ty for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my blog posts, Pooja. Bubble tea is the best!🧋 What’s your favorite flavor? Do you like the boba (tapioca pearls)?
Always a pleasure to read your posts 😊 Yes, I love tapioca pearls and I usually have a vegan version of milk tea or matcha. Oh and one time I had this strawberry one I loved but that was in Canada and I haven’t found a good replacement for it here 😥 What are your favourites?
I usually buy the same flavors at didfeeent places depending on the bubble tea shop: T&T sells the best original bubble tea, Gong Cha sells the best strawberry milk green-tea 🍓and Chatime sells the best passion fruit green tea. All of them have tapioca pearls. In Ontario I used to go to Sweet Dreams to get Taro slush, so I guess it really depends on the place I go to! 😋
Ooh I see, I’m learning that too since some of the flavours in Nairobi aren’t as good as what I have in Canada and vice versa.
Bubble tea is significantly better than what it was a decade ago. The flavors and combinations are quite complex now, and also a lot more expensive lol I used to get bubble tea for $3.60 CAD! Canada might have better bubble tea flavors, but Nairobi has a lot of other delicacies that look delicious! 😋
Of course, every place has something awesome to offer. Stuff in Canada has gotten quite expensive my friends tell me all the time 😫
Well, they’re not wrong 😕
Dw, I’m sure things will get better over time.
Idk, maybe I will have left the country by then. I don’t really see inflation getting better unless our dollar gets stronger….
Yeah, I understand. Some of my friends either left Canada or are planning to leave because of the costs. It’s tough because inflation isn’t an easy thing to solve and the pandemic really took it to an extreme.
My husband and I are thinking about leaving because the only province that makes sense to live in is Ontario, but Ontario has some of the highest costs of living! Alberta is more affordable but there’s no family out here. Our families live in Ontario.
I agree that the pandemic made things much worse. Inflation is bad in the U.S. too. I think the only way to really combat inflation is by being frugal.
Yeah, Ontario is amazing to live in but the cost of living is ridiculously high. I would definitely have stayed but realised it wouldn’t be worth it for me since it would be almost impossible to save any money staying there. A while back one of my friends moved to BC because of the costs in Ontario.
I think inflation has hit almost all countries. It’s not great in Kenya either. But it’s effected Canada and the US much more. And yes, being frugal and saving as much as you can is the best thing to do right now.
I am also a money saver! Gotta do what ya gotta do!
Exactly! Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂 I find saving money oddly satisfying.
Lol I can totally relate to your love for Animal Crossing. My equivalent would be Stardew Valley. That game just has some magical properties. It’s a pretty awesome way to chill out. I think the sandbox nature plus non-urgent play style is what makes games like these awesome.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Stuart! I haven’t played Stardew Valley but I follow people on Twitter who do! That game looks like fun too. I agree that sandbox games allow us to tap into our creativity and have fun. The Sims is another great sandbox game.
Wonderful post! 💙
Thank you!
I wrote a blog post on using AI to create images for blogs (for people like me who suck at finding clip art 🤣) and I used your section on your cat as one of the prompts. Thought you might be interested in seeing what a somewhat-bad image AI thinks Timon looks like.
I’ll have to check out your blog post. Do you have a link? I have a very hard time keeping up with everyone’s blog posts. AI images sound interesting, and there’s some really cool ones I’ve seen. I think there’s an AI image app called Journey (or something) and the images look so cool! 👀
I’m very interested in seeing what AI thinks Timon the cat looks like. I bet AI thinks that Timon looks like the meerkat from the Lion King! Lol
I couldn’t include a link when I left my comment because my site broke when I bought a domain, but I finally fixed it 😅
https://iridiumspear.com/2023/05/05/blog-image-generation-using-firefly-beta/
Omg this is hilarious. Thank you for sending me the link! I love that AI got the cat part right. My Timon is a dark grey, domestic shorthair tuxedo cat!
It strangely does animals very well but can’t draw humans to save its life lol
😂🤣
I love love love that Animal Crossing made your list! Totally agree with you on the bubble baths too!
This was a really great read, nice to read something so positive!
Thank you so much for your kind words! 😊✨ Ah, I am so tempted to make an entire blog post devoted to ACNH 🏝️ I posted a lot of screenshots on Twitter but not so much on this blog. My island still isn’t done yet as I am always trying to make it better. I like the slow-paced nature of the game.
I love your list and the fact you put your cat as number one.
Haha thank you! I realized it after the fact that he was listed as #1 which is purrfect 🐈⬛💕
Yeah, I agree particularly with the point about saving money, as it does instill a sense of assurance and security…..knowing that we have a financial backup that we can depend upon.