There are a lot of things that make us happy, that make us smile. But what about all those little things those seemingly unimportant, often overlooked things that bring us a HUGE, disproportionate amount of joy? Last night while sitting down to eat dinner it occurred to me that my steak knives make me really happy! They aren’t the most expensive steak knives on the market, they were given to me as a gift yet I love them every time I use them.
Gwynn and I often point out to each other the little things that make us just oh so happy. Here are a few of the small things that make me disproportionately happy.
1. Waking up on Sunday, thinking it’s Monday and then realizing it’s actually Sunday! Come on you know you’ve done it…doesn’t that just make your whole entire Sunday? When that happens we pretty well prance around the house like we’ve somehow magically manufactured a day out of thin air. This makes for a pretty extra special end to the weekend.
2. Green lights all the way home. This one makes me feel like someone is looking down on me, smiling and saying “There you go, now you have a great day!”. I love it when it feels like things just work.
3. Label maker. We’ve had a label maker for nearly 7 years now and I love it. It seems everything is labeled from shelves and containers to racks and bins. This is one thing visitors to our home can’t resist poking fun at but we know they’re just secretly jealous 
4. A new notebook. I love getting a new note book. There is just something about cracking open a fresh, clean, crisp notebook. Couple this with a great pen and life really doesn’t get much better!
5. Our kitchen knives. This one is probably the biggest example of disproportionate happiness for us. Oh our kitchen knives. Every-single-time we use them they create such a huge amount of joy 
I know you’re thinking “but they’re just knives…” If you love cooking, and don’t already use Global knives, you really should give them a try. They are not cheap but they are certainly worth the money, in our opinion. There are just some things where quality trumps price…and this is one of them for us!
6. When plans don’t go according to plan. There are times when we make plans with friends or family to get together and then they fall through. It’s not that we don’t want to see these people but there is a disproportionate amount of joy associated with scoring some free time just for ourselves when it was unexpected.
7. A good bottle of wine. This is especially true after we’ve had a run of particularly bad ones. It’s absolutely lovely to have a great bottle of red to break the trend.
Quirky I know and even just listing them here I feel all sunny and chipper. How about you? Is it the coin sorter at your bank? Receiving something in the mail that you’ve been waiting for? How about finding $20 in your jacket pocket, a full season later? Please share with me the quirky little things that make you disproportionately happy, so I know I’m not alone.
Photo courtesy of: jenny downing
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The World Around You Is An Amazing Place – Take Time To See It
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Comments
Sherri
Great post – I chuckled about the notebook because I am the same way. A few I would add:
1) A new book – I try not to buy books anymore because we have a great library (and I have run out of shelf space), but there is just something about cracking open a new hardcover book and that unique smell of a new book. Crazy I know.
2) Enjoying an ice cold beer on my deck on a hot summer afternoon after I have cut the grass or worked in the garden. The moment only lasts for the first one, but you just can’t beat the taste.
3) My 3 year old getting all excited and running to say “Hi Daddy” to me when I get home from work.
It truly is the “little” things that make life so great.
Hey, Sherri! You are definitely NOT alone on this issue. You already know how I feel about my one pan, and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (man, I love that stuff!).
But anyway, I wanted to give you an excuse to use your label maker some more: go back and RE-label everything in the house… in Spanish (or whatever foreign language you and your family want to learn.) I did this a while back, labeling the table, chairs, windows, etc. in Spanish to my husband and son could learn it by association.
THAT way, when your friends and family want to make fun of you, you can turn around and say it’s the latest and greatest method to teach your kids a foreign language. Then they’ll really be jealous!
Hi Sherri! Trust me, you are not alone when it comes to the things that make you disproportionately happy! Here is my list:
1. Hearing an upbeat song…it just makes me so happy, I have to dance whether I am in my car (which often brings stares from the cars next to me-what can I say-I am a closet rock star wannabe) or at home (which makes my husband laugh).
2. Getting my favorite drink from Starbucks.
3. Baking cupcakes…I love to lick the bowl after I am done putting the batter in the little cupcake cups. I also like eating the cupcakes once they are done too.
4. A beautiful sunrise or sunset.
5. Any morning when I do not have to wake up without having to use an alarm clock.
6. Comedy…I love to laugh..so anything that allows me to laugh with full gusto always brings me joy.
I better stop here…otherwise this comment will be huge! Thanks so much for the great post and btw, if it is okay with you, I would love to add your site to my blogroll. I don’t have a blogroll yet but I plan to put one up this weekend!
Keep Smiling!
Nadia-Happy Lotus’s last blog post..The First Step To Happiness
@ Steve – I love that you mentioned your son greeting you when you get home that’s so awesome. My heart melts a little more everyday when my son greets my husband “DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD!” and jumps about the place. It definitely is the little things!
@ Lisis – What a great idea! It never occurred to me to use the label maker for learning a new language that’s brilliant…oh I can already see the eye rolling from family members.
@ Nadia – Those are great! I am so happy I’m not alone! I love baking as well and cupcakes are something I haven’t made in such a long time. Maybe for Easter….And we’d be honored if you added us to your blogroll, thank you! You keep smiling as well!
Thank you all for sharing the little things that make you disproportionately happy I feel a little bit better now
Sherri,
I love this post, especially because I love starting a new journal too! The anticipation when writing on the last few pages of the old one, then feeling the clean pages of the new one and writing the first word in bold ink… hard to imagine there can be so much joy in this but there is!
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There are lots of things that make me disproportionately happy. Someone that makes breakfast without me asking. I love a good lap dance. A come from behind win from one of my favorite sports teams. An extra cheeseburger in your to-go bag. All disproportionately happy achievements…
FupDuckTV’s last blog post..Mustache March
Two things that make me disproportionately happy:
1. Reading blog posts that make me smile and help me to appreciate even the small things.
2. Watching happy people being happy.
I get both out of this blog.
Thanks, Sherri!
@ Daphne – It makes me think of the start of a new school year. When you crack open that book and think “this year I will write extra neat and take good notes and be all organized”. It’s usually OK until about the 4th page and then it all goes out the window.
@ FupDuck – Great list but I will have to take your word for at least one item on it *cringe*. Thanks for stopping by!
@ Michael – that is just so sweet. I forgot point 8 on MY list…comments from readers that make me smile and make this whole writing project worth while
Oh this post was fantastic!! I didn’t have a chance to comment yesterday–but it had me thinking about it all day! What a great way to spend my thoughts-listing the little things that bring me big doses of happiness!
Some of mine:
-The smell of fresh cut grass or of salt water from the ocean
-Hearing my kids in another room laughing together
-When my husband smooths my hair with his hand
-Fresh berries with a dollop of real whipped cream
Lisa’s last blog post..Is Stress Making You Sick?
I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets disproportional pleasure from their label maker- I take a lot of ribbing on this one.
Some others I’ll add:
- a big pile of books from the library on my nightstand. Just knowing I have all these adventures to dig in to makes me happy.
- the way the bird sounds change in February from pure survival to the joy of being alive
- sitting in my greenhouse in the winter, even when there aren’t plants in there. Its even better in the spring when I do- the warmth and humidity just makes me feel GOOD.
- the smell of something good baking in the oven
- the way one of my cats will crawl under my chin and want to cuddle with me
I better stop now. There are too many. I really enjoy my life.
Chris’s last blog post..Getting more done by doing less
@ Lisa – Thanks I’m glad you liked it! Oh how we miss the smell of the ocean! Living in Australia we were only 15 mins away from the ocean but it’s SUCH a long way away from where we are now…sigh. I’m also a huge fan of getting my hair played with – Love it!
@ Chris – Hi good to see you over here! I’m also glad you confessed about the label maker
Sitting in the greenhouse sounds lovely. And I’m with you when it comes to hearing the birds come back at spring time. Winter is really long where we live so we don’t usually see the Robin’s until late April/early May but they are certainly welcome and sound so lovely!
Thanks for your comments!
This is great! Here are some of my things:
My mixer.
My hairbrush.
Good coffee.
The perfect bra and panty combo (too much info??)
Thanks!
Nicki at Domestic Cents’s last blog post..Quick Tip: Freezing Ground Beef
@ Nicki – Hi great to see you over here! Thanks for sharing your list and TMI?… It made me laugh
Thanks for your comment!
Just discovered this blog, what a joy to read!
Some things that bring me joy are when my favorite thrift store has a “books 10 for $1.00″ sale. I love to own books, & while I get a thrill from a new book, am very happy with a big bag of “new” books from the thrift store.
A new pen. I agree very much with the new notebook people. Also good to know that that is a shared thrill.
Fresh sheets on my bed.
Thanks for this blog!
@ Barbara – Hi I’m so glad you found our blog and are enjoying it! Welcome!
I too LOVE the feeling of fresh sheets on the bed, that’s a good one!
10 for a $1.00 that’s amazing! Disproportionate happiness and frugal all wrapped up in one!
Thanks for leaving a comment and we hope to see you around here again!
Haha, number one made me laugh out loud because I’ve done exactly that. Often I dream about something I have to do during the week, and when I wake up I’m already in ‘go to work’ mode. What a glorious relief it is, when it finally sinks in. Great post, made me smile.
David Cain’s last blog post..The Most Important Thing I Ever Learned
@ David – Isn’t it awesome?!? Number 1 has to be my favorite. It happens relatively infrequently and maybe that’s why it’s so special? Glad you liked the post!
So glad I have found you and popped by. Am a bit late on this post, but I loved it so much I had to comment. Have to say I loved the list, especially the new notebook part. I have a journal I positively love–love looking at it, love writing in it. I want to write and don’t want to because I don’t want to ruin its “pristine-ness.” :0)
I also liked Steve B’s additions to your list … all except the 3-year old.
As for me, I get disproportionately happy over:
1. cancelled lessons (I’m a teacher)
2. flowers in vases (seriously … I get a little teary I’m so happy)
3. not having to do the dishes (worst chore ever!)
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@ Chania Girl – Hi there and it’s never too late to leave a comment!! I’m glad you loved the list and I know exactly what you mean with the want to write don’t want to write dilemma
I love your additions as well not having to do the dishes is definitely a good one!
1) Waking up in the middle of the night realizing you still have X amount of hours to sleep!
2) Getting things done on a Sunday afternoon (cleaning, organizing, etc.)
3) Chips and salsa
4) Creating new outfits with the things I have
5) Taking pictures with my digital camera and actually printing them and putting them in an album!
6)Good coffee and/or great wine
7) Reading about things that interest me and/or watching shows about them on TV
Life is full of good things and I am with you on the steak knives, green lights and good wine. Hugs make me happy. Baby smiles and laughter also bring great joy to my day. We are kindred spirits.