10 Happy Things

First - cause yall know I like words - the caveat. I don't believe things can make a person happy. Other people can't make a person happy. Happiness comes from inside oneself. I'm sure you know somebody who "has it all" who's totally miserable, and you know someone with "nothing" who is just genuinely happy to be alive. I strive to be the latter. Still, I can come up with 10 things I enjoy about life! These are in no particular order.

Living in Reno
This state rules, and this town rules pretty hard too. I got used to seeing slot machines everywhere pretty fast, but I'm still pretty gleeful when I can go buy liquor at any time of day on any day of the week. No more planning ahead! I'm particularly glad I live in Stead - the valley floor is all smogged up from the temperature inversion trapping crap down there. I don't mind driving down to a thriving town to eat in great restaurants or shop at good stores, but it's nice to be breathing cleaner air up here in the boonies of Stead. I hear the California Sierras are gorgeous, and I'm looking forward to packing at Granite Chief with the BCH this summer. And there's all those good rides, all over western Nevada and eastern California! And as soon as I save up a grand (i.e. don't spend it on the horse), I can take my husband to a once-in-a-lifetime meal at the French Laundry.

My husband
He rules. I rarely write about him, because this is my horse blog, not my Funder's Weird Life blog, but he is truly my best friend. We have been together 9 years now, and it feels like forever, but in a good way. I say I'm lucky to have him. He says he's lucky to have me. Maybe we're both right?

My Dawg
Cersei is the best dog ever, hands down. Even when she eats a gallon ziplock of frosted mini-wheats, then farts all night and makes us think we've been attacked by biological weapons.

Dixie
Sometimes I get totally furious with her, and sometime's she's just perfect. This is one area where my general life philosophy of "live in the now" doesn't always pay off - I get mad because I feel like I haven't made any progress with that damn brain damaged yakmule, and I am such a horrible excuse for a horse owner - but then I think back on how far we've come, and I feel better about things. And I have it all written down, in case I ever doubt how crazy she used to be. Today, on the trail, I got off and led her a couple of times, then got back on. If you'd told me a year ago that I'd be able to calmly mount Dixie on the trail as another horse walked away from us, I would have never believed it. We're getting there, we really are.

Memory of Champ
He was such a fantastic horse. I would have never considered buying Dixie if I hadn't had so many hours with Champ. He was fugly, opinionated, trotted if you dared to make him go faster, and had the roughest canter I've ever felt. He had a heart of gold, though - he tried to figure out what this bumbling idiot on his back wanted, and he never quit and never got mad. I loved that horse so much, and I'll always carry a torch for him. I feel lucky to have spent two years with him.

Cats
Our cats are wicked little brain-damaged monsters, and they bring us so much amusement. The Kitten plays fetch with a clear plastic tube, unless she loses it. The Crazy One yowls at the walls sometimes, and I think he thinks we're hallucinations or demons sent to torment him. Both of them love Cersei, who is confused and disdainful about the little monsters. They are extremely funny pets.

Friends
I met some of my best friends through this blog. That really surprises me, on so many levels - that I've kept yapping long enough to have readers, for years no less, and that people think I'm cool enough to email, chat with, and meet up with IRL. Yall make me happy!

Being alive for 2010
My younger readers will be totally blase about this, but anybody my age (30s) or older will understand. DUDE! WE LIVE IN THE FUTURE! Where's my flying car? Ok, there's no flying cars, but the Internet is just as good. We made it through 2001, and we made it through 2009, and 2010 will be the best year yet.

Having a warm house
I glossed over it in my blog, but for two months two winters ago I lived in a house with no heat. There were no physical gas lines running from the street to the house. I didn't realize the lines were cut before I moved in, and it took two months of wrangling to legitimately legally break the lease and move. I only took my clothes off to shower and change at friends' houses, and I slept on the couch with a Cersei-puppy on my chest and a Fluffy Kitten on my head. It was HORRIBLE. But it was life-changing in a good way, too. I am a total wuss about being cold, but two months in a frozen house made me realize there's cold and there's cold. My whine level went down markedly. And now that I've lived through the house with no heat, I am so much more grateful and happy with what I've got!

Is that 10? No?

Digital music
Here's another one that'll date me. No more mix tapes! Freed from the tyranny of the radio! And nothing obsolesces - yesterday I found a mix CD from 2000. It sounded exactly like it did in 2000. I don't miss cassette tapes one bit, not at all.

Ok, there's 10!

Who hasn't done this meme yet? Who wants to do it? It's actually a lot of fun to list things that make you happy. I am terrible at passing these things along - I feel like I should give it to everybody I read, but then it wouldn't be ~special~, so just comment if you are doing it, ok?