Good morning! It's November, it's cold, and it's time for a Happy List! So, without further ado, here are five things that make me happy:

• My best friend; the best friend I've ever had, Brian. I just happen to be married to him, too. Every day I think about how lucky I am to have found him.
• My kids. Even when they annoy me, I still love them.
• My dogs. They are my example of how to be cheerful and happy.
• My cats. Even when I'm feeling my worst, a purring cat on my lap will always make me happy.
• My house. It's not much, but it's ours, and it's the place I love spending most of my time.

Kind of got back to basics today; I was just thinking how lucky I am to have so much that so many other people don't have. Sometimes you don't take the time to appreciate the small things that are so important. These five things are the foundation for my life, and it's so easy to overlook them when making these lists. I'll get back to something more random with my next list, but just so you know... EVERY list has this list holding it up.

It's been a while since I've done one of these, so here goes. We'll do websites today, I think. Here, in no particular order, are five websites that make me happy.

• Netflix: How could this not make you happy? I'm about ready to go streaming only, since they have a big chunk of their catalog available that way. We only get about one disc a month anyway.
• Regretsy: Holy crap, have you seen this site? Their tagline is "Where DIY meets WTF". Seriously. Go check it out.
• BudgetBytes: This site has outstanding recipes for people on a really tight budget. I come here all the time for recipe ideas.
• How-To Geek: This one is a recent discovery for me. It has tips and tricks for EVERY geek situation. I'm in love.
• I Can Has Cheezburger: Do you like LOLCATS? Who doesn't? This site is the motherlode. New kitties and new captions every day. If you're in a bad mood, come here for a little while and I guarantee you'll be smiling.

I could make a huge list of all the sites I visit every day. I have a long list on my newsreader, I should probably share them sometime. But for now, you get five. Enjoy!

It's Monday again! I know everyone is so happy to start a new week, right? Well, to celebrate, it's time for the Monday Happy List. Here, in no particular order, are five things that make me happy.

• Having Will home again. I didn't realize just how much I missed having him here. Looking forward to school starting and getting him back on track.
• Podcasts: Yep, podcasts. Thanks to video podcasts and Hulu Plus, we have eliminated all but $10 of our TV bill, for a savings of around $70 a month. If you're into tech, I highly recommend TWiT or Revision3 for all your tech viewing needs.
• Computers: The more I have to stay at home on bad days, the more I appreciate having a computer and a connection to the outside world. I really don't know what I'd do without it.
• My guitar: I only know three chords so far, but I'm really enjoying learning to play.
• Coffee. Why? If I didn't have it, I wouldn't be writing this blog post. Hooray for caffeine!

It's Monday again! So without further ado, here is my list of five things that make me happy:

• Will's coming home in a week! It's been really quiet around here without having a teenager here all the time, but I really miss having him here.
• Cuddly kitties. Karma has been feeling exceptionally cuddly this morning, so I've had a purring cat on my lap for the last little bit. It's hard to be in a bad mood when a purring kitty is sitting on you.
• Having the trash guys take FOUR bags of stuff we managed to de-clutter from the spare room. Eventually, it will be my meditation room. If we worked at it, we could probably get the rest of it into the shed, but I really want to go through all of it.
• The weather is cooling down out of the triple digits, and my swamp cooler can finally keep up.
• Naps.

Yes, I know; it's Tuesday, and I didn't post at all yesterday. I was suffering from allergies, a headache, and an extended bout of extreme grumpiness. Rawr. However, I would like to fill in the gap that I left yesterday by not posting. Here, in random order, are five things that make me happy:

• Zyrtec (cetirizine): It's like the nuclear weapon of over-the-counter allergy medications. One a day, and all my sniffles are gone. Unfortunately, it can have the side effect of putting me in a coma, so we'll see how that works out today. So far, so good.
• David Eddings, author: I just got finished reading Belgarath the Sorcerer for I think the 30th time, and it's just as fun to read every single time. What a wonderful character. Warning: read all of The Belgariad (5 books) and all of The Malloreon (another 5 books) before reading this one. It's an in-depth look at one character from those stories, and reading it without reading the others... well, it would be a shame. Follow this one up with Polgara the Sorceress, you'll be glad you did.
• Air conditioning: seriously, how did anyone ever live in the desert before air conditioning? It was 104° F here over the weekend. I think I would have expired. Seriously. At least the humidity was only about 10%, so the swamp cooler worked wonderfully.
• justinguitar.com: I'm (slowly) learning how to play my new guitar, and since I can't afford lessons at the moment, this guy is awesome. Step by step videos for the absolute raw beginner. I love it. I now know three whole chords, and I may be stringing them together into a song after a bit more practice.
• Ravelry: Have I mentioned Ravelry lately? I haven't been knitting much because of the heat, but if you knit (or crochet), this is the place on the internet to go for all your fibery needs. If you don't feel like knitting (or talking about knitting), there's a forum there for everyone, on just about every topic under the sun.