I treated myself this morning. Iced lattes are awesome.

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.

We need a new one. This one is full. We have a rather eclectic selection... science fiction & fantasy, thrillers, textbooks, cookbooks (I collect way too many), computer and how-to books. We had to get a bit creative with the way we shelved them. I think it looks halfway decent... my objective was to not have it look "stupid". Ozzy, as usual, has managed to photobomb this picture. I let him get away with it. I'm beginning to think most of my indoor shots will include at least one dog or cat. Click on the picture for a better view.

Not mine this time, but a contest by the winner of my Sock Yarn Haiku contest: Kitten With a Whiplash! Just stop on by his site, click on a link, and find him something red, white and blue for the holiday, and his 200th post. Congrats on 200 posts, Kitten! For those of you who weren't here for the contest, his winning haiku was

Little unmatched sock! Was your mate lost in dryer or just never knit?

I still love it. I need to do this again soon, I think.

Another Monday! Where does the time go? It's already time for another Happy List post, so here, in random order, are five things that make me happy.

• Knitting. I'm really getting back into knitting lately, and I've realized just how much I've missed watching a ball of yarn become something new. I can't knit for long periods of time anymore, but it's a great way to keep my hands busy while watching TV or listening to an audiobook.
• Audiobooks. Why haven't I discovered these before? Probably because I never thought to use them while knitting. I'm listening to Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, and enjoying the hell out of it.
• Getting a good night's sleep. I actually went to bed at a decent hour last night, and slept for eight hours in a row. It was awesome.
• Hearing from my kids on Mother's Day. Not my favorite holiday, but it was good to hear from Tony and Jeffrey, even if it was just to say hi, happy Mother's Day, and I love you, mom. Definitely made me smile.
• Retail therapy. I was feeling really cooped up on Friday, and Brian "made" me go to the mall. I bought a new case for my Eris, and picked up few necessities at Target, and I felt a lot better. Just getting out of the house was a good thing.

I could add a bunch more, but I'll stick with five for today. These are definitely in random order... hearing from my kids this weekend definitely topped the list. I miss them.