On a day that's a bit gray, things that make me happy are:

- Pumpkin-spice scented candles

- Learning that when Molly and Trav went to the pet store to buy a Beta fish, Trav promptly named him/her That Guy. I want a fish named That Guy! Molly got him to change it to Blue, though, so now Monice and I are encouraging her to get Trav to say, "You're my boy, Blue!!"

- Thinking about the impromptu dance party my sisters, Trav, and I had while I was visiting them. My sisters and I watched the Sex and the City movie while Trav was napping, and he woke up at the end, so we all started dancing around the kitchen and living room for about 10 minutes to the closing credits music. What I want to know is, do all families do stuff like this and just not talk about it?

- Remembering Monice and I hiding under our hats while standing with all the teenie boppers in the front rows of the Nada Surf show at Bumbershoot. Thinking about that always makes both of us smile.

- The song "Human" by the Killers.

- Trav announcing to Molly and me that he's "a talker." It's so true! Runs in the family, but it's non-stop with him.

- A coupon for free body butter at the Body Shop! Yay!

- Finding the cutest pair of red shoes for under $20 at a consignment shop in Portland.

- Reminding myself that the elections will soon be over, hopefully with a good outcome. I'm hopeful and optimistic, although I'm not excited about the hours it's going to take me to fill out my ballot. It's a dosie this year. Yowza.

I'm going to keep adding more as I think of them. I write down stuff that makes me happy in a journal at home. I call it my Joy Journal to be silly. Today, the blog is my Joy Journal.