Albino squirrel!

Too cute? I think so!

When kids do stereotypically cute things

Yesterday I was on my way to work, tired and disgruntled, when I came across a mom with her child of about two. He was wearing a huge raincoat down to his shins and repeatedly running through a little puddle. It must have been just a couple feet squared and had less than a centimeter of water in it but this kid was absolutely in love with it. He’d waddle from one side to the other trying to splash as much as he could and then he’s turn around and do it again. All the time giggling like crazy.

This sigh reminded me a) that kids really do the stereotypically cute things I thought were only talked about in books and b) how much I love their ability to live completely in the moment and be entertained by the smallest occurrences in life. Cause I mean, why not derive that much joy from putting whip cream on a customer’s hot chocolate? I don’t know that I’ll ever laugh giddily as I clean the inside of a Starbucks’ toilet – but why not try it out and see what happens? I feel like every task can seem a little more entertaining when you look at it through the eyes of a child. So from now on the world will be my very own splashy puddle!

Reasons I love vacations

Here are some of the many reasons I love vacations:

1. Swimming just for the sake of splashing around. No laps. No foam wedges between your ankles so you can practice a longer stroke. No needless choking on water. No trying to pass slow swimmers in your lane who speed up as soon as they catch sight of you on their tail and then slow down just to drive you crazy. No time limits. Just swimming as it was meant to be.

2. Warming yourself in the sun.

3. Eating foods that you don’t know what they are but you know they’re really darn tasty.

4. Discovering new things.

5. But especially…spending time with loved ones. Even when they drive you crazy…

My next vacation cannot come soon enough!

Kids Behaving Like Adults

I find it absolutely hilarious and awesome how interested kids are in doing grown up things. You ask them to water some flowers or put away the dishes and it’s the highlight of their day! I know I, myself, would love a day where I take a two hour nap and have every meal prepared for me. I would love it if I could be thoroughly entertained by sorting utensils or dusting corners. I mean, don’t you wish your face looked like this every time you opened your phone?:

Unfortunately, whenever my hands are on the wheel of a car I’m usually stuck in traffic so I rarely wear this expression:

But wouldn’t it be great if I did? I think we should all do a little dance as we vacuum and whistle through a thorough bathroom scrubbing. Why not? If kids can do it – so can we!

Surprises!!!

I think it’s official…surprises are my favorite thing ever. Okay, maybe not bad surprises – learning the day of that there is no new episode of The Bachelorette for me to watch or that I’m needed at work when I thought I had the day off are not welcome. But good surprises are definitely the greatest things ever. For example, I had a very long night of work at the restaurant (40 minute wait times, demanding customers and very achy legs) but then came home to this:

My roommate made peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies and left them on the counter inviting me to help myself! I practically collapsed out of delight. I was cranky and starving and it was exactly what I needed. I am going to make it my mission for the next month to perform little surprises for my friends and family because they really do make a person’s day. It’s time to spread the joy!

Baby Koala!

I absolutely love the website Happy News because they seem to be the only news source that focuses on the positive that are going on in the world. And this baby koala video is just too cute for words. I mean, how often do you get to see a baby koala? Not nearly enough, I say.

 

 

Today’s Cute Picture

Young Love…

Cute animals

Funny failure of the day: Trying to capture an animal’s cuteness in a photograph.

They never ever come off as cute as they were in real life:

And yet you still try again…and again…and again.

Which brings us to today’s thing to be thankful for…digital cameras. Because when I was little I would go on vacation with a roll of film that could take 24 pictures and come home with 19 photos of various zoo animals. But thanks to the miracle of the digital camera, we can have it all! The real memories AND a whole lot of mediocre animal photography! Oh happy days.