Have You Ever Thought of What's Awesome?!

Accompanied by "Life Is Wonderful" by Jason Mraz. 

Yo!!!

SO I was reading The Book Of Awesome and started to think of all the little things in life that make my day or make me happy. With all that is happening in the world today, with war, and crime and negative media, it's nice to have a list of things that can perhaps lift your spirits and put things in perspective when you're having a bad day...or a bad month...or a bad year...or a bad life. I generally get excited over anything big or small and most people can attest to this so my list is rather long :) I've noticed after reading my list that a lot of it centres around the need to be free!! I will continue to add to this list even after I post this blog. I personally need to focus more on the positive rather than the negative and appreciate all the little things that create such positive feelings and moments in my life. So here it goes!!!!!

LIANNE'S LIST OF AWESOMENESS:

1. Being the first car at the stop light! Such a great feeling...ah. I win. 
2. Watching the sunset on my balcony and the sunrise if I'm up that early (so watching the sunset).
3. Anticipation of a first kiss. 
4. The excited feeling of having a crush on someone. 
5. LOVE!!
6. Full moons (not the bum kind). 
7. Swing dancing! 
8. My nephews!! Seeing them grow up has definitely been a joy to watch. 
9. The smell of spring. The best ever! And I used to love the feeling stepping onto the pavement with my running shoes again rather than my snow boots while walking to school! Freeeeedom!
10. Sunflowers
11. The smell of fresh cut grass!
12. The smell of some good cologne on a man. Sexiness.
13. The smell of freshly cleaned laundry.
14. Watching a crazy thunderstorm all cozied up in my house. 
15. Watching a movie bundled up while it's raining outside.
16. A perfect summer night 
17. Going to a town fair. Love those!! 
18. Small towns. Exploring them are so fun!!!!
19. Family dinners. 
20. Massey Hall. Best venue in Toronto. 
21. Scattegories! 
22. Fake bf's....that vibrate profusely. A godsend.
23. WRITING! 
24. Hall and Oates. Fleetwood Mac. CCR. The Band.
25. Hearing my dog snore under my bed or seeing her get startled and bark at garbage bags and rocks. 
26. Walking into my building and having the elevator be at the ground floor!!! How glorious.
27. Fresh cut flowers in my apartment
28. NATURE! Everything about it. Mother Earth is certainly beautiful and amazing. We are so lucky to be living in such beauty and should perhaps stop destroying it!!
29. Getting to sleep in! 
30. Hanging clothes out to dry in the summer. So relaxing!!!
31. ROAD TRIPS with friends!!!!! Good tunes...car snacks...books on tape!! Adventures. The best.
32. The feeling you get when in a drive-in movie. It brings me back to when I was a kid playing in the park in front of the big screen in my pj's before the movie started. I remember lining up for popcorn and seeing my dad fiddle with the connection to our antenna. I also remember throwing up that night after eating too much junk food. Gross.
33. The freedom to be able to get in my car and just drive. Open road, sunny day, great music, sunroof open. 
34. Windy nights. Such a comfy and cozy feeling. I love reading a book or just listening to the wind.
35. Sports. I can't live without them. Watching and playing!! I love competition. Jays games, Leaf games, Marlies games. 
36. Ping pong! Some great times at university with Homer and Reid in our house. 3 a.m. ping pong games. Amazing.
37. Having amazing chats with friends about life. 
38. Having great friends in my life.
39. Watching live music. It lifts my spirits every time!!!
40. It's awesome when I hear my most favourite song on the radio as I drive in to work. 
41. MUSIC IN GENERAL!! So many great songs out there...so therapeutic. 
42. BELTING out the tunes in my car and singing in general! Such a release!
43. Shopper's Drug Mart...honestly...I love looking at all the packaging and seeing all the new products. I am a designers dream!!! 
44. Art. I love the feeling of a blank canvas and what I'm going to create! 
45. SCHOOL! AS much as I was a procrastinator in school I love learning.
46. Grocery shopping at night. I love the music they play and I love being able to take my time. 
47. CHRISTMAS TIME!!!! My favourite time of year. I still want my parents to wait to put the presents under the tree until I've fallen asleep!!!
48. The first snow fall
49. Being snowed in. 
50. Spooning with someone.
51. A clean house...especially when a maid has come through! Such good energy after.
52. Being able to take a vacation!! Exploring and adventures. Love.
53. Bookstores!!
54. Purchasing a new book to read. I try not to crease the binding cause I love how new they look.
55. Buying something new...I love how perfect it looks and then I drop it and the feeling is ruined. Haha
56. Going on a bike ride. 
57. Going down east. My home away from home. Magic. 
58. Nacho dips and cheesy potatoes. Yumm.
59. Birthdays! And being able to share it with 3 other people in my family. My nephew, cousin and twin sister. 
60. Serendipitous occurrences. Life is wonderous.
61. Life in general. As much as it can be hard it's also a gift. I need to remember this and take it all in...good and bad.
62. The smell of freshly baked cookies.
63. My grandmas "peedogs" - Latvian treat!!! Rolls stuffed with bacon and onions!! Addicting.
64. Baking...I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I bake something that actually turns out to be good!! that is edible! 
65. Cooking! I need to make more time to experiment with new things.
66. Movies. 
67. Moonlit walks by the lake. 
68. Angels are awesome.
69. Animals!!
70. The Polar Bear Express at the Ex!!
71. Technology. I can't believe what we are able to do nowadays. As much as it can be a hindrance it's also amazing. Some incredible minds out there. 
72. Inspirational quotes. Thank god they are out there :) 
73. Office supplies. I just love them.
74. Marajewwanna. Sometimes it just has to be smoked. 
75. Crisp fall nights.
76. Bailey's on the rocks. 
77. Colin Firth
78. Bridget Jone's Diary. 
79. The feeling of opening up new food products you just bought! 
80. Listening to my dog eat her dog food. 
81. The smell of my dog. 
82. Jakey Bakey...RIP little man. He was the best dog in the world. 
83. Knitting. I miss my Grandma Phillips.
84. IKEA.
85. Feeling connected. I've been up in the clouds a lot during my life. It's nice to feel grounded to earth.
86. True joy. 
87. Art Galleries.
88. Queen Street in Toronto.
89. Photography.
90. Finding a hair elastic in my house! They seem to disappear quite often.
91. New running shoes. 
92. Amazing conversations with random people. Generally exactly what you need to hear at the time.
93. Batteries. What would we do without them??
94. Christmas lights.
95. Decorating my apartment for Christmas.
96. Watching break dancing! 
97. New York City
98. Musical theatre!!! I have always wanted to do that. 
99. The dollar store. It makes me happy.
100. The Apple store. 
101. Incense...especially Sandalwood.
102. India Arie!! She's absolutely amazing and inspirational. 
103. Listening to Motown music. 
104. A good stretch!!!
105. Old architecture! I love learning all the history.
106. The SNOOZE BUTTON!!!!! Such a great invention.
107. Hot showers and bubble baths!
108. A good massage! 
109. Getting snail mail or a random card from a good friend!! (Lindsay Turner I love you!)
110. Getting any mail that isn't a bill!
111. Getting a random message from someone you haven't heard from in a while on Facebook.
112. Youtube!!
113. Astrology and numerology. There is some truth to numbers and signs!!!
114. Sitting by the fire.
115. Going to the cottage
116. Sailing!!! and speed boats!
117. Watching fireworks (especially with someone you like). 
118. Long weekends.
119. Candles :)
120. Hot firefighters.
121. Being a Canadian!! I love Canada. 
122. Kayaking and canoeing. 
123. Beavers (men get your minds out of the gutter).
124. Old school cartoons!!! Smurfs yo!!!! Racoons! Alvin and The Chipmunks! Carebears (uh yah).
125. Ice skating in an outdoor rink at night. 
126. Holding hands.
127. Watching the leaves change colour.
128. Seadooing!
129. Silence. 
130. Star gazing in the country. 
131. Getting your hair cut!! You feel alive and sexy. Unless they butcher it. 
132. Cellphones. I'm addicted.
133. Hugs and kisses.
134. Farmers Markets. 
135. The smell of BBQ!!
136. The smell of restaurants in the air!
137. Slip n' Slide y'all!!! 
138. Running through the sprinklers. 
139. The smell of suntan lotion, the beach and the ocean!!!
140. Bonfires on the beach
141. When my coworkers surprise the office with timbits and coffee!
142. Surprise parties. 
143. The warmth of the sun
144. Indian summer...how is it so warm in November?!
145. The smell of fresh air in my apartment
146. Finding something I've lost (which is nearly everyday!!!) - Thanks for that one Katie :)
147. Finding money that you've left in one of your coat pockets months before!
148. Finding money on the ground
149. When someone says I'm a great server at the restaurants I work out. Feels good!
150. Vegas!!!!!! Sitting by the pool and the bar scene is ridiculous!! 
151. Hearing my cell phone ding when I get some sort of message! haha...addicted to the sounds. 
152. The sound of seagulls - reminds me of summer and the beach and a nice sunny day. AND it reminds me of the time they attacked my brother on the beach as he was running with his cheesy bag!
153. Apples and cinnamon
154. New paintbrushes
155. The feeling you get when you FINALLY get what you've wanted to get done...DONE!!!!! TOTAL RELIEF AND FREEDOM!!
156. Egg fights at Easter! 
157. Challenging your fears is pretty awesome :)
158. Eating an entire bottle of Nutella...from the bottle. On its own. Delicious. 
159. The Moonshine Cafe

Yeah yeah!! Life is grand.

Lovely Lianne :) XO

**A HAVE YOU EVER CLEANING SPECIAL WAY BACK PLAYBACK**

Accompanied by "Happy Happy Joy Joy" by Ren and Stimpy because at the end of this video this is how I feel after a day of cleaning!!!!

I had done this note a while back on my facebook and thought I'd add it to my blog!!! It's the day in the life of a gal with ADHD (ahem...me) trying to clean on her day off!!!! All in real time. Enjoy.

Oh how exciting! A day off! and what better thing to do then clean my apartment! I am letting you all into my cleaning day - a day full of multi-tasking, excitement, and...that's about it:

9:20 a.m: Woken up by Marla phoning me...so much for sleeping in til 11. Damnit.
10:00 a.m: Finish conversation and try to go to sleep. Am promptly woken up by my dog's "in heat" whimpering outside my door. F Maddie. I better go walk her so she can look for man dogs.

10:01 a.m: Phone call from Ginny. I guess the dog will have to wait. I need to start cleaning soon. Make potential plans for later in the day with Ginny.

10:18 a.m: Mom calls. Blah blah blah.
10:20 a.m: Ok...will walk the dog.
10:21 a.m: Should probably check Facebook first.
10:40 a.m: Ok..time for walk...sorry dog.
11:10 a.m: Back!! Time to get at 'er. Stare into space.
11:15 a.m: Maybe I should add pictures to Facebook first as I need to eliminate ALL potential distractions that will take away from me cleaning. Righto.

11:50 a.m: Pictures added. Time for breakfast. Can't clean without eating. May faint if I have wonky blood sugar. Can't have that. I live alone.

12:00 p.m: Set! Clean out my front hall drawer of mail. Sift through the mail on my living room floor. Make three piles on the floor. Recycle and two piles of shit I don't know what to to do with. Left on the floor. Will figure it out later. Recycle rest.

12:05 p.m: Sift through CD's for perfect music to clean to...settle on U2 (Joshua Tree) and Audioslave. Excellent.

12:20 p.m: Start cleaning my bedroom...sweep, sweep...move bed. Pet the dog. Move stuff from under my bed. Pet the dog. Get water for dusting. Dust a shelf. Finally realize why my sinuses are bad when I wake up in the morning.

12:43 p.m: Mel calls. We decide to go on Skype because my phone sounds like crap apparently. Tell her I need to clean so I can't be long.

1:22 p.m: Text message Megan saying I can meet at perhaps 4 but am cleaning.
1:23 p.m: Text message Homer back.

1:24 p.m: Phone call ends with Mel...oops. Call Ginny to let her know there are now very loose plans to meet tonight as I have decided to clean.

1:30 p.m: Back to cleaning my bedroom. Change the dirty water.
1:43 p.m: Mom calls again to see if I can get my nephew to get dressed. Don't know how I could possibly do that over the phone but proceed to talk in a high-pitched, squeaky voice. No luck. Hang up phone.

1:49 p.m. Brother calls. Want him to send me an important play list. He didn't do it.
2:00 p.m. Finish dusting my room. Now lunch! Macaroni & Cheese...nutritious. But fast. Have to clean.

2:10 p.m. Start to chronicle my cleaning day.

2:28 p.m. Done lunch. Back to cleaning. Time to wash the floor! Wow!
2:50 p.m. Done washing the floor. Can't believe how long this cleaning is taking. F.
2:51 p.m: Have to move everything back into my room. Ok. That needs to be done. Mental note. Start cleaning the kitchen.

2:52 p.m: Rinse dishes first. Think I need to drink some water. A little parched. Become depressed at how little food there is in my fridge. Need to grocery shop. Start to make grocery list before I forget.

3:00 p.m: Where's the cap to my water jug? F.

3:10 p.m: Start running water for dishes. Think about how bad this new dish soap smells. Add another new dish soap to my grocery list. Refreshing aromatherapy my ass! I don't smell Ylang Ylang...whatever that is. More like stale water. Maybe my pipes are bad. Need to get ask my landlord.

3:13 p.m: Start washing the dishes. Finally.
3:13 p.m: Start thinking about a realistic time to get together with Megan instead of 4 p.m. Maybe 8 p.m. or tomorrow. Way to ruin our plans cleaning. God.

3:40 p.m: Finish washing the dishes.
3:41 p.m: Move stuff back into bedroom. Shuffle the mail on the living room floor. Still don't know what to do with them. You are gonna stay riigght there.

3:53 p.m: Marla calls. Thank godddd! Cleaning is tiring. Needed a break.

4:18 p.m: Dusting again. Sweeping again. Dusting again. Sweeping again. Can't decide what to focus on first so why not interchange them every minute. Sinus headache forming. Should probably do this more often. Walk to the bedroom cause I don't want to do either.

4:42 p.m: Starting to get really frustrated that I can't find anywhere to put my shit. The two piles of mail are back in my drawer. F it.

4:48 p.m: Taking the dog for a walk. Need some fresh air and dust resistant furniture and apartment. My eyeballs feel like marshmallows.

5:12 p.m: Start cleaning the bathroom.
5:13 p.m: Just kidding. Dusting again. Have to finish what I started. Oooh...there's a dog barking. The wind is blowing. What should I make for dinner?

6:06 p.m: Half done bathroom. Decided to call Megan. Talked for an hour and told her I'm still cleaning 6 hours later. I'm gonna eat now. What can I make with half a cucumber and a basil plant? That can feed a whole village somewhere so if they can do it I can too.

ZONE OUT TIME.

10:28 p.m: In true Lianne fashion there is still shit to do...BUT it's ALMOST done. I have a sinus headache fully formed, my eyes are puffy, and I am thankful that I started with my bedroom.

HAPPY CLEANING!!!