Real simple pleasures

I received my July issue of REAL SIMPLE  today.  Don't you just love opening up the mailbox and finding a new magazine?  I may not even read much of anything in some issues of the different ones I subscribe to but I still love getting them and flipping through them to see what jumps out at me or inspires me.  And that is a real simple pleasure.

There are so many simple pleasures that each of us enjoys on a regular basis, though often times we become so accustomed to them that we forget to appreciate them.

Here are a few that come to mind for me...

* fresh hot coffee with amaretto creamer and splenda first thing in the morning

* the over-the-top excitement my doggies show me every single time I walk back through the door

*redbirds

*my satin pillow case and memory foam pillow

*an unexpected breeze on a really hot day

*the smell of rain on a summer day

*seeing a dog hanging out a car window with its ears in the wind and tongue out in a smile 

*the refreshment I get from a drink of water when I'm hot and sweaty from working out

*having a pedicure and then not being able to stop staring at the pretty color on my toes for the rest of the day

*being swept away to another world when I'm reading a really good book

*baby and toddler pictures of my boys

*having one of the boys recall a wonderful memory that I thought they couldn't possibly remember

*recalling a wonderful memory myself

*Bath and Body Works lotion (warm vanilla sugar and cherry blossom are my favorites)

*waking up and realizing it's Saturday and I actually do not have to be anywhere!

*listening to a song that I really feel, whether it be an old song that takes me back to another place and time or a current song like Good to be me. 

*the satisfaction and relief I feel when I'm done with a chore, like vacuuming and mopping the entire house

*getting an email or facebook message from a good friend

*those next to rare moments around here when the boys actually seem to like each other

*a heartfelt smile or hug

*sincere laughter

*writing in my blog

*comments on my blog :-)

*being still enough and quiet enough to hear God.

What about you?  What real simple things make you smile inside?