Weekly Small Pleasures #112

Not many new pleasures have popped up in the last couple of weeks, but I’ve had some nevertheless. Some may sound familiar as they are repeats from the past but they remain small pleasures. I keep finding how nice it is to look back and realize the small pleasures of the week, as well as notice them during the week and jot them down for this post as I sometimes do. I’ve read a lot about gratefulness being linked to increased happiness and I can vouch for that. 

In spite of a horrible night cramp which was so painful that I could not keep it to myself at night, there were several things that made me happy this past week:

1. Morning mango lassis.

I’m finding mangoes are affordable at the grocery store lately so every week I buy a couple and I’ve been making myself yummy mango lassis with them. If you’re wondering, a lassi is an Indian drink, and it’s basically a very refreshing yogurt smoothie and often paired with exotic flavours like cardamom and rose water. I LOVE mangoes! Just throwing that out there.

2. More mandolin playing, learning, and progressing.

Lessons have been short and scattered, but every week there’s a bit of improvement which is good. I’m having fun finally learning an instrument. Just a tad frustrating when the teacher tries to teach me a chord and my small hands can’t play it because my fingers can’t reach, so he has to teach me the simplified version. I’m glad there are simplified versions.

It’s also making me go out of my comfort zone every time I have to meet up with my teacher (fighting social anxiety), and having to sing along with the songs I play considering I can’t sing. I honestly don’t know how I even shared these videos publicly.

3. Amazon USA.

I have to say, having Amazon, and specifically Amazon Prime makes life amazingly simpler. Free 2-day shipping and free returns, from the comfort of your home. One day I’m ordering something and 2 days later it’s here. And if for some reason I need to return it, it’s as simple as printing the label for free shipping, and once it’s shipped and even before they receive the item, they refund my money! It’s so great, especially when you can basically order anything. (I did not get paid to say this).

Advancing technology definitely has its perks. I for one, can’t wait for all of Teslas projects to go mainstream (solar roof, home battery, and energy efficient, fuel-less, and driverless cars). Random comment.

4. Birthday gifts in the mail!

I don’t know what it is about mail, but I love getting it. I remember that ever since I moved from my hometown to a basement flat in London and I received mail every weekend, I loved it. Even though it was almost always nothing exciting.

Our current mailbox is quite a walk from the apartment and I love going out every day, taking the long way (walking by the river) and then to the mailbox to grab our mail. Most of the time is also nothing exciting and just bills. But I still enjoy it.

Anyway. This week, I received birthday gifts in the mail. (Even though my birthday was a few weeks ago), and it was a pretty awesome pleasure. It was exciting not knowing what I was going to find inside and then loving the gift inside.

5. Almost daily by-the-river walks.

I’ve been enjoying going out almost every day and taking advantage that we live by the river since we’ll be moving in a few months. It lifts my mood.

6. Trader Joe’s run.

The pantry was getting pretty low on everything, and this weekend we went to Trader Joe’s and we bought a lot of stuff to stock up. I just love that store.

7. Saturday homemade wild sockeye salmon meal.

One of the main reasons I love going out to eat on the weekends and finding it almost a necessity, is because I get a break from cooking. During the week, I cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Monday to Friday. So, weekend brunches and lunches are very welcome for me.

But yesterday, during our trader joe’s run, we ended up buying some salmon to go cook at home. I didn’t have to make it :)!, and we had some cooked rice in the fridge to go with it. So, it turns out, I like eating at home on Saturdays too, if I don’t have to cook 🙂 and we have something yummy. Especially if it’s pretty hot out. Though, I did whip up a quick salad to go with it.

Not only did hubby make a nice meal, he also swept and mopped the floors while the fish baked. Bonus.

Have a happy week! Like the happy dog above. And happy mother’s day to all moms out there.

See what others were happy about:
This week’s small pleasures #48– Thistles and Kiwis
Weekly Small Pleasures #31 – Spring things – Middle Europe
This week’s small pleasures #47– Thistles and Kiwis
Small Pleasures: April 2017 Edition – Whimsey Pie

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Weekly Small Pleasures Blog Event

Share your happiness!

I find that the small things that make us happy every day are easily forgotten.

This blog event is simply about remembering and sharing those small things that made you happy during the week; things that made you smile, made you laugh, made you do a happy dance, made your heart smile…

You can share in any format you like. For people to find your post, tag your post “Weekly Small Pleasures” and link to my most recent post for a pingback! You can also just share in the comments.

Read the full details, and see previous posts.

P.S. You can also find me on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TUMBLR, and PINTEREST.