For my last list I thought I’d feature five of my husband’s Small Things instead of my own:

1. Skating on a new box.

2. Not working at Rite-Aid.

3. Volkswagen Beetles from ‘66 and earlier.

4. Being debt-free. (He’s never been in debt, except to ME…)

5. “… and chicken.”

So there you have it, the five simple pleasures of a complex man.

It’s too bad I won’t be doing these updates in 2010, ’cause this weblog’s gonna be really quiet without them. Be sure to add me on Twitter or Facebook, and I’ll see you on the flip side!

(Oops… turns out this entry never published when I told it to.)

1. Rum balls.

2. Steaming some milk for coffee instead of just grabbing it from the fridge last-minute.

3. Chapstick.

4. Cuticle cream.

5. When every day feels like a Friday.

1. Gluing paper to paper.

2. Petting the branches of a Christmas tree.

3. I signed up to David Horvitz’s 2009 e-mail list a while ago, and I really enjoy the messages he sends. I don’t often act out his ideas, but I have done this one.

4. Ice water with lemon is always good, but something I’ve started doing lately is putting frozen fruit in as the ice cubes.

5. That video we’ve all seen of the octopus stealing a coconut shell. Who knew they could tippy-toe?

1. Petting a cat that’s been lying in the sun.

2. Saving up a bank of good ideas.

3. Fresh seltzer water.

4. Change machines.

5. I had a bad day a while ago that required lots of crying and a long, hot shower. When I turned the water off, I heard Chris coming into the bathroom. I opened the shower curtain and there he was, holding my towel for me.

1. Today

2. is

3. my

4. 25th

5. birthday!

Chris and I are doing Thanksgiving on our own today, opting to travel for holidays only once this year instead of twice like usual. Multiply the relief I feel tonight by five, and that’s my make-happy list for this week!

Oh, and canned cranberry sauce: I love that stuff.

1. Charcoal briquets.

2. Styrofoam practice targets.

3. Vivid nap dreams.

4. These nice people in Illinois didn’t think Henpeck would be a good name for their village, so they named it Oblong!

5. Clients from Hell, a collection of scary stories from designers.

Sorry for the list-only updates lately. I haven’t felt like writing stuff because I’ve been drawing stuff.

1. Pieces of gum that you push through foil.

2. The lonesome wailing of a singing saw.

3. When a fallen tree is caught by the limbs of another tree. I imagine the standing one saying something like, “I’m here, brother.”

4. A man with a clean shave. So many of you good-chinned guys have unnecessary beards now.

5. Being somebody’s favorite.

1. Feeling rested in the mind.

2. Fancy elevators.

3. Blind embossing.

4. Sea dragons.

5. Spooning up peas.

My favorite candies (not ham):

1. Red Apple Jelly Bellies.

2. Kit Kat bars. I used to buy a king-size candy bar and a bag of peanuts nearly every day from the golf shop when I worked as a housekeeper. The guy who ran the shop was a little bit psychic, if you can believe it. He correctly guessed my birthday once, and when I said he was right he thought I was joking.

3. Heath bars.

4. Fun Dip / Pixy Stix / SweeTarts / cotton candy. If it’s not chocolate, it’s colored sugar. The sour, powdery variety is my favorite.

5. The (very) slightly melted chunks of a Toblerone bar.

Honorable mention goes to Swedish Fish.

Bonus dislike: Candy corn.