I didn’t do that many things this week, if I’m being honest. The end of it was crippled by sickness. Just a fever with alternating chills and hot flashes accompanied by a drastic case of the dizzies. Still no idea where it came from! But it kept me out of commission for a good portion of those good weekend hours.

Life was still good, though! It always is, as long as we’re alive. Even after I got some really crappy news last night that required me to hurt a stranger’s feelings, I’m proud of how I handled the situation. And that, my friends, is what we call a sparkly lining.

Weekly Happiness - Shopping In Hampden

One of the best days I had this week was a day out in Hampden with Cristen and Charlotte. We shopped at sidewalk sales, ate delicious cheeseburgers at one of our favorite restaurants, talked to dogs, put up stickers I made, and ordered super healthy drinks from a juice bar.

I also had a fancy meal cooked for me at Joanie’s that we didn’t start eating till 10 pm, because apparently we live in Madrid. (Just kidding, thank you so much for the pot pies, cider, and delicious appetizers!) Which we followed up with hours of card games! You name it, we played it. And I knit the whole time, too. Because I’m one of those bad-asses who brings her knitting to bars and dinner parties.

Something else that’s taken up a lot of my time is watching every minute of the ADLS games The Orioles have been in! We SWEPT Detroit, and I’m so excited. No, I’m not a sports fanatic, and in the general season, I really don’t care. But I have a lot of love for The Orioles and Baltimore in general, and not only am I always ecstatic when the morale of the city is up like it is now, but it’s been over a decade since we’ve made it this far, and I really couldn’t be happier about it. (It also really makes me happy when I watch these games with men and they’re surprised by how much I know. Especially when usually they say things like this to me: “Okay, the guy on the pile of dirt throwing the ball? That’s the pitcher.”)

Weekly Happiness - Star Buttons

Extra Sparkle:  almost finishing my Halloween mail  being covered in almost microscopic gold stars  having a night where Cristen and I just texted each other pictures of our butts  boys who walk around their bedroom in nothing but a sailor hat and fish scale leggings, holding a trident they covered in glitter wearing orange and black to support The Orioles + Halloween simultaneously  wearing a paper top hat around a bonfire  getting a Halloween advent calendar in the mail from Janice, that has a new spooky pun for me every day  the way Rocky looks passed out in Joanie’s lap  cashing in coins for cash  when my fever broke for good  Evil Dead 2  my great aunt sending me a box of old school Halloween decorations  a care package from Candace full of amazing buttons and more  finding orange shoes (finally!) for $3  when Bug runs in my room, just to climb up on me and have, what we call, “Tummy Time”  singing in the shower  videos via text of my friends driving and singing metal songs  giving Joe’s roommates some Halloween gifts  moving all my sweaters back to “active” closet space  how drastic my musical preferences have been recently  transitioning into October  participating in #lovetober  hilarious stories from comics after they get of stage  drawing on Cristen’s door and Buddha head that she covered in chalkboard paint  the Maryland “Oh”

Weekly Happiness - Bonfire

I mentioned this awesome haunted attraction fundraiser for Baltimore last week, but I wanted to remind you about it again. I know most of you aren’t in Baltimore, but if you can contribute anything, I’d be ecstatic. I want this to happen so badly. And look! Even the paper did a write-up about it. There’s also a really funny video you can watch towards the bottom of the page.

Alright! Wish those O’s luck with me, hon, and continue on in your week full of gratitude and love for being alive. If you need some ideas for how to celebrate that beautiful life of yours, I’ve got you covered.

What’s on your happiness list this week?