Tag: Ice Cream

Happy-happies

~ Lenore Diane ~ 2 Comments
Vanilla ice cream with Happy-happies

One of my friends in high school worked at TCBY, a frozen yogurt place. TCBY was located right on the ‘cruising’ strip, where many teenagers drove around in their cars on weekend nights. When one actually got out of the car, they typically headed for frozen yogurt, ice cream or the movies. I like the frozen yogurt. I also liked the toppings for the frozen yogurt. More often than not, I would order a large chocolate yogurt with crushed Butterfinger on top. Mmmm, I can taste it now. For those who didn’t like Butterfinger candy bars, there were plenty of other toppings from which to choose: Oreos, Health Bar, M&Ms, different colored sprinkles and chocolate sprinkles. My friend used to call the different colored sprinkles ‘Happy-happies’. She was and is a very bright and happy person, much like the Happy-happies. And, though it has been over 20yrs since the TCBY days, I still look back and smile when I think of her and the sprinkles.

Thanks to Facebook, I recently reconnected with my friend. And, though 20yrs had passed, I quickly let her know about my recollection of Happy-happies. Though I don’t spend my life living in the past, I will bring up past memories when I run across friends from my past. I realize we are older now. I realize what was funny years ago may not be funny now. At least, I realize that is the case for some people; perhaps it is the case for most people. As for me, I look to humor and good thoughts whenever possible. If it means I make a total idiot of myself by drudging up some old memory, so be it. I know I’ll smile as  result. I hope my recently reconnected friend smiled, when I reminded her of the sprinkles. And, I hope she has smiled the countless times I have brought it up since. [I think this is No. 5678, but who’s counting?]

I saw an interview with Ellen Degeneres where she was discussing how she enjoys practical jokes and having fun. Ellen said, “I think it’s very important to stay childlike, and I think it’s very important to still play. Everybody stops playing when they get older, so that’s why I do it.” I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. And, I find that when I look back at the things that made me laugh as a kid, I will laugh again as an adult. Happy-happies make me smile. In fact, I went to the grocery store today and bought some vanilla ice cream and different colored sprinkles. Tonight, after supper, we are going to have ice cream with Happy-happies. While this may sound quite uneventful to you, it will be a big event for our house. Our boys don’t eat much junk food, and when my husband and I [Ok, when ‘I’] give them a junk food pass, they love it.  [Please note: I bought organic vanilla ice cream. And, I spent way too much money on the organic ice cream. It’s tough being a psycho about food.]

After our special dessert tonight, instead of reading a book before bed, we may decide to watch a movie. If I am lucky, the boys may just pick out the School House Rock DVD. Again, a happy memory from my past is watching School House Rock. And, I suspect it is no coincidence that the boys love ‘Conjunction Junction’, ‘Interjection’ and ‘Interplanet Janet’, as those were some of my favorite songs. [I should really put the ‘Just a Bill’ in replay mode for the boys, and educate them on the political process of making bills into Laws. Seems quite timely, due to the pending Healthcare bill currently on Capitol Hill, but I’ll spare a political rant . . . for now.]

Again, thanks to Facebook, I reconnected with another friend from school. This time, I was quick to remind the friend about ‘Interplanet Janet’, because it was always playing in my head when I saw her. I’ve already shared that story with the boys. As you might imagine, the boys were thrilled. And well – something tells me I should feel really silly for sharing this kind of thing, but those that know me, know me and expect nothing less of me. We also wrote a book together, ‘Wonder Pup Saves the Day’. I’ve reminded her about that book approximately 15,235 times. You’ll notice that number is higher then the number of times I reminded my other friend about Happy-happies. The Happy-happies friend is still fairly new to Facebook, so I haven’t had as much time to remind her. I’m working on it though, as is evident with this post.

I have many more happy memories. I could tell you about Moon Eyes and Joe’s Pizza, alas I can sense one of my best friends cringing and covering her eyes as she reads the previous sentence. She wouldn’t be surprised if I did write about it, but if she were beside me, I think she’d advise against it. I’ll skip Moon Eyes and Joe’s Pizza for now. Besides, now I have to introduce my boys to Happy-happies. I will tell them how Happy-happies originated, and I will show them how ordinary vanilla ice cream can come alive with bright, happy colors. I may leave out the part about me ‘cruising the festival’; then again, I rarely leave out anything.

The word of the day today is ‘Giddy’

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment
Me and the boys enjoying my birthday, while the oldest keeps his eye on the prized ice cream pie.

The word of the day today is ‘giddy’. According to Merriam-Webster, the #2 definition of giddy is a : lightheartedly silly : frivolous b : joyfully elated : euphoric. I am feeling very giddy today, and I am having a hard time staying focused on work. Why? Because it is snowing outside. I am like a kid in a candy store, when it is snowing outside. I live in GA, and we don’t get too many snowy days.

My husband is working from home today. He’s not home due to the snow, though it is certainly nice he is home on a snow day. He works from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I think I might be getting on my husband’s nerves, just a bit. I keep calling out to him saying things like: “I love the snow!” “Look at the snow!” “I love that I can sit here, work and watch the snow fall!” “Look! It is still snowing!”

Yes, I do believe I am getting on my husband’s nerves. While he was washing his breakfast dishes, I came up to him, grabbed his arm, started jumping and said, “I’m so glad it is snowing!” My husband is putting up with me today. When he works from home, he typically goes down in the basement to work. However, today he is sitting and working at the dinner table. And, from where he is sitting, he can look out and see the snow blanket our backyard. He likes the snow, too; he is just better at controlling his excitement. (He’s an engineer, and I believe controlling emotions is a common trait for engineers.)

Oh and yes, you read the above correctly. My husband was washing his breakfast dishes. Something tells me that sentence was noticed by many readers. Yes, I am thankful my husband washes his dishes. Yes, I know what I have. And, yes, I am glad our relationship continues to improve.

Giddy. I am joyfully elated. If my joy could be illustrated, it would be a variety of bright colors scribbled scrabbled with curves, circles, dots and smileys. I might have to throw in a few stars, too.

Part of the giddiness is due to my birthday, which was yesterday. I had such a nice time with my boys and my husband. My husband took some great pictures of the boys and I, while singing happy birthday and blowing out the candles. He has greatly improved his photo taking skills. The shots he took last night are definite keepers. I went through the pictures over and over again last night, smiling with every shot. And, when I went to bed, I thanked my husband again for taking such great pictures, while falling asleep with a smile on my face.

I planned on attaching a picture of giddiness to this post. But, I think I am going to post a picture from my birthday celebration last night. I’m not even sure it is the best of the bunch taken, but I do believe the picture is lightheartedly silly. Look at how my oldest son is eying the ice cream pie. His eyes aren’t closed, I promise you. My oldest takes after me, with his love for ice cream. Both boys take after me with their giddiness, too. Perhaps, my husband’s influence will keep the boys balanced, as I can teeter on the border of mania.

The snow continues to fall, and the butterflies in my belly continue to flutter. I just yelled out to my husband that it is snowing. His response? He smiled and played along by saying, “It is? Imagine that!” I need to remember moments like this when I am having a bad day. I hope you have a good day today. If you are feeling challenged and teetering on a bad day, I hope this helps you recall a giddy day in your life. We all have giddy days; the key is remembering the giddy days while in the midst of a bad one.

I Spy

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment

I spy with my little eye, something the color ‘red’. ‘I spy’ is a game we play during dinner. We also have several ‘I spy’ books, which we read before bed. I’m not sure it’s the best book to read before bed, because the pictures on the pages of the ‘I spy’ book are so busy, as are your eyes and brain, as you try to find various items hidden within the busy picture. It’s not exactly a calming and quiet read.

Today my brain is as full as the pages in an ‘I spy’ book. I have so many thoughts and ideas, but I’m not sure where to take these thoughts and ideas. As I type, I can smell the Cinnamon and Sugar Yankee Candle that burns in my kitchen. I am wondering if a blog about Yankee Candle would be entertaining. No worries. I’m going with the thought that it wouldn’t be entertaining. But I must tell you, the cinnamon and sugar candle is heavenly. Continue reading “I Spy” →