What Makes Me Happy #9

I'm making a list of 101 things that make me happy. Go here to read rounds #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7,  and #8).

A while ago during my mom book club, we were talking about fun events or traditions that we remember from our childhood. It took me a few minutes, but once I got my brain working, so many happy things popped up in my memory. More and more I'm finding that it's truly the little things that make lasting memories and I hope that M and I can create family traditions of our own that our children will look back on fondly.

Adding to the happy list...

38. Every Saturday night my parents brought us to church and then oftentimes when we got home my mom would pop popcorn on the stove and sprinkle on douse it with butter and salt (it is my mom, the butter lover we're talking about here). The whole family would gather in the basement and turn COPS on. Yes, church and then bad boys, bad boys. Such a random memory, but it makes me smile. My mom still makes good popcorn, albeit with less butter now.

39. My grandma used to make my dad and his sisters crepes when they were growing up, so my dad also made crepes for us. Come to think of it, this is one of the few things I've ever seen him cook, other than his beloved green beans and asparagus, oh and rice pudding as well. Anyway, on Sunday mornings, every once in a while, my dad would make crepes plus the delicious brown sugar filling that gets slathered inside. It's a time consuming process, but oh, every bite is a taste sensation. My dad made some a couple of Christmases ago and Little m was of course a fan. I must remember to get the recipe.

40. This memory is still so vivid in my mind and I think it's hilarious. My poor mother. We would all be driving somewhere in our childhood van and one of us kids would slide our foot up and sneakily lift the lever to recline my mom's seat. She would fly back in her seat, screaming in shock. Much laughter from children ensued. HA. We'd let a few months pass by before each attack, just to make sure she was off guard. What rotten kids we were! One of my all time favourite memories.

41. "Is there a little girl in here who wants to wa-ake up so dear?" I will never forget that tune of that dreaded song my mom would sing to wake me up in the mornings. I seriously hated that song but love the memory of it now!

The Scent of Spring

The other night when I was walking I got a whiff of something sooooo good in the air. Could it be?

Yes! The lilacs are out!

Fresh lilacs have got to be one of my favourite scents. I'm not crazy about lilac perfume or anything like that, but give me a lilac bush and I could sniff it for days. And that's precisely what I did tonight. I stole a branch and sat and sniffed it. Then I brought the branch home and put it in water on my bedside table, so now I can sniff it all night long. It may or may not be giving me a headache.

Now, here's a cute story about lilacs for you. When I was young, my dad, on his way home from work, would often stop on the side of the road to pick lilacs for my mom. Ohhh, they smelled so good. And that is how my love for lilacs was born. My parents also have two purple lilac bushes, which are way better than plain old white ones, in my opinion.

Fa la la la... spring is in the air...

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

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Great childhood memories!

It's funny the things you remember all of a sudden. Last night M and I were walking and saw a car pulled over by the police. This spurred memories of Saturday nights spent going to church then rushing home to watch COPS! That was the tradition! Kind of a weird mix of activities though, don't ya think? Do you have any interesting childhood traditions?

picture sources 1 and 2