The Bloghop of JOY

Today I am participating in two of my fav bloggers, Kyra Lennon and Clare Dugmore's

The basic premise of this hop in the words of Clare Dugmore:

In these cold, winter months, everything can seem kind of ... bleak. However, every now and again, something small will happen that makes us smile again. It could be a random memory, something you see on TV, overhearing something that makes you laugh out loud - just that one thing that makes the clouds part, and the sunshine appear again. We're not talking life-changing moments, just the little things that inexplicably make us smile.
All you have to do to be a part of this happy hop is sign up on the Linky List, and on March 1st, post your list of joy - with a minimum of five things that put a spring back in your step!

If you haven't signed up yet, jump on over to Kyra's blog or Clare's and join in! Who couldn't use a little more joy in their lives?

Here's Jaybird's Top Ten Eleven List of  little random things that make me smile or fill me with joy:

 
11.  If  any of you watched the Oscars you would have already seen this footage of Jennifer Lawrence tripping over her gorgeous but ginormous couture dress. Watch it again now but look closely at something besides Katniss. It makes me smile every time I see  this. Because out of  all the A-listers sitting in the front row, look at who jumps right up out of his seat to offer his assistance.  That, my friends, is the one and only Mr. Hugh Jackman, the man who's made up of   Awesome Sauce.



10. Today is March 1. It's my brother's birthday.  You know what that means- time for another  Italian House party.  Happy Birthday Chris!! When are we having cake? LOL

Happy Birthday Brother. xo

 

9.  I have a soft spot for strays. Animals or people, I take in All Kinds. About a month ago, this orphaned  Ginger Boy showed up on my door step crying. He must have instinctively known the one giant and three little girls that lived there would just melt when they saw him-

 Now that he's older, his coat is much more gingy than white.

8. A hot cup of coffee is priority one for me in the morning. So it fills me with pure joy when I wake up and find a cup of java already made for me.  Starbucks has nothing on my girl. Best Mocha Maker Ever. Thank you Faith!!

7. As a mom nothing warms my heart like catching a sweet moment of solidarity between sisters  like this:

Frankie  and Farrah, holding hands at the Cape May Zoo

6. OK, this is SO stupid. But I have to tell this story-because it's  still one of my favorites, even all these years later. Back in high school I was (as usual) feeling sick  and miserable and had to take a minute to rest in the nurse's office. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself  when this commotion broke out and  interrupted my pity party. IDENTICAL twin sisters just got caught beating the piss out of each other in the hallway. They came bursting into the nurse's office still kicking, clawing and throwing insults  at each other. The nurse was doing her best to calm them both down, so she pulled the curtain and sat one of the girls down on the cot next to mine. Even though they were separated by the curtain, it didn't stop this girl from screaming through it at her sister: "You're an ugly bitch!!"  I know it's dumb and I'm sorry but I could not stop laughing then and it still makes me laugh when I think about it now-  Who the hell insults their identical twin  by calling them an ugly bitch?

5. My Wolverine Bobblehead fills me with joy. I love that thing. It sits on my dashboard and nods along, agreeing with me and my choice of tunes as I go cruising down the road.


Come on, you knew there would have to be a nod to Wolverine to  make my list complete! LOL

 

4. Finding and reading a good  book! That always fills me with joy.  I am an extremely fast and voracious reader. Every rare once in a while, if  a book  is really, really good it can actually cause me  to  slow down and savor the pages.  Like I said before it's a rare occurrence, but when it happens, woo hoo,  I LOVE it!!

3. Followers and Comments on my blog. Man, do I love my followers and their comments!! It fills me with pure  joy when people respond to what I've written. I've come a long  way from when I first started blogging and had no followers or comments except from my sister (and she mostly likes to heckle me, lol). Even now, I am blown away by the comments I get and the amount of amazing followers I have! ** Bonus trivia- what was my favorite comment ever? Check out my answer at the bottom of this post if your interested in knowing more on that. **


2. Princess Filamena Joy. My cat. I know, I know, but I am secure enough in my crazy cat lady status to admit it.  My cat fills me with joy. Take a look at the picture below. Do you see that jacked up yellow thing my cat is hugging on? That's her "Honey Bunny".  It's her favorite toy. And over at the Bird's Nest there is a little game we play with it. Very similar to Where's Waldo my cat will hide Honey Bunny every night and in the morning, she will torture us  carry on until we go hunting for that stinking busted bunny. It always makes the girls and I laugh when we find Honey Bunny in all kinds of weird places  :)

1. My girls-they are my joy.

One of my  fav old pics-  Dressing my girls up for Halloween always makes me smile!



*** Bonus trivia question answer:  My favorite comment was from Frankie Diane Mallis. She posted the rules of  a writing exercise she just handed to her students at Arcadia College and challenged any of her followers to give it a go - so I jumped on it.  

 

Her comment to my entry was one of my favorites because she praised my efforts. (I worked really hard on it too) I'm in awe of Frankie's talent  and her opinion of my work matters a whole lot to me. Because I'm an uber-dork  I actually commited her comment to memory. She said,  "Hi Jaybird. Wow! This was so impressive and creative. I love how you incorporated and drew inspiration from the objects into the story. You'd definitely earn an A in my class. I'm so glad you liked the exercise!" - Cue swooning and instant dorkitude... LOL