some reasons to smile

To my loyal fans: I have returned to the blogosphere.

On one of the blogs I read, the author recently posted a simple list of things he's been smiling about recently, so I thought I would steal his format as a way to summarize the past few weeks:

• Babies are cute. I went to Iowa a few weeks back and got to visit Leslie, Matt, Nolan and the newest Anderson, Reese. Nolan is talking some now, and it was fun reading books with him and being able to sit and hold his baby sister. I also got to spend a few hours with my dear Aroea and her boys. Cainen is so big when you compare him to his little brother, whom he calls Jo-Jo. I simply adore that whole family.
• I have great friends. While in Iowa, I also got to spend time with Ann and Ben at Paul Nichols' wedding reception. They are just so good to me. And then I got to see Staci and Greg in Cedar Rapids. I don't know Greg all that well, so when we sat down at Olive Garden, I said, "Greg, please tell me your story. You're marrying my Staci Mae here, and I don't know much about you. So start talking." And he did. He's a good guy.
  
• Kathi Pudzuvelis is still delightfully crazy. I was able to have an impromptu dinner with her when in Cedar Rapids. Once a year or so, I find I need a good dose of Kathi to recharge my dramatic side. She's just so eccentric. She wanted me to tell "everyone" hello, and a promise is a promise: Everyone, Kathi Pudzuvelis says hello.
  
• I'm a girl who values a good tradition. Charlotte, Beth and I hosted our group's second annual Easter party the Saturday night before and then went over to the Whitneys' on Sunday for Easter dinner. We sat at the "intermediate" table with Melissa and Randy, who made a lot of jokes about mine and Charlotte's "hooker boots". Very spiritual and edifying Easter conversation, that's for sure.
• I love Tauna. Enough said.
• Baseball season has begun. I may not share the same level of excitement about it all as Tauna, Wendy, and Natalee Chromy do, but I'm taking baby steps in that direction. I've actually been following Cleveland's scores so far. The other night I found out that Cleveland beat the White Sox before Dad did. That's not normal.
• I broke 100 bowling last Sunday. Twice. For me, that's really good.
  
• Margaret Becker and Cindy Morgan have returned. Years and years before Sara Groves or Andrew Peterson, I was a tad bit obsessed with the music of Cindy Morgan and Margaret Becker. I mean, this goes back to middle school. And now they both have new music either out or in the works, and I'm excited about it. I like music. It makes me happy.
• I also like sleep. A lot.
  

I'm dog-sitting for Jonelle and Tim this week while they are off on another one of their Caribbean cruises. Izzy's a cute little thing, but I've been abnormally nervous about the whole thing all week. I've never been much of an animal person, nor am I the best when it comes to being responsible for other life forms (just ask my dad how many of the plants that he's given me died before their time). Why Jonelle asked me is beyond me. But I'm thankful for the opportunity. So far, so good. Charlotte put it so well: "Nicole, someday you may have children, and they will expect you not to kill them. So it's good that you are practicing not killing things with this dog. Plus, you get to stay at Jonelle's and Tim's all week and watch their big TV." And, just like that, Beth decided it was time to buy a "Big Ass TV" of her very own. But that's another story for another time....