what's making me happy this week, 3.

Every so often, in addition to those 52 essays I'm supposed to be cranking out, I'm going to publish a small list of what's making me happy, a la one of my favorite podcasts, NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. Nothing major, just a new series to remind me to count my blessings. 

Here's what's making me happy this week: 

- New habits. I'm walking every morning at about 7:00, which means I get to see the sun come up. I listen to my favorite podcasts and track my steps (10,000 or more every day, thus far!). I'm doing better with some Scripture/devotional reading. I'm being a little more wise about what I eat and how much water I drink. Nothing perfect, but still. Baby steps.

- A pretty front porch. If yesterday's post didn't paint you an accurate picture, let me reiterate: I've been a little stressed. Monday, in between two trips to Tallahassee and multiple meetings about festival planning, I made it into Target, then Lowe's. I spent less than $100 (maybe even less than $75, I can't remember) buying plants and pretty things to spruce up my porch. The result is a much happier space, a place Jordan and I intend to retreat to with glasses of lemonade often this summer.

- An organized inbox. I was drowning in email. I had reached my maximum storage amount through Gmail, and I had deleted and archived until I was sick. (Thirty thousand emails down to 16,000 = winning.) Then I realized, thanks to Elise (of course), I could organize my inbox; promotions and business updates could arrive in different inboxes. I'm the kind of person who hates seeing email in my inbox, and although I know that's pretty inevitable, I think having everything categorized based on important and legitimacy. It's a simple, quick fix, and it's my new goal to reach inbox zero every day when I leave work, and -- here's the important part -- to ignore my email on my phone until I'm at work the next day. Fingers crossed.

- Date nights. During this season of life especially, I'm grateful for time spent with Jordan, and I love our spontaneous mid-week date nights. I love going out to dinner, taking long walks, and seeing movies. It's vital, at this point, for my well-being, and I'm thrilled he's as on board as I am. (We're also currently binge-watching Breaking Bad, which -- you guys -- is way more depressing than anyone ever insinuated it would be. Thanks a lot.)

And that's what's making me happy this week.