Things that make me happy today

• Being stopped dead in my tracks by Erin's singing of "The Wizard and I" even though I've heard her sing this song a zillion times. The girl needs to star in a musical.
  
• Hearing Brady's French teacher's pure joy about Brady's natural abilities to speak the French language, an extraordinary feat for an American, she claims.
• Singing every word along with Pat Benatar's "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" (which I didn't put on our family's iPod), while preparing lunch, as a shout-out against my illness. (Who knew, when I was a freshman in college and my girlfriends and I learned an aerobic dance routine to this song, in the basement of our dormitory, how much I'd appreciate it so many years later?)
  
• Finishing my reread of Sorcery and Cecilia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, a story that is a cross between Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice, and has a romantic moment that rates right up there with P&P's romantic moment.
• Erin, in the kitchen, bending my ear, telling all that she's learned about acting and moviemaking from the latest good interview she's found on the Internet.
• How beautifully rich Erin's fuchsia-tipped roses, look against the black marble-like tile of our living room fireplace.
  
• The glimpses of sunshine, which indicates that our latest bad, low pressure system has emptied its snow and rain-filled clouds and is heading out of town.
• The odd thrill of not knowing which American Idol contestant is going home tonight, even though I know I'll be sad no matter who gets axed.
• My husband's willingness to go the grocery store, after his long day at work.