After last week’s turbulence in the category called courting, I decided to dust myself off and shift the focus to little things in life that make people like you and me happy.



My house is spick and span (OK, I do still have to deep clean the bathrooms).



I took a hurkin’ trip to the Tacoma Landfill, and everyone knows that I love chucking those unwanted items and the feeling of liberation in driving away from them forever.



I started using the home gym again for the first time in a long time.



Fresh and healthy groceries are gracing the fridge, and I’m actually eating them instead of eating out.



I’ve returned to my practice of taking the bus everywhere, and I happily did so every day last week. 



I actually remembered to put the recycling bin out. 



The tires on my bike are fully pumped and I enjoyed a ride in the wonderful weather.

The lawn has been mowed and edged.



I got my nails done.



I was reunited with delicious corn on the cob.



A bouquet of beautiful roses is the centerpiece on the dinner table.



I purchased fancy outdoor wheels for my roller skates, and I’m having Ruston Rollergirl premonitions.



And one of my favorite simple pleasures in life will always be freshly-shaven legs on clean sheets.



Now that school is over, time is on my side once again. Yes, oh, yes, things are really getting back to normal.



I also did something that’s created endless entertainment. I upgraded my cell phone to Verizon’s Voyager and added the Mobile TV feature. I can now catch the Today Show on the bus ride into work and MTV videos on the way home. I never really realized how much time I spend waiting for stuff to start or happen. I love that phone and its enhanced features so much that I almost licked it.



After that week filled with simple pleasures, I gleefully jumped on the Love Tacoma cruise where 80 of us took a three-hour charter tour to Gig Harbor and back. The weather was incredible, the crowd full of all kinds of beautiful and wonderful people, and I have to say that everything about this cruise felt completely magical. I was so happy to hear that based on this success, the Love Tacoma Cruise will become an annual event.



Friday I synced up some final details at the jobby-job, and I drove directly south to Portland for my girl Beth’s surprise birthday party. Fifty of us secretly congregated at the Buffalo Gap. Best Friend Pete (Beth’s boyfriend) convinced her to just go out for one drink, and the surprise knocked her socks off. The rest of the night was spent chatting it up with the P-Town homies, while Pete and Beth continued to introduce me as the mayor of Tacoma. At the end of the night, I got to cuddle with the new man in my life: Frank. He’s Beth and Pete’s sweet and loving black lab.



Indeed, the simplest of pleasures in life really are the best.







Tell me where you like to party at permanentlipstick@hotmail.com.