indulgence

There is something about very tube station in London that makes it unique.  Some stick out in my mind because three or more subway lines intersect, making it seem like an underground ant farm for humans.  Others come to mind when I think of the words “stairs” and “quadriceps.”  The Waterloo station however just makes me think of sugar.  Anticipating the Mr. Humbug Sweets stand at the top of the escalators makes me salivate.  That’s probably due as much to the fact that I only buy super sour candy from the stand as it is that anyone with a sweet-tooth would be drooling.  Don’t believe me?  Well, as their slogan says, “Suck it and see.”  Ha!  Oh, and FYI, “American Hard Gums” are not that great.

Ps - How does this woman stay so thin?

Yes, I did say that.  But it was my mom’s birthday and what did she want to do? A 5k at 8am on a Saturday morning (just what every normal person wants to do on their birthday). The funny thing was that I never found her before the race, so plan A: brisk walk with birthday girl turned into plan B: the first time Ashley ran more than 2 miles in maybe a month.  No, I didn’t like it and I had to run through stinky Butchertown (who on route committee thought that was a good idea?), but blah blah blah.  I did finish a 5K, in under 30 minutes nonetheless.

Eh, the really happy part about this supposed happiness-blog-post-story was breakfast at Lynn’s Paradise Cafe promptly afterward with my lost mother, who I obviously found, and this really cute guy from Cincinnati. Yay for ugly lamps, yummy omletes, and useless 5k shirts used for oil painting rags (which I have a secret affinity for, kind of like fridge magnets and post-its).

To begin with, today’s word of the day email put a huge smile on my face when I got up:

“audacious: 1 : daring, bold; 2 : insolent; 3 : marked by originality and verve”

The next highlight was the birthday love that found its way to my desk at the office, which was followed by the surprise of actually being able to leave the office early as planned.

Then mom and I were off to Z Spa for massages. It’s amazing how relaxing pushing and moving muscles around can be.

My evening consisted of girlfriends, carry out Vietnamese dinner, three Homemade Pie Kitchen cakes (with no plates), and watching “the Office” via Hulu.com and a projector. It.was.awesome!

One last highlight: Although I’m not a fan of horoscopes, I was super glad to get this one from a friend via Facebook:

“Happy birthday, Capricorn! You’re often seen as the Rock of Gibraltar by loved ones and close associates. Your words of wisdom have helped many a friend through rough times. Benevolent and selfless, you’ll form many strong friendships in your lifetime. The coming year is the payback …  Read Moreyear. A heavenly reward will transform an area of your life for the better. Get ready for good things to start happening.”

Hell yeah! ’twas a good day!

My friend Erin and I somehow got into a lengthy discussion Friday night with our barista at the Heine Brothers on Longest Ave about the mile-marker of when Ashley became more common as woman’s name. The maker of my earl gray tea claims the old school soap opera, Dynasty, started the trend of Ashley being a feminine name thanks to one of the characters breaking the mold. This seems fitting since the TV series aired for the first time 2 days before I was born.

What relevancy does this have to happiness you ask? Well, aside from the pleasure of shooting the shit with a stranger about the origin of my name, our brista then gave Erin a tower of whipped cream on her hot chocolate that would make anyone smile (or laugh). He must have been amused by his own soap opera trivia knowledge. We were happy to reap the benefits.