I’m finally starting to fill my sketchbook with good things, little doodles & big ideas, again, after almost a year of rest.
It feels—dare I say it?—good.

• Celebrating one year of marriage. I’ve been so amazed and touched by all the people who have remembered the day and wished us well.
• A visit with Ethan, finally. It had been too long.
• A clean bill of health.
• Watching The Lady and The Tramp over a big plate of pasta.
• Two new Darling [...]

• Discovering Cadbury mini eggs (how did I not know how good they are?)
• A satisfying walk
• The Boots cosmetics aisle at Target
• Hearing a happy client’s voice
• Year of the Dog
• Baking chocolate chip cookies with Siddo
• Tiny packets of collage ephemera
• Kyle’s cousin Kyle
• Lunchtime chats with Rima at the Coffee Table, our [...]

* Watching TV after 40 days of (practically) none.
* Stranger Than Fiction on DVD (thank you, Easter Bunny).
* Making Easter brunch with Mom. A tall pile of blueberry pancakes. Bacon dipped in maple syrup.
* The new issue of Optic Nerve is out—and I can’t wait to read it.
* Auntie Em’s mini cupcakes.
* Rama’s making a [...]

* Thick slices of La Brea Bakery multigrain bread and scrambled eggs by the window.
* The first cup of coffee in days.
* Fresh daffodils waiting for the perfect moment to reveal their faces.
* Wearing Christmas gifts that make me feel lovely.
* Seeing old friends at church.
* Singing my heart out.
* Being present.
* The sun.

Martha Stewart may have popularized the term “good thing,” but I made it my own.
I started keeping Good Things lists in my journal two years ago, during a dreary time in my life. I had gotten so used to seeing the bad stuff — too used to it — that I was losing sight of [...]

once a week, i make a list of good things. this task usually falls around sunday, and it’s often scribbled on a scrap piece of paper and then written, more nicely, in my notebook. sometimes i come up with 20 things. others, i can barely think of 5. but it’s important, i think. i complain [...]