99 Pleasures: The Best Things in Life Really Are Free
/Here's an excerpt from my gigantic List O'Pleasures, a document I've been working on for years. Most everything on this list is absolutely free. Something to think about when you're out shopping this holiday season:) My gift to you.
- Sleeping In on a Rainy Day
- Finding Money You Didn’t Know You Had Or Give that Gift to Someone
- Making Brief Eye Contact with Someone of the Opposite Sex
- Skinny Dipping
- Receiving a Real Letter or Package via Snail Mail
- Hearing the Right Song at the Right Moment
- Cold Cold Water with cucumbers, berries, or lemon floating in it – even better when you drink it out a champagne glass
- Catching a Glimpse of Bare Skin on the Opposite Sex – Go where the sexy people are and stare and lick your lips and stare some more.
- That seat on the crowded subway – RESLISH IT. Even better when a guy gives you his seat!
- For my driving lovelies- Finding a parking space right in front of the place you are going to.
- Realizing You Have More Time to Sleep
- People Watching
- Use a hair dryer to finish drying you naughty bits – It’s a decadent pleasure of sensation.
- A Delicious Smell – Try a new scent. Go get free samples from Sephora, Barney’s, or Sak’s.
- Play a game or finish a puzzle – bonus points for playing with other people!
- Fresh, Clean Bed Sheets
- A Beautiful View – Find a rooftop or mountainside immediately
- Reminiscing About Old Times with Your Closest Friends
- Receiving an Unexpected Compliment
- Having a Good Laugh
- The Feeling After a Healthy Workout
- The Celebration in the Instant Something Makes Sense
- Relaxing Outdoors on a Sunny Day
- Playing in the Water
- Making Someone Smile
- Finishing What You Started
- Songs that bring you back to great moments in your life
- Those random good-hair days when you just feel beautiful or handsome
- The bittersweet feeling of finishing a really good book
- Finally getting to sleep in your own bed after being away for a few weeks.
- Correctly guessing an old password on a website you haven’t visited in awhile.
- Waking up all by yourself a minute or two before your alarm goes off and feeling well rested.
- When someone tells you “yes” when you expected them to say “no.”
- Sitting outside during a thunderstorm. The sound of the thunder, the flash of lightning and the smell of rain to remind you of the beauty of nature.
- When you’re hot under your bed covers and you stick one leg out from under the covers to cool off.
- Realizing you were smiling the entire time you were talking to someone, right after you hang up the phone.
- Laughing hysterically with your friends, then pausing momentarily, looking at each other, and then laughing hysterically again.
- Taking the perfect picture.
- Popping bubble wrap.
- Listening to someone else’s heartbeat.
- The feeling you get when you’re just waking up when you’ve gotten enough sleep.
- The kind of friend you can say “I love you” to without implying anything but a deep platonic friendship.
- Seeing two elderly folks who are madly in love. It’s a sight of love that has surpassed the tests of time.
- Finding something you made when you were a kid.
- Hanging out with your closest friends and just being able to feel comfortable in your own skin around them.
- Being next in line.
- When you succeed in doing something someone said you were incapable of doing.
- Wind blowing through your hair.
- The feeling of ‘clicking’ with someone else’s personality instantly, and being able to talk about anything even if you’ve only known each other for a few hours.
- The humble feeling of accomplishment you get after you fix something that was broken.
- Pulling into your neighborhood after a long road trip.
- Randomly catching a glimpse of your reflection in a window or mirror and liking what you see.
- Seeing the person who makes your heart race, even if it’s just for a few seconds in the hallway.
- Hearing a new song you really like and then downloading it and listening to it over and over and over.
- A certain smell that instantly takes you back to another place or time in your life.
- Crossing things off your to-do list.
- Seeing somebody use and enjoy a gift you gave them.
- When the beer or soda foam goes up out of the glass, but doesn’t spill over.
- Being able to tell someone some genuine good news.
- The good pain of stretching your legs after sitting down for a long time.
- When someone scratches an itch on your back for you.
- When you accidentally say something that rhymes.
- Making momentary eye contact with a cute stranger.
- An honest relationship. No secrets. No lies.
- Running warm water over your hands when you have a chill in your body.
- People who make you smile just by thinking of them.
- Realizing there’s nowhere else you would rather be right now.
- Seeing a double rainbow.
- Taking a ridiculously long nap and feeling like a million bucks when you wake up.
- When you realize you have finished everything way ahead of schedule and can do whatever you want for the rest of the day.
- Looking at a digital clock and seeing a series of numbers, like 12:34, a pair like 10:10, or 11:11.
- Cleaning up your room and finding something that brings back brilliant memories hidden at the back of a drawer.
- The way the sun shines through the leaves of a tall tree.
- The exciting feeling you get when you’re getting off the plane in a city you’ve never been to before.
- Receiving a surprise hug from behind by someone you were looking forward to seeing.
- When nobody else uses the public restroom the entire time you’re in there.
- The feeling of a fresh mouth after you brush your teeth.
- Being on the beach at night.
- Getting a second chance.
- Waking up early and going someplace, like the beach or a park, and being the only one there.
- Having a really great day with a friend you haven’t spent time with in ages.
- Sneaking your own food and drinks into the movie theater.
- Waking up to good morning texts from someone who makes you smile.
- Changing into clean, dry clothes after you’ve been swimming for awhile.
- Hearing a song that seems to be written about exactly what’s going on in your life right now.
- That weightless feeling you get after a good cry and knowing you’ll be ok.
- Hearing a song that you haven’t heard since your childhood and realizing you still know all the words.
- When you make eye contact with a friend from across the room and you both automatically smile.
- When someone unexpectedly remembers your name.
- The “butterflies in your stomach” feeling of a new romantic relationship.
- Waking up from a weird dream and remembering every last detail.
- When your roommate goes away for the weekend and you have the whole apartment to yourself.
- When you finally yawn after an airplane flight and your ears pop back to normal.
- Scoring 100% on anything.
- Driving fast over a small hill in the road.
- Falling in love with someone.
- Turning right to the book or magazine page you were looking for.
- When you and a close friend finish each other’s sentences.
- When your jaws and cheeks ache from too much laughing.