Shiny Happy Things

I received my first tag the other day. Can you remember how it feels to receive your first tag, all you veteran bloggers out there? It's very exciting.

The tag was sent to me by Working Mama from the Last of the Mojitos (I've said it before but I'm saying it again - quite possibly the best name for a blog ever). It is the Shiny Happy Things tag. The idea is that you think of something that never fails to put a smile on your face, then write a blog post about it.

After a couple of days spent scratching my head (bloody headlice - only joking) I have come up with a list of a few things, and I thought that rather than choosing just one of them, which was proving too difficult, I would write about all of them. In a list like stylee. So here goes:

1. A Cup of Tea.

Ah yes, that fine British panacea, the cup of tea. It soothes, it aids the flow of conversation, it signifies five minutes of precious peace. I like mine with milk and two sugars. Which could possibly be why all my teeth are falling out.

2. Dolly Parton.

I love a bit of Dolly. It's not the music so much (although she does have a fine voice), it's her specifically. She is funny, self deprecating, and as sharp as a razor. She's also a socialist, for anyone who's interested. The exact moment I fell in love with Ms Parton was when I was watching a televised live performance, in which one soppy male audience member shouted, 'I love you Dolly!' The woman didn't miss a beat. She shouted back, 'I thought I told you to stay in the back of the truck!' Now whenever I am faced with a tricky moral dilemma or an important life decision, I ask myself, what would Dolly do?

3. Total Wipeout

For months, this programme was the highlight of my families week. Presented by Richard Hamilton of Top Gear fame, what it is essentially is an inflatable assault course on water, which various contestants have to try to complete in the best time possible. Only the assaults(?) are really good. There is one which is basically huge inflatable balls on the end of bendy sticks, that stick up in a row out of the water, and gradually reduce in height. The idea is that the contestant jumps from a platform onto the first one, and then tries to bounce on to the next one, and so on and so on. Watching people dressed in spandex and red life jackets rebound helplessly off huge inflatable balls is extremely funny. My children and I are generally rolling around on the floor, completely hysterical by the end, which I fear says something about me that I'd probably rather not dwell on.

So those were my three things. I now need to lie down in a darkened room in order to recover from being suddenly faced with just how high-brow I really am.

I believe that tag etiquette now dictates that I choose five people whose blogs I like, to pass this tag on to. So come on down:

Not waving but ironing
Slightly south of sanity
Noble Savage
Oh the joys
Notes to self plus two

Will look forward to sharing in your shiny happy things.....