the little things

Peppy's cousin is a general manager at the Cheesecake Factory and they are opening a new store in our area next week. We were invited to have free dinner on one of the training nights. It was an awesome opportunity and we had been looking forward to it for almost a month. 

We each got different menus and had to order different things. We also got appetizers and cheesecake. I ordered a salad and it looked like a work of art. 

You know what's getting me through life right now? Looking forward to little happy things, like this dinner. Afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble and I saw a new book by Liane Moriarty and immediately placed a hold on it at the local library. Peppy and I also have a My Morning Jacket concert next weekend. The last show we saw was Weird Al almost two and a half years ago. Having things to hang on to gets me through the monotony of the days. Over the past few weekends I've watched The Way Down and Heaven's Gate documentaries on HBO max. I love a good documentary, especially about cults. The Way Down was more interesting than I thought it would be because the leader of that group had the same religious upbringing as me, and as I watched Heaven's Gate I acknowledged that this is probably what I look like to most people. If you can find joy in the small things, you have discovered the secret to contentment. An immediate mood booster for me is also a root beer barrel. I've been listening to older music like Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, and even Blink 182, because those are familiar and that makes me happy. 

(Side story: my throat was super itchy earlier this week and I have this obsessive compulsion to keep swallowing when it itches, and I end up giving myself a sore throat from repetitive swallowing. Anyway, I fell asleep with a root beer barrel in my mouth and woke up at 3 am with it still there. Good thing I didn't choke and die.)

So anyway, back to Cheesecake Factory. If you're local, Cheesecake opens at Bridgestreet on Tuesday, and they also offer brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Go get a piece of Linda's Chocolate cake. That's my absolute favorite and we brought a piece home. I don't even like cream cheese, but Owsley and I put away a huge slice of red velvet last night.