The best thing that happened today was learning my home telephone number. It's been the same number for around two years, but I've always struggled to learn it. Today I succeeded.

Other honourable mentions today include:

*having a very decadent hot bath whilst home alone, reading Scarlett Thomas' "PopCo"; such a good read that I had to top the bath up with hot water more than once.

*finally ordering a book I have been wanting ever since I heard of its existence... Louise Lacey's "Lunaception" (70's women's reproductive health self care eat your heart out!)

The best thing that happened today was having a snowball fight with my dog. I realise that it was a very one-sided game, but fun nonetheless!!

The best thing that happened today was a phonecall from my boyfriend, half an hour after I'd said goodbye to him until Sunday, telling me that as he had missed the last bus he would be coming home and spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at home with me and getting a lift over to his mum's house tomorrow. <3

The best thing that happened today was have all the memories of seeing this band live in New York earlier in the year rush back to me with the same giddy smile I had on my face at the time :)

Pearl and the Beard - Will Smith Medley from Goddamn Cobras Collective on Vimeo.

The best thing that happened today was having a guilty-pleasures CD listening marathon. Well, guilty pleasures and long-forgotten gems. Ben Folds' single 'Rocking The Suburbs' at full blast is such a simple pleasure that I'd long forgotten!

The best thing that happened today was sleeping in til 5.30pm -- catching up on all the crazy lost sleep caused by stupid-early mornings, drainingly long days, and stressful responsibility on my work trip to Brussels that I returned from late last night.
I swear, my own bed is my favourite place to be in the entire world!

The best thing that happened today has already happened, and it's only 10.50am! I just got an email from a French musician called Milkymee (http://www.myspace.com/milkymee) telling me that she's written a song inspired by my zine, and it's on her new album...!!!
Milkymee/Emi wrote, 'Hello! I m a french musician called Milkymee and I wrote a song called "Colouring outside the lines". It was inspired by your zine. And it's a love song!' How bloody lovely is that!? She also wants to meet up with me while she's visiting the UK, but the dates and locations are all wrong.
I'm feeling so flattered this morning. Some people are just *too* nice and entirely too good to me. It's sure given me the burst & push of energy I needed though to try and push forward with the new COTL project I'm working on.

The best thing that happened today was realising what great friends I have - friends who are supportive and wonderful and give a shit. I'm so grateful for them and proud of them xxx

The best thing that happened today was finding my way - [via a lost 20 mins in Barnsley] - to see a good friend for good times and good chats. Sometimes putting in the extra effort to actually get myself somewhere new totally pays off when that energy is replenished by conversation and friendship that fuels my heart and mind.

The best thing that happened today was a 45 minute phonecall from the only person who knows me well enough to know exactly what to say to make me snort with laughter! Proper snorts!! Oh, and in-jokes from about 4 or 5 years ago will *never* grow old!!

The best thing that happened today was sitting outside in front of a fire I built by myself (in one attempt!), carving pumpkins, and then toasting marshmallows.

The best thing that happened today was managing to build a fire all by myself this evening, outside in my chimnea. I got home from work at four, so spent an hour tidying the front and back garden; mowing the lawn (hopefully for the last time this year!), sweeping up all the leaves, checking on my winter-flowering pansies (about two thirds of the the plugs I potted on have survived) and then I treated myself to a fire with some of the wood I have in my back garden from various tree pruning endeavors of the last few months. It took me three attempts (and I nearly gave up, as I didn't have any firelighters and I am a novice) but I finally managed to build a glorious fire! Whilst I'm sure I must have built fires before as a Scout, or laying the stove when I lived at home, this is the first time I can remember doing this all by myself. I propose regular fires in my back garden from now on, and may even progress to baking potatoes in the embers.

The best thing that happened today was getting the work done that I needed to do before leaving the office, only having to work half an hour late.

Then getting home and realising I can heat up ginger beer in the microwave. A quick mug of 50/50 hot ginger beer and homemade ceylon tea wine to warm my insides before I go out again to meet some friends for a drink and then see the wave pictures at a free gig in the city centre.

The best thing that happened today was calling in at my friend Sofia's house after work to pick up my bicycle helmet. I am ashamed to say it had been there for over six months (and consequently I had been cycling round without a helmet for that long). Now that it is getting colder/wetter/darker and yet I am cycling more miles than usual due to changing work arrangements, I've made it my mission to make sure my bicycle wear is up to standard. I've got front and back lights sorted, but still need to unearth my high-vis vest for biking home in the dark. Summer, I hardly knew you!

The best thing that happened today was being struck by inspiration and motivation to *do stuff* It's been a while. Alas, this has come at just past midnight, and I'm too tired - due to being at work at 7.45 this morning - to act on it all right now. But I wanna write letters, and speak to people about stocking their zines on the soon-to-be-relaunched distro me and Emily co-run, and finish up some editing work I'm working on, and start doing new interviews for upcoming projects, and respond to emails fully, and see people to share conversation. I'm gonna write a list before I go to sleep so that I can harness this mental energy once I have the physical energy to act on it all after racking up many hours asleep!

the best thing that happened today was having the longest lie-in after such a terrific night out on Saturday. it's been a while since i've had been out and had that much fun, and i remembered just why and how much i love certain friends of mine.
super snoozy day today was topped off by some quality baby-sitting and bonding with my kick-ass niece. she just keeps getting better and better!!

The best thing that happened today was the amazing cheese & smoked paprika scones I made, so tasty I had to put the cooling rack on top of a cupboard whilst they cooled down to stop my cat Poppy eating them. They are supposed to go with the spicy pumpkin soup that I am currently roasting vegetables for, but they may all be gone by the time the soup is ready as they taste too good!

Thing that happened today was putting on a punk compilation cd-r from my teens and realising the weakerthans were exactly the band I wanted to listen to right now.

The best thing that happened today was getting a reassuring email from a friend who i love and respect lots but feared i had lost. the sick feeling i'd had in my stomach has begun to lift.

The best thing that happened today was clearing my desk to give me a workable space for all my zining, mixtape making, and cut & pasting. This was prompted by the acquisition of the rather attractive chair in the photo, a bargain at £5 from Poverty Aid, LS6 based charity shop warehouse.

(the photo looks blurrier when you click on it to make it big as I have the unsteady, gleeful hand of someone who not only finally got a digital camera, but got it secondhand from a lovely lady on the classifieds, and discovered that it *is* linux compatible despite the warning on the box that windows is a system requirement.)

The best thing that happened today was recording three songs for the Robin Osterley covers EP! That's my band, and we have recorded Johnny are you queer, Call the shots and our interpretation of Summer Holiday. Hopefully available on cassette before the end of the year! I especially enjoyed recording my vocals over the tracks we had already put down, it felt like I was singing karaoke to my band :)

Thes best thing that happened today was waking up this morning and seeing my boyfriend Oliver still sleeping peacefully beside me.

the best thing that happened today was cracking the demon jetlag with the help of shampoo, warm winds, canine friends, and dream bitches on LOUD!! i actually feel like i'm in the land of the living again after feeling like a zombie for weeks on end - that's what four transatlantic flights in the space of a month'll do! oh, hello there brain, i'd been wondering where you'd got to!

The best thing that happened today was walking two minutes from my house to a bounty of elderberries growing behind some derelict flats. I picked enough to make a gallon of medium sweet elderberry wine, which I started off whilst listening to the Thermals in my kitchen, and this afternoon I'm going back for a second basket-full to make a gallon of medium dry elderberry wine.

There's plenty more, so get in touch if you wanna join in the inner-city elderberry harvest!

The best thing that happened today was discovering that my niece's hair is now long enough for me to play with! We woke up this morning, and I filled her hair with animal and glittery hair slides and clips that I used to wear until I was about 21, then decided I should grow up a bit! Just wait til she's old enough for all the childish jewellery I used to wear too!

The best thing that happened today was signing contracts with our new housemate Jeff, who will move in on Tuesday. I've been looking for a housemate for a few weeks, so it's good to have it sorted, and it's exciting to have someone new living with us!
This was on top of waking up to sunshine, a copy of the Research's most recent album through the post (finally got over the fact that keyboards had been replaced with guitars, and was pleasantly surprised with what I heard), a wonderful boyfriend who goes and gets the Guardian for me on a Saturday, and homemade banana bread and cafetiere coffee for breakfast.

The best thing that happened today was pegging the laundry outside to dry on the line. I have been getting lazy lately and putting it in the tumble dryer, but today was a beautifully sunny day so I had no excuse at all. However I have yet to bring it in, and our enclosed back garden is tempting me to cross my fingers against it raining, and just bring it in tomorrow...

The best thing that happened today was admitting to myself that I didn't want to take my bike to be fixed today. It's been out of action for a couple of weeks since I buckled the back wheel, and I've been waiting for a day off so I can take the wheel in question to the repair shop and get a new one. Today is the first day of my week off work, and all morning I have had this nagging voice telling me I should really go and sort that out, but then I realised that the reason I have been putting it off is that I don't want to go today. I want to potter around the house, make jam, watch "Little House on the Prairie", sort out my room, clear my desk so there is space for me to sit and write.

I can fix my bike tomorrow, or even the day after that. I have the whole week :)

The best thing that happened today was a phonecall from my friend Rosie, following up tentative plans we had made for today. I went round to hers, we made potato salad to take to a potluck dinner & book swap event in Armley, where I managed to offload a number of books including a Herman Hesse collection I have spent *years* beating myself up for not reading (recommended to me by a terribly depressing ex-boyfriend), and picked up a couple of books that are actually interesting and relevant to me NOW. I also got a kilo of ripe apricots that were going free at the greengrocers, which I am going to make into jam tomorrow. This will be the first jam I have ever made, I'm pretty excited.

The best thing that happened today was getting to dig my New York guide books out again, as I'm off there for work at the beginning of September, guiding my boss - who is blind - to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities / Human Rights conference. Sometimes I love my job! So that means I'll be in San Francisco, home for a week, then back off across the Atlantic again. Phew!

The best thing that happened today was being asked to clear out a chest of drawers in my parent's spare room that used to be in the room I grew up in. I found a heap of letter to me from my grandmas, years before they had passed away. There was also a letter that I wrote to my cousin when we were eleven or twelve which never got sent as she died the week I wrote it. There was also a huge stack of letters that I'd written to myself in about 1996. It was all really sad to discover it all today, and it's hard to think about this as the 'best thing'; but those letters I wrote to myself when I was fifteen have just helped me understand a little bit about how and when I first started to go insane and suffer from mental health problems. Those letters made so much sense to me then. They spoke of the pressures and the sadnesses; ones I couldn't comprehend properly at the time. All these years later, I could never pinpoint the beginnings of the sadness that lives in my head, I'd forgotten how long it had been there. Today I learned about parts of myself I'd long forgotten.

The best thing that happened today was going to get my hair cut at "Hair We Go" at lunchtime. Tucked away in the corner of the Merrion Market (Leeds), no appointment necessary and only £6. It still looks pretty much the same, only the eagle-eyed would notice the difference, but my fringe is now subltly shorter which means I can see where I am going when I cross the road.

The best thing that happened today was getting to meet Sabrina Chapadjiev for the first time, loooong after we first started communicating via the internet.
She was in Manchester, over from the US, reading from her edited book Live Through This. And, as I'd already kinda expected and predicted, I was wowed by her intelligence, passion, and her commitment to communicating about the themes in the book; creativity and self destruction.
It was such a joy and an honour to finally get to meet her and share a moment in time with her that felt so very positive and life-affirming.

The best thing that happened today was at around 1am: four girls on a road trip, singing every lyric to the Luxury Problem album at full belt :)

The best thing that happened today was mailing off the work that I've spent the past five months working on. Eek... scary, but liberating! Fingers crossed that it's somwhere approaching what the editors were hoping for...

Not that money is the be-all-and-end-all to me at all (infact, if it were, I'd be very disappointed with my life), but the best thing that happened today was receiving confirmation of my pay rise. It's kinda nice to have that vote of confidence from my boss, and for her to believe that I'm worth paying a little bit extra for.

The best thing that happened today occurred in the early hours of this morning. A dear friend is leaving the country, and to be on a makeshift dancefloor in a spraypainted basement for her leaving party, and to see our smiles as us six remaining party heads bawled our heads off to Tiffany's finest was a very special memory to hold of her, and of the last time I'll see her for a while. Bon Voyage Emma! xox

The best thing that happened today was being struck by writing inspiration just in time to make deadlines. I've always been pretty good with deadlines, but with the onset of years and the fullness of life I've been slipping a lot recently.
However, today I have made huge steps towards meeting two deadlines that arrive at the end of the month.
And in working so hard today (I've pulled an 8am-12pm mega writing session today), and being fuelled by the inspirations that working on them has surprisingly given me, I've actually grown not to resent the two projects in question that at one stage felt like complete albatrosses. Hooray!

The best thing that happened today was discovering this blog post making out like there's gonna be a film made of the best book I've ever bought my niece...

Haha, made me giggle!

Everyone Poops

The best thing that happened today was finding this photograph...

The best thing that happened today was bicycle & tricycle related. I came home from work to find my housemates Kate and Dave outside in the sunshine fixing Kate's new Pashley bicycle. I brought my bike out and they helped me fix the puncture on the back tyre, and then we realised that the square bicycle basket that came with Kate's bike, but that she was no longer using, would look *perfect* on the back of my trike. I've been looking for a box or crate to put on the trike for a while, and this wicker basket was just the thing. So Dave cable tied that on to the tricycle for me whilst I went inside to get tea and cake for us to have in the sunshine. Whilst I was inside I saw I had some post, and it was this gorgeous bicycle necklace I treated myself to last week.

Then I went out on my tricycle on a glass bottle retrieval mission. At the weekend, on my way between various places, I had spotted several bags of empty beer bottles (mix of green and brown, different sizes) dumped on a patch of grass by the wayside. This was just what I needed, as I am collecting beer bottles to put round the edge of my vegetable patches to create a border, but I drink bottled beer so infrequently that it was taking forever to collect enough. So me and my trike not only helped clean up a local green spot, we also got bottles to make my garden even prettier! Then my cycle ride home through the park at night, with PJ Harvey on my headphones, made an amazing end to an already great evening.

The best thing that happened today was noticing the shift of energy in my head that has occured as a result of meeting and engaging with somebody I had admired since my teens and them totally exceeding expectations, with the result of setting my head on fire with ideas and potentials.

The best thing that happened today was writing for two hours with a pen on paper.

I know that this sounds mildly ridiculous to state as my 'best thing' of today, but it was kinda amazing. I do all my work on my computer, but I also know that my huge struggles with procrastination come from the fact that I'm on my computer... "ooh, I'll just check my emails", "ooh, I'll just nip onto facebook", "ooh, I'll just read some blogs", and before I know it I've passed hours away that I was meant to be spending writing.

So tonight I took myself away from the computer, with a notebook and pen, and was *so* productive. Yes, I ended those two hours with cramp in my hand from feverishly writing, and a swollen finger from gripping the pen to hard, and resting it on that finger (I am clearly hella out of practice), but I got so much done that it's almost a relief.

It's odd, at the time of me being at school I spent all my time writing by hand, as it was only by my second year at University that people got computers, and that typed assignments were required to be submitted over hand-written ones. I used to write reams and reams by hand. And it's alarming now to know just how overwhelming the use of word-processing is in my life; from everything from to-do lists, to zines, to letters, to writing articles and chapters for publication.

It felt so good today to break free from the worryingly obsessive cycle of procrastination and return to my hardworking luddite roots!

The best thing that happened today? Wearing bare legs, knee socks and a dress out the house after dark because it is SPRINGTIME.

The best thing that happened today was cycling home really fast in the dark, after hand delivering a letter, when "K Klass Kisschase" by Heavenly came on my headphones. When the cowbells kicked in I felt like I was in a really fun race, and best of all I felt like I was winning.

The best thing that happened today was going for a walk with one of my friends, spilling my heart out, having a smoothie, and then buying lemonbalm, mint, rosemary and this plant that looks like a spiderplant (but with black leaves) from a lovely, hidden away outdoorsy plant nursery we discovered near Meanwood. I've been trying to beg a rosemary cutting for weeks so it's good to finally have my own little plant :) We then went back to hers for tea, and ended up painting the kitchen, and I am now safely cocooned back at home, paintstained but happy, and with new plants.

The best thing that happened today was reading somebody's passion. For the most part, [partly due to medication that numbs my ability to emote, and partly due to the loss of the fiercest communicators I knew (due to geographical distance)], I have been lacking a lot of passionate influence in my life; people who opine with fervour about that which is important to them/me/us, and spark a fire in my brain that makes me engage with the world and people, and importantly, the thinking part of my brain.

Today I read a blog post that not only put a lot of this into perspective for me (does spending so much time working/working online and less time engaging face to face have something to do with my decrease in passionate connection with ideas, &/or my current lack of opinion? Where did my fire for seeking out new obsession and interests go?), but in its very wording it also evoked an understanding in me.
Tobi's writing, her intelligent passionate thoughts, views, and communication identified with something inside me that had been lacking - a sense of hearing somebody speak with an understanding and with a sensibility that I couldn't help *but* be moved by.

So much in my life these days has become day-to-day, mundane, scripted, unadventurous, conservative, pedestrian (due in part to medication, and due to those things I do/don't socially participate in (anymore)), so much so that I bore myself. It never used to be this way. I needed that shot of passion, and enthusiasm, and wish to make things known, to remind me of who I am. To feel present. For a moment I had caught myself not giving a damn - on a mindless plateau, and I'm realising with help from enthusiasm, strong inteligent opinion and well crafted discussion by others that I'm not satisfied.

The best thing that happened today was being given a pear to take to work with me. I carried it in my bicycle basket so it didn't get squashed in my bag, and then when I ate it, it tasted amazing. I don't usually eat pears as they are so hard to transport and I get so disappointed when they are all squashed with broken skin, but this one tasted so incredible that I nearly shared the information with my colleagues, but managed to just settle for texting the person who gave it to me, vowing to diligently record it when I got home as the best thing that happened today.

The best thing that happened today was getting home from spending 48 hours solid running a Brownie Guide pack holiday, and finally having time and space to myself. I had a bath, listened to music, made some food, had some wine and worried that when I have children of my own this "luxury" of time to myself, to spend as I wish, will be a lot harder to come by.

I say "when" I have children... it's something I have been thinking about for a while, but the issue seems to have been brought into focus over the past two days. Aside from the many hours I spent looking after 25+ girls, in various stages of over-excitability, tearfulness, happiness, moodiness (one leader joked the experience was 'a great contraceptive' and I misheard and thought she was talking about the muffin she was eating...) I also seemed to have countless conversations about one day having children of my own,including conversation with one Brownie who asked if I wanted kids (yes), and if I had a boyfriend (no), and if I wanted a boyfriend (not really), so how was I going to to do it, was I going to do "IT" and then dump the boy? (no, I don't think that's very responsible!) which led on to her suggesting that I could foster her if I wanted, as her younger sister was too annoying.

I struggle sometimes when the Brownies ask me personal question like that, not because I feel they shouldn't but because I am not sure how to respond, how honest to be. Given that I cannot answer "well, I would like to meet a nice man, get married and have two children (girl and a boy)", doesn't mean I should necessarily tell them about the myriad possibilities I am considering, from adoption right through to radical co-parenting (currently being trialled on my two cats and me plus two housemates)... so I try and answer honestly, without over-sharing, and be a good alternative role model without giving information that is inappropriate either for their age, or the relationship I have with them.
But it's certainly making me think, and realise that it's no longer enough to say "yes I would like to have children" as the lifestyle I am currently living is making it very unlikely that it's going to happen without a great deal of forward-planning/coercion/sacrifice.

The best thing that happened today wasn't necessarily working my ass off on 101 different zine and writing projects, but that in doing so I put some albums on to work along to that I hadn't listened to forever (sometimes I ban myself from listening to certain music or albums all the time, as I don't want to wear them thin, hear them too much, and/or spoil their impact with over-familiarity).
I've just been re-seduced by Lou Barlow, pumped by The Need, and fallen in love with Heartless Martin, & Longstocking all over again.
I love that feeling of re-remembering why you fell in love in the first place; it's unbelievably comforting to know that when all else is stressy and messy you can still trust yourself to know what you like(d).

The best thing that happened today is that I curbed my usual impatience with my sewing machine when it fucks up. When it's not playing ball I usually give up and hand-sew whatever project I was in the midst of. Today though I didn't threaten to throw the unrelaible machine through the window rock-star-like, but instead spent the time dealing with the problem, fixing it and rustling up all the mothers' day gifts I was crafting; meaning that I've now finished the gifts ahead of time. That's one thing crossed off my staggering to-do list. Phew!

The best thing that happened today was reading the March 11th blog post of Keri Smith's blog, and it calming my frazzled, overworked, stressed, and panicky head for a moment while I bathed in its sense, honesty, and relate-ability.

This paragraph in particular jumped at me, screaming for attention, and for me to take its ideas seriously:

I suppose the lesson is that no matter what level of a career you reach, this process [of reassessing confidences] will always repeat itself. You think once you get to a certain stage everything will take care of itself and you will not have to deal with all these messy human things. Ironically when reaching a place of strength there exists some strange internal and external pressure to continue to "perform" and at the very least stay where you are. I ponder the thought that I would be perfectly okay if I had to start over from scratch every single day. actually aren't we all doing that anyway?

The best thing that happened today was the time I spent this morning sticking gummed labels (sourced from the “Trees for Life” campaign to restore the Caledonian Forest) over envelopes so they could be re-used. We even have this special device in the office for affixing gummed things, so you don’t have to lick them. It’s a little container of water with a sponge and a mesh on top, and when you tip it upside down enough water to moisten the gum comes out. I really love working here sometimes.

Recycling + stationary + helping more trees grow = joy

The best thing that happened today was finally seeing the opening episodes of season 6 of The L Word (and not being too horrifically disappointed) and then also managing to bike all the way home, even up the hills.

The best thing that happened today is that after trawling all over yesterday to buy a photo/picture frame of what I now understand to be an odd size, I knuckled down today and just made one instead. It felt good to get busy with my hands again, crafting.

The best thing that happened today was getting to the end of a pretty hard week, and at the Contemporary Artists Book fair that was occuring at my place of work I bought myself something beautiful to look at — to make myself feel better. You know, just something nice and uncomplicated and non-personal-to-me. That's the ticket.
Speaking to Karoline Rerrie at the fair did me wonders too!

The best thing that happened today was my next-door-but-one neighbours giving me a massive packet of dates whilst I was gardening earlier. This is made even better by the fact that this is the second time they have given me dates. And I really like dates. So we took them round a jar of my housemate Kate's homemade marmalade as a thank you.

The best thing that happened today was my super-productive lunch hour.

I went to an "International Women's Day" event, and whilst I was there I had a piece of cake, and got a free "crystal dip" therapy where I had to put my hand into a bag of tumblestones and pick one that spoke to me but without looking at them. I picked rose quartz, which the lady told me suggests I maybe need to spend time taking care of myself/ nurturing/ healing/ unconditional-self-loving, which in turn will bring these things towards me from other people. This was so totally right, and nothing could have been more accurate (literally, nothing) and it seemed like the universe was sending me such a blatant sign to confirm what I had been suspecting already, that I bought a piece of rose quartz to carry around with me to remind me of this. It is in my pocket now.

Still at the same event, I chatted to another stallholder (feminist flyers and leaflets and posters) I recognised from other feminist events, who I had always been slightly wary of due to the generational gaps between her and my feminism (1st wave/3rd wave) and the issues that often spring up when the two try and discuss issues/meet in the middle. But I was bold and introduced myself, and said I recognised her, and was talking to her about posters and flyers that would be good for politicising the spaces we often use for events. And she was so helpful, suggesting websites I could order resources from, posters that were free to print off that I came away feeling totally psyched.

I then still had time to drop off posters and flyers at the record shop for an upcoming gig I am playing/organising, picked up a copy of a zine I hadn't see before that looked pretty good, before coming back to the office for homemade soup that my housemate had saved for me from the night before.

The best thing that happened today was going digging in my garden when I got in from work. I have decided to turn part of my back lawn into vegetable patches, and mid-winter I had worked out that they would need to be ready for March to start planting things.
Realising that it was already the 4th March, and there are garlic bulbs that need planting NOW and I don't have a vegetable patch yet, I spent a very happy hour digging in the gloaming, before coming in to cook my tea. In fact I enjoyed digging so much that I am considering getting up early tomorrow to fit in some more digging before work. No joke. The patch does need finishing after all.

The best thing that happened today was finding my watch, which had fallen down the back of the microwave. It had been missing for a number of months, which wouldn't be so bad only my other watch is also missing, so I often don't know what time it is. It's a digital watch, and I'm not very good at programming it, so it's still an hour out from when the clocks went back in October. This means that the alarm that I accidentally set to go off at midnight every night, and couldn't work out how to switch off, now goes off at eleven every night. But it just so happens that at 11pm this evening I was stood in front of the microwave when I heard the beeping, so I found out where it was! Now all I have to do it get it to show the right time.

The best thing that happened today was completely unexpected, which is what made it so lovely. I am suffering an *epic* hangover, exacerbated by a lack of sleep (an hour's worth, on a rail replacement bus service, at 5am this morning) and memories of drunken conversations that I can't resolve and a heart that hurts every time someone prods it, and I had to leave the house after an already hectic day because we had run out of catfood.
On my way out, on the doormat, I found a hand-delivered envelope addressed to me. It was a note, with the words "THANK YOU EMILY" written in big letters and then in smaller letters is said "thank you for having me over last tuesday, your pancakes were great". For a day that was looking to be a complete write-off, I now feel slightly cheered up. Never doubt the pleasure someone will get from receiving an unexpected letter.

the best thing that happened today was waking myself up this morning by giggling furiously in my sleep. the shaking of my bed due to my laughter woke me!
:)

The best thing that happened today was someone I hadn't spoken to for months coming over to tell me she liked my new haircut this evening, when we were out at the same clubnight.
We had drifted apart due to reasons too lengthy to mention, but some of the really bad ones were my fault, and my stupid pride had stopped me going over and talking to her on countless occasions, even though I wanted to. But because she came over and started talking to me, we then spent the rest of the even talking to each other, and now (once again) I am wondering why I was such an idiot and why I didn't just talk to her sooner.
I have really missed her.

The best thing that happened today was the eureka-moment when I worked out that you can separate two pieces of paper that have been glued together using "power pritt" if you steam them over a kettle!
Power pritt (made by pritt stick, but comes in a silver tube and is much stronger than regular pritt stick) is my glue of choice for papercraft and zine making, as it is super strong so the pieces you have glued never fall apart. But this does mean that if you make a mistake, or want to change the positioning, you can't. As soon as you try to pull them apart, however gently, the paper tears and there are tears... But not anymore! Now I can just boil the kettle, hold the paper over the steam, very gently peel apart the two pieces of paper and start again.

The best thing that happened today (and is still happening at this late hour) was making an impressive dent in my to-do list despite thinking I didn't have the motivation to do anything at all this evening. Goes to show what willpower and giving oneself a stern talking to can do!

The best thing that happened today was probably the pancake that I managed to make all by myself, after two failed attempts.

The best thing that happened today may seem trivial, but today is the first time that I managed to fix a hellish photocopier breakdown at work without having to go and get help from the secreatries, who must by now think I'm an incompetant nitwit.
One small step for Melaniekind...

The best thing that happened today was my decision to pursue a late night papercraft project whilst listening to my favourite Hefner album: "The Fidelity Wars". I have sticky fingers and scraps of paper everywhere but I am happy.

The best thing that happened today was buying some miniature daffodils potted in a purple plant pot, about to bloom, from a shop in Todmorden on the way home to Leeds. They inspired me to tidy my desk in my room so I had somewhere to put them, so now I have a tidy desk AND will soon have flowers too!

(Anyone who is currently as obsessed with wine-making as I am should note that you *must not* make wine from daffodil flowers as it would be toxic.)

The best thing that happened today was sleeping in til 9pm(!!) after a super special night before spent rockin' out to my friends bands of wonder. I'm feeling all emotional about the amazing friends I have and all that they make/create/perform/and are. Though my new years resolution of spending less time doing things in order to spend time with those who I love means that I'm falling sooooo far behind with all my own making/creativity/projects. I think last night has reinspired me to get my act together somewhat though. There's nothing like seeing friends doing amazing things to kick ones ass into doing stuff youself. Reading the mini-zine that the bands last night put together has reinspired my flagging head.

The best thing that happened today was waking up at my friends' house following the best night out, and the best valentines' night disco ever. Being there this morning with two of the loveliest people I know, following such an amazing day spent being artsy-pants in Newcastle was dreamy beyond belief. And I am once again thankful for all my friends who go to such hard work to make wonderful and inspiring things happen around me, and are terrific people to spend time with.

The best thing that happened today was managing to get my laptop to burn cds!

The best thing that happened today was bottling my apple wine. And then drinking some.

The best thing that happened today was being at emily's house and eating her lovely vegan brownies without a care that they were actually made to be sold at a charity event - oops! The joy of licking the gooey, just out of the oven chocolate topping off my palms was a guilt-free pleasure :)

The best thing that happened today was having a filling done without freaking out. I have the loveliest, most patient dentist, but over the last few years fillings have become such an ordeal for me that on one occasion she had to send me home as she couldn't do it whilst I was crying so much. But today I was so calm and it went so well, that she commented that this was possibly our best filling to date!

The best thing that happened today was sorting through (and completely alphabetising) my cd collection. In the process I discovered a gorgeous cover of Belle and Sebastian's "Fox in the Snow" on a Rasputina cd I haven't listened to years.

The best thing that happened today was being allowed to come home from work two hours early due to the snow, and playing a sneaky half hour on guitar hero, rocking out to Pat Benetar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", before getting on with my to-do list.

The best thing that happened today was dancing around a kitchen with the grrl who I used to share many a dance with. It was good to have her back. Like old times!

The best thing that happened today was finding and playing ginger beard top trumps. Sometimes it's the small stupid things... What can I say; I'm easily pleased!

The best thing that happened today was having the time to process all the high points of my weekend; the wonderful friends I have, the wonderful times we have together, all the new people I met, and compliments on my work I received, all the people who gave great hugs, feeling confident travelling in London, all the proper heartfelt giggling and broad smiling that happened, and the pure feelings of contentment that surfaced and resurfaced in waves throughout the weekend. *Swoon* :)

The best thing that happened today was receiving an email from somebody that I admire greatly. She was responding to a set of interview questions that I had sent her for the upcoming fifth issue of Colouring Outside The Lines; It felt like I was reading a letter from an old friend, full of humour and love and insight. She lives, quite literally, on the other side of the world, but in reading her words it felt like she was in fact sat next to me, chewing my ear off with gossip and smart conversation.
Damn, sometimes I love what I get to do!

The best thing that happened today was gardening related again. I finished work earlier than usual, so had an hour of extra daylight to spend in the garden, excavating compost from the bottom of the compost bin to plant daffodils in for this spring. (I left them a bit late, and they started sprouting through the net bag in the hallway, so I hope I've planted them in time.) I enjoyed being in the garden so much that I'm thinking of trying to arrange my flexi hours so I can finish an hour earlier early every Wednesday, cos there's still leaves to rake, compost to prepare, raised beds to build, all before spring when I can actually start growing vegetables again...

The best thing that happened today was sitting on the floor of my kitchen, making apricot wine, listening to the pixies on the radio. Homemade chocolate mousse that my housemate Kate had saved for me wasn't bad either!

The best thing that happened today was getting home from work early, and therefore having enough daylight left to install the new compost bin in the back garden before it got dark.

The best thing that happened today (in a non-vain way) was being shown the 'acknowledgements' section of a law journal article and seeing my name there with really lovely words next to it in thanks.
Made me feel kinda humbled, cuz the author of the article is really damn amazing herself.
Sometimes I get caught in the moment of realising I know some pretty terrific people.

The best thing that happened today was going "for coffee" with a friend after work and discovering that Chai Latte made with soya milk is as nice as its dairy counterpart. One small step closer to veganism!

The best thing that happened today was working late and speaking to the woman who cleans our offices (I need to ask her name). She comes in at the end of the day, so I usually just see her as I am heading out and she tells me, super-cheerfully, to have a good evening. But on nights like tonight when I work past five she comes round all the desks hoovering with her henry hoover and we will chat for a bit longer. When she saw a carrier bag on my desk, she showed me how to fold it into a tiny triangle "so it would fit in my handbag where there wasn't much room" and when I was stood by the photocopier at quarter to six today, juggling with a ream of paper, trying to unwrap it so I could get it into the copier, she said "let me help you" and took the paper wrapping off me.

In between Christmas and New Year when she and I were both working all but the bank holidays, she told me that she's going back to Hong Kong for a holiday soon. Today, she told me she was really excited because she goes on Saturday, for three weeks. And then seemingly apropos of nothing, she started telling me how life was short, and life was precious, and you shouldn't look back to the past, you should look to the future. But not too far into the future, because all you really know about is what's happening now.

She was right, and more than that, she spoke more sincerely, more earnestly, more insistently to me than anyone has done in a long time.

The best thing that happened today was clearing up a bit of floor space, having a damn good hoover, and then dancing myself silly in a relatively tidy & clean room to Veruca Salt.
Bedroom dancing is always pleasure I forget about as soon as clutter begins to edge its way in again, so it was nice to have the time to stretch my limbs out and shout along at the top of my lungs for a change!

The best thing that happened today was me giving in and ordering take out pizza. After tea time came and went with me sat in bed, laptop on knee absentmindedly reading teenage e-zine problem pages online, getting colder and hungrier, I realised this was no way to spend a Saturday night. By ordering pizza (garlic margarita), I solved the cold and hungry problem in one fell swoop and am now ready to use the rest of the evening productively. Get in.