The Happiness Project

It's been awhile since I linked up to The Happiness Project, a photo carnival hosted by Leigh vs. Laundry. In this carnival, you post a photo of something that makes you happy, and I just happened to have this pretty photo of a container of strawberries!

I packed the strawberries and other fruits in a cooler so I could have some healthful snacks for our drive to Milwaukee on Saturday. When we stopped at the oasis (rest stop located on a freeway overpass) so Bill could go to the bathroom and get a Shamrock Shake at McDonald's, I busted out my container of strawberries. They looked so pretty that I had to take a picture of them.

Strawberries are my all-time favorite fruit. Whenever there's a choice of what flavor of something to get, I pick strawberry. (Well, except for ice cream. Then I pick cookies 'n cream.) I like strawberry smoothies with boba (tapioca balls) at the bottom from the Chinese restaurant. I like strawberry snow cones.

And Orange Julius? Forget it. It's all about the Strawberry Julius. (Though I haven't had one since moving to Illinois. In California Orange Julius was a mall food court staple, but in Illinois they are few and far between. However, there are a lot of copycat recipes you can make at home. The "secret" ingredient is vanilla extract.)

Strawberries are also very special because they signal the arrival of warmer weather. Sure, you can get expensive, sour strawberries year-round, but you know spring and summer are near when you can start getting big, juicy, sweet strawberries for a reasonable price at the grocery store.

And finally, with the new Weight Watchers system, fruit is free, points-wise. So I have been eating approximately a pint of strawberries per day since going back on WW. Unfortunately strawberries are not free, dollar-wise, so I think I consume about $20 worth of strawberries per week. Like, seriously, I make special trips to the store just to get more strawberries. I buy them at Costco and Target.

Strawberries are the only fruit that really does seem like "nature's candy," and that's why they make me so happy.

As a side note, I'm really just loving this new camera! It takes photos so quickly, and doesn't do weird things with the flash like my old camera did. (Excuse my use of highly-technical photographic terms like weird things with the flash.)

Thanks for visiting, happiness seekers!