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5 Bizarre Things That Make Me Ridiculously Happy

I’ve trained myself to see the bizarre. And that’s not just because I make myself look in the mirror once a day.

In short, I look for weird things, and weird things look for me.

Here are 5 Bizarre Things That Make Me Ridiculously Happy.

drunk teachers parkingA light overnight snowfall. I love this because the snow obscures the parking lines in the staff lot at my work. Consequently, by the end of the day, the snow has melted, and it looks like all the teachers drove to school drunk, completely disregarding the parking spaces.

mixed up animalMash-ups. I love them so much, including this creature that my son made up yesterday. Genetic modification for the tween set.

.

MondegreenFinding weird words that few people know. It’s my way of exploring, finding unknown landscapes. Callipygous (having nicely shaped buttocks) will always be one of my favourites, as will pareidolia. But on Friday, I discovered this word: mondegreen. Mondegreen (n) is a word or phrase you mishear (think of mixing up song lyrics). My favourite example of mondegreen is likely from the Beatles’ Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds: “The girl with colitis goes by.”

ms not funnyMy husband’s honesty about parts of my …Β manuscript.

.

Bare FeetPutting my bare feet in the air. Just because.

.

.

What makes you ridiculously happy?

Filed Under: Finding Humor Everywhere

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kaela Moore says

    March 11, 2013 at 6:27 am

    I’ll be using “mondegreen” in a sentence asap. And the genetic mash-up is cracking me up. I hope your son is a geneticist when he grows up. The world needs more girlionaffes.

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:31 am

      Ha. His specialty is sharks…and he’d do anything to protect them…except modify them!

      Reply
  2. Viva Violet says

    March 11, 2013 at 6:29 am

    Hahhaa ‘not funny’. That has to be the cutest thing ever. You and your husband must be best friends! Cute :*

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:31 am

      We pretty much have to be to survive each other. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  3. Go Jules Go says

    March 11, 2013 at 6:50 am

    I LOVE that parking lot picture; that would make me ridiculously happy, too.

    Realizing that Justin Timberlake was the host for SNL this week nearly put me over the ‘squee’ edge.

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:32 am

      JT! Awesome. You have the same first initial, so it was truly meant to be.

      Reply
  4. brendanstallard says

    March 11, 2013 at 6:59 am

    “Putting my bare feet in the air. Just because.”

    Leanne,

    Ahah…you are not in Calgary at all.

    Those are Florida skies, and you are practicing Sarvangasana on the beach!

    The camera does not lie….

    brendan

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:32 am

      Busted. It was Edmonton. In the summer.

      Reply
  5. The Sadder But Wiser Girl says

    March 11, 2013 at 7:08 am

    HA HA! I never thought about that before when we get a little snow. Damn drunken teachers! What makes me ridiculously happy? Perfect days in the late spring/early summer where the weather is beautiful-not too cold, not too hot, just right. I can close my eyes right now and I am there… maybe it’s just because we’re having a snow day with 10 feet or so of snow…

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:33 am

      Oh. I just closed my eyes too. Those caressing breezes.

      Reply
  6. hiddinsight says

    March 11, 2013 at 7:24 am

    Does “reading your posts” count, or is that just cheesy?

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:33 am

      Aww. I like cheese. With wine.

      Reply
  7. thoughtsappear says

    March 11, 2013 at 7:47 am

    Speaking of feet, I like putting my feet on furniture. Growing up my dad always swatted them down. Now that I’m adult, I can put my feet wherever…swat-free.

    Puppies always make me happy. And cupcakes. But not cupcakes made of puppies. That would be sad.

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:35 am

      And poptarts, right?

      Reply
  8. Amba says

    March 11, 2013 at 7:50 am

    Drunk teachers. That photograph and thought were hilarious! What makes me happy, blogging, Yoga, stuffing my face to counteract the effects of Yoga πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:36 am

      I’d love to get back into yoga. I start most mornings with a really long child’s pose…

      Reply
  9. susielindau says

    March 11, 2013 at 7:59 am

    When my kids come home I become manic. I am sure they look at me like I had a Red Bull, but there is nothing better! Love your list!

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:36 am

      Oh. Can’t wait until my kids come home!

      Reply
  10. K says

    March 11, 2013 at 8:01 am

    Fun post! πŸ™‚ I feel happy when I’m creating at the keyboard or in the kitchen, dancing with kiddos, or on a date night with my husband. And doing anything in the sunshine. Love the sky in your feet picture…& hoping to see a sky like that again soon!

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:37 am

      Dancing with kids. Yes. I do that a lot. I wonder how long it is until they despise my “crazy dance”?

      Reply
  11. Nelson - One Old Sage says

    March 11, 2013 at 8:03 am

    How about that great hit, “Lucy in the Sky with Linus”? πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:37 am

      Bwahaha. Poor Charlie Brown.

      Reply
  12. amom27 says

    March 11, 2013 at 8:10 am

    When my daughter says that she didnt eat the red peppers in last nights meal because “she doesnt like red carrots.” (she is 13)

    Receiving a case of thin mint cookies, and the next day my 12 year old son asking, “do we have any cookies?”

    When my 5 yr old, who has a speech disorder, makes the noises of the ninja turtle doing a ninja move, moves and all!!!

    I <3 the silly things my kids say and do.

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:38 am

      Those awe awesome ways to live in the moment.

      Reply
  13. Julie Glover says

    March 11, 2013 at 9:42 am

    Ooh, I love mondegreen. There are some great examples of this! I had a friend who swore that Paul McCartney was singing “Man on the Run”–well, that is until a whole table of his friends broke out laughing.

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:38 am

      I may have thought it was “Man on the Run.” Maybe… Don’t laugh. Too hard.

      Reply
  14. Ricky Anderson says

    March 11, 2013 at 11:07 am

    A light overnight snow here = no school.

    We win.

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:39 am

      Well, you win if you’re a student or a teacher. But a parent?

      Reply
  15. dirtyrottenparenting says

    March 11, 2013 at 12:00 pm

    When the sun comes out while it’s raining. I love sunshowers!

    Also, I love when my kids give each other hugs when we’re out in public. I feel like I’ve won parenting points when they do it.

    Reply
    • brendanstallard says

      March 11, 2013 at 12:03 pm

      “When the sun comes out while it’s raining.”

      DRP,

      FWIW, in England, that is referred to as a, “Foxes wedding.”

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshower

      brendan

      Reply
      • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

        March 12, 2013 at 6:39 am

        What a great term! I’m going to have to work that into my vocabulary.

        Reply
  16. The Byronic Man says

    March 11, 2013 at 1:16 pm

    People snorting when they laugh.

    Parallel parking flawlessly on the first try.

    Turning on the TV and a movie you love but that you’d forgotten about is on.

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:40 am

      I love parallel parking. Love, love, love.

      Reply
  17. patriciasands says

    March 11, 2013 at 3:09 pm

    Using the tv remote without f*cking everything up!

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:41 am

      I used our TV remote for the first time last night. It’s about 7 weeks old.

      Reply
  18. Punky Coletta says

    March 11, 2013 at 4:05 pm

    Yes! I love that snow parking thing, too!
    So on an episode of ‘Dharma and Greg,’ Greg thinks sings,’I want to rock and roll all night. And part of every day’ (instead of ‘party every day’). That would totally be a mondegreen, right?

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:42 am

      Awesome example. I forgot about that show. Now that I’m older, “part of every day” is the more attractive option.

      Reply
  19. Jess Witkins says

    March 11, 2013 at 6:44 pm

    I dig your list, Leanne! What makes me ridiculously happen? Brat Pack movies, hammocks, green tea, autumn Colorado especially over the bluffs, and baths!

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:43 am

      Great list. I love those too (well, I’m sure I would love Colorado…)

      Reply
  20. Kim Harms says

    March 11, 2013 at 7:25 pm

    A bowl of cookie dough and a glass of ice cold milk

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 6:43 am

      Now I’m hungry…

      Reply
  21. serre says

    March 12, 2013 at 7:02 am

    I like when I go to the market next door and it’s totally empty and I start chatting with my friend the cashier, and in 20secs there’s a line of people waiting. That makes the shopkeeper happy too.
    The bizzare thing that makes me ridiculously angry happens when I’m having dinner and watching a soccer game (yes, you know i’m from italy): In the exact moment i go back to the kitchen with empty dishes, they score. Crap.

    (My misheard english lyrics turn to funny -and occasionally dirty- italian lines)

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 7:20 am

      I’d love to hear those song lyrics. πŸ™‚

      Reply
      • serre says

        March 14, 2013 at 7:50 am

        Maybe πŸ˜€

        I forgot the bizarre thing I like the most: when I take some stuff at work, like a random amount of paper or paperclips without knowing how many of those I need, and in the end it turns out I grabbed exactly as much as I needed, not one more, not one less.

        I insanely love that.

        Reply
  22. JM Randolph says

    March 12, 2013 at 7:17 am

    This post made me ridiculously happy. Catching late-night documentaries on my favorite 80’s heavy metal bands makes me happy. As do puppy feet.

    Reply
    • Leanne Shirtliffe (Ironic Mom) says

      March 12, 2013 at 7:20 am

      Puppy feet! Now I’m craving a puppy. Not to eat…

      Reply
      • JM Randolph says

        March 13, 2013 at 6:33 am

        HA!

        Reply
  23. bobcomeans says

    March 12, 2013 at 8:40 am

    Hostess Ho Ho’s on an all you can eat buffet!

    Reply
  24. mistyslaws says

    March 13, 2013 at 10:16 am

    For an adult 38 year old woman, I am more giddy and excited than is probably sane and reasonable about our upcoming family trip to Disneyworld. More excited than the kids, and definitely more than the hubs. I have been furiously planning and scheduling non-stop for the past 5 days (since we told the kids). I may need an intervention soon.

    help me . . .

    Reply
  25. Marianne says

    March 14, 2013 at 6:30 pm

    Lately, it’s been taking ridiculous photos and putting them on Instagram.

    Reply
  26. The Hook says

    March 16, 2013 at 6:53 am

    “I’ve trained myself to see the bizarre. And that’s not just because I make myself look in the mirror once a day.
    In short, I look for weird things, and weird things look for me.”
    I think we were soulmates in another life, Leanne.
    Great post!

    Reply
  27. Matthew Wright says

    March 16, 2013 at 2:10 pm

    Discovering new stuff. Especially weird funny stuff, like ‘words that sound rude but actually aren’t’.

    Reply
  28. themusingmaven says

    April 16, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    Good stuff! I invite you to visit the corner of singing & Tampons…
    http://themusingmaven.com/2013/03/18/corner-of-singing-tampons/

    Reply

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