Toss it mean and catch it clean.
Drop that jaw, tilt that head, and let’s get down to business:
• Level 1: Pop Practice. It’s important to start small with popcorn. There are no penalties for misses here, since the corn is light and doesn’t collect much dust if it hits the ground. This is a baby step and it will take time to master, but it’s an important rite of passage before hitting the next levels. (Note: In some circles, this level also covers marshmallows, Cheerios, and Corn Pops.) 5 points.
• Level 2: The Grape Beyond. Yup, next step is big ol’ grapes. Usually someone on the other end of the movie couch is munching on the vine in their own little bowl. If you’re feeling a bit hungry, simply drop your mouth and tap the couch cushion while saying ‘Uhn! Uhnnnnn!’ to get their attention. Soon a cold, hard grape should be flying fast at you. If the toss is good you should catch it perfectly. Other fruits like raspberries and strawberries fit here as well. 10 points.
• Level 3: Dog On A Bone. This extremely advanced move involves catching something larger than your actual mouth. An apple, peeled orange, or corn on a cob are good targets. You need to time the molar chomp perfectly and be prepared for embarrassing T-shirt stains and a black eye. 25 points.
Yes, when you catch food in your mouth you’re suddenly sitting high on top of the snack-eating universe. You’ve just combined equal parts laziness and athletic ability in a daring couch potato feat the likes of which this family room has never seen before. So when you nail it smoothly you know what to do.
Chomp it loud.
Chew it proud.
AWESOME!
Seat belts.
Thank you, seat belts, for the lives you have saved!
Awesome.
Giving a compliment to a cranky person.
Hey, maybe all they needed was a little love.
Awesome!
Or a hug! (if you know them well enough)
LOL. Watch their mood instantly change when you compliment them. It’s a pretty cool trick.
Getting your very first paycheck!!
All your hard work is now expressed in CA$H! It may not be very much, but it doesn’t matter because it is all yours.
Being the first to be dropped off on the school bus route.
I don’t know why, but all through elementary school, middle school, and jr. high, the kids on my block and I were always THE last stop. The very final one. So after sitting through the whole journey, day after day, we were finally dropped off 45 minutes after school had dismissed. Then … it happened. The route changed when I was in 10th grade. The tables turned, the sky opened up, and my stop was the FIRST stop. It was the most direct route, straight from school to my street, and it was awesome!
Being the first to use a new bar of soap.
Trying to sing instrumental parts of songs.
Like the beginning of Peter Frampton’s “Show Me the Way” or Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4”. They’re not words, but they’re sounds you can try to emulate … awesome!
Correctly using the phrase “That’s ironic.”
*cough cough Alanis Morissette cough cough*
Revisiting a store multiple times in a day to beat the one-per-customer rule.
Or even visiting multiple stores to receive the one-per-customer-per-day rule!
My dog’s hatred for the UPS man.
You can hear the anger and disgust in his bark. But why does my dog hate him so much? The world may never know.
Being greeted by your pet when you get home.
Whether it’s a dog, cat, bird or ferrit, the moment you walk through the door and they come running or start chirping you feel pretty darn good :)
This is the *best* feeling! Even if you’re only gone for a few minutes, your pet greets you like it’s been years. There’s nothing like unconditional love.
Being on the hiding team first in Manhunt (hide n go seek)
You are picking teams but all that is on everyone’s minds is being the first team to hide first. You all know that 9 times out of 10 the game ends before both teams even get to hide so everyone wants to get their chance. No side even wants to pick their team first because that means the other team will be hiding first.
Finally you get picked on the hiding team first. You are so excited and can not wait to go sit in a muddy hole or a tree for three hours before people start yelling that they give up. Well worth the wait.
Awesome.
Elderly people on public transit
Let’s be honest, we’ve all seen it, and maybe even stared a little longer then is socially acceptable, but when you see that elderly person on your bus or subway car you just can’t help but stare and think “AW!”
Because there are so many awesome things to think about… did they pick out their outfit weeks ago? Did they go out and buy new comfortable shoes with extra grip for that sudden bus take off? How early did they have to wake up to prepare for their outing? How many times before and after they left their house did they check to make sure they had a token/ticket?
And then there’s the wonder where they could be off too. Do they need new dentures? Are they going to meet a friend? Is it their regular hairdresser day? Could it be church? Bingo? Shopping? The possibilities are endless!
And then there’s of course their choice of seat. Do they take the very first seat at the front of the bus where elderly people usually sit? Or do they venture to the 3rd seat of the three-seater because they are certain that an even older person will likely come on and appreciate the first seat. Or do they have years of experience under their belts that when the bus takes off they swing from pole to pole like a monkey and take a seat in the back with the cool kids!
And then there’s the situation we all dread but we’ve all been in. You’ve had a long day at school or work, your bag is heavy, you feel dirty, all you want to do is go home. Naturally you want a seat on the ride home but of course its rush hour and of course the bus has infrequent service so it’s bound to be packed. Of course the only seats left are at the front …..and you take it. You make the big move to take your bag off, settle in your seat and position your bag perfectly on your lap or on the floor. You think you’re in the clear because you’ve picked up people from a few stops and they are all young looking and you know you deserve a seat as equally as they do.
But then…. that elderly person steps on the bus and you think CRAP! You feel bad for thinking it but you do anyways. People in the front seats start looking around and nobody seems ready to give up their hard earned seat. So you get up, put on a smile and say “here you can sit down”. And then there it is, a smile, a nod of great appreciation and a “thank you” that makes it all worthwhile. Because you have just made an elderly person’s day and what better feeling is there than that!
So to all you Babcia’s and Dziadek’s, Nona’s and Nonno’s, Oma’s and Opa’s, Nainai’s and Yeye’s, and Grandma’s and Grandpa’s who take public transit… and to all of the people with kind hearts who give up their seats to the worlds cutest group of public transit users… but on a big smile and remember that you are….
AWESOME!
You’ve got a Babcia and Dziadek too? That’s so awesome! I hear about Oma’s and Pops and Grannys and all those other ones, but I never hear anyone use the Polish words except in my family. Thanks, you made my day!
I have a Hungarian friend who has her kids use the Hungarian and/or Romanian words for some things, including grandparent names (she’s told me, but I don’t know what they are!).
The moment right before it rains!!
You feel the temperature drop of few degrees as the cool wind sets in. You can smell the rain…you can almost taste the rain. The sky darkens in such a way that makes everything more colorful. It is a moment of pure relaxation. Now you can get a book and some coffee and just relax!!
awesome!
*drop off
Midnight trips to Walmart. AWESOME!
I love going to Walmart around midnight. Ya never know what kind of people you will run into
That’s a true story.
Seeing the sparks of static when you take your sweater off in the dark.
Knowing the buttons so well on the ATM machine – that you can take out money in a different language!! I always feel like a superhero when I go up to the ATM and select chinese instead of english. I have no idea what the words mean, however, I know the routine so well that I can take-out cash with no mistakes!! hahahhaa… I don’t know why I find this so amusing, but I think it is AWESOME!!!
Wow, that’s brave of you!!
Taking your hand out of a packet of chips and realising you got a huuuuge one. AWESOME!
Realizing that all of the socks in your drawer have matches!
Healing a pet completely of mange using only natural things and without going to the vet. :)
Warm, fluffy, freshly baked bread.
I’m sure this on is already on the list, but just to make sure.
When you get the phone to call a friend and he/she calls you at that exact same moment. Telepathy! AWESOME!
I think it should be called “Telephonepathy”!
Yeah exactly!
Giving Presents.
We all know getting presents is awesome, but doesn’t it feel just as good to give?
I love buying people presents and being able to see their faces open it up on their birthday, Christmas or any other gifting holiday. Something about it just makes you feel good.
Andrea, I’m gonna take this up a notch: giving “The Book of Awesome.” Oh yeah.
Washing your car with friends on a hot day! Or just running through the sprinkler after giving up. :)
When someone else makes your lunch.
Could be the same sandwich you always make, but because someone else made it, it tastes a whole lot better. Bonus points for a sweet note added to the lunch bag.
That’s how I feel about salads. I can make a salad exactly like someone makes it for me at a restaurant, using the same ingredients and everything, and it just never tastes as good.
I miss my mom’s sandwiches. They always tasted so awesome. I make them the exact way myself, but they just aren’t the same.
Looking at or picking up your phone at the exact moment you get a call or text message.
Getting your teeth cleaned at the dentist’s.
Afterward, your teeth feels so fresh and clean, you could eat off of them. Awesome :)
My friends think I’m crazy when I say I love going to the dentist. I’ve never had a cavity, so I pretty much have only had positive dentist-office experiences (MINUS: the time I chipped a tooth and had to have it and the one next to it filed down, and the time I had my wisdom teeth removed. But that was an oral surgeon, so I guess that doesn’t count!)
Love that clean, fresh feeling!
Teeth kinda freak me out. I know it sounds silly, but they do. I cannot see a loose tooth or I get sorta sick to my stomach. So yeah…I dread going to the dentist. I have to have the assistant talk to me the whole time so I can’t hear the dentist picking at my teeth.
I know…I’m a wuss.
I have passed out once, but that was before the dentist even did anything. All he did was numb me. He said I had some kind of an allergic reaction. I now have to use the kids numbing stuff. That’s the time the dentist gave me candy. :-) I was 20.
Thinking back at it…it makes me laugh.
Uh-oh – you realize that your daughter is about 1 year away from starting to lose her baby teeth, don’t you? Good luck with that!
Yeah….that’s one thing I cannot handle. Hubby’s gonna have to do that!
I know, the whole dentist experience can be a drag. But that feeling of clean teeth (replicable at home with a good tooth brushing, perhaps some baking soda, and loads of floss) is pretty cool.
Thinking of a song and then it starts playing on the radio!
Babysitting. Kids are awesome so long as you know you get to leave eventually. ;P
AND you get paid to do it, aaaaaaaand they usually even throw in some free dinner. Yes!
I LOVED babysitting as a teen. My house had no cable TV, so I caught up on all my favourite shows when I was babysitting!
Reconnecting with an old friend online.
You were best friends from the day you met in kindergarten, but then your family moved when you were in middle school. You lost touch, but never forgot about your friend. Through the miracle of Facebook, you’ve found each other again, and are talking like old times. Making new memories and remembering the good times you’ve had together. AWESOME!
And if you’re lucky, you can meet up in the “real” world too :)
A few years ago, my pen-pal from third grade befriended me on Facebook. It was so cool!
I got in touch with an old pal from elementary school through facebook, and it turned out that we lived two blocks from each other in a totally different city from where we grew up. It was pretty awesome!
Technology is awesome! The internet is awesome! Email is awesome! It’s like…magic!
When your favorite band gets big and you can say you liked them before they were famous.
This has never really happened to me, but once at a Ben Folds / Weezer concert several years ago, The Fray was the opening band … way back before anyone knew who they were. They’re not my favorite or anything, but I did see ’em live before they made it big!
Student ID or yearbook pictures. Cheesy family portraits. Photo albums and scrapbooks in general!
Singing in the shower!
Or hearing someone else sing in the shower…always makes you smile!
OR having your parents tape-record you and your sister singing in the shower when you were little. And by awesome, I mostly mean embarrassing! Haha.
Chasing birds or squirrels!
Also awesome would be seeing someone else do this. :)
And now Katie has tapped into the minds of dogs everywhere, too!
Catching butterflies without touching their wings or hurting them
Or releasing a butterfly from a potentially dangerous situation … the other day, a butterfly was caught somehow in my windshield wiper. Before I started going too fast, I seriously stopped the car, got out, and freed it … hoping the damage hadn’t already been done. Luckily, it flew away seemingly unharmed! :D
Seriously sounds like something I would do. I haven’t had a butterfly stuck to my car, but I have stopped traffic to get a turtle out of the road.
I HAVE TOO! Those poor guys, just moseying along … they barely have a chance. Crossing the road, if you’re a turtle, is a mighty ambitious mission.
Glad to know I’m not the only one! :-)
One time I had a Butterfly fly into the open window of my car and land on my shirt (which had flowers on it) while I was waiting in a drive-thru. I coaxed it on to my finger and let it sit there until I had to move and then I placed it on the windshield so it could fly away when it was ready. What was totally AWESOME about this is that I was having a really bad day and this totally changed my attitude around.
Making up gibberish words to sing along with a song that you don’t quite know by heart but you like singing anyways.
Whoa, awesome is having the same name as another commenter so it looks like you’re posting twice as many comments as you actually are…lol. KATIE SPAMMING. ;D
Thank goodness for the colored squares!
Warm clothes straight out of the dryer! Especially on cold winter days when you specifically put clothes in just for the purpose of warming you up.
The first bird, flower, butterfly, or green tree you notice after the barren winter.
Painting houses, walls, canvas, anything…and the splattering fight that ensues.
Beanbag chairs!!!
Have you ever tried a LoveSac? The ultimate beanbag chair. They are just so comfortable!
Yes! They are awesome! And … someday after I have kids, I’m thinking I could sell my firstborn for money to buy a LoveSac. Haha ;D
Seriously becuase that is how much it would cost to actually purchase one. So expensive, but I’m thinking completely worth it.
Finding shapes in nature. There’s a tree right outside my bedroom window at home that has branches aligning just the right way with the tree next to it, forming a heart shape. :) I always see a lot of heart shaped leaves too, and clouds are the perfect shape shifters!
Listening to your favorite baseball team on the radio while you are at work and cheering them on!!
Driving first time a car with automatic transmission. What a huge relief – you don’t ever have to be nervous again about taking off too quickly etc. It makes driving almost as easy as walking.
Maybe it’s not that big deal for a person who already is a great driver, though, but for me it sure was awesome.
I’ve always driven an automatic, so I actually thought it was really awesome when I learned to drive a straight transmission! I think everyone should know how to, just incase they ever need to.
Stepping out of the plane when you arrive to a place you have never been before. AWESOME!
I have never been on a plane so I don’t know what this feels like….but riding in a plane is on my “things to do before I’m 30” list.
You’ve been in the sky for the last hours and then the plane lands and you’re in a tottaly different place than the one you last were. It’s quite a feeling! But hey you can get to amazing different places by car, train or boat as well, so… ;)
Tasting something you’ll love for the rest of your life for the first time.
When you take that first bite…
AWESOME!
Getting half-price holiday candy that the drugstore’s trying to get rid of (leftover Easter treats the Monday after Easter, Halloween candy on Nov. 1st, etc). Awesome!
I said that earlier, LOL. :-) I called it National Chocolate Discount Day. One day after every major holiday.
i don’t know if this has already been said,
but what i think is awesome is when you save a little tiny insect, bug, frog, etc.’s life.
for instance, all the time in my pool i’ll find frogs, bees, ants, everything.
i usually save them, but its all in vain, heh.
but one day there was a moth that just dived into the deadly pool…
i spent 3 or 4 minutes opening the pool container, getting the net out, pulling the giant 10 foot pole out… then, carefully i managed to get the bug out. when i saw it in the net, it was still alive! it was wet though, and i saw it cleaning itself with its antennae…i couldn’t just leave it there though. i scooped it up with a leaf and, surprisingly, it didn’t fly away. i brought it away from the pool into my mother’s orchid garden and placed the leaf and the moth on top of the orchid plant. i waved goodbye and wished it luck! the next day, i immediately went to the same orchid plant and found the leaf empty with no moth! i was elated!
so, sorry if this has already been said, or even if it’s already been part of the 1000 things, but that smile i had on my face and the feeling i had was just…
AWESOME!
Birthday cards/presents that appear a few days after your actual birthday. Just when you thought it was over ’til next year…
Mom’s PB&J sandwiches. Quite honestly, no one else’s will ever taste quite as good. Maybe it’s that she’s got the exact ratio of PB to J down, maybe it’s the little heart she draws in the PB with the knife before she closes the sandwich. Who knows? Either way, it’s AWESOME!
Yours makes me feel as if anything I could possibly post won’t be as awesome as that.