Travel! 
Definitely my children. I can sit and watch them as they play and their little faces never fail to cheer me up.
A good book I can lose myself in, something lighthearted and not too taxing on the brain if I need cheering up. Preferably read in the bath with some nice music on, after the kids are in bed.
Hugs off my SO make me feel good too, although as I don’t have a SO right now I guess this answer should make me feel bad. I’m off for a bubble bath and a good read!
- My daughter
- Hanging out at my best friend’s house
- Hi Opal!
- A new book
- Having something to look forward to, no matter how minor
A sincere smile, I don’t care from whom.
Taking my grandchildren places they haven’t been before. We are taking them to Mt. Rainier next weekend.
Getting off work. Especially on Fridays when I don’t have to work the weekend (such as this weekend). Overtime has become a regular part of work the past few years and to cover up the lousy job they are doing, management has decided that “designated overtime” shall be used. This means you can be made to work overtime without the 24 hour notice specified by the union contract. Plus having a supervisor who lives for her job and nothing else. She has no hobbies, outside interests, or social life and believes her crew should be the same. I have worked 8 out of the last 10 weekends and she couldn’t understand why I would want to have a weekend off. My favorite nickname for her (among the many used, most using foul language) is Osama bin Mama. Sorry about the rant.
And the most important is spending some quality time with my wife. Since the kids (2 stepdaughters, one boyfriend, 3 grandkids) have moved back in, there has been precious little time for just the two of us. Today is one of the days we get to spend together. The grandkids are with their father this weekend, their mother is at work and the other 2 are out apartment hunting (YAY!!!). A little grocery shopping this morning, dinner and a movie this afternoon, and tonight my wife has some root beer flavored stuff she wants to try.
reading
going to church and worshipping Jesus
my son behaving:)
Well, chocolate is always nice. Other than that:
Grocery shopping is best, but hitting the used-clothing stores is nice too, if I have a little cash to spend.
Making candles or soap. Very therapeutic stuff.
And this one is kind of weird, but I guess it goes along with the comfort-is-a-full-pantry thing I have: I love to buy, oh, say 8 or 9 chickens on sale, then spend a morning cutting them up and packaging them for the freezer. Then I make soup out of the bones and extras.
sigh Somewhere at heart, I think I’m a Depression-era mother.
~karol
Red Red Wine - not the drink, the song. I think it is the greatest unwinding song ever, there’s something very relaxing about it. Oh, and the song Suddenly Seymour - turn the music up, close my eyes, pretend Rick Moranis is singing to me…
“I know things were bad, but now they’re okay”
Sigh. It does wonders.
A good book, especially history.
The music of the Strauss dynasty, Franz Lehar, or theComedian Harmonists.
Reading the SDMB. 
Listening to up music, like James Brown or Marva Whitney.
Cuddling with my SO.
Sleep.
Falling asleep to my coveted, perfect, I-worship-every-single-song Motown mix tape.
Getting ready for a fun night out with my girls - spending at least three hours relaxing and making myself beautiful.
The sweet, slow smile that this cutie I have a crush on always gives me when he sees me, and the way his eyes light up when I smile back.
Reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. If I’m really sad, I read the first few pages out loud, which immediately serves as a balm for my soul.
Laughing loudly.
Dancing.
Driving fast.
Horseriding
Singing
Yoga
Cooking
Good music
Going to the beach with my doggies
Going to the beach any time
Talking (or IM-ing) with my best friend, who is in London
Tidying up my flat so it’s all spick and span
My SO
My cat
Traveling
Laying out in the sun on hot concrete.
The jingling sound my collar makes when I run.
Playing my guitar. I suck at it, but that’s okay. Practicing on it tends to calm me down if I’m upset or sad, probably because I have to concentrate. It takes my mind off things.
Going for a long walk or indulging in some other form of exercise. Natural high, and all that.
Reading an old, familiar book, especially those that have a very readable style and are comparatively light/funny (or at least have light/funny bits.) Terry Pratchett, Lois McMaster Bujold, Douglas Adams, and Diana Wynne Jones are favorites.
Baking something. I’m not sure why, but cooking a dessert of some type (I specify dessert, because that’s all I really know how to cook for fun) always makes me feel better. Too bad that I’m trying to eat more healthily now, and am inevitably struck by a guilty conscience if I do. Maybe I could give them to friends or something…
Tana
When I go out to dance, and there’s a run of my favourite songs, and I turn into a whirling dervish because dammit, you can’t just let a straight run of 99 Luftballons, Désenchantée, Y Yo Sigo Aquí, and It’s Raining Men go by without something special.
Going to bed with a really gorgeous guy. Or two of them.
Singing along to my CDs.
Finishing a really good translation.
Riding the metro. (When they finish the Laval extension in 2006, the first time I see the new stations I fully expect to have a spontaneous orgasm right there in the train.)
A new pen
My son
Getting the news that a new baby has come into the world
A good book
Shopping
Lilly - even when’s she’s asleep.
A “welcome home” hug/kiss to/from Mrs. Smegma and the Smeglets[sup]tm[/sup] after the working day, depending on who arrives home first.
As Coldfire and Mr. Peart have suggested, “To pass an evening with a drink and a friend.”
Just cranking my amp to “eleven” and bashing out some raw rock 'n roll on my guitar.
Rereading my two most favorite (and seemingly contradictory on a superficial level) authors: Kurt Vonnegut and Robert Heinlein.
Just reminding myself how (at 18) I fell head over heels in love with the inestimable Mrs. Smegma, and still at the age of 36, she makes my heart go “pitty-pat.”
Also just reminding myself that I am not to be taken seriously at all times, no matter how earnest I may seem.
Singing loudly to the radio
My kids (they’re also a cause, sometimes)
Driving on a cool sunny day with thewindows down
Blowing something up in a video game
Spooning with the wife.