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10 things that made us smile this week

uplifting, happy, joy
@StephiMireles/Twitter, Ā @DannyDeraney/Twitter

From puppies riding roosters to puppy panda costumes, here are 10 reasons to smile this week.

I don't know about you, but all of this [gestures widely at the general state of things] has been getting to me a bit lately. And when that happens, I've learned that the best way to pull myself out of the funk is to find joy in simple things. The fleeting colors of a beautiful sunrise. The hilarious quirkiness of my cats. The sound of my kids' laughter.

Big happiness can be found in little things, especially when you add a bunch of them together.

So without further ado, here are 10 things that can bring us all some joy as we head into our weekend.

A puppy riding a rooster is the unexpected therapy we all need.

What is even happening here? How did these puppies and roosters meet? When did they become friends? Who knew a rooster would ever do anything like this? So many questions, but honestly, who cares. It's friggin' adorable.

You can see the exact moment this cat says, "Oh crap," and it's just perfection.Ā 

It's the cat's Jim Halpert stare at the camera at the 10-second mark that pushes this video over the edge. Hilarious.

Spanx founder surprised her 500 employees with two first-class plane tickets and $10,000.

After selling the majority share of her company, Sara Blakely shared the wealth with her workers in the form of two first-class plane tickets and $10,000 to spend wherever they went. An awesome example of taking care of the people who help you build success. Rock on, Sara Blakely. Read the story here.

A dad of an autistic boy shared how a U.K. football club made him feel at home.

Emirates Stadium has a sensory room for autistic spectators and others with sensory sensitivities.

Arsenal/Twitter, @TheresYourDC/Twitter

A dad took his autistic son to an Arsenal football game, and when he became overstimulated, he was going to take him home. But a kind employee intervened and took them to the club's sensory room, which is set up for people who might experience sensory overload at the game. Read about this beautiful example of inclusion here.

Every parent has experienced the planking baby vs. carseat fiasco. Too familiar, and too funny.Ā 

@benandlex

Light as a feather, stiff as a board! #TargetHalloween #carseat #uppababy

Seriously, when they do this it's nearly impossible to get them to bend without feeling like you're going to break them. It's like a superhuman ability all babies are born with.

Awesome teacher wrote an official letter to the tooth fairy on behalf of a student who threw away their tooth.

It's even on official school letterhead! Gotta love a grown-up dedicated to keeping magic alive for kids.

Chris Evans' giddiness over playing Buzz Lightyear is the most delightful thing ever.

Chris Evans can't contain his delight at getting to play his dream role.

Chris Evans/Twitter

You'd think playing the studly superhero Captain America would be the pinnacle of an actor's career, but Chris Evans has never gushed over that role like he has over getting to play Buzz Lightyear in Pixar's upcoming film, "Lightyear." Check out how he talks about playing his dream role here.

These twin toddlers giggling their way through their first Target experience are all of us.

@savyjane

Itā€™s @target right? šŸŽÆ #myheros #preemiestrong #micropreemie #medicalmom #thattwinlife #twins #laughter #smiletoday #foryourpage #fyp

This is the soundtrack in my head every time I get to peruse the perfectly organized aisles of Target by myself. Target is magical.

A kid wanted her "most precious" rock to be put on display at the museum. Mission accomplished.

The plaque reads, "On 23rd August 2019, Bethan visited Poole Museum. After talking with her mum about what museums do, Bethan decided she wanted to donate her 'most precious' rock to the museum. She asked that we put it behind glass and look after it, so that everyone could see and enjoy it."

This is the way. Well done, Poole Museum.

Puppy pandas. I REPEAT. PUPPY. PANDAS.Ā 

And just when you think it can't get better, puppy lions show up. This is seriously the greatest thing I've ever seen.

If that last video alone didn't make you smile, please seek help.

Hope that brought a little sunshine to your day. Come back next week for another roundup of joy and delight!

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Dad's heartfelt lunch message shows how simple, everyday acts can change lives

You can make a huge difference by using O Organics.

via Meg Sullivan (used with permission) and Canva/Photos

A volunteer hands out food in a food bank and Meg Sullivan shares her dad's kind gesture.

When we consider people who have had a positive impact on the world, we often think of those who have made grand gestures to improve the lives of others, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Greta Thunberg, or Mahatma Gandhi. Unfortunately, that type of effort is out of reach for the average person.

However, O Organics would like to remind everyone that they can positively impact the world through small, consistent acts of kindness that add up over time. Much like how a small creek can create a valley over the years, we can change lives through small, consistent acts of kindness.

O Organics is dedicated to the well-being of all by nourishing people everywhere with delicious organic foods grown by producers who meet USDA-certified organic farming standards.

Upworthy's Instagram page recently posted a touching example of everyday kindness. Meg Sullivan shared how her father, Tom, peeled oranges for her lunch just about every day from kindergarten through high school. But on the final day of her senior year of high school, he sent his 17-year-old daughter unpeeled oranges with a touching note about how sheā€™d have to start peeling them for herself.



ā€œItā€™s Time Baby Girl,ā€ he wrote on a wikiHow printout on how to peel an orange with a drawing of himself crying. For the father, this daily ritual was about more than just making lunch; it was about showing that he cared by going the extra mile. ā€œI could have put money on her lunch account,ā€ Tom told Today.com. ā€œBut itā€™s one of those little things I thought was important, that she knows somebodyā€™s taking the time to take care of her.ā€

The small, daily gesture taught Megan an essential lesson in kindness.

The post reminded people how their fathersā€™ small acts of kindness meant so much to them. ā€œMy dad peeled my oranges until I graduated high school, too. Now, I peel my daughterā€™s oranges and will for the next 7 plus years,ā€ Katie wrote in the comments. ā€œLove this. My dad peeled mine, too. When I moved out, he gave me an orange peeler gadget,ā€ Mary added.

o organics, albertson's giving backO Organics has a wide array of foods and flavors covering almost everything on your shopping list.via Albertson's

Did you know that every time you go to the supermarket, you can also change the world through small gestures? O Organics not only allows you to feed your family delicious and nutritious organic food, but each purchase also gives back to help people and communities facing food insecurity.

Through contributions from customers like you, O Organics donates up to 28 million meals annually. The companyā€™s contribution is essential when, according to the USDA, 47.4 million Americans live in food-insecure households.

O Organics has a wide array of foods and flavors covering almost everything on your shopping list. ā€œOver the years, we have made organic foods more accessible by expanding O Organics to every aisle across our stores, making it possible for health and budget-conscious families to incorporate organic food into every meal,ā€ Jennifer Saenz, EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer at Albertsons, one of many stores where you can find O Organics products, said in a statement.

O Organics now offers over 1500 items, from dairy products such as eggs and milk to packaged meats and breakfast staples such as cereal bars, granola and oatmeal. You can also enjoy affordable organic produce with O Organicsā€™ fresh salads and fruit.

Everybody wants to make the world a better place. With O Organics, you can feed your family healthy, organic food every time you go to the market while paying it forward by contributing to the companyā€™s efforts to end food insecurity nationwide. Thatā€™s a small, daily gesture that can amount to incredible change.

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Parenting

Mom shares 4-part secret to making her home "the house" for her son and his friends.

Con: They eat all your food. Pro: You'll learn to know and trust the people they spend their time with.

hi.im.amywhite/Instagram

I grew up in "the house." In high school, my home was the designated place where my friends gathered, sometimes in big groups, sometimes just my small core squad. My three best friends spent the night there almost every Friday and/or Saturday night for four years straight. We devoured Totino's frozen pizzas by the dozens, inhaled soda, and laid waste to any snacks or leftovers that were brave enough to exist somewhere in the kitchen. Not only that, but my house was pretty small ā€” four teenage boys took up a lot of space in the living room (the whole thing) and made a lot of noise playing video games deep into the night. It must have driven my parents and older brothers crazy. It's a wonder anyone put up with it.

Or, so I thought when I was younger. When I became a parent myself, I started to understand a little more why my mom and dad were so willing to host and feed me and all my friends every single weekend. Why the outrageous grocery bill and constant chaos in the house was probably a small price to pay.

One mom has perfectly encapsulated why turning her home into "the house" for her son and his friends was so valuable and exactly how she did it.


Giphy

Amy White shared a reel on Instagram showing her college-aged son hanging in her dining room with a group of friends playing cards. The text overlay reads "What makes your kids high school friends want to come over, play cards & spend the night on their College Christmas Break". I think most parents can agree that we want our kids to keep coming home as long as possible! So how exactly did White pull this off?

Her explanation in the caption was spot-on.

First, White says that you have to start early. Become "the hang out house" in high school or even earlier. Then you have a better chance of holding onto the mantle into your kid's college years.

Next, be ready to stock the house with snacks and drinks, and don't make a fuss when your kid's friends have at it. "The kids knew we had food," she writes, "BUT they also knew I didn't care what they had. They knew they could eat anything in my pantry and fridge."

Third, and this is a big one, don't mistake being the "cool house" for being "the house." Some parents choose to allow their underage kids and friends to drink alcohol under their supervision, but you don't have to bend your morals and the law to lure the squad over to your place. Pizza and Coke is plenty to keep most teens happy. "We were not the house that served alcohol or even allowed the kids to bring alcohol to our house. And Guess What?? The kids still came and wanted to hang at our house!"

Fourth, always say Yes (as often as possible, anyway) when your kids want to have friends over. "They know my answer is 99% of the time YES," White writes. "You have to have your kids take the leadership of offering your home and if your home was 'open' to their friends in high school, they know it will be 'open' to their friends in college."

As a bonusĀ tip, White pleas with parents not to worry about the mess having friends over makes. "I love a clean house and organization, BUT I would much rather have a crazy messy house for the kids where memories are made than a quiet house with nothing going on just to keep my house 'clean.'"

White writes, "It's worth being 'the house', so let go of control & get to know your kids friends." Commenters agreed.

White's video went viral to the tune of 8.5 million views and hundreds of comments. Parents shared their own experiences of what it's like being the default hang out house.

"Our house was the high school hangout for my son and friends... every weekend... I loved it!! Miss it now that they are all college graduates and have moved away. I love seeing them when they do come home for the holidays"

"A wise man once said don't be the house with the alcohol. Be the house with the food."


Teenagers will ravage your kitchenMichael Richards Eating GIFGiphy

"Amy 1000% agree!!! My house is full of teenagers on the weekends and I love every bit of it. Even though I wake up to a kitchen that looked much different from when I left it"

"we never allowed alcohol, drugs, bad language, always respectful, and guess what, our house was always the house where the kids hung out. First my daughter, then my son. Through grade school, high school, then when my kids went out of state for college their college friends would come spend a couple weeks during the summer. I always thought of it this way, I loved knowing my kids friends and, who knows, maybe some of those kids, especially during the younger years, just maybe those kids just needed an adult to care. Anyway, it was always fun to have them here!"

"It used to crack me up when my daughter would bring over a bunch of her friends (girls and boys) in high school and instead of hanging out in the family room they all wanted to crowd into either the kitchen with me or our tiny office and happily share all the gossip with me."

Experts say that knowing your kids' friends, and their parents, can have huge benefits. Not only will it bring you the peace of mind of knowing where your kid is and who they're with when they get to those crucial high school years, it has been shown to tangibly improve kids ability to create positive relationships and problem-solve collaboratively. Plus, it can actually be really fun! Kids and teens are the funniest, silliest, most interesting people on the planet. Having a house full of them is messy and loud, but it's always a good time.

Just "Donā€™t feel bad if your house isnā€™t the chosen house," one commenter reminds us. "Just be happy your kid has a good group of friends and be thankful they have somewhere safe to hang out."

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Celebrity

Selena Gomez is once again a reminder on why we shouldn't comment on people's bodies

Someone else's body is none of your business.

Photo Credit: CondƩ Nast|Wikimedia

Selena Gomez is a reminder on why body comments are off limits.

Commenting on someone's body should be off limits. Whether someone loses weight, gains weight or a stranger is larger than average or smaller than average, it's generally ideal to keep the opinion of someone else's body to yourself. But it seems that this is a hard lesson for people to learn, especially when it comes to celebrities.

Selena Gomez is often under scrutiny because of her appearance. Growing up in the public eye, people know she's has always been on the thinner side and feel obligated to point out when she gains weight without taking into account that she's no longer a 14-year-old child. The speculation and comments had reached such a point that Gomez decided to tackle it head on.

The "Love You Like a Love Song" singer took to social media and addressed her changing appearance in February 2023 where she explained that her lupus medications cause excess water retention.

"When Iā€™m taking [the medicine], I tend to hold a lot of water weight and that happens very normally, and then when I'm off of it I tend to kind of lose weight," the star says in a resurfaced video of her TikTok live.

But for some reason, viewers once again seem to feel the need to discuss how thin she has gotten after seeing her on the red carpet for the SAG Awards. Several people accused the star of being on Ozempic, a diabetes medication that has been controversially used in recent years to double as a weight loss drug.

When an X account dedicated to updates on the star posted a side by side of Gomez last year and this year exclaiming that she's "aging like fine wine" and critics wasted no time to jump into the comments, with one writing, "I don't think ozempic is good for her lupus...."

Another writes, "Ozempic at work. Iā€™ll put her on my Deadpool list," while another says, "Sag Awards proved all the Hollywood starlets are on Ozempic."

Many of the medications used to treat lupus cause weight gain, especially prolonged use of steroids like prednisone, which is often prescribed to treat lupus flares. As Gomez explained in 2023, the medications cause weight gain often through water retention and not an actual increase in fat deposits, so it makes sense that when she is no longer taking the medications, she drops the weight quickly.

The general public has also gone after Lizzo for her slimmer appearance in recent months, which has left some of Lizzo's fans confused. In previous years she was consistently attacked for being "too fat" while not being afraid to show off her larger figure. The singer became vegan in 2020, increased her dedication to working out and drinking plenty of water, and slowly began shedding the pounds over the years. Once her weight loss was evident, she too has been accused of using Ozempic by those who have not been following along on her five-year weight loss journey.

This sort of stuff doesn't just happen to celebrities either. You'll notice comments on social media about a stranger's body or witness it happen in the wild. I recently encountered this at a local nail salon when the woman was finishing up my manicure and during the hand massage portion decided that it would be the appropriate time to tell me I needed to eat something because, "your hands are so boney they're hurting me to massage you." Seems like a strange thing to say to someone who hasn't left a tip yet, but also strange to say to a stranger you've never met before, or to anyone at all.

Like Gomez, anyone could be going through something you know nothing about, whether it be an autoimmune disorder, which Gomez and I have in common, an eating disorder, chemotherapy, PCOS, or insulin resistance. There are many reasons people's bodies are thin, fat, or fluctuate but unless that person specifically asks for commentary on their physique, it's rarely ever appropriate to opine on someone else's body.

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Pop Culture

Man's seemingly obvious 'dishwasher hack' is blowing everyone's minds

One manā€™s observation about his dishwasher may change the way you do dishes forever.

via Mike McLoughlin/Twitter

Mike McLoughlan realized something very important about his dishwasher.

No one likes doing the dishes, but the tedious chore is made much easier when using a dishwasher. However, an alarming amount of people have reported that their dishwashers can actually make the job harder because they don't properly fit their dishes.

And that's where Twitter user Mike McLoughlin (@zuroph) comes in. McLoughlin made an observation about his dishwasher that would change the way he does dishes forever. For a decade, the Irishman thought that the bottom rack of his washer simply was too small for his large dinner plates. Then he made an amazing discovery:

The tweet went totally viral, and was shared over 14,000 times. He even tweeted a picture to show just how much he could fit in the dishwasher now that he knows the racks are adjustable:

The "hack" (is it still called a hack if the appliance is doing what it is supposed to be doing?) blew people's minds:

But other people were basically like, "Seriously, dude?"

While a group of others tried to one-up McLoughlin with stories of their own:


Okay, go on and check your own dishwasher. You know you want to.


This article first appeared seven years ago.

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Love Stories

Confused man can't figure out why he's suddenly obsessed with his wife of 10 years and it's so wholesome

"Man discovers true love, freaks out."

Unsplash

This is an adorable problem to have.

When we get married, we understand that we're signing up for a lifelong commitment. We understand that the love we have for our partner will change and grow and evolve over time. The frantic, can't-keep-our-hands-off-each-other passion we feel in the beginning is bound to fade into something more closely resembling compassionate love, which is a love of devotion and care and kindness. That's why we ideally choose someone we can see ourselves growing old with, someone we genuinely like, a best friend.

Except, it turns out, that isn't always the case! Not if you take some people's word for it, anyway. And when you're expecting a "cozy but bland" marriage and suddenly find yourself in the opposite, well, it can be alarming.

An unnamed social media user recently posted a frantic message asking for help: "Why am I too attracted to my wife?"

gif of a man counting on his fingers surrounded by floating calculationsIt it sounds weird, it is kinda weird. Giphy

"I know this sounds weird," the poster wrote. "But I have been with my wife for about 10 years, 8 years dating and almost 2 married. I have always found her beautiful and super hot, but lately these last few months Iā€™m obsessing over her. I feel like sheā€™s way too hot, I canā€™t stop staring at her when weā€™re in the same room.

"Is this normal? Do I need to do something? I tried looking online for help, but there isnā€™t anything out there. I have no friends or family to ask about this."

Poor guy probably thought he was going through a hormone imbalance or some kind of mental break, when the truth is much more wholesome: Dude is just really in love with his wife.

Comments poured in. Apparently, OP isn't the only one with this 'problem'

Users on r/mademesmile had a lot to say about the man's adorable obliviousness:

gif of woman saying, 'Who woulda thought?"The weird truth is also pretty wholesome.Giphy

"No need to worry. Iā€™ve done the same thing over my 26 year marriage. Some years itā€™s there. Some years itā€™s normal attraction."

"You do need to do something. Count your blessings."

"You can't be TOO attracted to your wife. ... I've been married to mine for 21 years, and I still look at her in the way you have just described"

"I definitely haven't been with my wife as long, but I still do this. She is a goddess to me. I would die for her. I would kill for her. Either way, what bliss."

"I hope my partner looks at me the same way you look at your wife after 10 years. It's a big fear for a lot of young women my age, getting older and having age show. Give her a big ol' smooch and make it known you see her this way if you haven't already."

"My husband and I have been together 16 1/2 years. I still get butterflies in my stomach when he kisses me. Sometimes I catch him watching me with, what I call, 'googley eyes'"

"I feel the same way! Weā€™re 18 years married, 20 years together. Sometimes I catch him looking a certain way, or in a certain light, and Iā€™m like DAMN you SO FINE."

"You're just really in love with your wife and it's wholesome AF"

So, are all these couples just embellishing to make their relationships look good? Or can you really still get the 'butterflies' after decades together?

Studies show that it is possible, and even common, for married couples to be "madly in love" after decades of marriage. That should give us all hope.

A 2011 study out of Stony Brook University found that dopamine activity levels in the brains of newly-in-love couples were similar to couples who had been together for an average of 21 years. Dopamine, as a reminder, is the excitement neurotransmitter that signals reward and pleasure to your brain.

ā€œA state-of-the-art investigation of love has confirmed for the very first time that people are not lying when they say that after 10 to 30 years of marriage they are still madly in love with their partners,ā€ an expert told Harvard Medical School.

gif of Bug Bunny with heart eyesAh, love. Giphy

How does that work when the 'newness' and initial uncertainty has worn off? Fascinatingly, the things we learn and discover about our partners, even many years down the line, can influence our physical attraction to them. Leila Levison, a couples counselor, writes: "Discovering that someone is arrogant or intractable or selfish might greatly lessen our initial impression of their being handsome or beautiful. Conversely, as we come to know someoneā€™s humility or quiet brilliance, what had seemed to be ordinary features become beautiful."

So, a sudden rush of love and physical attraction to your partner could mean many things, one of them being that you've reached new heights of connection and intimacy. It could mean that you're appreciating them as a human being more than ever. These feelings can be cyclical, coming in waves, ebbing and flowing in different years. That's all totally normal.

If you're not feeling those same sparks in your own relationship, experts recommend starting with more physical touch. Doubling the amount of time you spend kissing, hugging, or holding hands can encourage your body to release oxytocin, one of the main hormones that floods your brain when you're falling in love. In way, you can almost trick the sparks to come back.

Hey, all is fair in love and war!

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Pop Culture

Woman goes viral for literally steaming from her head due to a hot flash

"This is the realest depiction of a hot flash Iā€™ve seen!"

@mstraceymonique/Instagram

The way she just laughs it offā€¦

Ah, hot flashes. They're the one thing most people know about menopauseā€”but even at that, we donā€™t really have that much common knowledge about. For instance, did you know that a hot flash can make a woman literally steam from head to toe? Probably not.

And yet, itā€™s true. The proof? A now viral video showing author and podcaster Tracey Monique sitting in the stands of a football game, eating nachos, and nonchalantly exuding vapors like a fantastical dragon. She even laughs as itā€™s happening.

ā€œWhen the flash starts flashinā€™,ā€ one of her friends can be heard saying behind the camera.

Hot flashes are caused by fluctuating hormone levels, and can feel as though you're suddenly thrust into a sauna. The intense heat can cause sweating, face reddening, and even chills and a rapid heartbeat. In shortā€”itā€™s not for the faint of heart. And yet, because of the stigma surrounding hot flashes (and menopause in general), so many women are made to feel embarrassed by it or have their symptoms minimized, rather than feeling like badasses for being part of this rather remarkable aspect of the human condition.

This is why the video is resonating with so many people. One, it depicts a rarely seen image of what menopause actually looks like, and two, it helps combat any notion of women being dramatic about symptoms. As a viewer noted, ā€œthis is the realest depiction of a hot flash Iā€™ve seen! Iā€™ve saved it so that I can show anyone who even in the very slightest suggests that Iā€™m exaggerating when it happens!ā€

Another person quipped, ā€œTo all husbands out there. When she says she's hot... this is what she means.ā€

Still another exclaimed, ā€œFinally! Visual evidence of a HOT FLASH!!! Thank you so much for posting this. You have validated millions of women all over the world: menopause symptoms are REAL and they are MISERABLE!ā€

Similarly, it really shows how little we know about womenā€™s bodies. Like, why does this phenomenon still look so otherworldly and strange in our modern world? More than one viewer commented how if this were the late 1600s, poor Monique would be tried as a witch. And if this one teeny tiny aspect of menopause is still so wildly misunderstood, imagine the rest of it or any other female biological process.

So much of our views on menopause are directly linked with our fears of aging in general. By and large, we see menopause as a disease or marker of inevitable decline, rather than a new chapter of life. Then of course there's the whole tying-a-womanā€™s-sense-of-self-worth-to-her -ability-to-bear-children thing, which is undoubtedly a prevailing issue. But itā€™s moments like those that really shift those outdated perspectives, enabling women to feel seen, understood, and hopefully even a little confident in their own strength and resilience.

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