the unexpected "great day"

Last night while lying in bed, I said to J, "Wow, today was the best day that I have had in a long time. It was a great day."

He said, "Hey wait, didn't you have a good time when we went on our trip last weekend?"

I answered, "Yeah, I did. But this is different because I didn't plan on having a great day. I planned on having fun when we went on our trip. Today I didn't expect anything unusually great to happen."

Unexpected "great days" are the best.

Here are the reasons why my day was so nice:

• Two surgeons agreed that my mom is ready for surgery! She is scheduled for an operation at the beginning of next month.
• Target has darling Eeyore toothbrushes for babies and toddlers. I can't help but smile when I see this little tiny toothbrush. Now Sam is ready to start brushing!
  
• A professor from a local university contacted me, asking what survey and upper-division classes I am prepared to teach. He and his colleagues are trying to plan courses for the next academic year, and he mentioned that he was especially "intrigued" by my background in Portuguese/Brazilian colonial art. I was floored. I have worried that my extremely specific focus would make me unappealing to many art history departments. I'm so happy that someone is interested in what I have studied! Although this professor has not offered me an adjunct position or anything, I'm terribly pleased that someone might consider to hold a seminar on Colonial Portuguese/Brazilian art.
• I discovered a website for The Hispanic Baroque group. This is the first academic group I have found which has interests similar to my own. I have had trouble finding many American scholars that are interested in my field, but it looks like there are several universities in Canada which have like-minded scholars. Yay for Canadians!
  
• I received a package from Ixoj and Phin which contained my birthday present - new orange shoes! This was an especially unexpected surprise, since my birthday isn't for a month and a half. After seeing the tattered condition of my current shoe pair, I think they decided to send me a present early. Thanks, friends! It's just what I wanted.
  
• Before going to bed, I discovered that the well-respected art historian W.J.T. Mitchell is coming to lecture at Seattle University in a few weeks. Mitchell is one of the most prominent art historians/theorists that is practicing today. We studied some of his work when I was in graduate school. I'm very excited to hear this lecture.

What kinds of things turn your normal days into great ones?