Writing Challenge #6: Five ways to win my heart are...

And the winners are...

1. Love my Margo...she's a bit tricky but she's the apple of my eye.

2. Rub my feet.

3. Make me breakfast or take me out to breakfast.  I wake up hungry and breakfast is my favorite meal... yummmm... I'm hungry just typing this. 

4. Make chores fun by working on them together.

5. Shovel the sidewalk before you have to go to work in bad weather when I am snuggled inside on the couch  with Hank :-)  Ok... this one is pretty specific to today :-)

Writing Challenge #5: Where do I want to visit?

List 5 places you want to visit:

I want to visit everywhere!

Right now I am feeling a bit more "home-y" and attached to traveling with the family (including Hank when possible) so I'd really like to visit some low-key near by relaxing spots.

1. Deep Creek Lake - I have never been there and I think a cabin for a week with a hammock between two trees sounds lovely.
2. Texas - I've never been out to see my Aunt and her family at their home in Texas and I miss them!
3. The beach - any beach - I just love the sound of the ocean.  I don't actually like to get in the water but that never takes the beach off of my wish list!
4. Chestertown - this is an easy one to check off, it's only a few short hours away.  I get the itch every few years to go back and stroll around what I think is one of the most beautiful college campuses...I may be biased.
5. The Lake District in England - I'd love to wander through the fields where Wordsworth penned his poetry, or sit quietly in one of those spots and read.

Writing Challenge #4: Who inspires me?

This one is easy!  My parents still inspire me everyday...

My dad because he was brave through much adversity, kind and always willing to lend a helping hand, never afraid to voice his opinion but was also fair.  He had a soft spot for kids and animals and a love of nature and camping.  He never let me wonder how much he loved me, I was always 100% aware that I was the center of his world.

My mom because she had the ability to keep all of us straight, she taught me about not worrying about what people think about you, and was truly my best friend as an adult.  She also somehow survived the five or so years of my childhood when I simply refused to sleep at night.

I didn't appreciate it as much in the moment but my parents sacrificed a lot for me...they gave me their precious time when I wanted to be involved in a gazillion 4-H projects, they drove me to all my band practices and competitions, and were there to cheer me and my friends on at every one of them.  They made sure we figured out a way for me to go to the college I had my heart sat on, and then when I was homesick, made sure I had a way to get home on the weekends and back in time for class on Monday.

Thank you for inspiring me every single day that I had with you and every day still! <3

Writing Challenge #3: My Pet Peeves

What are your top three pet peeves:

1. Tailgating - I'm an anxious driver to begin with, when you are close enough to me that I can no longer see your headlights I am not a happy camper and I may start yelling at you even though you can't here me... though my husband who is often on the phone with me via bluetooth can... he loves the random outbursts!

2. Chewing with your mouth open (it's way more about the noise for me than anything).

3. Loud noises before 8 am (truly I don't love loud noises at all, fireworks have never been a favorite of mine...they are beautiful but I wish they would make them quieter!)

Yes I realize that there is some hypocrisy when in my first pet peeve I reference yelling and my second two are about not liking loud things ;)

Writing Challenge: #2 Someone said I...

Day 2: Write something that someone told you about yourself that you'll never forget...

This one is surprisingly hard for me...my parents and role models were fantastic at encouraging me and giving positive reinforcement but I couldn't put my finger on one thing that stood out above all the rest...

So I started a haiku with this first line and the rest just fell out of my mind, through my fingers to the keyboard.

Someone said I was
worthless but I knew better
it was time to go.