Happy Photo #4

Someone brought in chocolate chip cookies today that taste just like the ones mom used to make...I couldn't resist!

Happy Photo #3

Pretty horrible picture:) It looks like I have to concentrate really hard to blow a bubble! In my opinion though it's a simple pleasure you never outgrow...

Happy Photo #2

A watermelon candy stick and a nice walk :) They used to sell candy sticks like these on the counter of the campground we went to when I was a little girl...it's funny how a simple thing can take you back :)

Happy Photo #1

OK. . So it's more than 1 photo today but Margo's being so adorable :) got my chores done a little earlier than expected and grabbed some cuddle time with my girl.  Nothing like a purring kitten...Happy Friday:) #100HappyDays

100 Happy Days

So a good friend of mine is doing this facebook project called #100HappyDays where she is posting a picture of something that makes her happy every day for 100 days.... and I'm always intrigued by these sorts of challenges (though I often fail miserably at them- it's still fun to set out on them!) and I do like to make lists and it will turn out to be sort of a list so here is my beginning to my version on this.  Starting probably tomorrow I'm going to give it a go, I figure it's can't be a bad idea to focus on something that makes me happy every day and it'll get me to post on here a bit more regularly :-)

You can read more about the project in general here:
http://100happydays.com/

My goal will be to make 100 posts before the end of the year... because I know myself.. and posting everyday will probably just not happen. 

Looking forward to sharing happy moments!

P.S. I have a few predictions that these pictures will tend towards the food/beverage/books/kittens category... we will have to see what else I can come up with :-)

Book Thoughts: Wild by Cheryl Strayed

 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

I read this book simply because it seemed like an entertaining book about hiking... and as an unlikely serious hiker myself, about to attempt the Inca Trail, I thought it would be a fun (and maybe informative) read.  It was all of those things, but I didn't realize when I checked this book out of the library that it would also strike a cord with me on other levels.  I identified with Cheryl from the first few pages and while I never engaged in the kinds of destructive behavior she does while facing grief and uncertainty I certainly felt her pain as she described nightmares she would wake up from, or the feeling of loss of control after losing her mother and her family essentially falling apart.  I cried with her and laughed with her and was proud of her (and maybe a few times questioned her sanity but I'm sure people question mine sometimes too).

Definitely recommended reading, if you're a hiker or not, the story is about the journey both physical and emotional.  Definitely worth the read.  And if you're the kind who likes to read books before you see movies definitely give it a go because the movie is slated to be released sometime in 2014.

P.S. Here's hoping my Inca Trail comrades and I are more prepared than Cheryl was... plus... you know, we'll have a guide and each other.  After all, this girl is afraid of the dark... and the dark alone in the wide open wilderness... no way :-) 

2013 Wrap Up- Better Late Than Never?

Well just like my Christmas cards - my end of year blog post is running a little late.   But it will be completed before those cards will. Though I did buy some Happy New Year cards which are now also out of date that I still plan on sending maybe in March(ish).

So my Owning 2013 list had a few items that didn't get done: 
1. Read Rebecca
3. Take a Dulcimer Lesson
4. Paint a painting
5. Put together granny squares of moms into throw blankets
6. Back the quilt top mom finished
7. Ride in a hot air balloon
8. Learn tatting - complete a project
14. Watch Casablanca
18. Ride a mechanical bull... someone out there recently said this was on their list too.. speak up and let's get it done :-) 

Some of them I've added to my Rocking 2014 list and others I've decided are really OK for me to just let fade away into the sunset...

More importantly I did do a lot of awesome things in 2013 -- some from my list and some just because.  I've taken up hiking to prepare for an epic adventure to Peru in the spring, I shot a gun for the first time, I read some awesome books, went on an incredibly fun and relaxing vacation with the Florida branch of the family and just learned to relax and enjoy life a little more (I'm still working on this... most of my friends would probably say my worrying level is still a bit high on some sort of scale of how much normal, well adjusted, people should worry but progress is progress).  I also added an adorable bundle of fur to my life and made quite a few new friends and spent quality time with old friends and family.  Oh and I saw a ton of super fun concerts with an awesome partner in crime :-) Not too shabby really. I'll take it.  

So a couple favorites from 2013:

Book: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell granted I didn't get much reading done this year but this would have been a stand out no matter how many books I read.  My short review of it was: simply beautiful, great, writing.

TV Show: Walking Dead -- it's really the only thing I watched regularly.  I've also recently started House Of Cards and I'm enjoying that too.  I've learned setting and action/plot aren't really what drives my watching.. as long as there is character development and relationships to follow I'm good with zombie guts or backroom politics :-)

Movies: I don't know if they were a 2013 favorite for me but I did finally see the original 3 Star Wars movies thanks to some very persistent friends.. and I think that's notable :-) 

Songs:
I have so many favorites from this past year but I'm especially fond of these 3
Compass by Lady Antebellum
We Were Us by Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban
Drink a Beer by Luke Bryan  

I can't get through this verse without tears:
Funny how the good ones go
Too soon, but the good Lord knows
The reasons why, I guess

Sometimes the greater plan
Is kinda hard to understand
Right now it don't make sense
I can't make it all make sense

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I had lots of changes in 2013, and change is a good thing, so world - feel free to keep bringing it :-)  And I'll keep trying to keep my head above water and have some fun and make some memories in the process.  Happy New Year everyone... only a month and a half late :-)