Face the sunshine!

Just a happy quote for today:

"Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you."-Walt Whitman

 

 

Things that bring light back into my life when there is darkness

"Most of us are imprisoned by something. We're living in darkness until something flips on the switch.

Wynonna Judd

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/wynonna_judd.html#s7KktBgQYBebXDHh.99

I've found there are many things makes my life better after whatever darkness comes. I think those things are the things that make life worth living. So here are some things that make my life better.

• A good book-I like curling up and reading one -it helps me get to sleep too.
• Meeting up with friends and family. I love them end of story.
• Keeping this blog-it has made life better.
• Zumba-I love dancing plus it makes me feel good.
• Hugs

Words I intend to live by

"To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless."

Gilbert K. Chesterton

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/gilbert_k_chesterton.html#3FrUe8EPp7wR7fAk.99

One thing I never want to live without is hope. I feel like I can withstand a lot as long as there's hope for something good to come. I believe unbelievable things can happen and I believe in forgiving people if only because I never found being angry was much fun. With all that in mind I feel happier1

Happy movie trailer

I saw this movie trailer today and for whatever reason it made me fee really good. I hope it has the same effect on others. Best wishes to all!

I'm gonna sit right down and write a letter now....

I saw this Tweet by a little girl that wrote to President Obama and then got a response back from him. She wrote: " “Please stop war for our world, instead have a meeting. Please give a speech to tell everyone they can marry who they want. Thank you."

Obama wrote back that he couldn't agree more.  All that got me thinking about what I'd write if I decided to write something to celebrities. Just for the heck of it I thought I'd write a few messages here just because.

Dear American Authors

Thanks for writing a song called Best Day of My Life. When I listen to it, I can't help but smile. I hope you have many more best days. :)
-Maggie

Dear Train,

I've loved your music since the song "Drops of Jupiter" came out. Plus I like how you sing the song "Marry Me" at concerts and let people propose to their significant others on stage. I hope that you keep on singing!-Maggie

Dear Ellen,

Thanks for always making people laugh and helping people in so many ways. I'm glad there's someone spreading happiness on TV every day. -Maggie

Dear JK Rowling,

I still like your books very much but I do wish you could bring back Harry Potter (pretty please?)
Oh ok. I know, he got old but still..... anyway, I'm still pleased you made him up!-Maggie 

To be Joyful!

It's the singer Lauryn Hill's birthday today. I first saw her perform in the movie Sister Act 2 and in the movie she sang this song called Joyful Joyful. I always feel happy when I watch the clip. It reminds me of when I was in a gospel choir at American University. I loved that choir because to me, when we sang it was as if God sang with us. It felt so good! I'll never forget that feeling it really was joy!

Below is a song from American University's Gospel Choir that we sang in the last concert before my class graduated in 2008.

A song to be remembered by....

"I would rather be remembered by a song than by a victory." -Alexander Smith

In case it's not evident by the multiple posts on this blog on the topic, I really like music.  So after I get super old and kick the bucket, I hope people remember me by the song "Best Day of My Life" by American Authors. It always makes me feel really happy!

Life is more fun with friends

"So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good."-Helen Keller
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes_of_the_day.html#rBbfR4BSyAJ4FHyZ.99

I love my friends and I think that experiences in my life have been a lot more fun because I've had awesome friends to do things with. Here are some of the fun times I've had that have been made that much better.

• Giving hugs to random strangers is so much better (and possibly safer) when friends do the event with you. I always had a group of friends with me when I did those events and I think I kept doing them because I and my friends were really into it and we had more fun as a result! 
• Once I had to go to the ER and my friends came with me. To make me laugh and cheer me up one of my friends grabbed a bed pan plonked it on her head and started singing to me in Spanish. I laughed so hard. The kicker was that later that year we both went to a Christmas party and she brought a big box which everyone of course wanted (because people like big boxes) lo and behold, in the box was... the bedpan!
• My friends helped me get more creative by introducing me to foods like chicken feet. I went out to dinner with some of my friends to a dim sum restaurant. ("Dim sum" is a bit like a buffet dinner except that waiters walk around with trays and you pick what you like from them. The food ranges from Chinese dumplings to vegetables, to...chicken feet.) My friends put what looked like a very bony chicken wing in front of me and suggested I try it. Which I did, I have to say it was really just like a chicken wing with a lot of bones and not so much meat. It wasn't half bad though. I've since adopted the philosophy that as long as the food tastes good and is healthy for you, I don't really need to know what it is. 
• I love going to the movies with friends. Once my friend and I went to see a movie in the theater and after thinking it was really boring and didn't want to waste the tickets we paid for we snuck into another movie. I thinking watching the second movie was more fun because I felt sneaky about it and I wouldn't have snuck in without my friend!
• Traveling is more fun with friends. I went to Spain with my sister and one of my friends who was studying abroad in Portugal and came to visit us. We went all around Madrid and had a great time. Then because my friend needed a place to stay the night we pushed the hotel beds together so we could all fit as we only had 2 single beds. Why we thought the process of pushing the beds together was so funny I don't know but we laughed a lot! 

Amusing Status Updates

So just because I want to and I can I always rather liked writing funny status updates on Facebook -not just posts about every detail of my life-more fun stuff. If only because I think it's always good to laugh and to help others to laugh. So here are some fun status updates:

1-Candied kumquat! ( I don't know why, but just saying it 3 times fast it makes me laugh for some reason!)
2-Whenever I'm sick I make a point to watch a disaster movie while I'm stuck in bed. Then while watching said movie I can think to myself: "Well I may feel like crap but at least I'm not on a sinking ship/in the middle of a war/getting chased by zombies/getting chased in general."
3-If I could have a mythical creature I'd want a hippogriff-they're these creatures that appear to be half bird half horse and although they're a bit temperamental I've always wanted to fly on one!
4-I hate war and peas (and I haven't yet been able to get through the book War and Peace either!)
5-Today when my alarm clock woke me up I didn't know whether to bless it for waking me up on time or curse it for waking me up early! Then I thought, I can't bless it or curse it because 1 -I'm not a member of the clergy 2-I don't believe in cursing things!

A lovely night out dancing!

I love dancing and so when my friend Kimberley told me about this dance event called Dance Friday.  It happens on Friday nights in a church in Harvard Square. Starting at 8PM. The evening started with a class which was sort of like a cross between yoga and zumba. It was basically freestyle dancing semi-directed by an instructor. There was lots of room for interpretation and it was nice just to dance around and twirl and feel pretty in general. I always feel better when I'm dancing. After that they had group dancing where everyone danced in a circle holding hands and I can't really describe how lovely it felt.

Plus we had a lovely Thai dinner beforehand and I got egg rolls! I love egg rolls!

If you want to find out more about Dance Friday follow this link: http://dancefriday.org

If I knew the world was coming to an end....

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia."-Charles Shulz

I don't know why but this quote made me laugh and it got me thinking about what I'd do if I knew the world was coming to an end tomorrow. Here is a short list of both serious and fun things I'd do. 

• Find a way to fly back to Michigan to be with my family
• Put on some music and dance in some random place just because
• Grab some friends and my siblings and rent a Volkswagen Beetle and go on a joyride!
• Write a couple blog posts for the heck of it.
• Bake a cake because I love baking.
• Go up in a hot air balloon just because it's something I've always wanted to do.
• Go to a karaoke bar with friends and sing everything no matter how out of tune!
• Get all dressed up and go out for a fancy dinner
• Find someone to help me set off some fireworks in my backyard
• Give hugs to anyone who wanted one

So yes things I'd do are fairly simple in nature but those are the things that matter most!

Making It Happen

"If you really want something you can figure out how to make it happen."-Cher

It's Cher's birthday and I like this quote because it reminds me of one of the things I like about people in general. People make things happen and it makes me believe that so many things are possible. I just have to want them enough. It's the wanting that makes me work harder.  Somehow I know I'll get where I want to be in the end and with that thought in mind I keep going!

Why I like earrings

I was just thinking today
How nice it is to accessorize
It makes me feel happier
To wear earrings to wear earrings
That sparkle and shine

I like the sparkly earrings
Just because they make me feel good inside
It's nice to feel a bit more dressed up
And all it takes is a couple pieces of jewelry
To make me feel spiffy

Sometimes its nice to feel
Like I'm dressed up to the nines
If only so I can walk outside
And have the satisfaction of knowing
I look just fine

I like feeling pretty
Just for its own sake
I may not feel that way often
But when I do
It's nice to feel that great!

Song of the day!

Because I like music I felt like establishing a song for today so because I had a nice day today it made me think of the song "What A Day For A Daydream" by the Lovin' Spoonful. Hope your day was a day for daydreams too!

Music that makes me feel at peace

It's the singer Enya's birthday. I love her music because it's soothing and it makes me feel happy.  In an effort to share that peace that I get from the music, below is my favorite song by her called "Only Time." It's really pretty. I also like the song Silent Night that she sings in gaelic. I know it's a Christmas song but I still like it because it makes me feel at peace. Enjoy!

Rooting for the armed forces

It's armed forces day and I saw this video and thought it applied. Even though I'm grateful people fight for freedom and keeping people safe from harm, I just feel like celebrating that they come home.     I saw thins video and thought it applied. Welcome home!

2015 Walk for Epilepsy Boston is tomorrow!

It's Boston's Walk for Epilepsy tomorrow (5/16)! I always enjoy the walk because there's always loads of really great people, lovely food, music and a lot of fun! If you want to come and join in the fun the details you need are below! 

2015 Boston Walk for Epilepsy

May 16, 2015

DCR'S Pope John Paul II Park

Hallet Street Entrance
Dorchester, MA 02124
May 16, 2015 at 10:00AM
 

Timeline:
8:30am: Registration begins
8:30am-1pm: Music by DJ 4Hunna
9:30am-12:30pm: Face painting and balloon twisting
10:00am: Walk begins!
10:45am-11:45am: Costumed characters available
10:55am: Remarks by Sunovion
11:00am: BBQ from Tex' BBQ and ice cream from Ben and Jerry's

We are thrilled to be presenting our 22nd Annual Boston Walk for Epilepsy!  This annual event is our largest fundraising walk, and we couldn't do what we do without your contributions and your support. This year, we're back at Pope John Paul II Park with fun activities planned for the whole family!

Registration for the walk is $15. Registration will be $20 per person at the event. Children under 12 are free. Pre-registration guarantees a T-shirt and food voucher.

See below for parking and registration information
May 16 weather forecast as of May12: 62 and cloudy

You know you're addicted to Facebook when.....

It's Mark Zuckerberg's birthday and just because of that it's got me thinking about all things Facebook. Just because I can, I thought of all the things that show when I should start worrying I'm getting to addicted to Facebook!

You Know You're Addicted to Facebook When:

• You spend more than an hour  a day on Facebook
• You don't consider yourself friends with someone unless you're friends on Facebook
• You accept random people's requests to be friends on Facebook (just to see how many friends you can collect!)
• You "poke" people on Facebook just to annoy them! (Especially when you're ticked off at them!)
• You share your every activity as a status update
• You post every picture you've ever taken/had taken of you on Facebook (no matter how embarrassing that are.)
• You send everyone you know invitations to play Candy Crush (even if you never actually play Candy Crush.)
• You look up potential roommates/datas on Facebook to figure out all the details you can about them before actually meeting them. 
• Your social calendar is entirely made up of activities you were invited to by Facebook.
• You're part of too many Facebook groups to count!

Ok so yes I do spend quite a bit of time on Facebook but I'm hoping that if I ever get so bad that I end up doing all the things listed above, someone will take me by the arm and push me out my door and make me go outside and enjoy the sunshine!

As

It's Stevie Wonder's birthday and one of my favorite songs sung by him is the song "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" because somehow when I listen to it I find I can't worry about anything anymore!

Happy International Nurses Day

Florence Nightingale was born today in 1820 and so today was named International Nurses Day in 1974. I'm really glad there's a day to celebrate nurses because I've known many awesome nurses as I've spent some time in various hospitals. Nurses and my parents always great care of me when I was in hospitals and I found hospitals to be less frightening as a child because of this.  So I want to take this opportunity to also celebrate some of my friends who are nurses (or training to be nurses and physicians' assistants. They are really wonderful people that I know will help so many other people to be better and live healthier lives.  I wish them all the very best now and always.

Nothing But Blue Skies

The composer Irving Berlin was born today in 1888. He composed this lovely song called "Blue Skies and I found a recording of it sung by Ella Fitzgerald and found it so cheerful I had to share it! Hope today was full of blue skies for you. :)

Things I love about my lovely Mum!

I realize many people think their Mums are the best but I thought I'd share some reasons why I think my Mum is fantastic!

• She's helped me to be brave when things are hard.
• She has great fashion sense. She always seems to know what will fit me and look good on me.
• She's taught me how to keep flowers alive
• She's willing to drive thousands of miles to see me. 
• She's raised 3 great kids!
• She read to me as a child which instilled in me a love of reading.
• She plans the most fun vacations!
• She knows how to make me laugh in the best way.
• She's never given up on me and she's never let me give up!
• She taught me the at a cup of tea can help solve many problems.

These are just some of the reasons why I love my Mum but mostly I love my Mum because she is my Mum. 

Just a short Saturday message

I hope everyone has a lovely Saturday! Best wishes to all! :)

David Attenborough's voice

This post is about David Attenborough who is a naturalist and who turned 89 today. I'm writing about him because my Mum loves his voice and I love my Mum. So this post is dedicated to both of them!

Profound thoughts for the day!

It's Thursday! The week is almost over! Tomorrow is Friday! Cause for celebration! Hooray!

Hooray for gray hair!

Today I looked in the mirror and discovered I have gray hairs on my head. For whatever reason I'm rather excited about this! I see gray hairs as kind of symbolic -a symbol of how I've lived my life with good times and bad, stress and happiness. To me it somehow also symbolizes how I have a lot of living left to do and I don't want to let a few gray hairs stop me!

El Cinco De Mayo

Porque hoy es el cinco de mayo, quiero escribir en español. Aprendí hoy que este día no es el día de independencia Mexicana. (Es muy claro que no escuche muy bien en mi clase de historia en mi escuela.) Pero (segùn Wikipedia) el cinco de mayo es el dia que celebra La Batalla de Puebla donde los Mexicanos ganaron una battale contra Francia. No se porque quiero celebrar una batalla pero aveces quiero celebrar algo y en este dia celebro este batalla- porque quiero y pique puedo! Asi, espero que todas las personas que celebran el cinco de mayo tiene un super buen dia y disfrutan sus fiestas!

Nothing is impossible!

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!" -Audrey  Hepburn
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/audrey_hepburn.html#qMXBvdhgtQTxrjWF.99

Audrey Hepburn was born today in 1929 and I love this quote because I always felt that at a basic level human beings are possibilities, seems a wonderful thing to me.  I believe everyone can do so many great things for themselves and for others. This is why I continue to hold a lot of faith in humanity. To end this (rather short) post, I just have to say, Oh the possibilities are we!

The classy Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby was born today in 1903 and I always rather liked seeing him in movies because he always seems so classy. Plus I liked his singing as listening to him helps me to feel relaxed and happy.  I especially like this recording of "Ain"t Misbehavin'." It's just so smooth and nice I can't help but like it. Besides, listening to it keeps me out of trouble!

Finding strength

"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated." -Maya Angelou

There have been times when I felt like I had reached rock bottom and looking back I'm rather glad that I always found a way to get back up again. With that in mind I know that I can face what comes because I know that I will come out stronger and better for the experience even when things might not seem so great at the time. In a way this quote reminds me of my time on my high school track team. I was on the team for all 4 years at the school and in all that time I didn't win a race but I still felt like a winner because the whole team cheered everyone on no matter what. Thinking of it reminds me of how good  it is to have people who believe in you. With the love and support of people I care about and who care about me, somehow I know that I cannot really fail. I may not "win"everything but I know that I'll be all right no matter what and that thought helps me keep going and never give up.

Global Love Day

It's Global Love Day which was started today in 2004 by the Love Foundation (and yes I was quite delighted to learn that there is in fact a foundation called "The Love Foundation."Its mission is to encourage people to love unconditionally.) A part of me has wished for a while that I could give everyone something nice just because. I guess on a basic level, one thing I know I can always give is the love I have inside of me. I want to grow in that love and love more. I know that I am loved and I can love others in return and so the cycle continues and love (hop
efully) spreads farther. A goal I have now is to spread love as far as I can, after all, all we have in this life is each other and as I have a choice, I choose to love people because it's a wonderful feeling and I've always found a lot of happiness and joy in loving people. To read more about Global Love Day follow this link: http://www.thelovefoundation.com/globalloveday/.