If I could have 1 thing from the Harry Potter series...

It's the author J.K. Rowling's birthday and as she's famous for writing the Harry Potter series, this got me thinking about what I'd want if I could have one thing out of the Harry Potter books.  So if I could have one thing, I think I'd want to have a patronus. (It's a sort of shield that you create to ward off unhappiness and despair. They usually take an animal form and are a bit ghost-like.) In a way, I think  we all have a sort of "patronus" in ourselves in the form of hope and resilience. However, I also think that it would be really nice to have a sort of magical being to protect people from evil. If I were to get a patronus I think I'd want a phoenix because they survive from the ashes and keep going! I think the best thing about patronuses is that they never let you lose hope.

Be strong!

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/arnoldschw116694.html

As it's the start of a new week, be strong and carry on! 

Before you learn to fly, learn to fall

When I was really young my parents taught me to ski and one of the things I found I was most interested in learning about is how to get up after falling down skiing as I was very good at falling down. (If you really want to know, to make getting up after falling down skiing easier, hold your arm that's facing down the hill out so it's facing diagonally down the slope and over your skiboots. This puts your weight over the middle of the skis, and means you won't have to push yourself up so much. Then take you uphill arm and put your hand on the snow as close to the uphill ski as possible and push yourself up.) In a way, this showed me that in order to get anywhere, you really needed to know what to do if things went wrong. More importantly, it showed me how important it was to know how to get up again when things went wrong. That's something I've carried with me in my life. I was reminded of all this when I heard a song by Paul Simon called "Learn How To Fall." I really like it because it speaks to how falling down helps us to fly later on. So my message for today is even if you fall, never let it stop you from getting back up again and doing what you want to do!

Something I'm very glad my parents did for me

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all. "-Jackie Kennedy
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jackiekenn127001.html

I'm really glad my parents instilled in me a love of reading. It's made all the difference to my life. When I was younger I seemed to always be reading something, plus my mum and/or dad used to read to me before I went to bed which was really nice. It really did enlarge my world as it kept me wanting to find out more things about  people and places and just general facts. I hope everyone reads something each day especially to kids! It just makes life better!

I wish you strength, courage, and much love

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."-Lao Tzu
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/laotzu101043.html

In the spirit of the quote above, I send you lots of love now and always.

Trains!

Fun fact: the Surrey Iron Railway (the world's first public railway was opened today in 1803 in south London.  Although I take trains (e.g. subway) on a fairly regular basis, I also like trains because they are connected to my family. My granddad worked for British Rail for a long time. He was a pretty funny man in that once he was in a train when he saw some smoke and pulled the fire cord to stop the train and when he was interviewed afterwards all he had to say was: "I always wanted to pull that cord!" So I say, here's to my granddad and trains!

Travel in photos!

"Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs."-Susan Sontag
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/susansonta100173.html

I'm really glad photographs were invented for trips. One of the favorite trips I've been on was to Hawaii because it is beautiful and there's a lot of history there which is fun. Plus, I was able to go with a very good friend and her family which made the trip even better and I'm glad I have pictures to prove I went. Even when I can't travel to other places, I also really like getting postcards because they give me some ideas about where I should go next. Pictures and postcards are the best!

Me in Hawaii

Art to remember a friend

I've been taking an art class over the summer that was organized by the Epilepsy Foundation New England.  Last Saturday was the last class which involved an exhibition of the art we'd done over the past weeks. In the picture below I'm standing next to a picture of a phoenix I created in honor of one of my friends who died recently. I like the bird because to me it shows how people we love never leave us and continue to exist in our memories. In that way, I know my friend will always be with me. I figured that a phoenix would be a good way to remember my friend as she was the type of woman who would probably have liked to go out of this world in a blaze of glory! So I dedicate this post and the picture I painted to my friend Mary Rand. I'll see you again someday. 

A happy dance for a Sunday!

I thought I'd post this video here because it brought more joy to my life. Keep dancing everyone and remember, life is good!

Americans with Disabilities Act celebration today!

It's the 27th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act which prohibits discrimination the basis of disability. Today I was able to go to a celebration of this anniversary at Dunn State Park in Gardner, MA. It was a super fun day. The event had nice music, food and fun activities like kayaking and hiking which I took advantage of. I was also able to see some of my good friends that I hadn't seen for a while and I met other great people as well including Tom McCarthy who is the Director of Boston's Universal Access Program that works to make sure people with disabilities in Boston have access to outdoor activities like kayaking, boating, camping, and hiking.  What I like best about these events is that they showcase ways that people with disabilities can and should be included in all aspects of society. Everyone has the right to enjoy life to the fullest and since the ADA helps so many people to live full lives, it's a law that should be well celebrated!

Gift of grace

I was sitting at the train station waiting for the bus to go home this evening and a man came and sat down next to me and said he wanted to give it to me. The book is full of quotes about grace and feeling happy. Usually I'm wary of people that preach on streets and give out religious materials but this felt like he wasn't trying to convert anyone, it just seemed like he wanted to help people feel happy. Anyway, one of the quotes in the book that I like is:

"Grace keeps us from worrying because worry deals with the past, while grace deals with the present and future."-Joyce Meyer

So I guess my message for today is: live gracefully!

A complementary joke

I felt like laughing today and because I thought this joke was funny, I felt the need to share it here.
Happy Wednesday everyone!

A guy walks into a bar and takes a seat. Before he can order a beer, the bowl of pretzels in front of him says, "Hey, you're a handsome fellow."

The man tries to ignore the bowl of pretzels, and orders a fine Pilsner beer.

The bowl of pretzels then says, "Ooooh, a pilsner, great choice. You're a smart man."

Starting to freak out, the guy says to the bartender, "Hey what the hell, this bowl of pretzels keeps saying nice things to me!"

The bartender replies, "Don't worry about it, the pretzels are complimentary."

Read more at http://www.sunnyskyz.com/funny-jokes/205/A-Guy-Sits-Down-At-The-Bar-In-Front-Of-A-Bowl-Of-Pretzels#MCWhZ4QzO4ILLxat.99

I hope that you can learn something new each day

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."- Nelson Mandela
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/nelsonmand157855.html


I've always been a big fan of education. Even if learning can be frustrating sometimes, I've found it's always worth it. Since I hope that people learn something new every day, here's a random fact. You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television. So on that note, I'm going to bed! :)

Source: http://www.livin3.com/50-cool-and-weird-fun-facts-that-you-should-know#interesting%20facts

Smile :)

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight."- Phyllis Diller 
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/phyllis_diller.html

The actress Phyllis Diller was born today in 1917. I really like this quote by her because I also believe a smile does so much good and best of all it's sharable! I hope that you had many reasons to smile today and I wish you a very happy Monday and an even better Tuesday.

My family and ice cream

"My love for ice cream emerged at an early age - and has never left!"-Ginger Rogers
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/gingerroge391697.html

As summer is the season for ice cream, this got me thinking about the first time I remember having ice cream. When I was young my dad used to make me and my brother and sister ice cream "shakes" which really were ice cream with coca cola or some sort of soft drink. My parents got us these really fancy cups that looked like those ice cream cups from the 50's and it always felt really special. When I go back to Michigan now, ice cream is still serious business in my family and we all like going to Michigan State University's dairy store which has always had the best ice cream ever and it's a lot of fun to eat there. It makes summers sweeter. 

I'm happy it's Friday

I want to wish everyone the happiest of Fridays! I hope you had a lovely day today and I wish you an even better tomorrow! :)

Things I'm happy to have today

I'm taking a sign language course because it's good for me as my hands are weak due to a childhood illness and so they need exercising! Anyway, today we learned how to sign phrases like "I have" "I need" and "I want" as well as explaining how many siblings and other random facts about our families. So this all got me thinking about things I'm happy I have today which include:

• Lovely friends and family!
• A comfy bed!
• A very understanding sign language teacher!
• A job!
• Good food to eat!
• Nice clothes to wear!
• A voice to sing/talk with
• Public transportation!

I know that these things may not seem earth shattering to the outside world but to me they're wonderful things to have! If you're reading this I hope you had a very happy Thursday and I wish you an even happier Friday with lots of good things in it!

Friends mean so much to me

"The language of friendship is not words but meanings."- Henry David Thoreau
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henrydavid161672.html

I like this quote because my friends mean a great deal to me. The nice thing about good friends is that when I'm with them, even if we don't have a lot to say, it is still a comfort to be with them. I hope that wherever you are, that you have friends around you with whom (even if you're sitting quietly) you can still find a sense of peace. 

Some wonderful friends who were willing to do crazy things with me like give hugs to random people who wanted them. They all mean the world to me.

Why I love writing

"Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar."- E. B. White
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/ebwhite379420.html

I feel like I've always had faith in many things, including writing and every time I write something, it does feel like an act of faith. It's faith that what I'm writing is meaningful and something that might last. If I leave nothing else behind in this world, I hope that at least something I wrote will touch someone somewhere. For now though, let it suffice just to say that if you have something good that you really want to do, I hope that you take a leap of faith and do it!

A joke for computer lovers/addicts

As I use computers every day, this joke somehow made me laugh. I hope it has the same effect on others.  I hope you had a really nice day and I wish you an even better tomorrow.

There are four engineers traveling in a car. One is a mechanical engineer, one a chemical engineer, one an electrical engineer and the other one an engineer from Microsoft. The car breaks down. "Sounds to me as if the pistons have seized. We'll have to strip down the engine before we can get the car working again," says the mechanical engineer. "Well," says the chemical engineer, "it sounded to me as if the fuel might be contaminated. I think we should clear out the fuel system." "I thought it might be a grounding problem," says the electrical engineer, "or maybe a faulty plug lead." They all turn to the Microsoft engineer who has said nothing and say. They ask him, "What do you think?" "Well, I think we should close all the windows, get out, get back in, and open the windows again." Joke from: http://www.santabanta.com/jokes/10764/car-breakdown/

I love my family!

I came back this morning after spending a lovely week with my family in the mitten! Really enjoyed being home with my parents and sister and brother and being able to celebrate my parents' 39th wedding anniversary! It's always nice being home with them. We went swimming, cooked and watched movies and it was just nice to relax. I find that no matter what happens I'm always happy to be home. I hope everyone has a place and people that make them feel happiest. 

Positively positive!

I was poking around the internet and I found this lovely Facebook page called "Positively Positive." (https://www.facebook.com/positivelypositive/?fref=nf&pnref=story) This page, as its name suggests, is full of positive stories, quotes and messages which can lift the spirits. One quote I saw on the page that I liked that is written on that page is: "Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles. It takes away today's peace." So check out the page above and don't worry be happy!

 

Here comes the sun

The drummer/singer Ringo Starr was born today in 1940. As he was part of the Beatles, this got me thinking about a Beatles song I like called "Here Comes the Sun." I like it because it reminds me that even if things are hard, the sun does come out eventually and things get better. Plus, I always feel happy when I hear it. In that spirit, I wish everyone a very happy weekend coming up!

A nice song for this Thursday

I heard this song today called "Never Alone."  I like its message that things are better when faced together. I wish everyone a very happy Thursday!

Maggie goes back to nature!

I really like going to see my family in Michigan because I get to go back to the farm where I grew up. We lease out the farmland around our house but my family still keeps a vegetable and flower gardens. We also usually have a healthy crop of wild black raspberries. Maybe it's not a crazy exciting activity but there's something nice about picking raspberries with my family. It's always nice to be home with them.  So I say, here's the the little things in life that can make people happy and here's to the yumminess of black raspberries!

Things I'm proud of about the US

As it's July 4th, I thought I'd write about the things that make me happiest about the US:

• I'm happy that my family is here. 
• I'm happy that there are fireworks on the 4th of July, just because they're fun.
• I'm happy that there are people here that stand up against authority. (I realize this isn't a unique quality of the US but I'm still glad it happens here.)
• I'm happy that people here are free to believe what they want to believe. 
• It makes me happy that there are so many cultures and languages here.

I wish everyone who celebrates it, a very happy 4th of July 

Happy tip for a Monday

A healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier. Tom Stoppard
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/tomstoppar120728.html

If you'd rather not be a carrier, be contagiously positive!

Funny joke for summer picnics

As people usually have picnics in the summer and some people (at least in the US) tend to eat cole slaw as part of some picnics, the joke below seemed appropriate. I hope you have a very happy Sunday. 

-Have you heard of Murphy's Law

-Yes, anything can go wrong will go wrong

-What's about Cole's law?

-No

-It's a thin-slice cabbage dripped in mayonnaise and sour cream

Source of joke: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/5z4b1u/whats_a_short_clean_joke_that_gets_a_laugh_every/

Wishing a happy anniversary to my parents

My parents have been married for 39 years this year! I'm really proud of my mum and dad because they show me how a loving relationship should be. Everything life has thrown at them, they've gone through it together and  I think they've grown stronger as a couple because of the things they've experienced together. To this day they still love each other very much. They show me how important unconditional love is and how it's something that lasts and does get stronger with time.  I think it also helps that they laugh and joke with each other and even if they drive each other crazy sometimes, they have always found a way to work things out. I love them so much and I'm happy for all they've achieved together and most of all, I'm proud to be their daughter.