Baking bread

I really like baking and because I’m home with my parents I was able to help my Dad bake French boule bread and it came out really well.  I think I enjoyed making it more because I was working on it with my Dad. Ultimately, I think doing things are more fun when you’re with family and/or friends. Fun is best when it’s shared. I wish everyone the happiest of Sundays!

If you're reading this....

If you're reading this it's too late! I've already sent good vibes and thoughts your way and there's nothing you can do to stop them! I wish you the very best.

The Value of Home

"Home is the chief school school of human virtues."-William Ellery

This quote really resonated with me today as this coming week I'm going to visit the place where I was born and raised. Although I don't think I'll ever really grow up, I do think that where I was raised I learned many of the things that have helped me throughout my life. These things included the need to work hard, to be genuine and kind to everyone. I've sought to live by these principles to this day. All that aside, it's always nice to be with my family and so I'm really glad that I'll be with them physically soon. There really is no place like home. 

Fun with fitted sheets

Since I find folding fitted sheets challenging, this video really resonated with me. It has a dog in it and it made me laugh so I just had to share it here. Anyway, I wish everyone a very happy Thursday and an even happier Friday to come!

Telling beautiful things to the heart

"Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart." -Pablo Casals

I find that I often feel music finds a way of speaking to my heart or at least making me feel something very deeply. So a piece of music that I heard today that made me feel deeply happy today was this piece of music I heard called "Sweet Lorraine" as it really did sound sweet. I wish everyone the happiest of days.

Run Julia Run!

I saw this news story about a woman named Julia Hawkins who is 103  who won the 50 meter dash in the Senior Games. Her story shows me that no matter how old you might be, if there's something you really want to do and you're good at doing it, age doesn't have to stop you. Indeed, if there is something good you'd like to do that makes you feel happiest, I hope that you pursue that goal. I wish everyone the happiest of Tuesdays and a happier Wednesday to come.

All we have is today

"All we have is today. Just live it. We don't know about tomorrow. So, enjoy the day. Love yourself, and spread love around."- Charlotte Rae

 I like this quote because because I believe each new day gives everyone a chance to spread more love in the world and that starts by loving oneself and enjoying each day we have. In that spirit, if you're reading this, I hope you had a really nice day today and I wish you an even happier tomorrow with much love in it.

A key to happiness

"To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness."-John Dewey

There's something nice about knowing you can do something well. For me, the thing I've done well at is writing.  Writing has always made me feel good. That's not to say writing isn't challenging for me but it is something that gives me a lot of satisfaction, plus it's fun. It's helped me through many things and I've been able to help some people through writing. I hope that wherever you are reading this that you can find something good that you enjoy doing and that you're good at doing. Most of all, I hope you find happiness doing it.

To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness. John Dewey
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_dewey_100748

To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness. John Dewey
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_dewey_100748

Dreams help me get through the day

“You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.” - Billy Wilder

Sometimes I feel that dreams really do keep me going because they give me hope that so many great things can happen each day. Plus, I feel like it’s fun to think about all the nice things that can happen as doing that gives me things to look forward to and working to help make dreams realities helps make life more of an adventure for me.  One thing I hope for all who read this is that you have many dreams and allow them to motivate you and that ultimately, your dreams become realities. I wish everyone the happiest of Saturdays.

Happy Friday!

Just because it's Friday and I'm happy, I found a video with a dog who really reflects my mood. I wish everyone a very happy Friday with many reasons to dance during it!

Minions invade my office

It is well known that I really like Minions. It's very easy to make me feel really happy very quickly. All that is required is to show me something related to Minions. (Minions are little cartoon characters and their only goal is to find and do the bidding of the most evil villain they can find. My boss has a theory that I like Minions because they allow me to be bad by proxy so I can be a good person in real life.)  Anyway, yesterday my boss gave me this banner with a Minion on it that is in a vampire costume with the words "I won't bite" on the top of the banner. I put it on the front of my desk and it made a lot of people laugh, which was my whole goal really.  I figure happiness is best when it's shared adn I'm more than happy to share the Minions! I wish everyone a very happy Thursday.

Dogs appreciate all your conversations

"No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does."- Christopher Morley

I've always liked dogs because they show people unconditional love and somehow they seem to know when you're happy or sad and respond to those feelings in a way that somehow helps you feel better. Plus, I think it's true that dogs are very good listeners. Even if you don't have dog I hope that you have many people around you who listen to you and love you unconditionally. I wish everyone the happiest of Wednesdays.

In my life

It’s the singer/songwriter Sir Paul McCartney’s birthday and to celebrate it I thought I’d write about one of my favorite songs that he sang with The Beatles called “In My Life.” I like it because it’s all about telling people how much they mean to you and how much you love them. In that spirit, I include the song below to send much love to everyone.

Happy Monday!

 I wish everyone a happy Monday and a week with many adventures and many reasons to feel good in it!

Happy Father's Day

I want to wish a very happy Father's Day to all dads in the US. The fact that it is Father's Day makes me think of how funny my Dad can be. I always know when he's not being serious because his lips twitch when he's trying to tease me and my siblings and mom. I also like that he can say the funniest most unexpected things to make people laugh. Overall, the best thing about my Dad is that he is my Dad and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Childhood is short?

"Childhood is a short season"-Helen Hayes

I actually disagree with this quote. I think there's an inner child in all of us and I intend to keep  my inner child because I feel like it reminds me to have fun.  I refuse to let all of me grow up. In that spirit I share the song below!

Happy Saturday everyone.

Education lights a fire in me

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” -William Butler Yeats

Being educated is one of the things that has had the most impact on my life in terms of growing as a person. I believe education is a right that everyone has and that people can learn new things each day. One thing I hope for everyone is that people can seek out opportunities to learn more and grow. I feel that the more knowledge people have and the more they use it to help others, the more our society can be enhanced and thus, everyone can benefit from such improvements.

I wish everyone the happiest of days. I hope you can find many things to learn and grow from and that you can feel better for learning such things.

A wonderful thing

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”- Anne Frank 

It’s nice to know that things that can seem small can do so much to improve the world. Just smiling at someone has the potential to do a lot. In helping someone feel happier I feel it can increase the chance that that person might smile at others and thus, happiness can spread. In that spirit, l send a smile to everyone with warmest wishes and the hope that each day brings something positive into your life.

Yay for Ali Stroker!

The actress Ali Stroker became the first individual who is a wheelchair user to win a Tony Award for her performance in the musical “Oklahoma!” ! I’m really pleased she won because it’s great that people with disabilities are being represented in theater. I figure the more positive representation people with disabilities get, the more it can be demonstrated that people with disabilities can contribute so much to society and having a disability is not something to be pitied. Anyway, I wish every congratulations to Ali Stroker!

Somewhere over the rainbow

The actress/ singer Judy Garland was born today in 1922 and to celebrate her birth I thought I’d share one of my favorite songs that she sang called “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. Perhaps it’s not the most positive of songs, but I like it because to me, the song is about hoping for the future and better things to come. I wish everyone the happiest of Mondays!

Love is love

As it’s Pride Month and Boston had their annual Pride Parade yesterday, I want to take this opportunity to send much love and best wishes to the LGBTQIA + community now and always because ultimately the more love we have in the world, the better off we all are.

Things to cherish

"Cherish your human connections-your relationships with your friends and family." -Barbara Bush

Although I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for, I'm most grateful for my family and friends. They all really are lovely people. My hope for everyone is that everyone has many people to cherish. I figure if we all love each other more we'd all be better off. In that spirit, I send much love to everyone.

The difference between knowledge and wisdom

“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” - Brian Gerald O’Driscoll

I just thought this quote was funny and instructive on what you might not want to include in a fruit salad. I wish everyone the happiest of Fridays!

A shared belief

“I do believe we're all connected. I do believe in positive energy. I do believe in the power of prayer. I do believe in putting good out into the world. And I believe in taking care of each other.”—-Harvey Fierstein

I like this quote as it makes me think of how it’s nice that people can be connected and that everyone has the capacity to do so much good for others. Those are the things I treasure most in people. To all who read this, I send you much love now and always.

Oldest skydiver

I saw this story about a 102 year-old man who went skydiving and I thought it was really cool because it shows how if there’s something good that you really want to do, even age doesn’t have to stop you. I wish everyone the happiest of Wednesdays!

Happiness can be arbitrary

“For me happiness occurs arbitrarily: a moment of eye contact on a bus, where all at once you fall in love; or a frozen second in a park where it's enough that there are trees in the world.”
― Russell Brand 

 

One  thing I like about happiness is that it can be arbitrary. At least, sometimes I feel like I can find happiness in things that might otherwise seem really small.  For example, today I felt happier for drinking a cup of tea because it's warm and helps me feel safe somehow. My hope for everyone is that each day everyone can do at least one thing that makes them feel happiest, just because happiness is a lovely feeling!

Why friends are the best

"A friend is someone who knows you and loves you just the same." -Elbert Hubbard

It's so nice to have friends and to be able to love them and be loved by them in return. As long as I have friends and family around me I know that things will be all right. One thing I wish for everyone is that everyone has at least one good friend who loves them no matter what. Even if you're reading this and you feel you might not have such a friend now, I hope that you seek at least one out. Regardless of all that, I send much love and best wishes to everyone who reads this.

A wish for a happy start to the week

I wish everyone a very happy start to the week and I wish the very best to everyone who reads this.

A wonderful concert

I just got back from singing with Polymnia Choral Society in their tribute concert to The Beatles Revolver record. It was so much fun and I especially liked the fact that it involved the audience singing along with us to songs like "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude".  It was a really wonderful experience to have so many people singing together. I feel like music sounds best when it's shared and I think our concert sounded even better with lots more voices involved. I'm really glad to be part of a concert like that because it shows how music can spread a lot of joy. I wish many congratulations to Polymnia Choral Society and I wish everyone the happiest of Saturdays!