You know you're addicted to your smartphone/IPad when....

Just for fun....

You know you're addicted to your smarphone/Ipad when:

1. You have so many apps on your phone that you keep getting those annoying messages saying your phone doesn't have enough space for more!
2. When you use a regular computer you try running your hand across the computer screen to try and get it to work  and then feel rather frustrated when it doesn't work.
3. You rely so much on Google maps on your phone that if your phone dies you really are lost.
4. You can't go an hour without texting someone.
5. You use your phoneTweet/update facebook about your every move.
6. You give up texting and rely on snapchat as your only means of communication.
7. You constantly check your e-mail on your phone even during meals.
8. You consider your phone to be your camera.
9. You have a customized ringtone for every single one of your friends.
10. You can't imagine how you managed to survive before the smartphone was invented!

Good places to get lost

Since I make getting lost an art form, I thought I'd write about some interesting places to get lost-even if I haven't gotten lost in some of these places yet, thinking of them makes getting lost seem less intimidating.

• Libraries-if I really get lost in them I can always find a good book to read until I can find a nice librarian to tell me how to get  wherever it was that I was trying to go. 
• Aquariums-I did actually get lost in one once when I was really little-the upside to it was being able to all the cool animals there.
• Boston -it's a very walkable city. Plus there's always something new to see. (And yes I have gotten lost here too.)
• Ikea-as long as I manage to find Ikea meatballs I'm good!
• A museum -especially Boston's Museum of Fine Arts- I don't mind getting lost there one bit!

Even if I do get lost a lot I've always found my way again-it makes life just that much more of an adventure!

Having fun!

"It's not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness."-Charles Spurgeon

I think it's funny how happiness is such a secret-it's just a matter of fun!

Happy Birthday to Louis Armstrong

It's Louis Armstrong's birthday and to celebrate the day of his birth I've written a list of songs here that he sang that make me feel good inside.

• You Go To My Head - I find it to be very relaxing and rather pretty. (Listen here)
• The Dummy Song-I just think it's funny! (Listen here).
• What a Wonderful World-I just can't help but like it. (Listen here)
• I'm in the Mood for Love-It makes me feel like dancing! (Listen here)
• Summertime-He actually sang this as a duet with Ella Fitzgerald. It does remind of summer. (listen here).
• La Vie En Rose-It's just so....smooth! (Listen here)
• Dream a Little Dream-It's good to dream. (Listen here)
• When You're Smiling- It's also good to smile.:) (Listen here)
• A Kiss to Build a Dream On-Perhaps it doesn't entirely relate to the song's lyrics, but listening to it does remind me of how my parents used to kiss me goodnight as a child and I often felt as though I had better dreams as a result. (Listen here)
• It Don't Mean a Thing (if it Ain't Got That Swing)- he really did have swing! (Listen here)

What I'd tell kids

I heard that there's a new adaptation of the musical Into the Woods coming out as a movie over Christmas. I've only ever heard one song from that musical that I quite like. It's called Children will Listen and it's all about the spoken and unspoken messages adults send to children. If I could get a kid to listen to me I'd tell them to have fun, laugh a lot, be good to everyone because all we have in life is each other, and never give up!

learning how to get down a mountain

My parents decided it would be a good idea to teach all their children how to ski, starting with me at age 5. Not having a lot of depth perception proved to be something of an advantage since I wasn't really scared of how far up I was since I had difficulty judging how far up I really was (all I knew was that I was "high up".) The tricky part was getting down the mountain, especially if there were a lot of people on the mountain because I had a hard time judging how close they were to me. To get over this, (and to stop myself from being scared,) I remember saying to myself  "All you have to do is get down the mountain, you don't have to look pretty doing it, you just  have to get down the mountain." With that idea in mind I gradually got down mountains and now enjoy skiing very much. I started thinking about it again now because there are times when I think about how, even if I'm scared or I have to do something that's hard, I just have to get down the mountain and things will be better. After all, going down a mountain at top speed makes me feel really good!

Things I'd put in a time capsule

I love learning about history and people's stories and so I love this radio piece that they do on NPR sometimes where people tell stories about a family member or friend and the stories are being collected and stored at the Library of Congress for historical preservation. I thought it was a pretty cool  that they save things like that for posterity. It makes me think of what I might put in a time capsule for people to find. Here are some of the things I'd put in it.

• A newspaper-I always liked seeing things in print.
• An IPhone so when technology gets more advanced I can look back and see how far we've come.
• A teddy bear so I can remember to always be young at heart.
• A CD & CD player-just so one is preserved!
• A picture of my family just as a visual reminder that they're always with me.
• A letter just saying what was happening that day and my hopes for the future.
• A book-just because I like them.
• A cooking recipe-just so I can look back and remember things I like to make. 
• A printed out post from this blog just to see how much it evolves over time.
• A DVD-maybe a cartoon or something that's funny just because laughter should be preserved!