My hope for this blog.....

I heard the song "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars for and if you haven't listened to it yet, it is all about how this guy plans to always be there for someone he loves.  It got me thinking of how people mean a lot to me and how I want to be there for people through this blog. I hope people who read this blog feel they can count on the fact that there will always be something in it that is written with the intent to make their days a little brighter. If this blog can make at least one person smile on a daily basis then that's one step closer to my goal of helping make a happier planet! 

There's so much beauty in the world

I love the song "Beauty in the World" by Macy Gray just because it's all about the good things in the world. If you think about it, there really is so much beauty in the world. As corny as it sounds I really believe everyone is beautiful and since that's the case then there are approximately 7,021,836,029 examples of beauty throughout the earth, right there. Plus, there's the plants and animals and sunshine and the goodness in people and.... well I could go on and on and become more sentimental by the second. However, let it suffice to say that if all that beauty is in our world then I think that's worth celebrating! So YAY WORLD! 

Having something to look forward to

I was feeling frustrated today. I can't really explain why except to say that things weren't going quite the way I'd hoped. In order to help myself buck up and get on with things I decided to go to the Boston Public Library as it was something to look forward to since I hadn't been there in a while. It's a beautiful building and it's air conditioned which is a real plus as it was about 90 degrees in Boston today. While I was there I rented a film called The Waitress, which as the title suggests, is about a waitress who wants to enter a pie making competition as she's really good at making pies. She's frustrated with her life on many levels but despite all that she still hopes for something better. On a personal level, renting that movie was just the ticket to help me carry on. Even though it was only a small thing, I think it's lovely to have something to look forward to and to help for. Those are the things that make life beautiful and worth living!

Walking on Stilts in Michigan!

Although this news is slightly outdated, I was poking around the internet for some happy news stories and I came across some awesome news from my home state of Michigan!  A man from Deerfield, Michigan  named Neil Sauter walked 350 miles from Ann Arbor to the Upper Peninsula and down to finish in Jackson, Michigan from April 12th to May 19th of this year. The best part is he did this walk on 9 foot stilts!  He did the 350 mile stilt walk to raise money for the United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan charity and was able to raise $6,284. Mr. Sauter has a mild form of cerebral palsy (a birth defect that causes problems with movement.) What I think is awesome about this guy is that he's done other walks on stilts before this. In 2008 for example he walked 830 miles across Michigan's two peninsulas and raised $85,000 to benefit the same charity. According to his website Sauter does about 22 miles a day when he walks  (this takes 8 hours) and he walks for this charity on a yearly basis. It's enough to make me want to learn how to walk on stilts myself! Check out his website (linked above) to learn more and support his efforts!

 3 cheers to Neil Sauter! Here's to walking tall! Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah!

When you're smiling!

I heard this song today on Pandora (an internet radio site where you enter in music you like and it finds music that's similar. To check it out click here.) and I really liked it. It's called "When You're Smiling" and the version I heard was sung by Louis Armstrong. I felt I had to share the lyrics as the song made me smile!

To listen watch this video:

 "When You're Smiling"
 

When you're smilin', when you're smilin'
The whole world smiles with you
When you're laughin', when you're laughin'
The sun comes shinin' through
 

But when you're cryin', you bring on the rain
So stop your sighin', be happy again
Keep on smilin', 'cause when you're smilin'
The whole world smiles with you

 
When you're smilin', when you're smilin'
The whole world smiles with you
When you're laughin', when you're laughin'
That sun comes shinin' through
 

But when you're cryin', you bring on the rain
So stop your sighin', be happy again
Keep on smilin', 'cause when you're smilin'
The whole world smiles with you!

To go along with my earlier post about Sherlock Holmes.....

Since I'm in the mood for Sherlock Holmes, I found the joke below that applies. Hope you enjoy it too!

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said: “Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you see.”

Watson replied: “I see millions and millions of stars.”

Holmes said: “and what do you deduce from that?”

Watson replied: “Well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like earth out there. And if there are a few planets like earth out there, there might also be life.”

And Holmes said: “Watson, you idiot, it means that somebody stole our tent!”

The veterans in my life

I've always had a soft spot for veterans and since it's Memorial Day, I thought I'd write about two (of the best) men I know who are/were veterans. Both my father and his father before him served in wars, my grandfather in World War II and my father in Vietnam. My grandfather flew planes in World War II and was shot down twice in the Pacific and survived. He went on to run a business, helped raise 8 kids and lived to a ripe old age. My father in turn served in the Army Corps of Engineers in the Vietnam War and afterwards married my mum and has worked hard and has been a great dad to my my siblings and me. Plus I'm happy that as of July 1st of this year my parents will have been married for 35 years. 

I really admire my grandfather and my dad because they did what they felt was right. I'm happy to that I'm my father's daughter and even though my grandad is no longer here, I'm still proud to be his granddaughter. I love them both  very much. I feel like the best way to honor people that have died, especially in the armed forces, is to go on living and I want to do that in a way that would make them proud.