Felix!

One of the highlights of coming home for Thanksgiving holiday was my cousin's almost-two-year-old son named Felix. He  just seems to captivate everyone. There's a lot of energy in him, plus he's a pretty happy kid and that rubs off on everyone around him. I think that's one of the things I like about kids in general- there are times when they seem to know exactly what to say and do to make people smile. So to add to the list of things I'm thankful for, I'm grateful for kids in general because to me each one can add a bit of innocence and sweetness in the world. In the case of my cousin's son, his name means happiness and it couldn't be more appropriate!

Thanksgiving joke

Since it is a holiday and holidays can be funny I thought I'd share this joke I found on the web. Especially because laughter is something I'm eternally thankful for!

Turkey farmer joke!

A turkey farmer was always experimenting with breeding the perfect turkey, specifically one with more legs to satisfy his family's preference for dark meat. After many frustrating attempts, the farmer was telling his friends about his recent success.

"Well I finally did it! I bred a turkey that has six legs!"

His friends all asked the farmer how it tasted.

I don't know," said the farmer. "I never could catch the darn thing!"

Answers to yesterday's riddles! :)

Here are the Answers to yesterday's riddles! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Answer to Riddle 1: He was traveling on a horse called Friday.

Answer to Riddle 2: A stamp!

Answer to Riddle 3: Your Thumb.You can use your thumb (left hand or right) when hitching (travelling over cobblestone or gravel). Thumbs up is a show of success, thumbs down not so great.

Answer to Riddle 4: You walk across the bridge as you normally would, and after half an hour, you've reached the middle of the bridge, and the guard wakes up. Right before he wakes up, turn around and face the other direction so that the guard will think that you were heading the opposite direction. The guard will automatically carry you back to the side where he thought you came from, which is the side you wanted to go to. 

Answer to Riddle 5: Only the person reciting has explicitly said that he was going to St. Ives. The riddle says nothing about everyone he met along the way.

If you are traveling, here are some riddles to help pass the time! :)

Since holidays seem to be traditionally time for road trips and road trips are typically long, here are some riddles to help you pass the time!

1. A man travels to a town on Friday stays for 2 nights and travels back on Friday,How can this be?

2.What travels around the world but stays in one corner?

3. Used left or right, I get to travel,
Over cobblestone or gravel.
Used up, I vie for sweet success,
Used down, I cause men great duress.

What am I? 

4.A man wants to cross a bridge to get to the other side of the crevice, but there's a problem. The bridge, which takes an hour to walk across, is guarded in the middle by a guard who wakes up every half hour and carries back anybody crossing the bridge back to where he or she came from. How do you get to the other side? 

5. Apparently this is the oldest riddle in history according to Google (because of course, Google knows all.)  
As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven wives.
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits;
Kits, cats, sacks and wives,
How many were going to St. Ives? 
  

When the going get's tough - dance harder!

At the Thrive Mentoring Conference I attended last weekend I had the privilege of being able to meet a woman named Simi Linton who is making a film about how a group of dancers is using their talents on the stage and the general dance floor to raise awareness and advocate for people with disabilities. It got me thinking about how dancing can be really moving and powerful as well as fun. I believe everyone can dance, if it's just your hands or waving your body from side to side, I figure as long as you're having fun that's dancing. I also think that because anyone and everyone can dance it, like many art forms, makes everyone equal. This is why it really is an ideal way to show how despite the challenges people face, there is still so much beauty and talent inside everyone and everyone deserves to have that talent shine. Currently the movie entitled Invitation to Dance isn't quite finished but updates and further details can be found on the movie's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/invitationtodancefilm/info). Whatever your situation in life might be and whatever happens in your life, I hope there's still a lot of dancing in it!

Having simple tastes can be the best!

“My tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best.” -Winston Churchill 

Whatever your tastes might be, I hope that you are able to find the best that life has to offer, in short I wish you the best!

A weekend with some amazing people!

I had a truly amazing weekend with some really awesome people since I had the privilege of attending the 2nd Annual Thrive Mentoring Program Conference. The event capped off another year of the Thrive mentoring program which as its name suggests is meant to help young women with disabilities to thrive and be empowered! I learned so much from the experience and I met so many really wonderful people. Among these was Kelley Becherer a Paralympic swimmer who won two gold medals and two bronze medals in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece  and another two gold medals in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, UK. She and all the other women who spoke really inspired me. As a whole, the conference continued to emphasize to me how no matter what difficulties people face, there is really no limit to what people can achieve and we must never let anything hold us back! I'm proud that I've been part of the Thrive program and that I can continue being a mentor. It's one of the best things I've ever done. :)

The women of the Thrive program are Wicked Smaht and Wicked Strong!