It's the ice cream cone's birthday!

I feel like celebrating and what better thing to celebrate than the the birth of the ice cream cone! It was introduced in the 1908 St Louis Exposition Apparently George Bang was selling ice cream and ran out of bowls so he used waffle pastry instead and so the waffle cone was born. I don't know what 'd do without ice cream, whether it's in a cone or a bowl  It just makes life seem that much better. Plus, as you can see below, cones can also be fun when they're shared! :)

Even pavements can smile!

As a follow up on my last post about finding happiness in small things, for a while now there's been a smiley face drawn on the pavement by my apartment. (As shown in the picture below.) When I first saw it I thought it was a chalk drawing that would rub off quite quickly. However, the drawing has stayed in place. It makes me smile to see it every day and it motivates me to keep a smile on my face and do my best  not to let anyone stamp it out!

Maggie finds a little bit of happiness in strawberries

I bought some strawberries the other day on impulse. (because sometimes impulse buying is the best, albeit in very limited and fairly inexpensive spurts!) Anyway, I don't get strawberries that often but there was a sale on and they're a purchase I'm really glad I made because they're sweet, juicy and just plain lovely. Even if it's only for a short period of time, the fact that I can come home and have a couple of strawberries is a rather nice feeling for me. It's yet another small thing that contributes to making my day just that much happier. I like finding happiness in small things because I believe they contribute to a greater sense of happiness. Just having that little boost of morale is enough to make me feel good inside. So I resolve to look for the happiness in small things because a little boost of morale is always worth it!

If I could be in one of those good old movies...

I love movies especially ones that are older (e.g. made before the 2000s) and it got me thinking about movies I'd like to have been in. I wrote the poem because it's fun to imagine about things. Who knows, maybe one day I'll really make it to the big screen but until then at least I can dream and dreams are nice things to have.

If I Could Be In An Old Movie

If I could be in an old movie
An "oldie but goodie" of course
I'd love to dance and sing in the rain
Wear ruby slippers and fly with E.T.
And fight with pirates and beat them too!

I think it would be fun to save the world with James Bond
Or realize how wonderful life can be alongside George Bailey
Maybe even eat breakfast with Audrey at Tiffiany's
All the while solving one of Hitchcock's mysteries
And riding round in mini coopers with Michael Caine, stealing stuff in Italy

Now we come to cartoons-my favorite kind of flick
I'd like to be the mouse Jerry because he's smart and quick
I wouldn't mind teaching the Beast to dance or listen with Mary Poppins to penguins singing
It would also be nice to be sprinkled with fairy dust and fly away thinking of good things
And get caught up in Micky Mouse's antics.

Even though it would be fun to do all the things detailed avove
At least with movies, I've found it's more fun to watch than take part
And as so many characters are close to my heart
It's nice to know that they've lasted this long and will keep on being enjoyed
For so many generations to come! 

Music to feel better!

One of my good friends is feeling under the weather and it got me thinking about music and how it can help people feel better So if you're feeling not so great yourself here are some songs I hope will make you feel a bit better :)

• A Spoonful of Sugar (helps the medicine go down) -The song just seems to fit (listen here).
• Splish Splash: I don't know what it is, but sometimes when I'm sick taking a bath/shower makes me feel human again ( listen)
• Happy-It never ceases to make me smile and happiness seems like a good a cure as any (click to listen).
• You've got a friend in me-I've found having friends visit when I'm sick has helped me feel better (listen here).
•  I Will Survive-People can survive so much which is why I have a lot of faith in humanity. On a personal level, this song somehow reaffirms my belief that I can get through things no matter what might happen  (listen here).

It's Penguin Awareness Day!

One of my favorite animals is the penguin and as it's Penguin awareness day I thought I'd celebrate what I like best about this particular breed of animals. I like the fact that some penguins such as Royal Penguins stay with one partner for life I also like how the male and female penguins both take turns in raising their young. Plus they just seem so warm and cuddly. Although I have to admit if I were confronted with a real penguin I'd be intimidated because they can get very tall. Nevertheless, I think it's nice that male and female penguins commit to each other like that Perhaps even penguins know what love is.

 

Road Trip!

Today in 1908 Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Murdock became the first people to travel across the US (from Los Angeles) it took them 32 days 5 hours and 25 minutes.The idea that they traveled so far together reminded me of long car trips my family/parents have taken. Some include:

• When my brother, my sister and I were young my mum took us on a road trip to see my dad's parents in Florida She drove us all the way from Michigan to Florida all by herself. (My dad couldn't get time off from work.) The things I remember about that trip was that we must have stopped at every single Waffle House between Michigan and Florida (My siblings and I liked waffles and Waffle Houses seemed to be everywhere.) Waffle Houses are fun. My mum did the trip in 2 days, stopping in Tennessee to sleep in a hotel. When we got there the guy at the hotel counter took one look at my mum's exhausted face and offered to park her car for her. I realize this is standard for hotels but it was the way he did it that was nice. 
•  On a car trip from Toronto back to Michigan I started reading this book to my parents that was written by Gerald Durrell and it was so funny that my mum had to ask me to stop reading it to her because she was laughing so hard she was afraid she'd have a car crash. The book was called Birds, Beasts, and Relatives. In any case laughter makes car trips seem shorter.
• Once my family were all going to a wedding in Poland and we got very lost trying to get to our hotel. While I knew some Spanish my mum was really the only one person in the car that spoke German and French and a little Spanish too so she became our translator by default in trying to ask for directions. That day it seemed we couldn't find a soul who spoke anything but Polish until finally, in this really rural part of Poland we found a woman who spoke a little Spanish and told us where to go and we found the hotel. It was an experience!
• My dad loves driving as he used to work for McLaren racing company so he was also a very good driver. Once when we were in Cornwall England we had to get our rental car up this very narrow hill. He managed to get the car up there with an inch to spare between the houses on either side of the road We got up the road safely but we didn't take the car out again until the day we left to go back to the airport. I never forgot it because it showed me that my dad wouldn't let anything stop him and we shouldn't either. 

 As you can see, I've learned a lot from car trips and they have largely been fun experiences. What I like most about them is that they always seemed like an adventure. They prove that the journey can be just as fun and interesting as the destination. Although it is nice to get to the destination in the end because at the end of long car trips I have to admit I ultimately can't wait to get out of the car and going back I can't wait to get home because there's no place like it.