In light of Beecher’s observation, here are a few common happiness-inducing things as of late: – Funny co-workers – Rice Krispie treats – Sleeping with the windows open – Flowers that look just like popcorn along my path – Big balls of purring kitties sleeping on my feet – May sunshine and cool breezes –…
Category: fun
Just Enjoy
This weekend began with expected indulgences: Friday chai, fresh-baked bread and cookie viewing at the local bakery. But a holiday just isn’t a holiday without ridiculously cute cookies to share with the office. So I helped my colleagues indulge, too. But then there was this morning. This morning was different. I got up early, picked up another…
Bunny Brunch!
A few weeks ago, I saw an ad for a very special brunch with the Easter Bunny at Bissinger’s chocolate factory downtown. Naturally, I wanted to go. However, given that my kids are wrapping up their college careers, I figured they wouldn’t be interested in painting their own chocolate bunny or high-fiving a stranger in a…
Without a Doubt…
…the St. Patrick’s Day Run is my favorite race of the year. Lemme tell ya, St. Louis does St. Patrick’s Day right. We are ALL Irish in this town when it comes to this holiday. Look no further than our run from today. (This is my running buddy, Holly, pretending to lift up the kilt…
Because…
…is there anything cuter than a video of pandas in the snow? I had several friends send this to me yesterday and it made me smile every time.
Another Look
When going through posts from last year to create a 2014 year-end review, I noticed something that I’d not noticed before: this has been a quirky year for photos! I found myself laughing or smiling through the entire year. I figured most were my “Distracted Runner” photos, but I soon realized many were not. So here’s…
So Far, I’ve Learned…
Today I saw an article that a woman wrote about “what you learn in your 40s“. I thought it was well done and I enjoyed it a lot (although I’m not as inclined to be so generous with old boyfriends). Given that the author and I are pretty much the same age, I started to wonder what (if anything)…
Holiday Lights Run
An unexpected addition to our calendars actually made it possible for me to cross an item off my winter “Travel in Place” list. Tonight we ran in a local running store’s “Holiday Lights Run” in the south part of the city, including…Candy Cane Lane! Before we even got to the famous street, we made our way through some other…
From there to here…
“From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.” – Dr. Seuss I don’t know what it is lately, but there’s been a pattern of funny little things that have made me laugh. Take Murphy, for example. He liked my oatmeal so much he got his head stuck in the cup — and…
A(nother) Day in the Life
A little over a year ago, I completed a “day in the life” photo project — which meant taking at least one photo every hour all day long. As I said at the time, it’s not that my life is vaguely important or newsworthy enough to merit play-by-play documentation. Rather it is a much-needed exercise in awareness…
Travel in Place
“To “travel in place” is to explore the deeper means of community, to understand how to grow a garden, grow food, what kind of tree grows outside your door, what the insects are and the name of that bird is that just flew by…. even if you’re in one place, you can still travel. We’re…
It’s Been 100 Days and…
Remember these guys from July?* They’re 100 days old and thriving!** How cool is that? Time to give these guys some names! *First photo: Reuters/China **Second photo: (AP Photo) CHINA OUT | AP
30 Things to Smile About
I found an article from one of my favorite magazines (Spirituality & Health) called 30 Journaling Prompts for Self-Discovery. I don’t know that I have any interest in “discovering” myself, but I do like answering the questions that make me think about life a little differently or push me a bit. And there’s some really good…
It’s the Great Halloween Race, Charlie Brown!
How. Much. Fun. Is. This. These are my kids before their second Great Halloween Race…and my Dad’s first. Tanner ran the 5K, Drew ran a 10K, Dad was a course monitor. I ran my third Halloween 10K. I’m so tickled to report that three was a charm; I posted a personal best today. SO FUN….
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane…
Did I mention that we saw Superman at the grocery store this weekend? And nearby, we saw his sister, Wonder Woman. Although I couldn’t quite get a photo of her. Kids in costumes make me smile so much — especially when it’s in public and it’s not Halloween. There’s just something so fantastic about seeing…
Exactly…
“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like “What about lunch?” – A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Not My Kids’ Legos
When the kids were growing up, I learned quickly that the bottoms of adult feet have some strange magnetic pull specific to stray Legos left on the floor. Especially in the middle of the night. I became quite familiar with that feeling of cut glass underfoot. Thanks to an afternoon trip to the Botanical Garden, it…
Om…
We have a family of chipmunks in our backyard that continues to provide a lot of amusement. This morning when I sat down to breakfast, I caught a glimpse of Buddha out the corner of my eye. I turned to look and…there he was. Little chipmunk just chilled out on top of Buddha Man’s head.
Art is Trash
Saw an article this morning and I’m still cracking up. An artist named Francisco de Pájaro (all photos in this post are credited to him) searches for trash at night and turns it into art to make people laugh. He has a blog, too, called Art is Trash. This is the best thing ever.
Beautiful Bulldogs
Meet Lucey, recent winner of Drake University’s Most Beautiful Bulldog Pageant. She aspires to be a therapy dog and promises to devote her reign to the pursuit of world peace. (Okay, I made that last part up.) I look forward to this announcement every year, but I’m sorry, these are the funniest photos I’ve seen…
Gotta go now.
Okay. So how am I gonna get out of this one? Maybe I’ll hide. Nope. She’s still there. Maybe I can just hold really still until I become invisible. Nope. She’s still there. That’s it. I’m outta here. (While I didn’t actually hear this specific dialogue when this particular chipmunk encounter went down, that is…
Life Lately…in Pictures
Graffiti: the evolution of cycling…and a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em game of chess. Sheet metal store window display. Open house at my friend’s plant store. Just some random photos of visual goodness. Love this weekend.
Hike in the 100 Acre Wood
“Hey Mom, let’s take a hike.” Sunshine…Saturday…time spent with my son in the great outdoors… Gee, twist my arm. It’s amazing how much scenery can be packed into a relatively short trek. Along the way, I’m pretty sure we found Piglet’s house in the 100 Acre Wood. If this thing had a door… Don’t…
Top O’ the Weekend to Ya
Lemme start this by saying it: this has been a very, very good weekend so far. While there’s good in every day if you look around hard enough, this is the kind of good that hands itself to you in a colorful package with a big, sparkly bow. A Pharrell-Williams’-“Happy”-playing-in-your-head kind of weekend. It started…
hey there, friends 