Wednesday Hodgepodge

I recently read about four secrets to happiness from around the world. They were: Overcome your fears by facing them head on; Allow yourself to relax and reset; Work to live versus living to work; and, Find the good in life. Not sure if these are the actual secret to happiness, but which of the four do you struggle with the most? Which one comes most easily to you?

Years ago allowing myself to relax and reset would have been the thing of which I most struggled, but now it is the easiest to achieve. Maybe it's age, I don't know. But life is too short not to take some time for myself. I guess the hardest one for me to achieve would be always finding the good in life. I mean, I have cocooned myself into a life where what I allow around me is good. But the world as a whole is just so yuck and life of the masses is something that just doesn't look too good to me anymore. But I would agree, finding joy and good in all of life would be beneficial to personal happiness. If you get wallowed down in the yuck, then you feel hopeless.

How would you spend a found $20 bill today?

I'd probably take my group to DQ for burgers, foot long hot dogs, and ice cream.

Ego trip, power trip, guilt trip, round trip, trip the light fantastic, or trip over your own two feet ... which 'trip' have you experienced or dealt with lately? Explain.

I guess you could say that I took a round trip through the marrying off of my daughter this summer. It was a whirlwind of activity from the middle of May until the middle of July with two weddings (one at home and a renewal of vows in Mexico) and a reception back home in July.

If you could master any physical skill in the world what would it be, and would you use that skill?

Definitely sewing! I have always wanted to be able to sew, especially my own curtains/drapes and pillow covers. Although there was a time when I might have sewn cute clothes for Brynne, I wouldn't do it now. But when I have grandchildren it sure would be fun to be able to sew cute pillowcase dresses, rompers, and appliqués onto t-shirts.

As July draws to a close, let's take an inventory of our summer fun. Since the official first day of summer (June 20th) have you ... been swimming? enjoyed an ice cream cone? seen a summer blockbuster? camped? eaten corn on the cob? gardened? deliberately unplugged? watched a ballgame? picked fruit off the vine? taken a road trip? read a book? Are any of these activities on your must-do-before-summer-ends list?

Swimming? Yes. At the pool, in the lake, and in the ocean.
Ice cream cone? Not exactly. I don't really crave ice cream, per se, but I have had a Mister Misty Float.
Summer blockbuster? Not yet. But on Saturday we are going to see both Minions and Pixel.
Camped? Not unless you count spending the night at my parents' lake house (which I don't).
Corn on the cob? Multiple times.
Gardened? Attempted to around first the constant rains and cool temps and now the scorching heat and drought.
Unplugged? Yes, on our cruise in May. It was nice to not be connected to anyone but my family.
Ballgame? A whole lot of them. Brynne plays softball so we attended lots of games. I've also watched a few Kansas City Royals games with my parents.
Fruit off the vine? Not this year, but I have raspberry, blackberry, and strawberry plants that I hope will produce some fruit next summer.
Road trip? As a family we drove to Galveston, Texas, to catch the big boat.
Read a book? This summer I have read a few. My favorite was Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.

The Republican Presidential candidates will debate on August 6th. What's your question?

What is the biggest mistake our recent administrations have made causing the current state of our country and what do you plan to do about it? (P.S. I'm rootin' for you, Ben Carson!!)

What's your most listened to song so far this summer?

Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars.

Insert your own random thought here.

This week I took Dawson to walk around the campus of the community college he will start attending in a few weeks. We stopped by the bookstore so he could get some fun loot (sweatpants, shorts, t-shirts, etc.). It is crazy that he is now a college student! Truly crazy.