It Only Takes A Smile

This is the cutest video! The feeling this four year old has …
http://www.viralvo.com/4-yr-old-daughter/?r=jm

I am flying today from my family in Philly to Ohio. Although it would be a quick flight , I have a layover in DC. The irony is its Inauguration Day. At this point all we can do is hope . 

Above is an image from my friend’s Facebook account. 

We must continue to have hope that things will improve in our country , not just with our leaders but with the multitude of Americans who are residing here. We thrive to be progressive, independent, and inclusive. I hope we can find solidarity as a nation .

I am sharing the beautiful goodbye letter our current president wrote to the country .

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/19/14324910/obama-letter-goodbye

Sometimes a film comes along that simply exudes inspiration. You want to live in that film because the characters are filled with passion , creativity , and a longing to fulfill their dreams. For me this has been Before Sunset; Midnight in Paris, and now LaLa Land. 

I will not give it away, but it is worth all of the acclaim it is receiving.  After watching it , you can’t help by root for the artists that are surrounding your life. Or perhaps follow a dream you had given up on.  Maybe it will bring up regrets and what might have been.

Watching it, I am even more determined to help my husband achieve his dreams. 

See it and dwell in the atmosphere of blissful musical:)

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/09/la-la-land-hollywood-film-musical-ryan-gosling-emma-stone

http://conservativetribune.com/man-mother-airport-shooting/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=janbrewer&utm_content=2017-01-09&utm_campaign=can

I think I may be the only person under 40 that writes birthday cards and actually mails them to people. I have a tradition the past 15 years of creating a mixed tape/cd that includes my songs for the year. The music generally starts with a fast beat, perhaps something pop. It sways with dance and hip hop, to perhaps indie folk, a nostalgic song from the 40s era . It eventually ends with a classical tune.  There is one cd that is mailed to all individuals , that now begins during the initiation of the fiscal year (october- September )

Last year I was going to stop . I may have previously wrote about this. I felt as if I sent out 20-30 cards with cds, plus another 20 bday cards without cds. It didn’t appear as if anyone appreciated this act anymore. It was a waste of time, money, and energy. Not only were the cards filled with cds, but with stickers, and a fake tattoo. The outside of the card was generally graced with random stamps and stickers. A pure juvenile treat for a friend I had not spoken to in awhile. 

As I told a friend of wanting to stop this tradition , she pleaded why stop now? At least wait until we turn 40. And so I do. 

Because I will be travelling for the next several weeks, I prepared my February bday cds to be sent out this week 🙂 I hope you enjoy . The current playlist is below.

Sometimes I choose not to bring my phone when I walk my dogs, unless I am with my dogs. Sometimes it’s a blessing, as it keeps me mindful and less distracted . Other times I wish i had it to capture the moment.

Today I wish I had it. The dogs stumbled upon a beautification small pond on their walk yesterday, and chose to return to it today. 

Shortly past a set of townhouses, stands this beautiful pond filled with a dozen ducks. Some plain ducks , some mallard ducks. Yesterday we were the only ones visiting them. Today a woman who had just went to the local grocery store was there with two bags of fresh bread to feed the ducks . 

Nobody was watching , she looked at me. I smiled first , she smiled back and said “they’re so hungry. ” I responded with, “it’s great you’re feeding them.”

She fed them with bread fresh from the store , not left over bread from home about to go bad  , or stale bread . These were not her ducks, she had no responsibility for them. But she had probably taken a similar walk as I did, and wondered who cared for these ducks.

 It’s comforting to see a stranger’s initiative to care for others, without the expectation of anything in return .

Watching this clip had me laughing with tears 

I had to repost this after viewing it.  I’m getting back into the groove of writing about travelling today . Travelling inspired and invigorates me. I had to share it.

http://fourhourworkweek.com/2010/10/30/20-things-ive-learned-from-traveling-around-the-world-for-three-years/