Idea #20 Go Fishing "Old School" Style

                                                          (photo from Google images)

Everyone has to try this - at least once!   Sit yourself on the dock and dangle your legs off the side, Grandpa did it, you can too. It's only the BEST way to enjoy the quiet of a calm summer morning.  

IDEA #12 Watch the sun rise/set

Sunrise.....

Sunset .....

I would recommend doing  both - If you can't possibly swing it in one day, split it up and watch the sun rise one day , and set another day.  There's something to be said about the "magic hour", it's like God using nature to give your soul a hug - reminding you that no matter what is going on, He is still in control, and He can create beauty from anything - even a raging storm. Remember: It's the rain clouds that sometimes make the most glorious and stunning sunsets ;)  

Rise and Shine!

Who wouldn't want to wake up to a view like this every morning? For a not-such-a-morning-person like me (haha) it would definitely encourage me to roll out of bed sooner and get out to enjoy the beauty of a fresh new day.

I admired this from the 3rd story window of the bedroom of my hotel suite on the last morning of my vacation in Cancun, Mexico.  I figured I should grab my camera while the sun was still twinkling on the horizon. I was thankful I did, because I think the photos came out brilliantly.

So whether you wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning, or if you're like me and you stumble around with your eyes half-closed until you have some coffee in your guts,  here's a sunrise to get your day started.  Let it remind you that life is too short to let these fleeting moments of beauty slip by unnoticed. Stop for a second and be genuinely thankful that the sun rose on a new day, and then make it count!

And just to make you smile:
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "If you want to see bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning, go find a squirrel!"

Sunrises and squirrels,
-J

How Not To Have a Bad Day

How NOT to Have a Bad Day:

1) Get up with your alarm and don't accidently fall back to sleep. (oops, )

2) Rememeber to set the coffeemaker on "auto" the night before so it's already brewed by the time you're ready to splash some into a travel mug as you're dashing out the door.

3) Triple-check the fridge to make sure the kids remembered to grab their lunches so you don't spend your lunch break bringing them their lunches, hehe

4) G'rocery-shop on your lunch hour sans-kids so you're not doing it after work when they ask you for EVERYTHING in the store (note: this only works if you accomplish #3)

5) Start dinner as soon as you get home from work (this only works if you accomplish #4)

6) Snuggle with the kids and read them a story before hed. ( this works no matter how your day went already!)

And THAT my friends, is how to NOT have a bad day, heehee. Mine obviously didnt go that smoothly, The only thing I DID do was #6.... and honestly it really didnt matter after that how the rest of my day had been going up until then. The rain is coming down hard on the roof, and I`m typing this as I sit at my coffee table in front of a roaring fire (which is in my fireplace, don`t worry) While today was a relatively mundane and easy-to-recover-from day in the grand scheme of things, sometimes it feels like life really does sucker-punch ya, right in the kisser! And hey, sometimes you could swear all the computerized equipment in your office are conspiring against you ( the ones in my office seem to on a regular basis anyways, just ask my boss!) But NO MATTER WHAT, whether it was nothing more than a bad hair day ( hey come on, we ALL have those!) or you`ve spent a night crying tears of heartbreak, please know that you are not alone out there. I`ve had my fair share of heartbreaks in the not-so-distant past, and I also know what an uphill battle it is to pick yourself up time and time again and keep going. But after the darkest hour has passed (and the darkest hour WILL pass) the sun WILL rise again, A new day means the chance to make new choices. For those of you out there whose hearts are breaking right now, I wish I could give you the world`s BIGGEST hug. (And, in some cases, the world's biggest KLEENEX, hehe) For those of you whose hearts are still intact, PLEASE, take time to notice all the hurting hearts around you, as you go about your day. You were there once too, remember., maybe even not too long ago. You have a chance to make someone else`s day a better day today. So here`s a sunrise just for you. in case its cloudy outside your windows when you wake up, to remind you that "this too, shall pass".

awesome-sized kleenex's and even more awesome sunrises,
-J