30 Days of Gratitude

November was National Gratitude Month. Throughout the year, I sporadically jot down things I'm grateful for in a bright yellow journal with colorful butterfly on the cover. Yep, that's it above. It resides on my nightstand, and I write it in either right before I fall asleep or as I'm sipping my morning coffee. Sometimes I write everyday for a week. Mostly, I pick it up when my heart and mind need to rest and reset. To give you some perspective, the first entry was January 2, 2015. I'm guessing the journal has about 100 pages, and I still have about 20 pages (front and back to fill). So, yeah, I don't often make the time to be mindful about the good things in my my life. Baby steps. 

Last month, I was intentional about writing something every day. 

Grateful for:

Nov. 1 - The smiles of strangers
Nov. 2 - Kind hospitality
Nov. 3 - Love of my family
Nov. 4 - Coworkers who genuinely want to help me solve a challenge
Nov. 5 - Role models and revolutionaries who show us a new path
Nov. 6 - The opportunity to expand my skill set
Nov. 7 - Dad made it safely through his procedure, and I spent quality time with my sister
Nov. 8 - Self-awareness
Nov. 9 - Time with R, helping her on a school project
Nov. 10 - Sights, sounds, smells discovered on an early morning walk
Nov. 11 - My daughter's willingness to talk with me about her big feelings
Nov. 12 - Sunsets that remind me of  pink and blue cotton candy
Nov. 13 - Chatting and laughing with new friends about books and life
Nov. 14 - Comfort food - crispy chicken strips with mashed potatoes and gravy
Nov. 15 - People who make me laugh
Nov. 16 - The opportunity to experience talented actors and actresses in a live performance
Nov. 17 - Sundays filled with both girls, Gilmore Girls and homemade lava cakes
Nov. 18 - A's funny and thoughtful prayer at dinner
Nov. 19 - Warm, sunny November days and time to read outside
Nov. 20 - Compliments from strangers
Nov. 21 - Time with A
Nov. 22 - My sister reaching out
Nov. 23 - Stunningly talented high school students in a production of "Mary Poppins"
Nov. 24 - Trips to Quik Trip with my girls for frozen drinks
Nov. 25 - Unexpected emails from new friends that have simple, genuine messages
Nov. 26 - My health and the health of my family
Nov. 27 - Time with R baking an amazing homemade chocolate cake
Nov. 28 - Belly laughs from Potted Potter (MUST SEE)
Nov. 29 - A memory-filled Christmas tree and ION Plus holiday romance movies
Nov. 30 - A's positive thinking and encouragement when I was struggling

I hope you find at least one person, place or thing to be thankful for each day. 

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real.

Fire Hydrants & Snacks in the Stairwell: How I'm Paying Closer Attention

Image Source: Goodreads.com

I don't remember how I came across The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker, but I knew immediately I needed to add it to my reading list. The title and  description spoke to a quality I used to possess, one I liked and now miss. I used to be an astute observer of my surroundings, noticing the tiniest discrepancies, mannerisms and changes in people and places. I was a noticer. 

Over the years, that's changed. While I make every effort to avoid pinning the popular "Busy Badge of Honor" to my cardigan, life has a way of whipping me into a frenzy sometimes, and I live my days in a blur. I hate it. 

"The Art of Noticing" reminded me there's some really cool things taking place in the spaces right in front of, behind, above and below me, if I'll only take a couple of minutes to notice them. For the first time in a while, I felt my brain digging into a big plate of some intelligent food for thought. 

Infrathin, Intraordinary and Halfalogues
The book is divided into five sections: Looking, Sensing, Going Places, Connecting With Others and Being Alone (my favorite section), each with their own ideas for practicing the art of noticing. There's something for bosses, introverts, extroverts, adults and kids. 

My three favorite concepts from the book are: infrathin, intraordinary and halfalogues. I'll let you do the research. After reading this book, I find myself looking and listening for infrathins everywhere I go. Two of my favorite examples, at least I think they are examples, are: 

1) The tapping sound a keyboard key makes right when you touch it
2) The subtle whooshing sound paper makes when you turn the page of a book. 

Pick One Thing to Notice
One of the book's challenges involves focusing your attention on one object. For Rob, it was the location of security cameras in a city he was familiar with. He wanted to find a way to see the city differently. 

I picked two objects: 
1) Fire hydrants. I chose to focus my attention on fire hydrants after observing that the only one on my street had been buried under dirt and rubble by the construction crews that are widening the street. Now, I notice the placement and color of fire hydrants everywhere I go. 

2) Dropped food in a stairwell. There's a particular employee stairwell at work that on any given day has bits of dropped and forgotten food. I've noticed  bacon, smashed popcorn and purple grapes, to name just a few foods. I'm obsessed to the point I've started taking pics. 

If you're interested in learning more, check out the book. It's a pretty quick read. Rob also has an e-newsletter he sends every so often. In fact, he sends so rarely that I actually get it excited when it pops up in my Inbox. Subscribe to his email here.

What little bits of life have you noticed lately? Nothing's too small, too big, too weird or too dull. Share in the comments, please!

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing  ... Keep It Real. 

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

Sitting inside on a snowy October evening (seriously, it's snowing in October in KC, blah) and thought I'd share some of the people, places and things that bring me joy. Enjoy!

• The Spellman Series by Lisa Lutz (actually, I really like all her books; but start with this series)
• The Flavia de Luce Series by Alan Bradley (yes, I like all the books) 
• A Gentleman in Moscow  by Amor Towles (I have the biggest crush on Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, the main character)
• Martha Gelhorn - one of the first female war correspondents; her fiction and nonfiction books are so smart, insightful and authentic
• New London, CT  - retirement town candidate
• South Haven MI - retirement town candidate
• Modern Love - Amazon Prime Video
• Double Stuf Oreos - always and forever
• Skeeball - because chuckin' balls up a ramp is just good clean fun
• Bless this Mess - ABC

How about you? What brings you joy? Makes you happy? Brings you comfort? 

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real

Mini Trip to Michigan

Source: Wikimedia Commons

We took a quick trip to Michigan last week as a last ditch effort to forget school was starting. It was so beautiful and relaxing. Temps were in the 70s and no humidity, which was a lovely break from the August heat and humidity in Kansas City. 

For the past few years, we've flown to our vacation destination. This time, though, we decided to drive. I love a good road trip, and this one didn't disappoint. From Kansas City, Grand Rapids is about 10 hours, with a few stops included. Here's the run down. 

We stayed in Grandville, MI, which is west of Grand Rapids. By the time we decided where and when we wanted to go, all the lake front rentals were either taken or crazy expensive. So, we stayed at the Marriott's SpringHill Suites Grand Rapids West. It was pretty conveniently located for what we wanted to do. Nice and new, too. 

Lake Michigan Shore Towns

Source: Sherman's Ice Cream

What was left of our trough of ice cream. OINK!

On our first full day, we toured several shore towns. Our first stop was South Haven. I loved this little town. Definitely on my top 10 list of places I'd like to live when I retire (17 years and counting! Ha!). 

The National Blueberry Festival was gearing up the weekend we visited. We were there on Friday, when things were just starting to get rolling. From the looks of things, it's a fun party as the weekend progresses! We browsed a few shops in the downtown area, walked the pier down to the red lighthouse, then headed to Sherman's Ice Cream for lunch. 

Sherman's has been cranking out homemade ice cream since 1916. We had The Pig's Trough: includes eights ginormous scoops of ice cream (we had four flavors), four toppings, bananas, nuts, cherries and whipped cream  served in wooden trough. It looks like this, and we ate every bite with no regrets. We wanted to check out the Michigan Maritime Museum and maybe book a cruise, but we ran out of time. 

Next, we went to Holland. We visited Windmill Island Gardens, which I recommend. Really interesting tour of a fully operational windmill that produces stone ground flour. We also went to Nelis' Dutch Village, which was fine, but it's for the younger kiddos. I would have loved to Holland State Park, but we wanted to keep moving through our itinerary. 

Our last stop of the day was in Grand Haven. We browsed the downtown shops and strolled to the marina to gawk at the yachts. We ate dinner and tried a couple of beers at Grand Armory Brewing Company After that, we hit Grand Haven State Park. After walking the pier, I relaxed on the beach while Audrey played in the water, and Mark and Ruth explored the area. I really wanted to see the Grand Haven Musical Fountain, but it didn't come alive until dusk, and after a full day, we were all ready to head back to our hotel. 

Sleeping Bear Dunes

View from Piece Stocking Scenic Drive, Stop No. 9

View of Sleep Bear Dune Climb from the parking lot.

The highlight of the trip for me was going to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Empire, MI. It's about a three-hour drive from Grand Rapids and totally worth it. We drove the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, which the park ranger said would take an hour, but only took us about 30 minutes. If you go and stop anywhere, stop at No. 9. Then, we tackled the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb. In my ideal reality, it was going to be an easy climb up 150 feet of sand. In real reality, it was a tough mother! About halfway up, I started thinking it wasn't such a great idea after all. All four us made it to the tippy top, and the views made it well worth it. That said, I wouldn't do it again. I put it in the "once and done" category, along with skiing. 

After climbing the dune, we piled back into the car and went searching for something to eat. We drove up M-22 and through some adorable small towns filled with boutiques, breweries and ice cream shops. We stopped in Leland, MI, and grabbed lunch at The Cove in the historic Fishtown District. We had a three hour drive ahead of us, so we didn't stop to browse. But, to switch things up, we cut across through Suttons Bay and Traverse City, both of which had beautiful views of the water. 

Grand Rapids
On our final day, we explored Grand Rapids. We took a walking tour of the Heritage Hill Historic District, which is filled with beautiful old homes. Then, we headed over to the Grand Rapids Public Museum. To be honest, we were only going there to kill some time. As it turns out, this museum was probably one of the highlights of the trip. It had something for everyone, a little bit everything, but not too much of anything. It was amazing! I highly recommend it. 

We had to cut our museum tour short because we wanted to tour the Meyer May House, a Frank Lloyd Wright house that was painstakingly restored back to its original design and condition. The tour was free, so we expected it to last 30 minutes tops. The introductory film, which showed in great detail the restoration process (down to an original mural rescued from five layers of paint), was 30 minutes. The house tour was about another hour. It was fascinating! 

After the tour, we headed to Founder's Brewing for beer, beer cheese dip and some really good food. We topped off our last night with a dip in the hotel pool and laundry. 

Now, we're back to regularly scheduled programming, with school, work and life. Hope you all had a great summer! Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real.