Walking To Happiness

WOW, this is my 200th post here!  I’m super excited at how far I’ve come since I 1st began this site.  It amazes me to think about all the great people I’ve met and have had the privilege of getting to know and how my much my photography has changed.  Thank you to all of you, who makes blogging such a fun experience for me.  Here’s to another 200 posts!
Check out my latest post on my other site Living Intentionally Simple.  Here’s my latest image I used in today’s post:

Angry Birds

 

This is what I got when I asked my son for a picture during our camping trip.  Is it just my boys or do all boys dislike their pictures being taken?

Help Support MS Walk 2015

@ http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=25497

Every year, my husband and some of his co-workers participate in a charity event.  Last year, they took part in a tough mudder event, that was awesome, but I wasn’t able to take part in it, due to my health issues.  This year,they are doing the MS walk on June 21st in Wakefield Mass, and I’m taking part in it.  Since my health has been improved and I’ve been in a remission of sorts, I have two goals with this walk:

1. to actually finish the walk with my family (which is a huge feat in itself for me) &
2. reach my fundraising goal of $25

I have a small financial goal since so many of us, me included, don’t have the money to put towards this or any cause.  I am asking anyone who is able or willing to donate $1 to help me reach my goal, would consider doing so.  Then it will only take me 25 people to reach my goal,which I feel is completely doable.  If you live close enough and want to join, please feel free to join our team, the more the merrier.  I would love a chance to connect with some of my subscribers out there.  What a great way to do so.
Here’s the link that will bring you to the page for donating, joining our team, or both MS WALK.  I know times are tough, but any donations on behalf of this great cause is much appreciated by me and others who participate & suffer from this terrible illness.  Thank you for your support 🙂

*If you are able to share this post with others, it would help get the word of mouth out there for me, I would greatly appreciate it.*

**If you are a subscriber to both of my sites, sorry for the double posting, I just wanted to share this with as many people as possible.  Thanks for understanding.**

Catching Tadpoles

 

 

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Sharing with:
Oh My Hearstie Girl, Create With Joy,

 

 

**this post is 72 in my 365 series**

Happiness Is Simple

Here’s my newest post, go over and check it out.

Living Intentionally Simple

Yesterday, we were back home from our extra long weekend, spent at my happy spot in Maine.  4 days spent camping, spending most of our time outside, getting in tons of family time, relaxing, & having no expectations about my days…….letting it unfold naturally.
Driving home (it’s a 3 hr ride one way) I had plenty of time thinking about the last days.  As I was thinking about it all, I noticed my thoughts kept gravitating around the fact that we had so much fun doing simple things like riding bikes, going for walks, talking around the campfire, playing cards, listening to the band, going on firetruck rides, participated in an ice cream eating contest, & trying winning at candy bar bingo to name a few.  When we weren’t doing stuff, my little ones played hard enjoying the outdoors, & doing it all with a few simple toys like their bikes…

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Birth

As some of you may know, we have a reptile farm and right now breed ball python. And it’s baby season here 🙂

**this post is #71 in my 365 project**

Any other reptile breeder or lovers out there?  What’s your favorite reptile?

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Create With Joy, Mamma To 5 Blessings, Posh On A Budget,

Don’t Miss The Beauty of Simple

Thought it would be fun to share a post from my other blog. Here’s a favorite of mine from this week.

Living Intentionally Simple

Yesterday I hosted my daughter’s 6th birthday party.  We opened our home (which was clean & clutter free) to 15 kids and a handful of parents for a few hours.  It was a simple celebration with lots of food, fun, laughing, & sunshine.  Since I kept it simple, I wasn’t stressed or overwhelmed like so many times before.  This year, I have fully embraced my simple living with the kinds of celebrations we have.
I asked my daughter about her party and with a huge smile, she told me how much fun she had with all her friends.  She felt special, that the day was hers.  All my goals were accomplished.  Yay me!   But during the party, a few kids & parents got me wondering a few things.  Why do people have to nit pick other people, their homes, & what they do for their children apart?  Why do children…

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Mindful Living Tools

**this post is #70 in my 365 project**

Taken from Zen Habits 

1. Meditation. Meditation is where mindful living starts. And it’s not complicated: you can sit still for even just 1 minute a day to start with (work up to 3-5 minutes after a week), and turn your attention to your body and then your breath. Notice when your thoughts wander from your breath, and gently return to the breath. Repeat until the minute is up.
2. Be Awake. Meditation is practice for being awake, which is not being in the dream state (mind wandering into a train of thought, getting lost in the online world, thinking about past offenses, stressing about the future, etc.) but being awake to the present, to what is. Being awake is something you can do throughout the day, all the time, if you remember. Remembering is the trick.
3. Watch Urges. When I quit smoking in 2005, the most useful tool I learned was watching my urges to smoke. I would sit there and watch the urge rise and fall, until it was gone, without acting on it. It taught me that I am not my urges, that I don’t have to act on my urges, and this helped me change all my other habits. Watch your urge to check email or social media, to eat something sweet or fried, to drink alcohol, to watch TV, to be distracted, to procrastinate. These urges will come and go, and you don’t have to act on them.
4. Watch Ideals. We all have ideals, all the time. We have an ideal that our day will go perfectly, that people will be kind and respectful to us, that we will be perfect, that we’ll ace an exam or important meeting, that we’ll never fail. Of course, we know from experience that those ideals are not real, that they don’t come true, that they aren’t realistic. But we still have them, and they cause our stress and fears and grief over something/someone we’ve lost. By letting go of ideals, we can let go of our suffering.
5. Accept People & Life As They Are. When I stopped trying to change a loved one, and accepted him for who he was, I was able to just be with him and enjoy my time with him. This acceptance has the same effect for anything you do — accept a co-worker, a child, a spouse, but also accept a “bad” situation, an unpleasant feeling, an annoying sound. When we stop trying to fight the way things are, when we accept what is, we are much more at peace.
6. Let Go of Expectations. This is really the same thing as the previous two items, but I’ve found it useful nonetheless. It’s useful to watch your expectations with an upcoming situation, with a new project or business, and see that it’s not real and that it’s causing you stress and disappointment. We cause our own pain, and we can relieve it by letting go of the expectations that are causing it. Toss your expectations into the ocean.
7. Become OK with Discomfort. The fear of discomfort is huge — it causes people to be stuck in their old bad habits, to not start the business they want to start, to be stuck in a job they don’t really like, because we tend to stick to the known and comfortable rather than try something unknown and uncomfortable. It’s why many people don’t eat vegetables or exercise, why they eat junk, why they don’t start something new. But we can be OK with discomfort, with practice. Start with things that are a little uncomfortable, and keep expanding your comfort zone.
8. Watch Your Resistance. When you try to do something uncomfortable, or try to give up something you like or are used to, you’ll find resistance. But you can just watch the resistance, and be curious about it. Watch your resistance to things that annoy you — a loud sound that interrupts your concentration, for example. It’s not the sound that’s the problem, it’s your resistance to the sound. The same is true of resistance to food we don’t like, to being too cold or hot, to being hungry. The problem isn’t the sensation of the food, cold, heat or hunger — it’s our resistance to them. Watch the resistance, and feel it melt. This resistance, by the way, is why I’m doing my Year of Living Without.
9. Be Curious. Too often we are stuck in our ways, and think we know how things should be, how people are. Instead, be curious. Find out. Experiment. Let go of what you think you know. When you start a new project or venture, if you feel the fear of failure, instead of thinking, “Oh no, I’m going to fail” or “Oh no, I don’t know how this will turn out”, try thinking, “Let’s see. Let’s find out.” And then there isn’t the fear of failure, but the joy of being curious and finding out. Learn to be OK with not knowing.
10. Be Grateful. We complain about everything. But life is a miracle. Find something to be grateful about in everything you do. Be grateful when you’re doing a new habit, and you’ll stick to it longer. Be grateful when you’re with someone, and you’ll be happier with them. Life is amazing, if you learn to appreciate it.
11. Let Go of Control. We often think we control things, but that’s only an illusion. Our obsession with organization and goals and productivity, for example, are rooted in the illusion that we can control life. But life is uncontrollable, and just when we think we have things under control, something unexpected comes up to disrupt everything. And then we’re frustrated because things didn’t go the way we wanted. Instead, practiceletting go of control, and learn to flow.
12. Be Compassionate. This sounds trite, but compassion for others can change the way you feel about the world, on a day-to-day basis. Andcompassion for yourself is life-changing. These two things need remembering, though, so mindful living is about remembering to be compassionate after you forget.

What would you add to this list?

6 Year Blessing

**this post is #69 in my 365 project**

6 years ago, god had put me on a different path than I had planned.  He blessed me with this little ray of sunshine, that brightens up each and every day we spend together.

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Toronto Teacher Mom, Mom Fever, Create With Joy,

WW: Nothing Like A Minion Celebration

**this post is #68 in my 365 project**

 

Sharing with:
Gay NYC Dad, Life With Joanne, Glimmer of Hope