I just love musicals. This one just brightens my day. This song and dance number from Singing in The Rain is one of my all-time favorites. It makes me smile and it’s so uplifting!
Category: 41 Days of Appreciating Rampages
I Love The Summer – Day 31
I love the summer! Whether I’m at a beach or just outside enjoying the longer days, I love the feeling of summer. I don’t have one of those jobs where I get the summers off, but I do get seven weeks of 4-day work weeks in the summer, so the 3-day weekends in the summer feel like mini-summer breaks.
I can remember the feeling of summer as a kid: the excitement of having the time to go out and play all day, take family vacations, ride my bicycle everywhere, walk barefoot in the grass or just sleep in. Yet I wasn’t sad when summer ended and I went back to school because that meant seeing my friends who lived in the country.
Summers mean play, vacations, wearing shorts, being casual, sun, heat, water-related activities, and a thriving vegetable garden. The summer feels free to me. I just love that feeling and wonder how it might be living in a place where one doesn’t experience the contrast of the seasons as much. I prefer the four seasons as they provide a change in my environment: some of which I love and other parts not so much! Either way, the contrast of these seasonal changes help me to appreciate each new season. And right now I’m in the middle of the summer and I love it!
I Appreciate Laughter – Day 30
Oh, do I love to laugh! And often! Laughter truly is the best medicine – it raises our joy, reduces stress, has physical and psychological benefits and helps to create a happier life. It’s playful and fun! It feels really good. That’s why I became a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader.
The thing about laughter that I’ve discovered from being a Certified Laughter Yoga Leader, is that you don’t have to have jokes in order to laugh (although jokes can be funny). What’s really cool is that your body cannot tell the difference between “fake” laughter and “genuine” laughter – the benefits are the same. I’m sure you can relate to how contagious laughter is! I love that about laughter! Some laughs are just so fun that it causes us to laugh out loud, too. I appreciate laughs like that! I appreciate Laughter Yoga for its “contagious” qualities, too! hee hee
Today I am leading a VideoChat session of my version of Laughter Yoga at GoodVibeUniverity. Anyone is welcome! It’s free and only 30 minutes at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. We laugh on purpose to raise our vibes. I call it Giggle Fest & Manifest! You can join in HERE.
I Appreciate Extended Family – Day 29
I learned this morning that one of my aunts died on July 4th. She was a special soul who had a lot of children (14), grandchildren (34), great grandkids (53) and great-great grandkids (4)! Family was very important to her. Family has always been important to me, too. Being a mother of two beautiful daughters has been the greatest joy in my life.
These photos were taken around 12 years ago, when I went with my mom to get together with my living aunts and uncles on my dad’s side in Sutliff, Iowa. Three of my family here have since transitioned from this planet (my mom and two aunts, including the one who just passed a few days ago).
So today I’m appreciating my extended family. I use the word “extended” but it really is all about family ties that bond us: a connectedness just because we’re family. I have many fond memories of times with my cousins and aunts and uncles. I always wanted a brother or sister growing up but that doesn’t mean that I was lonely! I have 32 first cousins (and I lost count on the number of second and third cousins!) and we got together a lot during my childhood. The laughter there was really contagious! Now-a-days, there are some family reunions on one side of the family but mostly we might see each other at a funeral or wedding. Living in New York, I don’t see my extended family much.
Even if I don’t see my extended family much, I really appreciate them. Facebook has helped to re-connect me with some cousins and keep me informed of family news, such as the passing of my aunt. I appreciate Facebook for reconnecting me with family. I appreciate my extended family even more, now that both of my parents are gone.
I have so many fond memories of my extended family. I remember going for a Sunday drive and just showing up at a family member’s home. People showed up at our home, too. I don’t think that we “planned” those visits – and it almost always worked out that people were home. (Besides we had so many people we could visit, someone was bound to be home!) I love that feeling of openness that it’s ok to just pop in and say “hi.” And popping in meant that there was food and drink to be consumed. In the case of my dad’s side, there was always some games of Euchre, too. (For those who don’t know it, Euchre is a card game.) Those were definitely good times that I appreciate very much.
Today I’m remembering and appreciating my extended family (most of whom live in Iowa). I miss them and remember fondly the good times: reunions, weddings, Thanksgivings, Easters, getting together to play euchre, visits on a Sunday afternoon, and fishing at the cabin. When we do see each other, the conversations are easy, flowing and fun. There’s always a lot of laughter with my extended family. I love them!
For more about the Sutliff bridge and Baxa’s Tavern, visit Sutliff Bridge
I Appreciate Bees – Day 28
I appreciate bees for their role in our ecosystem. I appreciate that there are many fruits, plants and flowers that depend upon the bee to pollinate and cross-pollinate. I appreciate bee-keepers who take care of bees, especially in times when the population is declining. Bees are beautiful and necessary in our ecosystem. I appreciate learning about some of the foods that depend upon bees to survive. The list includes alfalfa, beets, cherries, cucumbers, grapes. peaches, strawberries, sunflowers, watermelon and more.
Bees are beautiful, even if we don’t like their sting. I remember how my dad taught me not to fear the bee: to stay still if they fly around me. It taught me to be calm in a tense situation. I have been around a lot of bees in my life but never have been stung. And that’s a beautiful thing to appreciate! 🙂
Today’s post about bees reminded me that if we want to find beauty, we must “bee” beauty: especially on the inside. And that’s a sweet thing – just like the honey that bees make, which I appreciate very much!
I Appreciate My Country – Day 27
I appreciate my country! Here’s some reasons why: freedom, choice, laws, due process, opportunities, voting, grassroots democracy, running water, electricity, abundance of resources, history, culture, cities, towns, countryside, football, baseball, volunteerism, mountains, plains, community centers, deserts, National Parks, the men and women who serve her, highways, roads, fields, skyscrapers, monuments, choices, freedom to move around, travel, small towns, holidays, Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, parades, fireworks, beaches, seasons, Thanksgiving holiday, diversity, and last, but not least – even our system of government. While there’s bickering and disagreement often amongst the people who are in public service, I do appreciate that each citizen has the right to vote! Did I mention that I appreciate the choices here? (I think I’ve mentioned it at least 3 times!) Choices and freedoms are what this country is all about and I appreciate that I have this forum to publicly thank my country! This is a freedom I don’t take for granted. It is a freedom that sometimes people forget when they express the “love it or leave it” mentality. I appreciate the freedom in being able to have an opinion, and the respect for the diversity of opinions and the ability to speak or write my opinion freely. I know I am fortunate to having been born in the United States of America! So Happy Birthday, USA! I appreciate you!
I Appreciate Funny TV Shows – Day 26
I love TV shows that make me laugh! I appreciate the writers who can think of stuff that’s funny, the actors and the whole production crew that makes it a show. I appreciate channels that show old TV shows that are now just as funny as they were “back in the day.” I appreciate humor that still is funny, even after having been translated into other languages.
Today, I’m remembering “I Love Lucy.” I just love Lucy, Ethel, Fred and Ricky! Those shows are classics! I can watch and re-watch the same episodes and still bust out in a LOL way! 🙂
I Appreciate Appreciating! – Day 25
Today I am appreciating that I can appreciate so many things, people and circumstances. It’s not always easy to find appreciation when stressed or through some unexpected, unwanted event, but I have done this practice for so long that it truly has become a habit. I can always find my way back to finding SOMETHING – anything – that’s positive in what may appear quite negative. And I really appreciate that!
Appreciation creates joy and joy is a great place to be!
I Love Photo Booth! – Day 24
One of my fun things to play around with is my iMac computer. And I absolutely love Photo Booth! It’s so much fun! I appreciate creative innovations that allow us to create fun photos with just a few clicks. I just love to laugh and playing around with Photo Booth makes me laugh! Here are a few of my crazy creations! I appreciate that I can laugh with myself on Photo Booth! hee hee
Appreciating Country Roads – Day 23
Being from Iowa, I have traveled many a country road. I learned to drive on dirt, gravel, blacktops and highways but I love country roads the best. I really appreciate country roads for the feeling of freedom they invoke with their wide open spaces and less traveled paths. There’s not much traffic on them and there’s a lot of landscape to see. When there is traffic, the “stranger” usually waves! They’re not really a “stranger” after all, but a sign of friendliness from the people I encounter in more rural places. There’s a feeling of connectedness that comes from being out in the country and on a country road.
I appreciate country roads for the views along the way, in the ditches, fields, or in the sky. I appreciate the wonders of nature that are evident from traveling down a country road. I appreciate the wildlife that I see along a country road. I really enjoy the sky from a country road and some of the most beautiful sunsets, shining stars, unusual cloud formations and spectacular lightning storms have been seen from a country road. Living in New York, I don’t see a lot of country roads these days. But whenever I do, it feels like home.
With that, I’m reminded of John Denver’s song, Country Roads. Take me home, country roads! 🙂
Appreciation Magic 