Over a rhetorical shirt reigns a floating proof

Love the title?! I do! I could not think of a good enough title so I went here: a random word generator. It took only two clicks before this beauty popped up!

I decided to plug this into Google Images and see what appears. The result was a random bunch of images, some of them involving t-shirts and some were just plain odd. My favourite images of the bunch were:

The random title is fitting for this random blog post. As it has been too long since I last posted I figured I should get into things again. 

I have been reading the most wonderful books recently: Far to Go by Alison Pick, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. I plan on writing reviews for them all very shortly. Right now I am read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer. 

 

I recently came across this list here: 365 Simple Pleasures to Brighten a Year which I read through and just adored. Check these simple pleasures out when you get a chance, I will be featuring one every blog. 

Today's Simple Pleasure is...

1. Songs that bring you back to great moments in your life.

It is amazing how much music is a part of my life. The radio is normally always on, or we have a CD going, or I am upstairs listening to my Sirius Satellite Radio. The main musical influence in my life is Elvis Presley. I have been a fan of Elvis for many years now and I could listen to his voice all day long. Whenever I hear an Elvis song I do think of my trip to Graceland that I took with my dad for my 16th birthday. It was such an amazing experience to be at Graceland and I cannot wait to go back! 

I decided that trying to complete the list of 50 Ways to Scatter Sunshine is going to take too long if I try and do it in order. So I am going to complete this list out of order. 

50 Ways to Scatter Sunshine

9. Leave an encouraging note in a library book

I rarely take out library books myself, so I put this note in one of the books that my mom borrowed. 

Sunshine successfully scattered!!

Today is....

a wonderful day.

a beautiful day.

a day to be thankful for.

a day to stop and smell the flowers.

a day to walk around with a huge smile on your face because you can.

I woke up this morning and decided that today was going to be a great day. Yes, I was so very tired when I woke up that I just wanted to go back to bed. And yes, the massive grocery shopping adventure ended up pushing my buttons. But these things did not stop me from enjoying this day.

One of the main reasons for keeping such a positive attitude, other than my birthday tomorrow of course, is this blog here: Alice's Bucket List. Alice is such an inspiration and if she can keep such a wonderful attitude despite her terminal cancer, then I certainly can.

But it all comes down to that; a choice. I can choose to have a great day today and not let anything dampen my mood. On the other hand, I could chose not to care and let every tiny thing bother me. Making the decision to have a wonderful day today was easy, keeping it a wonderful day meant some work, but it is worth it. Today is a grand day.

Because I missed this week's Monday Post due to being away, I figured I should finally post that book review for The Good Daughters. I posted it on my goodreads account and you can find the review here.

And finally..... SCATTERING SUNSHINE!!
That's right! I finally got the first item finished, it only took almost three months.

50 Ways to Scatter Sunshine
1. Send a hand-written thank you card to someone.

I received this box with cards for my birthday from my aunt and I completely adore it!

It was absolutely perfect for this scattering of sunshine. I am not going to say who the letter was to but the letter was mailed today and should be arriving sometime next week! I am going to pretend that I put off doing this first item of the list was because I did not have the right stationary to properly and effectively scatter sunshine. But now I do! 

Sunshine successfully scattered! 

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." 

— E.E. Cummings

Garage sales and Woodstock Nostalgia Show

This post is for Emily, my dear friend, who wanted to see what I recently purchased last weekend at garage sales and the Woodstock Nostalgia Show. 

This year has been the first year I have really been excited about garage sales, but a monster has been released!! I love searching for hidden treasures and I certainly found some last weekend. 

Garage sales were on Saturday, bright and early, and then the Woodstock Nostalgia Show was Sunday morning. Kirk had found the ad on Kijiji and we decided to go check it out. We had no idea what to expect but absolutely loved it!! We spent almost two hours just looking at everything. The following is just a sample of everything there:

Small Antiques, Tins, Bottles, Vintage Paper, Postcards, Old Photos, Old Books, Vintage Clothing, Vintage Magazines, Automobile Advertising, Gas Station Memorabilia, Country Store Items, Movie and Television Memorabilia, Coca-Cola Collectibles, Brewery Collectibles, Advertising Signs, Vintage Sports Collectibles, Vintage Sports and Non-Sport Cards, Railroad Memorabilia, Old Tin Toys, Western Toy Cap Guns, Old Dolls, Vintage Action Figures, Old Plastic Models, China, Glassware, Coins, Paper Money, Stamps, Military Collectibles, Comic Books, Records and tons of other older collectibles.

After the show we went out for lunch at Pizza Hut and then went for a wonderful walk. The trail we found was well maintained and we can't wait to get back there with the bikes or kayaks. It was a most wonderful day.

I am so pleased with everything that I found at the garage sales and the nostalgia show so I decided I should show everyone my newly found treasures. Enjoy!

Garage sales

The bench -$5

 As soon as I saw this I knew I had to have it. I have no idea what I am going to do with it, but I love it! 

Frames and necklace - $2

Again, not really sure what I am going to do with it,  but I have a craft/art project in the back of mind that these would be perfect for if I ever get around to it!

Air hockey table - $30

I just had to buy this!!! I have always wanted one and I figure we can use it at camp. I don't have a picture of it, but Kirk and I played Epic Air Hockey tonight using both pucks. I lost, 7 - 41. 

Woodstock Nostalgia Show

Book

I have so many different books about Elvis, but this has to be one of the coolest, with the pages looking like a scrapbook of newspaper clippings and pictures. CiCi loves it!

Records

So many records!! It was fantastic, and I was thrilled to add nine records to my collection. 

My record wall(s) now looks like this:

Off to bed now! Another busy weekend coming up with a dance recital, the Fleetwood Country Cruize In, and a piano recital. 

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

- Soren Kierkegaard

It's Monday!

The good news is that I am posting a Monday Post!

The bad news is that I didn't post anything since the last Monday Post.

I have so much to blog about right now that I have a really good feeling about this week and I believe it is going to be a multiple post week! So check back this week for: The Good Daughters book review, A Toronto Adventure, End of the Month Post, and Garage Sales! Exciting stuff coming up, eh?

On to the Monday Post!!

An Awesome Thing:
This week's Awesome Thing is actually something that I have been talking about recently, so it was an Awesome Thing to find it on the list! So two Awesome Things in one posting, it doesn't get any better than this!

#962 Being the guy on the construction crew who gets to hold the Stop sign
If I was ever to join a construction crew this would be my job. However, I would settle for driving the enormous steamroller, as that would also be pretty awesome! When ever I see someone with this awesome job I think about this one lucky construction worker that stopped my mom and me for about fifteen minutes while some work was being done. I cannot remember exactly what was talked about, but this guy was so friendly and full of energy and smiles. I do remember thinking that he had a wonderful outlook on life if he was so chipper despite having to hold the Stop sign in blazing heat all day long. This guy and his job are both awesome!

Book Updates:
I finished The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard and am currently in the middle of Bedtime Story by Robert J. Wieserma. I will publish my review for The Good Daughters sometime this week. I will say now that I very much enjoyed the book and will recommend it to most people. As much as I did enjoy The Good Daughters, I am loving Bedtime Story! I can't seem to put it down! I am up late reading it and try to find time during the day to read more. As long as the plot keeps moving in the direction it is currently moving it, this book has the potential to be a very good book.

I was on goodreads yesterday (I highly recommend this site for any book lover) and noticed the book club is featuring A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. As the title was so fantastic, I decided to read a little bit about the book and reserved a copy from the online library. Depending on how long it takes to become available, I believe this will be my next read and I am very much looking forward to it.

A Monday Present:
I decided to introduce a new section to Monday Posts that will be a little 'present' from me to you. I don't really like 'Monday Present' so if anyone has a suggestion for a title I would love to hear it. Basically this will be a random item that I love and believe will bring a smile to people's faces. From pictures, to websites to conversations overheard, feel free to suggest something for next week's present.

This week I found the most amazing set of pictures ever! As Wall-e is one of my favourite Pixar movies, I knew this what I wanted to share this week. Please visit their website to see more wonderful pictures - http://emmycic.livejournal.com/557020.html?view=22600668#t22600668

LOVE:

Keeping with the Wall-e theme, I end this Monday Post with one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen in a movie, animated or not. 

Captain: Computer, define "dancing". 

Ship's Computer: Dancing: A series of movements involving two partners, where speed and rhythm match harmoniously with music. 

Monday, Monday

As it has been way too long since I have last posted, let's get right into it! 

I am introducing Monday posts, which will hopefully be a new tradition. Let's see how this goes, as updating this blog often is not going as splendidly as I would like. 

Back to the Monday Posts, which will feature

An Awesome Thing:

One of the first eBooks I bought for my Kobo was The Book of Awesome. It was.....awsome. (I couldn't resist!) I really enjoyed the book and I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun book that leaves you cheerful and thrilled with life. Once I had heard about The Book of (even more) Awesome I knew I had to buy it! This time, however, I decided to purchase a 'hard copy' of  the book as one of the downfalls of eBooks is not being able to share them with friends and family. I have not started to read this book yet, but look for a review soon. 

Monday Posts will feature an Awesome Thing from the website of author of these books, Neil Pasricha. Currently Neil is on #239, which means I will either be posting a huge amount of Monday Posts or possibly even featuring multiple Awesome Things. I will be featuring Awesome Things that I actually think are awesome, but be sure to check out the website for all. 

#997 Locking people out of the car and pretending to drive away 

I love doing this to people but I must admit that I do not appreciate being on the other end of this prank. Neil lists the three different versions that are possible, from Version 1 which features a "slow rolling drive away while the victim knocks on the window and pretends not to care" to Version 3, which involves the driver never returning! Regardless of which version that is used, locking people out of the car and pretending to drive away is awesome! 

Monday Posts will also feature

Book Updates:

Right now I am just about the start one of two books that I have borrowed from the library. The first is Bedtime Story by Robert J. Wieserma and The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard. 

Bedtime Story is a book that I had seen many times in Chapters and while I pick it up every time I never actually buy it. The plot seems intriguing and I am very excited to begin reading it. A description of the book can be found here (I couldn't find a small enough description to include in this blog). 

The Good Daughters was actually a book I had seen on the library site looking for books. I put my name on the waiting list what seems like forever ago so I hope this book is worth the wait! Information about the book can be found here (again, there was no short descriptions to be found). 

Both books need to be returned in about twelve days so I need to be doing some serious reading this week, which should really not be too much of a problem. Ahhh, the joys of being finished school for the year and the job not starting until July. 

I have just realized what a huge posting this is going to be!!! Yikes!! At least I am actually posting now, which is a huge improvement from the lack of posts for over a month now. 

As this is a Monday Post I believe it would be fitting to end with this classic song about Mondays. 

Monday, Monday

So good to me

Monday mornin, it was all I hoped it would be....

50 ways to scatter sunshine

Now that school is over (YEAH!) I am devoting my time and energy to scattering sunshine. I came across this list of ways to 'scatter sunshine' through Stumble! (which is highly addicting and ever so entertaining). I figured this list was perfect for my blog and my plan is to go through each item and describe how I was able to scatter a little sunshine.

I am also planning on writing a monthly book/movie post that talks about the books and movies that I read or watched over the month. With all of the extra time I now have I think this should not be a problem.

So basically, you can expect more posts soon!!

I will end this posting with a wonderful quote about spring because I am so very happy that spring has finally sprung!!

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. 

 ~Doug Larson

What Would You Do?

I have recently started to watch the ABC show 'What Would You Do?' and I am hooked! The premise of the show is that actors portray a scene that has something 'wrong' happening. From restaurant managers trying to kick out a woman and her service dog, to a waiter trying to serve food that he just dropped on the floor. It is very amazing to see the different reactions that people have.

As I watch I hope I would be the people that would say something in these situations, but I am not so sure I would. Part of me would not want to interfere and would be too nervous to step in. I do hope that it would be the larger part of me that would step in and do something.

On a funnier note, tomorrow is April 1st!! I am getting ready to do some pranks on my roommate! It will be great!!! I can't wait!

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.

- Colette