Ducks and pins and houses, oh my!

By accident I just saw all the photos from my I-Phone in rapid succession as they downloaded onto my MacBook.  They zipped by in a strangely cool montage. Before this, if you'd asked me how the past year has gone for me, I'd say "eh, it was ok."  But as I got a quick glance at all the photos (they were just begging for a soundtrack), I was surprised to realize that my life has really been quite something.  I've seen and done a lot.  Spent time with family and friends.  Traveled.  Eaten good food.  Drunk good wine.  Laughed at life's absurdities and little gifts.  Seriously...I'm a pretty lucky gal.  And it's good to be reminded of that from time to time.

Here, in no particular order, are some of the things that have made me smile recently.

1.  Tad and Fritz, the ducks in the pond near my soon-to-be-former apartment, have been waiting for me when I get home from work.  This has happened twice this week.





2. It's been (relatively) quiet at work - we haven't had a show/event in four days! My staff has been laughing a lot this week, or maybe I'm just noticing it more.  It's nice to hear.  Makes me want to figure out how we can laugh more when there are 20 shows we're marketing at once.  Hmmm.

3. My brother graduated from Duke last month.  With his MBA.  He won't say it, but that's a pretty damn big deal.  I was proud.  And best of all, he met Brenda at Duke, who has made him happy.  That's what matters, right?

4.  Somehow I've managed to connect to Outward Bound's social media channels, and after an innocent comment on twitter, I received an OB pin in the mail.  This is going to sound lame, but it absolutely made my day.  I've never forgotten about my OB sailing adventure (see top right photo), but I have missed being more directly connected to it.  And I've felt vaguely ashamed; wondering if, given that I've gained weight and am not an athlete anymore, I could hack it in the super-active/outdoorsy OB world.  Losing weight is probably the biggest worry in my life now, and so I've decided to pin my OB pin on my purse and take it with me wherever I go, because, cheesy as it sounds, OB taught me that the only limit on my success is one I place there. I need inspiration.  I'm not sure if a pin can do it, but it's a start.


5.  On Saturday, I saw my good pal Lisa for the first time since she left Walton Arts Center for new adventures.  She and Jenn and I got tipsy at brunch.  It was fun.  (But having a wine hangover in the afternoon? Not so much.)

6. I've made myself a new rule; no watching TV until I work out.  Surprisingly, I've stuck to it for two weeks now, with only one or two lapses.  As a result, I've been walking more, and as always, I feel a million times better.  It makes me feel like a 5 year old,  being bribed to eat my vegetables, but I'll take whatever I can get these days.

Speaking of walking, it's spring, and a few weeks back the honeysuckle was incredible.  I've also come across some pretty flowers along the path.  They're at right.

Still on the walking thing, I discovered a program that will tell you the beats per minute on songs, so I can build a songlist of great walking beats.  Unfortunately, I walk in a public place, which doesn't let me dance to the tunes like I want to.  Someday, maybe, I'll get the guts to not care if people think I'm an idiot and just do it.


7. And finally, after months of hemming, hawing, and generally being wishy-washy, I have a new rental house!  It's cute, clean, has a yard and a garage and I get the keys on Saturday.  I feel like a kid waiting to go to Disney World; three days is just TOO long to bear.



It's been nice to feel positive lately, and there's really only one negative I took from my "life in pictures" montage.  There aren't enough people in them.  I've always known that I like taking pictures of things, objects.  But I wonder if focusing on people will make the montage even better.  Hmmmm...