50 Day Challenge: Wrap-up

In case you missed anything.... here's a link list to each post from the 50-day challenge:

Day 1: Introduce yourself
Day 2: A bulleted list of my day
Day 3: Favorite movie
Day 4: A photo of me taken over 10 years ago
Day 5: A letter to my crush
Day 6: What I ate today
Day 7: A funny youtube video
Day 8: A recent photo of myself
Day 9: My favorite blogs
Day 10: Someone who has caused you pain
Day 11: Favorite recipes
Day 12: Self portrait
Day 13: Free day - Opinions, please
Day 14: A song from my childhood
Day 15: Someone I wish I could meet
Day 16: Five celebrity crushes
Day 17: A photo that makes me sad
Day 18: Share or set a goal
Day 19: Free day - Happenings
Day 20: Someone that changed my life
Day 21: Favorite television programs
Day 22: A photo that makes me happy
Day 23: Share a favorite tune
Day 24: Face morph
Day 25: Someone I judged by their first impression
Day 26: Favorite books
Day 27: A talent of mine
Day 28: Favorite places to shop
Day 29: Color spectrum test
Day 30: The friendliest person I knew for one day
Day 31: Free day - money talk
Day 32: A photo you took
Day 33: What you're craving right now
Day 34: Your favorite quote
Day 35: A letter to an ex
Day 36: Some hobbies
Day 37: A song I like to dance to
Day 38: A photo of my parents
Day 39: Zodiac sign, does it fit me?
Day 40: A deceased person I wish I could talk to
Day 41: Free day - Rush
Day 42: A bad habit
Day 43: My favorite place in the world
Day 44: Something that fascinates me, and why
Day 45: A letter to myself a year ago
Day 46: Photos of personal things in my life
Day 47: Birthday/Christmas wish list
Day 48: A photo of me right now
Day 49: Hopes, dreams, plans for the next 365 days
Day 50: A letter to my reflection in the mirror

I really enjoyed doing this 50-day challenge and would love to do something like it again soon.  It's nice to have set blog topics to write about, rather than trying to just blog about what we are up to (although those posts are good, too.  A nice mix of both, perhaps?).  These posts really made me think and I hope you all enjoyed reading them and getting to know me a little bit better.  I have enjoyed reading my friends' 50-day posts as well.

So now I'm on the lookout for another blog challenge... if anyone has any interesting or fun post ideas, let me know!

Day 50 - A letter to my reflection in the mirror

Yes, I'm going to grace the top of this post with my lovely yellow-ish picture that I took in my bathroom a few days ago.  I mean, it's a picture of ME in my MIRROR, so it's perfect. :)

And second of all, I'm kind of having a tough time determining why this letter is that much different from the letter I wrote to me from one year ago (day 45).  Am I supposed to write about my reflection?  Because according to the picture, I need to hit up a doctor because I apparently have jaundice.

Or maybe I should tell that girl in the mirror to go FIND HER WEDDING RINGS.  She's not wearing any!! And just because she got hit on at the public library, that doesn't mean she should continue to not wear her rings.  Even if she was all smiles for the rest of the day (I've still got it, people!). (And yes I did find my rings, eventually.  They were in my jewelry box.  Shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was.)

Or maybe I should tell that girl to get a haircut so she can finally start wearing her hair down again.

Or maybe I should tell her to get to bed earlier.  Yes, definitely that one.

Maybe I should tell her to just sit down and write those thank-you notes already!!

But okay, I do want to tell her this: she needs to let go of all the little things that are keeping her from being truly happy. I mean, she's very happy already.  Extremely happy.  But there are small things that are always there in the back of her mind that are keeping her from being even happier.  She needs to be happy now.  And she needs to be more grateful.  She's already pretty good at that one, but she needs to show her gratitude more often (re: need to write thank you notes).  She needs to voice her gratitude, not just feel it.
++++

Okay, okay.  If I really had to write a letter to that reflection above, this is what it would say:

Dear me:
Learn how to use that camera correctly.
Love,
me

P.S. NOW GO TO BED!

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The end. 

Day 49 - Hopes, dreams, plans for the next 365 days

Okay, this might come as a shock to everyone, but I asked Garrett for his hopes/dreams/plans for the next 365 days and he participated and only rolled his eyes once.  It's a big day, people.

In 365:

Hannah's hopes: survive in this apartment for 8.5 more months, spend some more time with my parents before we move far away, get to my goal weight, take a few more fun "trips" around the area while we are here (we went to the Outer Banks last weekend and it was fun! I'd like to go to D.C. a few more times, too), finish our 72-hour kits, eat lots of sushi. And maybe some lobster, too.

Garrett's hopes: get a car that will last 6 years, catch a large redfish this weekend, get a decent call schedule for the months I have call (2 more!)

Hannah's dreams: buy a house when we move to Florida, get our 6-month emergency fund complete, sell a few quilts and other things on etsy, find the perfect bedding, learn how to play "All of Me" by Jon Schmidt (you can see him play this piano piece on youtube if you're interested.  If you haven't heard it, you should watch it, it's a great song. So far I'm just trying to perfect the first three pages...)

Garrett's dreams: "That one day... I will be judged by the content of my character." (har har, good one honey)

Hannah's plans:

This week: organize the LR closet

This weekend: friends from med school come to visit!

This month: buy a second car, finish Christmas gifts

November: Thanksgiving!!  No plans yet because we don't know if Garrett has time off.

December: go to Savannah for Christmas break

Jan/Feb/Mar/April/May/June - my "baby" turns 4 (!!), take a trip down to FL to find a place to live, soak in all this extra time with Garrett during this intern year, I turn 27 (!!), move to Florida in June!

July - adjust to living in the heat and humidity again... although this time will probably be worse!  Why did we want to move to Florida, again??  I don't mind heat but I hate humidity, and I love fall!!

August/September - consider when to have another baby (can I handle three kids??)

Garrett's plans: go to work. fish as much as possible.

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Up tomorrow: A letter to my reflection in the mirror

Day 48 - A photo of me right now

I love fall.... I can wear my boots again!

And wow, I really need to wash my bathroom mirror.

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Up tomorrow: Hopes, dreams, plans for the next 365 days

Day 47 - Birthday/Christmas wish list

I actually keep a running online "wish list" throughout the year.  As I see things I want, I add them to the list.  Then, I'll look it over every so often and usually delete about half the things, because it was just a passing phase or whatever.  It's a great method and if something stays on the list for an extended period of time without getting "cut", I know I really want it, so I start saving up my pennies!  So here are some of the items that have withstood the test of time on my list:

CZ stud earrings.  I don't think I'd ever want real diamond earrings... not when CZ looks so good!  Plus CZ wouldn't be so stressful to own!  I saw some really nice CZ earrings at TJ Maxx the other day, and they were under $25... just sayin'. ;)

Brickmaker coffee table. This one is rectangular but I also love the square ones. I really, really love these but they are so expensive!  It would be cool (well, cheaper) to make one out of reclaimed wood.

An iphone.  Unfortunately, we have Sprint so I can't have one.  I can dream though.  And maybe someday the rumors will come true, and Sprint will get the iphone!  I can dream about that, anyway. :)

This upholstered bed with nailhead trim.  I LOVE this bed!  I know I could just make an upholstered headboard (and probably will end up doing just that), but I really do love the upholstered sideboards and endboard that this one has.  This particular bed only comes in queen and California king sizes... and we'd really like a king someday.  We like our space when we sleep.  The further apart we are, the better, in Garrett's opinion. ;)  I'm sure that in 5.5 years when Garrett completes his residency, a king size bed will be near the top of the list of "things we need".  I'd kinda hate to save up my money and buy one of these in a queen size, only to have us get a king size bed a few years later.

I don't have a picture for this next one but I would really like to get my hair done.  A great cut, and some highlights.  I haven't had a haircut since last December so it's not looking very good right now, so I wear it up all the time and it's getting really old.  So, a great haircut is on my agenda for Christmastime (my sister-in-law cuts it).  She would also color it if I wanted her to, but I'd really, really like to be blonde-ish but I can't afford the upkeep, so I'm holding off on that one for a few more years (I've never been too happy with box colors so that's not an option).

A stovetop grill.  Since we are in an apartment, I really miss grilling out!  Hopefully in a few years we'll buy a real outdoor grill, but for now this would be just perfect! (And some nice, juicy rare steaks to go along with it would be nice)

A Bare Escentuals gift card.  This is the make-up I wear and I love it!  And notice that it's "so pure you can sleep in it."  Good thing, since I'm too lazy to wash my face at night.  We have a Bare Escentuals outlet in Williamsburg so I could really get a bang for my buck there.

"H" monogram stationery from this etsy shop.  I feel like I am always writing cards to people and I think these are so pretty. I really like the blue and the purple.

A little "initial" necklace (g & h).  There are many shops on etsy that sell variations of these.

And. okay... I wouldn't be sad if I opened this on my birthday/Christmas morning:

An ipad.  These are really neat.  And Garrett has a $500 "credit" from the hospital to buy anything he wants (as long as it's for "educational purposes".  This qualifies.)  I mean, come on, why wouldn't he want to buy something for me with that money??

Oh and I wouldn't turn down a gift card to TJ Maxx.  I love that place.

Other things I want but haven't quite pinned down yet exactly what I want: accent chair(s) for the living room, new bedding (we've had our current stuff for over 5 years now, I'm ready for a change), an area rug for the living room, curtains, lots of clear food storage containers so I can have an organized pantry, new lampshades for our bedroom, a new color scheme for the girls' bathroom (navy, maybe?), a great piece of art for somewhere in the house, a new cell phone, an area rug for under the kitchen table (thick black & white stripes?), an iTunes gift card, some new headphones (mine are falling apart), some black dressy boots, some wire/metal baskets (decor), 6 or 8 frames and some pictures (prints or photographs) to make a nice gallery wall above our couch, some new clothes, a 2011 calendar, and too many things from etsy.com to even list.

I don't ask for much.  Clearly.

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Up tomorrow: A photo of me right now

Day 46 - Photos of personal things in my life

I'm going to come back to this one........ later this week or next week.

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Up tomorrow: Birthday/Christmas wish list

Day 45 - A letter to myself a year ago

Dear Hannah,

1. Ellie will eventually stop crying and things will get better.  You will get more sleep.  Don't beat yourself up over not nursing her well... it's her fault, not yours. :)  And it's okay.  Enjoy her infant-hood.  I know it's not your favorite stage, but it's still pretty great.

2. For the love of everything, cancel all of Garrett's radiology interviews after his FIRST INTERVIEW!  He matches into that program.  So, save yourself $5,000 and just have some faith. (and P.S. tell Jackie and Jared to transfer to Newport News, not Spartanburg, haha.) (For those of you who don't know this story... our brother-in-law transferred to Spartanburg, SC for 2 years because we thought that we would be moving there for Garrett's transitional year, and we knew it would be so much fun to live near them for a year.  But Garrett didn't end up matching there.  And it turns out that they could have transferred to the hospital that Garrett ended up matching at! Whoops!)

3. The 9/28/10 Mega-million lottery numbers are: 2, 10, 13, 36, 38, 18.

4. Don't even bother bringing Garrett's car with you when you move.  As soon as you get there it will stop working (and I do mean as soon as you get there.)  It won't even start to take it off the hitch.  Good one.

5.  You are going to get really, really, REALLY sick about 7 times in the next 6 months.  It's like food poisoning (but 5 times worse).  And then, just when you think it's all over and done with, it will hit you again six months after it all stopped.  I think it's pork.  STOP EATING PORK in all forms (yeah, goodbye bacon... sad I know.  But hey, if you get sick again while you're off pork, you'll know it's not that. But it's worth a shot.)

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Up tomorrow: Photos of personal things in my life

Day 44 - Something that fascinates me, and why

Growing up, I loved to act and sing.  I was always in the school play, and always vying for the lead role (only got it once, though - in second grade!).  Throughout high school I was always a supporting actress, which I learned to love (less pressure, less singing, more fun, and it's always great to have the funny roles).  However, I slowly started to become more and more fascinated with the "behind-the-scenes" work rather than being in front of the camera (or stage, or whatever).

Whenever we watch movies, I have to watch the special features afterwards.  I love the bloopers, I love the little features about "how it's made".  I also like to go to imdb.com ("internet movie database) and look up trivia about movies.  It is SO fascinating to me.  I love learning all the little-known-facts about the movies and actors/actresses.

When I was working at the BYU Library, I did a few projects helping the A/V team make promotional videos (for the library).  Sometimes I held the boom microphone (the huge microphone on a long stick, you hold it over the actors out of the camera's shot), sometimes I sat on the set while they got the lighting just right, sometimes I was in charge of the consistency of the shots (like, if we were shooting the same scene two times from two different angles, I had to make sure that the actors were consistent for each shot).  I loved doing all of that.  I think it would be so much fun to work behind the scenes of a movie... it wouldn't have to be anything important.  I just like seeing the inner workings of a movie (or tv show) being made and learning about everything that goes into it.

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Up tomorrow: A letter to myself a year ago

Day 43 - My favorite place in the world

I don't think I have one favorite place in the world - I love being anywhere my family is, whether it's Garrett's family, my family... I'd love to be anywhere if it meant we were spending time with them!

Let me describe our most recent vacation, taken just two weeks ago.  We spent about a week and a half with my family and it was so much fun.

We spent our days lounging on the front porch, watching the kids play in the grass...

Here's a view from the bridge over the river.  My grandparents' house (where guests stay) is on the right.  My parents' little farmhouse is the one on the far left.

Another view of my grandparents' house.

The farmhouse.  It's over 100 years old!

We took rides on my parents' Ranger...

And the four-wheelers, too (Ellie was a little nervous, obviously.  By the time they got back, though, she was all smiles!)

The Ranger.

Love the views...

Played golf...

Rode tractors...  Abby did not like this but I'm the sort of Mom who forces my kids to try some things at least once...

And those pictures are just a glimpse of what we did... we spent time shopping, doing puzzles, playing Wii games, had campfires at night, played hours of Mexican Train, did Tim Tam Slams (I'll explain in another post), read books, talked, napped, fished, scanned old family pictures into our laptop, picked raspberries from my mom's garden, had a fun "photo shoot" by the barn, watched college football, went antiquing, visited a little wild animal zoo, cooked meals, rode four-wheelers, saw LOTS of deer, and there was even a bear on my parents' front porch one evening!  Fun times in middle-of-nowhere, PA.  It was so nice for us to be together as a family, and to also see some of my siblings and nephews.  It's sort of a September tradition now, and I can't wait until next year's! (Although, hopefully we'll get up there one more time before we move to Florida... got to take advantage of being only an 8-hour drive away!)

Thanks SO MUCH Mom and Dad for a great stay, and thanks to my grandparents too, for having such an amazing place to be together as a family!

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Up tomorrow: Something that fascinates me, and why

Day 42 - A bad habit

A bad habit?  Just one? How about I list some for you:

-I bite my nails when I'm nervous and/or bored
-I rarely wash off my makeup before going to bed (so lazy)
-I leave laundry in the dryer for a couple days, sometimes.   That is, if I even DO the laundry.  Garrett starts the laundry most of the time (but I am usually in charge of the folding, it seems).
-Procrastinating
-Throwing together last-minute meals... for a week straight.  I know it's great to be able to throw together a good meal at the last minute, but I think I do this waaay too much.  I mean, I go grocery shopping with a weeklong menu in mind, but then as the week progresses I get lazy (or just too busy), and I start throwing together simple meals instead of nice dinners that I have planned.  I need to make more nice dinners.
-Going along with that, another bad habit is that I don't always stick to my grocery list.  I try really hard to stick to the list in order to save money, but I'm not usually very successful.  I suppose I should just add "Stacy's Pita Chips" to my grocery list, and then this won't be an issue anymore.

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Up later today: A picture of my favorite place in the world

Day 41 - (free day) - "Rush"

...I get a rush when I get emails from people I miss and haven't seen in a long time

...I get a rush when Garrett gets home from work, especially if I haven't seen him for a few days

...I get a rush when I win something on eBay

...I get a rush when someone says, "Let's go out for dinner"

...I get a rush when I can run 3 miles without stopping to walk

...I get a rush when I come home to a clean house (it happens pretty often, I have the best husband!)

...I get a rush when I hear certain songs that bring back great memories

...I get a rush when I find a pair of jeans that fits just right (AND looks good!)

...I get a rush when I get a package in the mail

...But I really get a rush when I see these two girls giggling loudly together.  No one can make Ellie laugh like Abby can.  A deep belly laugh (that sometimes sounds so fake!) that just makes me laugh too.  These two girls light up my life.

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Up tomorrow: A bad habit

Day 40 - A deceased person I wish I could talk to

My friend Haley posted that she would like to talk to her grandparents, and I'm going to agree with her on this one!  My mom's parents died when I was young and I don't remember much about them at all.  I wish I could talk to them and hear stories about when they were growing up, and stories about my mom growing up (from their perspectives).

I also wish I could talk to my great-grandparents, on all sides.  I just love family history and hearing about how people lived a long time ago.  It makes me so sad that none of my ancestors kept journals, because I sure would love to get my hands on something like that!

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Up tomorrow: Free day 

Day 39 - Zodiac sign, and does it fit me?

In short, Aries are:

Adventurous and energetic (hmm... I'd rather lie on the beach than build a sandcastle but ok...)

Pioneering and courageous (sounds good...)

Enthusiastic and confident (Check, check)

Dynamic and quick-witted. (Why thank you.)

However, Aries are also:

Selfish and quick-tempered (I can see that)

Impulsive and impatient (Definitely impatient in some situations.  But I'm usually not impulsive.  The opposite, actually!)

Foolhardy and daredevil (I am SO chicken it's not even funny.  I barely even like driving the 4-wheelers at my parents' house!)

Truthfully I didn't know a whole lot about Aries, so I found an article on the trusty old internet and read up all about myself.  Here are the highlights:

You will not find a more defensive and loving parent in all the zodiac.

You can easily be irritated by slowness in others. (Definitely true of me!! I'm working on this one.)

They do not make very good followers because they are too "take charge". (Well come on, things are always better when I am in charge)

Their immense energy makes them aggressive and restless, argumentative occasionally, headstrong, quick tempered, easily offended and capable of holding grudges if they feel themselves affronted. (Well if you know me you know I am definitely NOT easily offended and I generally don't hold grudges... but I certainly can be argumentative and quick tempered).

Aries are intellectual and objective, but can be in rare situations bigoted and extremist in religion and politics. (I don't really consider myself intellectual and I'm certainly not extremist about anything.)

You make good athletes and climbers, doctors, explorers (including adventuring to outer space), soldiers, sailors and airmen, and leaders, though awkward subordinates in industry and politics. (Definitely NOT an athlete... you should have seen me try to play basketball in junior high.  One time I went to a climbing wall, does that count?  And does being MARRIED to a doctor count for the doctor thing?  Also, I don't see myself going to outer space anytime soon, just fyi.)

Aries governs the brain, so you are said to be prone to headaches, particularly migraines, sunstroke, neuralgia, and depression.  Indigestion and nervous disorders are also threats to you, and your rashness, impetuosity, and wholesale physical commitment make you liable to accidents and physical injuries. (Thankfully I rarely get headaches... we're talking maybe once a year.  Maybe.  Never had any physical injuries either, thankfully.  Don't worry, I knocked on wood.)

You like extremes.  Physical, emotional, and mental; but if your extremism goes too far, then expect to be extremely lonely. (Noted)

Choice of color for Aries: RED (eh. I like to wear red sometimes but other than that I don't really like the color.)

Your starstone: Diamond (I'll take it!)

In short: I don't believe in zodiac signs or symbols or whatever you want to call them, but it was fun to read a bit more about Aries and what apparently represents who I am.

Do you believe in zodiac signs?


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Up tomorrow: A deceased person I wish I could talk to

Day 38 - A photo of my parents

Aaaaand, I'm back!  Sorry about the week-long hiatus, but we were on vacation!  I meant to schedule some posts before we left, and I also meant to blog while we were gone, but that didn't really happen!  But don't worry, we're back now and I'm excited to get down to blogging the remainder of this 50-day challenge.

(.... because I know you were all worried!! :) 

This was taken just this morning!!!  Love you, Mom and Dad, and we miss you already!  We had a great time in Pennsylvania (and I'll blog about it soon!).


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Up tomorrow: My zodiac sign, and does it fit me?

Day 37 - A song I like to dance to

Hmmmmm.....

I really like to dance.  When I was at BYU I took a country dancing class, a tap dance class, and folk dance.  They were all really fun but I think I liked country dancing the best.  We learned a few line dances, but mostly it was couples dancing.  It was kind of awkward because I was married, but it was still really fun.  Garrett was really sad that he couldn't take the class with me* but for some reason he couldn't fit it into his class schedule.  I also would have loved to take ballroom dance or social dance, but never did.

I did try out for the folk dance ensemble at BYU.  Twice.  I mean, I didn't try out for the actual team (that would have been a joke), but the real team actually has 4 "backup" teams where you just rehearse with the real team, and you do some performances here and there.  Anyway, I tried out a couple of times.  Never did make it past the first cut, though. Big surprise.

I loved going to all the church dances when I was in high school and we really had a lot of great people to hang out with there (until I was about 17... then they got a little boring because all the guys were younger than I was and that wasn't very appealing).  I have a lot of great memories of church dances.






*hahahahahahaha yeah right.

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Up tomorrow: A photo of my parents

Day 36 - Some hobbies

Hobbies:

-reading
-watching Netflix with Garrett
-quilting/sewing
-running/exercise
-blogging
-sudoku puzzles
-playing the piano
-going for walks
-watching sports
-spending time with family and friends
-learning about money management (recent new hobby)
-food storage stuff

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Up tomorrow: A song I like to dance to 

Day 35 - A letter to an ex

Dear ex,

I don't even know if you really qualify as an "ex" because we never were an official couple, I don't think.  I liked you before I turned 16 so we were never really "dating", and then by the time I did turn 16 things had changed between us so we never became a couple, really.  Still friends, but not a couple.

I thought I was going to marry you. For years, I always kind of assumed (and hoped and prayed) that we would end up together.  Even when I was dating other people, or when I was single, in the back of my mind I always just kind of assumed we'd get together again someday.  You were the first guy I ever loved and I guess I just assumed that it would last forever.  Sure, there were other guys I dated, even seriously, but you were always the One I would end up with.

The first time you broke my heart -- in high school -- was devastating.  My first heartbreak!  But eventually we came around and became friends again.  We could hang out without my heart feeling crushed, and I could breathe without feeling like there was a huge weight on my chest.  Of course, I still liked you but it wasn't painful anymore.

When you left on your mission I breathed a huge sigh of relief.  You would be busy for the next two years (and not thinking about girls, whew!), and I could just focus on my life and not us, which I'd been obsessing about for so long.  It was nice.  Of course I missed you, but I knew that you were doing what you were supposed to be doing, and life was good.

Fast forward a couple years later: you decided to transfer to BYU.  Of course, this was my dream come true and I knew that we would get together again!  I was so excited. We studied together, hung out with my roommates together, went to sporting events, went grocery shopping.  It was so much fun and I loved spending time with you - it was (almost) everything I'd ever wanted.  Our official "relationship status" was still up in the air, though, and it was hurting and confusing me.  I was tired of always wondering how you really felt about me.  So finally, in October, I decided to just make a move.  I remember telling myself, "Ok, this is it.  I'm going to take one last shot and if I am rejected, I'm done.  I just can't go on like this anymore!"

So, I did just that.  And, you rejected it.  I was so embarrassed -- I'm embarrassed right now just thinking about it.  I went into my apartment and cried in my room for about 2 hours straight (that is exhausting, by the way!), then I found my roommate Lexi and cried some more to her.  That was the second time you broke my heart.  After that, I didn't see too much of you but that was what I needed to get over you.  I really missed our friendship but it was too painful for me.  It was especially hard because it seemed like every other song on the radio was one that reminded me of you (that still seems to be a trend, btw).

Last month I was reading my journal from that time, and something really stuck out to me.  I wrote, "Even though this is really hard, I feel like it's the right thing."  I don't remember writing that, and I certainly don't remember feeling like that.  It took me a really long time to get over you - it was hard to stop thinking about something that I had been thinking about for the last 5 or 6 years! Thinking about you was a habit!  And it was hard to erase all those dreams of getting married and having kids and growing old with you.

I still have all your letters; for a long time I just didn't know what to do with them, especially since I was married, but throwing them away just seemed wrong.  That was such a happy time in my life and in my youth and I cherish all the memories.  They are part of me.  You are part of me, because you make up such a huge portion of my past.  Thanks for all the memories -- the painful ones included, because they made me the person I am today.

Hannah

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Up tomorrow: Some hobbies

Day 33 - What you're craving right now

Right now craving: sleep

Always craving: sushi (seriously people, I'm always craving sushi)

Also craving: Some family time at the farm... and I'm going to get it starting this weekend!  We're going to see my parents and grandparents in PA, and my brother will be there (I haven't seen him in forever) with his wife and kids, and my sister Molly (aka best aunt ever) will be there too.  Emma, we'll miss you. :(

Foods I frequently crave: Stacy's Pita Chips with guac or hummus, chips & salsa, raspberries, any sort of fattening pasta dish, really great sandwiches, bread with olive oil & herbs, really good pizza, blueberry pie w/ cream cheese.

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Up tomorrow: Favorite quotes

Day 32 - A photo you took

Picnic at the park, August 2010

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Up tomorrow: What I'm craving right now

Day 30 - The friendliest person I knew for one day

Okay, some of the other topics have been a bit challenging, but this is downright difficult.  The friendliest person I knew for one day??  First of all, I don't have the greatest memory.  Secondly... well I just can't think of anyone.  So, I'll just list some friendly people I have come across:

The man who switched seats with Garrett on one of our flights last spring.  I booked all our tickets together, but for some reason the airline put Abby and me together, and Garrett in the row behind us (in a middle seat).  So, there I was sitting in a window seat with Ellie on my lap (and she was being extra squirmy, you know how they are on airplanes!) and Abby next to me, with Garrett alone behind us (trust me, I offered to sit alone instead of Garrett, but I knew that wouldn't work.  I knew that wherever I sat, I would have Ellie on my lap, so I figured I would rather sit between Abby and a window rather than two strangers).  Anyway, the man who was assigned to sit in the row with us switched seats with Garrett so that he could sit with us.  I was so grateful.  It was a long flight (3.5 hours) and I needed all the help I could get!

Another nice person was a flight attendant who took pity on me.  This was a different trip, but I had Ellie on my lap and Abby next to me, and we were on a plane where each person had their own tv screen.  Woo hoo!  However, I was disappointed to find out that you could only watch something if you pay $5, which I was not about to do.  But what do you know, a flight attendant came over to me and said I was a "preferred" customer and then she swiped her special card on my screen so it would work!  Hallelujah, it was great.

Hmm... I'm trying to remember more examples but this is all I'm coming up with right now.  But, the older I get the more I notice that the world really is full of nice, genuine people.  Sure, there are some bad seeds or whatever, but most people we come across every day are just people, just like us, with a lot of the same desires, fears, and doubts that we have.  Most people are nice, even the ones who don't seem nice at the time we meet them... maybe they are just having a bad day.  Perhaps I have rose-colored glasses on but I like them and I'm not planning on taking them off any time soon.

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