Simple Joy Sunday

Heather at CoolZebras hosts a Simple Joy Sunday and this is my first time participating in it. Since I had random pictures that make me happy, I thought it was perfect.

A nice bunch of daisies that Jason and I seen on a walk.


A cute new pair of summer shoes that I got on sale!


Cullen peeking out the window when we are outside. I just love that cat.

My tattoo

I have been wanting a tattoo for a long time. In fact it was on my list of things to do before I die. I just couldn't decide what or where.   On Monday I woke up and decided that I wanted to get one this week.   Of course Jason made it happen for me.   He has been wanting me to get one for quite a while.   I knew I wanted a bird of some sort and I wanted it on my ankle.  Jason suggested a sparrow since I love them, and of course it was perfect!  I went with it.   Brought a few pictures with me to Rochester Tattoo and asked if Angie was available since I liked her work I seen on myspace and she was.  Perfect!   She sketched out what I wanted and off we went.

Here is the stencil:


Angie working on the outline. The outline hurt the most and it wasn't intolerable at all. I thought the pain would be much worse than it was. There were a couple really sensitive spots, but nothing bad and that made me want to cry.



Me watching Angie tattoo me.



The outline is done!


The shading being worked on.


Check out some of the color. Love the colors!


My artist Angie hard at work on me. She was so cute and pregnant.


Check out all the colors and the ink!


And the finished product!!


Click here to see it larger. :)

It only took about an hour once she got started. Since it was an hour, the tat was $100. I don't think that is bad at all! I just love my little sparrow tat. I feel like I should name him.

One thing to check off my bucket list now.

Books!

Those of you that know me well, know my love of books.  I very rarely leave the house without a book.  You never know when you might be able to sneak a couple of pages in.  

Last night on Twitter, I asked this question:

"What is one book (or series of books) that you think everyone should read?" 

I got a few responses and that opened up more dialoge about books!  Loved it!  I thought that I would share everyone's answers here.

• Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse  http://bit.ly/TYoby is the one book I always give as a gift, a book everyone should read!
  
  
• series of books, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, Anita Blake http://bit.ly/Djb9N
  
  
• I always suggest Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors. It's a different book than I used to read all the time but I liked it.
  
  
• I also liked A Thousand Splendid Suns (& The Kite Runner, but Suns better), I Know This Much Is True, The Time Traveler's Wife
  
  
• Also A Prayer for Owen Meany and Secret Life of Bees. Anything by Maeve Binchy. LOL! Enough suggestions? ;)
  
  
• I also loved the Betsy-Tacy books by Maude Hart Lovelace. Seriously. LOVED them.
  
  
• I loved all of Amanda Eyre Wards novels, and Jodi Piccoult too & The House of Sand & Fog.
  
  
•  i happen to love anything by james patterson. the Alex Cross novels are great
  
  
• try Philip K. Dick "VALIS", "Cosmic Trigger" and "The Transmigration of Timothy Archer" (trilogy)

 

I can’t wait to check out all of these books!!! 

 

Here are a few others that have been recommended to be via Twitter.  That I also want to check out:

·        Possession by AS Byatt 

·        The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

·        A Scandalous Life by Mary S Lovell

·        The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster 

·        An Inland Voyage by RL Stevenson 

·        Ratio by  Michael Ruhlman

·        The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett

Now for all four of my readers out there, I want to know to answer the question. 

"What is one book (or series of books) that you think everyone should read?" 

Oh, I suppose I should share my answer too.  I suggest reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and the Laura Ingalls Wilder series of book by Laura Ingalls Wilder.   Three Cups of Tea really inspired me.  

I can’t wait to read all of these books that I have found out about on Twitter.  If I had a ton of money all of these books would already be on their to me.  Despite my already massive to be read pile of books.

Don’t forget to answer the question!!

Quotes from Retreat

A while back we had a work retreat where we had to draw a picture of a pig and depending on certain aspects of the pig that you drew, there were different perceptions/thoughts that are supposed to identify with you.  I have my very badly drawn pig and I was going to put it up on here to share, but of course I haven't taken a picture of it yet.  

Anyway, the reason why I wanted to blog about it this is that during the presentation there were some awesome quotes that were shared and that I wanted to share here on my blog.  I foound them inspiring!

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."  ~Sir Winston Churchill

"Outside my window, a new day I see

Only I can determine what kind of day it will be.

 It can be busy and sunny, laughing and gay

Or boring and cold, unhappy and grey.

 My own state of mind is the determining key

For I am only the person I let myself be.

 I can be thoughtful and do all I can to help

Or be selfish and think just of myself.

 I can enjoy what I do and make it seem fun

Or gripe and complain and make it hard on someone.

 I can be patient with those who don’t understand

or belittle and hurt them as much as I can.

 But, I have faith in myself and I believe when I say,

I personally intend to make the best of each day."

~Author Unknown

The Stolen One. ;)

Stolen from Jessi and Amber.

I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items.
You can only pick one thing from the following departments… what is it?
1. Produce : Pineapple
2. Bakery : Sourdough Bread
3. Meat: Chicken
4. Dairy : Cheese
5. Dry goods : Penne Pasta

Let’s say we’re heading out for a weekend getaway. You’re only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what’s in your bag?
1. Comfy pants
2. Tank Top
3. Sweater/Hoodie

If I was to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the day, what 4 phrases or words would I be most likely to heard?
1. Ummm...
2. Yea.
3. Mmmmhmmmm
4. I LOVE this!

So, what 4 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn’t get to do, you probably wouldn’t be in the best mood?
1. Spending time with Jason and Cullen
2. Reading
3. Twittering
4. Surfing the 'net.

You’re driving down the road, and suddenly you’re hit with this sense of road rage. What 3 factors probably contributed to it?
1. Someone going really slow in front of me and I'm not able to pass them.
2. Being cut off
3. Someone following me right on my ass.

Sweet, you just scored a whole afternoon to yourself. We’re talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?
1. Reading
2. Napping
3. Baking
4. Surfing the 'net
5. Shopping

We’re going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it’ll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?
1. Monkeys 
2. Polar Bears
3. Giraffes

You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what are you deciding between?
1. The Office
2. The Alaska Experiment
3.  The Office
4. The Alaska Experiment 

(I know, I know, I'm lame, but I really don't watch much TV and can't think of others.)

You’re hungry for ice cream. I’ll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?
1. Oatmeal Cookie Batter
2. Cake batter
3. Cheesecake

Somebody stole your purse/wallet…in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what’s in there?
1. Canon Camera
2. Black Clutch/wallet
3. Cell Phone
4. Cute little pouch with forest creatures on it
5. Book

You are at a job fair, and asked in what areas you are interested in pursuing a career. Let’s pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 careers would best describe what you want to be?
1. Photographer
2. Stay at home wife/mom
3. Scrapbooker
4. Graphic Designer

If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high/middle school, and inform yourself of 4 things, what would you say?
1. Keep having fun and don't forget to live a little!
2. Be happy with how you look and try to maintain that body.
3. Put your happiness first before everyone else's.  
4. Don't let certain friends drift away.