Happy Last Day of 2017

Well, here we are...at the last day of the year. I know I say it here all the time, but time flies 😁 Hey, I may as well round out the year true to self 😜 2017 has had its share of ups and downs just like every year, but this year I actually learned a few things which affected me enough that I think some of the lessons will actually stick this time. Fingers crossed. Time will tell.

The photo above is from my best nine collage from my Instagram account. According to the stats, these are my nine most liked photos of 2017. For me, it's interesting to see these snapshots of my year and to relive those moments. I'm instantly taken back in time.

There's definitely an overriding theme to my photos....a great love and appreciation of nature. I love capturing a bit of the beauty whenever I'm surrounded by nature. I say a bit because it's impossible for me to capture everything that I see or feel. The beauty of nature is so vast, so I'm content to be able to share what I can 😊

The other two photos are special to me too. As you can see, there's a picture of the Obamas. I didn't take that one, but I shared it because I'm grateful that we had them in the White House and it was a true pleasure to have them there. This was from January when they were leaving and i just wanted to say thank you!

And the final photo was from the 9th anniversary of my blog. Marking the occasion was important, because I'm a big believer in celebrating milestones. On March 4th, 2018 I'll be celebrating ten years of blogging. Who'd a thunk it? I don't know how "successful" this blog has been in terms of reach or influence really, but I'm proud to have stayed with it for this long. It's helped keep me on track in many ways so that's successful to me 😊 Thanks for visiting me.

Hey, let me not get ahead of myself. It's not March yet. It's December 31st and I want to take one day at a time and relish it. As I said earlier 😜, time flies. So I'm gonna do my best to enjoy each day in the year ahead because before we know it it'll be December 31st again. May we all return to this day again in 2018 together...alive, well, safe and thriving!

Happy last day of 2017! 🎉😁

Happy Monday

Above: A winter view of the sky from about five years ago, just because I love taking photos of the sky

Happy Monday! I know that Mondays have a bad reputation, but even though they're not my favorite day, it's gotta be Monday sometime so why not today ;-) And every day that we wake up alive and well is a blessing and we get to start the week fresh. So Happy Monday! :)

It's hard to believe that a week from today it will be Christmas Day. I know I say it WAY too much, but I'm gonna say it again anyway...time flies. Only a couple of more weeks and 2017 is a wrap. But hey, lemme not get ahead of myself here. We have 13 more days left in this year so let's make them great! :)

Have a wonderful week wherever you are!

Farewell Summer 2017

Since tomorrow is the Autumn Equinox aka the beginning of fall, I thought that I'd share a couple of photos. These are the last of the summer roses in our garden. This rose bush blooms every year, but this year they especially "rose" to the occasion. To me they are a reminder that despite the hard things in life, there is still beauty around us every single day.

Farewell Summer 2017 💗

Beginning 2017

Hello :)

It's a few days into 2017 and I haven't posted since New Year's Day...please forgive me, I've been under the weather. I've been fighting one of those colds that just doesn't want to go away. Hubby is sick too, so we've been getting through it all together around the Yellow House. It's like a duet or something. He'll cough and then I'll cough or vice versa. It's like we're doing some kind of call and response musical performance. I'll be glad when the cough and all that goes with it, leaves us alone.

In the meantime, I've been back at my job search. I'm doing my best to have an optimistic attitude about it all. Something will come through and hopefully it's just in the knick of time.

I've been doing a bit of thinking and planning about what I want to get up to in 2017. My main goal is to get back to writing my book. I must admit, the job search had all but pushed my novel off a cliff, but I managed to rescue it and I'm holding on tight and not letting go. I've put too much of my heart into my book to let it go now. I know that it's VERY important for me to find a job, but as I've mentioned before, balance is important. Therefore, I'm getting on with my book. I'll write more about my book soon.

The other thing that I've been doing is taking pictures, mostly stuff to put up on Instagram. From time to time I'm going to grab some pics off there and publish them here. They're not extraordinary or anything, but I like to share what I see. Here's one from over the weekend.

It's fuzzy because I took it out the window as I was on the passenger side of the moving car and also it was a quite foggy Saturday morning. But I like how it turned out. It's very moody and looks like it could've been taken many decades ago.

I hope that you're having a good start to 2017 :)

Until next time...

Hello 2017

Goodbye 2016

Well, another year is coming to an end and it has me in a reflective mood. There have been highs and lows in addition to the middle that holds together day-to-day life. In the end, it's all good :)

A year ago on this very day, I wasn't very well at all, so I'm extremely grateful in this moment to be able to sit here and type these words. I wasn't at death's door or anything, but I was confined to bed. So it's a blessing to be upright!

I have always loved this day...December 31st. I really feel it. It's like teetering on the edge of a cliff and waiting to leap over an invisible line into the next chapter. Forgive me if I'm rambling or if I lose you here, but this day always makes me feel like I'm truly a part of  "Time". I feel a connection with the past and the future at the same time. It also makes me think of my mom. This was the last day that I spent with her in 2005. It's bittersweet, but I relish the fun that we had and I'll carry that with me for the rest of my life :)

Tonight along with everyone else, I'll say goodbye to 2016. I know it's a bit of an understatement, but it's been a helluva year! So many beloved people in our collective popular culture have left us along with those who we may have personally known and loved. I'll tell you something. It's all made me cherish life even more than I did already and it's reminded me to love even more.

Even though I'm no slouch...lol....I'm gonna do my very best to go just a bit harder on top of what's normal for me, in pursuit of what I want in my life. It can't hurt, huh? :) It's not a resolution...I've just gotta do better.

Thank you for visiting me here in 2016. I have more photos, thoughts, updates on my book and things to share, so I hope that you'll come back to see me in 2017!

I wish health, happiness, love, and the best of everything for everyone in 2017!