Positive Thinking

There are just days that really suck. Today was one of them. Waking up early for a current program, dealing with one of the rudest people I've ever encountered, cancelled flights (for attendees, not me), etc. etc.

I had my internal moments of freaking out and nearly coming to tears, but pushed those aside when thinking of the big picture. That rude guy has got to live a really sad life to treat people like that. The cancelled flights were accommodated and they were very happy for our help.

And then, I blast music to make me feel better. The song "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" by Travis Tritt is one of my favorite pick-me-up songs. Yes, it's a pretty damn hokey country song. But ya know, sometimes the situation calls for it. The heart of the message is what I really love - it truly is a great day to be alive, so just push the other crap aside and enjoy it!

Now you can enjoy the song courtesy of this here YouTube embed:

Little Ol' Me

Remember back in this post when I said I had also found some wonderful pictures of me? Well, friends, the time has come to share these gems with you. Enjoy!

Enjoying some Easter treats.

Catching fireflies in a jar. My eyes look crazy blue!

Young intellectual version of me.

Young intellectual, version 2

Apparently I used to have a "thing" with wanting to wear  coats meant for adults.

Red from head to toe...err, ankle.

Christmas with the cousins. I'm the cute one in the red dress in the back. 

And here's where we enter the awkward middle school years. Yeah, that's a skort, what of it... 

Obviously, there are soooooooo many more youth pictures of me, but these are just the few I unearthed at Grandma's house. Lordy, lordy...

Dreaming...

Maybe it's the weather today or maybe it's because I haven't taken a "true" vacation in awhile, but I've recently been daydreaming about places that I really, really want to visit. Be it places I've already been or the ones that have been but a dream, they are constantly in my daydream thoughts. Here are a few that are on my travel to-do list in the near future (aka, before I die):

Paris

Source: studentsoftheworld.info via Stacey on Pinterest

Copenhagen

Source: epundit.com via Stacey on Pinterest

New England during fall color season

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Stacey on Pinterest

London

Source: fromeuropewithlove.tumblr.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Greece

Source: awesomespaces.tumblr.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Grand Canyon

Source: Flickr via Stacey on Pinterest

Bora Bora (or anywhere tropical, really)

Source: etravelblog.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Places I've already visited, but would go back to time and time again...

Napa Valley

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Chicago

Source: Flickr via Stacey on Pinterest

San Francisco

Source: Google Image Search via Stacey on Pinterest

Just Journalin'

As with most great things I come across these days, I was on Pinterest recently and saw a pin for a really cool product. It was the Q&A A Day 5 Year Journal, and after some price comparison between a few stores, I promptly purchased one for me and one for my sister on Amazon. Due to signing up for the Amazon Prime free month-long trial, I got the journals (and Season One of My Boys - seriously, one of the funniest shows ever!) just a day later - gotta love fast shipping!

I've never been much of a journal person, but the daily prompts make it very easy to get the thoughts free flowing. However, the thoughts can only flow for four lines - five years worth of answers do have to fit on one page! Some of the thoughtful questions that I've seen while paging through are "What is your mission?" (January 1), "Who loves you today?" (May 13), "Water, ice, or steam?" (July 1), "What famous person would you want to meet for drinks?" (October 18 - my birthday!), and "What is your dream vacation?" (December 20). Really, all of the questions are great because they are things that I probably wouldn't have thought of personally to get the writing process started.

I'm only just 11 days into this five year journal journey, but I am really enjoying it so far! I really can't wait to reflect on the journal as a whole at the end of 2016...holy crap, just typing that number is scary/crazy!

365 questions - 5 years - 1,825 answers*

*This is actually a tad incorrect. There is a page for February 29 (Leap Day), and since I'll hit two leap years throughout my five years, I'll technically be: 366 questions - 5 years - 1,827 answers!

I've got plenty to be thankful for

Um...this was supposed to post on Thanksgiving but didn't. Damn Blogger. Anywho, enjoy it just a few days late...

The post title comes from one of my favorite movies of all time, Holiday Inn. The song is also my favorite Thanksgiving themed song. Mostly because I don't know any other Thanksgiving songs, but also because I really do love the song (Bing's voice is just magical).



To go with the Thanksgiving spirit, a list of things I'm currently thankful for:
- My generally good health.
- My family, friends, and wonderful boyfriend.
- Living in a great city like Denver.
- Food...good God, I love food! Trying new restaurants is a favorite activity.
- Live music - I've been fortunate enough to see a ridiculous amount of concerts this year!
- Comedic shows - Parks & Rec, Community, New Girl, Modern Family, Happy Endings and Always Sunny are just some of my current faves!

What are you thankful for?

Getting to know you...err, me

I suppose it's only right to actually tell any readers of this blog something about me. Sooooooo, here's a little Stacey 101.

I was born and raised in the Midwestern state of Iowa. I've helpfully pointed it out on the map below. My rudimentary pictorial skills have also illustrated that Iowa is the land of corn, NOT potatoes (that is Idaho, y'all...seriously). I appreciate my roots of a small-town upbringing, but am very glad to live elsewhere now.

So where do I live now? COLORADO!!! I absolutely love this state! There is so much to see and do, I just can't get enough. I mean, just look at those views!

In my years of living here, I've attempted both skiing and snowboarding in order to get into the true Colorado winter lifestyle. I'm successful at neither, but I can apres ski like nobody's business!

My family is fantastic and I love them all. I am the middle child of the bunch with an older sister and younger brother. My Mom and Dad divorced when I was young (around 9-ish), so that has been our family dynamic for well over half of my life. My brother-in-law joined our crazy family in 2005. His doctor skills have come in handy during calls about my various maladies.

The fam at sister's 2005 wedding. It's the most recent pic I could find of us all together. Divorce does that, ya know?

My sister is my best friend in the whole world. She's known me her whole life, and I really added joy to her life when I came into the world. She would certainly second this thought...if she felt the need to have an online presence. Essentially, this paragraph is just an excuse to show this adorable picture of us in our younger years. It's probably my favorite picture ever!

Our grandpa taught us the love of John Deere from the start!

The newest addition to our family is my sweet niece, Anna. She is the most adorable child I have ever seen. I can say this with authority, obviously, having seen every child on earth. I feel like being an aunt is one of my favoritest (this is a word, I swear) ever. I can hang out with her and spoil her to no end, but if things go south and she gets a little ornery, then I can give her back. It's a win-win situation!


And last, but not least, is my boyfriend, Jordan. He is wonderful and probably the most patient person I know to put up with me. He is absolutely the love of my life.

Halloween 2010. I was Marty McFly from Back to the Future. He was a ceiling fan (no, not the thing you see on a ceiling; he was a fan of ceilings, like "Go Ceilings!").

Lollapalooza 2011. Chicago. Great time.

I'm pretty sure the people that are currently reading this blog probably already know this information that I've shared, so if that's the case, you're welcome for the refresher! I'll call that good for now, but don't worry, you'll get to know me so much more in the near future! Until then...