- Because you woke up this morning
- To cheer up someone else
- When you think of someone special
- Your best childhood memory
- Libraries are full of free books
- When you hear a child laugh
- Because there are green trees and smiling flowers on this planet
- The night is full of stars and moonlight and lovely silence
- It’s scientifically proven to elevate your mood
- Beauty is everywhere if you look hard enough
- You have internet access
- You will probably eat a meal today
- Most likely more than one
- Sunshine
- Late spring smells like rain and earth and allergies
- When you go on a walk
- When you go to your job
- When a complete stranger smiles at you first
- Because life is too short to spend in a foul mood
- Because today is an opportunity to do something you’ve never done before
- Because you choose to be happy
Category Archives: Inspirational
These items are meant to encourage and uplift. Highly shareable!
My Grade School Teachers from Jefferson Elementary School in Mesa, Arizona– in Honor of Back to School Season
- Miss Hay-something
- Mrs. Fuller
- Miss Trigg
- Mrs. Ferguson
- Mr. Hummer
- Mrs. Shaw
- Miss Richardson

Twenty One Things To Be Thankful For On The Twentyfirst, In No Particular Order
- Emerald green corn taller than me, growing outside my front door
- Sunshine
- Perfect puffy clouds on a bright blue day
- The pool at my apartment complex
- The new novel I’m working on which is a lot of fun and a great challenge
- My laptop
- Sprint’s truly Unlimited Data plan
- My family and friends who mean more than I could ever say
- The Amazon gift card sitting next to me this moment
- Books to read
- Libraries to get those books for free
- Book stores to take those books home and keep
- Meaningful work
- Everyone who supports Wendy’s Butterfly Garden at the Quad City Botanical Center
- Oranges
- Hawaii
- Beaches
- Enough money to pay bills
- Caramel covered anything
- God’s mercies poured upon me
- My twenty one year old son who is the Best Kid Ever (Except for Jesus)
Things I Wasn’t Sure I Could Do But I Did
- The portage to Sunbeam Lake
- Losing 40 pounds
- Assembling my TV cabinet
- Asking a guy on a date
- Eating rice with chop sticks (which I am still not good at)
- Writing a novel
- Completing a triathlon (although actually I was pretty confident in that one)
- Moving away from my son
- Taking on a new job with people I didn’t know

Favorite Quotes From Pinterest
- Feelings are much like waves. We can’t stop them from coming, but we can choose which one to surf.
- “I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.” John Burrough
- “I have decided to be happy because it is good for my health.” Voltaire
- There is a difference between giving up and knowing when you have had enough.
- You don’t have to attend every argument you are invited to.
- If your dreams don’t scare you they’re not big enough.
- “You are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream.” CS Lewis
- Be strong when you are weak, brave when you are scared, and humble when you are victorious.
- There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart. Pursue those.
- “Be silly. Be honest. Be kind.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.
- Have less. Do more. Be more.
- “There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” Nelson Mandela
- Character is how you treat those who can do nothing for you.
- “When you stop doing things for fun, you might as well be dead.” Hemingway
- Work like a Captain. Play like a Pirate.
- In order to lead a fascinating life– one brimming with art, music, intrigue and romance– you must surround yourself with precisely those things.
- Strong is what happens when you run out of weak.

