33 Days of "Random Acts of Kindness"

With the thought of my impending 33rd birthday upon me, I have decided to preform 33 Random Act's of Kindness.  Maybe in hopes to feel like this birthday is not just another day and to feel that I made some small difference in the world.

So today starts day 1 with:

Random Act of Kindness #1: Help a Baby Bird

Coming home from the park today, my son and I came across this small bird flopping on the ground and in the street.  We scooped it up and took it home and after calling around to a couple of wild life rescue facilities we were advised to put the bird back outside and out of harms way.  With any luck it's momma bird would find him and take him back to the nest.  We ended up placing him in the front yard, well away from the busy street and when I went back about 45 mins. later he was gone.  I hope that he has found his family and tonight is cuddling close to the ones that love him.  

My new place

I have finally moved out of the dark "dungeon" (as some people called it) of an apartment.  I am moved into the clouds.  A 3rd floor apartment on a hill.  All the sunlight I could possibly hope for along with the room that Mason and I needed.  We have only been here for a week but it seems as if this place was made for us.  

Below is a picture of the kitchen.  Counter space seems the only thing we have given up but the fact that we have more room to move has made other things possible.  These were cinder blocks I had used under Mason's bed to make for extra storage for summer/winter clothes.  As we now have three closets, storage is no longer a problem.  So I have converted the blocks into extra counter space.

This is the sunrise from my bedroom.  I get to wake up to this every morning.  

I now have room for Mason to have a little art nook.  He loves it.  And I love the light that now steams into his room.

This is me just being silly in my new bedroom.  I no longer have to sleep in the living room so I tend to be a little over happy about it.

 In this pic Mason playing with glow sticks in the bath tub.  He LOVED it!!  

If you can't tell from all my pictures, I am really happy in our new place.  

I am looking forward to the future.  Can you tell?

My Day, My Dinner, My Night - In Photos

This is a new segment I am trying.  Describing my day, dinner and night in 3 random pictures that I have taken throughout the day.  Hope you like it.

My Day

Day hike and lunch at the Audubon Center in Greenwich.  Great walk which included a small waterfall and a frog named Jesse Jr.. 

My Dinner

A BLT minus the bread.  I am currently trying to watch the carbohydrates I eat so this was a yummy alternative and only a total of 2 grams of carbs. for both the wraps instead of the 28 grams if I had had only one sandwich.  

My Night

Playing Jenga with my son.  Now that school has started again I have established a rule of no TV, video games or computer on school nights and during the week.  This has opened the door to some pretty fun game nights and a lot of together time. 

Tell me about your day, dinner and night?

My 150th Post

I can't believe this is my 150th post.  I also can't believe I haven't posted anything since June...I have to say it was because I have had such a wonderful summer that everything has passed so quickly.  It was filled with sunshine, trips to CA to see my mom, Mason's first surgery, dinners at the beach and my loving family.  I have enjoyed every second of it....well maybe not walking away from Mason after they gave him the anesthesia.  That was really hard.  

I look forward to the coming fall, to my brother's wedding, to the holidays, and to the snow.  

A picture can say a million words

My dad recently sent me a ton of old photographs and it has literally taken me days to look through them all. So I decided to share the ones that stood out to me. The ones I went back to so I could look at them again.

This is my paternal great grandfather with his father in the early 1900's.

A picture of my paternal grandma's mother along with her sisters and brothers. My great grandma is the one in the middle in front.

This is of my Papap when he was in the military. He is the handsome man standing on the left. I love this because you can tell these boys got into trouble.

This is my Grandma when I think she was dating my Papap. The thing I love the most is on the back of the picture they wrote the name Vee, her name is Virginia and she is very proper so I love seeing her being a little silly...

This is my paternal Grandma and my Papap on their wedding day. Along with my great grandparents.

This is my father on his 8th birthday. Something about his smile made me fall in love with this picture.

I have always thought of my dad as a very handsome man and this picture just proves it.

My mom and dad used to sell plates and I ate off the salad plate that belonged to this collection when I was growing up, never knowing it's history. Just seems funny to me.

I still remember the day my dad taught me how to dive. And I love how I have a picture of it.

I love this picture because you know exactly what I just did and how my dad felt about it.

Me and my dad and sister. Not sure but something about this picture speaks to me.

Finally me at my senior prom. I still remember how much I loved that dress.

Hope you enjoyed this pictures I have posted. I can't explain how happy they have made me and there are so many I wish I could share.

Second Spring

Mason and I are now enjoying our second spring in CT. Even though, technically we have been here for three. We first moved here right at the start of spring but I don't count it because, at the time, I had not yet experienced a cold winter. Spring did not mean as much those first few months here as it does now. It means I get to pack up our thick winter jackets. It means more time out of doors. And who could overlook the flowers. Nothing can express the happiness I feel when I first see a daffodil bloom.

The above is a picture taken during our very "first" spring. I can still remember the excitement I felt knowing we had survived our first winter in the North East. I think it is because I feel the same way today. Knowing that the weather will finally be getting warmer and that I have again survived the winter. And this winter was much more difficult then last year.

So this is us today. In the same spot next to our house. Enjoying the sunny weather and looking forward to a another great summer.

PS. When I first saw the above picture I thought it was my hand on my face, and briefly wondered why I posed like that. But then quickly realized that those are Mason's fingers. I guess there is really no doubt on who's hands he inherited.

The Move

It's hard to believe that is has been two years ago today that I took a deep breath and started the 3000 mile journey from Southern California to Connecticut.

I still remember the moment I realized that moving out here was what I needed to do. I was sitting at work, sorting iron on soccer numbers, and I was in so much pain and sadness. In a moment of pure surrender I asked my higher power for a sign if I should pack up everything and move to Connecticut. Not even two seconds later this song came on the radio. I had to stop what I was doing and just cried as I listened to the words. Afterwords I went straight to my computer to look up the song, just to see if I had heard it correctly. Well I got my sign and that day I decided to move.

So I wanted to share it, in case anyone else has ever had this type of revelation.

We Don't Have to Look Back Now by Puddle of Mudd

I'm so much like you
Restless and wreckless
I need a clue
So show me a sign
I feel like making a move
Real geographic, a change in mood
We'll let go of everything we know

[Chorus]
You and I will ride tonight
'Till the past is out of sight
We don't have to look back now
From the dark into the light
We can leave it all behind
We can stand together, we don't have to look back now

I'm so much like you
Caught in a moment, coming unglued
In a world so big, it's not easy to choose
Which path to take, which pawn to move
So we'll let go of everything we've ever known

[Chorus]
You and I will ride tonight
'Till the past is out of sight
We don't have to look back now
From the dark into the light
We can leave it all behind
We can stand together, we don't have to look back now

[Bridge]
No one can stop us now
The world is rushing by
The wind is at our back
Everything's new tonight, we're going our own way
No matter what they say
The bridge is on fire, we're flying higher now

[Chorus]
You and I will ride tonight
'Till the past is out of sight
We don't have to look back now
We are knocking down the wall, all for one and one for all
We can stand together
Never gonna look back now

Oh no, Oh no
We don't have to look back now
(Oh no, Oh no)
We don't have to look back now

I felt like it was my higher power talking right to me and telling me what I needed to do. Today I am so grateful that I listened. Even though I hurt people close to me, and walked through a lot of fear about what the future would hold, I truly feel that I am right where I need to be. And more importantly my son is right where he needs to be.

So I end this post with a saying I saw on a billboard outside a church last week:

Where God guides, God provides.