{"id":379540,"date":"2013-07-28T11:02:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-28T11:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/28\/five-fabulous-things\/"},"modified":"2013-07-28T11:02:00","modified_gmt":"2013-07-28T11:02:00","slug":"five-fabulous-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/28\/five-fabulous-things\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Fabulous Things"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/span><\/p>\n
It\u2019s always nice to get away for a vacation, and equally nice to return home to our beds and familiar surroundings.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

In the midst of those joys is the reality of catching up on mail and bills and unpacking\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I dread the unpacking so much that I\u2019ve been known to live out of my suitcase for weeks after a trip.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

But following our recent time away, I made sure to unpack everything before I sat my rejuvenated self onto our comfy sofa.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\ufeff<\/div>\n
That felt so good, no bags hanging around, reminding me of work that still needs to be done.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

And speaking of work, Warren has agreed to join me in the fight against The Paperwork Piles. He\u2019s organized and sorted the six month\u2019s backlog, and is in the final stages of prepping the stacks for data entry.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

His willingness to pitch in and help out is but one of the many reasons I love this man.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Thursday is Paperwork Day and it felt so good this week to actually see sections of my desktop and to be able to file the current day\u2019s work, as opposed to adding to the mounded mess.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

My workspace isn\u2019t that clean yet, but this photo reminds me of what I have to look forward to, which makes me smile, as well.<\/span><\/span><\/span>
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Looking at my David statue brings back happy memories of <\/span>our time in Italy<\/span><\/a>, the miniature easel hosts a four-leaf clover painted by Fave\u2019s girlfriend and gifted to me in honor of <\/span>this essay on luck<\/span><\/a>, and the bowl is an exquisite piece of art fashioned from a gourd\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span>Returning home from errands one night, I relished in this simple Brother-Sister bonding event. <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
One of our kids\u2019 favorite pastimes, and an activity my now-young-adults have yet to outgrow, is going in search of frogs and toads.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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An optimum time to find these creatures is during or after a fresh rain.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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Big Guy, the sixteen-year-old who\u2019s clocking in his many hours of behind-the-wheel training, stopped the car in the middle of our country road when he spotted the hopping creatures in front of him.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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Beauty squealed with delight and the two of them scrambled out of the car and set off on foot.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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Warren climbed behind the wheel to light their way and I captured the event as these two siblings frolicked in the rain and filled their shirts with amphibians of all shapes and sizes.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Home from their mile-long jaunt, they finished out the event with this ritual: Filling one of our coolers with these croakers, exclaiming about and examining the many specimens, asking me to photograph their fresh catch of the day, and then releasing God\u2019s creatures near the creek that runs through our property.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
Speaking of rain, I stumbled across <\/span>this blogger<\/span><\/span><\/a> who experienced an emotional cleansing after being caught in a downpour, and I smiled, for she was honoring the Happy that had happened in her life.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
My week began with me trying, once again, to get back on the Health Wagon, or should I say to establish a new set of patterns.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I\u2019ve been trying to make conscious choices to eat right and exercise more.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And I must say I did feel invigorated after my walks with the dog and the time I spent in the gym with Warren and Big Guy.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
That\u2019s me, a soon-to-be-AARP-senior-citizener<\/i>, feeling pretty amazing in the bottom of a snatch lift, with fifty-three pounds overhead.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I also felt pretty spectacular after cleaning out this neglected bread drawer.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
Trading in my monthly manicure and pedicure for a housekeeper to help me might just prove to have even more benefit than I\u2019d originally hoped. I actually didn\u2019t<\/i> dread tackling this dirty little deed.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The greatest joy of my week came about as result of much hard work and a great deal of sweat: I submitted another query for my manuscript, Digging for the Light<\/i>.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
A query<\/i>, Journeyers. The second in three months<\/i>. Though that might not seem like much to you, it\u2019s an enormous feat for me.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
\ufeff<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
They say there are five degrees of separation between us and the person we\u2019d like to connect with.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Only five people between us and a single person located anywhere in the world.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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And now I\u2019m going to do something I definitely don\u2019t like doing, but am finding that pedaling oneself seems to be the way blogospherers<\/i>let other blogospherers<\/i> know how much they really, really want you and your friends and their friends to be a part of their writing world\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
If you\u2019re a magical friend who appreciates and finds value in the work I do here, would you be so kind as to pass me along in the direction of Laurie Abkemeier over at DeFiore and Company?<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Why, if you don\u2019t think you\u2019re connected to Laurie but might be to Sally Wofford-Girand over at Union Literary, or any other agent you think might want to work with me, please toss me in her (or his) direction.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
That\u2019d send my Happy Meter THROUGH THE ROOF!<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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You\u2019ll be MY HERO and I\u2019ll dedicate a post in honor of you and your awesomeness.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Each one of you, The Fabulous Five!<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Leave a little Luv Comment below, or if you like a little anonymity, <\/span>e-mail<\/span> me<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> <\/span>and I\u2019ll take care of the rest.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Or if you\u2019d prefer, simply pass me along and let the magic find its way back to this endeavor.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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No matter your involvement, you\u2019re one of my idols just because you\u2019re here\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And your presence always makes me a Happy Girl.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
What about you? What recent Moment(s) brought a smile to your face or cleansed a little of the dirt from your soul? Share the event here and spread a little joy!<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Hugs and Healing, Journeyers\u2026<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Soon\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Please do share…<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s always nice to get away for a vacation, and equally nice to return home to our beds and familiar surroundings. In the midst of those joys is the reality of catching up on mail and bills and unpacking\u2026 I dread the unpacking so much that I\u2019ve been known to live out of my suitcase […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[316,1022,317,1023,1015,1024,320,333,366],"class_list":["post-379540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-happyhappens","tag-defiore-and-company","tag-finding-happiness-in-your-day","tag-laurie-abkemeier","tag-publishing","tag-query","tag-random-happiness","tag-sally-wofford-girand","tag-shit-happens"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/pin_it_button.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}