Things That Made Me Happy in July

Here are the things that made me happy in July:

• Going to my blocks' block party
• Seeing Despicable Me 3 in theaters
• Going to ukulele night a few times
• Going to the local Farmer's Market
• Seeing a little girl in a ladybug dress, with wings and an antennae headband
• Getting my first Hollar.com order, for whom I won an e-gift card to
• Seeing fireworks on the Fourth of July
• Having a good bill of health this month
• Not missing any work
• Riding my bike to and from work each week
• Seeing a fire hydrant painted to look like a Minion (yes, this made me happy!!)
• Holding the local library's resident gerbils while their cage was being cleaned

Again, it's not much, but at least I had a few things to be happy about this month. And that's all that matters.

Things I Want to Add to My Life

I have been wanting to do more with my life, than just wasting my time doing nothing all day. I have started with getting a job 4 months ago.

Now, I want to have as good a life as I can make it.

• More knitting and crocheting (I haven't worked on anything in a few years, and I really miss it!)
• Alone time every day
• 30 to 60 minutes of exercise every day
• At least one healthy meal/food choice a day
• Chats with friends twice a week
• Doing something once or twice a month that brings me out of my shell (I am very shy, and introverted, and I would like to be more outgoing [on my terms], so hopefully I will be able to do this at some point)
• More confidence in myself
• Speaking up for myself more, when I want to say something
• Acceptance of who I am (I am one of those people who doesn't really love themselves as much I should, and I want to change that)

**Thanks to Sarah Jo Burch for the idea for this post!!

My Arkansas Bucket List

Things I want to do in Arkansas:

• Hot Springs National Park
• Little Rock
• Little Rock Zoo
• Christ of the Ozarks
• Park Indian Mound
• Hemmed-In-Hollow Falls
• Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary
• Blanchard Springs Caverns
• Eureka Springs
• Bella Vista
• Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo
• Arkansas State Fair
• Bathhouse Row
• Crater of Diamonds State Park
• Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
• Garvan Woodland Gardens
• Thorncrown Chapel
• Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge
• St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church
• Anthony Chapel
• Beaver Lake
• The Old Mill
• Grand Promenade
• Hot Springs Mountain
• William J. Clinton Presidential Library
• Old State House Museum
• Johnny Cash House
• Lakeport Plantation
• Powhatan Historic State Park
• Jacksonport State Park
• Parker Pioneer Homestead
• McCollum Chidester House
• Monster Mart
• Pillow Thompson House
• Holiday Springs Water Park
• Mammoth Spring State Park
• Ozark Mountains
• The Great Passion Play Theme Park
• New Holy Land Tour
• Boggy Creek Monster

Words That Define My Personality

There are a few different sides to me, and differnt situations will bring out different sides of me.

The words that describe my personality are:

• Introverted
• Shy (this is me a lot of the time)
• Quiet (this is also me a lot of the time, especially in situations I haven't experienced before, or ones that I don't know what to expect, or with people I don't know/am not friends with)
• Loving
• Curious
• Sensitive
• Empathetic
• Word lover
• Awkward
• Fun-loving

**Thanks to Sarah Jo Burch for the idea for this post!!!

My Florida Bucket List

Things I would like to do in Florida:

• Disney World
• Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Kennedy Space Center
• Discovery Cove
• Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
• Jungle Island
• Swim with dolphins
• Jungle Queen Riverboat
• Sunken Gardens
• Lowry Park Zoo
• Bonnet House
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium
• Seacrest Wolf Preserve
• Key West Aquarium
• Antique Car Museum
• Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
• Fun Spot America
• Key West Lighthouse
• Freefalling at iFLY
• Vizcaya Museum & Gardens
• Black Raven Pirate Ship
• Dolphin Encounter Tour
• Daytona Beach Bandshell
• Dali Museum
• Flagler College
• Orlando Eye
• Cirque du Soleil
• Everglades
• Swim with Manatees
• Cocoa Beach Pier
• Juniper Springs Run
• See white pelicans
• Bike the Withlacoochee Trail
• Float down the Ichetucknee River
• Sea Turtle Walk
• Reptile Discovery Center
• Surfing lessons

My Arizona Bucket List

Things I want to do in Arizona:

• Desert Botanical Garden
• Montezuma Castle National Monument
• Saguaro National Park
• Old Tucson Studios
• Monument Valley
• Heard Museum
• Arizona Science Center
• Oak Creek Canyon
• Antelope Canyon
• Biosphere 2
• Petrified Forest National Park
• Red Rock State Park
• San Xavier del Bac
• Phoenix Zoo
• Phoenix
• South Mountain Park
• Slide Rock State Park
• Grand Canyon/Grand Canyon Skywalk
• Camelback Mountain
• Lost Dutchman State Park
• Havasu Falls
• Lowell Observatory
• Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
• Cathedral Rock
• Chapel of the Holy Cross
• Reid Park Zoo
• Lake Powell
• Lake Mead
• The Wave
• Glen Canyon Dam
• Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
• Kartchner Caverns State Park
• Bearizona Wildlife Park
• Wildlife World Zoo
• Out of Africa Wildlife Park
• London Bridge
• Flagstaff
• Hoover Dam
• Sedona
• Canyon De Chelly National Monument
• Lake Mohave
• Tumacacori National Historical Park
• Scottsdale
• Taliesin West
• Heritage Square
• Phoenix Art Museum
• Hall of Flame Fire Fighting Museum
• Horseshoe Bend
• Meteor Crater
• The Domes
• Flinstones Bedrock City
• "Fireflies" The Yayoi Kusama Infinity Room
• Eliphante
• Mystery Castle
• Coconino Lava River Cave
• Santa Claus, Arizona
• Titan Missile Museum
• Roden Crater
• Valley of the Moon
• Arcosanti
• Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures
• Two Guns
• Case Grande Ruins
• Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In
• Walnut Canyon
• Abandoned Jerome Post Office
• Oatman Ghost Town
• Wupatki National Monument
• Gallery in the Sun
• Large Binocular Telescope
• Tonto Natural Bridge
• Chloride Ghost Town
• The Bird Cage Theater
• Jack Rabbit Trading Post
• Rose Tree Museum
• Area 66
• The Superstition Mountain Museum
• Yuma Territorial Prison
• Hackberry General Store
• Her Secret Is Patience
• Humphreys Peak
• Diamondback Gridge
• McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope
• University of Arizona Mathematical Models Collection
• Abandoned Longhorn Grill
• Jerome's Sliding Jail
• Twin Arros Trading Post Ruins
• Wupatki Spirit Totem
• Tumbleweed Christmas Tree

Things I Am Grateful For

There are many, many things most people take for granted, but if we slow down and think a bit, we have so much to be grateful for. Especially this day in age.

Here are the things I am very grateful for.

• First and foremost, my life
• My family
• My friends
• Access to an education
• Access to medicine and medical care
• Access to a library
• Access to many different resources (books, electronics, CDs, etc.)
• Access to fresh, clean water
• My job
• My cats
• A house to live in
• Having clothes, shoes to wear
• Living within walking distance of shops, restaurants, etc.
• My bike
• A bed to sleep in
• Having my own bedroom
• Blogs and other outlets that let me express myself (I am a very shy person, so actually speaking really scares me; writing/blogging/etc. really lets me get all the thoughts, emotions, and ideas out)
• Having a roof over my head
• Access to fresh food
• Air conditiong/central air and heating
• Transportation
• Painting/drawing supplies
• Those who are willing to give up their freedom (and sometimes their lives) for my freedom and life, and so that I can live the life that I want
• Having my mom in my life for as long as I did

**Thanks to Sarah Jo Burch for the idea for this post!!!

My Alaska Bucket List

Here is my Alaska bucket list.

• Kenai Fjords National Park
• Mendenhall Glacier
• Anchorage Museum
• Denali
• Anchorage
• Juneau
• Alaska SeaLife Center
• Alaska Zoo
• Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
• Chugach State Park
• Tongass National Forest
• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
• Totem Bight State Historic Park
• Kincaid Park
• Chilkoot Trail
• Alaska Botanical Garden
• Flattop Mountain
• Hatcher Pass
• Wonder Park
• Exit Glacier
• Brooks Falls
• Eagle River Nature Center
• Beluga Point Site
• Stampede Trail
• Great Alaskan Lumber Jack Show
• Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure
• Thunderbird Falls
• Whale watching
• Dog sledding
• White Pass & Yukon Route Railway
• Kroschel Films Wildlife Center
• Kodiak Laboratory Aquarium & Touch Tank
• Running Reindeer Ranch
• Alaska Raptor Center
• Jewell Gardens
• Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska
• Pioneer Park
• Chena River
• Aurora Borealis
• Katmai National Park
• The Inside Passage
• Fairbanks
• Riverboat Discovery
• Glow Putt Mini Golf
• Innoko National Wildlife Reserve
• Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge
• Alaska Bird Observatory
• Alaska Horse Adventures
• Alaska Canopy Adventures
• Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center
• The Imaginarium
• Alaska Native Heritage Center
• Bear Creek Cabins

Dream Jobs

I have quite a few jobs that I would love to have, although some of them I'm not sure if I have what it takes to work in that field.

But it doesn't hurt to dream (that's why these are dream jobs, right?!)!!!

• Baker/bakery owner
• Author
• Special education teacher or teacher's aide
• Voice-over actor
• Farmer
• Seamstress
• Graphic Designer
• Astronomer
• Photographer
• Chocolatier
• Animal shelter worker

**Thanks to Sarah Jo Burch for the idea for this post!!!

My Alabama Bucket List

I know I have other posts on things I want to do, but I have decided to bucket lists on what I would like to do in each state.

I  will start with Alabama here, and go from there.

• Birmingham Zoo
• Battleship Memorial Park
• United States Space Camp
• Noccalula Falls Park
• Birmingham Civil Rigts Institute
• Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
• Birmingham
• Montgomery
• Walk across Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma
• Cathedral Caverns
• Civil Rights Memorial
• Ave Maria Grotto
• Tour Battleship USS Alabama
• Zip Trip at Red Mountain Park
• Watch the community theater version of “To Kill a Mockingbird” in Monroeville
• Go to the top of Mt. Cheaha
• Little River Canyon National Preserve
• View the landscape from the observation deck at Vulcan
• Watch the sun set on Dauphin Island
• S'mores from SpringHouse Restaurant
• Cammie's Old Dutch Ice Cream Shop
• Lobster roll at Rollin' Lobstah
• Chili dog at Mrs. Story's Dairy Bar
• Watermelon margarita from Taco Mama
• Turkey sandwich at Bates House of Turkey
• Upside-down banana split from Kreme Delite
• Lobster mac and cheese at R. Davidson Steakhouse
• The Harvey Milkshake at Palace Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop
• U.S. Space & Rocket Center
• Chewalca State Park
• Big Spring Park
• Rickwood Caverns State Park
• Montgomery Zoo
• Tuskegee National Forest
• Cheaha Mountain
• Dismals Canyon
• Russell Cave
• First White House of the Confederacy
• Gulf Coast Beaches
• McWane Science Center
• Huntsville Botanical Garden
• The Bama Belle
• Cold Mil Fleet Dolphin Cruises
• Mobile Carnival Museum
• Museum of George Washington
• Southern Environmental Museum

The Ways I'm a Leader

To be honest, I do not consider myself a leader at all.

I am painfully shy and introverted, I do not like being around a lot of people, I have a hard time speaking up...

Yeah, I prefer not having a lead in discusions and all that.

Maybe one day I'll be able to feel comfortable in a leadership position, but as of now, I am fine with other people leading things.

**Thanks to Sarah Jo Burch for the idea for this post!!!

(Sorry this is so short; I didn't really have much to say on this topic. Ironic, isn't it?)