Things That Made Me Happy in September

Here are the things that made me happy this month:

• Ordering take-out from a local BBQ restaurant
• Winning another prize at ukulele night
• Getting my first credit card
• Going to thrift stores, and getting good finds
• Seeing chipmunks on my way to work
• Checking out a new local bakery, and getting a couple cupcakes
• Buying merchandise from one of my favorite YouTubers (and recieving it, too!!)

What made you happy this month?

Yes, I know this was, yet again, a short list, but at lease I had some things that made me happy this month.

My Michigan Bucket List

Things I would like to do in Michigan:

• Detroit
• Lansing
• Ann Arbor
• Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
• Detroit Zoo
• Potter Park Zoo
• Matthaei Botanical Gardens
• Tahquamenon Falls
• Binder Park Zoo
• Lake Erie
• Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
• SS Badger
• Holland
• Holland State Park
• John Ball Zoological Garden
• Sea Life Michigan
• Kensington Metropark
• Pictured Rocks Cruise
• Turnip Rock
• Michigan Central Station
• Kitch-iti-kipi
• American Museum of Magic
• St. Agnes Church and School
• Detroit Children's Zoo
• Hamtramck Disneyland
• Mackinac Island
• Heidelberg Island
• Earl Young Gnome Houses
• St. Ignace Mystery Spot
• Bell Isle Aquarium
• The Bottle House
• Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry
• The Dequindre Cut Greenway
• Curwood Castle
• Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School
• The World's Largest Stove
• Sleeping Bear Dunes
• McCourtie Park
• Michigan Space and Science Center
• Grand Army of the Republic Building
• Tulip Time Festival
• The Mackinac Bridge
• Giant Boxing Arm of Joe Jouis
• Giant Cow Head
• Uniroyal Giant Tire
• Mbad Museum and Dabl's African Bead Gallery
• Eight Mile Wall
• Wave Field
• Lakenenland
• The Cross in the Woods Shrine
• Oswald's Bear Ranch
• Rarity Acres Zorse and Zonkey Farm
• Iron County Historical Museum
• Bishop Baraga Shrine
• Windmill Island
• Henry Ford Museum

My Massachusetts Bucket List

• Boston
• Freedom Trail
• Fenway Park
• Boston Common
• New England Aquarium
• Martha's Vineyard
• Public Garden
• Boston Harbor
• Plimoth Plantation
• Boston Museum
• Paul Revere House
• Old North Church
• Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
• John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
• House of Seven Gables
• Bunker Hill Monument
• Salem
• Southwick's Zoo
• Plymouth Rock
• Minute Man National Historical Park
• Old South Meeting House
• Canobie Lake Park
• Wachusett Mountain
• Boston Public Library
• Franklin Park Zoo
• John Hancock Tower
• Massachusetts State House
• Danvers Hospital for the Criminally Insane
• Mapparium
• The Witch House of Salem
• Forest Hills Cemetery
• Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast and Museum
• Singing Beach at Machester-By-The-Sea
• The Mysterious Witch Bonney
• Dogtown & Babson Boulder Trail
• Museum of Modern Renaissance
• Salem Village Witchcraft Victims Memorial
• Bash Bish Falls
• Glacial Potholes
• Eyrie House Ruins
• Harvard Museum of Natural History
• Walden Pond
• Lobster Mickey
• Crane Mansion on Castle Hill
• Cambridge
• Bancroft Tower
• Mount Greylock
• Skull Cliff
• Mount Auburn Cemetery
• The Bulb River
• The Bridge of Flowers
• Copp's Hill Burying Ground
• Kelleher Rose Garden
• Dighton Rock
• Hood Milk Bottle
• Fort Standish
• Salada Tea Doors
• Harmonic Bridge
• Old Powder House
• Worcester State Hospital
• Pooh's House
• Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden
• Purgatory Chasm
• Longfellow House
• Statue of Elizabeth Montgomery
• Quincy Quarries
• Poet's Seat Tower
• USS Constitution
• New England Peace Pagoda
• Natural Bridge State Park
• Hut Of Refuge
• The Titanic Museum
• Adams National Historic Park
• Madonna, Queen of the Universe
• Jaws Bridge
• Herb Mackey's Metal Sculpture Yard
• The Oozing Whale Skeleton of New Bedford
• Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
• Site of Boston's First Bell
• The Dutch House
• Tremont Temple
• Rose Kennedy Rose Garden
• Classic WWII Chapel
• Birthplace of Johnny Appleseed
• Redemption ROck
• Westford Poe Marker
• Somerville Round House
• Make Way for Ducklings Statue
• Buttonball Tree
• Boston Lighthouse
• Rock House Reservation
• Burnside Fountain-Turtle Boy
• Faneuil Hall Weathervane
• The Legs of Myles Standish
• Bancroft Castle
• Mary Had a Little Lamb Statue
• Profile Rock
• Captain Edward Penniman House
• Bicentennial Chair
• Eunice Williams Covered Bridge
• Abigail Adams' Grave
• Heath Hen Sculpture

My Fall Favorites

I am more of a warm weather person, but I do like fall weather, too. There are things I do like about each season, and in this post, I am sharing what my favorites are for fall.

Here are my fall favorites:

• Pumpkin carving/painting
• Pumpkin pie
• Leaves changing color
• Seeing all the different costumes children wear for Halloween
• French silk pie (I know this can be an all-year food, but I usually have it during the fall)
• Raking (and then jumping into) fallen leaves
• The smells associated with fall
• Fall scented candles
• Blankets and warm brim hats
• Hot chocolate
• Crisp fall air
• Baking pumpkin seeds
• Caramel apples
• Hay rides
• Fall fests
• Scarves

What do you love about fall?

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

Accept

I am lining up with Kate Motaung for this week's Five Minute Friday.

This week's FMF is: Accept

Why is it so hard for people to let others live their lives the way they want? To accept them for who they are?

 

Why is it so hard for us to accept ourselves as we are? It's not as if one life is worth more or less than another.

 

There are many things that we cannot control about who we are as a person, and we should not be judged, ridiculed, or otherwise made to feel inferior.

 

No one is meant meant to be exactly the same as anyone else. We are meant to be different, unique.

 

Acceptance of who we are as people, acceptance of who others are, leads to love, kindness, and hope. Which leads to some amazing things. If only we just take the time to understand that everyone has their own unique journey, that is meant to be lived to the fullest.

 

Every life is worth living, if we just take the time to see the worth, and to accept each other for the beautiful, flawed beings that we are.

 

Accept people for who they are, and the world may just be a better place to live in.

My Maryland Bucket List

• National Aquarium
• Fort McHenry
• Assateague Island National Seashore
• American Visionary Art Museum
• Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park
• Baltimore
• Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
• Geppi's Entertainment Museum
• Maryland State House
• Trimper's Rides
• The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
• The Baltimore Basilica
• Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo
• Great Falls
• Swallow Falls State Park
• Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
• Delmarva Peninsula
• Capital Wheel
• Billy Goat Trail
• Druid Hill Park
• Scott's Run Nature Preserve
• Watkins Regional Park
• Cunningham Falls State Park
• Lexington Market
• Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum
• Enchanted Forest Theme Park
• Hell House Altar
• Edgar Allan Poe's Grave
• George Peabody Library
• The Book Thing
• Ladew Topiary Gardens
• Vanadu Art House
• Grave of John Wilkes Booth
• Maryland Gold Mine Ruins
• Fort Carroll
• Holland Island
• Graffiti Alley
• Calvert Cliffs State Park
• Catoctin Furnace
• The Arbutus Oak
• Nipper, the RCA Dog Statue
• Underground Railroad Experience Trail
• Phoenix Shot Tower
• Remains of Truxton Circle Fountain
• The (First) Washington Monument
• Acorn Park
• Mr. Trash Wheel
• Annie Oakley House
• Herlong the Carved Dragon
• Washington, D.C. Mormon Temple
• War Correspondents Memorial
• Annapolis
• Earthoid Water Tank
• Transpeninsular Midpoint Marker
• George Washington's Headquarters
• Elijah Bond's Ouija Board Grave
• Kayak at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center
• Ferry Ride
• Explore NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
• Smith Island

My Maine Bucket List

• Acadia National Park
• Casco Bay
• Portland Head Light
• Portland Observatory
• Pemaquid Point Light
• Park Loop Road
• West Quoddy Head Light
• Eartha
• Schoodic Peninsula
• Two Lights State Park
• Jordan Pond
• Owls Head Light
• Thunder Hole
• White Mountain National Forest
• Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
• York's Wild Kingdom
• Bass Harbor Head Light
• Nubble Lighthouse
• Cape Neddick Light
• Crescent Beach State Park
• Stephen King's House
• Mount Katahdin
• Wiggly Bridge
• Wire Bridge
• Eagle lake Tramway
• Boon Island Light
• Devil's Footprint
• Nervous Nellie's Jams and Jellies
• Bartlettyarns Mill
• Paul Bunyon Statue
• Fort Knox State Historic Site
• The Wedding Cake House
• Maine Solar System Model
• The World's Largest Telephone
• Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory
• Mount Desert Spring Blues Brothers
• Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum
• Maine State Building
• Bailey Island Bridge (Cribstone Bridge)
• Small Town X Fisherman Statue
• Table Rock
• Gulf Hagas
• Moxie Falls
• Baxter State Park
• Cadillac Mountain
• Allagash Wilderness Waterway
• Screw Auger Falls

My Favorite Quotes

I have lots of favorite quotes/quotes I love. When I am having a bad day for whatever reason, I like to read encouraging words to help me get through the day.

Here are some of my favorites:

A family of God is a family of love.

When you know who you are, and what you stand for, you stand in wisdom.

Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everryone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.

Don't judge my path if you haven't walked my journey.

If you are always trying to be NORMAL, you will never know how amazing you can be.-Maya Angelou

 Once you choose HOPE, anything is possible.

Dreams don't work unless you do!

You were given this life becauseyou are strong enough to live it.

Live simply. Dream Big. Be grateful. Give love. Laugh lots.

People who think they are crazy enough to change the world, are the ones who do. 

Hope is the one thing stronger than fear.

Push harder than yesterday if you want a different tomorrow. 

Life is so much brighter when we focus on what truly matters.

 You only fail when you stop trying.

We have all got light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are. 

Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.

 Be kind, fore everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

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

My Louisiana Bucket List

• Baton Rouge
• New Orleans
• Mardi Gras World
• The National WWII Museum
• Aquarium of the Americas
• Oak Alley Plantation
• Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium
• Audubon Zoo
• Jackson Square
• Audubon Park
• San Francisco Plantation House
• St. Louis Cathedral
• Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
• The Cabildo
• Lake Pontchartrain
• Frenchman Street
• Preservation Hall
• Baton Rouge Zoo
• The Historic New Orleans Collection
• The Presbytere
• City Park
• Blue Bayou and Dixie Landin'
• Alexandria Zoological Park
• Cafe du Monde
• Honey Island Swamp
• Laura Plantation
• The Houmas
• Royal Street
• Lafrenier Park
• Destrehan Plantation
• Lafayette Square
• St. Joseph Plantation
• Louis Armstrong Park
• Woldenberg Park
• The New Orleans Treehouse
• Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop
• The Gates of Guinee
• Metairie Cemetery
• The Singing Oak
• The Luling Mansion
• Ruins of Fort Macomb
• The Tree of Life
• The Myrtles Plantaion
• Fort Pike
• The Rosegate House
• The Cats of Jackson Square
• Fort Proctor
• Tomb of the Unkown
• The Faerie Playhouse
• Confederate Civil War Museum
• Fort St. Philip
• Labyrinth at Audubon Park
• Musical Legends Park
• Kenny Hill Sculpture Garden
• Jungle Gardens
• Doullut Steamboat Houses
• Laura: A Creole Plantation
• French Quarter
• Rip Van Winkle Gardens
• RTA-Streetcars
• Historic New Orleans Collection
• Louisiana State Capitol
• The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA
• 1850 House
• Jungle Gardens
• Avery Island
• Christmas in New Orleans
• Venice
• Avery Island Bird Sanctuary
• Chauvin Sculpture Garden
• Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge

My Kentucky Bucket List

• Mammoth Cave National Park
• Churchill Downs
• Kentucky Derby Museun
• Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory
• Creation Museum
• Muhammad Ali Center
• Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
• Lost River Cave
• Newport Aquarium
• Red River Gorge
• Kentucky Kingdom
• Louisville
• Belle of Louisville
• Mary Todd Lincoln House
• Louisville Zoo
• Ark Encounter
• Kentucky Down Under
• Louisville Waterfront Park
• Mega Cavern
• General George Patton Museum of Leadership
• Falls of the Ohio State Park
• Smale Riverfront Park
• Cherokee Park
• Daniel Boone National Forest
• Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal
• Dinosaur World
• E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park
• National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
• Big South Fork Scenic Railway
• Old Fort Harrod State Park
• Cumberland Falls
• Wigwam Village #2
• Vent Haven Museum
• Castle Post
• Mantle Rock
• Funtown Mountain
• Troublesome Creek
• The Strange procession Which Never Moves
• Colonel Sanders' Grave
• Kentucky's Stonehenge
• Lexington's Biblical Miniature Golf
• Black Mountain
• South Union Shaker Village
• Shrine of Saints Magnus and Bonosa
• Tri-State Peak
• Dixie Cup Water Tower
• Heigold House
• Harriet Beecher Stowe, Slavery to Freedom Museum
• Kentucky Floral Clock
• The Grave of Harry L. Collins
• Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia
• Florence Y'all Water Tower

My Accomplishments So Far

I got the idea for this post on Instagram, and decided to do a blog post about my accomplishments.

Here are my accomplishments in life so far:

(Note: I am not trying to brag in any way. I just wanted to share the things that I have been able to accomplish so far.)

• Graduation from elementary, junior high, and high school on time (I never really did the best I could do in school, but I was very happy to be able to graduate on time)
• Getting almost all As and Bs in the college classes I have taken so far (I have one C, which is in Culinary Mathematics; math is not my best subject) for my degree.
• Getting a job at the library on my own, and having it last for more than a couple of weeks (it has been six months so far, since I started working at the library)
• Volunteering with the library's homebound delivery program for 5 years (there were times where I was debating whether or not I wanted to continue; since I was able to start school and work, I haven't thought about quitting volunteering again)
• Saving most of the money from my paychecks (this is a big one for me, as I am usually a spender, and never really saved much money until recently)
• Getting through my probationary period at work (yes, to me that is an accomplishment!!) without any problems.
• Missing only one day of work (because of an emergency) in six months

Yeah, I know it's not much, but it's a start. I am a very shy person by nature, so doing things out of my comfort zone is very hard for me to do mentally. I am starting to get better at that, though, so I am looking forward to seeing where that takes me in the future.

My Kansas Bucket List

• Crown Center
• Science City at Union Station
• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
• Kansas City Zoo
• Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
• Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
• Sea Life Kansas City
• National World War 1 Museum and Memorial
• Legoland Discovery Center Kansas City
• Arabia Steamboat Museum
• Penn Valley Park
• Roanoke Park
• The Scout
• Blue River Greenway
• Cave Springs
• Hidden Valley Park
• Washington Square Park
• Strataca, The Kansas Underground Salt Museum
• Oz Museum
• Monument Rocks
• The Garden of Eden
• The Wichita Troll
• Truckhenge
• Mushroom Rock State Park
• Topeka
• Giant Van Gogh Painting
• The Big Well
• Rock City
• Dorothy's House and Land of Oz
• Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum
• World's Largest Czech Egg
• Jim Dickerman's Open Range Zoo
• Comanche, Survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
• Amelia Earhart Earthworks
• Keeper of the Plains
• Buffalo Bill Monument
• Monument Rocks National Natural Landmark
• Waterfall at Pillsbury Crossing
• Drinkwater and Schriver Flour Mill, Dedar Point
• Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area
• Baker Wetlands
• Wichita
• Sauer Castle
• Waterfalls at the Geary County Lake
• Chase State Fishing Lake
• St. Fidelis Church, Victoria
• Kansas Lavender Fields, Topeka
• Oxford Grist Mill
• Nutterville
• Lyons

My Iowa Bucket List

Things I would like to do in Iowa:

• Hawkeye Point
• Grotto of the Redemption
• Backbone State Park
• Pikes Peak State Park
• Ledges State Park
• De Moine
• Father Paul Dobberstein's Grotto of the Redemption
• Elwood, the World's Tallest Concrete Gnome
• The Day The Music Died Memorial
• Matchstick Marvels Museum
• Albert the Bull
• American Gothic Barn
• John Wayne's Birthplace
• Dubuque
• Cedar Rapids
• High Trestle Trail Bridge
• Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge
• National Balloon Classic
• Blue Bunny Parlor
• Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
• Fossil and Prairie Park Preserve
• Sweet Corn Serenade
• Bellevue State Park
• Blank Park Zoo
• Amana Colonies
• Maquoketa Caves State Park
• Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden
• Living History Farms
• Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad
• Reiman Gardens
• Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
• Vander Veer Botanical Park
• George Wyth Memorial State Park
• John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park
• National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium
• Iowa Great Lakes
• Iowa State Fair
• Pella's Dutch History
• Tulip Time Festival
• Great River Road National Scenic Byway
• The Bridges of Madison County
• Waterloo Museums
• Keosauqua State Park
• Iowa City Pedestrian mall
• Barn Quilts of Grundy County

My Fall 2017 Bucket List

I love making lists, so making a fall bucket list was/is a must for me!!

Here is my bucket list for this fall:

• Watch Frankenweenie
• Watch Hocus Pocus
• Watch The Addams Family
• Watch the Halloweentown movies
• Carve/paint a pumpkin
• Try a fall drink at Starbucks
• Go on fall photo shoots
• Do well in my cooking class
• Sign up for spring semester classes
• Go to a h.s. football game
• Cook a Thanksgiving dinner myself
• Volunteer at a food pantry
• Make a pumpkin pie from scratch
• Watch The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Watch Hotel Transylvania 1 & 2
• Watch Frankenstein
• Watch Nosferatu
• Watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
• Bake cookies
• Attend a fall festival
• Get big bags of candy corn and mellowcreme pumpkins
• Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
• Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
• Make caramel apples
• Play in the leaves

What is on your bucket list for fall?

My Indiana Bucket List

Things I would like to do in Indiana:

• Indianapolis
• Indianapolis Zoo
• Indiana World War Memorial Plaza
• City Falls State Park
• Spirit of Jasper Train
• Park County's Covered Bridges
• Indiana Dunes State Park
• Indiana Expeience
• Turkey Run State Park
• Nappanee
• Brown County State park
• Monument Circle
• Conner Prairie
• Holiday World and Surfin' Safari
• Falls of the Ohio State Park
• Winona Lake
• Empire Quary
• The Ruins
• Historic West Baden Springs Hotel
• The Nest Houses of Patrick Dougherty
• New Harmony Labyrinth
• Rose Island
• Indianapolis Moon Tree
• Providence Home Geode Grotto
• The Roofless Church
• John Dillinger's Grave
• Jug Rock
• Studebaker National Museum
• Blue Flash Backyard Roller Coaster
• Painted Rainbow Bridge
• Brain Sculpture
• Albany Shoe Tree
• Levi Coffin House
• Lincoln Boyhood National Museum
• Santa Claus, Indiana
• East Race Waterway
• France Park
• Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes
• Indiana Landmarks Center
• Exotic Feline Rescue Center
• Mentone Egg
• Statue of Joe Palooka
• Courthouse Tree
• Valparaiso
• Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University
• Isaac Knight Memorial