48 Things

Today is my birthday.

Here are 48 random thoughts in honour of this fine day.

1. I am a morning person. I love to see the sun come up. I love to walk outside when it is very early and so quiet and peaceful.

2. Water makes me calm. Not the drinking kind. The outside-in-a-large-body kind.

Source: flickrhivemind.net via Martha on Pinterest

 (Carters Beach, Nova Scotia)

3. Hoarding makes me feel safe. I don't know why. Well, that's not true. For a long time I didn't have much money, so I collected stuff to make into other stuff.
 4. I miss summer. Really. A whole lot.
 5. I love to be alone.
6. Olives, cheese and crackers are the best meal ever.
7. I hate the telephone. I am so grateful for email and texting.

8. Looking at pretty things makes me happy. That's why blogs and pinterest are a huge part of my life.

Source: stitchedstuffies.blogspot.com via Martha on Pinterest

9. Children make me happy too. Even when they're misbehaving. That's why I'm a teacher.
10. I wish that I had more time to blog. To write. People always say "make time". When? I work full time! I have an hour long commute. I leave the house before 7 am and I come home around 7 pm.I have to eat and sleep sometime.
11. I do my pinterest repinning on my commute to/from work! I do my blog reading and original pinning on the weekend.
12. Poor Mr. B is awfully neglected :)
13. I like to eat poptarts on my birthday. Sadly, I don't think that there are poptarts in my cupboard today.
14. I'm going to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the AGO today. I love Frida. So talented. So strong.

Source: ago.net via Martha on Pinterest

15. I always thought that I was a cat person. Nope, I'm a dog person. I love how he follows me around, and then quietly lies beside me. Waiting.
16. I am so proud of my Lovely Miss L. I think that I did a pretty good job of raising her. She's currently looking into a career of making hand crafted furniture. The apple doesn't really fall far from the tree, does it?Well, yes it does, because she's currently into competitive weightlifting. That sounds like too much sweaty work to me. And I don't like to sweat. I even get off my bike to walk it up little hills. But she's into all of that sweaty, hard working, go team go stuff. Go Miss L!
17. Be sad, then carry on. That's how it goes.
18. I am very happy to do repetitive work. I would likely be a great factory worker. I see each task as a chance to get it better each time. I never feel that anything that I make is perfect. EVER.
19. I love to knit. I make socks. The same pattern every time. I just change up the colour of the wool. Maybe someday I'll become more ambitious and maybe add a cable.
20. Christmas is my favourite time of year. Last year I was too tired to decorate my tree. That's not going to happen this year.
21. I don't like to entertain. I do it, but I don't enjoy it. This year, I won't be having my annual Solstice party. Too stressful.
22. I'll still bake the cookies though. And give them away, lol. Because I don't really like cookies. Don't worry Mr. B. You can have as many as you want.
23. I resent the time that I have to spend at the gym. I'm happy that my gym has tvs to watch so I can multi task though....
24. I love to swim (real swimming, lengths, not paddling around in a pool or lake or ocean). But again, I resent the time that I spend doing it.
25. I got kicked out of yoga classes many years ago. Well, not really kicked out, but the instructor told me that "maybe yoga wasn't for me". He said this because I would stress over all of the things that I should be doing at home, while I was trying to unwind in yoga class. Yoga was giving me stress. Irony at its best.
26. I dream about having french doors from my kitchen leading to a deck. Really. Actual dreams.

Source: instagram.com via Martha on Pinterest

27. I also dream about sparse, white, light-filled rooms. Hah!
28. I wish that ikea furniture was made better. Love the design. Hate the wobblies.
29. Making art is stressful for me. So why do I do it? Because having made something is completely fulfilling.
30. Just do it. Set a goal and go for it. Be unwavering. Have faith in yourself. I have set many "against all odds" kind of goals. And have achieved pretty much everything that I've ever wanted in life.
31. I LOVE Toronto -- I love living in the big city and being able to access everything that it offers.
32. I LOVE the subway -- my morning commute is fine. So many people ask if I hate it. Why would I hate it? I read a book a week. If I didn't have this commute, I wouldn't read.
33. My bike is sadly neglected. I prefer to walk. I used to ride my bike to work (8 miles each way) when I worked a bit closer than I do now.

34. Pink chrysanthemums make me happy. They always bloom for my birthday. I've been dragging this plant around from garden to garden for almost 20 years. It even stayed in my mom's garden for a few years while I was in between gardens. It didn't like my mom's garden. But it sure likes mine :)

35. One of my favourite things to do here in the city is to walk around the neighbourhoods. Seeing htat (those?) white squirrel in Trinity Bellwoods park is awesome. Hah. I said awesome. At lease I didn't say "eh"...

35. I love Starbucks :) I know that I should be visiting the independent cafes in my neighbourhood. But I love Starbucks! And I don't even drink coffee. It's tea all the way, baby. But hey, I'm not drinking anything at cafes lately.

Source: etsy.com via Martha on Pinterest

36. Because I'm still being frugal. I hit a bit of a stumbling point in the summer (it's hard to travel and be frugal)(well, all of the enablers were with me). But I'm saving up for something big. Really big. Can't talk about it now, or I'll jinx it.
37. Carpe diem. Don't sit around waiting for life to happen. Go out and enjoy what you have now, don't wait for what might happen tomorrow.

38.My friend Meep looked at my "I'd Wear This" Pinterest board. She said " Well, it's a bit monochromatic". Yes it is. Black, grey, and brown and some burgundy. Earth tones. That's me! This outfit is so perfectly me. Swoon.

Source: butikdrangstugan.blogspot.fr via Martha on Pinterest

39. My perfect day? Curling up in bed, reading a book and eating chips (plain) while drinking ginger ale.
40. The rain takes away all of my strength. Like Superman and kryptonite. So let's just stay inside, curled up in bed eating chips all week, okay?
41. Since I have to suck it up and brave the rain sometimes, I made sure that I have a perfect raincoat (black, with a hood) and the perfect boots (pink + liberty print, from Target).
42. I don't listen to music as much as I want to. Currently I'm listening to Mumford and Sons... and also to Ingrid Michaelson, who my mom introduced to. Thanks mom! I tend to put one cd in the player, and it stays in there for weeks. I can listen to the same songs over and over and over.
43. I'll be putting on the Holiday (aka Christmas) CDs soon. I'd listen to them all year round if not for the strong protests from the people who I have lived with. So, why don't I just listen to them with the earphones and my ipod? Well, I never thought of that... maybe I will. Well, really I won't because I don't really like earphones, headphones, whatever.
44. I want to embrace twitter. I really do. I try... But it stresses me out. I miss so much! and I don't really get it. It's no feast for the eyes like Pinterest.
45. I *might* be persuaded into getting my drivers license. Maybe.
46. I love my iPhone. I LOVE my iPhone. I'm not sure what I did without it. But I love my peeps more. Mr. B. , the Lovely Miss L. Mom, Dad, Meep, Mrs. W. You rock my world :)
47. I promise that I won't make another blog post this long. Well, maybe when I turn 50. But you will have forgotten this one by then, won't you?
48. To thine own self be true. Follow your heart. Believe in yourself. I wear a ring that has To Thine Own Self Be True inscribed on it -- it reminds me to be true every single day. Live Brave, Live True.

That's all.