Day 4 :: Cake :: #100HappyDays vs. #100RealDays

 

This cake.

Strawberries, whipped cream, almonds, and fluffy white goodness.

It's the 3rd one we've bough from HEB in the last week, so that should tell you something!

[Unfortunately, it completely negates all walks and attempts to get fit for my family pictures coming up.  See my #100HappyDays post about that here.]

*Check out my instagram where I'll also be posting at least 1 picture a day: http://instagram.com/sonjanicole5  

Day 3 :: My Nieces :: #100HappyDays vs. #100RealDays

 Thinking about how excited my nieces must be right now made me smile. What a fun experience! [Meeting Zendaya and going to her concert- their first! 6/14/14)

Zendaya & Lexis, age 9

Zendaya & BrookLynn, age 7

This was also a #100HappyDays moment- a toad hopping right across the patio and Lenny chasing it!

*Check out my instagram where I'll also be posting at least 1 picture a day: http://instagram.com/sonjanicole5

Day 2 :: Frolicking :: #100HappyDays vs. #100RealDays

Today was supposed to be our BFF picture day. We were going to go take pictures at the Fort Worth Water Gardens and frolic in the water! It was going to be a HAPPY day full of rainbows and butterflies! Then I woke up with a giant zit on my chin and that time of the month was in full swing. Awesome.

This is how I felt about it #100RealDays:

If you can't tell, I was feeling disgusted, gross, and annoyed. And bloated. NOT a great combination for picture day! I told Michelle we should take our photos another day.

However, I did manage to pull myself together and get ready anyway so we could still go downtown. Here's a #100HappyDays picture:

 

Headband or no?
I went with no...














We decided to go eat outside, eat lunch, and drink a refreshing beverage near Sundance Square. Sounds like a good time, right?

Wrong. Well, partially wrong. There were included in my #100RealDays post:

I was sweating like a mo fo!

The flies were relentless!

                  



                                                                                                            

I didn't get a picture, but the food was DIVINE. A steak salad with avocado, cheese, lemon citrus dressing, and other delicious stuff I can't remember. Plus, it was pretty good company :)

Alyssa photo shoot:

I'm glad she got one of my new white wedges from Target, aka #BestStoreEver

Our view. Those are multi-million dollar umbrellas!

My photo shoot of Alyssa:

She's so photogenic!

  

Oops...

#100HappyDays: Frolicking in the water fountain!

Some others, equally as happy:

Splashing eachother

Loving it!

I didn't know that Michelle was taking these...she captured a truly #100HappyDays moment :)

Love Alyssa in this one

Model status

Daughter & Mommy

Drying off

Day 1 :: Neighborhood Walk :: #100happydays vs. #100realdays

I've been dragging my feet for months about working out. I'd sporadically go for a run here and there, never consistent. The thing is, I have family pictures rapidly approaching on the 28th, and I'd like to be somewhat in shape for something that's going to be hanging on the wall for the next 15 years. Or more. (Our last family photo was when I was about 9 and then again at 22...pretty sure we won't be having another one any time soon.)

Anyways.

I've been in Texas where the heat does nothing to spark my lack of motivation to work out. This night (6/12), was only about 80- a cold wave! I convinced my equally dragging footed best friend Michelle to take a walk around the neighborhood with me. Cooler weather and endorphins makes me happy.

And a bonus was that I got to wear my new yoga pants and new neon Nikes! New clothes and neon is always happy. :)

Here's how our walk went- Lenny pulling the leash, twisting around Michelle's legs, and silly faces.

Introduction :: #100happydays vs. #100realdays

From taking a photo of something specific every day for a month to posting make-up free selfies, social media challenges are everywhere. Most recently, my newsfeed has been blowing up with #100happydays. I admit, I love the idea and the whole concept behind it- find something that makes you happy each day. The hope is that you will start to notice the little things that make you happy, even in the midst of a day where nothing seems to be going right. Then, after 100 days, it will become 2nd nature and you'll be happier. {That's my take on it. You can read it for yourself and sign up here: http://100happydays.com/ }

~However~

In true social-media form, I am tempted to do exactly what the challenge specifically says NOT to do (direct quote from the link above): 

"#100happyday challenge is for you - not for anyone else. It is not a happiness competition or a showing off contest. If you try to please / make others jealous via your pictures - you lose without even starting. Same goes for cheating."

Yes, I am tempted to post only what I deem the best take of a series of shots- the one with the best angle to make me look fit, lighting that makes my skin luminescent, a semi-staged situation or one that makes me look the happiest, etc. Kind of misses the whole point of the challenge, doesn't it?

Then I read this article by regular "mum", Steph Douglas: I'm sick of parents abusing #100happydays on Facebook to show off 'perfect' lives 

She says, "People may be showing off a glorious moment in their day, but that doesn’t mean every moment is like that. The fact that they’re sharing it publicly means it’s somewhat construed," and proposes #7daysofreality. 

I decided that posting 100 Real Days along side or instead of my 100 Happy Days would actually be much more amusing and interesting. My real self vs. my "real" self. [I also thought I'd save people from me blowing up their newsfeed by posting it on my blog instead.]

The 100RealDays might be a side-by-side perspective, it might take the place of, or it might be completely unrelated to my 100HappyDays. It might be funny, sad, or kind of gross. I don't really have a plan for it, just whatever seems "real" at the moment, things I experience. Here goes!

*Check out my instagram where I'll also be posting at least 1 picture a day: http://instagram.com/sonjanicole5

my never ending bucket list- UPDATED!

My bucket list is never ending and always changing. But here is the current list. The ones in bold I've already accomplished, the larger font are the updated ones :) I've accomplished quite a few this year!

1.       Swim with the dolphins

2.       Climb a mountain (Olomana Trail, O'ahu, 2013)

3.       Test drive a Ferrari

4.       See the Great Pyramids

5.       Walk the Great Wall of China

6.       Hold a tarantula (High school biology, 2003)

7.       Say “I love you” and mean it (2010)

8.       Hug a tree

9.       Bungee jump (San Diego Fair, 2011)

10.   Stay up all night and watch the sun rise

11.   Go to an NBA (Portland Trailblazers), NFL (Chargers, Seahawks), NHL (Canucks), and MLB (Mariners) game...and now an MLS game :)

12.   Touch an iceberg (Juneau, Alaska, 2012)

13.   Sleep under the stars

14.   Ride in a hot-air balloon

15.   Have a food fight

16.   See an eclipse

17.   Ride on a roller coaster

18.   Dance like no one is watching

19.   Sing like no one is listening

20.   Pretend I have an accent of some sort when I meet new people

21.   Visit all 50 states

22.   Go whale watching (Hawaii, 2010)

23.   Sing karaoke

24.   Parasail

25.   Go hang-gliding

26.   Backpack around Europe

27.   Live abroad for at least a year

28.   Visit a third-world country and experience life without conveniences

29.   Walk up to the top of the statue of liberty

30.   Ride a camel in Egypt

31.   Zipline (Big Island, Hawaii, 2013)

32.   Go on a cruise (i've been on a dinner cruise!)

33.   Receive a dozen roses [I’m not even particularly fond of roses…it just seems like something I should experience]

34.   Run a marathon…or at least a 5k (Color Me Rad, Portland, OR, June 2013)

35. Mush a dog sled

36.   Visit a country I don’t really want to visit all that badly [I went to Russia in 2005…next on my list is probably somewhere in the middle-east or Asia]

37.   TRAVEL TO INDONESIA!!! [I’ve wanted to do this since I was little…not really sure why. I think I just though the name sounded cool.]

38.   Take a road trip

39.   Go rock-climbing

40.  Midnight walk on the beach (Hawaii, 2009)

41.       Go sky-diving (North Shore, O'ahu, 7/2013)

42. Go snow skiing

43.       Go to a movie by myself

44.       Eat a meal with a stranger

45.       Milk a cow

46.       Lounge around the house all day

47.       Go scuba diving (Hawaii, 2010)

48.       Kiss in the rain

49.       Play mud football

50.   Go to a drive-in theater

51.   Take a self-defense class

52.   Go to Jamaica!! [I’ve also wanted to go here since I was a little kid.]

53.   Bake cookies from scratch

54.   Fast for at least 3 days

55.   Ride in a gondola in Venice

56.   Go white-water rafting [the kind where you need a guide…]

57.   Perform on stage

58.   Go to Las Vegas (2002)

59.   Record a cd [I really want to do one of hymns to give to my family]

60.   Go shark-cage diving

61.   Visit Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines…

62.   Buy a house and remodel it

63.   Become fluent in a 2^nd language

64.   Get unintentionally knocked-out

65.   Randomly move to a new city/state and start fresh (Honolulu, 2009)

66.   Sing loudly in the car with the windows down in rush hour traffic

67.   Shoot a shotgun (Pullman, 2006), rifle, and pistol

68.   Ride a horse

69.   Go to the Grand Canyon (Spring Break, 2013)

70.   Have an all-inclusive resort experience in Mexico

71.   Learn to surf (Hawaii, 2009)

72.   Ride on the back of a motorcycle (2005)

73.   Learn to drive a motorcycle

74.   Become an expert at driving a stick-shift

75.   Go snowboarding (2005, 2013)
76. Road trip across the United States and end up at Harry Potter World :)

77. Bungee jump off a bridge or cliff

things i say when i'm driving...

Ok, so i know i haven't posted in like over a year. Lame. BUT i saw a similar list on Pinterest and, what can i say...i was pinspired! :D [why wouldn't i want to write a new blog post at 1am?] 

you'll notice there are no swear words (although, let's be honest...if there is one time that i ever catch myself using those naughty words, it's when i'm driving. or when i stub my toe). also, i use the word idiot a lot...and that's the truth.

Enjoy.