What did you learn today?

My day started off great, really great.  lil’ g humming a tune while making pancakes. Then Big G drove me to the Halifax airport. It was an enjoyable ride, a comfortable silence. I, reading the book LOVE and Grant flipping channels between a talk show about reality tv.
I had settled in nicely at my gate with an 1hr 15mins til boarding when I saw a crowd come towards me and the voice on the intercom announced that those passengers were to go to the customer service desk. Why was I so interested? That flight was supposed to land in St. John's - my destination - but due to bad weather, had to turn around and come back. It actually made it all the way to St. John's but could not land due to 120km/h winds.
Clue no.1 I was not going to arrive on time.

After many little announcements like "we will have information very soon" & "we'll be loading very shortly, do not leave the gate area" they finally told the truth.

It was now 7pm. Our flight would be leaving at midnight.

I should've landed and checked in to my hotel by now. Strangers started bonding. Two guys were really seeing the brighter side of the day and when they heard this announcement they said "I think that leaves time for a beer" turning to me they said "come join us". I thought why not. 5 min later another delayed passenger walked by and we all flagged her down too. Soon, 8 of us were around a table sharing laughs and stories, wanting to know why each of us were headed to St. John's in the first place.

Don (Halifax)was going to see his 4day old grandson. Isabelle was headed home. Ian (an Irish lad) was in the military on leave to see his girlfriend. Sherman (TO) was taking a vacation to see his kids & grandkids. Tammy was pretty hush hush but laughed at all the jokes, Leanne was heading home, and the last guy - I didn't get his name- was going home on a work break from the NWT and me, from NB going to celebrate the grand opening of our first franchise. All such different lives and a story to tell. We covered religion, sports, shoe shopping, camping, volunteering and mission trips, travel, and so much more.

In the book LOVE, Leo suggests learning something new each day. He said a lot of things. Like "man is a social being" and we are all unique, "Nature abhors sameness". The next 5hrs flew by as we embraced each other's uniqueness and held a common bond.

As I pulled into the hotel parking lot at 3:45 am I was thinking this was great day. I met 8 incredible people. I learned something new.

Pizza and a Movie

About a year ago we started a Friday night tradition of take out pizza and renting a movie. Despite the challenge of finding a movie suitable for everyone, we look forward to our family night together.

Gone are the days where we are pumped about it being Friday night, where we whip off the work clothes and throw on something a little more fun and head out to a friends house for a party or wine and dine the night away. Now-a-days, we look forward to the end of the week where we can put our feet up and relax for an evening. I am not sure where we got the idea for pizza and a movie. I 'm sure there are lots of families who do the same thing, but it has become a tradition that we all look forward to at the end of long week.
In an effort to Live Right Now, we have made a few adjustments to our ritual. Instead of getting takeout we make our own pizzas. I gotta say, it is more fun & creative and we have made some pretty amazing pies. We also stopped renting the movies from BBV and pick one from the On Demand Choices on the tv. This has saved us about $20 a week. I suspect our homemade pizzas are probably a few hundred calories lighter, definitely less salty.

I remember as a kid, no pizza parlour in the small town of Hartland, Mom would make us pizzas. One of my favorite combos was sliced hotdogs and dill pickles. Dill Pickles. I know. We ate dill pickles with almost everything so it only made sense to us to throw them on as a topping and it was good.

My tastes have changed a little. My favorite homemade pizza so far has been the shaved ham, fresh basil, black olives and 3 cheeses on a thin crust. I love the sweet basil leaves. The G's tend to make a meat lovers style on a thick crust, and black olives. There always has to be black olives on it. yum! I guess my tastes haven't changed that much, I've just switched the choice of fruit pickled in vinegar and brine.


Last night, lil' g made the pizzas while I threw together a ceasar salad. Mmmm extra cheese, way to go lil' g. And the movie? Well there is nothing funnier than Canadians making fun of the system and themselves. Dave Foley in The Wrong Guy was just the kind a humour we needed to end this long week.

Yes, It's a Good Day for singing a song

There are some songs that just make me feel good. Not necessarily new songs but songs that are infectious and no matter the mood I am in they always turn around when I hear these songs. One of my fav's is It's a Good Day by Peggy Lee. I can't help but feel great and all smiles when I here this song. Could it be the big band mixed with a bit of jazz? Could it be Peggy Lee's incredible voice. I can picture the band just hopping with excitement as they each take their solos.

Have you ever had a song make you feel that good? Sometimes it is an unusual suspect like His Eye is on the Sparrow when you here the chorus ..."so I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free..." I love singing this song and I love hearing it sung. Check out Lauren Hill and Tanya Blount's version.
Some feel good songs bring back happy memories like Feelin' Groovy by Simon and Garfunkel or Do Re Mi from the sound of music. Now if you really want to put a smile on your face, watch the flash mob version.
And then there is Ray Charles. I always hit repeat on Ray Charles tunes. I was driving home from Moncton the other day listening to CBC's shift program and they played Ray Charles singing You Are My Sunshine. You remember this from your childhood? I do. Kindergarten or preschool all of us little kids holding hands, standing in a circle singing, probably even swinging my arms back and forth.
So what is your favorite feel good song? Maybe it is Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobbi McFerrin or is it I'm Into Something Good by Herman's Hermits? What about Footloose by Kenny Loggins. That song always had people on the dance floor. And then there is The Proclaimer's I'm Gonna Be (500 miles). you may not know the words to the verses but you will shout out the chorus everytime...
"I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more.
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles
to fall down at your door"

The next time you are driving in your car and your feel good song comes on the radio or your playlist. Crank up the volume and sing like no one is listening. Guarenteed you will feel good.