a year of happy

what google analytics tells me about my blog

2010-03-09T00:30:00-07:00

Have you ever used
Google Analytics?

It's a tool that can tell you
a lot of things about
your website or blog.

It shows all sorts of percentages
and counters and reports...
mostly I don't pay
much attention to it.

But there are a few things
I find really interesting.

One is that it can show you
your top landing pages.
Landing pages are the pages
people arrive on when they
visit your blog or website--
they've either done a search
or clicked on a link
and they "land"
on a page on your site.

Last week I wrote a post called
"Five Times on the Road to Hana."

I had debated about whether or not
I should even publish it
because it was so ridiculous.

But that post has quickly become
my number one landing page!

Who knew?!

Another thing I've found out
is what search words
people have used
to land on my blog.

The most popular
search words for my blog are
"Happy WWI Soldiers".

Almost every day,
someone lands on my blog
after searching for something
about World War I soldiers.

That's all because of this photo:

This is my grandfather
and some of his buddies
during World War I.
He is the second from the right.

Isn't it amazing
that Google knows
that the soldiers
in this picture are happy?!

I posted this
on Veteran's Day 2009
along with an article
written by my grandmother in 1981
about Armistice Day.

I'm not sure if any of these searchers
take the time to read
her moving words
about the ending of World War I.

I think most of them
take a look at the photo
and then they move on.

But they really should read it.
It's the best part.

_________________________

It has nothing to do
with Google Analytics,
but now that we're talking
about Veterans,
and my grandma and grandpa.
and other tender things,
I want to share an excerpt
of those beautiful words
written by my grandma in 1981.

If you'd like to read
the whole thing,
and I think you should,
you can click here.
It will probably
make you cry.

An excerpt from
"Armistice Day of World War"
by Lillian V. Perkins, my grandma.

"Then, Oh! The blessed day of November 11th.

"We had just arrived at the store and were preparing for work when the church bells all over the city began ringing, trains in the railroad yards were whistling and ringing their bells, cars on the streets were honking, people were screaming, running and calling out, "The war is over! The war is over! The Armistice has been signed, the war is ended!"

"People working in the business houses just put on their coats and walked out and doors were closed. Everyone on the street was embracing everyone else, it didn't make any difference who you were, we were all one and people were hysterically celebrating.

"Another girl and I were riding on the front fenders of a Model-T Ford and my new beautiful winter hat blew off and sailed over the high board fence enclosing the railroad yards. ...and that is the last I ever saw of it. No one could stop for a mere hat even though it cost $13.00 of my meager earnings!"

Click here to read more.

three great links to make you smile

2010-03-08T00:44:00-07:00

Link #1

On Saturday,
I received a package in the mail.
How often does that happen?!
Not often for me.

This package was from a new friend--
Sherry from Everyday Possibilities.

Sherry makes the most beautiful
mixed media paper goods
and collaged altered art.

Her shop is called Bella Rennie
and as it says on her site,
her art is "sometimes whimsical,
sometimes serious and
always with an eye to grace and beauty."

Take a look at what she sent to me.

This whimsical gift card--
wouldn't it be cute in a frame?

And this lovely bookmark.
I'll use it everyday!

Thanks, Sherry!
Be sure to visit her blog
and her shop.
You don't want to miss it!

________________________________

Link #2

The other day I discovered
a new photography blog
that I really like.

It's called
Dream Tomorrow, Live Today,
Cherish Yesterday,
and the photographer is
Bob Towery.

I'm really taken
with his amazing photos,
but I also like
how he writes about
what he did to get
his great results.

This is the first photo I saw.
You should take a look--
it blew me away!

Here's another one...
but don't take my word for it.
Check it out.
I think you'll like it too!

________________________________

Link #3

And finally,
this link is a video
from my 17 year old son.
If you like chain reactions,
you've got to see this!

______________________________

Do you have any great links
to share with the
rest of us today?
Please do in the comments!

today i'm grateful for....

2010-03-07T00:34:00-07:00

kleenexes, the ones with lotion in them.
.
kids (mine) who call their mom because they want to.
.
almond joy candy bars, and a husband who brought me a whole package.
.
my new camera, and the new video I got to teach me how to use it.
.
packages, especially the sweet package I received in the mail today from a friend I've never met before.
.
the scent of lemons, and the ability to smell them.
.
the color green, especially outside after all the gray.
.
sundays, a day that's different from all the rest.
.
email--and people who send them just to be nice.
.

What are you grateful for today?
.
.
.

we are all connected

2010-03-06T00:41:00-07:00

"From the standpoint
of daily life....
there is one thing we do know:

that we are here
for the sake of each other -
above all for those
upon whose smile and well-being
our own happiness depends,

and also for the countless
unknown souls
with whose fate
we are connected
by a bond of sympathy.

Many times a day
I realize how much
my own outer and inner life
is built upon the labors
of my fellow men,
both living and dead,
and how earnestly
I must exert myself
in order to give in return
as much as I have received."

Albert Einstein

el salvador at dawn

2010-03-05T00:42:00-07:00

As I told you here,
we went to El Salvador
last November
on a humanitarian services trip.

After a week
of really long working days,
we were given
a day of rest and
recuperation
at a beach-side resort.

On our last morning,
our 17-year-old son "A"
got up early,
and with his little
Coolpix camera,
went for
a nature walk.

I wish I would have
gone with him.
(I, ever-efficient,
was scrambling
to try to fit
everything
in our luggage
to go back to the States.)

In those few
calm peaceful moments,
he was the only one
on the beach.

And this is what he saw.

All of these photos
are straight out of
his Coolpix camera.

I think he did a
really great job, don't you?

_______________________

You can read more
about a few of our adventures
in Guatemala and El Salvador
by clicking on these links.

airborn

earthquakes and volcanoes

necessities or luxuries

monkey business

what's in the attic?

2010-03-04T00:15:00-07:00

Ever since I was a teenager,
I've wished for an attic
full of old things.

Not "old" like the junk
that's stuffed in boxes
in my storage room.

I mean really old.

Like antique clothing and furniture,
and old photographs,
and long forgotten love letters.

I remember when I first
got on this kick,
my mom and I went to visit
my elderly great aunt,
who lived in the house
where my mom grew up.

We slept in a little upstairs bedroom,
where there were lots of
cupboards and closets
and secret places.

I started snooping,
and that made my mom
really nervous.
But I kept at it.
Who knew what I might find?

And find something I did.

Tucked way back
in a closet on the highest shelf
was a box.
it was about the size
of a large shoe box,
and on the lid it said,
"Memories of Hazel."

Hazel was my mom's mother,
and she had died when
my mom was thirteen.

Inside the box, we found
letters written by her sons
during the second World War,
notes and cards from little daughters,
and all sorts of memories
from days long gone.

THIS was a treasure.

You just never know
what you'll find
in a good attic!

____________________

The other day
I went for a walk
through The Avenues
of Salt Lake City
and took a few photos
of some attics
I wish I could visit.

Aren't they curious?

Click on the photos
to see them up close.

Wouldn't it be fun
to go on a treasure hunt
in one of these attics?!

Have you ever found a treasure
when you've been
searching through
something old?

Hosted by Cecily and ???

5 times on the road to hana

2010-03-03T01:45:00-07:00

I'm not famous for much.

But I'm famous
(in circles that matter)
for all the places
throughout the world
that I've thrown up.

In fact, I've become
something
of a family joke.
And people are
just a tiny bit nervous
to travel with me.

So in a totally happy,
positive, and optimistic
sort of way,

for this week's Wednesday list,
I'm listing
all the places
in this whole wide world
(at least the ones
I can remember)
that I've thrown up.

We'll call it
List 3:

Five Times on the Road to Hana
and all the other places
in this world
where I've lost my lunch.

Utah (Behind a dumpster. Pregnant and I forgot my bowl.)
Utah (Coming down the canyon from Sundance. Again, pregnant.)
Utah (At work. Yes, again, 9 month morning sickness.)
Utah (every house I've lived in, every pregnancy.)
Utah (okay...there's a list a mile long of all the places in this state.)
Idaho (Rexburg, the last time I ate Bit o Honey candy bars.)
Idaho (Boise. I think.)
Idaho (In the hall at Lincoln Elementary. So embarrassing.)
California (Somewhere between LA and San Diego, with Huey Lewis playing in the background...)
Washington (Expo '74, at the World's Fair, in a motor home. Poor family.)
Hawaii (Maui, that twisty, turny, winding road to Hana. 5 times to be exact. Do they have a t-shirt for that?)
Mexico (Cancun. A whole vacation's worth. See that pretty picture up there? That's about all I saw of Cancun. Throwing up with a beautiful view.)
Taiwan (Hsinchu--after eating some weird fish thingy.)
Taiwan (Hualien--after eating at a traditional Taiwanese wedding.)

There could be more...
oh I'm sure there is.
But that gives me:

three countries
two islands
and five states.

And just for the record,
I've made it
through two Central American trips
without throwing up!
Dare I try
for a third?!

___________________________

What are you famous for?

some mighty deep thoughts on procrastination

2010-03-02T01:11:00-07:00

One of my many lists
is titled something like this:

The things I've been
procrastinating
and need to get done NOW!

Since procrastination
has been on my mind,
I decided to share
a few deep thoughts
on the topic
by people who really know
what they're talking about.

"Never put off
until tomorrow
what you can do
the day after tomorrow."
Mark Twain

"A man who procrastinates
in his choosing
will inevitably
have his choice
made for him by circumstance."
Hunter S. Thompson

"If it weren't for the last minute,
nothing would get done."
Rita Mae Brown

"Time is an
equal opportunity employer.
Each human being
has exactly the same
number of hours and
minutes every day.
Rich people
can't buy more hours.
Scientists can't invent new minutes.
And you can't save time
to spend it on another day.
Even so, time is amazingly
fair and forgiving.
No matter how much time
you've wasted in the past,
you still have an entire tomorrow."
Denis Waitley

"The era of procrastination,
of half-measures,
of soothing and baffling expedients,
of delays
is coming to its close.
In its place
we are entering
a period of consequences."
Winston Churchill

"If you choose
to not deal with an issue,
then you give up
your right of control
over the issue
and it will select
the path of least resistance."
Susan Del Gatto

"If you want to make
an easy job seem mighty hard,
just keep putting off doing it."
Olin Miller

"PROCRASTINATION
means you know
what you need to do
and you don't do it.
If you don't know what to do,
you aren't procrastinating.
You're thinking. "
Lynn Lively

"Time you enjoy wasting,
was not wasted."
John Lennon

"Why wait,
procrastinate now...."
Ellen DeGeneres

"Procrastination.
I'll find a quote for it later."
Jarrod Blundy

_____________________________

What are your thoughts
about procrastination?

Is it something
you battle too?

How do you conquer?

at my life's crossroads

2010-03-01T00:11:00-07:00

When I think of
my life's crossroads,
I can always
see my mother
somewhere nearby.

I can hear myself
call her name
the minute I run in the door
after school every day.

I can feel
her cool hand
on my hot forehead
in the throes of a sick flu.

I can see her
skillful hands
teaching me to make
cinnamon rolls,
and doll clothes,
and a properly made bed.

She's always near
in those memories,
guiding, comforting,
smiling, and singing.

She is part of my
adult crossroads too.

My wedding day....
there she is in her
cheery red dress,
taking care of all
the little details
so I can enjoy the day.

I see her worried look
as I head to the hospital
for the birth of my second child,
a whole month early.

I can feel the
clasp of her hand
as we worry together
over a wayward teenager.

I can see
the warmth in her glance
as we lock eyes
over the tiny bundle
that is my newborn grandson,
and we don't even
need to say a word.

My mother.
Always there.
At every crossroad.
Whenever I need her.

She has set the stage
for the kind of mother
I too hope to be.

Today I will give her
this little gift
to celebrate her
special day.

How could it
possibly be enough?

Happy Birthday Mom!

_______________________

Have you read this one?

Home to Me

Baby Mac Attack

Best of 2009

playing grandma

2010-02-28T01:33:00-07:00

.
.

I got to play grandma
the other day
while "J" was working.

I love it.

I love that
this little guy
recognizes me and
is excited to see me.

I love it when
he falls asleep in my arms.

I love the smell
of his baby soft skin.

And I love
taking pictures of him.

No matter
that I consistently
lop off the top of his head.

That's because
every time I get out my camera,
he races over to
chew on the strap!

I'm just not quick enough
on the draw.

Too bad.
I'll just have to keep practicing!