Thursday, January 22, 2015

Day 99 Torrey Pines State Reserve-San Diego




  
As I stated in Day 98 , my past beach holidays involved  laying in the sun and reading most of the day. I did not anticipate that a beach vacation could involve  trail hiking on sandstone cliffs, overlooking unspoiled beaches, viewing clear skies, wild flowers, Torrey pine trees and cacti.  As I continue on my quest to reach self –actualization, Maslow would have been proud of me for my continued development of a deep appreciation for  natural beauty.


Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Day 98 Sunrises and Sunsets-San Diego



Sunrise Mission Bay
Who does not love the beach?  Since my childhood I have been a  yearly summer beach visitor who routinely plopped down in the sand, did not move  for the entire day, and relaxed.  However  during this new journey, it’s novel for me to go to the coast during the winter or  “off season.”    When  leaving what seems to be the perpetual gray skies from January to March in Pittsburgh, this “off season” experience gave me a heightened appreciation for the simple  beauty of sunrises and sunsets and just a simple sunny day even if it was not quite warm enough to swim.  

Monday, January 12, 2015

Day 97 Kombucha Tea




My Kombucha brewing

Start the new year by sharing health with others. 

My girlfriend introduced me to this alien looking  Kombucha  pancake thing proclaiming  that when you use it  on top of tea you give birth to a drink with  all kinds of health benefits. I am not one of those alternative medicine type people.  I usually do not try  the newest  health kick, and I  take few vitamins  but I love tea and this thing intrigued me. The best part is that the thing  grows “a baby thing” so you’re always sharing the process with another person by giving the baby away. Starting the new year off on a healthy note, and by sharing, even if it’s only  a baby Kombucha, seems like an altruistic thing to do . This would be in line with my blog inspirations which are Maslow’s theory of Self Actualization or being the best you can be, and my girlfriend's books. By the way, the her new one is  about love-"Everything I Need to Know About Love I Learned from a Little Golden Book.” So I am off to love and nurture  my  Kombucha and share the love with others. 

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Day 96 Celebrate la Befana-Ethnic Traditions



PPG Wintergarden/la Befana


Today, January 6th , is the  Italian celebration of  la Befana  which ends the Italian holiday season.   Pittsburgh is a city with a collage of  ethnic  families and neighborhoods that spill  various traditions from all over the world into the mix of the city. The book, Everything I Need to Know about Christmas, I Learned from A little Golden Book , remarks that the Christmas season ,“ is a time for traditions.”  This is the focus at the PPG Wintergarden  display  of “Spirits of Giving From Around the World ”  which has 16 life sized “Santas”  and explains the  traditional Santa story for each country. I  love to go every year  but in this new journey, I  focused and learned more about the one from my ancestry- the Italian la Befana. 

Friday, January 2, 2015

Day 95 Going to a Steelers Game



AFC North Division Champs


As I said in Day 92, it’s almost a sin to live in Pittsburgh  and not be a sports fan and it’s a “mortal sin” if you don’t root for the Steelers especially when they are doing well!  I  have to admit that I watch the football games but I usually watch from the comfort of my comfy  couch and I am usually multitasking  during the game (i.e., bake, write, read, on the treadmill or I even clean on the commercials).  Taking four (4) hours of my  time  to watch a football game is unusual for this girl. When I was offered tickets for the division game, I  had to push myself to journey to the cold stadium and experience the game with the “real fans”, even though  I am always desperate to find ways to  spend time with my son who is home from college!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Day 94 Happy 2015! Welcome Each New Day




It’s a new year and  also  six (6) months of blogging since I started on July 2, 2014 (Day 1).  Ninety four (94) days of trying new things and reflections!  I am grateful to all my friends and family that have helped with new ideas for this blog.  What a great journey to strive for new adventures even in the simple things.

Reflection
Looking back on the popularity of the 2014  blogs, I am not surprised that the most popular post was  Day 56, Banjo Night.  That is a  place filled with laughter, positive energy and a place that reminds us to  enjoy  the life that God has given us.