This is the first year that I didn’t have anything to do on Christmas day! Usually my mom and step dad do Christmas dinner on Christmas day but because my mom has to work the next morning, she decided it would be easier on her to do it a few days before Christmas.

So, the kiddo and I had Christmas with my mom, step dad & everyone on the 23rd and then on the 24th had it with my dad and everyone. I celebrated Christmas with him on the 23rd because I had to drop him off back at home on the 24th.

I was actually okay with not having anything to do today. It was kind of nice vegging out, watching Christmas movies and not having anywhere to rush off to. Unfortunately I ended up in bed most of the afternoon/evening with a migraine and earache. That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for Christmas day but thankfully all the family festivities were over so I didn’t have to miss them.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

It was a bit of a pain getting it set up in the tree stand and there was a minor mishap once we had it what we thought was centered and fit snug in the stand…thankfully the kiddo didn’t mind crawling under the tree and working some ‘magic’ to fix it. Once we finally got it all set up, decorated and turned the lights on…I knew in that instant I would never own another fake tree!

Here are 10 reasons I’ll always have a real Christmas tree:

1. It’s so full – no bare spots like on a fake tree
2. The pine smell is amazing
3. It’s pretty
4. It makes me smile when I look at it
5. I love sitting in the morning with just the Christmas tree lights on, drinking a cup of hot cocoa
6. I love sitting in the evening with just the Christmas tree lights on
7. The pine smell is awesome (yeah, it’s worth mentioning twice! lol)
8. The branches don’t sag like my fake tree branches did
9. It just makes my heart happy every time I walk into the living room and get a whiff of the pine
10. I juts love everything about the realness of it

Sure, maybe those are silly reasons but they’re my reasons Plain and simple, I just love having a real Christmas tree!

20 Reasons I Love Charlevoix

1. Beaches – Lots of them! 

2. Drawbridge – Okay, confession time: I may not like this when I’m stuck in traffic waiting for the bridge lol Photo by johnkebab

3. Amazing sunsets – I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many pictures I took of sunsets this summer!

4. Amazing sunrises – I must admit I only saw a couple of these…they are way too early for my liking

4. Boats – Lots and lots and lots of them! Some of them aren’t even boats – they are yachts! I’ve never seen so many huge boats as I did this summer. I’d hate to know what it costs to take some of those babies out just for a day (bummed I didn’t get any pictures of them!)

5. Venetian festival – I was way more into this when I was younger. This summer I didn’t even go down to it.

6. Tourists – Okay, another confession: I may or may not complain about them over taking the town in the summer!

7. Library – This is the most amazing library I’ve ever seen (seriously…out of towners always comment on how big/nice this place is)

8. Apple festival – I’ve never actually been downtown for this so I don’t even really know what it is but I hear lots of people talking about it lol

9. Beautiful, big homes – There are 2 different subdivision areas I like to drive through & just look at the homes.

10. Mushroom houses – These are so cool! I would love to go inside one. A little note about mushroom houses: A number of houses in town were designed by architect Earl Young and have been called “mushroom houses” by the locals.  Photo Courtsey: Chamber of Commerce web site

11. Lighthouse – Cool pier to walk out on with a lighthouse at the end- love being there when the waves in Lake Michigan are really big like they were on this day. This was also the first time I’ve ever seen a stand up paddle boarder (think that’s what it’s called):

12. Great food – Kelsey B’s being my favorite.

13. Ferry Beach – It’s a beach, need I say more ?

14. Michigan Beach – Again, it’s a beach need I say more?

15. Depot Beach - Yep, sure enough again it’s a beach need I say more?

16. Sailing School - One day while at Depot Beach I found out they had a sailing school right next to it (the beach I was at) and got to see several students sailing:

17. Drizzly Day at the Beach- Kind of neat to be at the beach on a really windy/foggy/drizzly day:

18. Small Town - There are definitely pros/cons to living in small towns. I’d say the population is roughly about 3,000 people. That’s not too huge and not too small.

19. Coast Guard Station - Okay, I have to admit I’m a sucker for men in uniform. Too bad I don’t run into these guys more often

20. It’s just a beautiful town…it really is!

And just for the heck of it, here is one more pic from this summer. Rainbows are so neat and this is one of my fave pics from this summer!

And now that Fall is here and winter is fast approaching, I’m going to have to remind myself to do another post like this for the winter. I may have lived in Northern Michigan my entire life but that doesn’t mean I like the snow So, I’ll have to work really hard on the being positive this winter & it could be impossible to come up with 20 reasons I like this place in the midst of winter! lol

What can you write in five minutes flat? 

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

OPPORTUNITY

Go…

Here I go – my second Five Minute Friday.

It still feels really weird to just write what comes to mind.

I have so many things running through my head some about opportunity some not.

Tomorrow is a big family event – my younger sister’s college graduation open house. I bet there will be so many new opportunities knocking on her door.

I’m stuck. I want to sit here and stare at the screen but the point is I’m supposed to be writing.

I have so many opportunities to be doing so many new things in my life. I’m single. My son only lives with me part-time so I have quite a bit of free time. But I don’t look for new opportunities because I’m too caught up in some personal things going on right now that kind of hold me back.

I wonder what opportunities God has in store for me. Am I willing to let Him use me for new things if they take me out of my comfort zone?

I still have a couple minutes left. Goodness I guess five minutes really is longer than it seems!

I have to admit I stopped typing and sat for a second staring at my keyboard. I think there are just too many thoughts running through my head to put anything down that would make any sense.

I wish I lived in a bigger town – for more opportunities to find those new things I briefly mentioned above. Then again, if I don’t seek them in a small town would I really look for them in a big town?

I have to go to the laundromat tomorrow…one huge downfall to my apartment (no washer/dryer).

Yeah my timer is slowing down to nothing…

Stop.

The way this Five minute Friday works is that every Friday you are given a word and you literally just write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

So, here we go…this week’s word is:

PERSPECTIVE

GO

I’m not sure what to write about perspective. I know what it means or at least I think I know what it means. lol

My apartment is small but cool. I love all the windows except in the winter when it’s cold and my landlord puts plastic on them – whoever thought plastic really keeps cold air out in the first place? Because it doesn’t. Not in my experience anyway.

The few things I don’t like about my apartment – the bathroom is too small. Seriously I feel like I’m sitting in a box when I’m in there. Good thing I don’t spend too much time in there!

My cat is getting fat. Maybe I should put him on a diet? Seriously he has some fat hanging off his sides!

I’m too fat. Maybe my cat gets that from me? I know I shouldn’t say things like that about myself but it’s true.

The birds are really chirping outside my office window right now and sometimes I like their noise and other times (now would be one of those times) it gets on my nerves.

Hmmm you would think that five minutes is really that long but it kind of is. At least I think it is. Or at least it feels like it right now because I’m not sure what to say.

Maybe this will get easier the more I do it.

Five minutes isn’t up yet?

It’s Friday – obviously from the title of the post it’s Friday – and I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend. It’s been a long work week.

I hear the ticker of my kitchen timer slowing down to a crawl so I think it’s going to ding real soon. Oh please hurry. These five minutes need to be over…

STOP