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the big orange house
Summerside, PE
902-439-4562

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sunday adventures...& a little bit of unexpected truth...

September 29, 2019 Arlene Giddings

I generally don’t have a car on fridays anymore
so I have to take my adventure days
when I can get them…
this week, it happened to be on sunday.

I took a drive to Bonshaw
and did a little part of the trail there.
Fun fact…when I am on the trail with my camera,
I may be in there for an hour or more
but have only walked for 15 minutes.
Every detail catches me…
I stop for moss and mushrooms,
rotting tree trunks, bright colored leaves
and mud puddles.

Today was no exception.

The truth is I have been struggling a little bit lately
in an up and down kind of way.
Some days, I am perfectly happy being by myself
(not that I am ever really “by myself”,
I have my amazing kids and family and friends)
but other days, I struggle a teeny tiny bit.

Which is what I love about getting out with my camera.
I can lose myself for hours
looking for angles and light and color and bokeh
and when it all comes together
it just makes me so happy….
like this photo below…I smiled the rest of way down the trail
because I knew I was going to love this one,
I knew I got my “one good shot”.

and sometimes,
i think….
you have to lose yourself
a little bit in something
in order to find yourself.

When I think back to
where I was a year ago…
well….I don’t even like to think
about this time last year…
things were pretty dark and dreary and sad and scary
but that kind of helps put
my little “down days” into perspective.

It makes me realize how far I have come.

Honestly…
this is not what I came here to write today
but it’s what came out…
so I am going to go with it
and this time next year,
I can come back again
& see how much farther I have gone.

Forward is forward…even the baby steps…
and if you are struggling with something right now,
go easy on yourself…and know you are not alone either…
:)

In i take pictures, island girl, pep talk, words, unfold2019 Tags sundays, sunday adventure, pe, PEI photographer, PEI blogger, fall on pei, little bits of truth
2 Comments

wordless wednesday...a dirt road edition...

September 25, 2019 Arlene Giddings
In unfold2019, wordless wednesday Tags pei, pei blogger, red dirt roads, home, rural
2 Comments

whatcha readin'? 2019 {book 14::goal 25}

September 23, 2019 Arlene Giddings

I wanted to love this book.

I really did.

If you have been reading this blog for any amount of time,
you probably know that I like books like this…
I like how to’s and suggestions and lists and motivation.

What I did like:
♥ her no-nonsense suck it up deal with it this-is-up-to-you-to-change attitude.
I like people who are little bit tough love.
somedays. somedays…I want to throat punch them.
It’s a fine line.

♥ Her references to the wizard of oz and Dorothy

♥ That she talked about the struggle of quitting diet coke…
Uh….yeah…I get that (as I pop a can in the freezer just now so I can have it before bed).

♥ Her red converse sneakers

♥ She’s kinda adorable.

What I didn’t like:

  • It was a little too religion based for me.
    This was not her fault…it was an oversight of mine.
    I didn’t realize when I got it that this was a large part of where
    she was coming from. And I am not against religion…it’s just…
    not my thing…

  • That was pretty much it….I mean…some of it is a little cliched..
    but no more than any other book in this type of genre that I have read.
    I went into it expecting that to some degree.

All in all…I enjoyed the book. I felt like I got something out of it.
If I feel I have to take notes while reading something, then…that
feels like a worthwhile read to me and I definitely did take notes while
reading this. I do recommend it. Just go into it with an open mind.

3.5 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥♥’s
NEXT UP:: WHERE THE PAST BEGINS - AMY TAN

In whatcha readin' Tags whatcha readin'?, books, book love, rachel hollis
2 Comments

friday i'm in love...the weird and random edition

September 20, 2019 Arlene Giddings

♥i just realized i could probably do a whole album of
middle of the road
photos. I might just do that. :)

♥the northern pikes are playing in moncton.
i just literally belted out teenland just now
and realized i’m just a girl with a problem
(haha…not really, that’s just next in the playlist)

♥i love the internet
i know there is no secret in that.
but i absolutely love the small connections that can be made.
i was talking to someone today that i have not met yet in person,
just in the virtual world….
happy meals became a topic of conversation, as they often do
when conversing with me…and he said “i still have the happy meal
muppet baby toys” I was like, “me too!” and excitedly snapped
a photo of baby gonzo (missing his trike) to show him…
meanwhile…he sends me a photo of ALL FOUR muppet babies
STILL IN THE ORIGINAL PACKAGING….
and didn’t even have to look for them…
had them right there at his fingertips!!
(so then i had to try to one up him with my 119 smurf collection
but, honestly?
i was totally jealous of his muppet babies.)

♥this artist….i am in love with these.

♥this hits home right now…know someone struggling with anxiety?
it’s hard to watch…you feel pretty helpless. This was a good read.

♥i kinda can’t wait for this…and now i want to re-read the book

♥i seriously want to do this…preferably with someone who has
maybe done it before or at least knows what a coywolf is…
but…wild horses, you guys!

♥and i can’t tell you how much i love how many comments,
emails and messages I got about my 50 before 50 post….
that totally made my day. Every time I release something to the universe
via this website or social media, I cringe a little inside thinking
”well. you’ve done it now. people are going to officially think you are weird.”
and then everyone is so sweet which really only encourages me more,
you know that, right? Heehee. But seriously…thank you for that.
:) :) :) :)

In friday i'm in love Tags friday i'm in love, muppet babies, northern pikes, 50 before 50, cape breton
5 Comments

50 before 50....

September 19, 2019 Arlene Giddings

the weekend dorian
hit PEI
with hurricane force wild winds
and pounding, pouring rain,
i turned 49.

my age has never really bothered me too much.
i have always rounded up by 5 years
because
a) i’m bad at math
b) when i hit the “big” years, it doesn’t even matter to me…
i’m like “meh…i’ve been 50 for five years now”

and, if i am going to be painfully, brutally honest
this past year (or more) has been a little rough.
i could focus on all the ways things are not
where i thought they would be when i hit 50

OR

i can say whatever…and make myself a list…
cause
i love a good list. :)

so i have LESS than one year to do the things on this list…
cause
i also work better under pressure.


THE 50 BEFORE 50 LIST

  1. Get a new tattoo

  2. Go skydiving (tandem is ok)

  3. Visit a province/place I have never been (not on PEI!)

  4. Go camping alone

  5. Go camping with someone else

  6. Cabot Trail

  7. Drive in

  8. Give blood

  9. Go on a road trip

  10. Finish the Bernadine story

  11. Build a robot

  12. Knit a robot

  13. Go sledding

  14. Try rockclimbing

  15. Get a passport

  16. Watch all Game of Thrones

  17. Go apple picking

  18. Go on a train

  19. Go to a football game

  20. Play badminton

  21. Have a sleepover with friends

  22. Plant a garden

  23. Try kickboxing or karate or judo or something that could give me a belt

  24. Climb a tree

  25. See a live band

  26. Bake an apple pie

  27. Start and finish a puzzle

  28. Carve a pumpkin

  29. Have a bonfire

  30. Drive someplace really dark and look at stars

  31. Ride on a motorcycle OR in a racecar

  32. Paintball

  33. Photowalk with other people

  34. Hit goal weight

  35. Treego

  36. Zipline

  37. Rollercoaster

  38. Drive some kind of heavy machinery

  39. Learn to drive standard

  40. Learn to drywall

  41. Make a calendar

  42. Pop up shop

  43. Fill my Etsy shop

  44. Aerial yoga

  45. Kayak

  46. Watch the sunrise

  47. Make meat pies

  48. Hold a baby goat

  49. See fireworks

  50. Make a snowman


In 50 before 50 Tags 50 before 50
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