Karen's Blog

Let's take a walk through a brand new day.

And then it happened…Nanowrimo

In March of 2013, my son hiked the Appalachian Trail. He took our 10-year-old dog, Copper, and set out on the adventure of a lifetime. Many of my readers know the story and followed his journey.

He blogged while he was hiking and when he returned home, I encouraged him to take his blog and create a book for future generations to enjoy. He balked at first but knew that memories fade and that having the blog and pictures in printed form would be a treasure. He edited and rewrote sections of the blog with the result being a 700+ page hard bound book with memories and pictures documented forever. The creation of the book happened during Nanowrimo. For those who are unfamiliar with “Nano”, I will explain.

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Bumps in the Road

Early in November, the traveling bug hit. Each year I receive a free companion ticket from Delta that lets me take a friend or family member and fly anywhere in the 48 contiguous states. I love the opportunity to share travel with someone. This year, I let the expiration date of the certificate slip up on me and I almost lost the opportunity. I needed to make a plan and fast.

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The Perfect Mug

I spent 8 years looking for the perfect mug. There. I said it. And, I’m not ashamed.

Have you ever thought about the mugs you hold in your hand and how they feel? I could never find one that felt just right and made me happy to hold it.
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Everesting

Remember that fall getaway to the mountains with friends that I shared with you in an earlier blog post? Remember the two-hour story telling around the campfire? One of those friends, Renea, had quite the story to tell and she got me thinking about goals, objectives, success and failure.  We all know what success and failure look like but what about goals and objectives?  A definition helps:  a goal is a destination and an objective is a measure of the progress  needed to get to the destination.  Success is a matter of establishing both.

Renea is an adrenaline junkie in the most positive way. She loves adventures and challenges. Her latest adventure was to go “Everesting”. This is not to be confused with “Ever Resting” which is what most of us would enjoy on any given busy day!  Her goal was to climb the equivalent of Mt. Everest in a 24 hour period: 1 mountain. 17 times. 29,029 feet…the height of Mount Everest. The event was held on Stratton Mountain in Vermont where there were 150 participants.

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Everesting

Paul: Super Hero!

This is Paul, a Super Hero!  Paul is a reader!  He’s also a good listener and is attentive to details. He isn’t a big talker in the classroom but watch how he lights up when he talks about Copper!  He and his classmates read the book: Northbounders: 2,186 Miles of Friendship. Now, he’s reading it again at home with his Mimi and Paul has a new goal. Listen to Paul as he talks about his goal and reveals details about his proposed adventure. You’ll even find out about his special friend, Barney!

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