Man o’ man, I love it when I get busy working on something that stumped me and prevented me from getting going, and I get it done. I love it, even more, when Mr. does just that and he accomplishes the task he set out to do all in one day.
Today, I was stumped about what to write for my post so I decided to join in on Cee’s Share Your World prompt. I enjoy her photography challenges. So, why not join in on this one?
Ready, set, here we go…go ahead, grab a cup of coffee, watch the sunrise, sit back, relax and I’ll chat a bit about my world.
If you were given $22 million tax-free dollars (any currency), what is the first thing you would do? (This is just a dream question, remember anything can happen in SYW.)
The first thing I would do is put it into a savings account. Yep, I’m a boring old planner and a saver. But if I was required to take some action other than saving it, I’d meet with a financial planner to help me figure out the best way to accomplish the following goals: 1. Pay off our home equity loan we used to help our child pay for school. 2. Buy a new vehicle for the Mr. and maybe me so we can travel places and discover new things that I can take pictures of. 3. Take a family vacation. 4. Take a vacation to Australia with my daughters – we made a pact to go to Shelley Beach someday. 5. Buy a new camera and lenses. 6. Help our kids pay off their debts. 7. Maybe do some updating on the interior of our house, or hire a maid to clean it. I’m kind of bored with cleaning. 7. Invest the rest and live off the investments. I don’t want to be a burden to my family, so I’d plan for my care if needed.
In what do you find the simplest of joys?
Listening to the birds sing outside my window while I type. Watching the sunrise and sunset. Sitting out on our deck, feeling the warmth of the sun, and watching the grass grow while the white clouds float across the blue sky. Sitting on a beach, admiring the endless possibilities of the ocean and listening to the waves crashing on the shore. Watching my kids smile and interact with each other and their friends. Playing with my cats and dog or just having them be there with us hanging out. Mr.’s cooking. Holding my husband’s hand, and working on projects together. Enjoying a good cold beer or a nice glass of wine. A good night’s rest on fresh clean sheets. And enjoying a cup of freshly brewed coffee with friends, or drinking it alone as I type a blog post.
What would be your ideal birthday present, and why?
You’d think after 53 years, I’d have a preference. I’m not one to enjoy attention when it comes to my birthday. My birthday always falls around Thanksgiving, so it wasn’t a fun time of the year for me. It was hunting season, so my dad and brother were off hunting. My mom was rushing to get a Thanksgiving meal planned or we traveled to a relative’s house and the focus was thankfully not on me. But in a sad way, I occasionally felt left out. My favorite birthdays have been low-key, including a special meal made by Mr. and the kids were with me blowing out the candles. I am particularly fond of when we’ve taken an adventure to do something different and I can take pictures of what we did.
What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
In 2015 (yikes, almost 3 years ago), we had new shingles put on our roof. In preparation for it, we decided the big bushes in front of our house had to go. 
They had become overgrown, obtrusive, and definitely not the type of bushes one should flaunt in an entryway to your house. We didn’t pull them, Mr. just sawed them off to get the area clear so the roofing crew had easy access to the front area of our house. It was a good thing, it would’ve been a real pain in the ass to have all this activity while trying to navigate around the bushes.
After the roofing was completed, we left the stumps because we weren’t sure how to remove them. They were sawed off in a rapid fashion. Remaining stylish in their own way, not really in our way, we’ve avoided dealing with them until this year. 
Frankly, the area has stumped us as to what to do with it until this past weekend. Now that we’ve finally decided on a plan, yesterday, Mr. got busy attacking the project.
Give Mr. a rake, a shovel, and an ax and he can move mountains of stumps. He’s my garden hero!
What made me smile was seeing his enthusiasm, energy, and strength to get this stage of the project done all in one shot. Mostly, it was HIS smile when he posed for me to take a picture of him with the stumps. Mr. with a victory smile warms my heart!
Post Inspiration: Cee’s Share Your World #SYW
Nice to learn more about your world Shelley, thanks for sharing.
Thank you, as always, I appreciate hearing from you! 🙂
And likewise!
Nice to have the snow go away so y’all can do pretty things to your yard. … So, your birthday is around Thanksgiving! I was born on a Thanksgiving day, and now every so often it’s the same day as my birthday! 🙂
Yes, having the snow gone is so refreshing!! Yes around Thanksgiving. I think once or twice it was a day or two after, but never right on the day. Yay for November birthdays!!
Beautiful post! I agree, love those simplest of things too, thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Erica! Your post about rose buds is beautiful as well!
My answer to the first question: I’d have my whole house gutted and rebuilt on the inside.
I’ve often thought of that as well! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, John!
It’s always a delight to drop by your blog, Shelley! I love your answers!
Thank you, Winnie – ditto to you, I love stopping by your blog, too!
Have a great day, Shelley!
Thank you, you too!!
It was fine day for me, thank you! It’s already 6:17 pm here 🙂
Oh, my goodness, it’s just 6:05 am here!!
Yeah! 😄 You’re going to eat breakfast and we’re going to have our dinner 😉