Day 122: Bicycling, Giveaway & Castle Adventure... Oh My!

List of things that made me smile before 8am:

1. Head butts from my kitty at 5am that then morphed into purr-snuggling.

2. Sleeping. Soundly.

3. Waking up to a completely cloudless, clear, blue sky.

4. Drinking coffee out of our new mugs while lying in bed reading.

5. Not having to go to work.

6. Knowing that today is my Random Giveaway in honor of making it through (writing something positive or happy) one third of the year to my 365 day goal.

I think that is a pretty darn good list of smiles. And all before 8am. Then there was having a leisure brunch with my husband and using our new egg cups that I found yesterday:

But best of all was watching my kitty sleeping in her comfy, coochy, cozy positions. I cannot even fathom how she finds these positions comfortable but there she is dozing lazily without a care in the world. Ah, to be a cat.

In about thirty minutes we will be setting out on a bicycling adventure. The original plan was to do an eighteen kilometer ride out to a place called Eksviken. We would have taken the pendeltåg (commuter train) to an area just north of the city and then ride from there back toward the city, along water and historical sites, possibly stopping at a castle in the area for lunch, before making our way back to a different pendeltåg stop to catch the train back home. Our new plan is to take the pendeltåg to a closer stop and ride out to the castle in the ride above, Ulriksdals Slott, and have fika (coffee) or lunch at the Wärdshus (Inn) before taking the train, or riding back.

So we'll see. Riding my bike always makes me happy and the minute my husband's bum hits the seat of his bicycle it is as if he is transformed into a new person. When we had engagement photos taken back in Dallas we started out in a cute, little, downtown area called the Bishop Arts district. Our photographer tried her best to help him relax for the photo session and he did start to relax and have fun with it but the minute we pulled out the bicycle his entire demeanor changed. He was happy and smiling and had a brightness to his eyes that was playful and childlike. We had a blast from that point on.

Bicycles will always be a part of our lives in some form or fashion. It is just the way it is and I am glad. There is a sense of freedom I feel when I am flying down the street on my bicycle. One day when we were heading back to our apartment here in Stockholm after a ride around the city, we were on an uphill part of the ride and an older woman with grey hair, on a bicycle that had only one gear and squeaked as she road, passed us. At a pretty fast clip too. I hope that will be me one day.

You are probably wondering about the Random Giveaway I keep talking about. I am so excited about it, I can hardly stand it. In honor of today being Day 122, or one third of the way to my 365 day goal, I will be holding a drawing for a Happy Package giveaway for a person, randomly selected from a drawing, who comments on today's post. All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me something that makes you happy! Because of time zone differences of my readership the drawing will be held and winner announced tomorrow (photos to be included). Once the winner is announced I will mail a Happy Package out to the lucky person! Part of the package is below. The rest is a secret :-).

Psst... I will give you a hint: The items were made in Sweden. Happy Commenting!!!! And as always...

BE HAPPY!