A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

challenges

Photo Blogging Challenge (November 2023): Enjoy life

Life.

We’re only here for basically a speck in the time of this world. So while here, we probably should enjoy it, eh?

I’m still slowly working on all the posts for my 50th birthday series (and heck, I have until next September, so …), and I’ve realized how many times that “enjoy life” wasn’t part of my mantra. For whatever time I have left on this Earth, I certainly do want to try and do it a bit more.

So how do you enjoy life?

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I find as I get older, it changes for me. I still enjoy some travel, but I do like just being around my area, too. Life can be very simple and enjoyable, that’s for sure.

You know Harper is involved here!

I kind of looked at things a little different when I went through my photos for the month, though. Enjoying life isn’t always just about experiences, but about the people in it as well. It’s the little things that, usually, can make you smile a bit as you go about the daily things in life.

So did you enjoy life this month? I hope you did!

Anyway, onward. Here’s my five for the month! Enjoy!

1. Harper

Harper makes me enjoy life a lot more. She’s with me in many things I do. But for her, enjoying life often includes a stick. This was on a trip to Rhode Island and we had finished a fun hike to my 7,000th geocaching find (more on that below). So she found this glorious stick and chomped away at it for a bit. And the expression I got for this photo made me enjoy it even more.

2. A weekend stroll

Earlier in November, I ran some errands with my mother and we decided it was nice enough out to go for a stroll with Harper on a rail trail. Harper enjoys hanging with her “Gram,” so it’s always nice. This was at the point where we turned around, so I got them together for a photo. (Side note: The bandana Harper is wearing is one my mother made for her)

3. Snip snip!

Cameron gets his hair cut the same day I do and it’s used so I can spend some time with my nephew. Sometimes we go for something to eat after, sometimes not. He got a turkey on the back of his head this time (and there might be a photo for December’s challenge with him in the barber chair again). I enjoy this experience each month or so.

4. Kisses

This probably would have been good for February, however … this booth is out at a local pet store and I couldn’t resist taking the photo. Harper’s kisses are definitely a way to enjoy life!

5. 7,000!

The trip to Rhode Island with a friend and Harper was for geocaching. We wanted to clear the Rhode Island DeLorme challenge, and also allow me to find my 7,000th geocache. We accomplished both, which was great. This was at the final of the DeLorme challenge and marked my milestone find. A nice little hike to the final on a crisp, fall morning.

There’s my five and let’s see what you came up with! If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

** CHALLENGE CHANGE **

From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.

That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.

So, below is the linkup for September. Make sure you drop your link there.

OK, so it’s time to keep on moving! It’s November’s turn! And our theme for the month? Have a very merry … ! I hope you all have fun with this theme! Remember to come back on (hopefully) December 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!

Photo Blogging Challenge: November 2023 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook!

Photo Blogging Challenge (October 2023): Experiences

Life is full of experiences.

I feel, at times, we as people tend to hustle and bustle past some of life’s experiences. Not everything has to have a large price tag on it to have a wonderful experience. In fact, I dare say, many of our experiences are free — if we stop and look around us.

For October I tried to do this a little more. And I hope to keep doing it.

I always felt I was one who “stopped and smelled the roses,” but at the same time, there are times I rush through things.

Some of my experiences this month are ones that I’ve done before. But I tried to embrace them a bit more.

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Here’s some reality, which I know we all know. In the big scheme of the world and everything else, our lives on this planet make up a speck of time. Depending on your beliefs, what happens after could vary. Fact is, we won’t know (if we do at all) until that time comes. I have my own beliefs as I am sure each of you have your own.

But one thing is for sure: when we leave this planet, we’ll leave behind materialistic things, hopefully memories, and maybe a legacy that might stick around.

As I look back on life, I know I missed a lot of experiences. Some I regret missing, others I’m OK with it.

That just makes me want to make memories and have great experiences moving forward.

My five are below. You know there’s somebody involved in many of the shots, but I hope I captured a bit more. And each photo has a little story.

I look forward to your submissions.

Anyway, onward. Here’s my five for the month!

1. Sunrise (again)

If I have photos like this, I probably should share! Every year in early October, I take my mother to South Jersey. She gets to see her sister, and I get to spend some time on the beach either by myself, with Harper, or with family. I heavily enjoy it because it’s after the tourist season so it is much quieter. That’s just part of it. Each day, though, I get up early and go to the beach with Harper (and the past couple of years, my mother has also joined us) to catch a sunrise over the water. This was the first day and it was splendid. Harper held for a quick photo. Don’t worry … more on the beach in a moment.

2. National Fetch Day

National Fetch Day is in October and it’s been a day I look forward to ever since I got Harper. The weather for this year didn’t look good, so I had planned just a small time of running for some photos. Alas, Mother Nature made it a bit better for the day, so I got Harper out for some photos and then invited the neighbor dogs over for some fun. These experiences for Harper are outstanding. She truly enjoys all of the play time. This crew played pretty hard for the better part of a half hour where they fetched, wrestled, ran, and just loved life. I even brought out the main camera for this day! This image is of Harper chasing down her friend Lucy. (side note: It rained a few days leading in, so the ground was soft. My lawn got dug up some, but I shall deal!)

3. Sweet Frog!

On a recent Friday night, I had to watch Cameron for a couple of hours. That included a trip to Jersey Mike’s for dinner and then Sweet Frog for dessert. He said he didn’t remember ever being to Sweet Frog, so this experience was a blast. He had a couple different flavors of his frozen yogurt, and then loaded up with some of the sweets he loves. He didn’t finish this masterpiece, though. Instead, we got a top for it and he brought it home and put it in the freezer to finish at a later time.

4. Sunday walk

I took my mother to a local farm store this month so she could get a bunch of apples. And truthfully, the place is just fun to go to and it’s an experience all on its own. The way they check you out and the way everything is set up is awesome. In our area, it’s one of the better places to go for many things, when it’s in season. After though, we took Harper on a walk in a park near this area. A couple of new geocaches were there, so I nabbed a couple. While at one, I captured this photo… I think they were both enjoying the experience!

5. Beach life!

Think Harper enjoys the beach? This was a day where we were at the beach for a couple of hours. Me, Harper, and my cousin. My cousin thought I should let Harper roam a bit, which she did. But after a bunch of time in the water, she really took to the beach. She dug a huge hole, she chased the ball a bit, she watched other people. She went back in the water and back out. Needless to say, she was really living the beach experience, as you can see in this photo! To be fair — she usually does when we are on a beach!

There’s my five and let’s see what you came up with! If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

** CHALLENGE CHANGE **

From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.

That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.

So, below is the linkup for September. Make sure you drop your link there.

OK, so it’s time to keep on moving! It’s November’s turn! And our theme for the month? Enjoy life! I hope you all have fun with this theme! Remember to come back on (hopefully) December 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!

Photo Blogging Challenge: October 2023 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook!

20 Days of Chill is back!

We brought it back last year, so I figured what the hell … let’s do it again.

January has always seemed like a great time to hold a writing challenge. I know there are others throughout the year — and I’m not sure about January. Alas, we’ll try this one again.

The challenge is quite simple, overall. Take the theme, write a blog post, schedule it on that date, and then come back and link up.

I am going to schedule my posts to go at about 8-9 a.m EST each day. I can schedule them for 8 and sometimes they’ll take time to post, for whatever reason. So keep that in mind! My posts will include the linkup.

My hope this year is to visit and comment on each blog each day. I am going to try and not get behind. Worst cast… I’ll catch up on weekends. I encourage you all to visit all of the other blogs as well. Here’s one thing to note: Each linkup will stay live for four(ish) days. Once the link is closed, that’s it. So when visiting blogs or linking up here, I’d also encourage you to check back the day or two before to see if you missed any after you posted your link.

Also remember, you don’t have to do every one. So if there are just some you want, feel free to join us! Obviously we hope you’ll do the whole challenge with us, but it can be tough as well. 

Here are the themes… and I hope to see you join up! My hope is with giving you all of the themes well in advance, maybe more people will get involved being they can write ahead and schedule. Then they just have to remember to comeback here and link up!

  • Wednesday, January 3: Gettin’ cheesy with it. 
  • Thursday, January 4: Inked
  • Friday, January 5: My feet hurt
  • Monday, January 8:  It’s all about the click. 
  • Tuesday, January 9: Streaming and more streaming
  • Wednesday, January 10: If I had a million dollars … 
  • Thursday, January 11: Hello. 
  • Friday, January 12: Thumbs up!
  • Monday, January 15: I don’t want to adult today
  • Tuesday, January 16: Let’s all go to the movies … 
  • Wednesday, January 17: At least I have my … 
  • Thursday, January 18: Maybe
  • Friday, January 19: Where will you roam?
  • Monday, January 22: Sometimes I wonder … 
  • Tuesday, January 23: Finding peace
  • Wednesday, January 24: Emoji! 
  • Thursday, January 25: If you build it … 
  • Friday, January 26: What is your personality?
  • Monday, January 29: Bark, baby, bark
  • Tuesday, January 30: I throw my hands up in the air sometimes …

And there we go! All of the themes, well in advance! I hope you will all be able to join us and have some fun with it. Interpret things the way you see fit. Just remember to come back and link up when the day comes!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook!

Photo Blogging Challenge (September 2023): Simple

First, I realized midway through the month that I had put the wrong theme up!

Oooops!

Alas, it’s no biggie as the beauty is still in interpretation!

Personally, I’ve tried to simplify things in life. Enjoy the things that matter and go about life the best way I can. The thing is with “simple” — it will differ to people. Simple can be used in many ways and still, in a way, be complex.

That’s the beauty in so many things, no?

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Our lives and our world are complex and far from simple. We work, work, work … don’t usually get enough down time, and then we have to deal with everything else. That can be issues to you, or the political spectrum, or illnesses, or finances, or … you name it.

Then add social media and technology to the picture and it amps it up that much more.

I still look back to being a kid. Where the best video game system was first and Atari, and then a Nintendo. The internet? Bah! We played outside all day, drinking out of creeks and hoses, and had fun.

Simple.

So where does your simple go? Some of us may wonder if it would be simple to us, or if it would be way more complex and crazy.

Let’s hear it. Here are my five for the month.

Anyway, onward. Here’s my five for the month!

1. Sunrise

One of my bucket list items has been to see a sunrise on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park (Maine). After Covid-19, our National Parks have become more and more busy. That’s good because they are being utilized. However, it also puts some restrictions on things. One thing is sunrise access to Cadillac Mountain. You now need a ticket, and during certain months, you can only get one per car per week. That means you have to roll the dice and hope for the best.

On my recent trip to Maine, we waited and watched the weather. We watched as a hurricane came up the coast and was a tropical storm by the time it hit here. I made a reservation for the day before we were leaving and hoped it worked out.

We weren’t disappointed.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me why, during my vacations, do I get up so early. And honestly, it’s because of things like this. We have a lot of simple pleasures in life. Something like this is totally worth waking up for. Even Harper soaked it in.

2. Sunset baseball

In what was my final baseball game of the year, we had a really nice sunset. This was in Portland, Maine. A bark in the park game where Harper got to walk around the field, and then this view. Perfect and simple!

3. Lighthouse

Maine’s trip was mainly in the Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park area. But we spent one night and one morning in Portland. Of course, we also hit up Portland Head Lighthouse, which is an amazing view. Though I took a bunch of photos, this one of Harper actually posing and enjoying it, was priceless.

4. Stop for a stick

If we all lived the way dogs do, life sure would be more simple, no? On our one daytime trip down Cadillac Mountain, we stopped at one of the pullouts and wandered around for some amazing views. Harper, of course, found a stick. So we sat there a bit … checking out the view … and letting Harper chomp on a stick for a while. It’s almost as if she was like … “Hey, this is where you simplify life!”

5. Pizza!

There’s not many more simple pleasures in life than good pizza!

There’s my five and let’s see what you came up with! If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

** CHALLENGE CHANGE **

From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.

That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.

So, below is the linkup for September. Make sure you drop your link there.

OK, so it’s time to keep on moving! It’s October’s turn! And our theme for the month? Experiences! How do you handle this theme? Remember to come back on (hopefully) November 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!

Photo Blogging Challenge: September 2023 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook!

Photo Blogging Challenge (August 2023): Happy place

OK, I am sure you all know my main happy place.

But let me explain it a little bit more.

When I first got Harper a couple of years ago, I knew it would change my perspective on life, and also it would change how I lived my life. But several friends have dogs and it didn’t mess with their lifestyles at all.

They don’t have Harper!

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Harper has really helped me get a grasp on life, especially as I approach 50. I’ve changed the way I look at things and how I do things. I’m not always on the go. And she is usually with me.

When she’s not, it’s even more odd.

Case in point … I went to two Phillies games this month. Neither time was she with me. The second time, she stayed at her daycare place to board for the night. Waking up the next morning and not having to take her for a walk — I didn’t go walk either, as I figured it would feel really odd. And in the end it was good as I needed a little extra sleep.

But my happy place usually involves her.

Harper is, by far, a massive part of these photo challenges for me. Though I have been trying to get other things in here, sometimes it’s hard. As I said above, she’s always with me. So … and is a really good photo subject.

What is your happy place?

Anyway, onward. Here’s my five for the month!

1. Give me a chair!

Harper is so happy. She doesn’t always stay still for photos, but when I can get her to do so sometimes, it really is nice. Especially with the colors on this day! So nice! Happy place, indeed!

2. So pretty

As I’ve gotten older, I love being around the water more. River, creek, ocean — you name it. I enjoy the times I get to go to the beach. This was on a recent walk when Harper was on this bench just kind of enjoying life. And if she’d happy, I’m usually quite happy, too.

3. My backyard

My backyard is getting some work this summer. A new patio, and a pavilion. Going to hopefully build some furniture soon. And Harper seems to like it. I’ll have a Blackstone out there, as well as my Ooni pizza oven. It’s truly a happy place.

4. Baseball

The ballpark has always been a happy place for me. I love settling in and watching a game. And yes, I love the pitch clock. Speeds the game up so there’s no silly things to slow it down. Love going to Philly for a few games a year, too.

5. Baseball 2

Baseball is even more fun on bark in the park nights. I love being able to bring Harper, who provides me with so much happiness, to the ballpark, which is one of my favorite places to be.

There’s my five and let’s see what you came up with! If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

** CHALLENGE CHANGE **

From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.

That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.

So, below is the linkup for August. Make sure you drop your link there.

OK, so it’s time to keep on moving! It’s September’s turn! And our theme for the month? Simple! How do you define simple? What is simple to you? Or… how will you interpret? Remember to come back on (hopefully) October 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!

Photo Blogging Challenge: August 2023 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook!