Little Merry Sunshine

Category: Gratitude

July 1, 2018: Little Merry Sunshine's 11th anniversary

Today is the 11th anniversary of the day I began writing Little Merry Sunshine. Eleven years ago, I thought blogging was going to be a fun, new hobby, but didn’t think I’d really have any fans or regular readers. I also didn’t think I’d still be blogging 11 years later, but I am. Go figure.... Read more »

By Jessica Gardner,
July 1, 2018 at 6:52 pm •

Blogging isn't sexy, but I love it and ChicagoNow is my home

I began blogging on July 1, 2007 on Blogger because I wanted to create a place on the internet that celebrated what was good in life and I was curious whether anyone would read the randomness that stumbles out of my brain. Even in the halcyon days of 2007, social media and, more generally, the... Read more »

By Jessica Gardner,
April 22, 2018 at 9:09 pm •

Is my headshot a gigantic lie?

Like most people who use LinkedIn or have a professional presence, I had a professional headshot taken two years ago. While the photo is beautiful and I love it for a million reasons, I struggle with whether or not I’m being honest by having this photo out in the world as a representation of me. Like... Read more »

By Jessica Gardner,
April 25, 2017 at 11:10 am •

Once upon a time, flying United really was flying the friendly skies

Like the entire country, I’ve been riveted to and horrified by the story of Dr. David Dao being assaulted and dragged off a United Airlines flight between O’Hare and Louisville for the grievous offense of being unwilling to give up his seat on an overbooked United flight. Today we learned that Dr. Dao has a... Read more »

By Jessica Gardner,
April 13, 2017 at 3:57 pm •

My top 10 favorite experiences of 2016

#1 The year began with the Totally Fabulous Jessica party thrown by Tim and <a href="http://www.norpieswalltowall.com">Michael</a>. Yes, it was simply a party to celebrate ME! Joining in on the fun were Christopher, Wendy and Geoff, and <a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/organizing-with-erin">Erin</a>. Thank you all for spending an evening honoring me! Y'all have no idea how the memory of this evening carried me through some dark moments this year.

As 2016 quickly draws to a close, I need to stop and reflect upon the joy I felt this year. In fact, especially this year. By just about every measure, 2016 was a difficult year for many people. Generation X lost many of our pop culture idols; a presidential election went wonky at the last... Read more »

By Jessica Gardner,
December 31, 2016 at 3:13 pm •

Full Moon Restaurant: Where everyone receives a free Thanksgiving dinner

Do you dine at the Full Moon Restaurant? I first discovered the Full Moon as a first year student at Lake Forest College in 1989 when an upperclassman friend introduced me to this wonderful 24-hour truck stop just north of campus. Since that time, the Full Moon has been my second favorite restaurant. Second only... Read more »

By Jessica Gardner,
November 25, 2015 at 3:17 pm •

September 11 Gratitude and Memories

We all remember where we were on September 11 and I’m no exception. I’ve written about my experiences of September 11th twice – in 2009 and 2011 – and you can click on those links and read my story. While there are many things I wish to forget about September 11th and the wars that we entered as... Read more »

By Jessica Gardner,
September 11, 2015 at 12:02 pm •

July 25, 2015: The day the Cubs No-Hit Streak died

As a lifelong Cubs fan, I’ve had very little to get excited about over the past 44 years. Yes, there have been some exciting playoff runs in the past four decades, but they all ended in heartache and “wait til next year.” We had one record, however, that we could take incredible pride in because... Read more »

By Jessica Gardner,
July 27, 2015 at 10:21 am •

I received a Pay It Forward and it FREAKED ME OUT

We’re all familiar with the idea of “pay it forward” where one person performs a random act of kindness for another person with the hope that the recipient will be inspired to “pay it forward” and perform a random act of kindness for someone else in the future. We may have seen the movie, probably... Read more »

By Jessica Gardner,
June 21, 2015 at 2:36 pm •

Beth Prystowsky uses Multiple Sclerosis to spread compassion throughout the world

This is the first in a series of interviews with Little Merry Sunshine readers, LMS Reader Stories. If you’d like to be interviewed for this series, please read this post and send me an email. This past Sunday, I had the honor of sitting down and chatting with Beth Prystowsky, fellow ChicagoNow blogger and author... Read more »

By Jessica Gardner,
April 1, 2015 at 12:02 pm •

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