Recently Enjoyed Happiness

So, yes it is 12:30 in the morning at the moment and I should be sleeping. I just need to wind down a little bit first. So here is some recently enjoyed happiness that I would like to share.


* Every letter I receive from Mr. Sir who is at basic training makes my heart soar. No matter how short.

* A shooting star that I saw a few nights ago reminded me that my evening lined up just perfectly to give me the chance to see it. Everything happens for a reason.

* At work tonight a very elderly resident told me "Thank you so much, You don't know what this means to me." It was the only thing she said during my entire 8 hour shift. Reminded me that every act I do, no matter how small can be appreciated. It also reminded me that life is short. Be kind. The things that you say can touch a person to the very soul.

* Chocolate chip cookie dough. In a waffle iron. Enough said.

* I bought hazelnut coffee creamer for the first time in a long time. I forget how much I love that stuff and how much more I enjoy coffee with it.

* Bubble baths are enjoyed by all. Especially tired one year old's.

 

 

* Also, some more happiness enjoyed by James and I. This momma gave him something to play with where his only job is TO make a mess! A little boy's dream. (Cloud dough: 1 cup baby cereal with enough coconut oil to make it hold its shape a bit.) The best part of this recipe is that it is edible! He plays AND gets a snack. Win!

Live and Love!

Listening and 15 things that I love.

You know what? One thing that I am really bad at is listening to myself. I am so busy listening to other people, trying to impress them or make them happy. I have always been that way. I am a mediator; need a compromise? Come to me. I see both sides of the story and am always trying to make everybody happy. It is just who I am. I have accepted that.

The problem with trying to make everybody happy is that I don't always realize until later that my decision didn't exactly make ME happy. I am in charge of me. I am in charge of my happiness. I am a pretty darn happy person and it takes a lot to wear me down but when it does, I crash. I eat chocolate and ice cream in the bubbly bathtub watching marathons of sappy television shows for multiple nights in a row until I break out of the funk and become my usual peppy person.

So I haven't done a happiness list in a while. This is to remind me why I love life.

15 Things That Make Me Happy

1. My husbands hug.
2. Bubble Bath's with chocolate, hot tea, and a sappy drama filled television show (or a good book).
3. Big fluffy snowflakes; I am talking BIG, like quarter sized snowflakes. So beautiful.
4. Dressing up 'Just Because'. It always brightens my day when I look good.
5. My son's baby giggle.
6. The quiet peaceful time during devotions when I remember that God is always in charge.
7. Jamming out and dancing to the perfect song for my mood. (Whether it is Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, or Katy Perry)
8. A clean apartment. Cheers me up and just makes me happy.
9. Finishing a project and seeing the final result.
10. Visiting with family whether on the phone, via facebook, or in person.
11. The little bit of time before bed when I sit and relax in bed with a cup of tea and messing around on my Kindle.
12. Fresh bread with butter.
13. Board games.
14. Nice warm leggings under my winter clothes. Makes things "Oh, so cozy."
15. My memory foam mattress. It's rare that I have had a sore nights sleep (not counting pregnancy, and post pregnancy sleep).

One thing my little man loves is pancakes. Another, is his Daddy.

Go on out and Live and Love.

Baby in a pod.

I love to post about other people's art. There is so much talent out there. 

One of the gifts that I received this year was my baby pod. My mother works with polymer clay and owns Quilted in Clay. Go ahead and check out her website. I promise, you will  be awed like I am every time she makes something new.

Anywho, when my sisters had babies she made them pods. My next eldest sister got her pod when my niece was born and then my eldest sister got a pod with twins inside (two peas in a pod!) when my twin nephews were born.

This year I received mine for James.

Talk about an adorable little pod!

 I also got one of her new barrettes. I love the orange ones!

She is so talented.

Live and Love

Ice Crystals- Beauty in the details

Jack Frost has been nipping at my nose.... and my window. Mr. Sir, James and I watched "Rise of the Guardians". It was a really adorable movie. So when I saw this frost on my window I immediately thought of that movie.

Sometimes beauty really is in the details. I had to take pictures and share.

Live and Love

P-P-P-Pie Day.

My sister had this brilliant idea of doing a pie day after Thanksgiving this year. Because really, we always have a ton of leftovers and it usually ends up being turkey sandwiches. After many years of turkey sandwiches; it was time for a change. A pie change. Instead of going out and buying crusts I decided to make ours in advance so I came equipped with 5 wheat pie crusts (lesson learned: next time don't play with the pie crust recipe and just make them white crusts instead of getting fancy and adding wheat flour, they baked a little tough)

So our Post-Thanksgiving menu consisted of
- Leftover Turkey Pot Pie with veggies and leftover brussel sprouts.
- 2 Apple Pies
- Leftover Pumpkin pie
- and an absolutely delicious Pecan Pie

Pot Pies

I made the pot pie, my sister made the apple pies (with both fresh granny smith apples and some frozen apples that I prepared earlier this fall), and our mother made the pecan pie.

Apple, Pecan, and Pot Pies

The pecan pie was wonderful, it was made with dates and date sugar with only a little bit of brown sugar used. It was so sweet you could only eat 1/2 a slice with a cup of coffee. It was wonderful (in my opinion, because I like sweets).It also had an almond flour crust. Nice and nutty with the pecans.

Apple Pies

My sister also brought some Apple Mead. Oh. My. Word. Chilled Apple Mead = Complete Bliss.

Apple Pie

I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Live and Love

Enjoy the Bright Side

I am ever the optimist. Always have tried to be too. I feel that life is just so much better and happier if you can keep a smile on your face and always see the bright side of any situation.

Tail light is broken? Oh, well I was in too much of a rush anyways, look at the beautiful day!

Find out you are allergic to dust mites which are anywhere and everywhere? Now I know what the allergy is so I can attempt to control the breakouts a little better.

Find out that your life has been completely uprooted and you are moving to a different state, finding somewhere to live, and jobs for two people in a very short amount of time? Well, it is time for a new chapter anyways. Some change is always welcome. And we are just too far away from family at the moment.

All of the above have happened to me lately. Right now the best thing that I can do is stay positive and know that He has a plan for me. Why bum around in a sour mood if just a little bit of effort on my part can make everything go that much smoother. I am not just going to sit around and pout. I will do my research, take my time, and try figure out the best course of action.

I have a challenge for you. Next time something goes horribly wrong. Just pause, breathe and try to find the bright side. I promise you, it is there.

Live and Love

What do you do?

What do you do when you don’t know what to do?

Do you cry, or do you smile?

Maybe you just stay still for a little while.

Do you look at your loved ones

And dream of the day;

When you know that everything will be okay?

Do you walk in fresh air

And envision no cares?

Or is your worry in flight

as you try to sleep through the night?

And what do you do when life is confusing?

Do you sit around the house musing?

Do you make your decisions

with the utmost precision?

Or do you search and search

and realize with a lurch,

that all you can do

is stay

true.

 Live and Love

The Kittycats

These are my kittycats. Luna I have posted about before. We adopted her a year and a half ago, she has gone from being anorexic, to obese and now is on a strict diet and is a normal sized cat again.

A couple of months ago, Mr. Sir's good friend randomly showed up with Magius, the fluffy orange and white kitty. I was mad at first. Until I fell in love. Magius (a.k.a Gius) is such a sweetheart and is a super cuddly lovey kitty cat. The tufts of white/orange hair all over the house do get irritating. But he makes up for it when he starts cuddling or looks at me with those huge eyes.

                                 
                                  Live and Love

Things that I love......

Alrighty then, seeing as it is September and for the first time in about 14 years I am not starting school of some type I did a little research, Read this little article about happiness and smoking (and by no means am I telling people to smoke!!! I find it disgusting.) But it will give you just a little bit of insight. (Click the purple letters to get to the article) 

And now here are a list of things that I love (these are in no particular order)

1. Jesus
2. My Husband
3. Sitting by the window on a warm breezy day reading a book.
4. Thunderstorms with lots of lightning and thunder
5. Cooking and Baking
6. After you play guitar for a few days and your fingers get all callused up, so that you can play for a longer period of time without your finger tips feeling raw.
7. "I Love Lucy" and "MASH" talk about good ole comedy to brighten up your day
8. Soda - There is nothing like living on a budget that makes you not want to waste money on soda, but on the occasion that you buy a treat, half a sprite mixed up with some fruit juice. Oh so good.
9. Living on a budget- it makes me take joy in the simple things, like patching up an old quilt. And knowing that in about 5 years all of our college loans will be paid off and we will be able to save for better things. It also makes me feel savvy and smart when we get to the end of a month, and everything balanced out. Ok, so maybe thats not EVERY month but things happen.
10. Fresh Fruit and Vegetables- thanks to my mother-in-law we have an abundance of veggies and apples that are just super super delicious, also some are packed away in the freezer so that we know in the winter, just gotta pull out a baggie of green beans for some deliciousness.
11. Writing Letters
12. The Library
13. When my kitty Luna gets all cuddly (Usually because its 5:05 p.m. and she wants her supper, she gets fed at 5, and knows it!)
14. Listening to the radio- I get more done, than if I had a movie or the television on and who would argue with some good music
15. Going for long walks with my ipod, or without my ipod. Just walks in general are good.
16. Starting a new project
17. Finishing a project
18. My Family
19. Playing guitar with my husband
20. Being able to not go onto Facebook for a few days, and not realizing it until I look at my last status. Facebook is too much of a time waster.

And that would be about it for now, sure there are lots more things that I love, but I don't want my list to get ridiculous. 

~Live and Love~

Top 20 things that I < 3

1) Cuddling up with a movie, a hot drink, and my boy.

2) Thunder
storms
3) When you are flipping through channels on the TV and you find your favorite movie.
4) When spring comes and there are trees that are absolutely covered in flowers.
a) And other little miracles like that, that God creates.
5) Hanging out and laughing with friends.
6) Seeing a finished project and remembering all of the hard work put into it.
7) Getting more than 8 hours of sleep but less than 11 in a warm, soft, comfy bed.
8) Freshly squeezed Apple Cider in the fall.
9) Long walks in the country.
10) Doing well on something that you worked hard for.
11) Chocolate
12) Looking through old pictures and remembering the good times.
13) Tying a new pair of sneakers nice'n tight and going for a jog or walk.
14) Making music to relax.
15) Knowing that in the end, all that will matter is that you enjoyed your life and lived it to your fullest.
16) Reading books for fun.
17) Getting a new notebook and brand new markers, colored pencils, or crayons to fill it up with.
18) Finding that perfect accessory that goes with any outfit, whether or not you get ready for the day or just roll out of bed. a.k.a - headbands, scarves, hats....etc.
19) Monday mornings. It is the only day of the week where you can wake up in the morning and think "This is going to be a great week!" and then I spend time getting ready and looking great before I leave the room.
20) That occasional moment when the world seems to be absolutely perfect and things may be wrong but you know that can get through them.