A Spirit of Gratitude: May 31

I Am Thankful For:

A perfect weather day

Fruit pops

Hearing a mockingbird

Making a decision

Start of a 3 day weekend

When a song I haven't heard in a long, looong time comes on the radio

Meeting my health goals for the whole week

The Indigo Bunting at the bird feeder

Lemon pound cake

The smell of meet cooking on the grill

All the little cousins playing together

The breeze just before the rain starts

Rain all day

Having my guys home for an extra day

Disney planning

We didn't flood

Orange seltzer water when I'm craving a soda

Squirrel on the porch

What are YOU thankful for this week?

Sunday Inspiration: Instead

A Spirit of Gratitude: May 24

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

Pork Tacos
Binge watching Land Girls
Macaroni and cheese with bacon
Journaling
The rain held off long enough for me to get the grocery shopping done
Everything looks so green and lush as a result of all the rain
Healthy lunch ideas
The pitter-patter of kitty paws
Getting my hair trimmed
Licorice all-sorts
Lazy Sunday that still manages to be productive
A little sunshine
Lunches planned and prepped
When everything gets done
A whole day of no rain
A cup of green tea
Meatless Monday Tacos
Quiet
A cool breeze
A pair of mourning doves
A big blue bird sitting on the cable

I just realized that I ate a lot of tacos over the past week!  🌮 And I'm not a bit sorry about it!  What are YOU thankful for this week?

Rain, Rain... Go Away

It has been raining around here. Like... a lot.  Every day for at least the past week.  Not just a lot.  A LOT.  As in - "maybe we should give some serious thought to building that ark" rain.

With a chance of more rain in the forecast for every day this week.

The first day of the endless rainfall took down our little crab apple tree in the front yard.

A couple of months ago the Female Offspring's boyfriend asked me if the tree was leaning and I said "I don't think so".  Apparently... I was wrong.

I'm sad that it's gone.  This tree was a great tree.  It was pretty when it bloomed in the spring. Or when it was covered in snow during the winter.  It was nice and shady in the summer.  And a favorite climbing tree of both offspring and the grand kid.

The blessing in this story is that it's the smallest tree in the yard.  Too small to reach any of the cars or the house, so no damage was done.

Now, we just need it to stop raining long enough for the Man of the House to be able to cut it up and cart it off.

There has been a lot of flooding in the area.  And just south of here, they were dealing with some mudslides the other night.  Which makes me feel very blessed that one  small tree falling and having to take the long way around to go get my hair cut due to a closed road was the worst we had to deal with.  

Now, I'm just praying for a days of sunshine so the ground can dry out a bit and the river levels can start dropping.

Sunday Inspiration: They Never Forget

A Spirit of Gratitude: May 17

I Am Thankful For:

Stories to tell

Meal planning

A simple dinner

Mother's Day shopping

Brilliant ideas from the Man of the House

Delicious lasagna

Having all the family moms over for dinner

Pretty flowers

Not letting the drama get to me

Leftovers for lunch - and dinner

A chance to get planning done

Meeting all my health goals for the day

A feeling of accomplishment

New blocking boards

Delicious vegetarian meal

Clean sheet day

What are YOU thankful for this week?

 

Sunday Inspiration: A Mother's Love

Fresh Water

Yesterday morning, I was sitting at the table working on some stuff online for my Etsy shop when the dog walked over to his water bowl and started whining.  There's nothing unusual about that.  He often does it when to let us know that he's out of water and feeling thirsty. 

(He whines about a lot of stuff, he's a very anxious dog)

I walked over and bent to remove the canister portion of the water bowl.  And that's when I saw it...

There was a dead mouse in the dog's water bowl!!!

Eeeeeeeeewwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!

After screaming - and successfully NOT throwing up - I removed the canister, took the bowl portion outside and tossed the water and it's deceased resident out into the back yard. 

(side note to the Man of the House:  oh, btw honey - I forgot to mention that there's now a dead mouse somewhere in the backyard.  Assuming the crows or some other scavenger haven't carried it off.)

Needless to say - the entire water bowl got a good scrubbing with scalding hot water.  And now has nice, fresh, not rodent flavored water.

Now, I'm off to have a very stern talk with the cat!

A Spirit of Gratitude: May 10

I Am Thankful For:
Hummingbirds

The morning breeze
Listening to the thunder in the distance
A visit from my mom
A good morning
A yummy new chicken recipe
Waking up early
New shirts for the Male Offspring
When the Man of the House tells me I'm pretty
Going to the movie with my guys
Breaking out of my recipe comfort zone
Sunrise

Listening to thunder in the distance
A rain shower to help clear pollen out of the air
When I do nothing to fix my hair and it still looks good
Reading the Bible when I can't sleep
Realizing I have some extra time to slow down
Healthy dinners

What are you thankful for this week?

With love,

Sunday Inspiration: Keep It Close

A Spirit of Gratitude: May 3

I Am Thankful For:

Tomorrows

A Skype and a phone call

Feeling a little bit organized

Days that go by quickly

That first glimpse of the Man of the House at the airport

He's back home where he belongs

Sunny Saturday mornings

Iced coffee

Listening to music with my guys

Making the Male Offspring laugh

Trying new recipes that sound fancy but are pretty easy

"Not a cloud in the sky" weather

Birds loudly calling to each other on the porch railing

Sleepy Man of the House

Window shopping with the Female Offspring

Biscuits

The surprise of a double yolk

What are YOU thankful for this week?

With Love,

When We're Apart

As I mentioned in my "Currently" post for May, the Man of the House was in Tokyo, Japan for a week at the end of last month. I always miss him anytime he's away, but it's even tougher to be apart when he's on the other side of the planet. 

The time difference can make it a challenge to schedule phone calls or time for Skype.  Fortunately we were able to work it out that when he would be getting ready to go to bed for the evening was during my late morning, and his early morning before he would head out for work activities was my early evening.  So we could squeeze in some brief communication during those times.  And thank goodness for texting!

I managed to keep myself pretty busy while he was away.  Spending time with the Male Offspring, went for coffee and a little Target browsing with the Female Offspring and the grand kid, completed some customer orders, and worked on some new project ideas for the etsy shop. 

There is an upside to those times when we have to be away from each other.  Missing him helps remind me how very much I love him and how important he is to me. It makes me appreciate him more when he is home and keeps me very thankful that he's a part of my life.  

Of course, the best part of any time the Man of the House has to be away is when he comes home.  That moment I first see him at the airport and my heart starts racing.  I feel like an infatuated young girl falling in love all over again.

OK... enough mushy stuff for one day.



 
With Love,

Currently... May 2018

Happy May y'all!

So far, this has been one of those Springs that keeps us guessing.  Winter hasn't wanted to give up its grip on the weather, which just makes us appreciate those warm seasonal days that much more.  Now that May is here, we will hopefully have many more of the sunny, warn (but not hot) days to enjoy.

One of the things I like about the changing of the months is that it's a fresh new start. It's a good time to take a look at what's currently going on in your life.  I enjoy sitting down with my calendar to set goals and make plans for the month.

Reading:  Because I can't seem to get enough of anything related to the British or Russian royals, I am reading  The Romanovs: The Final Chapter  by Robert K. Massie.  It's an interesting account of discovering and identifying the remains of the last Tsar and his family, as well as how DNA comparisons managed to confirm or deny the claims of those who said they were members of the family rescued from the execution.

I am also still working my way through The One Thing by Gary Keller.  I got distracted and didn't make much progress through it during April.  

Enjoying:  Having the Man of the House back home.  He was in Japan for an entire week at the end of last month and I missed him very much. It's good to have him back where he belongs.  

Working On:  My plan for May is to try some new recipes - especially some that are outside my usual comfort zones.  Sunday night I made beef bourguignon, which was delicious!  In fact, I'm eating the leftovers as I write this and it's just as yummy reheated.  I also found a recipe for a vegetarian version made with mushrooms instead of the beef and I can't wait to try that also.  The Man of the House was also talking about trying some Ramen recipes. Real Ramen, not the super cheap packets of stuff so many of us survived on during our college days.  

Anticipating:  Summer vacation!  We are taking the grand kid for his first ever Disney vacation later this summer and I am SO excited to share that experience with him!

Wanting:  To lose a little weight before that vacation.  

Needing:  Enough time to complete orders for my customers and still work on some new product ideas and items to build up my stock of ready-to-ship items.

Feeling:  A little yucky.  The Male Offspring and I ate MUCH too much junk food while the Man of the House was out of town and it has certainly caught up with me.  I have felt bloated and just "bleh" for several days now.  I think I should probably live on nothing but fruits, veggies, and maybe some nuts for the next week or two just to give my poor digestive system a chance to recover.  

What are you currently up to as we move into May?

 With Love,