I {Heart} Apple ... and Hubby, Too!

I really do {heart} Apple

Just a few Fridays ago you may have noticed I was saying goodbye to my poor little "A" key on my laptop computer's keyboard. My little MacBook had enough of my daily blogging and coughed up the "A" key in protest. Although I pressed on, not missing a beat of my blogging responsibility to the world, my SuperHero Hubby noticed my frustration and leaped into action to alleviate my frustration! Why? Because he knows a frustrated wife and mommy usually means a frustrated household (so, in fact, he was really saving himself).

Long story short, my keyboard was broken, not just the "A" key, it had other issues. SuperHubby, being in the business, made a few phone calls and discovered my 5-year old MacBook's keyboard was under Apple's warranty!!!! Now I have a brand new keyboard top, sporting a brand new track pad, and missing no keys, all for zero dollars, nada, zilch, zero, nothing! Can you believe it?

Look at the pretty, brand new keyboard

It's no secret how in love I am with Apple (read my homage to Steve Jobs). But dear readers, I wish you all could know the pleasure of owning an Apple computer. It is absolutely delightful and a sheer joy. Apple stands behind their products and, although they aren't perfect, they strive to make the customer experience one where you walk away being pleasantly surprised by their "go-the-extra-mile" attitude. Thank you Apple and SuperHubby for my new, free keyboard for my MacBook (did I mention it's a 5-year old computer?). Apple...you continue to amaze and delight.

Disclosure: I was not, in any way, paid by Apple. This endorsement is my own. My husband's business does, in fact, generate income due to the existence of Apple. My love for Apple, however, goes far beyond putting food on the table.

Gratitude Journal Monday

Happy Monday, everybody! I hope you're keeping up with your Gratitude Journal. Not sure what I'm talking about, click here. A Gratitude Journal will change the way you view your life. For some, it may even save your life. I hope you begin one of your own today. Whether you join me here each Monday and make your own declarations in the Comments section, or you go out and buy a beautiful journal and write them down privately, I want to encourage you to get started. Change can't happen without taking action!

51. I am grateful for the warm, cozy blanket I can snuggle under to keep warm at night since we're not quite ready to turn on the furnace, just yet.

52. I am grateful for the awesome imagination my son uses while he plays and I hope he never loses it as he grows up.

53. I am grateful for weeds because if I didn't have to get rid of them, then I'm not sure I'd have the time to spend in the garden. Weeds force us to pay attention to the garden again and spend a little time in a world that can get neglected amongst the chaos.

54. I am grateful for exciting, innovative teaching methods that get our kids out of the classroom and into the thick of things, learning by doing, all week long!

55. I am grateful for my husband's change of luck. Let's hope it's a trend that continues.


Want to make life even better? Start with Commenting just one statement of gratitude, right here, today!

Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 12.

The ominous Autumn moon from our window one evening.

Goodbye meeting new bloggers who are fast becoming friends as we share our posts.
Goodbye inspiring school strategy meeting as we approach our centennial year in 2015.
Goodbye parent coffee meeting and taking over a back corner of Starbucks with new friends.
Goodbye warm weather as summertime becomes a faint memory.
Goodbye endless e-mails I must answer as it is my goal by end of day to day.

Hello newly born twin babies, new to mom and dad, new to the world. Congrats!
Hello spending some time doing some much needed weeding to neglected garden beds.
Hello to elephants crossing - wait- sorry, that was my son practicing trumpet.
Hello to experiential learning, off-campus, all next week, all fun!
Hello Autumn air hitting my senses with crispness and coolness - invigorating.

This week I learned the sweet spot of when to leave the house to take my son to school while avoiding rush hour traffic. This beautiful time of 7:25 am is a time that may not mean much to you, but my discovery of this sacred hour and minute means a less frazzled, calmer, more at peace me.

Finding Inspiration During Challenging Times

A LOVD glass pendant necklace - available on Etsy soon!

Stay positive, friends! Despite any of our circumstances, we are living in extraordinary times. Dear reader, it is no accident that you are living today, not 100 years ago, or even 100 years from now. You are here today! These times are yours. For me, I've discovered some truths in these ever-changing times.

Anymore, it's not about getting ahead, it's about holding on to what you already have.

Anymore, it's not about buying your heart's desire, it's about hearting what can't be bought.

Anymore, it's not about working more, it's about working. Period.

Anymore, it's not about finding happiness, it's about being happy in spite of circumstance.

Anymore, it's not about what you believe, it's about how much you believe in it.

Anymore, it's not about only you, it's about the world around you.

The great irony of today's times lends to a paradigm between technology advancements and finding the simpler aspects of life.

How would you complete the sentence? Anymore it's not about ______________, it's about ____________.

What I Made Wednesday {Oyster Cracker Nibblers}

Out of after-school snack ideas already? Try this crunchy, yummy, savory, easy-to-make recipe.



What You'll Need
1 bag oyster crackers (16 oz)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 pkg. dry Hidden Valley Ranch Original dressing
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon garlic powder

What You'll Do

In a large storage bowl with cover, dump in all the ingredients and shake well. For 2 hours, shake well every so often. The oil will absorb into the cracker.

What You'll Need to Know to Finish

Store in an airtight container, will keep for weeks. 35 crackers are only 100 calories! I've had these yummy crunchers on salads, soups, and have even used as chili toppers! The enhanced flavor of the cracker is so robust. I hope you try this recipe and enjoy!

What is your favorite, any-time snack?

 

Going Local: Big Fun Cleveland

"A cornucopia of delights, a cathedral of counter-culture, a warehouse of nerdabilia and nostalgia", Big Fun proclaims and I could not have said it better myself. One Saturday morning we packed up the kid and headed to the big city, Cleveland that is. Along the way we did, you know, the normal city things like checked-out a Cleveland city street turned New York demolished-street for the filming of the Avengers movie, ate the bestest, most freshest guacamole ever to be made in the city at 11:00 am (sorry for making you open early) with piping hot tortilla chips that have a tinge of cinnamon (if I'm not mistaken) at El Tango Taqueira. And even with a stroll through the West Side Market, we couldn't help but enjoy our time the most, meandering down memory lane getting back in touch with our childhood memories at a great toy shop called Big Fun Cleveland. 

Old is new, again.

You'll find those toys mom threw away or put in the garage sale at this wonderful shop! And to think, you can own it once again! Only now it's vintage and you'll just have to deal with sticker shock, but can you put a price on a memory? 

Click on the pic!

Click on the pic!

I am absolutely in love with all the antique fixtures holding and displaying all the fun toys from the past. Every drawer you open holds a treasure of nostalgia just waiting to be discovered.

I opened a drawer and there was my old Star Wars Princess Leia action figure staring me right in the face. I wasn't sure if she was saying, "Take me home! We have found each other once again" or perhaps it was "You again? Get lost, I've gotten along fine on my own without you." I'll admit, she was the only female action figure in the entire bin?!?! (Do you see what the movie Toy Story has done to my imagination?)

Search and you shall find.

My son had a blast looking at the old Spiderman comic books. He even bought one for $1 - whew, got off easy! I hope you take the time to take the kiddos to Big Fun Cleveland! It's a great place to hang out and introduce the younglings to the toys of the past that influenced your present. 

WARNING. WARNING. WARNING! Do not, I repeat, do not allow your children to wander through the store without your supervision. At all costs, do not meander to the far right back corner of the store. IT IS NOT FOR CHILDREN and their sign warning you of this is not at all big enough or bright enough to avoid marring innocent eyes of the young and truth be told, of the old, as well. Consider yourself warned. Everything else in the store was A-OK, G-rated.

Big Fun Cleveland is located at 11512 Clifton Blvd., Cleveland, OH, 44102. 216.631.4386
Their other location is located at 1814 Coventry Rd., Cleveland Heights, OH 44118. 216.371.4386

What was your favorite childhood toy?

Gratitude Journal Monday

Today is a difficult Monday to begin after yesterday's flooded memories of 9/11, a decade later. To honor, to pay tribute, to move ahead, to go on, even while carrying scars, to be better than before: no one does it better than America. Today's Gratitude Journal Monday is a remembrance of those lost on that day, those heroes of that day, and those that carry on in spite of that day.

46. I am grateful for all the courageous firefighters that were on the front lines that day doing their best to contribute to a situation never before dealt with on American soil.

47. I am grateful for the brave passengers of Flight 93 who used group effort and teamwork to probably save Washington D.C. from further danger and destruction.

48. I am grateful for the everyday office workers that became heroes as their unselfish efforts to get people to safety became their number one priority over saving themselves.

49. I am grateful for the memorial at Ground Zero because it allows for a final resting place for the innocent victims and gives their family members and friends a place to go and reflect.

50. I am ever so thankful for America's military who protect our freedoms and allow us to live life daily in peace without a second thought of what threats may be lurking.

Where were you on 9/11 a decade ago?