Gratitude Journal Monday

Girlfriends are so important in helping make a woman's life stronger and more fun. We gain strength from our best buds as we share our troubles and triumphs; figuring out the world, our kids, and our husbands. It's a give and take, a ritual of friendship that lasts through the years. I'm so lucky to have a few that are the best!

401. I'm grateful to be spending the day with my bestest bud who is such an awesome friend.
402. I'm grateful for Panera, where we'll be having breakfast and where I can make up for missing her birthday (sorry).
403.I am mega-grateful for the Children's Place sale we stumbled upon so I could stock up on some great clothes for Kiddo for even greater prices.
404. I am grateful for friends that encourage me, lift me up, and are honest with me when I need to be put down gently.
405. I am grateful for the smell of Spring that is distinctly in the air today, giving me false hope for an early change in seasons. 
 

Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 81.

Goodbye glorious week that just made me feel happy, simply happy.
Goodbye reflecting on that happiness and realizing it came about, not because something big happened in my life, but because I just lived life simply.
Goodbye naturally cleared driveway thanks to the rain and warmer temperatures.
Goodbye loving this fiction book (I know, shocking) I'm reading, given to me by a friend - thank you!
Goodbye to stepping out of my comfort-zone, trying new things, and throwing caution to the wind.

Hello feeling the joy of having really great friends.
Hello long weekend, thanks to parent/teacher conferences.
Hello being in a really good place in my life right now and wondering if I want to risk upsetting that with a change of focus.
Hello going to a Whirley Ball birthday party for one of my son's awesome friends.
Hello attending a smoochie baby shower at a primo Italian restaurant - yum and pass the cannoli.

The lesson I learned this week is how reflective I am as a person, and how non-reflective most people can be. I think about things A LOT. I analyze, I evaluate, I ponder on just about everything and yet, it's hard to find people who want to discuss on those epiphanies I so delight in exploring. Is it that most people aren't deep thinkers? Is it that they don't have the time to think into the deep crevices and corners of ponderance because the busyness of life has overtaken the dreaming parts of our brains? Maybe? But, I've got my thinking cronies and I love them with all that I am. The discussions are revolutionary, if I do say so myself. I will not change because it is who I am. At times I can find myself to be alone, but alone I will never be, really, as I'll always have my thoughts to keep me company.

Make sure your thoughts are the kind of company you want to keep. Happy Weekend! 
   

Phoning It In

I'm phoning it in today. My son has a half day of school today so in between drop-off and pick-up, I'll be visiting my Grandmother, sharing time, a few chuckles, and some breakfast sandwiches from McDonald's (her favorite). Then, there's parent/teacher conferences tonight and tomorrow. Kiddo will be spending the night at my parents' house since there's no school on Friday, lucky duck. They love him so much and spoil him rotten. I'm spoiled, too! Spoiled with a 25-page report card (God, I do love this school). So, there it is. No big, mind-blowing revelation. No deep post that hits the inner core. Just a simple "hello" and "see ya tomorrow". Toodles!

What I Made Wednesday {Bursting Heart: Love You More}

Does it get any sweeter than when you have the following conversation?

Me: "Love you, Kiddo."

Kiddo: "Love you more, mom."

Me: "Love you most."

Kiddo: "Love you mostest."

It's those times I want to remember forever and celebrate today. For all the smoochiness in the world, this project is dedicated to loving mostest!

What You'll Need

 

Heart-Shaped Punch
Panoramic Photo Frame
3 contrasting cardstock papers
Letter stickers
Glue stick (not shown)
Scissors (in case you need to cut the paper)








What You'll Do

Take the frame apart and save the glass for another project (a 2 for 1).

Trace your cardstock to the right shape to fit the frame and cut.

Go ahead and place it back into the frame, without the glass, remember?

Get cozy with your puncher and start punching away. I actually only ended up needing about 4 in each color.

 
 
Fold each and every heart perfectly in half. You're working with cardstock so it may be difficult to get a tight crease. If you find this to be the case, take a pencil you have laying around and use it to help make the fold tighter by running the edge of the pencil over the fold.

Glue each heart, alternating colors, half back, to half back, so you end up with a stack of folded in-half hearts. When opened you should have a fan of hearts.

Lay the fan out and apply glue to the end hearts on each side of the fan. Stick it right smack dab in the middle of your cardstock that's already in the frame.


 
What You'll Need to Know to Finish
Now the easy part, take your letter stickers and start spelling out "Love You" to the left of the fanned heart and "Love You More" on the right side of the heart. I ran out of "O"s so I had to use zeros. I don't think anyone will notice.

It's always a good idea to work backwards when getting letters placed where you want them.

Now, how cute and easy was that?

 


 

I Am Enough

Linking up with Ashley Stock from Little Miss Momma to write my "Enough" statement. I encourage you to sit a spell and write your own.

I am caring.
I try to be kind.
I aspire to judge not.
I give many chances.
I fear not being enough.
But, I am enough.
I am my son's biggest fan.
I am my husband's best friend and he is mine.
I care for and protect my family with a fierce heart.
I am a warrior of righteousness.
I am enough.
Some days I fall short.
Some days I soar to the moon.
Most days I just hover.
But, I am always enough.
I believe.
I trust.
I love.
I die to self.
My actions have purpose.
I follow my heart.
I can do hard things.

My expectations are high.

My intentions are good.

My forgiveness is constant.

My friends are few.

But it is enough.

My hands are busy.

My mind races.

My creativity is infinite.

I am blessed in knowing my true self is always enough.

   
    

Gratitude Journal Monday

After seeing this commercial during last night's Super Bowl, who isn't romanticizing about being a farmer, working the land, and, through the sweat off our backs, glistening in the simplicity of God's approval and having it be enough? Paul Harvey's words are powerful, the images Dodge Ram chose to go with those words are even more so. It brings us to a simpler time, it reminds us from where we get our nourishment, and in ways beyond the fullness of our bellies. God bless the farmer, for it is the farmer that blesses us.

396. Thank you to the hard-working farmer who dedicates his life to the land.
397. I am grateful to the local farmers who come out every weekend during the summertime to set-up shop at the market and sell their beautiful produce - support your local farmers.
398. I am appreciative to God for the variety of fruits and vegetables that we are gifted from the land.
399. I thank the farmer for his caring heart and belief in tradition to make farming generational and ongoing.
400. I am grateful for the rough, dry hands of the farmer, the understanding heart of the farmer's wife, and the freckled, sun-kissed faces of the farmer's children - God bless each one.

Do you shop at farmers' stands in the summertime?

Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 80.

At work on Panama.

Goodbye looong week after having the normal 5 days of school (how unusual).
Goodbye Panama project as it traveled out of the house and into the school - clean-up time.
Goodbye attending an Internet Safety meeting at school and wondering how there could possibly be that many creepy people in the world trying to connect with our kids online - scary.
Goodbye waking up to a foot of snow, having the local school closed but not Kiddo's (thanks for driving today, Super Hubby).
Goodbye January as we're off to a good start for 2013.

Sweet child o' mine!

Hello February as you came with a full blast of white, dressing the trees and bushes in beautiful splendor. 
Hello fighting the snow pockets and ice sheets as we maneuver around this weekend.
Hello 5th Grade Parent Party and hoping everyone likes the menu, planned under severe budgetary constraints.
Hello budgeting the Parent Party appropriately so we have more funds to give the kids an awesome party at the end of the year (parents always make the sacrifices).
Hello mixing baseball and football on Sunday: baseball training in the morn, Super Bowl at night, eating junk food all day long! 

The lesson I learned this week is it's never, ever as bad as it seems. I caught myself complaining to a friend over lunch about the stupidest things. There I was just venting. Ever have those moments where you leave your body and actually see outside yourself? I saw myself being ungrateful for what I had, complaining because I didn't have more, and sounding so trite and shallow. I was embarassed as I reflected back to that luncheon later in the week. What caused the reflection?

Source

For Kiddo's Panama project we needed yucca root and the only place to get it is a Spanish Supermarket in downtown Cleveland, not the best side of town, may I add. Super Hubby stopped in on his way home and shared his experience. After passing several bums living on the side of the road, he entered the store to find the yucca root. While there, another bum off the street came into the store and begged the owner for an opportunity to shovel the front of the store for a dollar. $1, people! Perspective! Embarassed by the riches I have, the luck I had to be plopped into a life where, any where else in the world would be considered sheer luxury. I'm about to do something drastic - I'm going to go out of my comfort-zone, out on a limb. Here's what I'm going to do: STOP COMPLAINING! I'm cursed with this character trait as part of my nature but I've got to get a grip, gain control, and put a stop to such wasted breaths. So, here I go, (I know Super Hubby is rolling with laughter, if he's reading this) starting..........NOW!