so many “happies”…

Ever get those “blue” kinda days? Well… yesterday was one for me. Not one thing. Or another. Just kinda blah…

And I had to go to the grocery store. UGH!!! Can I just go to the beach instead?? I hate going to the grocery store… unless it’s Trader Joes. I love me some Trader Joes. But I needed things that I couldn’t get at Trader Joes. So I had to go somewhere else… Yuck. So off I went. But I went with a plan.

My plan was simple, really. I was gonna focus on all the little “happies” along the way. First things first – a little fresh air. Sidenote. Those who know me well know that I am not a fan of driving around town in my car; running errands. I will keep my “Target” list going (and growing) until we are down to the last square of toilet paper. But that was then; this is now. One word… Pepper. Pepper is our “pepper white” Mini-Cooper convertible. And, Yes. I do believe in naming cars. So off I went; list in hand.

I experienced “happies” everywhere. Went to “Hen House” and fresh strawberries were on sale (3 lbs. regularly $8.99; On sale for $3.88!) and they were beautiful! Not on my list, so an unexpected treat! They had my favorite coffee back in stock – A really good thing since we were completely out! (refer back to the toilet paper comment earlier…)

For those of you who read my previous post, “farm fresh eggs“, you know that we were recently gifted with the most beautiful eggs; and I quote; “best fed chickens this side of the Mississippi…“. Needless to say, we happily devoured all of those; no problem! But; like coffee; we needed more eggs. Hen House stocks eggs from a local farm – pasture raised, antibiotic free, vegetarian fed hens. And they come with a great little extra. A sweet little note; different every time. Mine read “Wow. Such a beautiful day on the farm. Last night we had a nice rain shower so everything looks fresh and ready to grow! Just like you!” Awww… More “happies“. At the checkout I had a nice young gal who has Down Syndrome. She always makes me think of brother Mike. xoxo As she loaded groceries, we chatted as another young gal walked by with sweet little jingle bells on her tennis shoes. I just smiled…

As I was walking to my car, cart loaded, I saw a car with a license plate cover bearing the name “Seaside“. That’s our very, very favorite place/beach in Florida; where we hope to be someday… As a matter of fact, that’s exactly where we were last fall when my husband surprised me by telling me that we were getting “Pepper”!! Coincidence? I think not. This trip to the grocery store was just a full circle of “happies“. Just what the doctor ordered! I loaded up and climbed into Pepper. We cranked up the radio and watched the clouds roll by overhead. I have to say that now I totally get why dogs are obsessed with sticking their heads out of the window. Happy. So very, very happy.

Monday morning. I just took my dogs for a walk; starting the day with a little (more) fresh air. It’s a beautiful morning and this is a good thing. Why? I just realized that we’re almost ~~down to one square~~ out of toilet paper. Alrighty Pepper. Saddle up…

one lucky, lucky girl

2 / 24 / 13

As you know, I am kinda sorta playing “catch up” with my blog posts after my computer crashed… So today I am sharing with you a few images of my Valentine’s Day 2013. Morning began with a “Valentine Breakfast” for my two boys, complete with heart shaped pancakes, chicken apple sausage and sauteed apples with maple syrup. One of these “boys” I shared a first date with on Valentine’s Day 1980 (Yep. Do the math. That’s 33 years ago!!) and one I shared my big ‘ole belly with, along with his twin sister, some twenty-something years ago. Both of them loved and treasured… xo Each one of my boys surprised me when they came home from work with a beautiful bunch of flowers. Pink roses from my sweetie, and a beautiful “springlike” assortment from my (6’1″) “baby”. I’m such a lucky, lucky girl…

And speaking of lucky girls; a little story. I was really, really missing my baby girl all day (my college baby girl!!). All day long treasured memories of Valentine’s Days when my kids were little played out in my head, and my heart, like the poignant video of a mom’s soul… My heart ached to return, just for a moment, to days gone by… Five short minutes after returning home from a final run to the grocery store for dindin, I heard the doorbell ring. I opened the door to find these two precious smiling faces… little “buddies” of mine. And even better – They had cupcakes. Yummy, yummy pink frosted and (lovingly) hand-decorated cupcakes. Yes indeed. I am one lucky, lucky girl…

We ended the day with a dinner at home, and I have to say it was a big hit with both of “the boys” – so I thought that I would share! On the menu…Roasted Asparagus with Prosciutto (http://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2010/02/roasted-asparagus-with-prosciutto.html), Mustard Beef Tenderloin (http://bbq.about.com/od/steakrecipes/r/bl70628c.htm) and “Salt & Vinegar” Roasted Potatoes (Basically, Oven roast your potatoes with olive oil, sea salt & pepper until golden & crispy; then toss with malt vinegar & serve immediately). The mustard sauce for the beef pairs nicely with the asparagus & the potatoes as well!! A yummy dinner. A yummy day.

“There is only one happiness in life; to love and be loved.” – George Sand

Yep. One lucky, lucky girl… xo

things that make me happy…

8 / 30 / 12

So what do you do at the end of one of the most emotionally draining months of your life? My therapy was blogging about it – and I thank you for listening. And caring.

So how about a “happy blog“. The first of many more to come! No long, drawn out explanation necessary – These are just a (very) small sampling of things off my Pinterest boards. Things that make me happy. Enough said.

live happy… laugh, love, dream, create

the “Maine” goodbye…

8 / 27 / 12

We have said “goodbye” so many times over the past couple of months, but I always knew there would be one last goodbye before she left…

My dear friend, Mary, is moving to Maine with her hubbie. They moved out of their house (only one house between us) and into temporary housing a couple of months ago. We said goodbye. The neighbors had a going away party. We said goodbye. We got our little “girl’s group” together for one last coffee. We said goodbye. Went out for Indian food with our hubbies, one last time. We said goodbye. Finally – we met up briefly at a neighbor’s house last night for one final goodbye…

I cried each time, but tried to keep it “polite and reasonable”. I reserved my gut wrenching “throw yourself on the floor” sobs for private home time. The truth is – Mary doesn’t do the whole crying thing. She is “matter-of-fact”, positive and reasonable… on just about everything. Her determination and positive “never-give-up” attitude helped her survive cancer. Three times. Oh ya… and a miracle. You see, “medically”… Mary really should not be here. Doctors still have no explanation as to how or why she survived her most serious bout with cancer. But I do.

And so my heart is filled with an explosive mixture of happy and sad, all combusting within me at the same time. I am (selfishly) very deep down in my soul sad. But, in the same breath, I am absolutely ecstatic for Mary. She so deserves this happiness. She has been given the precious gift of time to follow her dreams. And that is exactly what she is doing. She is not the kind to sit around worrying and “what iffing”. She appreciates and savors each moment as it is in front of her. I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, however; She’s not perfect. She does have one well known shortcoming…. Mary loves doughnuts. A lot.

So this morning I am (sobbing) in the shower (which, by the way, works very well). We said our final goodbyes last night. Right…? No! I have to see her one more time. One more hug. One more goodbye. So I get an idea. Unfortunately for Mary, I know where she is going to be at exactly 9:30. I have one stop to make on the way there and miss her by a hair. Panic mode sets in. In the end, we meet briefly in a grocery store parking lot for a quick chat and one more hug. I present her with one little gift for the road… doughnuts.

And we say our final, final goodbye.

She tells me “No crying” (ya. right.) and I get back in my car and watch as her car disappears from my rear view mirror. As she drives away, I realize that she has left me with a hole in my heart… and I believe it to be about the size of a doughnut hole.

God speed, Mary.

Your rainbow is waiting…

live happy… laugh, love dream, create

what are you looking for?

6 / 12 / 12

What we see depends mainly on what we look for. -John Luubbock

So what do you see in this picture?

I see “flowers”… Little mounds of fluffy, sunshine yellow flowers. OK – Dandelions definitely have their own little thing going on – but I like that about them. If they were sold in the garden center, I’m betting you would (gulp!) buy them. Yep. I’m saying that you would pay money for a dandelion “flower”. But you never will. These little “flowers” are free spirits. Wildflowers. They are the happiest color in the world because, no matter what, they are true survivors. Try as you may, you cannot crush the spirit of a dandelion. There are real lessons to be learned here – so if you’re having a bad day, I suggest you go find yourself a field of “wildflowers”… and soak in a bit of sunshine!

“If you’re feeling blue – try painting yourself a different color.” Hannah Cheaton; Age 8

From the mouth of babes; well said, Hannah! I’m going with “sunshine yellow”. Live happy…

the key to life…

6 / 8 / 12

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” John Lennon

This quote is hanging in our home, and it makes me happy to read it! I hope that you have a beautiful weekend…

live happy~ laugh, love, dream, create