I Ran!

I ran. And it sucked!

Tonight I walked our dog Eli. He is a 100lb Newfoundland Mix and was very happy to join me. Since we were on our walk around the neighborhood and I was all dressed up to run, I decided I would push myself. Uggghhhh....

Our silly doggie just loves walks and playing outside

I hate running, but for some reason I decided to anyway. What was I thinking?!? I have no idea, but I survived it! The route I took was about 2 miles. I surprised myself when I realized I ran between 3/4 and 1 mile of the 2 mile stretch. What? I did that? I was winded and my legs felt like Jell-O, but I made it. And I am proud of myself.

I know many runners. My husband is a runner. I still don't really know what they enjoy about it. I'm no good at running and I definitely don't enjoy it. But, it is good for you. So I did it. And once I caught my breath, drank tons of cold water and sat down a few minutes I felt pretty good. I don't think I will join my husband in a 5K anytime soon, but I ran. And it sucked. But, I will do it again. Who knows, one day maybe I'll learn to like it. Haha, yeah right!

Wordless Wednesday: Zoey in Narnia

Zoey in Narnia

Share your Wordless Wednesday too:

Linking up with: 5 Minutes for Mom, It's Ok to be Weird, Mom Start, My Organized Chaos, Mama to 4 Blessings, 3 Princes and a Princess 2, Create with Joy, Never Growing Up, The Life of Rylie and Bryce Too,  Living at the Whitehead's Zoo, Carrie with Children

My New-ish Camera Works Great

I got the new battery I needed to make my refurbished camera work! And it works! I'm so excited!

Long story short, my camera broke. I got it replaced, but they forgot to include the battery. Now I have the battery and working camera again.

The coolest part is that I got a brand new battery! This is awesome because my old battery was having a hard time keeping up anymore. So not only do I have a new-ish (It's refurbished, but it is working great so far) camera, but I have a new battery and my awesome, large memory card. Life is pretty good right now.

I can now officially say that I have broken every kind of electronic there is: TV, DVD players, Mp3 players, phones, computers, I'm sure there are more, but that is what I can think of right now. I'm not really proud of this, but it is a fact. Electronics and I have a love/hate relationship. I love them...they hate me. But a camera (my prized possession) was the final electronic that I haven't broken yet. Probably because I take better care of them  because they mean the most to me. However, that streak is broken and I've broken about every electronic I can think of. (As I say this my wonderful, technology genius husband is both cringing and laughing at me).

So since I have this fresh start of my camera it feels like I have a brand new toy (even though it is exactly the same as my last one.) I spent a good bit of time getting it set up the way I like it and playing with all of the settings. I had some fun playing photographer too! I haven't taken pictures in a week, with the exception of a few moment captures via iPhone. I believe I have earned some photography moments and ended up taking about 50 pictures in the span of 20 minutes while getting acquainted with my new-ish camera. What can I say? I had fun! And I will share...

I got a few pictures of Zoey. Of course she was not paying any attention to me and didn't want to look at the camera.

I love this one of her dumping out plastic eggs. She had a blast making a mess. I had to stop my mini photo session to play with them too. What is it about plastic Easter eggs that are so entertaining? I have no idea but it sucked me in!

Then, since Zoey wouldn't stand still long enough for me to focus on her, I completed my mini photo shoot with her stuffed frog. He was a great specimen and even smiled for the camera!

It is amazing what all you can do with a camera. I'm still learning, but I had a lot of fun playing with all of the settings. I think my frog picture experiment came out pretty good.

Fairy Tale Theater (Blog Hop)

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I love to start the week feeling happy, which is why I chose to do Fairy Tale Theater on Mondays! My idea is to realize that no matter what life has in store for you, it is a fairy tale! I am opening up this idea as a blog hop so we can share that little things in life that make us happy and encourage each other in the trying times.

You can be as creative or as simple as you like in this blog hop because there are no rules. I want to emphasize that you do not have to post a "fairy tale" post to participate in the hop. I want this to be easy and use it to meet some new friends and encourage each other. If you really read fairy tales, there is as much or more strife and challenges as there is the happily ever after. The whole point is to be happy with your life right now.

I would love for you to join in the fun of the Fairy Tale Theater blog hop. You can link up a creative "fairy tale" post or a recent post about your life. As I said, there are no rules, just be nice and comment so others can feel the love!

Now let's get this party started! And have a great week!

Our "New" Truck and the Story Behind It

Our "New" Truck...Papa's Truck
(I'll get a better picture of it when I get my camera fixed)

This is our new truck. Well, it isn't actually new at all, but it is new to us. It is a 1999 Ford Ranger. I love this truck, not only because it is a reliable vehicle that provides us a second car, but more so because of the story behind it. We are the third generation in our family to own this truck and I am very excited!

This beautiful Ford Ranger first belonged to my Papa. He bought it brand new the year my Grandmother died. He took very good care of it and got a lot of use out of it for the 8 years he had it. As he got older, he made a responsible choice to stop driving. He eventually gave the truck to my Mom and Dad. Within two years, of handing the truck over he passed away. It was two years ago and 10 years after my Grandmother died. I miss Papa very much and think of him often.

My parents had the truck for about 4 years. It helped them through a tough transition of job changes and moving across the state. It is a reliable truck with lots of memories. Recently my mom bought a Mustang. I joked with her that it is never too late to have a mid-life crisis. But she loves her new car and since they already owned another vehicle they didn't need three. So she offered Papa's truck to us. We quickly and graciously accepted. We only have one car at the moment, so this truly is a blessing.

I secretly always wanted Papa's truck. And even though it is now ours, it will always be Papa's truck, at least to me. There are so many memories associated with it. Papa helped teach me how to drive in it, we would cruise the strip at Myrtle Beach in it, we would visit and get so excited when we saw Papa's truck. I hope that this truck will last another decade or two so Zoey will be able to drive it as well, but I'm not sure if that is a realistic dream. However, it would be cool to see a fourth generation in Papa's truck.

I know Papa would be happy that we have his truck, just like he was happy to give it to my Mom. I am excited to have it and it gives me another way to remember Papa. I am also very thankful that my parents brought it up to us this weekend so we would have it. They also got to see us and Zoey for a little bit, which of course was just a fringe but wonderful benefit. It was a great weekend and I think I have the best parents I could ever ask for.

Weekly Gratitude

This week has been interesting. I haven't felt 100% most of the week and have generally been very tired and unmotivated. However, there is still so much to be thankful for!

This week Zoey has grown up just a little bit more. She said her first full, completely understandable sentence. She said, "Where did the bubbles go?" I heard every syllable and I was so proud! She also peed on the potty for the very first time! We introduced potty training early, but I am still surprised and excited that she getting the concept. I know we still have a long way to go before she is potty trained, but she took one big step forward. I am amazed at how many new words she says. I know she understands even more than that. I am so grateful for my little girl, her health, her personality and how absolutely wonderful she is!

I am very thankful for my husband. I feel like I take him for granted sometimes that he is there and so awesome. I try to make him feel special, but there are so many things that he does for our family that I never want to take for granted. The biggest one is love us so much. Even when he is tired from working, he still comes home to us and plays with Zoey. Also, that he works. No matter how much you love your job some days it really is work. I am very thankful that he continues to work so hard outside the home because that is why I am able to work within the home. And I am so happy with how wonderful a dad he is to Zoey, she really is one lucky little girl. Stephen looks at her, and me too, like we are the most special people in the world. And I think we are because that is how I look at him.

I am grateful that even though I have been without a camera all week (which is why there are no pictures), I can live in the moment and the problem will be resolved quickly and fairly easily. Hopefully I'll get my battery either tomorrow or Monday and can have pictures for next week!

I am thankful for our big, comfy couch so that Zoey and I can cuddle and watch cartoons in the mornings.

I am thankful for my piano so that I can feel musically creative again.

I am  thankful for my nook because I just finished another book. Not the one I was reading, but the final one in the Nora Robert's Bridal Quartet series. (I'll post the review later, but I will say...amazing!)

I am thankful for coffee because I just love the taste of it. My favorite is to drink it while I'm writing, at night, by the sound of a storm. That is pretty much this minute and it is wonderful!

There is so much to be thankful for, big and small.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

No More 3x5's

As I mentioned in my Father's Day Post, my camera broke. Sad face :( I am the girl who always has a camera attached to my hand to capture any and every moment possible. So my camera breaking really does upset me. My husband laughed at me when it happened, for two reasons, 1. I really was upset and he found it funny that I would be so sad over something so material, 2. He's been joking about me breaking my camera so I could get a new one, particularly the SLR I've had my eye on. Well, I'm here to say that was not the case. I am very sad that I don't have a camera at all.

How did it break you ask. The optical connection just died. I've been having trouble with it for awhile now, but it was being fickle, not really broken until the middle of our trip to the aquarium. It finally just died, kicked the bucket. I turned it on and there was no picture. I could see the menus and the pictures I had already taken so it wasn't the screen. But black pictures aren't very interesting so I unhappily stowed the camera away. Thankfully, it was time for lunch, so I got to brew about it then and not while we were actually visit the aquarium.

There is a positive to this. I mean, it sucks up one side and down the other, but I always try to find a positive. And in this case that is that we actually made it around the entire aquarium once when my camera died. So I have photos of Zoey and us through most all of the aquarium. After lunch we just went to the play area and revisited whatever Zoey wanted too (pretty much the whole thing again.) I also was able to just play with her and not stand back and take a picture every two seconds. Which was nice but it would have been better if I hadn't been thinking the entire time that this moment would make the perfect picture.

I still have the camera on my iPhone, thankfully. It is good for what it is, but it isn't my camera. I like that I can upload photos to facebook from my phone. Now, after about 10 updates, it is easy to put the pictures on my computer as well. But, the pictures just aren't as good. I can't adjust the settings or zoom easily or save the blurry moments when Zoey moves a fraction of a inch. I loved my real camera, did I mention that. I only had a little point and shoot. It was a Sony Cybershot and I loved it. It was even pink!

I realized that I got the camera from Best Buy and I had the warranty on it, which was still good. Stephen can attest  I actually did a happy dance. When we got home and Zoey was ready for a nap, I slipped out to go test my faiths at Best Buy. I didn't know what to expect, but I really wanted them to be able to do something that meant I got a camera without having to pay for a brand new one.

It took a little time and patience, but I got an answer. They were going to ship it off and then send me a new one to the house. What? Could it possibly be that easy? Apparently my camera (I've only had it a  year and a half) was discontinued so they weren't going to fix it. But the warehouse was going to send me a new camera that would arrive at my house. Okay, I can live with that. It would take up to two weeks. Sigh, two weeks is a long time to someone who takes pictures, literally everyday. But, it would be worth the wait if I really did get a brand new camera. I hope the whole transaction really goes that easily. That would be stellar.

So my advice to you...buy the warranty! I honestly thought about not getting it, but a camera is the one electronic that I can't happily live without so I need the security. I am very thankful that I had it or I would be a lot more upset about this than I am. Besides, the people at Best Buy are really nice, I should know I worked there for over two years myself. They aren't always as on the ball or organized as I like, but it is overall a good company and they want your business so they will take care of you as much as they can.

In the meantime, I will try to live without taking 10 billion pictures and just be in the moment. I will be using my iPhone camera more than I ever have. And I will be daydreaming while looking at SLR cameras. I'm still saving up for one. Does anyone have a used one that still works well they are trying to sale?

The whole situation makes me think of the John Mayer Song "3x5." I have always loved this song, but still am rarely without the 3x5s. Nonetheless, this song is making me happy right now.

"3x5" by John Mayer

I'm writing you to

catch you up on places I've been

You held this letter

probably got excited, but there's nothing else inside it

didn't have a camera by my side this time

hoping I would see the world with both my eyes

maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm

in the mood to lose my way with words

Today skies are painted colors of a cowboy's cliche'

And strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky

are next to mountains anyway

Didn't have a camera by my side this time

Hoping I would see the world with both my eyes

Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way

but let me say

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes

it brought me back to life

You'll be with me next time I go outside

just no more 3x5's

Guess you had to be there

Guess you had to be with me

Today I finally overcame

tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame

Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to

lose my way but let me say

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes

it brought me back to life

You'll be with me next time I go outside

no more 3x5's

just no more 3x5's

*********Update!

Yes, there is already an update. I got my camera today! It is an exact refurbished version of my own. I was extremely happy with the camera and the turn around until...there is not battery! They took my old battery with the camera to send off (confirmed on the invoice they gave me), but there is no new or replacement battery at all. Argh! I spent 40 minutes on the phone with Best Buy, the store and HR. This is not an easy thing to do with a toddler at your feet trying to get your attention. Finally, I get it all settled. I still don't know where the communication happened there, but I am getting a new (or replacement) camera battery. It should be here within 5 business days. Sigh. So now I have the camera, but still have to wait to use it and even to make sure it works.

However, in true me style, I have already found the silver lining. I mentioned above that I'd been having problems with my old camera for a while. Those problems were beginning to wear on an already aging battery. Because of the out of focus and lens issues the camera was having it would just completely stop working whenever the battery got to about a quarter juice left. So I would always keep the battery charged to the maximum, which of course isn't really good long-term on a battery. So it really is a blessing that I am getting a new(er) battery to go with this camera that hopefully has no issues. That will mean an entire new start to the camera and the warranty is still good on it until October, enough time to figure out if it is as awesome as I hope it is. Also, it will all be done (even if the battery takes five days, which it hopefully won't) within the time frame I had in mind for the entire transaction. I figured I wouldn't get anything until the middle of next week, so I'm still stoked! 

See, things really do happen for a reason!

Wordless Wednesday: Painting Picture

Painting Picture

Linking Up:

5 Minutes for Mom, Living at the Whitehead's Zoo, Never Growing Old, Carrie with Children, Mom Start, Angelica's Awesome Adventures, Life of Rylie and Bryce

Father's Day Adventure at the Aquarium

To celebrate Father's Day this year, we went to the SC Aquarium. Zoey had a blast! She loved all the fish and animals. We circled the entire aquarium three times. Each time Zoey found something new to explore. It was a great chance to learn and spend time together.

We spent Father's Day at the aquarium last year too. I wouldn't mind if it became a tradition. It's really cool to see how much differently Zoey experienced it this year. Last year, she was in awe of all the fish and colors, but this year it was much more than that. She was interested in the exhibit itself and the fish in it. She wanted to play and interact whenever she could. And the most different thing was she was running around from one thing to the next and back again.

I like telling stories with pictures, so I have a lot of them. However, my camera unfortunately broke in the middle of the outing (that'll be a whole other story.) I still have lots of pictures because we had already seen the whole aquarium by the time I was camera-less and were starting our second trip through. I did still have my iPhone, so I suppose I wasn't exactly camera-less after all. The last three pictures are with the iPhone, it worked well as a last resort.

So without anymore ado, I present our Aquarium Adventure:

Happy Father's Day Stephen! Thankfully we didn't have to stand in a long line this year because Zoey was ready to go see the fishes! She was so excited about our adventure.

This is the teaser trailer to the aquarium, the first thing you see when you walk in. Zoey was amazed! She loved the fishes and probably would have stayed right there all day, but we told her there was more to see, so onward we went.

Zoey liked the turtle tank. It was really cute because there were two big turtles and one baby one, just like our family. Zoey liked watching the turtles swim around and kept pointing to them and saying...something that sounded very intelligent if I could understand her.

Zoey was in awe of the fish. I call her my little scientist because she is always looking at things to figure out how they work or what they are doing. It was great that she could see most of the exhibits without us picking her up; I think she love the independence of the adventure. 

This is the albino alligator. Zoey enjoyed studying it and came back to it again the next time through. The alligator was also swimming around, which is the first time I'd seen it moving. She was happy just to stand and watch for a bit. She seems to be drawn to the alligators, snakes and turtles. Maybe she will be a reptile/amphibian girl...who knows.

Then Zoey got to touch a real alligator! This little guy was only 4 months old. At first, she was hesitant, but after assurance that it was okay she reached out a petted him very gently. She was smiling afterward so I think she liked him.

This is a new sting ray exhibit where you could actually feed them. We didn't feed them, but it was pretty cool to see the bigger ones up close. I caught this awesome picture of Zoey with one. She doesn't seem to be very afraid of them instead she just observes and investigates.

This was so cute. Zoey kept pushing on the glass and saying "It's stuck!" We were like, they suppose to be stuck or this would be the ocean instead of the aquarium. She liked watching all the fish though, but then it was time to run to the next exhibit.

Next was the touch tank. Zoey liked that a lot. She pointed to a crab in a conch shell and watched him move his claws around. She liked playing the the water and watching the creatures, but she wasn't very interested in touching many of them. Then again, it was also lunch time so we stopped and enjoyed a yummy sandwich.

Zoey loved the ocean part. It's my favorite too. This was the really BIG fish tank. She turned around with these big eyes with the impression that those were some really BIG fish! She watched these fish awhile too. They kept swimming by in the same direction and she would follow one all the way across the tank and then go to the next one.

Zoey is so funny because I think she had as much fun climbing on the stairs as anything else. She would race up the stairs with Stephen and then run to the elevator to go down, only to do it again. We humored her for a few times and then said that we had enough of a workout for one day. Then we took her to the play areas and let her run off some of the seemingly unlimited energy.

The aquarium has this cool mock fishing boat that Zoey really loved playing on. She liked turning the wheel and talking into the intercom. It was a crabbing boat and even had a little crane on the back with a cage full of crabs (stuffed animals) off the back to pull up. We watch "Deadliest Catch" as a family so I wonder if she understood the purpose of the boat. I tried explaining some of it, but mostly she just enjoyed playing.

We had such a great time at the aquarium. I think Zoey learned a lot too. I love that we can share these experiences with her and hopefully she keeps her love for learning forever.

After our adventure to the aquarium, Stephen and I decided to have fish for dinner. That seems ironic now that I think about it, but it was delicious. It turned out to be a pretty awesome father's day!

Shutter Love: Father's Day

Father's Day Love

Fairy Tale Theater (Blog Hop)

My first blog hop is now underway! I am calling it Fairy Tale Theater and the idea is to view your life as though it were a fairy tale! You are free to be as creative or simple as you like, as long as you have fun! You can create a special post or you can link a recent post about a happy time or adventure. This is a great way to met some new friends and everyone loves a good fairy tale! I hope you join in the fun!

You can read about my inspiration for Fairy Tale Theater too!

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My Life as Cinderella

I am very excited by how much Zoey loves the classic Disney movies. This week we watched Cinderella, twice. While we were watching it, I couldn't help thinking how much I related to Cinderella. I don't have an ugly step-sister or a wicked step-mother, but I do have chores, people to take after and a prince charming. There are also several of other subtle ways my life is like Cinderella's.

The movie begins when Cinderella wakes up and the bell chime tells her it's time to start the day. My morning doesn't start out with a pretty chime--it's more like a toddler beating on the door yelling "Mommy, Mommy." It still gets the point across, it's time to get up and start working.

Cinderella also sings the beautiful song, "A dream is a wish your heart makes..." I don't actually remember dreaming most of the time, but the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song gets stuck in my head really fast every morning. I even catch myself singing it in the shower. I just laugh at myself and try to remember another song, any other song.

Zoey ready to help around the house

My first priority in the morning is breakfast. Cinderella feeds the cat, dog, chickens, mice and her step-mother and step-sisters. I feed Zoey, the dog and then myself. Actually, I just realized something...does Cinderella even feed herself in the movie? I don't think so. 

I also feel like Gus (the mouse) quite often when he is trying to get one too many corn pieces. He gets the last one and then they all fall out. I feel like I juggle many things as one time. The most funny is when I'm at the store. I'm carrying Zoey and the groceries, finding the car keys and while I'm doing all this my pants are falling down. Woohoo for losing weight, but I'm waiting until the day that I show off my butt in the parking lot of Walmart. My checks are getting red just thinking about how real that possibility is.

Veggies from our garden
See, chores do pay off!

The most obvious likeness to Cinderella is the chores. There's the sweeping, the laundry, wash the dishes, scrub the carpet, and don't forget the garden. She really is one of the best homemakers in Disney. I often think that she would still cook and maintain some things even at the castle. I don't love chores, but they really do make you feel worthwhile.

I realize I'm skipping a ton of the movie, like the whole plot, but the last thing that makes my life like Cinderella is Prince Charming. Thankfully, he gets to come home to me every night. Even though there are constantly challenges, I feel like I am living my happily ever after.

My Prince Charming even serenades me!

This is my favorite song from the movie, it makes me want to start dancing:

So This Is Love...

So this is love, Mmmmm
So this is love
So this is what makes life divine
I'm all aglow, Mmmmm
And now I know
The key to all heaven is mine
My heart has wings, Mmmmm
And I can fly
I'll touch ev'ry star in the sky
So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of
Mmmmmm
Mmmmmm
So this is love

Check out my new blog hop, Fairy Tale Theater, where you link up your own fairy tale life!

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Weekly Gratitude

This has been a week where I have needed to remember all the small and big things I am thankful for constantly. I have to admit, I'm glad this week is over and I'm looking forward to this weekend and Father's Day!

Here are a few more things I'm especially thankful for this week:

We visited some friends last weekend and they had a real piano. I was in heaven and turns out so was Zoey. I love how interested in music she is because Stephen and I are both music lovers and players. Zoey climbed right up to the piano and started playing away. It wasn't Beethoven by any means, but it also wasn't just banging the keys. She really does pick out notes and make music instead of just noise (most of the time at least.) We have a keyboard at home so we get to hear her music all the time, I love it! 

I have to say, Zoey has amazing balance. She got the great idea to surf in her little pool this week. I was sure she would fall and bust her face, but she has yet to fall off of that thing. In the picture there was not too much water in it and she was jumping on it and everything. But later in the week after it rained, she was really surfing on it because it wouldn't push to the bottom when she stepped on it. The crazy thing is, she still didn't fall. I know I would have fallen on my face if I tried to stand on it. 

I am especially thankful for Stephen this week. I always love him and Zoey more than words can express, but this week I really needed the extra encouragement and they were right there giving me exactly what I need.  

I love the park! I need to do a post about our adventure there because it was a great one! We brought Eli (the dog) and Stephen went running with him and Zoey and I played on the playground. It's amazing how much of an imagination Zoey already has even though she is not yet two and has a limited vocabulary. I am also surprised by how fast she can run!

Zoey is my little motivator. One afternoon she got it in her head that the kitchen needed to be cleaned. She dragged me over to empty the garbage and sweep the floor. It was a lot more fun with her helping and even initiating it. I'm going to enjoy this one for as long as it will last!

Lastly, but most certainly not least, I am thankful for child locks on the ice machine. As you can see Zoey dragged her chair (usually in the kitchen so she can stand on it and help) over to the ice machine and started investigating. She knows water and ice come out and would love that whenever she wanted. Thus I will not give her many opportunities to figure out the child lock because I have a feeling she unlock it fairly easily. 

I hope you have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day!

Fairy Tale Theater

I've had this lightning bolt of an idea! I want to share it with you and see if you want to play along.

When I was writing my book review on "Savor the Moment" by Nora Roberts I concluded this...

"Robert's has a way of making everyday lives and simple romance into a fairy tale. Perhaps that is another way to find joy in the everyday...instead of dumbing life down to schedules and a to-do list, lift up all the small moments and create your own fairy tale status. That is my newest perspective and I must say, I'm loving my fairy tale!"

So...I want to challenge you, and myself, to create your own fairy tales within the everyday. I want to make this a blog hop! My very first hosted blog hop in fact. I'm calling it "Fairy Tale Theater." You can be as creative or as straight-forward as you want. You can even just link up recent posts that make you happy.

I'll host the blog hop on Monday because I think reading fairy tales will be a great way to start the week! I just wanted to throw the idea out there now to get you thinking.

The whole point of this idea is to realize that you are living your very own fairy tale. It's also a great way to meet other friends in the blogging world and just have fun. So who's with me!

Three Things Thursday: Pet Peeves

I don't really have many pet peeves. I am a pretty easy person to get along with, I think. At least, I get along with myself just fine. I'm one of those people that it takes a really long time to piss me off, but once you do you get an ear full. (Just ask Zoey if you want to know what buttons to push to get me fired up, she knows all of them and uses them frequently.) Anyway, three pet peeves. Well, here goes...

1. Negativity. I have worked very hard to focus on my positive thinking and to surround myself with positive people. I wasn't always this happy-go-lucky girl you know and love today. I've had a war with my temper and I have come out victorious! I thank Jesus for showing me how to overcome my own negativity and the answer--it's so simple you'll never guess--positivity! (which apparently isn't a word, but you know what I mean.) I still have bad days and bad moods (just read yesterday's post for an example). But I have learned how to find the good in situations without tearing myself down completely. My pet peeve is those people who live in negativity. It seeps out of their mouths and their souls and then they wonder why they aren't happy. Those people that find the one thing that isn't perfect and dwell on that. For example: I put gas in the car, vacuumed all the nooks and crannies, put air in your tires, washed the car windows and changed the windshield wipers you should be ready to go on your trip now. Reply: But did you put Rain-x on the window, you know it suppose to rain this weekend. Ahhhh, that drives me crazy, even in hypothetical situations! Whatever happened to thank you! Okay, so maybe this is my soapbox too. Oh well.

2. Unjustified opinions. When you form an opinion on a subject, especially a negative opinion, without ever experiencing the subject. This hits close to home with movies. For example, I watched Brokeback Mountain and loved it. I enjoyed the love story and the relationship between all the characters. Now I know this is old news, but everyone formed an opinion of this movie and I bet only half of those people actually watched it. If you have a negative opinion of the movie, that's acceptable as long as you have actually SEEN the movie! I don't want to hear about how you hated all the guy on guy action if you haven't even taken the care to watch it for yourself.

3. Published grammar errors. This one is HUGELY ironic because I am the worst speller in the world! And I don't always re-read to correct grammatical errors either. Thus, I am constantly annoying myself with this one. But...if you manage to publish a book it shouldn't have grammatical errors. Seriously, how many people read this book before it goes on the shelves! No matter how good a book is I get distracted by silly errors. Just for the record, when it's blogs or such, I just pass it over as they were distracted or whatever, like I said, I know I'm the worst. However, published works are different, silly I know. I conclude it is because of years spent copy editing for the newspaper.

The Best and the Worst

Today has been a horrible day. I mean one of those where you just want to hide under the covers and forget the world exist, that is after you finish screaming into the pillow. Today, I didn't even wish to be able to go to sleep and wake up to tomorrow because I couldn't trust it would really be any better.

It's not really one thing that happened. Basically, Zoey and I both woke up on the wrong side of the bed and it just didn't get better. The daughter whines, the dog poops in the house, the daughter does exactly what I told her not to, just one of those terrible horrible no good very bad days where nothing seems to go right. Sigh. And that is the worst.

And that is all the negativity I'm going to write because I wouldn't even talk about my bad day if it didn't have a silver lining. Because it is a day like this that I really need my Weekly Gratitude--the serious one where I am thankful for being exactly who I am.

I am thankful that I am a stay-at-home mom so it is me that has to deal with Zoey (and myself) when bad moods strike and not anyone else. I am also glad because that means I can take a nap when I'm at my wits end.

I am thankful that we had Eli (the dog) for companionship and love him even though he poops in the house. He has been such a learning experience for all of us, especially Zoey and though he drives me crazy sometimes (let's face it, they all do) I am still so glad we have our new four-legged friend.

I am thankful for my computer and awesome blogging/Facebook world that I can slip away into where I get to hear about some other's struggles and successes and forget about my aggravations for a while.

I am thankful that being aggravated drives me to get things done. For example, today I finished the laundry, did the dishes, picked up around the house and cooked a delicious homemade spaghetti sauce.

This one is number 1! This is the best of the best of the best...I am thankful for my husband! Stephen is such a wonderful husband and Daddy! As soon as he got home he witnessed how bad of a day I had and sympathized. I hate it when he comes home to me in a bad mood because he just got finished spending a hard day at work and I want home to be an oasis for him, but no one is perfect.

The best part...after dinner Stephen took Zoey and Eli out for a walk. This left me home ALONE! Can you believe it! Home all by my lonesome, just me, my thoughts and my computer. Wow, it's so nice. They won't be gone long, but I am so unbelievable thankful for his act of kindness that I want to tell the whole world!

See, I told you there'd be a silver lining! Everyone has bad days, where nothing seems to go right and everything seems ten time worse than it really is. Well, that is my day, but through it I can focus on all the wonderful things that are happening in my life. I am so thankful for Zoey and Stephen that it makes my heart feel like it might explode. So there it is...the best and the worst.


*********Updated 6/16/11 (The Day After)
The most wonderful thing was yet to come! Last night I was lying in bed and couldn't get to sleep. And then it started pouring rain! A blessing indeed since it hasn't rained here in several weeks. It was like the rain and the rolling thunder washed away all of my frustration, not like I got over it, but like it was never there to begin with. God really is amazing!!! And this morning (the day after) I feel refreshed! I suppose sometimes it takes reaching the worst of your emotions and frustrations to be able to see the best. Besides, when do you see a rainbow? After it rains of course! The same goes for our lives...you have to get through the storm to see the rainbow!

Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

I am completely in LOVE with this series and all the characters in it! I finished the third installment of Nora Robert's Bridal Quartet series called "Savor the Moment." It was pretty much amazing and ironically, my least favorite in the series so far. That just goes to show how awesome the whole series really is!

Laurel and her three best friends, Parker, Emma and Mac, make up "Vows," a wedding/event planning company. Each lady has her own part within the whole of the business: Laurel supplies the cakes and other bakery items, Emma designs the floral arrangements, Mac captures all the priceless moments through photography and Parker manages to keep everything running flawlessly through her incredible attention to detail. They are an excellent team and make for fun, engaging dialogue.

In "Savor the Moment" it is Laurel's turn at finding love. What she didn't know was it was staring her in the face all her life. It is none other than Parker's brother and long-time friend Del, attorney and social elite of Greenwich, receives Laurell's heart. But that is just the beginning. Now the fun and trials really start as emotions and passions flare.

If you read the previous two book, "Vision in White" and "Bed of Roses," then you are probably like me, hopelessly in love with the characters, the witty banter, and the easy interactions among friends. But Laurel has always been my least favorite of the four friends. I'm not entirely sure why, but I suppose it is because I relate to her the least. She is very to the point and seemingly stand-off-ish. She is sarcastic too, but that part, at least, I can relate too. However, after a hard childhood and spending years of hard work and dedication to perfect her craft, I can hardly fault her.

I love the light and funny nature of "Savor the Moment." It is so easy to read and it never fails to whisk me away to the beautiful home in New England surrounded by friends. There is no shortage of romance either, which just makes my heart go pitter-patter. Robert's has a way of making everyday lives and simple romance into a fairy tale. Perhaps that is another way to find joy in the everyday...instead of dumbing life down to schedules and a to-do list, lift up all the small moments and create your own fairy tale status. That is my newest perspective and I must say, I'm loving my fairy tale!

I recommend "Savor the Moment" to anyone who loves to fall in love, to laugh, to live and to sit back and relax while squishing your toes in the sand for awhile.

Wordless Wednesday

Pond Scum Fun

Linked up with:
5 Minutes for Mom
The Life of Rylie and Bryce Too
Carrie with Children
Angelica's Awesome Adventures

Night Owl

photo credit

I am a night owl. I always have been. I get it from my dad. I tend to get a lot done in the morning if I can manage to wake myself up, but there is no denying my preference for staying up late versus getting up early.

I think re-realizing this fact will solve a couple problems:

1. I need to sleep less. Sounds crazy right? For the first (almost) year after having Zoey I got what sleep I could, when I could. Now that she is older and has her own routine (and sleeps all night, every night) I need to remember my own sleeping habits. I have a really hard time getting to sleep at night and then I wake up groggy and tired. I have concluded that I'm actually sleeping too much.

2. I need more hours in the day. This goes hand in hand with my first thought. I have all these things I want to do for myself (like read, write, scrapbook and blog for example.) However, when Zoey is awake, my focus is on her and sometimes chores. By the time Zoey goes to bed and I spend time with Stephen it's time for bed before I even get started. I've been trying to get up early and have time for myself for over two weeks now and it has been hugely unsuccessful. I'm having to face it--I'm so not a morning person.

It's time for a different approach. Embracing my night owl is working so far. I stay up a little later after everyone else has gone to bed and get all my thoughts down in the computer. Then I wind down before turning in for the night. I have been falling asleep easier because my mind isn't full and I sleep until Zoey wakes up (which, thankfully, is after the crack of dawn.) I still get about 6-7 hours of sleep, which I have found is all I need.

Everyone is different. The older I get the more I learn that you just have to figure out what works for you . There are millions of books and people telling you the "right" way to do things, but I don't think there is one way to live--in fact, that would be incredibly boring.

Rockin' the Bump!!!

Today I am linking up with Shell at Things I Can't Say to show off my baby bump! Being pregnant is beautiful and I've had a great time looking at everyone else's baby bumps, so I'm going to show mine off too!

My Baby Bump

I really did love being pregnant, and I still love being a mom. I had a fairly easy pregnancy and delivery. I don't really have any horror stories or anything to share. I did not have an epidural and I am very proud to have an entirely natural birth (especially since no one thought I would go through with it.) I actually really enjoyed being able to feel Zoey being born, and I think that helped with pushing because I only pushed for 15 minutes. Okay, let me back up a minute...I didn't enjoy feeling Zoey be born because it wasn't exactly pleasant, but I appreciated not having an epidural.

My Beautiful Zoey Evelyn!

I do have some of my older posts from right after Zoey was born if you are interested in my natural labor story:
A Look Back On My Pregnancy Thus Far
I did it...Zoey is here!
Pro Natural Birth (Without Epidurals)

My Garden Helper

I am excited and a little surprised at how well our garden is doing this year. I am by no means a green thumb and have even managed to kill weeds! But somehow, when it comes to growing vegetables I manage to inherit a little of my Dad's amazing gardening skills (my Mother-in-Law has an awesome green thumb as well.) I was beginning to think I got overlooked or maybe gardening talent skipped a generation, but I now realize I just had to be able to eat it.

On this day (it was actually the end of last week), Zoey and I had a project to do. We were planting more seeds in pots to grow so we could later transplant them to our garden. Zoey was ready to help so we dug right in, literally...

First we got out the potting soil and filled up the pots and empty egg carton so we could plant the seeds. This was Zoey's favorite part because she got to play in the dirt. She just loves getting dirty.

Zoey, who is mildly OCD I think, had to get all the openings in the egg carton the same amount of soil. She had a blast moving, adding, taking away and generally rearranging the dirt. I let her play with it for a while because she was having so much fun.

Finally, it was time to plant! I showed Zoey how I was getting the seeds from the Cilantro plant to grow some new ones. Turns out our Cilantro plant, which was quickly dying, flowers and produces seeds so it can keep coming back. I decided I would help the process along a bit. I attempted to explain to Zoey how the seeds we are putting in the dirt will grow to become yummy plants, but I don't know that she understood. Hopefully she will understand better as the plants grow.

Now that the seeds were planted, Zoey helped me do some weeding in our garden. Well, I did the weeding and she played in the dirt of the empty spots in the garden. I figure she is actually helping by keeping that soil loose and ready for planting. And she was having a blast! She loves using the trowels to dig in the dirt. 

While Zoey was digging and exploring the garden she found a little rolly-polly bug. She was fascinated with it and let it crawl over her hand for a little bit. She showed it to me and I told her about it and how the bugs help the garden to grow. She seemed happy with her find and eventually let it go, she didn't even kill this one!

Next, we watered all of the garden, our herbs and our new seedlings. Zoey loves this part and will stand under the hose so she gets wet too. Maybe that is why she grows so fast, I keep her well watered. She will also often get her little watering can and ask for water so she can water by herself. She loves that and our herbs especially get a lot of Zoey watering. 

Creampuff, the cat, likes the weeding and sitting out in the sun part. She hung out with us pretty much the whole time we were in the garden. She ran away when I started watering though, pretty much immediately after the above picture was taken. 

I'm so glad Zoey enjoys being outside and helping in the garden. I hope that next year she can have her own little plot of soil to plant things in. The hardest thing she hasn't quite learned yet is that we shouldn't pick the tomatoes until they start turning red. She loves to pick them, but they just don't taste as good green. But she will eat them green, especially the cherry tomatoes, so at least they aren't going to waste. 

I am very excited that our garden is doing well. I love that we can go out and get veggies or herbs for dinner. This is also the most fun I've had with jalapenos. I've never really cooked with them much, but so far jalapenos have been our best harvest so I'm finding all kinds of ways to cook them. I've made pico de gallo, jalapeno burgers (Stephen's idea) and they are really good cut up and mixed into ground beef or beans for tacos.

If you've ever wanted to have a garden, I would highly recommend it! I personally love the connection with nature and the produce are very tasty too! Even if all you have room for are some herbs on a window sill or potted tomatoes on the back porch it is so worth it. If you don't succeed right away, it's okay to try again!