who, what, where, when, and why?

 I know I said I would post a lot more frequently now that I have a computer around, but I've been a busy girl....





.......eating pizza & chocolate, cutting hair, journaling like mad, attempting to fly kites, hiding from tornadoes, watching movies (Pirates. Yeah!), avoiding the cicada infestation (man I love Misery Missouri!!), and pinning pretty things on Pinterest.  I'm sure you understand.

:)

Hallelujah we have a working oven!

Thanks to my grandma getting a new oven, we finally now have a working one.  I am beyond grateful. Since Tuesday night we've had these dinners:

-chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, green beans, walnut chocolate chip cookies
-DiGiornio pizza & bread sticks (supreme), broccoli, peaches
-pork loins, roasted carrots & potatoes, cinnamon apples

Yum.
Having all your kitchen appliances in working order makes it so easy to get dinner on the table.  Yes, I could have (and did) prepared meals without an oven, but it's nice to not have to stress over weather you can prepare the diner or not.  I mean, it's hard enough deciding what to eat in the first place!  Trying to eat healthfully, affordably, and excitingly (eventually Subway gets very very old) is extremely difficult to accomplish every night.  There is peace of mind that you are doing the right thing when you cook meals for your family and eat with them.  The kids can feel special when they help prep food (and the teaching opportunities are endless), you know exactly what is in your food (it is so hard to have an actual balanced healthy meal when you get take-out all the time).  Even at sandwich joints, which is where we ate from most of the time (enter kid meals that come with a choice of chips or a cookie.  I'm talking about you Quiznos).  It's also great to teach manners.....like cleaning off a dish and thanking the person who cooked you food instead of just throwing trash away.  Veggies becoming a dinner staple again (not just a random pickle in a sandwich), have become a great bargaining chip too.  Yeah you can have a peach.  After you eat all your broccoli.  Breakfast was pretty simple to do without an oven.  We did have a range top that worked.  :)  But it is fun to know that we can now have things like quiche, and muffins.  So yes, I am beyond thrilled.  And just in time for my favorite season!  What are you all cooking up?

turn that frown upside down.

Why do we often treat the ones we love the most, the worst of all?  We all do it.  Not on purpose of course, but you know when you've been having a rotten day and you come home with the weight of everything that went wrong and having to be polite to strangers, and then snap at your family?  I've been wondering why we do it.  Perhaps it's because we can let our guard down around our families and truly be ourselves, ugly emotions and all.  We feel so comfortable around our loved ones that we can vent to them and subconsciously direct our frustrations at them.  It's sad.  One person's bad mood can definitely bring everyone else down.  It's beyond ok to talk to your family about your feelings, but when it's to the point that your terrible mood is making someone you love feel that way too....I think it's time to take a step back and try, for the sake of everyone around you- the ones you love, to feel better.  My boyfriend taught me that you can choose how you feel about things.  I used to get so mad at him for telling me things like that.  I thought it was impossible to choose your feelings....that they just happen, like a natural reaction.  Feelings do happen quickly and automatically.  But you can take those feelings and turn them around.  You can see your problems in a more positive light if you try hard enough.  It's not easy, but it brings you so much relief to dry those tears and soldier on with a new determination that you can feel good, and even excited about.  Even the worst things can teach you valuable lessons, and make you a much smarter and stronger person.  It kind of forces you to be a better person in a way....to persevere in spite of life throwing you lemons all the time.  There is so much negative out there in the world.  We need all the positivity we can get.  I'm going to try to give myself (and my blog readers) a little more positive inspiration, because when you're naturally pessimistic like me (I like to call it being a realist- it sounds better).....you need it! We don't have to walk around with big cheesy grins on our faces, but when you let people know that you're feeling bad but it's not their fault, and that they shouldn't feel bad just because you're feeling bad........it's much better than  un-purposefully dragging everybody down to the depths of your depressive mood.  So cheer up buttercup!  It's not as bad as you think.

2

Yesterday my boyfriend and I celebrated our two year anniversary......and I couldn't be happier!

turning 9

" o how fine to be turning nine "

I can't believe I have a 9 year old!  In less than 10 years she'll be an adult.  Leaving me to start a life on her own.  sniff.  Until then...

 She had a small and sweet celebration with the family at Shakespeares Pizza.  Budget & behavior wouldn't allow the big backyard circus themed BBQ that was originally planned.  Tweenage drama at it's finest.  Better luck next year?  Or perhaps an end of school BBQ?  We shall see.  Keep your fingers crossed.......we're trying.

hippity hop

what did the easter bunny bring you?