Everyday Live Happy

In case you couldn't tell, I love holidays.  The Christmas season is still my favorite.  Everything about it makes me happy.  People talk about all of the stress associated with this holiday, but honestly I don't feel it.  I just am excited.  Now this season can get really busy.  There have been weeks that it seems like there are things going on every night.  Things that we have to do.  I decided a long time ago that I would just enjoy all of the activities.  Because usually once I get somewhere I really do have a good time.  Happiness is a decision.  I love this time of year.  I don't want to dread it or hate it, so I don't.  I choose to love it and because of that, I do.  I love the parties, kids activities, work activities, neighbor gifts, shopping, and so much more.  Luckily for us our kids know that they just ask for one thing from Santa, so that doesn't get overwhelming.  I honestly really do love this time of year.  It makes my family happy and that makes me

It seems like we go straight from Halloween to Christmas, but we miss something very important when we do.  We miss Thanksgiving.  An entire day dedicated to being thankful.  These days it seems like people really aren't very grateful for what they have.  Everyone wants more.  Bigger.  Better.  Newer.  Things that are "essential" to our lives.  Everyone feels entitled to everything.  Kids are really bad at that.  They expect things.  When we say "no" we are being mean and unfair to what they "need" to have.  Let's think about that for a minute.  What do we really need.  Shelter, food, and love are the only things that I consider essentials. We don't have to have much more. My son has been living in Africa for about 2 years.  It has made him see how very materialistic that we are.  In Ethiopia people are grateful for everything that they have.  He sent me a picture of the happiest boy who was running up and down a dirt street with a stick and a

Now I know that we still have a little while before Christmas.  We barely had Halloween and still have a few weeks until Thanksgiving.  I don't usually skip over holidays before moving on to the next one.  But shopping for a present isn't skipping over any holiday.  It is planning ahead.  That's a  good thing right?  My mother-in-law usually has all of her shopping done by October.  I will never be that prepared, but I do set things aside throughout the year if I find something I like on sale.  Usually the last person on our list each year is my mother-in-law.  She is very hard to buy for.  And let's face it after 20+ years it is hard to come up with something original.  This year though, I have been very excited.  I've known since summer what we were going to give her.  There is this awesome Etsy company that is in my hometown.  It is called Stampressions. They make unique, handmade, stamped jewelry.  It is not regular jewelry.  It is memory type jewelry.  I actual

I love that Halloween was on a Saturday this year.  We were able to do so much!  We decorated sugar cookies.  We made monster cookies with Oreos and Nutterbutters, frosting and candy eyes.  We took treats to neighbors.  We carved pumpkins.  We all dressed up and took pictures.  We went trick or treating and ended the night with a "scary" kids movie.  It really was a full, fun day.  Usually the idea in my head is very different from reality.  But this time it was pretty close and that makes me happy!

I have always enjoyed volunteering for different activities throughout my life.  I believe that we are all here to help each other out.  Whether it is volunteering my time helping a friend or fulfilling a church assignment or calling.  When people ask me for a favor, I usually will help them out if I am able to.  I used to like being a mom helper at school when my kids were younger.  Unfortunately, now that I work I am not able to be a mom helper to go to the classroom each week or even to help with holiday parties.  I work at an elementary school as an instructional aide.  I have a kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade class that I work with each day.  Except on Fridays.  On Fridays I don't go to my kindergarten class to help and I get off early since it is an early out day for the kids.  Today though after I finished with my classes and clocked out, I went back to my kindergarten class.  They have a huge project that they are trying to finish before Tuesday, but only a few kids c

I love fall break for many reasons.  I have to admit though that I really like that I get a few days off.  I work in the education system and while I love my job sometimes I need a little breather.  I think that anyone who thinks that it is easy working with kids all day should have to try it.  I promise that they would change their minds and be grateful for the work others do.  It is not always easy.  So I have been looking forward to a few days off.  We aren't going anywhere or doing anything spectacular, but it will give me sometime to get things done.  Things that I have wanted to get done but just haven't had a lot of extra time - or energy.  So here's to 5 days in a row off.  Now that makes me very happy!

I have a lot of decorations for different holidays throughout the year.  I have so much stuff for Halloween!  I have boxes and boxes.  As I open each box I find more forgotten treasures.  I find so many things that I love and that make me smile.  Each year I obtain more decorations that I can't wait to place somewhere in my home or on my porch.  I love my decorations.  Of course some are outdated and some aren't in good condition any more.  I do phase those items out and replace them with new finds.  I do still have Halloween crafts that my older kids decorated and some of my favorite items that I have had for almost 20 years.  This years finds are some green lights and then  something else that I am sooo excited about.  A skeleton!  I have been trying to find a full sized skeleton for a while now.  I found one this year at costco.com.  I can't wait to put him on the bench in my front yard with pumpkins around him.  It is going to be great and that makes me happy!

I have to admit that I love Halloween time!  I love everything about it.  (Not gross or gory things though.)  I love to decorate my house and porch.  I love to decide on and make costumes for my kiddos.  I love the picture opportunities - pumpkin patch, costume parade at school, kids in their costumes, parties, activities, treats, trick or treating.  Yes I know that I added treats to my picture list.  I usually have my kids dump out their trick or treating candy on the floor and there is usually a picture or two of that pile.  But at Halloween there are so many fun treats and foods to make.  Decorated sugar cookies.  Eyeball, owl, etc cupcakes.  Worm jello.  There are literally millions of fun recipes for Halloween treats - and that is not even including all of the pumpkin recipes.  What a fun holiday!  Now to make sure that we do something fun everyday.  Now that makes me happy!!

We are pretty lucky at my house.  For the most part we are pretty healthy people.  No health issues of any type.  Unfortunately we take that for granted.  That is until we are miserable because we are sick.  This past week we have had a few health issues of different types.  Our youngest had the flu and now just a miserable cold.  Our oldest had an infection that put him on a few pills for about a week.  Our other daughter had gallstones and has been in pain until the stones finally moved.  Our other son had his braces tightened and so his mouth has hurt so much he hasn't eaten very much.  All in all not a great week at our house.  However, it has been a good reminder to be thankful for our usually healthy family.  That is something to be happy about!

I love to take pictures and I love to look at them.  It makes me smile.  I literally have 1,000s and 1,000s of pictures.  I would not be surprised if I have taken more than 20,000 pictures over the years.  Like I said I love pictures.  I do something that most people don't do though.  I develop all of my pictures.  It's great when they are on my computer, but I want them in my hands.  However, that leaves me with another problem.  How do you store that many pictures?  I have put lots in albums but I am very behind on them.  Also I can't really get adding pictures to my blog.  (Technology is awesome but I'm not very good at it.)  But I do have all of my pictures and that makes me very happy!

I don't know how many of you have ever attended a kindergarten class since you graduated from one, but it is not easy.  Today I helped in a kindergarten class all day.  Normally I'm only in there for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.  I help with workshops in this class.  The teacher in that class is amazing and does such a good job with those little youngsters.  I love kids and working in the school as an instructional assistant.  I was unprepared though for today.  It was the first day of school for the kindergartners.  They were a little bit bigger classes than last year, but still doable.  At least that is what I thought before they all arrived today.  Then it was like I hit the ground running.  Directing children to do what they were supposed to do.  Reassuring crying kids.  Trying to handle uncooperative kids.  Helping make sure that we got the right children on the right buses.  And so much more.  By the time I got home today I was exhausted!  I can no

Going back to school makes me happy.  I'm not saying that I'm glad to get my kids out of my house.  I actually work at an elementary school.  I have loved going back and seeing all of "my" kids and co-workers.  I love my job.  I am happy to be back.  And I have to admit a little bit happy that my kids are back in school all day. 

I love looking outside and seeing a blue sky.  It doesn't matter if there are some fluffy, white clouds or not.  I don't care if it is warm outside or cold.  It just makes me happy to see that blue.  This summer we had a lot more rain than usual.  Not much sun on those days.  Then we have had a lot of smoke in our air from the wildfires in California and Washington.  We seriously had ash fall here one day and we are states away from those areas.  Today though, I woke up to a beautiful, clear blue sky.  Yeah!  Today is our last day of summer vacation and it is great to see that wonderful sky.  And that makes me happy.

So this summer I canceled our cable.  Now we get just free TV stations.  You would have thought that I had ruined summer when you saw my kids reactions.  They thought that it was the worst thing ever.  The thing is they hadn't been watching much on cable TV.  They usually watched Netflix or were on the Xbox.  It didn't matter.  We told them that we would try it this summer and maybe during the cold months we would get cable again.  That sort of calmed down the storm.  Here's the thing - now everyone in our house (including my husband) is watching a lot more Netflix.  People have picked TV series to watch.  We are catching up on movies that we forgot we wanted to see until they show up on Netflix.  It has been great.  Every now and then one of the kids will ask when we are going to get cable again.  When I say that we will see, they accept it and go and watch some more Netflix.  Netflix you are a genius and a lifesaver.  And that makes me happy!

I don't know why but it seems like school starts earlier every year.  Last year we started before August 20th.  Around Utah lots of kids went back to school today, including my cute nieces and nephew.  But not us.  This year we have a few more lazy days of summer.  We don't start school until the 25th this year and all of us are happy about it.  It is great!  Of course we are trying to get back on a school day schedule with earlier bed times and rising times.  We still have time for fun.  Today my daughter and I made a tent in our yard using rope, clothes pins, sheets, blankets and pillows.  We were in it for almost 2 hours reading a book together and talking.  So much fun and wouldn't have happened if we had started school today.  Here's to making the most of our extra last week of summer!  Having time makes me happy.

I love it when my kids are content and happy.  When they are just filling their time with things they love to do.  Things that are important to them.  Things that matter at their young ages.  My baby is getting big she is now 9 years old.  I often find her sitting happily in her room playing with dolls and stuffed animals.  She can spend hours doing that some days.  Other days she will run and play outside or with friends or cousins.  She finds joy in simple everyday things.  My son is a little older so he spends his days "hanging out" at someone's house or riding bikes, shooting hoops or more.  But there are times - usually daily - that he will come home or send his friends away.  He will then do something quiet here at home.  Something that gives him down time.  Both of my younger kids can be content with themselves.  I love it and appreciate that quality.  They are happy with who they are and the life they have.  And that makes me immensely happy!

I hear that there are some people who are scared of color.  I don't understand that.  I love color.  I only own 1 pair of black pants and a skirt and a couple of white t-shirts.  I have a few more neutral colored items but most of my clothes are colorful.  Reds, purples, greens, blues and so many more.  The color I have been drawn to lately is a light turquoise.  Everything I see in that color lately I want to buy.  I think that I really need a purse in that color.  I want to paint a wall that color (with big white polka dots of course.)  I'm seriously in love with that color.  It has mostly replaced my love of the color coral.  You would know that if  you looked in my closet.  I have shirts, cardigans, skirts and shoes in that color.  Now I need all of those things in light turquoise.  Now that would make me happy enough to dance!

Okay that is a weird thing to say.  I know that.  This time of year reminds me that I really do like them.  Back to school time is the best time to buy any type of school supplies.  We all know that.  The one thing that I buy lots of every time is Crayola Crayons.  I have boxes of them stashed away.  I have a daughter who loves art so we really do use them.  I just seem to buy alot more than we use.  Just the other day I bought some more when I know that I still have boxes from years past hidden away for the rainy day when crayons will be essential.  You know what I'm talking about right?  So I know that everytime I walk by that back to school aisle I will probably be adding yellow and green boxes of crayons to my cart.  Like I said, it's weird, but it makes me smile everytime!

I am an optimist and generally smile and laugh often.  Not everything that happens makes me do my happy dance.  Sometimes things just make me smile - A LOT!!  Today one of those things happened.  My son is going into high school this coming school year.  He's a little nervous and excited.  Today his school packet came.  Along with the paperwork was his school schedule.  We finalized his list of classes last spring and thought we had it worked out.  Well apparently they weren't able to accomodate all of the classes he picked, because on his schedule was a class that he didn't choose.  My son was placed in an interior design class.  Now that would be fine if he was interested in it, but I had to explain what it was.  Let's just say that he wasn't impressed at all when I told him that it is basically making the inside of your house pretty.  That made me smile.  So I guess that we need to meet with a counselor before school starts and see what we can do.  Worst case sen

I don't know anyone who doesn't like getting a good deal on something they have to buy anyway.  I love a good deal.  It makes me do my happy dance:)   If your kids are like mine, back to school means all new clothes because they keep getting taller.  So those pants from last year are just not going to do.  I really do like a good bargain, however I don't always have time to find them.  The other day I opened my email and there was yet another "sale" notice.  I looked closer though and WOW!  It was a SALE!  Children's Place had all of their clothes on sale - even their new items.  And I don't mean a few dollars off.  It was 50% off of their clothes and 60% off of their denim jeans.  Yeah!  So with my daughter by my side, we started school shopping.  She was excited that everything she picked out I said yes to.  It's hard not to when you are saving so much money.  Seriously some of their shirts were less than $4.00 because even clearance was 50% off!  Of

I love polka dots!  I don't know why but I'm drawn to anything with them.  You should see my closet.  The bigger the polka dot the better.  It doesn't even matter what color it is, you put polka dots on it and I will LOVE it!!  Of course certain colors will make me love it more.  On pinterest I pinned a picture of a wall that was hot pink with big white polka dots all over it.  I would love to do that in my daughters room.  How awesome would that be?  There was also a tutorial that I pinned of using a laundry basket piece as a templete for smaller polka dots on a wall.  Out of the two I loved the wall the the big dots the best.  It's a silly thing but polka dots really do make me smile and that makes me happy!

So my son is turning 14 this Saturday and will be advancing in the priesthood.  Our bishop called him this week to see how he was doing finishing up his deacon Duty to God requirements.  Happily he is almost done.  Yeah!  This was one of those "Mom Win" moments.  On his summer jobs list I added Duty to God because I knew that he still had quite a bit to do and not much time.  Well that awesome boy has been working on it almost everyday.  I am so proud of him.  Another "Mom Win" moment is that for his final goal is that he is learning to cook nutritionous meals.  He made dinner this week with only minimal help from me.  I see a new job ending up on his list.  That makes me VERY happy!

Since we try cooking on Tuesdays, my son has been wanting to make chocolate crinkle cookies.  We haven't had a chance to do it until today.  So my son followed the recipe with a little guidance from me.  He made the yummy chocolate treats.  They are very chocolately and rolled in powdered sugar.  YUM!  He did a great job and hopefully one day will be able to follow any recipe and make other dishes as well.  I know that he will be able to do it if he puts his mind to it.  That isn't always easy in this world of technology.  He acutally burnt the last batch of cookies because he got busy playing a video game.  They weren't burnt too bad, just a little extra crispy.  Overall a success.  And any success involving chocolate makes me happy!

We don't live near any water parks, but we try to go to one every summer.  This past weekend we went to one for the day.  My cute brother's family came with us and we spent a hot, summer day in the water.  We went down slides, played in kids areas, went down the lazy river and hit the wave pool.  It made for a lot of fun.  We stayed cool and thanks to lots of sunscreen, no one got sunburned.  Yeah!  Of course spending the day in the sun and water made everyone really tired the next day, but it was SO worth it.  And thanks to passes we will be going at least a couple of more times this summer.  That makes all of us - especially our kids - really happy.

A clean house really does make me happy, relaxed and content.  Ironically, my house is not clean right now.  I mean it's okay, but it needs to be vacuumed and the dishes need to be done.  Again.  Why is it that as soon as you clean it starts getting dirty again?  I would love it if it could stay clean for at least one day.  That would really make me happy because I'm sure that it is wishful thinking.  Then I think that someday my house really will stay clean for days.  When I no longer have little ones at home.  That will not make me happy.  Maybe I need to just enjoy today for what it is, dirty house and all the wonderful chaos! 

Mommy Time is what I call anytime I'm doing what my kids want to do.  During the summer we sign up for a summer movie package from our local theatre.  It is all kids movies and the package is so cheap it is less than a dollar a movie.  This year most of the movies we haven't already seen.  Many of them were movies that we wanted to see, but just never got around to it.   So today we went to a movie that we all enjoyed.  Of course the fact that I like kids movies helps.  My kids finished their chores before we went and so I bought them popcorn and drinks.  Not bribery - a reward.  There is a difference.  They had fun.  I had fun.  I felt like a mommy win today and that makes me happy!

For as long as I can remember, I've loved to read.  I remember sitting in a comfy chair in my room reading while my siblings were watching Saturday morning cartoons.  I remember staying up way past my bedtime to read a book that has sucked me in.  I still do that one.  In fact the other night I stayed up way later than I should have to read a book that I got from the library.  It wasn't a great piece of literature, but it was a fun, light read that I enjoyed.  Loving to read is something that I want to pass on to my kids.  I want them to find joy in spending a quiet afternoon with a book just like I did.  Our oldest daughter has found that joy.  Almost to the extreme though.  She would sit in her room reading all day long, rarely coming out.  One day my husband went in her room and told her to put the book down and come watch TV with us.  We all laughed at that.  She eventually learned more balance and continues to enjoy reading.  My younger kids haven't quite got there ye

Since it's summertime and all schedules are mostly out the door, I decided that my kids have lots of free time and it's okay for me to take some of it.  Year round my kids have chores that they do when my husband or I ask them to.  But like I said they have a lot of free time now so I am taking advantage of it.  I hate that they only do things when I ask them to.  I would love for them to see something that needs to be done and then do it.  They are kids so that won't happen.  So they each have a standing "chore chart" this year.  Their lists are mostly the same with just a few changes.  Both of them have to make their beds, clean their rooms, and read.  (I know that reading isn't a chore, but it's how I make sure they do it before they get busy with their friends or other activities.)  Then they each have other things to do icluding picking something off of the daily chore chart.  I have a list of chores that need to be done each week.  Each day of the we

I love traditions!  I it's because it brings up all of the good memories from years past as well as making new memories.  We have such a fun tradition at our house.  Every year at the first of October we get together with friends and we make "Halloween Houses."  Usually we make them out of graham crackers and make the best house plans that we can think of.  This year I got ambitious and made ours out of gingerbread.  I couldn't find a house plan that I liked so I made my own.  We put it together at home with both royal icing and hot glue and then we went to our friends house to decorate it.  We all bring whatever kind of candy we can find - anything that can pass for Halloween candy. My friend provides purple, green, black, and orange icing for every family.  Then we ice and decorate to the extreme!  The more candy the better and if it becomes messy it doesn't matter because it just makes it look more "halloweenie."  There were six families there.  All

I love summer time.  The warm days.  The long daylight days.  The kids home.  No real schedules.  Okay the last two can become challenging sometimes when you get bored kids.  Well over the past couple of years I've pinned tons of things to do in the summer.  However, I am a great idea planner, just not a great idea follow througher.  I have an idealic image of what summer should be, but when it gets right down to it, it is a lot of the same days.  Well last year my kids and I combined some of the ideas we liked and this is what we came up with for us.  We have our days scheduled.  Make it Monday Taste it Tuesday Wet Wednesday Thinking Thursday Fun Friday This year I added "My Summer Bucket Lists."  My kids and I all filled out our own and we can pick things off for the days if we want.  Some of the ideas are big and might not happen.  It doesn't matter.  I told them to put anything on it that they want to do and we would do as many as we could.  I did tell the

Okay maybe saying "lazy" Sundays make me happy isn't exactly accurate.  Lazy Sunday afternoons make me happy.  I can't really call it lazy when I started with a 7:30 am meeting and then went to church from 9 until 12.  But from 12:00 on I had nothing that I had to do.  I changed out of my dress clothes and put on my comfy leggings and tshirt.  I could spend downtime with my kids.  I watched a cartoon with my youngest.  I spent time talking to my kids.  Talked to my husband.  Wrote my son an email and basically just enjoyed having nothing that I had to do.  I worked on a smash type book and watched tv or just appreciated the silence.  Most days are hurried and rushed and filled with to do lists.  On Sundays I take a break from housework and yard work and shopping.  So that takes a lot of the rush out of the day.  Then I fill it with easy going things.  I feel refreshed after a day like today and that makes me happy.

In case the title didn't explain it good enough - I am so excited that we now have central air conditioning!  We've had a swamp cooler in the past.  If you have ever had one of those you know that they are helpful but not great.  They cool your house down some until it is really hot outside and then they don't work very good.  Where we live summer high's are usually 90's or low 100's.  A little warm.  Well last week some very nice men came and put in an air conditioning unit.  I set my thermostate where I want it and it will go on and off as needed.  You can't see but I am doing a happy dance right now!  I'm excited for a cool, fun summer.  Play hard outside and come inside to cool off.  I am so cool and happy right now!

Family get togethers are great!  They are great fun!  There are great times!  And unfortunately a great amount of work!  We had a very busy weekend.  Our daughter is leaving on a mission in a few days and so we had a lot of family in town for her farewell talk in sacrament meeting on Sunday.  My husband and I actually like hosting parties so we came up with the great idea to host two.  A barbeque on Saturday for any family who was in town.  And a brunch on Sunday for all family and friends after church.  (We have 9:00 am church.)   Saturday was a busy day making sure that we had everything that we needed for Sunday.  So we were late getting the chicken in the marinade which meant we were late getting it cooked.  Not too much later but about 30 minutes late.  No one seemed to care but between all of my and my husbands siblings, kids and our parents, we had a lot of people around.  Luckily we were eating outside so most people sat out there to visit.  The only problem with that was that

Our daughter just finished her Associates Degree and has moved home for the summer.  I'm so happy to have her home.  She is such a cheerful, helpful person and a great sister to her younger brother and sister.  They have both missed her and were so happy when we got home last night.  Unfortunately my entire dining room is full of all of her stuff.  She lived in a furnished apartment but somehow still had SO MUCH STUFF that she had to bring home.  Somehow when everything was brought in from our van it was put in the dining room for her to take to her room downstairs.  All of it is still there.  I can't even complain or tell her to put it away because she is already working at her job that they saved for her.  So she's at work and I'm at home looking at all of her piles of stuff.  Eventually she will be home and then it will all be put away.  Then I will be completely happy!

I don't know why some people don't like birthdays.  I like my birthday.  I've never been depressed on my birthday worrying about getting older.  Now I'm not a huge fan of looking older, but I'm okay with the number of years I am.  I have never lied about my age even though I could.  I really do appear to be a few years younger than I am.  I didn't like that when I was 22 and carrying my baby when I was asked if I was going to graduate from high school soon.  But as I am older now that is okay with me.  Now I don't celebrate my birthday like I did when I was a kid.  It is more a low key event.  Dinner and cake (which I didn't make) with my family.  I'm okay with that.  It is actually how I like it.  I have a healthy view of my birthday.  I think I get it from my mom who is celebrating her birthday today.  To celebrate, we are taking her out to dinner.  That will be fun and that is why everyones birthdays make me happy.

So there are so many different kinds of cleaners on the market.  Cleaners for glass, toilets, soap scum, hard water spots, and sooooo many more.  I have bought lots of cleaners promising that they can do  miracles.  Soap scum is somethings that I really hate and have bought lots of cleaners that said that they could easily wipe it away.  I was always disappointed.  The soap scum would still be there and getting worse.  One day on Pinterest I saw a homemade soap scum recipe.  It was simple so I decided to try it.  It was AMAZING!!!!  It really did clean off the soap scum.  I will never use another cleaner again.   This miracle cleaner is equal parts HOT vinegar and BLUE Dawn dishsoap.  I put it in a spray bottle and use what I need.  It stays good and works just as well next time you need it.  Then when it's gone I just make more.  Like I did for today for the tub.  I usually use a piece of a magic eraser just for a little extra scrubbing power, but it works with just a regular clea

One thing about children is that they can find absolute joy in very simple things.  They have favorite things that they like to do and they find joy in doing those over and over.  Sometimes it is playing with a favorite toy or swinging on the swings at the park.  Sometimes it is just playing outside.  My daughter has lots of things that she really enjoys doing.  Today though I'm not thinking of how much she enjoys doing something.  A couple of weeks ago she got really excited looking at the clock.  I thought that was strange but her reaction to it made me smile.  Then I had to ask what that was all about.  She said, "It's my favorite time of day!"  Favorite time of day?  Who has one of those?  Apparently my daughter does.  Her favorite time?  4:44.  When I asked her why that was her favorite time she looked at me like I should know.  She said that it was her favorite number.  I didn't know she had one.  I asked her if her favorite number was 444.  She said no, it&

Okay, I know that is kind of a weird thing to say.  But the truth is I really do like them and they really do make me happy.  My mom is the brownie queen.  She has an amazing brownie recipe that is my kids favorite.  I do make her brownies sometimes, but not all of the time.  The truth is they don't taste the same as my moms.  Why is it that you can make the same thing from the same recipe and get different results?  Maybe because I had to do all of the work?  Truth is I like to bake so that shouldn't be it.  Anyway I have resorted to using a box mix.  Now all box mixes are not the same.  The kind that my family likes is Betty Crocker's Fudge Brownie mix.  They are yummy!  However I don't usually make just plain brownies.  I usually do something extra to them.  I make them according to the box directions and then I add things in or on top.  Today's brownies just had chocolate chips sprinkled all over the batter before baking.  That adds a little something.  Last wee

Okay I am not the typical girl.  I love watching movies with my family.  I will watch kids movies, chick flicks, comedies and action movies.  Not only will I watch them, but I really enjoy them.  This week I watched "Ella Enchanted" with my 9 year old and "The Avengers" twice with my husband.  No chick flicks there.  We actually own a ton of movies.  Way more than we should.  Most of those movies are kids or action movies.  Only some of them are chick flicks.  Also I don't really like dramatic chick flicks.  I prefer funny or light-hearted ones.  I also don't like scary movies or gory ones.  I prefer action movies that are funny.  But we do have some that aren't and I still like those.  I guess you could say that my taste in movies is eclectic.  It's the same with the music that I like.  I like what I like and that makes me happy.

When I was a senior in high school I took a personal management class that required that I had a day planner.  So I ordered a Franklin planner to use for my class.  Since I'm a list maker it made sense for me to continue to use one after the class was over.  For years I purchased a new planner filler to use for the coming year.  Sometimes I would buy a new binder or change the background style of my planner but my planner always came from Franklin Covey.  I had used it and it worked.  I didn't use all of the pages and didn't do all of the goal and project pages, but for my daily list it worked really well.  A few years ago though I decided that I wasn't using it enough to justify the expense.  I had started to not use lists quite as much and I would go days without even opening it.  And I was okay with that.  Well I was until recently when we had so many things to deep track of that I was forgeting things.  (Nothing like paying for dance lessons when your daughter misse

My family makes me absolutely happy.  I have the best husband and kids.  We are kind of a silly family.  We love to laugh and tease each other.  I grew up in a wonderful, normal family, so I'm really not sure how our parenting style came from.  We love to play and tease our kids and each other.  It's not mean teasing, it's nice and fun teasing.  The other day my son had been on the xbox for a while so I decided to bug him.  I kept dancing in front of the TV and blocking his view.  He kept laughing, but continued to play.  So I decided to take drastic measures!  I sat next to him on the couch and immediately started squishing him.  He kept laughing and talking to his friend on his headset.  I just kept teasing him and squishing him.  He as still laughing as he said to his friend, "I love my family!"  It was the best!  We are lucky because we have great relationships with all of our kids.  That must continue and our ability to tease and have fun together will.  My f

I think it's because I'm a list kind of girl.  I love lists - making them, checking things off, etc.  So I guess making resolutions or goals at New Years is my idea of fun.  Now in the past I've made huge lists of things that I wanted to accomplish in the coming year.  Obviously, those lists never got completed.  Too much to try to do.  One of the hardest things is to remember your goals and if you have a huge list that becomes too hard.  So I've evolved I guess because my resolution lists aren't that long any more.  This year I have about 5 of them.  Still a sizeable list, but so much better than my lists with more than 30 things to do.  This year my main goal, like so many other people, is to get fit.  I believe a goal needs to be specific.  You need to be able to measure it.  So I'm not just wanting to eat better, I have an actual number of pounds that I want to lose. Now I'm sure you are all nice, wonderful people, but I will not share the actual numbe