Last Year Picture

This picture popped up on my screen saver and made me happy today. I blogged a similar one I took on the same day in April of last year, but this one didn't make the blog for some reason. I kind of like it. 

Kiddies Will Play

My daughter and son made slime while my husband and I were out tonight. It's the kind that's feels firm while you're playing with it and then softens to a liquid-type state when you leave it alone. They were blowing it up like balloons. My daughter blew one twice as big as the one above but it popped before I could take a picture. 

Asian Market

I have a good friend from Thailand. Today, she took me to Ocean Market, her favorite Asian grocery store here in SLC. Now my kitchen smells like basil. Last month, she made some green curry and gave me some to take home. It was fabulous. She's a healthy eater, so she uses soy milk instead of coconut milk in her curry. I didn't miss the coconut milk at all. Delicious. The curry also had little round green eggplants in it, so I was pretty excited when we found some at the market. They also had Thai chilies. So exciting. I wasn't very interested in the Japanese mochi, but my friend insisted on buying it. We ate some in the car and then she let me take the rest home for the family. It strangely reminds me of Turkish delight. Also, did you know there's such a thing as BROWN jasmine rice? I was seriously excited when I saw that. I thought jasmine only came in white. Yeah, it's UT, but I still felt like I had a seriously cultural experience today.

Happy Snow

A little bit of snow again today. Never thought I'd miss the stuff so much. 

Snow Spray Fun

The children found a couple of spray bottles and filled them with food coloring and water. We had an inch of snow on the ground. They remembered when we did this in New York. I found a few more squirt bottles and decided to join them. 

When I was done, I went inside. After a while, I looked out the window and saw an orange snowball on the tree. I thought it was a great idea and went back outside to try it. We need more snow and more food coloring for this to be successful, but we will try again and it was a lot of fun.

Desk Joy

My son made this origami bluebird for me. Right now, it's sitting by my computer and reminding me of hopeful, happy things.

Snow Creatures: Practicing Hope

"Are you going out to shovel or play?" my daughter asked me. It was the first snowfall we'd had for a long time. I was bundling up in gloves, hat, boots, and coat.

"Shovel," I said. That was the plan.

There wasn't much snow, so it took me about five minutes to shovel the sidewalk. On my way back toward the house, I decided our tree needed a snow bird.

"A snow bunny might be fun to try," I thought to myself. So I made him next. The snow was very powdery and stuck to my gloves more than it stuck to itself, but I did what I could.

Then the children came outside. "I guess you decided to play after all," my daughter said.

"I guess so," I said.

I wanted to try making another creature. "What should I make for this branch?" I asked. I didn't tell her I thought about making a squirrel because I was afraid I couldn't do it.

"A squirrel," said my daughter.

That's when I knew I needed to push the fear away and HOPE that I could do it. I would concentrate on what I was doing rather than on the fear that I couldn't do it. She made the tail. I wanted to make one out of bark, but she had a better idea. So I made the front and made his ears out of bark. But then I was having trouble figuring out how to do the arms.

"Maybe he could hold a nut," said my son.

So we found an acorn. I think that solved the problem.

When we were all done he said, "We should have a snowball fight."

"I don't want to," I said.

"Awww," he said.

So I threw a snowball at him and took off running. He and his sister pounded me back with at least ten.

Children Blessings

"It brings tears to my eyes seeing how your children interact with your daughter," said the dental receptionist. We were on our way out. My youngest two took care of her out in the lobby while it was my turn to get my check up. I guess they were impressive. It makes me happy to watch how tender they are with her.

Then today, my son started dancing with her. A couple of times, he made it look like she dipped him. I thought it was cute and funny.

I love my children. I'm glad they are who they are and for the time and experiences we have together. 

Happy Butterfly

 I was surprised when I walked into my room last night and saw this butterfly stuck to the denim curtain that covers our bedroom blinds. It reminded me of the red and orange ones she gave me when we lived in New York. It was just what I needed. 

A Good Idea

I recently read a very good book called "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. I may have mentioned her in this blog or in my DebinNY blog. She has a lot of good ideas. Years ago, I started following her blog, and did so for a long time, but then I quit because I felt like I knew how to be happy and I just needed to do what I needed to do instead of read about it every day.

I've recently started following her blog again because I read her book. I realized daily reminders are helpful. One of the things I gained from Gretchen is her "one-minute rule." Basically, this means that if you know something is going to take less than a minute to do, then you don't put it off. You do it right then.  HERE is a link to a blog post of hers that describes the one-minute rule.

I've specifically been thinking about clutter the past couple of days and what a burden it can become if it isn't conquered. I don't know if everybody does this, but I get used to my piles to the point where I don't really see them anymore. Other people's piles are more noticeable. I don't judge people's piles because I have my own. Wouldn't it be a great resolution to Become Pile Free?!! Of course the one-minute rule is a pile-prevention rule. But tackling the root of a problem is a good place to begin.

Since I've been practicing the one-minute rule (I'm nowhere near perfect at it), I've noticed at least I'm not adding to piles. Things are a little less messy and I'm accomplishing more small tasks. Now I just need to teach the rule to everyone else in the family.

Materialistic Happy Me

I know, I recently posted about how I don't like mall shopping or having too much stuff, but I've discovered a dangerous new passion: online shopping. Until this past Christmas, the only thing I'd purchased online was a pretty dress and a few books. The dress was a little small, so I ended up wearing it two or three times and then giving it away. The books were just books. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy books. But wow, buying toys, clothing, and jewelry (specifically earrings!) online is pretty exciting, especially when the packages arrive. Presents! Delivered to your doorstep! So fun to rip open those brown packages and see the beautiful things inside.

I found the monster Webkins in the picture above (the beastie on the right) for my daughter for Christmas. She was very specific about what she wanted. I could have run all over town looking for him and still had no luck. I found this guy for less than I would have paid locally (if I could have found it at all) and it took me five minutes. Awesome. And as you can see from the picture she created above, she loves it.

Then of course, I had some free "cash" from some in-store shopping and decided to use it online for a little post-Christmas self-indulgence. Yeah, I ended up spending a little more than what would have been free, but it was so fun!

Yeah, this could become a problem. I wonder if I could enjoy selling stuff online just as much? Maybe I should try that next.

Light and Color

Happy New Year! May your year be joyful, full of light, and bursting with happy colors.