"Makes Me Smile" Monday

"I don't think any day is worth living without thinking

about what you're going to eat next at all times."

- Nora Ephron -

Another yummy recipe . . . Oreo cheesecake bars !!!!

Happy (sweet tooth) Monday !!!!

A Dose of PB & C

Peanut butter & chocolate, that is !!

I'm not really a fan of peanut butter . . . but mixed with chocolate . . .

HEAVENLY !!

And so are these cupcakes . . .

(I made mine mini !)

Another great recipe find !!!!

Brown Sugar & Walnut

Those are the colors of our new kitchen floor and backsplash . . .

and it's finally all done !!!! Love, love, love it !!!

Before:

After:

Before:

After (you get the idea !):

So happy (and thankful) !!!

"Makes Me Smile" Monday

I head off to work in the morning like this . . .

. . . fluffed and put-together and generally ready for the day.

But lately I've come home feeling like this:

. . . . beat up & put through the ringer !!!! Ugh !

Working with the public is definitely wearing me down !

I'm just exhausted lately by stories & excuses & lies, drama & trauma,

and endless begging and blaming !!! Phew !

So, today I need a good laugh (or two !) !!!

Here are links to 2 videos that always deliver !

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEOS CONTAIN

BAD LANGUAGE & CRUDE HUMOR . . . .

CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED !!!!!!

- I posted this one a few years ago . . . an oldie but goodie !!!

- Love this one, too !

Happy (Priceless !) Monday !!!

Bring On The Summer Breezes !

The "Summer Breeze" sweater is finished !!!

It kind of feels like a grown-up cape . . .

. . . and I had to twirl a bit . . .

. . . because it's fun and it makes me smile

(until I get dizzy and the motion sickness issues kick in !)

Definitely easy and breezy . . . and done just in time !!!!

Woot !!

"Makes Me Smile" Monday

"Make it a priority, because without play,

life becomes an endurance contest."

- Stuart Brown, "Play: How it Shapes the Brain,

Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul" -

(Me & my favorite playmate - 1996)

ABSOLUTELY !!!!

Happy (playful !) Monday !!!!

The First Ten . . .

It's felt really crazy the last month or so.

There've been engagements, baby announcements (I'm gonna be an aunt !), retirements (congrats to my dad !), wedding hoopla (showers & weddings upcoming !), and too many sympathy cards sent & calling hours/funerals attended . . . plus the usual wacko-ness that is work !

The good, the bad, and the ugly indeed !

In the midst, I've been very slowly making my way through this book. In the section I've read so far, the author talks about how " . . . deep joy is found only at the table of thanksgiving," and how the "height of our joy is dependent on the depth of our thanks." She also started a list of 1,000 gifts: "not of gifts I want, but of gifts I already have."

While sitting in my craft room with the kitties yesterday, taking a break from knitting (the "Summer Breeze" sweater is nearing completion !), I grabbed a pen and started my list on the back of an Anthropologie catalog . . .

1. A steaming cup of coffee

2. Soul food songs

3. Laundry fresh from the dryer

4. Peaceful face of a sleeping cat

5. Dresses (they make me feel girlie & pretty !)

6. The click of my knitting needles at work

7. Lush green of the leaves & grass when it rains

8. Creamy sweet taste of dark chocolate

9. Color

10. The smell of wool yarn

So, what's on your list ??!!??!!

Happy Monday !