One of those days

Have you ever just had one of those days? You know the ones I am talking about right? The ones where no matter where you are something goes wrong, or no matter what you say it is the wrong thing and everything you touch breaks??? Yeah, I have had one of THOSE days today! At first I was getting frustrated because everything was doing the opposite of what I wanted it to do, but then I started to wonder. . . . how much of this very bad day is actually bad and how much of it is my own attitude?
So, I began to pay attention and make myself not get frustrated but laugh instead, and I found the answer to my little question. The answer was that it was just one of those cosmic bad days. Things were happening to me that I just had no control over and things kept going wrong, and I just kept laughing. I even taught a class tonight at my mom's store and afterwards things just kept going wrong and the other employee at the store and I just kept laughing. I mean, what else could we do? We weren't causing the problems, they were just happening and we just had to endure them. So, after a crazy, bizarre and frustrating day followed by a laughing evening I am exhausted.
Hopefully tomorrow there will be sun!

Menu

I just wanted to let you know that I have now posted my two week menu on my "Don't Mind Me" blog. I hope it gives you a few ideas!

New Goal

Ever since I finished my first 10K people have been asking me what my new goal is. Well, I have found one that I think should work out great! It will be hard and not fun sometimes, but I am really determined to do it! Check out my other blog "Don't Mind Me" (link is on the right hand side of this page) to see what my goal is and if you are interested, come and join me! It is always more fun to accomplish a goal with friends on board!

She's 6!!!

I can't believe that 6 years ago yesterday, I gave birth to my Monkey! Right from the start, things were rough, but she has always been a source of light and laughter for me.
Caroline has had some struggles with her speech and her coordination, but she is such an example of how a positive attitude and a witty joke can get you through almost anything. I am so proud of how far she has come with her speech and I admire her strength as she tries to tackle the Spanish language.
She is my Monkey. She is my Monster. She is my Angel. She is my Caroline!

What?!?!?! I'm NOT immortal???

I don't know what it was about yesterday. . . .maybe it finally hit me that I am 30 and now supposed to be a grown-up, maybe its this stupid ankle thing that is bothering me, maybe its the fact that I have a friend whose brother died suddenly at the age of 42, maybe its the fact that my grandpa just had surgery on his back and is STILL in the hospital. . . I don't know, but for some reason my mortality really hit me like a ton of bricks.
I started thinking of what would happen if I died tomorrow? (not in a suicidal way) Would I have regrets? Would my family hurt financially? Do I have a will? Do I have enough life insurance? Would Otto have to go into debt just to bury me?
Like I said, I don't know why I started thinking about that, but I believe that it was a good day to reflect. I know the answers to all of these questions and it has made me think that maybe I need to do a little organizing because I don't think that everything would go smoothly if I were to suddenly pass away. I do have life insurance, but I couldn't tell you how much or where the documents are. I don't have any regrets, however there is still a ton of stuff that I still want to do. Do I tell my children I love them enough? I hope so. I hope that one day (hopefully 60 years from now) when I do pass away, my children will always know how much I love them. I hope that I will have filled their lives with wonderful memories that they can cherish. I hope that I will have family and friends who will think of funny moments that we have shared together and that there will be a big party and everyone can hang out and relax after my funeral.
What it really boils down to is something that has been important to me for a long time and it is this:
I hope that my life will have mattered. I hope that in some small way I have made a difference in the world and that the world was a better place because I was in it. I hope that when I do get to the other side that my ancestors will be proud to claim me as their family member and that I leave a posterity who are successful and strong people. I hope that my belief in my religion will be passed onto my children and their children so that they can have hope and happiness when I am gone and I hope that when I see my little Robin again that I can cherish the fact that we will be together again.
So until someone finds a way for me to be immortal, I will just have to try and live this life to the fullest and make sure that my affairs are in order. . . just in case!

Little Indulgences

As part of my smiling all of the time goal, I have been trying to think of things that make me happy. Lately I have had a really sore ankle and when I went to my doctor he sent me to get an X-Ray which showed what they think is a tumor on my ankle. Don't freak out. There is a 95% chance that it will be benign but it has been causing me a lot of pain and I have even been banished to crutches if I have to go long distances (like from my bedroom to the front door).
Now, I will admit that if I lived by myself, I would probably just sit and wallow and feel sorry for myself. However, being the mom of 5 (3 of which are worried little girls) I don't have that luxury, so when the kids are home I have to be completely cheerful and happy. That being said, I have been trying to find things that make me happy and either think about them or do them so that I can be happy for my kids.
So, here are a few of my little indulgences that help put me in a good mood:
1 - I like funky hair! The good news is that my cousin, Amber seems to be a genius with my hair and always does a great job with the cut and color! Everyone always admires my hair when I get it done. Getting my hair done makes me happy on so many levels. . . I feel good about myself which makes me happy, and I love spending time with my cousin (and all of my cousins in general) which also makes me happy, I get some time away from the kiddies. . . another bonus (I love them but it is nice to have a break every once in a while!).
2 - I have a weakness for croissant donuts. . . yes, you heard right. . . there is probably nothing quite as fattening as a croissant donut, but when I die of an overdose of croissant donuts you can be sure that there will be a smile on my face!
3 - I love to plan and organize. I have been working on my food storage for my family and getting ready for the winter. In doing this, I have been canning like crazy and it feels so rewarding and I love seeing all of the jars lined up in nice neat rows. . . now I just need more space to put them!
4 - I love babies. I can't have any more of my own, so I pretty much steal any baby that I come in contact with. If you are not okay with this, then I warn you to hide your baby when I come around because you can guarantee that I will immediately snatch your baby and play with it until it is time for me to leave. Don't be shocked, I have been this way since I was 12.
5 - I like to watch movies at the movie theatre. This could be an expensive habit, however there is a rewards program here that I participate in and so all of my movies (and the accompanying popcorn) are free. . . . saving money too. . . another great thing for me!
6 - I like to travel. I like to plan trips and I love to look forward to trips. The planning for trips keeps me happy for hours on end.

There are many more things that I love to indulge in to help keep me happy, but I am curious, what are some things that YOU like to indulge in when you get a moment?

Smile, Its an Attitude

This is what my cousin, Michelle wrote on my facebook page in response to my status one day. Its amazing how sometimes a person can say just the right thing to you at just the right moment. When I read "Smile its an attitude" I realized that I am probably seen as a grumpy person. I do like to complain a lot and when people tell me their problems, I don't tell them to look on the bright side of things, I help them vent until they feel they can tackle the problem themselves.
This doesn't mean that I am not a happy person, but I guess that I just don't show my happiness enough. So, my new goal is to actually smile. I'm going to try harder to show people that I am happy and to show them how much I love them. It is my new found weakness that I am going to try and make my strength. . . I will admit that it may take a while, but I will sure have fun trying :)