Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!

It's my birthday and I'll party if I want to.

 

This was my birthday breakfast this morning.

A Peanut Butter Cupcake from Milli's Cupcakes and Bakery in Kennewick.

I will definitely be going back to this place again.

The cake was absolutely delicious and moist.  The frosting was perfect.

And I bought this late afternoon yesterday!

Hmmmm, life is good.

My mommy is coming up to spend the day with me and we'll be running around crazy doing all sorts of different stuff.  No official plans.  (Other than her dying my hair.  Yay!)  So really nothing can go wrong!

Week 7: Greetings

As written in the book:

GOAL:  Be the first to say "hello."  Go out of your way to acknowledge a friend or acquaintance and initiate a conversation.

This could prove to be difficult since we still don't know very many people.  However, I think I'm going to take it a step further and say "Hi" to anyone I pass while taking a walk or coming through door or passing by in the grocery store.  You know, be neighborly.  She says that his is okay, just don't do it in an unsafe setting.

Also suggested is to greet family members when they come home and ask them how their day was.  Personally, I love my hubby walks through the door.  I stop whatever I'm doing and greet him with a hug and a kiss.  May the honeymoon stage never die!  : )  Seriously though, I believe it's really important in keeping a good connection with our loved ones to show interest in their day.  

Do you normally stop to say "Hello"?  What a small thing.  Try adding the person's name.  People love when others say their name.  Give it a try.

Grateful for Netflix

As happy as I was to have the sun out and about, it apparently didn't want to stick around and the weather soon turned to grey clouds and sprinkles of rain. Today is following suit and in fact, the sprinkles have turned to larger drops.

I woke up feeling groggy, sick tummy, and a headache.  The weather seems appropriate, as I plan to snuggle deep within a comfy blanket an immerse myself in a good Netflix Instant movie.

I'm really grateful for Netflix for having the idea to make movies instant.  Almost as grateful as I am to my wonderfully talented hubby who hooked up a computer to the TV so we could have an additional computer in the house, as well as being able to watch missed episodes (or Netflix movies) through the internet on the big screen.  So, even though my body isn't all that happy.  My soul is rejoicing!  : )  In case you haven't already discovered this, I'm easy to please.

Week 6 Goal: Gratitude

(There is no update from last week because well we are an already pretty affectionate couple and this goal was met before we even were married.  :)  We like to cuddle.)

 As written in the book:

"Goal:  Focus on your blessings.  As you go about each day, pay special attention to what you are thankful for, and try to maintain an attitude of gratitude."

This reminds me of my "Thankful" posts I did in November.

Since we're already to the middle of the week, I'll sum up the things that I have been thankful for each day.

Sunday:  We had Stake Conference* at church and the theme was the Temple.  It made me think just how grateful I am to live so close.  We need to make a better effort to go to the temple more often since the distance is more like a hop, skip, and a jump away.  

Monday:  When my husband gets up and goes to work, I get up so  I can make up a breakfast fruit smoothie and put together a lunch.  I was exhausted and my wonderful hubby told me to sleep in.  In fact, he let me do this the next day too.  I lurve him.  : )  Doesn't seem like a big deal, but I was grateful for that extra sleep all the same.  (Note:  Everyday, I do make him breakfast and lunch, he ALWAYS thanks me for making it.  What a simple thing that just brightens my day!)

Tuesday:  COUPONS!!!!  I had received a coupon from Maurices for $10 off a $50 purchase.  Since next week is my birthday I wanted to find something cute to wear.  AND I DID!  Coupons are my favorite.  I also had some coupons for Costco.  I won't be buying toilet paper and paper towels for months!  It's the simple things in life.  ; )

Wednesday (today):  I'm grateful the sun is shining its magnificent rays today!  I've missed it.  Whenever the sun is out I feel like I have more energy. 

I'll try and keep up with writing these down the rest of the week.  Life is always crazy and I'm also a little on the lazy side of it right now.  But you all still love me right?

What are you GRATEFUL for today?

*One of the things I love about the LDS religion is that it is incredibly organized.  A stake is a large area for example a town.  This is broken down into wards and branches or smaller areas and neighborhoods within that stake.  Wards and branches typically meet on their own, but twice a year the entire stake meets together for a conference.  Thus, Stake Conference.)

Week 5 Goal of 2010: Affection

As written in the book:

Goal:  Give everyone you love extra physical affection.

 I confess, I was considering not posting this one since we're pretty well set here.  Being that we have only been married for nearly two years (Wow!  Time flies!) and we don't have children to interject into our personal time (yet), we like to smother each other with hugs and all manner of smooching.

But then I thought, "Not everyone does this."  I considered that I may have some readers who might like the encouragement.

Anyone ever read the Five Love Languages?  I'm still in the "getting-to-it" stages, but thankfully I have quite a few family members who have and have explained it very well.  My hubster is Physical love chap.  I took a test and came up tri-lingual.  Yeah, that's right.  Three main love languages.  Physical, Words of Affirmation, and Quality Time.  I'm needy, what can I say?  Luckily my husband knows this.  

Janene E. Ustach (remember she's the author of the goal journal), suggests giving extra hugs and kisses before leaving the house.  Go out of your way to show just a little extra affection.

Hmmm, maybe that's why my husband ran into the room and gave me major kisses after having a bite of the yummy roast I made.  (Yes, he was in the other room.  With his other love.  World of Warcraft.)  Haha.  It definitely made me smile.

Take the time to show those you love a little extra "Lovin'".  Try it.  I bet you'll like it.

Raw Food Brownie Recipe

This is the recipe as it was given to me by my chiropractor.

11/2 C raw walnuts, unsoaked
dash of salt
10 medjool dates(pitted) (you can get these at winco in their bulk food section)
1/3 C cocoa or karob powder
1t vanilla extract
2 t water (for moister brownie)
1/4 cup dried cherries (optional)

chop 1/4 walnuts and set aside. place remaining walnuts and salt in food processor and grind til finely ground. add dates and process til mixture sticks together. add cocoa pwder and vanilla and process until evenly ditibuted. add water if neeeded and process briefly.  Tranfer to bowl and add walnut and cherries(optional) and mix with hands. pack mixture into a pan and chill for a couple of hours.  

I did not add cheriies and extra walnut. Also to make it a bit sweeter I added pure maple syrup, or you can use agave nectar. ENJOY!