My hubby recently bought me and himself pedometers.  We have a little competition each day to see who takes the most steps.  Apparently we should take at least 10,000 steps each day.  Most days that isn't too difficult but some days we need to take a nice long walk to accomplish 10,000. I better get off the computer and get moving!  That number on the pedometer keeps me moving and reminds me not to sit at the computer or anywhere else for too long.

  Ashley with her pumpkin last year   The cool breezes and turning leaves have me thinking about Halloween.  The kids are already talking about what they want to dress as.  I must admit, I really enjoy Halloween! I'm a Fall person.  I love the sweater weather.  I love the beautifully colored leaves and the smells.  I just wish Fall was longer and Winter was shorter! I look forward to decorating with gourds and pumpkins.  I love...

Brad has his benchmarks of his myriad of computers. So what computer do I get? I thought I'd check it out... His laptop is 5 times faster than my laptop and this the only computer I get access to. Shame on him!

I realized one of the reasons I feel so relaxed at our cottage...it isn't filled to the brim with crap!  Our home is so overrun with stuff that it just weighs me down sometimes.  I feel like renting a dumpster or calling a truck and having it all hauled away. I'm not a hoarder but I do have the curse of feeling that the moment I get rid of something I'll need it.  I also feel guilt over getting rid of anything anyone gave me as a present.  My husband and I have been marrie...

Most of us know what is good for us.  Knowing it and doing it are very different things.  How many times do we say "I know I should exercise, but..." or "I know this pop isn't good for me, but...".  We make decisions between knowing and doing constantly. I am addicted to coffee and chocolate.  I KNOW that for a fact.  I have tried to cut them out of my day before and am not convinced that my life will be good without them.  I am aided in my addiction by some repo...

Happiness has been a subject on my mind a lot lately.  I have been taking a look at my days to figure out what made a "good tired" or a "bad tired" at the end of each.  The things that seemed to lead to a good day are pretty consistent: -I got to spend time with my husband (especially if we ate a meal as a family) -I enjoyed some coffee in the morning -I enjoyed watching my children play and truly listened to their voices -I spent some time outdoors even if it was just for ...

I have lived a very blessed life.  I grew up in a family short on money but big on love.  I had everything I needed and my parents did the best they could to get me things I wanted when they could.  I look back and wonder how they did it and now am in awe of them. My parents did a good job of teaching me to appreciate what I have.  I have always followed the "Happiness is wanting what you have not having what you want" approach to life.  In turn, I have ende...

I just reported this problem but wanted to let the people know who have been commenting on my blogs, I have been wanting to respond but can't.  Every time I try to respond, my comment won't get submitted.  So, I'm not ignoring my articles, I just can't add a comment!  I appreciate those who can and do though.

I think we all have something that we depend on to get us through each day.  For some it's an addiction and for others it's just something they look forward to each day.  Let's call that something your "crutch". So what's your crutch? My main crutch is coffee and it is a full on addiction.  If I don't get some of the life giving fluid in the morning, I am cranky and get a headache.  My other crutch is chocolate.  I don't know if it is an addiction or not but I just...

I am feeling blue for a couple of reasons.  A) My hubby is away on business for a week (but I can't complain) I seem to have some sort of flu or cold that has me achy and exhausted; and C) I got a very bad hair cut. I went to the stylist with spiral permed hair that was about to the bottom of my shoulder blades.  It was almost all one length but with long layers.  I hadn't had a trim for about 3 months so it was hard to tell I had layers at all. I told the stylist how l...

I'm afraid I didn't catch the name of the author or the book but I heard a TV program playing in the background the other day talking about the key to happiness.  They talked about the differences in twins when one was a generally happy person and the other wasn't.  One phrase stuck with me, "Attitude of gratitude".  They were saying that feeling grateful for what you have rather than always wishing you had something else is the key to happiness.  I can understand how tha...

I have a theory about why people use drugs:  They are trying to return to their days of childhood TV shows.  Have you ever seen the show "Yo Yo Gabba Gabba"?  What a trip!  It looks like something right out of the late 60s or early 70s.  It totally reminded me of how "groovy" some of the shows I watched as a small child were (like the Electric Company). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is it just m...

Here I am in my new outfit at the Michigan Renaissance Festival.  Brad and I are attending a medieval themed wedding at the end of the month so I figured a new outfit was in order.  It was a chilly day so the cloak was a nice thing to have. Michigan doesn't take it's festival as seriously as other places.  Most people don't dress up and not many at all play along with the language and character.  I know other places won't allow vendors to stray out of period and atten...

I have recently had the daunting task of shopping for a formal outfit.  I am a full figured gal but have usually had good success in finding things that fit nicely off the rack.  I think perhaps having that third baby rectified that for the moment. I found a beautiful black skirt that I loved so I bought that figuring I could find a top in pretty much any style to go with it.  Since dragging the baby store to store to try stuff on hasn't been all that much fun, I figured I woul...

For the second day in a row my baby girl allowed me to get 7hrs of consecutive sleep and this morning the sun is shining and it is over 40 degrees outside!  I feel great!  I feel human again! Prolonged sleep deprivation can cause your brain to become sluggish.  I was starting to fear alzheimers.  I was walking around in a fog every day.  Thoughts drifted off as quickly as they floated in. I think 7hrs is the magic amount of sleep for me.  Not too much, and not...