My Happy List: First full week of the New Year

It's the first full week of the New Year and mine is starting off pretty good.  Girls are back in school, it's freezing and I'm catching up on some work.  While those things all make me happy there are a few things that really stand out this week. 

1.  I received a FREE issue of the latest Cuisine at Home magazine.  Of course I received it because they want me to subscribe again but hey, I'll take it.  I haven't had a chance to sit down and crack the spine but the easy-to-prepare midweek meals sound right up my alley.



2.  My oldest leveled up in her reading again!  The whole level thing kind of has me confused.  She is now on level H and the goal for students at this point in time is a G.  So yahoo she is ahead of the game!

3.  I'm going to get a year older this week and Mr. Glitter Tart keeps teasing me with an "blow your mind" birthday present.  I can't wait to find out what it is. 

4.  I received a birthday card from my oldest friend!  I love that she still remembers when my birthday is, it makes me feel so special.

5.  I finished another pretty decent book.  But the really cool thing is I am going to be chatting with the author this week at the library book club I am a member of!

 

6.  I have been accepted to a new swap hosted by Chaotic Goddess Swaps!  A Book swap with bloggers.  I've done a number of book swaps but never with bloggers.  I am excited to get to know the other bloggers taking part.  Now I need to go spruce up my wish list.

 

All in all I'd say I'm a pretty lucky girl to start the year off like this.  What has made you happy?

 



My Happy List: Great end to a rough year

  1.  We had a drop in from Kevin's Aunt and Uncle.  The girls love spending time with Ron and Sherrie and it was so nice to catch up with them.  We already have plans to see them again in a few months.  2.  We are heading to the farm for the New Year.  It is so much fun to see the girls play in the big open fields and to roast marshmallows out at the sharecroppers cabin.

3.  I've decided to offer all of my artwork that I create for Alpha Stamps for free in my Etsy shop.  I made this announcement a few days ago.  Uploaded 7 pieces of artwork and they all sold!

4.  I was feeling so good from those sales that it spurred me to finally get all of the seam binding I have to offer for sale into the shop.  And some of that sold too!

5.  I finished the best book!  This year has been a bad reading year for me so to finish the year out with a book I loved is awesome.  I will be doing a review of this novel soon.   So what made you happy this week? 

My Happy List: Family and Friends

Hello all and thank you for stopping by.  My friend Ricki Jill hosts a fabulous weekly link up party that everyone should try.  I don't get to take part too often but when I do I always feel so much better about everyday life.

 

So without further ado,

my happy list

 

1.This one is all thanks to Pinterest

Photo From: I Believe I Can Fry

I found a fabulous tutorial on how to clean and season cast iron.  When we moved into our house one of the things the previous owners left behind was a cast iron pot.  It was disgusting and covered in rust but no longer.  I followed the instructions (click the image to go to the post) and yes, it worked just like that picture shows.  I was so excited that I even planned a meal so I could use it and oh my it was the best Beef Stew I have ever made. 

 

2.  Friends

This Thursday I will be packing the car and heading to Atlanta to spend a fabulous weekend at Sweethearts on the Homefront.  This will be my first ever art retreat.  But what makes it even more special is that I will finally get to meet my friend Tabitha.  Tabitha and I met through MAMA and chat on the phone just about everyday.

 

3.  Family

A few weeks ago my husband and I decided to join a class for Marriage Enrichment.  It is held at our church and revolves around the book Happy Together by John Bosio.  The church serves dinner before hand and it has become a wonderful middle of the week family outing.  The girls love going to eat and then playing with all the other children and it is nice for Mr. Glitter Tart and I to meet new people and explore our marriage more. 

 

Well that's it for me this week.

Come join us!

 

My Happy List ~ The light at the end of a long 2 weeks

It is hard for me to admit that the reason I haven't taken part in Ricki's Happy List is well...things haven't been very happy here the past few weeks.   However I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!  So today I am happy about.   Closing the door on my youngest daughter ear drama.  She stuck a navy bean in her ear and had to have it surgically removed along with her ear tubes replaced due to damage.  Today is her final check up appointment.   I am making great progress on the E Monsters Duvet. Right now I only have two more front panels to attach and then the back to put on.  I am hoping to finish it up this weekend.  This is a huge accomplishment for me since i am an entirely self taught sewer (can't call myself a seamstress).  

This has been Mr. Glitter Tart's view for the past week, well it was raining and cold, but still.  Today he comes home and the girls and I are excited to see him.  

Buttermilk Curry

You know how sometimes you end up having to buy something for a recipe and then have a ton left over.  Well that happened to me last week, I have a ton of buttermilk left.  But I am excited to say that I've found two recipes that will use it up and look fantastic. 

 

So tonight for dinner we will be having Buttermilk Curry over rice with Naan.

 

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever
or so it claims to be

 Here is the second recipe I will be making with the Buttermilk, but what is really exciting about this one is that I am making it because my best friend in the whole wide world is coming to visit me this weekend! 

 

So I do have a lot to be happy about this week and boy am I glad that the past two weeks are behind me. 

 

So what's on your happy list?

Come Join Us 

My Happy List

As I stated a few weeks ago, I am trying to re-organize my life right now.  Putting what is really important first and I have to admit it is very hard.  But what I have seen more than anything is that I have a lot more to be happy about now. 

1.  One of the many struggles we as a family have been dealing with is how to help our oldest daughter.  She has an extreme anxiety disorder along with ADHD (just diagnosed).  All year she has been struggling with reading.  It got to the point that I couldn't help her so we decided to get outside help, and have her going to Sylvan now.  Well, after a month she has not only shown improvement she has blossomed.  Yesterday she came home so proud of herself, she had been on a level C book, and skipped over level D and went right on to level E.  It was such a joy to see how proud she was of herself. 

  

2.  My youngest child is a hand full, she has more energy than the energizer bunny of acid and keeps me on my feet.  It is fun and exhausting at the same time.  When she sets her mind to something she does it, no matter how much work it takes.  Right now her favorite movie is Mirror Mirror, she watches it over and over and she loves this song.  Believe it or not my 3 year old can almost sing the entire thing!  She sounds so sweet and innocent when she does. 

3.  Art is not my first hobby, believe it or not I have been writing fiction for years.  I write because I have stories in my head, but I also have punctuation, spelling and sentence structure issues so normally what I write isn't very good but it makes me happy.  This past weekend I found time to write for the first time in months and it felt great!

  

4.  My sister came to visit a few weeks ago, it was wonderful to see her and the girls love their Aunt so much I think they might have been even more excited to see her.  Anyway, The Host is one of my sister and I's favorite books and neither of us had seen the movie so we went.  It was fabulous!  Spending time with my sister and sharing our love of books and the movies that are made afterwards has always kind of been our thing.  I am so glad we got to do it for The Host. 

5.  Last but not least the girls and I went on a little road trip this weekend.  We listened to the Soundtrack from Alice in Wonderland, they sang and I talked them through what was happening when there was no singing.  When we got to our destination they played for hours at a huge park and then we all went for dinner and ice cream.  They had so much fun and it was a delight to have them all to myself for a few hours. 

 

So there it is, my happy list for this week. 

It seems to be getting easier for me to put these together now that I am focusing on the positives in my life, so please come join us. 

Click the image below to link up.

 

Focusing on the Positive

I tend to have a hard time seeing the good that is right in front of me some days.  I've watched Art@Home "My Happy List" link party for some time and been overwhelmed believing I didn't have that many things to be happy about.    Well today is the day that I force myself to see the positive.   1.  I'm taking this one right from Ricki,    I want to see The Host and know that Mr. Glitter Tart will go with me if I ask so I don't have to see it by myself.  

 

2.  Outstanding swappers

 

Recently I've been disappointed by the quality of swaps I've received that was until I received this additional journal (not a required item) in a swap.  Kim reminded me why I swap, because there are those swappers out there that do create marvelous pieces and share them. 

You can view the original post HERE

 

3.  My Family, but most recently, My Mother

who I didnt' realize how much I was leaning on until recently.  She has always been there for me but it took me 35ish years to really see and feel it. 

 

So there ya go, my first ever happy list.  It felt good to make it and now I can think of a ton of other things I am happy for. 

So come join Ricki and the rest of the gang and lets focus on the good.