being thankful for this

I have so much on my mind, I don't even know where to start.

There are memories of our trip back to Minnesota that I want to share.
There are thoughts on family and friends that are like family that I want to share.
There are thoughts on happiness and gratefulness that I want to share.
There are thoughts on living in the moment that I want to share.
There are thoughts about focusing on the most important things in life that I want to share.
There are thoughts on the holiday season that I want to share. 
There are always thoughts and successes dealing with living healthy that I want to share.

But for now?  I'm just going to be thankful that I have this spot to share all those things.

And spend some time collecting my thoughts.
Stick around... I feel a flood of blog posts coming on. 

Source: pinterest.com via Jenny on Pinterest

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Linking up with Lovely Little Whimsy, the Fontenot Four and Black Tag Diaries for Thankful Thursday. AND Top of the Page for November Thanksliving.

so about these Liebster Awards part 3

Finally, eleven more questions to answer.   Who am I kidding? I'm sure most of you are out shopping your little bums off... but for those of you just hanging out, enjoy!

Just a reminder:  Monday was 11 facts, Wednesday was the 1st set of questions and now one more set from Marci at Life with Joys. 

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1.  What is your favorite holiday tradition?  Eek.  I don't think I have one?  It would be more the tradition of foods.  For instance, the awesome cheese spread my mother-in-law makes, the stuffing that my brother (now) makes that is my Mom's recipe, green been casserole at Thanksgiving.  {no wonder I have weight issues, huh?}

2.  Do you prefer heels or flip flops? flip flops.  Oh wow, flip flops.

3.  What is your love language? You know...I really need to read that book.  Once I do, I'll get back to you.  {wink}
 
4.  Who inspires you to be a better person? My daughter.

5.  What is the craziest thing in your closet? I think there are some tiles in there for the bathroom.  That's sort of weird, huh?

6.  What is your goofiest habit? This one had me stumped...I actually asked my husband.  He said, "too bad you don't still tap the top of soda cans".  I still do, I think-it's a subconcious thing-but I just don't have as much soda any more!

7.  What is your favorite dessert? Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake, but of course.

8.  Do you prefer coffee or tea? Coffee in the a.m., tea in the p.m.

9.  If you could buy anything for yourself, what would it be? A really nice new larger purse/diaper bag/camera bag combination.

10.  What is your favorite color? Orange. or green.

11.  Describe your favorite outfit? Jeans, always a comfortable pair of jeans & a cozy sweater...those two things would be involved.

Whew...that was fun.  So.  Any other burning questions you have for me?  Ask away in the comments. 

so about those Liebster Awards Part 2

Monday I talked about these Liebster Awards, and told you eleven random facts about me.

Now, I get to answer some fun questions from Amanda at Hooked from Hello.

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1. Do you believe in a higher power? Yes, I do.  I believe in God. 

2. What is your favorite pick-me-up song when you are sad? Lately its been "Raise Your Glass" or "Try" by P!nk

3. Favorite form of exercise? Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30; it's like an energy pill for me.

4. Dream vacation destination? Hawaii

Source: getawaytoday.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

5. What age did you have your first kiss? 14.

6. If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you buy first? A plane & pilot so I can go back and forth between here and the States as much as I want.  Although I'd probably want to fly commercial, so maybe just an unlimited # of airline tickets--first class.

7. What is your favorite animal? There is something I really like about elephants.  And bears.  The cuddly, stuffed kind...of course.

8. What is your favorite book?  Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Source: barnesandnoble.com via Jenny on Pinterest

9. Favorite subject in high school? Journalism.  Might be because I love writing even way back then...might be because that is where I met my now husband.  {smile}

10. If money were no object, what career would you choose? Youth Group leader

11. Favorite holiday? Christmas, closely followed by Thanksgiving

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Guess what? I'll be back on Friday with 11 MORE questions.  Fun times, right?  {wink}

so about these Liebster Awards...

Over the last several weeks I've gotten nominated for a few Liebster Awards. Its an award for bloggers who have less than 200 readers, but should have more.  Thank you to Amanda from Hooked from Hello and Marci from Life with Joys for the nominations! 

What it means?  I get to answer some fun questions & tell you random facts about me so you can all learn more about me.  Fun, fun, fun!  I'm going to break it up...just to continue the fun.  Ha.  Haha.

First up?  11 random facts about me.

1. I was a cheerleader for our boy's swim team my junior year of high school. 
2. I'm allergic to the cold {and yes, I'm from Minnesota and plan on moving back there}.
3. I hate tweezing my eyebrows. They end up looking awful between waxes. 
4. I was in my 20s before they were ever waxed. 
5. I collect memorabilia from Hard Rock Cafes. 
6. We've been known to plan trips based on where there were Hard Rock Cafes. 
7. My new favorite meal at the Hard Rock Cafe? Fajitas.  Quickly becoming my favorite meal at most restaurants. 
8. I am finding it extremely difficult to list 11 random facts. 
9. My biggest pet peeve is the sound of other people whistling. 
10. Up until about 4th grade,  I wanted to be a lawyer. 
11. I can't keep a plant alive.  Lucky they don't check on that before they let you take your baby home.  {wink}

Coming soon to a blog near you {well, specifically, this one} the 11 questions Amanda asked get answered!

catching up

It's amazing what two days of being 'off' can do to girl.

'Off' meaning having such a bad head cold it too all of my energy to keep my kids clothed and fed.  Beyond that?  Nada.

I think I may be doing laundry straight thru until December.  {wink}

But, even being under the weather, I was spending a few minutes a whole bunch of time being thankful.

Especially for things like... home grocery delivery.

Neighbor boys and friends for J#3; keeps him busy and there is so much more fun energy in the house.

This would be me capturing my shadow, because it meant it was sunny. Not for long (see the clouds behind the hill?), but still. It was sunny.  That's exciting around these parts.

NFL Season Pass.  Sigh.  Helps make it feel a bit more like a normal Sunday, when we get to watch our favorite football team {the Vikes, obviously}.

It was Guy Fawkes day here in the UK last Monday.  The other words for the day?  Fireworks day and Bonfire day.  We got to see some fireworks from our family room.  Very cool.  Even better was that we were skyping with Grandma, so she got to see them too!

This is my healthy girl.  Loves fruit, veggies, eggs, cheese.  She's definitely teaching me a thing or two about healthy eating.

Num. This is the best taco seasoning ever.  Its from the Netherlands.  Yeah, I know...that doesn't sound right, does it?  But thankful that my husband still gets to travel back there for work now and then so he can pick some up for me. 

How about you?  What have you been thankful for lately?

It's not too late, you could still join us on instagram with #thankfulliving.  And link up here, I'll come find you!

a day in our life

I'm pretty excited today.

It's Wednesday, after all.

What, you don't get excited for Wednesdays?

I have to say it was kind of nice to go to bed last night knowing there was no way there could be a result in the presidential race at that point in the day (seeing as how it was still evening on the East Coast), and then getting to wake up and know that a winner had been decided and we can all move on with our lives. 

Thanksgiving...turkey...stuffing...here we come.  Numnumnum.

Oh!  And the main reason I'm excited?  I'm a guest over at Ashley's blog today.  She is the Domestic Wannabe {and has one of the most adorable daughters in the world}.

So if you want to find out what a day in our life is like?  Head over there and check it out.

A teaser?  It doesn't always include sweets...


AND if you here from Ashley's?  Hello!!!! HI!!!  Here are a few posts that I wrote last fall that really tell my story.  Although, its a never ending story, for now.  So you should stick around to see what happens.  {wink}

Getting to know me:  

• the basics {32 random questions I answered when I was...32}
• the old days  {via a 'top 10'}
• my heart {literally-my heart-the one that pumps}
• the story of my husband & I (part 1 & part 2)
• our many homes {we move too much. I shouldn't have to have a post about this.}

Alright folks, there you have it.  Oh, and two more posts to show you a few of my favorite people:

• J#3, my first born, the boy who made me a mama.
• J#4, my sweet girl, a little princess who is full of personality and makes me smile daily.

Okay.  Now I'm done.

Really.

I mean it.

Have a good day.

hello Monday

Hello Monday.

Hello sun streaming in the kitchen window.

Hello clean, streamlined kitchen.  I'm in a 'minimalistic' mood.  Just in time to go through belongings to take bake to the States for our visit and annual donation to goodwill.  Watch out clothes, bags and shoes...nobody is safe!

Hello to a return to my healthy ways {I sort of took a week off.  Not good.  Not good at all.}

Hello stop light of a food bowl.

Hello nummy scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Hello to starting a new habit...daily multi-vitamins. 

Hello to my new plan for November {this is an iphone wallpaper, feel free to grab it if you'd like}. 

Hello to a continuation of #thankfulliving...
Our weekly trip to Costco.  {Thankful for the costco, thankful for our "team".}

Their laughs.  Always thankful for their laughs. 

Hello #thankfulliving link-up that's still open {will be for all of November}. 

I know I'm finding that I realize I have so much to be grateful for when I see other folks #thankfulliving items and think to myself, 'oh, me too!  me too!'

Instagram, your blog, facebook, twitter.  Where ever you are being thankful--link up so we can all be grateful together.  We use the #thankfulliving hashtag on instagram {i'm jenlives}

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Linking up with Lisa Leonard today for 'hello Mondays'.

it's the little things

It's the little things that I capture with Instagram 

{and some big things too, but mostly little}...

 

like the perfect cup of hot chocolate... 

 

 grabbing a moment in time with a boy that is growing up too fast...

and his little sister too... 

 

the little things like peace in the car

and excitedly watching for the next trick or treater

 

...and the sun.  Oh, the glorious sun.  #thankfulliving

It's the little things that

will someday be the big things.  

The happy memories. 

The moments in time.  

Speaking of time... 

The countdown continues.

 

Minnesota...here we come. 

Well, only for 10 days.  But that'll do.

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Linking up with:

Hello Hue for the FANTABULOUS return of "the little things"
Finding Joy for Friday Favorites
Life Rearranged for InstaFriday

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and here's my little link-up again too.  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, your blog.  Where ever you please.  Its time for #thankfulliving.  Link up here so we can all be thankful together. 

#thankfulliving begins! {a link-up}

November!  Yay!

Today,  I'm sooo grateful {and excited} to just see November start.

More than I could probably relay in a blog post.

Lots to look forward to the next few months, including, of course, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  A few of my favorite holidays.

I can't wait to see what you are thankful for this month!  Below is the linky tool.

Remember the idea of this movement {for lack of a better word} is to just share what you are thankful for--big or small--each day of November.

And just so we can all find each other, I've got this link-up so you can share your instagram feed or blog address {or Twitter or Facebook profile} where you'll be documenting all you have to be thankful for.  {easy, right?}

If you are linking up your instagram feed, just head on over to Followgram or Webstagram or Gramfeed {or any Instagram web following site} sign in to your account &amp use your profile url.  Can't wait to find you on there. 

If you have a blog, then just go ahead and put your blog address in there! 

And if you have only Twitter and Facebook and want to take part; feel free to share your profile pages for those too!

Now...go do some #thankfulliving!

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I'm linking up this week for Thankful Thursday with Carina at Lovely Little Whimsy and Sarah over at The Fontenot Four and Julia at Black Tag Diaries