A little of this and a little of that....my Sunday in a nutshell!

Happy Sunday evening!!!  Actually Happy Last Day of June Evening!  Can you believe that when you wake up tomorrow it will already be JULY?? During the school year, time seems to drag on and on, but let summer commence and the time flies right on by!!!

So, in living a thankful life, one filled with all sorts of gratitude, you have to find things that YOU enjoy doing and take some time each day just for you!!! And no, Candy Crush doesn't count! For me, there are many things I enjoy doing but the one thing that has always been my escape from my own little reality has been reading! I guess that is why I enjoy being a Reading Teacher so much! I've posted on my Facebook page about my youngest's summer reading requirements and how I am such a huge proponent of it! In my few short weeks of summer vacation, I've been to Washington DC (for real) and the OBX (for real) as well as Gettysburg (compliments of The Killer Angels) and a little fictional island off the coast of Maine called Quinnipeague (compliments of Sweet Salt Air). As I always teach my students, reading is so therapeutic. It can take you ANYWHERE you want to go with just the turn of a page!!!  What's not to love about that?!?!?!

Bill and I decided we were going to clean the pool today! We were both waist deep in the water when the sound of thunder rolled on in. Needless to say, we got out of the pool pronto! After awhile, the threat of rain disappeared and while he took a nap, Erika and I headed out to the backyard to finish the job! My pool is now scrubbed and vacuumed and looks mighty good!!!  Makes me feel super great when Bill comes out and tells me what a great job I've done!! True compliments always make my heart swell!!!! I do enjoy spending time with him, whether it be lounging in the pool, taking a ride on the motorcycle, doing yardwork, or cleaning out the pool, nothing feels like work when you are doing it with someone you love!!!!

Being a thankful person is not all that hard, really! There is no real trick to it except to be open to all the things in your life that truly make you smile! I've learned that those little things are ALL around me every single day!!!! So, what made YOU smile today?

Until tomorrow, my friends....





















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Air conditioners hum, birds chirp, a breeze blows.....welcome to myporch!

Good morning!!!!

I trust you've all had a great night's sleep and are ready to tackle another day! Someone recently asked me how in the world I am able to wake up so chipper and full of gratitude from the start. Hmmmmm, let's see:

When I wake up, I instinctively reach on the nightstand for my phone. Trust me it is NOT to check out the latest happenings on Facebook, but rather to fulfill my daily reading requirement in my Bible App by YouVersion. I participate in daily reading plans, which I have chosen, to help return some focus to my life. Many times, my daily scripture or one of the plans speaks almost directly to me in what I am dealing with, what I need to remember, or just something that sparks an emotion. This is the perfect way for me to start my day. It reminds me of my Grandma. She started each day with a daily devotional and just the other day, I found that my oldest does, too. 

When my Grandmother fell and subsequently passed away of the injuries she sustained, I was angry. Angry at God, the doctors, my family, but mostly God. I couldn't understand why this had to happen to MY Grandmother. As if her fall wasn't horrific enough, the fact that she, in my mind, suffered for four days truly weighed heavy on my mind. I turned away from God and became a nasty, angry person. While I am still not able to sit through a church service in my church, I trust that the day will come when I can. I know my mom doesn't understand that, because church is a place of solace for her, and right it should be, but for me, the church is a constant reminder of the Grandmother I miss terribly and probably will the rest of my days. However........

I have not abandoned God! I trust in His will and through my daily bible readings, I have renewed that relationship! I appreciate the sounds from the porch each morning! Summer is great for me because I can start my day just sitting on my porch rocker, taking it all in, well before the neighbors start waking up! If that doesn't scream out BE THANKFUL then I don't know what does!!! One day, I will be able to wake up on a Sunday morning and be ready to go to church without the feeling of loss and rather with the feeling of thankfulness. Until that time, I am thankful for my bible app and my porch!!!

This morning, two different verses appeared in preparation for my day! The first was my Bible Survey Part Two devotional, which focused on Psalm 19. My daily mantra driving to work each day is Psalm 19:14 which reads, May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. The second came from a daily affirmation I like to read in which today's happened to be a wonderful quote from an inspirational woman, Helen Keller, "The best and most beautiful things in the world can not be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." 

Today, find ways to set yourself up for a positive day filled with many things that touch your heart. Start your day smiling and thanking whomever or whatever you pray to for another day to enjoy. And thank YOU for creating the spark in my heart which I like to call friendship!!!!

Make it a great day, my friends......







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Another day comes to a close.....

Rarely do I ever end the day and say, "Phew! Thank goodness it is over. This was a horrible day." Rarely. There was a time, a few years back, when that truly WAS how I felt at the close of each and every day. Now, on most nights, as I crawl into bed, I smile and say, "Now THAT was a great day!" And today was no exception!

Today was filled with things that truly made my heart smile! From the start of my day, I filled it with ME things as well as things for others. After starting my blog this morning, I enjoyed my Tervis of Peppermint Tea on the porch reading the newest Barbara Delinsky book (she is one of my favorite authors) and before I knew it, lunchtime was upon us!!! After a little fruit salad (and more reading), the girls and I made a WalMart run in order to get the fixings for tacos for dinner!!!! We managed to find an empty line to check out in (which is a HUGE happiness score in my book!!) and spent less than I anticipated (another huge happiness score in my book!!). 

When we returned home, I received a message from my parents' neighbor about some fresh produce from their garden! Shellee and the kids walked up to my house to deliver the produce and we ended up swimming!!! I still smile when I picture all three of her children in the pool, in their clothing (and Lys and I too!!!) laughing and enjoying the water!!!! Her middle child, Tootie, immediately took to Alyssa and they became fast friends in the water!!! What a daring little girl!!!! She may be part fish, too, to be honest!!!!

The girls and I enjoyed tacos tonight! It is one of Erika's favorite meals! I enjoy making them and seeing the girls having fun putting together their tacos and enjoying dinner! Lots of enjoyment in that last sentence, not??!! Dessert was created at mom and dad's house!!!! S'Mores!!!! Come on, who doesn't enjoy s'mores???? You know right now you are smiling, picturing some time in your life when you completely enjoyed a s'more!! I love it!!!! And what's more American than eating a s'more and seeing a bald eagle fly over the backyard?? I kid you not folks, a bald eagle. I am fortunate to live close to the Lehigh River and right now, a bald eagle has nested nearby. He is spotted quite often but this was a first to see it fly over a backyard!!! 

After we left my parents' house, the girls and I went on a spontaneous mini road trip to try and see the gorgeous sunset. We figured if we went to Jim Thorpe, we would be sure to see it but unfortunately that was not so. We did see a deer, though, and drove through the quaint little town of Jim Thorpe!!! 

As you can see, THIS was a near perfect day! It doesn't take much to find things to make you smile and create moments of sheer and simple enjoyment. Could I have gotten more work done around the house? Sure! But then I would have missed out on some really fun stuff today!!! Besides, tomorrow is another day!!

Until tomorrow, my friends....what made you smile today? What warmed your heart? What are YOU most thankful for in YOUR day?











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....and then it hit me!

I've been told numerous times that I should start blogging my whole thankful journey. This morning, as I lie awake in bed, reading the newest download on my Kindle (well, my Kindle App on my iPad to be perfectly honest), it hit me.....the inspiration needed to start this blog over. To take it from being about my weight loss journey to my journey into thankful living. Truth be told (I try to be an honest person, you know), the two....my weight loss journey and my journey into thankful living....could go hand in hand. In fact they do! Without the start of ACE (www.myaceadventure.com) and the loss of weight, which in turn made me a happier person, I would not have been inclined to start looking at the positives. As many people know, the summer of 2011 did not treat me well. In July, August, and September of that year, I lost three friends to sudden deaths. Coming on the heels of losing three of my four grandparents in four years time, I had a very hard time seeing the positive in anything. October 4, 2011 that all changed and my think thankfully journey began......

Now, I don't profess to have all the answers. I don't even profess to know the keys to happiness, but I believe they lie solely in the idea of being thankful, living thankfully, and recognizing things in our day that make us smile, make us happy, make us laugh. I believe firmly in the idea, if at the end of each day, I can not think of SOMETHING, just ONE THING to be thankful for in my day, then I did something wrong, because little bits of sunshine have to shine through even the most miserable of days.

A few days ago, I noticed a friend on Facebook having a bit of a rough time. Her posts really reached out to me in a way that said, "hey....touch base with her." So I did. She told me that she sometimes has trouble seeing the positive. She wished she could be a calmer person. Everything seemed to upset her and she felt as though everyone seemed so laid back and non caring. She was honestly thinking that she was the problem and the one that needs to change and chill-but how?

My advice to her....do what I do each night. Find a journal and write down things that made you happy or smile or thankful each day. Once you make it a daily habit, you really start to change in how you look at things and how you feel. Things still bother you but you are able to balance it out better with things that make your heart happy!!!! It's worth trying!!! Give it a shot for a month and see if it helps!!!! And those things can be silly little things like no stupid long lines at Walmart, but gosh darn it, that makes you feel good!!!! I think everyone goes through these spells. They aren't fun but they do help make us better people in the end. Sometimes we forget we have to take the bad to get to the good!

Today, I challenge you......when things start to get you down, bother you, cause you to want to blow your stack.....think about ONE THING....just ONE THING that makes you happy, makes you smile, makes you laugh. Acknowledge that one thing, write it down, and above all, REMEMBER it!!!!

Until tomorrow, my friends.....










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