So Many Reasons to Dance

Today I’m looking back on the past couple of months and marveling at how much I’ve found to be happy with at the end of the day. 

I find myself going through every day now thinking, “What am I going to write about tonight?”  I’m constantly looking for the good in my life.  I’m looking for the small little moments that make me smile.  The little things that are so often overlooked, I’m looking for them now, and in doing so I’m finding so much more contentment in my life.  I’m much more patient with my children.  I’m much more grateful for everyday things that I often don’t think much of. 

I’m looking at hardships and trials through different eyes.  They are not any easier.  I still have bad days.  But I’m not dwelling on what’s going wrong, or what is hard.  I’m looking for what is going right…

and I’m finding it.

Today I wanted to recap and share what I’ve found to be happy about so far in my adventure in blogging.  I’ve even alphabetized the list!  I actually started this list when I started the blog.  I knew that on day 200 I could very well start repeating things that I’ve already mentioned that I’m grateful for.  So every day that I post I add my “reason to be happy” to my list, so I can make sure that I don’t repeat anything that I’ve previously posted about.  That said, there are I’m sure going to be things that are very similar, or related, but, I’m committed to finding some different aspect of life that makes me dance to post about.  So, that said, here is a recap of what has made me dance so far.

Anniversary; Eleven Years

Audio books

Basketball Games

Blankets

Being Home

Being done with the cantata

Car shows

Cheeks

Children's Messes

Chore Chart

Christmas

Christmas Caroling

Christmas Eve

Comfort When Sick

Coupon Sense

Crazy Days

Cuddling

Dreaming of White Christmas

Everyday Efforts

Friendship

Guardian Angel, Grandpa

Girl's Night

Girlfriends Government

Great Timing

Growing Pains

Hand-me-downs

Leaps of Faith

Learning to Skate

Light

Loving Neighbors

Miracle Babies

Mountains of Laundry

My Past

New Years Resolutions

Niels Petersen

Not Buying the Lie

Peace

Prodigy Conductor

Protection

Salons

Sewing

Shoulders to cry on

Stacey Miles

Stepping out on Stage

Tetris

Toes

I hope that you have found many reasons to dance too.

I’m looking forward to a lifetime more of future happy dances to add to this list.

Who Knew I Could Get So Much Done While Reading?!

I have many interests and hobbies.  Not the least of which is reading.  I love curling up on my couch wrapped up in a throw and getting lost in a book. 

.  I’ve read almost all the cult classics like “Harry Potter”, “Twilight”, and now I’m reading the “Percy Jackson” series to my boys as a bed time story.  I also enjoy autobiographies, especially of those who lived in Europe during World War II.  They are so hard to read, but the story of how average people found deeper strength during unimaginable trials is vey inspiring to me. 

I think my favorite genre of reading is Historical Fiction.  I get to read a fantastic story and learn so much about different time periods as well.  I guess sense I never got to finish going to college it makes me feel like I can still learn a little here and there, but it’s so much more entertaining than your average textbook. 

Lately I’ve been wanting to get to the library and pick up another book, but my daughter lost a little board book, and a Dora DVD, and because I have yet to find them… or pay for them, I’m avoiding going to the library until I have the extra money to make things right there.  Not only that, but it seems that every time I get a new book the house goes to pot.  I try to cook and read at the same time, or fold laundry and read and neither really work well… so I resolve to sit down and just finish the book so I can get back to the house.  After a couple of days the book is done, but then I’m way behind on everything else.  So, I googled, “Free MP3 audio books” and found a website that lets me download them to my mp3 player!

There were many titles there that I’ve never read, mainly because they are all “classics”.  Now, I’m not against classics, but I have to admit I could only take so much of Jane Austin until my mind would go nuts trying to figure out her old time language.  I inevitably traded those books for something a little more modern. 

However, lately I’ve wanted to read some of these books that everyone else seems to love.  I did make it all the way through “A Tale of Two Cities” a few months ago, and was very proud of myself.  Not only did I finish it, but I understood what was going on!  Wahoo!

So, knowing that I was probably the only girl in my book club who hasn’t read “Pride and Prejudice” I downloaded it. 

I LOVE my mp3 player!  It took me a while to figure out how to use it right, but it is amazing how freeing it is!  It’s multitasking to the next level!  While listening to the drama between Jane and Mr. Bingley

I was able to fold 4 loads of laundry. 

While Mr. Collins was brown nosing Lady Katharine

I tidied up Little Princess’s room. 

As the truth came out about the devious Mr. Wickham,

I organized all the clutter in my kitchen and scrubbed it until it shined. 

As the Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth finally swallowed their Pride and admitted that they loved each other

I put the last of the toys in the play room away. 

My house was clean.

My book was done. 

I finished Pride and Prejudice.  And I really enjoyed it!  It was so much easier to understand the language when someone else was reading all the words correctly!

Now I’m on to Jane Eyre. 

.  I’m “reading” all these amazing books… and my house hasn’t looked this good in a long time! 

I guess my mp3 player can make me do the happy dance, even when it’s not playing any music!

Blast From the Past

Back before Doc was a doctor, he was a 16 year old kid who loved hot rods. 

He pulled a 1964 Chevy II Nova out of a local junk yard and rebuilt it until it was immaculate.  It won prizes at car shows.  He was 17!  The kid is amazing.

He tried to keep his hot rod hobby going, but as children were born, and expenses went up, balancing school and every part time job either of us could take to keep our heads above water… the time came when we had to sell the Nova for a car that got more than 8 mpg. 

Watching that car be taken away was horrible.  I openly cried.  I felt like I was selling my husband’s first baby.  Although he didn’t cry, it was evident that it was very hard on him.

Once we moved to Virginia for medical school there just wasn’t any time for car shows… not to mention the fact that there just weren’t any real car shows there.

It has been more than 5 years sense our last car show.  Oz doesn’t even remember ever going to one. 

However, there is a guy that Doc works with that is also a car enthusiast and he told Doc of a car show about 20 miles away.  He came home so excited to take the family to a car show again.  I was excited to see that spark in his eye again.

Droid was pretty excited to go, but he was a little upset that he would be forfeiting his videogames for an evening.  This made me a little sad.  When Droid was 4 he could walk through a car show and point our cars saying, “That’s a ’57 Chevy.  That’s a ’67 Chevelle.  That’s a ’60 Corvette.”  You get the idea.  He knew his cars.  We’ve been away from them for so long he doesn’t remember much of that anymore.

Anyway, we went.  It was so much smaller than an Arizona car show.  I guess that’s to be expected in Ohio. 

But, there were some pretty sweet cars. 

I miss those cars.  Someday I would LOVE to have one of these!

Doc wants one of these

And we are going to let our boys rebuild their own car.

The evening was a great blast from the past, (no pun intended).