Little Happies -- Why Did the Turtle Cross the Road?

This past week was chock full of teeny, tiny Little Happies, just chock full of 'em. I'm so happy that, while we're sitting around waiting for the next big thing to happen in our lives, I've got an eye for the little things now. Here's where I found joy this week...

--one--

We'll start with a silly one. THIS GAME. I really shouldn't admit how much time I've spent distracted by it. Have you heard of it? Played it? Been sucked into it like I have? It's called 2048 and it's all about combining like numbers. The overall goal is to get to the 2048 tile, which, if you take a look at the bottom right corner of my screen shot, I FINALLY did!! Now I can go back to being bored at stop lights, thank you very much.

How did I do it, you ask?

This will only make sense if you know how to play...

One of my youth group teens gave me a great hint: only use three of the four directions. For me, it was down, left, and right. I avoided moving the tiles up at all costs, though it did have to happen every once in a while. Also, try to keep your highest tiles in one corner. For me, it was the bottom right, as you can see. Before I knew these tricks, I hardly ever got up to the higher numbers. After, I was scoring BIG almost every game. Give it a try. You'll see. But don't blame your addiction on me!

--two--

My husband has a huge heart. We were driving out of the apartment complex yesterday and we saw a turtle crossing the road.

(Insert "Why did the turtle cross the road?" joke here.)

So, he insisted we stop so he could nudge him to safety... with his sandal. It warmed my heart and cracked me up all at the same time. 

When he got back in the car I asked him if he named his new turtle buddy. He said, "Yup. His name is Turtle Buddy." 

Kind AND creative, that one.

--three--

We don't always eat right, but when we do, it makes me feel like the champion of the grocery store. Check out our fruit and veggie-fied basket! Score for John and Steph! Sure, we added a bit more to the basket as our grocery trip went on, but it was mostly nut butters and olive oil and canned veggies (oh my!). Good stuff.

I'm reeeeally trying more than ever now to be successful on Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Diet. I've found that being part of a facebook anti-inflamm diet accountability group helps (email me if you'd like to join!). I'm also thinking of doing a "Day in the Life of My Anti-Inflammatory Dieting Mouth" post, where I'll post pics of everything I eat over the course of a day. That way, while forcing all of you to salivate over my diety meals (ha!), I'll be forcing myself to stay on track so that you don't judge me once I post everything. How's THAT for accountability?

--four--

Sometimes it's just nice to dress up! We went to a wedding on Saturday, so we had a good excuse, though it's a blast to dress up for no reason sometimes too. Makes you feel all confidenty and such.

I've owned that dress (and the jewelry and shoes) for a while now, so it felt even better to dress up and not spend a dime on the outfit! Turns out, you can teach an old outfit new tricks. Oh wait, is that not the saying?

--five--

Have you ever heard of Joy the Baker? How about Shutterbean? How about their super cute podcast, the Joy the Baker podcast?

When your podcast's tag line is always "...where we talk about totally important unimportant things," you know it's got to be good!

I love listening to them while doing chores around the apartment. Makes the work loads more fun. Plus, I'm way more likely to convince myself to get off my internet-surfin' butt and actually clean that crusty bathroom (gag.) if I know my two new friends are waiting to chat to me via this fab podcast while I scrub. You should try it some time.

They're silly, they're girly, they're fun, they're definitely entertaining. It's great! And both of them are fantastics cooks! So, in addition to their podcast, check out their blogs for some kitchen inspiration. Kinspiration?

--six--

Speaking of Shutterbean (and kinspiration), I found this recipe for Roasted Tomatoes with Polenta & Spinach on her blog. Doesn't it look yum? And it's actually SO easy to make, while at the same time, it makes you feel like you're a culinary genius because it's so fancy lookin' once it's all stacked together. Oh, and don't even get me started on the taste. Mmmmm. PERFECTION.

Another Happy here is that my husband insisted on eating off our wedding china. This takes our eating-off-the-china tally to a grand total of TWO times. It's just so nice, I don't want to ruin it! But I guess if it's never ruined, it means it never got used, loved on, eaten off of... and that certainly doesn't seem worth it. So we used it for our fancy dinner. Made it even fancier. I think we'll have to do that more often now.


Have a lovely Monday, my friends! Happy Memorial Day! Oh, and the turtle crossed the road to get to the shell station, duh! You're welcome. :)

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