Monday, May 26, 2014

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. :)



20 comments:

  1. 3--I love it when my cart looks like that. (Also: I totally judge other people in the check-out lane by whats in their cart... a couple weeks ago, I checked out behind a couple who was buying several loaves of white bread, a bunch of velveeta cheese, several packs of bologna, and multiple cans of Spam. And that is all. EW.)

    4--I love weddings! And I love getting dressed up for them (which is the part my husband hates about weddings lol) I'm so sad, we're missing the wedding of a good friend of ours next weekend, as its in Pittsburgh and we obviously can't travel right now :(

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    1. EW is right. That's one gross cart. I also judge others by what's in their grocery carts. It's rude, for sure, but what else is a girl to do when she's bored in the checkout line? :)

      Sorry you had to miss that wedding. Bummer! Weddings sure are a blast, so I can understand feeling the blues over not being able to attend. You make sure Maria knows what you sacrificed for her! :)

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  2. You are just precious. Love love love!

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  3. THAT GAME!! I have yet to play but for weeks Jonathan has been playing it before bedtime. It looks like it's very fun, so I will be learning soon! :)

    That little turtle is adorable! I am so glad John brought him to safety...and made up that clever joke! You are a very funny gal.

    I am so proud of your cart! I really should do a blog post similar in nature for accountability's sake...I am in anti inflammatory diet denial for now, knowing it must change. Almond milk was a small step in the right direction I hope. You inspire me to do better!!!

    That dress is stunning. I would have thought it was brand new if you hadn't said anything. Green looks great with your hair color! Just stunning! I am currently trying to plan out an outfit for adoption photo shoot...and of course feel like I have nothing. I think I need to teach an outfit old tricks too.

    Thanks for sharing that podcast. I am always looking for something new like that. I looooove multi-tasking around the house. Currently (for 2+ years now) I listen to Dave Ramsey archives while getting ready in the morning. I have yet to find a solid podcast for cleaning time. Perhaps this new one you've shared will be the one? I will try it this week!

    Happy Memorial Day! :)

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    1. I inspire you on this diet? Wowsa! That's funny, because you're my inspiration! I promise I fail a lot. I've been really good at cutting down on gluten lately, but the cheese is so hard. And cutting back on meats. We just had gyro meat for dinner last night. Oops. But totally not sorry. I'm drooling right now just thinking about it!

      Thanks for the sweet words about my little green dress. Green clothes usually work wonders on red heads, which makes up for the fact that several other colors (pink, red, and orange) look reeeeally horrible.

      Adoption photo shoot?!!?!? How exciting!! Will you share the pics??

      If you try out the podcast, let me know what you think. Just a warning -- they're not Catholic, so sometimes (very occasionally) they say things that we don't line up with, but hardly ever really. I just feel like I need to throw that warning out there.

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  4. You look lovely in that dress!!!!!! My hubby got me into playing 2048 a few weeks ago, we swype up and left.

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    1. Thank you! I'm blushing!

      THAT GAME, though. SO addicting!! Glad you figured out that special trick too!

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  5. I love to dress up too...it does bring out some inner confidence doesn't it?

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    1. For sure! That and wearing a pair of heels. Boosts my confidence lots! So long as they're comfortable, that is. :)

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  6. Sounds like you had such a wonderful and relaxing weekend! The turtle story is adorable, VERY impressed by your dedicated grocery shopping (I need to be a bit better in that department, thanks for the inspiration)! And your dress--stunning! I agree with Amanda, the color looks amazing on you! I don't NEED new game addiction, but maybe I should give it a try anyway... :)

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    1. Ut oh! Have I fueled an addiction? I'm ashamed!! It's a great way to eat up lots of free time. Let me know if you like it. :) And thanks for the compliment, friend. You're too nice!

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  7. Just extricated myself from my own 2048 binge. And you're so right about your tips. The polenta looks delish, but not as awesome as you do in that green dress!

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    1. I think the creators of 2048 just wanted to suck the life out of all of us with their uber addicting game... and it's working. I don't even want to know how many hours I've spent playing it. You're so sweet, btw. Thanks for the compliment. :) I wonder if you recognize that dress from my Houston days. I wore it to a CRJ event or two in my time there.

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  8. I'm just going to ignore your 2048 recommendation. I might get addicted to it, and it could be dangerous. ;) Your husband was really sweet to help the turtle. There was a turtle crossing the highway when I was driving recently and I was so relieved that I didn't turn him into a pancake. You look super cute in that dress!

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    1. Yes, PLEASE ignore! Unless you're really looking for something to be addicted to. I suppose it's safer than most other addictions, anyway. :) Oh, and I'm so glad you avoided that turtle. Even if it's completely out of my control, I always feel really sad when I hit an animal. Thanks for the compliment, friend. :)

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  9. What a pretty dress you wore to the wedding!

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