New Life.

Today I am grateful for new life.

woah.

that's deep.

I'm just talking about a t-shirt.

apparently i felt the need to be all ominous and pro-lifeish.

excuse me while i take a moment to laugh about the idea of "me" and "pro-life" being in the same sentence.

ANYWAY.

new life. to an old t-shirt. because i took an old large t-shirt and turned it into a tank top.

Don't you just fucking love the internet? It's seriously just full of all these fun crafty people who have nothing better to do with their lives than to figure out how to make cool shit and then put instructions on the internet so that you can make cool shit too. Love it.

My dad gave me a t-shirt a few years back. well, more like 6 or 7 years back now. It was really big, but he didn't get it for the size. on the front it said "Issues? You bet your sweet ass I have issues!" Isn't he a wonderful father?

actually he really is because I fucking love this shirt. I used it as a night shirt for awhile. or have thrown it on to do around the house stuff when i didn't want to get my good clothes dirty...but it sort of just ended up sitting in my dresser for a long time because it didn't really fit well. I kept seeing all kinds of pins on pinterest for remaking old tshirts into things, but i've been kind of skeptical because i don't sew. AT ALL. because today I stumbled across one that specifically said "no sew" and i gave it a read.

SO SIMPLE. seriously. my mind was blown.

I'm sorry now that I didn't take any pictures of the process to share here. but you can find the instructions here. Now I've turned this t-shirt into a tank-top that i'll get much more use out of. I already wore it today for yoga. heck yes. I'm so grateful that just a few cuts with a pair of scissors brought this tshirt back into my life again. heck yes, internet. heck yes.

of course, no i see a potential trip to goodwill for a handful of extra large tshirts happening in my future. I may or may not be grateful for this later.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

The Shat.

Today I am grateful for The Shat.

or William Shatner, if you will.

Why?

because he's fucking William Shatner.

a.k.a. JAMES T. KIRK.

and he's beautiful.

yup.

I just needed to share this with you.

It was a cumpulsion. you're welcome, by the way.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Movie Marathons.

Today I am grateful for mini-movie marathons.

they don't get to happen at this house very often.

EXCUSE ME.

movie marathons that don't consist of Dora the Explorer, Super Hero Squad, or The Wonder Pets don't get to happen around here very often.

at all.

The Marsh and I try to watch movies together on occasion. sometimes if the movie isn't rated too bad we can watch it in the evening when the babes are playing. sometimes we know it's something they shouldn't watch so we wait for them to go to bed.

This would be fine if our kids went to bed at the time normal toddlers went to bed, at say 8:00pm or so. But my kids stay up until 9:30 ish. and then between going potty and brushing their teeth and getting a bedtime story in...it's more like 10:15ish before The Marsh and I can even think about starting a movie. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about my kids bedtimes. if I wanted them to get in bed earlier I would make it happen. but seeing how I stay at home most days with them, i would prefer it if they didn't wake up at 6:00am. which is exactly what would happen if they went to be early. I would rather they went to bed a little bit later and slept until 8:00am any day of the week. but it does make starting a movie hard to do when The Marsh has to get up early in the morning for work.

even worse is that The Marsh and I like to watch TV series that we get on disks through netflix sometimes. and if there are only two episodes on a disk that's not so bad. but sometimes there are 3! and that movie marathon just ain't happening that late at night. Oh I know what you're thinking..why not just watch the episodes on different days? well, have you ever seen True Blood? That show ALWAYS ends on a cliff hanger. ALWAYS. and when you know that you can just click a little button and get the next episode, you do it. it's fucking addicting.

Last night The Marsh and I were too tired to keep pressing next episode, however, and ended up having once episode left on one disk. well, we also happened to get the next disk in the mail today with an additional 3 episodes. AHHH. so many to watch.

BUT!!! today is thursday. and everyone loves thursdays! so after getting the babes dropped off at my mom's for the night, we came home, made some dinner, and popped it the movies. Four episodes and three brandies later, things are pretty awesome in this house. I can't believe we managed to watch four episodes in one night! at we were done by 11:00pm! MADNESS!!

I'm grateful that The Marsh didn't have to work late tonight so this was possible. and I'm grateful for all the fun and laughter that came with this movie marathon. The Marsh and I haven't been able to see each other a whole lot lately, so this was more than just a movie marathon for us, it was taking a few hours to spend time together that didn't consist of cleaning, or laundry, or shopping, or paying bills. and I'm always grateful for a few hours of down time with my husband.

I'm also always grateful for a few hours of watching Alexander Skarsgard and Stephen Moyer..if you know what i mean.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Settled.

Today I am grateful to be settled.

with my husband.

and my babes.

in this house that we own.

Sure eveything isn't perfect yet. the wall are white. no pictures are hung up. even though we've lived here for like two years. there are still things that need to be done.

but there is no rush.

we're here.

My brother and his girlfriend are currently in the process of getting their first apartment together. and while all of this is exciting and I'm happy for them, there are stressful elements to it. how much rent can they afford? what town do they live in? how do they split the bills? do they need a large kitchen or is a small one okay? what color should things be? headboard? no headboard?

it sounds exhausting.

but then again, i have two toddlers.

i'm always exhausted.

the point is, however, that i've put in my time playing the apartment game. although i was EXTREMELY LUCKY and played the game for alot less years than most people. I'm very grateful to have owned my own home at 22. but i still had an apartment. and i still remember moving into my first one. and sleeping with The Marsh on a twin size mattress that was sitting on the floor because neither one of us owned a larger bed. and not owning a kitchen table for weeks. and our couch was my grandmama's loveseat from 1984. those were the days, right?

well actually. they kind of were. but for different reasons. personal and private The Marsh and Alana pre-marriage and babies reasons.

but I wouldn't go back now for anything. I enjoy knowing my forseeable future. it makes my soul happy. being so settled. and i'm always grateful for that.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Cookie Monster.

Today I am grateful for Oreo Cookies.

why?

because of this.

amazing, right? If you don't think so, you probably shouldn't be reading this blog. because i think you are a horrible person.

anyway. I'm so grateful that there are companies and brands out there who are willing to take a stand against homophobia. although i'm a little bit disgusted that in this day and age every brand and company and person doesn't just support gay pride or gay marriage because it's just another part of life. I'm also a little bit disgusted by the intense amount of hate that Oreo is now recieving due to this picture. families saying they will never by oreos again. and I'm just like "good. more oreos for me!"

my favorite response to all the crazy oreo hate?

I'm still laughing.

so thank you oreo. for making me proud of you. and for making me laugh at homophobes.

my life day is complete.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Rainy Days and Mondays.

Today I am grateful for rainy days and mondays.

who's grateful for that??

aren't they always suppose to get you down? nope. not this girl.

not that today was super exciting or anything. actually it was just the opposite. it's lack of excitement is what seems to have made it all the more perfect. the last few weeks have been busy around here. and The Marsh has been working alot of overtime. and after getting back from Boston yesterday there still wasn't much time for relaxing because we took the babies down to the waterfront to see the fireworks in town. but today there was none of that.

It was nice and quiet. I would go so far as to call it boring, but it wasn't really boring. The Marsh was home with the babes and me today. he made french toast and bacon. we watched star wars. i spent an unhealthy amount of time on pintrest while he played The Lord of the Rings video game with our son. It was dark and rainy so for the first time in a week the house wasn't so hot i wanted to kill myself. The Marsh  made chili. the babes didn't go completely stir crazy having to be couped up all day. i drank three cups of coffee. and barely made it out of my pajamas. (yoga pants for life.) I read. The Marsh made his grocery list for the week. and did laundry. (yes. he did all the important things in the house today. i'm aware of this.)

now my babes have gone to my in-laws for the night. so my house is even quieter than usual. seriously. how can anyone not be grateful for a day like today. everyone loves a good lazy day, right? well. at least one person does. this girl right here. rainy days and mondays. beautiful.

i'm also always grateful for The Carpenters. and you should be too.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Mama's Night Out.

Today I am grateful for my extremely fun night out last night.

Today, is my best friend Kristy's birthday. she also happens to be leaving for London tomorrow morning. so last night she had a big shindig in Boston as a combined birthday/going away party. I was lucky enough that The Marsh has the weekend off from work, so I kissed him and the babies goodbye for the night and headed out to the train station.

I met up with my Rachel, whom has been friends with Kristy since they were in high school, and she kept me company during the 2 and a half hour train ride. I'm grateful for that as well, as far as cool people go, Rachel is definately at the top.

Kristy and her boyfriend, Ken, just recently moved in together so it was also very exciting to see their new place for the first time. We ate some amazing cheese and drank a couple bottles of wine before we even made it out of the apartment. Then we met up with a bunch more people, i think there was a group of 13 of us? We went to the Sunset Cantina, which is basically a tequila bar. It was also amazing..I even managed to get the birthday girl to do a couple shots. The whole night was fantastic.

at one point during the night some chicks in pink shirts were going around the bar handing out free shots for some liquor they were selling. The alcohol turned out to be pretty gross (but hey, it was free) but they also were handing out these awesome cheap ass pink sunglasses for free as well. They actually totally made the night.

and then this happened with ken and rachel. we're total bad asses.



I literally woke up at 4:00 this morning like "what the hell is on my face?" because i actually wore them to sleep last night. yes. i am that cool.

We all had breakfast and coffee together this morning before Rachel and I grabbed the train back home. I was just a really great mini-trip over all and i was so thankful to see Kristy before she headed off to Europe for six weeks. It really was the perfect mama's night out.

I'm also grateful in advance for her safe flight and arrival. just in case the higher power up there just happens to be paying attention.

Thanks for reading!

Lana

Lost and Found.

Today I am grateful that I didn't lose my bracelet.

that i've had for less than a week.

I tend to lose things. it's a bad habit. and considering the last thing i lost my my beautiful sapphire ring that The Marsh bought me for my 23rd birthday...i knew if i didn't find this bracelet, he would never buy me anything again.

It was just so dumb on my part. this morning on the way to The Marsh's work, i was trying to put it on. and i really struggle putting it on by myself because i wear it on my right wrist and my left hand is completely useless. so after giving up, i set the bracelet on my lap and planned to try again when i got to work.

well, that would have been all fine and dandy. but before I got to my work, I dropped The Marsh off at his. and because he was driving, I had to get out of the passenger seat and walk over to the driver's side. do you see where this is going? i completely forgot the bracelet was on my lap when I got out of the car. it wasn't until later when I was at work and looked at my wrist that I realized what happened.

cue panic attack.

I called my husband's work and asked if anyone had found a bracelet in the parking lot, but no one had. later when I got out of work and had to pick up The Marsh i checked again. but still nothing. I was so bummed. I couldn't believe I managed to lose it all ready. but as I was walking away apparently another officer heard the woman tell me that there wasn't a bracelet anywhere and he remembered seeing one. So they stopped me and had me do everything short of fucking give them a DNA sample describe the bracelet and he told me he thought someone had found it. 5 minutes later there was The Marsh walking into the lobby with my bracelet in his hand.

I'm just so grateful to have it back. and I'm so grateful that this particular officer just happened to be in the right place at the right time to over hear them telling me no one had seen it. and i'm grateful that now The Marsh isn't going to boycott buying me more jewelery. I still have a few more pieces I would like to get!

Thanks again for reading!
Lana

Aloe Vera.

Today I am grateful for Aloe Vera.

Why?

because being a redhead in the summer sucks. thats why.

It was like 90 degrees here today. which was nice, a pleasant way to kick off the summer in fact. but my skin doesn't agree. I thought it would be nice to sit outside in the sunshine all afternoon. enjoy it. get away from my computer and the tv and everything else inside. breathe some fresh air. whatever it is that people who get excited about the outside do.

now I wasn't silly. I knew my skin would reject the idea. I'm a redhead. I've gotten used to it. and i have red-headed children. it's like raising a family of vampires. but they don't sparkle, they get skin cancer. so we use sun screen. alot of sun screen. I must have put it on four times this afternoon. and i still managed to get a freaking sun burn. damn it.

so tonight I am covering these burns in some aloe vera in hopes of it providing some relief. it's helping a little. I'm hoping it will help alot. I thought maybe being grateful for it tonight on my blog would speed up the process a bit.

but if not, i can always be grateful for my sunburn. maybe it will make me cold tonight. and then i might actually be able to sleep.

okay i lied. it being 90 degrees here isn't nice. is it winter again yet?

thanks for reading!
Lana

Coincidence?

Today I am grateful to the universe.

for saying "hey alana, why don't you work a few more minutes later into lunch than usual today?"

and I'm grateful I listened.

and by doing so I avoided being in a situation I didn't really want to be in.

by seeing someone i didn't really want to see.

I suppose If i hadn't listened to the universe and went to lunch at my normal time and ran into this certain someone, it would have been okay. I mean, it's that tiny immature part of me that's grateful. that part of me that says "i hate you" about someone when you don't really have much of a reason to hate them. that part of me that says "i want you so far the fuck away from me and my family we can't even remember your name or what you look like" even though I've won this game.

ahem.

like i said. slightly immature.

but, because I felt the need to wait 15 minutes longer than I normally do for WHATEVER reason today, i didn't see this person. so there really isn't any need to keep talking about it.

other than to say Thanks Universe, for having my back.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Dads and Pie and I think I Broke the Lawn Mower :0/

Today I am grateful for the amazing Dads in my life.

Dad #1? My Husband, The Marsh, who is an amazing father.

I never saw myself having children until I met The Marsh. I was more of an "I think I'll have dogs..." person. but I knew as soon as I met him that I wanted to have children with him. I knew as soon as I met him that he would be an amazing father. and he is.

Dad #2? My Dad. He's amazing. and he's been there for me through all my good times and bad. I've mentioned before that he's not my biological father, but he's cetainly more of a Dad to me than I could have ever asked for, more than he was ever required to be. I'm grateful everyday for that.

I made both of my favorite men homemade pie for father's day. apple for The Marsh and blueberry for my dad. both pie's turned out great. and both The Marsh and my dad loved them. I'm grateful that my domestic goddess skilled have allowed me to make something special for them for father's day.

and...just as a side note, I'm grateful that i managed to mow almost all of my lawn today before the blades on the mower decided to just stop working. I haven't told The Marsh yet. I think I'll wait til I catch him eating a piece of his pie. maybe that'll help the news go over a little bit better. wish me luck!

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Creepy Crawly Part I Don't Even Know Anymore...

Today I am grateful for mass genocide.

of the ant variety.

BLECK!!!

Seriously. I'm beginning to have a love hate relationship with my house. While I love all the privacy that comes with living tucked into the woods, i kind of can't handle all the fucking bugs that privacy comes with. and lately they've been awful. The Marsh and I have already poisoned our lawn twice this season. TWICE! It's only june!

anyway. we've never really had much of a problem with ants in the house. sure there has been a few here and there in the kitchen but i usually spray the area behind my kitchen down every week with an inside ant killer and poof! no more problem. well. WELL. now all of a sudden I've got ants in my house! not even in the kitchen, but the living room!

ahem. correction. i HAD ants in my living room.

enough was enough.

my mother-in-law came over with some heavy duty pestiside. and sprayed the fuck our of my living room and the perimeter of my house. and i set enough traps underneath my couch to take on an army.

so now, my house should be ant free. hopefully.

please God of keeping tiny gross nasty ants out of people's houses, keep them from coming back here.

isn't one mass murder enough?

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Kidney Stones.

Today I am grateful for kidney stones.

crazy, right?

obviously not mine. I've had a kidney infection before that didn't involve a stone. i would rather suffer through the pain of child labor again.

just saying.

so who's kidney stones am i grateful for?

my father-in-law's.

on wednesday i got a call from my sister-in-law, Kristin, that her and The Marsh's dad was being taken to the hospital. again. he was experiencing a new kind of pain in his abdomen and nobody could explain what was going on. he arrived at the hospital, they did some tests, and then they pumped him full of pain killers. he spent the night in the hospital and everyone was super worried. and then...they pumped ALOT of fluid out of his abdomen. poor guy. I can't even begin to imagine how uncomfortable he was. I have no idea how he was even managing.

but..the good news in all of this is test results showed that they think the pain he was having a caused by a kidney stone. A freaking kidney stone?! It's always such a natural instinct to think that when there is something wrong with him it's because of the cancer. but sometimes, it's not even related. so while getting a kidney stone totally sucks, it wasn't anything to be totally worried about. and they released him from the hospital.

I'm grateful that that's all there was going on. poor guy needed to catch a break. I'm just sorry it happened in such a painful way.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Foreigner?

Today I am grateful for my husband's inability to "name that artist."

this was a game my dad and i always played while i was growing up.

whenever a song came on the radio my dad would always say "who sings this?" The goal? to always know the answer. and i've reached a point where I do pretty well. and it's just become habit to ask everyone else the same question.

i learned early on into my relationship with The Marsh that he is very bad at this game.

and he almost always answers with "Foreigner?"

apparently every band to ever emerge in the 80s sounds like Foreigner to my husband.

Somedays it's funny. somedays it's frustrating. and other days it's just kind of sad. i mean seriously, who confuses STYX and INXS? The Marsh, thats who.

But today? Today i am grateful for his silly lack of music knowledge because even when i want to be mad at him, i just can't help but laugh at him. I've been more or less "angry" with The Marsh for most of today. More mad at myself at times, but he's an easy outlet sometimes. and on the car ride home tonight he was really pushing it. deliberatly poking the mama bear with a stick you might say. so he may or may not have got smacked. possibly. and his response to this maybe smack might have been "It hurts so good..." which might have been mildly irritating until he said "that's right, busting out the Bruce Springs...."

he didn't even have a chance to finish before he got smacked again.

but i did laugh.

and i did immediately feel better.

so tonight i'm grateful that his lack of music knowledged knocked me out of my funk. and helped me remember one of the thousand or so reasons why i love him.

thanks for reading!
Lana

15 years or so...

Why am I always grateful that one of my children hasn't managed to seriously maim the other one?

I mean, come on.

I'm starting to feel bad for everything my brother and i put my mother through.

because this is just ridiculous.

the biting. the pinching and punching. the stabbing with bamboo skewers.

if they make it to adulthood without killing each other i'll be amazed.

Tonight's latest mishap? Oh you know, Breyman gets pissy that G is following him around. like any normal big brother. but this time, when she follows him up onto the couch, brey gets the bright idea to grab the bottom of her legs and pull them out from under her. Of course, this wouldn't have been quite so bad, if G had fallen back onto the couch. but because we talking about my children, she didn't land of the couch. she completely fell off of it and landed on her back on the ground. HARD. not only was the wind knocked out of you. she has an incredibly awful looking rug burn on her back. it wasn't fun.

normally there is a bit of crying and then the two of them make up. not tonight. tonight there was alot of crying. and G made sure Brey knew that he "wasn't very nice." she even went so far as to tell him she didn't like him even more. which horrified The Marsh and I. and then we all had to sit down and have some serious conversations about loving our siblings unconditionally. it was like freaking dr. phil up in the joint.

she seems to be doing better now. and they appear to have made up for the most part. but the two of them doing this to each other all the time is so exhausting. not to mention hard on the heart. i'm always on edge wondering exactly how hurt one of them is until the screaming stops and i can assess the situation.

but since it doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. all i can do is hope that they don't inflict too much damage on each other. and be grateful that in about 15 years or so the worst will be over.

hopefully.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Mouse Trap!

Today I am grateful to be rid of a mouse.

a mouse in a house, as Dr. Suess would say.

unfortunately for me, it was my house.

On Saturday night, my older sister was staying over after my younger sister's graduation. and in the middle of the night she knocked on my bedroom door and told me there was a mouse running around my kitchen. The Marsh went looking for it that night, but saw no signs of it anywhere.

Over the next few days I sort of forgot about it. there was no hint of there ever being a mouse around, and it certainly wasn't making it's presence known. but then this evening mr. breyman said "Look! a mouse!!!" of course we all turned and looked. but still, no mouse. The Marsh was starting to think that everyone was going crazy. hallucinating the mouse or something. so we went back to business as usual again. but then... again while brey was watching his cartoon he shouted "Daddy, it's a mouse! under the TV stand!" so The Marsh went over. but he still couldn't see anything. so he grabbed his trusty broom and started poking around under the tv. and wouldn't you know it? a mouse ran out.

this mouse was a tricky mouse too. he kept managing to run back and forth underneath my two different couches without being seen. he was super small and fast. his fur blended in really well with my carpet too. but he was no match for my trusty kitty cat. as soon as there was mouse confirmation I grabbed Temperence. He was a little confused at first, but once he actually saw the mouse? all over. The Marsh flushed the mouse out from under the tv again and temperence caught him. the hardest part was getting Tempe to let go of the mouse. but he finally did, and we trapped him in a bucket so that we could take him out of the house.

I'm extremely grateful that this little saga in our lives is over. of course, we do live in the woods, so i'm sure this isn't the last mouse we'll encounter. but at least this one is off running in the woods somewhere. maybe. I let tempe out at the same time and the last thing I saw was him running after the mouse in the dark. let the hunger games begin.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Pre-k? When Did That Happen?

Today I am grateful that my son, Brey, had an awesome day.

You see, today was Breyman's screening for pre-kindergarten.

which he'll start in the fall.

I'm obviously taking it very well.

anyway.

I was a little nervous about taking him in to the school. He sees other little kids at family reunions and at the park and such, but he isn't around other little kids that often. and he generally isn't around strange adults. and you know, I'm his mom. I always worry a little bit more that I should about him.

But, of course, he did fantastic. When we arrived at the school they took him away from me so that they could do his vision, hearing, and developmental testing. I almost feel bad for the teacher. i wasn't expecting to not be with him. when she asked me to stay behind, i almost had a stroke. and unfortunately i am one of those people who doesn't have to say anything for people to know exactly what i'm thinking. no poker face here. but i pulled myself together and sat alone (or i guess among the other parents) in the hallway at school waiting for my son to come back to me. and wondering how the hell I suddenly had a child old enough to be going to elementary school. it was a scary thought. and it made me a little emotional.

but at the same time all i could think about was how ready for this next step Brey is. I know he's ready to see other kids everyday and to have fun at school. maybe play t-ball or peewee hockey.

So i'm glad that he managed just fine without his mama. I'm so grateful that he was completely okay to go with his teacher and do exactly what she asked without wigging out. well, he was a tad uncooperative with the hearing test. but not enough for it to be a problem. so we'll count it as a win.

but do you know what I am most grateful for?

when he came out of the classroom and saw me sitting in the hall, he smiled and then ran down the hall and gave me a hug.

phew.

I'm grateful he hasn't forgotten about me yet.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Adventurous.... What's that?

Today I am grateful for my adventurous side.

You know, that side of you that tells you to jump when you don't want to or drink something that maybe you shouldn't. it can also convince you to maybe eat something you normally wouldn't eat.

let me let you in on a little secret.

I'm not that adventurous when it comes to food. at all. My good friend Wendy's favorite quote of mine is when I told her I wouldn't eat quiche because I didn't like the way it was spelled. I wasn't joking.

BUT. On this day, i was willing to break out of my shell. just a little.

remember last night when I posted that The Marsh would be eating steamed clams today for his birthday? and that I find them so repulsive that he isn't even allowed to eat them at my house?

yea. so I tried one.

I wasn't exactly thrilled about trying one. but The Marsh really wanted me to. and I can only deny the man so much. (like the piece of fried haddock and the lobster stew, both of which WERE NOT HAPPENING) So I agreed. but i was not going to eat the neck, and I couldn't watch. I literally had to close my eyes and have him put the clam in my mouth. I'm not going to say it was the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten. but i certainly wouldn't call it good. the point, however, of trying the clam wasn't even to see if i would like it. the point was to make The Marsh happy on his birthday.

I knew he was happy that i tried it. and then 3 hours later he randomly kissed me and told me how happy he was that i tried the clam. so tonight I'm grateful for that little tiny adventurous side of me that allowed me to play the mind over matter game with seafood so i could see him be so happy.

If only ever thing else in life was so easy.

okay. so i wouldn't say easy. but temporary at least.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Happy Birthday...and Happy Graduation.

Today I am grateful for a wonderful weekend.

and it's only Saturday.

how bout them apples?

I've still got more excellent weekend in front of me. (Those are the best kind of weekends aren't they?)

It's been such a wonderful weekend for two reasons.

Number 1. Friday was The Marsh's 29th birthday. and since you all know how much I love The Marsh, I obviously was happy to celebrate his birthday with him. For his birthday I bought him the original Star Wars triology on bluray. I'm extremely grateful he liked it. I mean, i know he loves Star Wars, but he is literally the hardest person in my life to shop for. and he isn't afraid to tell me if he doesn't like his present. so we'll consider this a year a win. I'm also extremely grateful that he has been willing to share his birthday weekend with my little sister, Emily, because today she graduated from high school. which brings me to..

Number 2. Today was Emily's graduation. I threw a graduation party for her and her good friend, Leighton, here at my house today. It was a pricess party.

They seemed to have a really great time. and it was an excellent turn out. AND the weather was absolutely beautiful. I'm so grateful that they had a wonderful day and were able to have fun and good food with friends and family on their special day.

Tomorrow is going to be another wonderful day, because we are actually going to celebrate The Marsh's birthday with his family, now that all the craziness of Emily's graduation is over. I would also like to take a moment to be extremely grateful to my mother-in-law, who is hosting it, because The Marsh isn't allowed to cook seafood at my house. and all he wanted for his birthday was some steamed clams.  She's a real life savor.

I hope everyone else out there is having an equally awesome weekend. and I hope for your sakes it's a little less busy than mine.

Thanks for reading!

Lana

Domestic Goddess.....maybe.

Today I am grateful for my family.

I'm grateful that they are there for me whenever I need them or have a problem I am trying to solve.

even the dumb ones.

Today it was finally NOT RAINING. and because I am hosting my sister's graduation party this weekend, I decided to mow the lawn.

Now, I have used a lawn mower before. I grew up mowing at my parents and have actully even mowed here at my house. a few times. But today I was feeling brave. today I was going to tackle the RIDING lawn mower. because i am a domestic goddess. I can cook. I can bake. I make my own frosting. I planted a freaking garden. I can mow the lawn. I am woman.

as you've probably figured out by now, I was a little over confident.

I climbed up on the mower. and then just looked at it for about five minutes trying to figure out how the fucking thing even turned on. But I managed. i even got it moving! Ah-ha. Wile-e-Coyote. SUPER GENIUS. but upon moving i discovered something. the blades weren't moving. and I couldn't figure out how to turn them on.

Cue Family.

So I tried calling my dad. but he didn't answer.
and then I called my mom at work. and she tried to walk me through it. and then she got in touch with my dad and he called me back.
and then he walked me through it again.
still nothing.
so my dad called my husband at work. and told him to call his useless wife. because i couldn't get the lawn mower working.
a 30 second phone call from The Marsh later and i was in business.

I'm not gonna lie. It was so easy to turn the blades on. not one of my better moments. BUT, i am grateful that I was able to call my parents and bother them with my domestic problems. and i think that they were happy to help. or try to help. it's better to help the daughter whose having domestic goddess problems at her house, because it means I'm not living at theirs.

and i know how to make pie. which is a plus.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Donald Duck....or maybe it was Daisy.

Today I am grateful for my little friend.

We'll call her Daisy.

she's a duck.

aren't I just super original? I know, I know.

anyway. We actually have two ducks that live around our house. I remember being so suprised the first time i saw them in our yard. and then i remembered that we live about a 1/2 mile away from a major river. having ducks around doesn't seem quite so suprising after that.

they are the cutest little duck pair. one boy and one girl. I can tell from their coloring. because I am obviously a duck master. I first noticed them last spring. the babes and i were so excited... it was raining out and they came to splash in the muddle puddles forming in our driveway. (because our drive-way sucks and has pot holes that turn into giant puddles.) and then I kept noticing them throughout the summer. they always kept coming back and they were always together. the sweetest little duck couple ever.

I was worried this year they wouldn't be back, but sure enough, a few weeks ago there they were playing in the rain. acting all adorable.

BUT YESTERDAY!! Miss Daisy duck was outside all by herself. I firmly believe that Donald was somewhere else. my mind refuses to think that something happened to him. I headed outside to go to the mailbox and fully expected her to fly off away from me. but she didn't. instead she just kept walking about 3 feet ahead of me towards the mailbox. She walked quite a ways down my long driveway too before she got distracted by my neighbors lawn. and then on my return trip? she walked me back! coolest thing ever, i tell you. or it would be the coolest thing ever, if my mom hadn't pointed out that it has obviously been raining for too long if a duck is walking me to my mailbox.

Today on my drive home I started thinking about that little duck, both little ducks, and how much i love seeing them outside my house. it makes me so grateful that The Marsh and I chose this particular house to live in. to raise my children in. not too far away from town. but not so far into town that sweet moments like having a duck walking you to your mailbox don't happen. It makes me love life. It makes me grateful for my life.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Potluck.

Today I am grateful for....

my husband starting his new work schedule. that doesn't consist of nights.

my good friend, and The Marsh's best friend, Warren, getting a new job. He'll actually be working at the same facility as The Marsh now. He's very excited. and we're excited for him.

my garden looking freaking fantastic. I can't tell you guys how amazing it is to look down off my deck and see all the green growing in rows. I'm super proud of myself and The Marsh for getting it planted. and that the veggies are ACTUALLY growing.

receiving what my daughter called an "email" but was really a drawing that she made for me that my mom helped her mail to the house as a suprise. It was adorable. and when she showed me the heart she insisted on my mom drawing and whispered "I love you, mommy" my own heart melted a little bit.

The Marsh making me blueberry pancakes for dinner. because hey, they're freakin' blueberry pancakes.

and lastly....

I'm grateful for what seems like the first time in days being able to sit down on the couch with the hubby to watch a movie. Life has been super busy lately. between him working so much and me getting visits with friends in, there really hasn't been much time for "us". I'm grateful that tonight we can finally hang out again. he's my best friend. and i miss him when i don't get to spend any time with him.

So lots of things to be grateful for tonight. and of course, i'm grateful to be blessed enough to have a potluck of things to be grateful for.

I hope the rest of you find yourself as lucky tonight.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

the greatest meal on earth.

today i am grateful for the greatest meal on earth.

well. that you can make in about 15 minutes.

or at my house, sometimes in as little as five.

ALL HAIL THE QUESADILLA.

I'm not even a little bit ashamed about being grateful for a quesadilla. because one. we've already established that I am always grateful for food. and two. it's a freaking quesadilla. it's what delicious is made out of.

at my house we like to buy chicken, cut it up and cook it all. we usually make quesadillas with the first batch, and then store the rest for super quick quesadillas the rest of the week. because there is no reason why you shouldn't eat them more than once a week. hence, why sometimes it takes 15 minutes and sometimes five.

today while The Marsh was at work, I was dreaming about having them for dinner. oh sure, I could have made myself one for lunch. but they obviously taste better if someone else makes the right? so within about four minutes of The Marsh walking in the door i planted the seed. actually as I'm sure you can tell I don't really do subtle. so i told him what i wanted for dinner. and bless that man he made it happen.

I'm still on a quesadilla high, i think. I just love them so much. It was a quick easy dinner. and warm too. I had originally thought about doing sandwhiches, but it's been pouring like a bitch  here all day long. so I wanted something warm. and I wasn't feeling soup either.

I'm telling you all right now, make yourself a quesadilla. it's a hug rolled up in a tortilla. do. it. now.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

TWO.

Today I am grateful for two.

it's a pretty great number right?

I mean don't they say everything's better in pairs? maybe?

Two really is best. I mean why would you only eat one caramello when you could have two?

but DO NOT eat three.

three is just too much.

right? I mean. three is a crowd.

and I'm sort of a crowd free kind of girl

a two caramellos but crowd free kind of girl.

sigh.

I know. I'm being all crazy. and confusing. and vague.

but that's how i roll.

so just know that I'm grateful for two.

AND NOT THREE.

Thanks for reading!
Lana