Happy 47th Anniversary!

Hey everyone!  Here we are, another year older and celebrating another anniversary!  I feel so truly blessed and pinch myself often as a reminder of just how lucky I am to have found this outstanding man, who loves me in spite of my many quirks.

Blushing bride!

Oh, wow, I was young and teensy!  I cannot believe that dress was a Size 6!

Here we are with two of the most precious people in my life, my grandparents.  Hubby's grandparents died when he was quite young, so he didn't mind that my grandparents "scooped" him in and loved him as their own.  He was pretty crazy about them, too!  I am so grateful that our children got to meet and spend even a small bit of time with their wonderful Great-Grandparents.  I think about them often and hope they are looking down on our family and feeling happy.

Don't you just love the cute little hat?  Well, I was wearing gloves, too!  This "Going Away" outfit created some giggles when I had to go into a pharmacy a couple of hours into our trip to purchase my birth control pills that I had forgotten to pack -- oh, yes, the pharmacist was quite amused!

This past year has been quite the wild ride, physically and emotionally.  The loss of several friends and family, and my own diagnosis of breast cancer would put a monumental strain on anyone.  What could make some relationships weak, proved to strengthen ours.  I've said many times over the course of chemo, surgery and radiation, that this man is my rock; without his love and strength, my cancer journey would have been so much more difficult and could have had a far different outcome.

Now, looking at 47 years, I am so happy to have had this wonderful man in my life for all these many years.  We have weathered many storms, celebrated wonderful events like the birth of both of our children and our children's children, provided solace in times of need; and through everything, have remained strong for each other.  People always seem so shocked when we say we've been married for so many years and often ask what our secret is.  I don't think there is a secret to a good marriage, but my advice, if anyone wants to know is:

                                                     a)  Be good friends

                                                     b)  Be honest, but not hurtful, & trust each other

                                                     c)   Love deeply 

                                                     d)   Forgive and forget petty issues

                                                     e)   Be willing to say "I'm sorry" and mean it

Would I marry this sweet man all over again?  You betcha'!

Procrastination, Projects & a Much-Needed Bloggy Break

Hey everyone!  I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend and got to spend it with the people you love and cherish.  We had a quiet and very relaxing weekend.  Our children each sent sweet cards (and special notes) and called....love those phone calls!

This sweet, sweet man made my day extra special.

ULTA is now carrying Clinique products, and of course, fragrances were the big item

for Mother's Day.  The Man knows how much I love Clinique's Happy, and the store had this tote bag and matching clutch as a "gift with purchase."  YAY for me!  This tote is huge, and the inside is the color of the clutch.....mint is so pretty!  This man of mine has been bringing me flowers every few weeks "just because," but this time was extra special.  He got several bundles, so I had enough to do two nice bouquets!

The Man really likes Irises!  So do I!

This sweet man took me out to dinner, too...my fave is BJ's Brew House.

Roasted salmon with quinoa and veggies....this is SO GOOD!

I seem to be having difficulty staying focused and balancing my health, family, and projects.  Health has to be my priority.  When you reach my age, you really start to see that it takes much longer to recover from the common cold, let alone the big "bombs" that get dropped in your lap.  Until 3 weeks ago, just walking around a grocery store was a lot of exercise for me, and I required a nap afterwards!  Now I'm pushing a bit harder.

Yep, I'm back to the M-F gym time....very slow going, but I'm doing it!  The first week, I could not do more than 20 minutes.  This week, I've been doing 45!

Procrastination has been keeping me company way more than I want to admit.  I've been spending a lot of time in my "Happy Place," but more often than not, I find myself sitting in that far corner at my laptop....reading, pinning, pinning, pinning, checking & answering email, more pinning -- okay, you get the picture!  Simply put....PROCRASTINATION!

I do truly love spending time in this room, but I look around and see that I have so many scrapbooking and paper-crafting projects that I want to do, and......

Plenty of sewing-quilting projects all lined up & ready to go.

PROCRASTINATOR is not who I want to be!  It's not who I am!  I'm a DOER, but I simply do not have the energy to do everything.  The biggest "time-stealer" and "energy-zapper" for me is blogging.    I know, some of you are gasping that I would say such a thing, and others are nodding your heads in understanding.  So many of you have become such sweet, kind and caring friends; and I cannot bear the thought of not staying in touch with you.  I do, however, plan to take a "blog break" to, hopefully,  re-energize for my family and for doing some projects, too.  I'll still be around, reading some posts and responding, but not participating in the many fun parties that are going on.  Maybe I'll have some fun and interesting things to post about after I actually get some things accomplished!

Some family members don't really care how much you procrastinate, as long as you 

have time for them.

Hmmm....this is one such example.  Abby is such a little "scene-stealer."

When she needs some lap time, she just takes it!  Do you remember when you would try to sneak off to the bathroom, but your little ones always found you?  Apparently, cats got the memo on that one!

Abby has been very "needy" lately and stays close to me most of the day.  She's so sweet, I don't really mind.

Besides sewing, quilting, scrapbooking & paper crafts, I also have a number of crochet

 projects in-the-works.

Hmmm.....yet another project.  That's a lot of IKEA frames, & I'm super-excited about the special gallery wall where these will be used!

This will be my last post for awhile.  I don't know for how long, but don't think you can sneak anything big past me.....I will still be lurking in the shadows!  Eeek, that sounded kind of creepy, but you know what I mean.  You do, right?

Warm hugs,

Stop and Smell the Roses

Hey everyone!  I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday and look forward to a beautiful week ahead. When I was thinking about writing this post, I knew what I wanted to share but was having trouble coming up with a catchy title.  After I mulled a few things over in my mind, I decided this old standby "Stop and Smell the Roses," was perfect for this post.  I think too often we get caught in the rat-race of the every day, and it all begins to blur.  I don't want to go through life with blurry vision.  I want to seek and find joy in everything.

For the last few years, this metal piece has been adorned with pics of our children and grandchildren and displayed from Fall through Christmas somewhere in our home.  I moved it to my craft room door a couple of months ago and filled it with family pics.  I'm pretty sure this is where it will 

stay all year long.

I'm always humbled and filled with joy when I look at these faces.... our children and grandchildren.  They are all so kind, caring and thoughtful.  I truly believe grandchildren are the "sprinkles" on frosted cupcakes.    Simple frosted cupcakes are delicious and good, but add some sprinkles and you are sent to a whole new level of goodness!

This is Phoebe, our 12 year old granddaughter.

She is not only a little beauty, but quite the athlete!

Phoebe will be going to the Jr. Olympics with her volleyball team in July!  We love this kid so much and are so proud of her.

 

We are proud of you, too, Abby!  You do the best job of turning the lowly plastic bag into amusement 

for yourself and for us.

And once you wear yourself out playing, you are content to sit and cuddle.  She does a good job of taking a selfie, don't you think?  

Just sitting and stroking her soft fur seems to bring such calm and pause to ponder 

what's really important.

Fresh-cut flowers from the yard or your favorite market, bring such joy as they fill your senses

with their beauty.

The Man has gotten very good at picking up bundles of these beauties and surprising me.  He knows just the right ones that make me extra happy.

Sunflowers always make me smile.

My grandmother always said that yellow was truly a special color but never explained why.  

Now I believe it's a very special color, and I choose not to explain it either.  

The joy comes with just letting it be "special."

I find so much joy and contentment in planning and preparing good food.  The last time I did a 

What's Cookin'? post, this deliciousness was on my menu plan for the next week, and I promised to share after we tried it.

One Pan Balsamic Chicken & Vegetables by Jaclyn

Well, it was delicious!  I served it with brown rice, and we loved it.

With the leftover balsamic chicken, I made a nice dinner salad....the fresh strawberries were 

The Man's idea, and they were a perfect addition!  There is something so joyful about cutting and preparing food, if you take the time to allow the joy to take over.

Have you ever tried this Krusteaz mix?  The Man found these at the store, and he got a couple of "atta boys" for this!  I cannot believe I didn't take a pic, but trust me, these were delicious!

This is a recipe from Jane at Blondies Journals.  It's called Roasted Chicken Provencal and uses

chicken thighs.  Sorry, I forgot to take an "after" photo, but we had it with ranch beans & cornbread.....so delicious!  The wonderful aroma filled the kitchen and our olfactory receptors.  Don't you just love wonderful smells coming from your kitchen?

Bow-Tie Pasta w/Chicken, Broccoli & Sun-Dried Tomatoes...recipe from 

Carol @The Red Painted Cottage

This dish was a bit of a stretch for The Man.....not much of a pasta-person except for lasagne and the occasional spaghetti & meatball meal.  Let's just say that he ate it, said it was good, but preferred to put it on the "only occasionally" list....lol!  That's okay, I had a couple of great lunches with the leftovers!

  

                                      

Please do yourself a huge favor and purchase a good wedge of Parmesan cheese to either 

shave or grate over this pasta.  You will not be sorry!

   

This chicken dish is now one of our very favorites.  It takes a bit of time to prepare because there are

several steps....3 different things the chicken pieces get coated and dipped in before searing, but definitely worth the effort!

Lemon Parmesan Chicken w/Salad Greens

Our kitchen, breakfast area and family room are all open, so I truly enjoy having pretty and interesting things to look at when I'm preparing food.

This is a completely different look for our mantel, but I'm finding it to be soothing somehow.  The colors are soft and muted, except for the deco spheres, making it feel comfy.

We continue to have lovely weather, which is another reason to "Stop and smell the roses."  Spring has chosen to stick around for awhile this year.  All of us Zonies know it won't be like this much longer, but we can enjoy it while it lasts.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and takes the time to enjoy even the little things

that life has to offer.

I often party with these lovely bloggers:

Monday
Dee at Meatloaf and Melodrama for Merry Monday

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday
Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Tuesday

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday

Wednesday

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Thursday
Jemma at  At Home With Jemma for Thoughts of Home on Thursday

Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home