Bright Side Fri...day, umm... Saturday!

FRIDAY! SATURDAY! Yes, a day late with my Bright Side, but I think it's never too late to share something positive with others. My Bright Side is that I am dog sitting. It's not just that I am dog sitting, it's that I am dog sitting an abused rescue dog.  I can see the notches in the backs of her ears where someone took a razor blade to them. She won't take food out of a bowl and will only eat food that you hand to her or leave on the floor. She is terrified of nearly everything around her, but she has blossomed nicely in our home. She is one of the sweetest dogs on the face of the earth, and all she wants is love and snuggles. It makes me feel good that I am able to be part of the positive part of her life. I am so mad at her abusers and I can never undo what they did to her. But, I can add happiness to her life now, I can give her a loving environment to stay in while her owner is away, and I can comfort her when she is scared. Truly unconditional love from her to me, and me to her.

Now it's your turn. What is your Bright Side?

=J

Weird Word Wednesday - tittle

"I have been having pain in my hand while writing and tittles are actually causing me the most discomfort."

"My son prefers to make his tittles a circle instead of a dot".

Who knew?  The word for the dot above a lowercase “i” or “j” is called a tittle. It can also be used to mean a small piece of something, for example, "we could not find a tittle of common sense in her entire rant".

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tittle 

tit·tle

noun \ˈti-t^əl\

Definition of TITTLE

1: a point or small sign used as a diacritical mark in writing or printing

2: a very small part

Monday Vent - Annoying Brother

It's Monday. It's late. This post is late. I'm tired. I'm finally ready to vent. Honestly, some days it is SO easy for me to vent, and other days, it is much more difficult. I usually like trying to look at the glass half full. If I start looking at the glass half empty, I tend to get stuck in a rut of viewing everything that way. I have been pretty up beat this past week, so this morning, nothing came to mind when I needed to write the post. However, much can happen in a day, and here I am at the end of the day, ready to vent.

This vent is not new for me, nor is it as rage filled as it has been on other days. In fact, I am a bit rational about it right now. I realize that, for the rest of my life, I will have to live with the fact that my brother will always say things in an incredibly condescending and insulting way and my mom will always defend him. I know they love me and have no idea how their actions affect me. If I thought that they were intentionally hurtful, my attitude would be very different. They just don't get it. I've tried bringing it to their attention. I really have. They just think I'm too sensitive, crabby, misunderstood them, etc. Some days it's more difficult for me to be rational. Thankfully, today I am able to just see it as it is. It is just the way it is. It will never change. Moving on.

Now it's your turn. Do you have a vent to share? Share it and move on.

=J

Bright-Side Thursday Night

My bright side Friday occurred on Thursday night.  I was watching a show on TV in my bedroom.  There were only a few minutes left and one of my boys climbed up on the bed.  I told him he could sit with me only if he didn’t talk so I could hear the end of the show.  It was just before bedtime for the boys.  Moments later, my other son climbed up, and then my husband joined us.  It turned into a tickling, giggling, hugging, kissing time. It was great.  The thought crossed my mind that this is one of those moments that I will look back on again and again as long as I live.  Having my family all together, healthy, happy, laughing, and just enjoying being together is an amazing blessing and a wonderful memory to carry with me.
S -)

Bright Side Friday! Florida Fun

My Bright Side Friday has to do with Florida. My parents brought our entire family and cousins to Florida 8 years ago. It has been on my mind the past few years, thinking about how fun that was, and how young my sons were when we went. Finances have not been such for us to take my sons back. I was wishing there were a way to take them back, before they get past the "magical" age of the parks there. My dad surprised us with a trip back there this summer. I was really excited and thankful. Even though I had to cut my trip short, because of work, my sons were able to stay and continue their fun with grandparents and cousins. In fact, they come home tomorrow, so hubby and I will have a chance for date night tonight too! =)

Now it's your turn. What is your bright side?

=J

p.s. The photo is of my sons waiting to board the plane for Florida. I wish I could have heard all of the excitement going on in their heads.

Monday (Vacation) Vent

We just returned from our vacation, camping with our two young boys.  If anyone asks me how it was, I will, of course, tell them it was a lot of fun.  I would be lying through my teeth.  The truth is, I have not had a relaxing, fun vacation yet as a mother.  I think vacations with young children and husbands are only actually fun in retrospect.  In the moment, I am dealing with trying to appease all of them at the same time, which is rarely possible.  The only thing my husband wanted to do was fish.  The only thing my boys wanted to do was go to the pool.  Not that anyone was interested, but the only thing I really wanted was some peace and quiet and to read a good book and go for long walks.  As it turned out, the boys and I were in the pool every day for a few hours, made arts and crafts, and played at a park.  My husband fished every day for most of the day.  I guess it was a successful trip since they are all happy about it.  Now I want to go take a trip with my girlfriends!!!


S-)

Weird Word Wednesday - Aglet

My weird word for today is Aglet. If you are between the ages of 5 and 11 and watch a certain popular American cartoon, you already know what it is. In fact, it was my sons, who roughly fall into that age category, that told me what it meant. I can't say that they have never come home and told me something fascinating that they learned at school only for me to reply with "I didn't know that." But this time, I looked at them suspiciously, like they were trying to trick me into believing the information. It happened as we were trying to get ready to leave the house. As they both sat down to put on their gym shoes, they simultaneously asked me the question. "Mom, do you know what this is called?" pointing to the hard plastic ends of their laces. I'm not sure if I EVER wondered what it was called, or even thought it might have a name. The grins on my sons' faces threw me. I thought, this is where they make some funny joke at Mom's expense. So, being the good sport that I am, responded and waited for the punch line. "Aglet" was all they said. I think I responded with something like "Really? How do you know that?" Then they went on to tell me about the show and even sang a song about it. It's quite catchy, I can hear it now "A - G - L - E - T, don't forget it". So now, YOU TOO know what most kids already know. The hard plastic end of your shoelace, is called an AGLET.


=J

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aglet

ag·let

noun \ˈa-glət\

1: the plain or ornamental tag covering the ends of a lace or point

2: any of various ornamental studs, cords, or pins worn on clothing 

p.s. This photo was borrowed from:
http://www.wikihow.com/Raise-Awareness-of-the-Aglet

Monday Vent - Snarky Friends

 

It's Monday, and right now, I'm laughing because on Friday, my Bright Spot was about how great my friends are. Now it's Monday, and my vent is about how snarky my friends are. OK, so admittedly, MOST of my friends are great MOST of the time. However, every now and then the snarky side sneaks out. I honestly don't have time for snarky friends. Rather, I don't have time for my friends when they are snarky. I usually set them straight and move on, or give them an eye roll and walk away. I can count on an apology within 24 hours. Which, unless they were down right mean, is OK with me.  What really annoys me is the drama. I don't DO drama. Like me or hate me. Pick one.

Now it's your turn. Vent, scream, get it off of your chest, and move on!

=J

p.s. This is a photo from the 4th of July fireworks. We set up blankets way ahead of time to mark our space. Notice how ugly this one is? No one else would dare claim it! This is a photo of my niece enjoying the fireworks with me and my friends (snarky and otherwise).

Bright Side Friday!

It's Friday, and we have managed to not post anything since last Friday... oops! Things have been a bit crazy to say the least. The 4th of July weekend was wonderful and fun, but it seems like it has taken all week to recover and catch up from it.


I will be honest and let you know that I am having a difficult time coming up with my Bright Side today. It's not that I'm not thankful for all of the things I have, like a roof over my head and a loving family. I just like to find a Bright Side that is something other than that, otherwise that is ALL you will hear from me every week! =) Some days it's easier for me to come up with SEVERAL Monday Vents. This is one of them.

So, after much thought, here is my Bright Side:
Reflecting on the 4th of July weekend, I am glad that we live in such a great community of wonderful people that have become our friends. Everywhere we went, we ran into people that we knew AND liked (lol)! The kids all had fun and so did the adults.

Now it's your turn! Share your Bright Side!

=J

p.s. This photo is from our 4th. If you look over to the left the the fireworks, you can see the crescent moon. I don't ever remember seeing the moon in our fireworks before. It turned really orange that night!

Bright Side Friday! Happy 4th of July!

It's Friday AND it's a LONG weekend for us in the U.S.A.!


So THIS one is EASY!!!!!
My Bright Side: I am looking forward to a fun and relaxing 3 day weekend with family and friends, watching the parade go by, and sitting under the stars to watch the fireworks. BONUS: I don't have to work on Monday! OK, so Tuesday is going to be a bit painful, but it is ALL worth it!

Happy 4th of July to you. Hope it is safe and fun for all.

Now it's YOUR turn! What is your Bright Side?

=J