Every day should start like this

Imagine waking up, heading out to the kitchen, enjoying your shakeology and then the greatest sound in the world:  NONA and GRUMPY, I brought PRINCESS CANDYLAND!    What is a Nona and Grumpy to do, well, we play candyland in our pajamas and love every single minute of it!

Grumpy changed out of his pajamas before we started playing, what's up with that?

I wish I had some cute monkey pj's.

We had a good day.  Of course, every Wednesday is Madelyn day.  She wanted pancakes for lunch, so that is what she got!  The only thing she didn't get was to watch a movie, the dvd player is broken.  Oh, and getting out of nap time, that isn't going to happen.  Nona needs a nap for sure on Wed!

I tried to get Grumpy to play Candyland this morning, but he wasn't having any part of it.  Guess it will be a Wednesday only thing!

How do you deal with stress?

Stress plays such a HUGE factor in our lives, if we let it go unchecked, many problems can arise. I am battling this now and these few things help me.

Working out - this has always been a good stress reliever for me, right now I am limited to easier workouts, walking, stretching or yoga.  But nothing like a good sweaty workout to change my thinking and attitude!  It was suggested to me to do a prayer walk, this is one of the BEST things I have done!  I get to be outside in the sunshine and just pray about whatever pops into my silly brain!  LOVE IT!

Meditation and praying - just focusing on the positive things in my life and asking God for help to get through the harder stuff makes me feel better!  I'm going to make a great space just for this. Peaceful and relaxing!  There are some great ideas on pinterest!

Talking with a friend - what better way than to chat with a friend about what is going on.  This always helps me and gives me a new perspective on things.

Keep a journal - writing down our feelings is a great way to release whatever is causing the stress.  I keep a super cute notebook and keep track of my food intake ( good to see if certain foods make me feel better or worse) to-do list and how I am feeling each day!

It helps if your journal is a cute one!

Take a bath - I find this very relaxing and calming.  I usually take a good book and read and add in a few essential oils or baking soda.

Music - for me, nothing is better than some uplifting and fun music and dancing around the house!  This is my happy playlist right now.  These songs just put me in a better mood EVERY, SINGLE TIME!!

Take a nap - I know this seems weird, but sometime we are so overworked and exhausted that a little power nap just helps.  You don't have to take a long nap, even a 15 -20 minute rest will make a huge difference.

Of course if you can change the situation or the stressor, then by all means - DO IT!  If certain people are causing the problem, do what you can to not be around them.  Sometimes we just can't get away from whatever is causing our stress, but trying these tips should give you some relief.

The most important thing I have found is to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!  Rest when you need it, drink plenty of water and eat healthy, healing foods!  It will make a difference.

How do YOU deal with your stress?  Any special tips?

A low-key day!

I've been playing around with the blog today.  Let me know what you think.  I'm thinking it's time to change things up a bit.  I want to make sure I get it the way I want before I make ALL the changes, so the colors of the lettering may be a little "off" for a while!  BUT, all is good!  You may see something different a few times before I finally get it the way I want!

We are going to lay low today, spend some time with our friends that are in town, hang out with another friend this afternoon, watch some football and then a family dinner tonight.  That is just what we need today.   A low-key day!

I know that after all we have been through this week, I  just want my "peeps" around me and I want to tell all those I love, just how much I love them.  You never know what tomorrow brings.

So, a quick post today to let you all know that I so appreciate each and every one of you.  For being there for me, for sending me uplifting words, praying for me and my friends and for just reading my blog.  It means the world to me, you will never know how much!

Thank you!

Brian's tribute

This is a guest post from Brian:

Today we bury my friend, Craig Doubledee.  Craig was a kind and gentle soul who would do anything he could to help.  he would help his family and friends and neighbors with whatever needed done.

Dana and I met Craig and Hermina through our kids daycare and sports.  We have 2 kids that are the same age, went to the same school and played the same sports.  We spent a lot of time riding the bleachers together and we became fast friends.

Craig and I had been on a lot of hunting and fishing trips, we laughed and cussed and bragged over the funny, dumb and wonderful things our kids were doing.  Everyone was happy to hear Craig was going hunting with us because he ALWAYS packed the BEST cooler.  We knew we wouldn't starve when  Craig was there.  I have lived for several days off nothing but Craig's deer sausage and custom bloody mary mix.

Craig carried a shotgun with the longest barrel they made.  He said it made him a better shot because the end of the gun was "closer to the birds".

Our last fishing trip up north was our first time using live leeches.  We ended up making my son Jake bait our hooks for us because as Craig said " they are just too creepy".

Craig was one of those guys you just wanted to be around.  I will miss him.

Rest in Peace my friend
Brian

Niagara Falls

Thought I'd share some of the photos of Niagara Falls.  So beautiful.

We do plan to go back another time, it was a great place.

I do want to give props to Hampton Inn.  They were very understanding of our need to check out early.  They didn't charge us for the full reservation and were helpful and kind. The hotel room was very clean and comfortabe and I highly recommend them if you travel to Niagara Falls yourself.

no words

I really don't have words to describe my day yesterday.  Brian and I were in one of the most beautiful places in the United States, Niagara Falls, however we found out about the passing of our very close friend.  In just one phone call, all that beauty fades.

We were on a bus tour when I got the phone call and to say that we were in shock is an understatement.  I mean, we had just spent part of the weekend with Craig and Hermina, how could this be true?  Of course then you question, why?  While I don't have that answer, I am trying to rely on faith that some day I will know it.

We had to finish our bus tour and then we bailed on them when we could rand walked back to the hotel and loaded up and headed home.

We have been friends with Craig and Hermina for years, actually met at our kids' daycare.  We've watched each other's kids grow up and they are also our travel buddies.

Craig is one of the most caring men I have known.  He loved his family, truly and deeply.  He was such a faithful friend and a blast to be around.  Oh, the stories I could tell....

I ask that you pray for the Doubledee family, they will have a tough road ahead of them in the coming days.

Craig will be missed by many and our lives will never be the same.

RIP my friend.  We will see you again!

Cleveland ROCKS!

We are traveling and as Madelyn says " AGAIN????"  YES!!!

We have always loved to travel and when the boys were little, we decided that as soon as they were own their own and able to take care of themselves, we were going to take EVERY chance we got to travel and see the country!  Of course, we want them to take care of things at home for us, which we are very thankful that they do!!  They are home, holding down the fort, so to speak!  But, we did close the pool before we left, so I imagine they aren't too happy about that, but it means less work for them :)  See kids, we ARE thinking about you!

This time we decided to mark something off the bucket list!  I'm not going to reveal our final destination until tomorrow, but we are here and it is AMAZING!

It has been raining a lot I think Isaac is following us, but we saw the most wonderful rainbow.  It was RIGHT in front of us!  Seemed so close!

Don't mind Brian's feet, I was driving and he had to take the photo!  HA!

We stayed in Cleveland and all I could think about while we were driving into town was the opening scene of the Drew Carey Show where they run around the streets singing Cleveland Rocks!  I wanted to do the same thing, but Brian said it probably wouldn't have as much of an impact with only me.  Darnit!

View from our hotel room.

This was on the headboard of the bed.  Nice to know....

Yesterday we took a little side trip to check out the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame!  That place is HUGE and takes a while to get through, but we loved it!  I LOVE music, so it was my kind of stop!

CLEVELAND ROCKS!

 We were not allowed to take any pics in the facility itself, hard to put my camera away when there were so many cool things, but I did!

Enjoying ourselves so far!  Can't wait for today, it's the BIG day!

Do you have a bucket list of places to visit?