{ The tree I thought was dead }

Good morning, it's a beautiful peaceful morning here in North Texas.  The sky is a gorgeous mix of pinks and purples.

I think one of my favorite times during the day are the early mornings, when I first step outside around 6am to let Marley out.

I've had a very busy past few weeks.  I often sit back and think about a few years earlier, maybe 5 or 6 years when we were still active military and living in Arizona.  Things were quieter, time went by slower and I never felt rushed.

I think it has a lot to do with the children growing up and the responsibilities and going ons associated with that.  Feels like the past 2 years (and can you believe it's been almost 2 years since I moved to Texas), life has gone full speed, always running around, always rushing, never getting a moment to breathe.

I long for those days but I can't change it, so I'm choosing to embrace it and blog when I get a chance, sit and relax when I get a chance and basically take a deep breath in between the chaos of daily life.

So anyway, I am glad I got a chance to come in and chat a little with you all.  I made it around to all the Happy Homemaker Monday participants this morning, which I'm super proud of myself for.  Thank you so much for continuing to join in and make this feature such a fun and successful part of my blog.

I wanted to show you this tree.  When we first moved into our house here in Texas, we noticed this huge tree in the front yard, it's humongous branches leaning over the fence into the back yard.  Matter of fact we had a strong storm with high winds that managed to break some of those branches and cause them to come crashing down on the wooden fence, breaking some of the boards.

We had someone come out and take a look at the fence to fix it, and they told us that the tree was dead and it would be better to go ahead and cut down a lot of the upper heavy branches to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future.

The poor tree look miserable, with hardly any green on it and just a bunch of mangled ugly branches sticking out here and there.

Fast forward 2 years and we have a beautiful tree full of greenery.  I'm often amazed when I see it, because it reminds me that no matter how broken, how unwell or how miserable one may feel at times, there is always the chance to get better, to flourish and thrive again.

A good thing to keep in mind right?

I've started The 5 Love Languages.  My mother in law gifted me this book when she was over for Jasmine's birthday.  I had heard of the 5 love languages before and matter of fact, hubby and I had taken the test online to see what our love languages were.  I don't remember what mine was but I do recall that we had different love languages, which makes so much sense when I think about our marriage and the way we face and react to things.

I am excited to take the test again and to be able to learn how to apply those results to better our marriage.  We have a good one, but there's always room for improvement and if there's a chance that I can learn how to better understand him and therefore adjust my attitude to some things, I think it will be amazing :)

Have any of you read the book or taken the tests?  I would love to hear your opinions and thoughts.

I'm still really enjoying Once Upon a Time, and any chance I get to sit for even 30 minutes to watch it, I immediately jump on it.  I'm now on Season 6 which is the current season and I'm getting a little sad that I'll be all caught up soon.

Speaking of shows, I am also wanting to start on The Handmaid's Tale, I need to catch up on The White Princess and there are quite a few other Period dramas that I'm looking forward to.

I've been meal planning and using my cookbooks.  I tend to forget about them and just plan according to what I see online or think of as meals that we've had before.  Much as I love the internet and everything it has to offer, I truly feel that it's taken some of the best out of all of us and turned us into technology obsessed humans.

Not that there's anything wrong with technology or the internet, I'll be the first to admit that it opens up so many doors and allows us to find literally anything we are searching for, but it also takes up a lot of my time and blinds me to the things that are right at my finger tips.

So I'm going to be using my cookbooks more and going back to good ol' cookbook recipes for my menus.

These two have been trying to spend as much time together as possible.  They haven't always had the best of relationships which is understandable when you have a daughter growing up and wanting to assert her independence, and a father who is struggling with that concept and wanting very much to keep her as a little girl.

But as time goes by and it gets closer to her moving out in a few months, they've both decided that it's more important to spend time together and enjoy each other, than fight and complain and continue their power struggle.  Warms my heart to see them.

And finally here's my latest project off the hooks.  The Pondoland Square which I'm turning into a cushion.

I went completely out of my comfort zone with this one, color wise.  I stay very true to pastel, soft colors, but I have this beautiful flowery blouse that I love and it inspired me to go with those same colors.  I took a huge gamble, and right until about halfway through it I was still questioning my choices and wondering if it would be better to just pull it all apart and go back to my usual color choices.

But, I pushed through and I am so glad I did.  It is absolutely gorgeous.  I just have to block it and find the right pillow and it's done.

I am planning on starting another today but in my usual softer color choices.

If you want to try the pattern for yourself, go on over to Hooks n' Tales.  I love Jen's blog, not just for the gorgeous crochet she does but she's a fellow South African living in Cape Town and I enjoy reading her stories and reminiscing about that beautiful country.

Well it's almost 8:30 and I need to get ready for my Zumba.  I haven't done it since last year and I've put on 5 pounds, which is not a bad thing, I'm still well within my normal weight, but I don't feel well, my clothes feel tighter and I feel sluggish, so I need to get back on track with exercise.

I just need to do Zumba for an hour, two days a week.  That's what I was doing back in Idaho and was in the best shape of my life and feeling so good.

Aside from the Zumba this morning, I also have dishes to do, some laundry to put away and our bedding to wash.

We have homeschool to get through, and of course I want to read a little more of The 5 Love Languages and my book for review, as well as watch my shows.  A full day, packed with a lot of things, but it thrills me to be able to be at home and continue on my path as a homemaker.

I'll leave you with a closer look at my day and I'll see you all hopefully tomorrow, hugs and kisses friends.
xoxoxoxo

11 years ago today - Treasure Tuesday

After my Zumba I'll be having a smoothie, that will be my breakfast/lunch.  For dinner I'm making my Ham and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Mashed Potatoes and Salad.

General Hospital
Dr Phil
Right now I'm catching up on some shows on the DVR list from ID Discovery.
Once Upon a Time

Zumba
Homeschooling
Paying bills
Housework