The Simple Things....

I am a simple girl.

And although I will admit that there are some simple things that really irritate me....

like ridiculously long lines at the store,

or SLOOOOW drivers in the fast lane........

There are so many simple things that make me very happy.

Like those times when my whole family (me, John & the kids) are sitting around, talking and laughing our butts off. Sometimes I stop in the middle of it all and tear up, because it's so simple, so sweet.

Like the close friendship that my daughter Shelbie has with my best friend's daughter. They are best friends too, and even if they don't talk for a while, they pick right back up. They love each other dearly. And I LOVE that.

Like a great song on the radio.

Like a GOOD sleep. Which, now that I'm working more hours, is much harder to obtain.

Like eating the vegetables that we grew in our garden.

Like banana Fanta Icees.

Like when my husband and I say exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. And then crack up.

Like a really good book.

Like when my kids' friends call me their 'other mom'.

There is no fancy thing in the world that can bring me as much joy as the simple things.

Linking up with Mama Kat for her Writer's Workshop.

Weekend WrapUp, Simple Pleasures Edition

It's Monday already! I'm back to work as usual; since I work in a hospital, we obviously don't get the same days off that most people do. But that's ok - holiday pay!
I had another simple but wonderful weekend.
On Friday afternoon, I dropped my teenage daughter off at my best friend's house so that she could spend the weekend with HER best friend, who is MY best friend's daughter! Andrew went to his Grandma's, Tim was hanging out with a friend, so it was just me and Elayna at home for a while. A very sweet simple pleasure.
On Saturday, we went to the Garage Sale fundraiser for Elayna's softball team. We were supposed to do a car wash as well, but the person who owned the business does car washing/detailing and said that the girls would take business from him.
Seriously.
Although we noticed that he did not wash ONE car the entire time we were there!
{JERK!}
Anyway, we still had our garage sale and made a NICE amount of money! John, Elayna and I had a nice time there talking with the softball parents and customers.
Then we went home and jumped in the pool! I also washed & hung out clothes and did other little chores and John mowed the lawn. While he was mowing, he discovered that the entire fence line on one side of our yard is COVERED with blackberry bushes! Only a few were ripe, but there are tons of them that will be ripe very soon. Blackberry recipes, anyone?? I brought a bowl to pick some berries but ended up eating them before they ever made it to the bowl. =) Simple pleasure!
On Sunday, we slept in...{way in....} then got up and went shopping for our cookout. We spent another day in the yard and the pool, and I picked some peppers off of my pepper plant, which we later had with our dinner! YUM! Our dinner was tilapia, hot dogs, corn, and asparagus on the grill, and pasta salad. It was delish! And thankfully we have a screened in back porch, because it STORMED which would've ruined our cookout otherwise! It was a day full of simple pleasures.

So tomorrow, our Memorial Day will be spent like most other Mondays, but we have two young men whom we love dearly that are in the military and we will be praying for them, and remembering our loved ones who have served in the past.
I hope yours is memorable & enjoyable!

If you blogged about your weekend - LINK UP HERE!

Life's Simple Pleasures

WOOHOO for Friday and time to FRAG!

I have gathered up some of my fragmented thoughts that have been wandering around my head all week and will now attempt to post them in a reasonably coherent manner.
I realized that they all seem to have a common theme: Simple Pleasures. Thus the title of this post: Life's Simple Pleasures.
Didn't that work out nicely?
Anyhoo.

I've always enjoyed the simple things in life, but now I'm finding even simpler things that bring me immense pleasure. Such as....

* ~ Making my own laundry soap, washing our clothes with it, and then hanging them on the clothesline to dry.



*~ Making dinners using fresh vegetables from local growers, and fresh eggs from a farm just around the corner.



* ~ Herbs already sprouting in my window garden.




* ~ My whole little family all together under one roof.



* ~ Lying down with Elayna at bedtime, having snuggle time.

* ~ Sharing "inside jokes" with Shelbie.

*~ Elayna telling me that when she was helping John take clothes off of the line, there was a ladybug on one of Shelbie's shirts.




*~ Kisses from my Sofie-dog when I lay down to sleep every morning.

~* Walking into a store and seeing my best friend standing in front of me.

*~ Friday Fragments.

*~ Sleeping on sun-dried linens.

*~ Cupcakes.





A few more fragmented thoughts:

~ * Elayna's last softball game is on Saturday, and I'm really going to miss it! Since the weather has warmed up I have really enjoyed her games and even practices. Now we'll have to find some other activity to get involved in!

~ * Last Friday, Andrew spent the night with my parents. Somehow they started talking about the fact that Andrew calls me Mama. My mom said "Well, I guess everyone else in the house called her Mama so you thought you should, too?" and Andrew, who takes everything very literally, said "Daddy doesn't call her Mama." So my Mom asked, "What does your daddy call her?" and Andrew replied "Sugarplum. Or Love." John calls me Love all the time...but he has never once called me "Sugarplum"! So we thought that was hilarious. I'm just not a "Sugarplum" kind of girl....I'm not that sweet! I have no idea where Andrew got that from!

That's all I got, folks!

**Go visit Mrs 4444's for more Friday Fragments!**

{and have a GREAT weekend}