Recently I have been reminded that I have so much to be thankful for. I think that we have a tendency to overlook the blessing that we receive daily and take for granted the blessings that we continue to have. I mean, its easy to go through your day, be busy and overlook all of the awesome things we have going for us! I'm completely guilty of this. Its easy to focus on the negative and forget about the good.
As I sit here and write this I'm sitting on the toilet (not going) watching buddy take a bath. How blessed am I that I have this amazing little boy who I love to pieces. We have a house to live it, we are healthy, we had a good dinner, and we will get to go to sleep in a nice warm bed. Right there we are ahead of a lot of people in this world. I have all of these things everyday. And yet I am guilty of letting other people mess with my thankful bubble...I hear their words, or focus on what they say. I allow other people to dictate how I react...wait I let them...no I let myself react to them. The other day I gave someone some news that I was really excited about. I thought they'd be excited too. I was wrong. And I let myself react...badly. I mean really bad. Here's the kicker...I'm still. And I'm not sorry for how I reacted. What do I do with that? Well, tonight I looked at what I was thankful for. It helped me to take the focus off of being mad and helped me to be happy and thankful for what I have. Honestly, I am lucky. As I drove home in my little red rocket I was thankful that I had that extra car, especially since my Expedition decided to act up again. I'm saving money in gas by driving that car and come on that is awesome. I picked up my buddy and he gave me a huge hug! I had sweet potato fries for dinner (pure yumminess) And before I go to bed tonight I get to watch one of my favorite shows. All in all I have a good life. I have people who I love who love me back and honestly that makes it all good.
So tomorrow I'm going to focus on the things I am thankful for. I think I'll start with this:
Who wouldn't be thankful for this face :) LOVE! It the best thing to be thankful for!

This is a super easy and super yummy!

Malibu Pork Chops and Red and White Potatoes

I picked out some yummy think cut pork chops and seasoned them with Malibu season and stuck them on the grill. Easy peezy. The Malibu seasoning is really the best. It has the best flavor and makes the pork chops taste so good. Grilling is really best if you can for these thick pork chops.


The potatoes are equally yummy and again super easy. You'll need red potatoes, white potatoes, Anaheim chili's (or any green chili that you like), and serrano chili's (the yellow ones). We ate these potatoes a lot this summer when we could head down to the farm stand and get fresh potatoes which taste even better. Plus you can't beat buying veggies locally that cost half the price of buying them at the grocery store. I'm thinking we might try some potatoes in our garden this year!

Wash slice and dice potatoes.

Then cut your chili's in half and take out all the seeds. Slice up your chili's.


Your going to want to fry up your potatoes. Pour a good amount of oil into the pan and add in your potatoes and chili's. Sprinkle on some season salt and some kosher salt. I really like the kosher salt on the potatoes because it sticks better and I think it tastes better.


Fry them up until they are fully cooked and yummy! The chili's just add the perfect amount of flavor. Not too spicy, just strait flavor! I love it!


The finished product is a super tasty and super easy dinner.
Yummy!

xo

We were so lucky to get to go to Chicago for one of my very best friends Will's wedding. I have to say that I have never had more fun at a wedding before. From the rehearsal dinner to the reception every single minute was awesome! Not to mention how beautiful Chicago was with snow.


I was lucky enough to have my parents go with us so traveling was super easy. Although I must say buddy is pretty much an expert flyer he does so good! It was nice that we could all go together.


Buddy was a ring penguin in the wedding and looked extremely handsome in his little tux! He even looked cute in his tux with his beanie on (after all it was 19 degrees one of the days that we were there)


The trip was short but so nice and I would be super excited to go back in the spring or fall. Might be paying Will and Jenn a visit soon!

Don't you just wanna give him a big hug? I do!!!!

I would say that my mantras for this time in my life are "Its a choice"...and "New". I really want to change focus this year. I want to be a better mom but also a better me. My shift has to be to make me happy. I think that a happier me means that I can spread more love and happiness to those around me. That is where the "New" comes in. I've felt like recently that I have been in a rut. In almost all areas of my life. I looked up the definition of rut here is what I found...a fixed usually boring routine. Hmmm sums it up doesn't it. I found that this rut not only encompassed my daily life as far as what I do and my "routine" but also my clothes, hair, and make up, what i do every day and night and everything in between. Its no wonder that I feel so blah....so I have decided to make changes. New doesn't mean that I'm going to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe or dramatically change my whole life, quit my job and move away...although sometimes that does sound appealing. Really to me, this "New" philosophy is mainly to focus on making small changes. Small changes can make a big impact further down the road. I want to react different. To my sweet boy and to everyone. I have found that I am a fast reactor, and sometimes these fast reactions can cause irreversible damage. I want to be joyful and peaceful. Does that sound stupid? I want to think about things before I say them and hold my tongue when my opinion isn't really needed. I want to be more positive and less negative! I am going to choose to be happy. So unlike everyone who resolved to a bunch of stuff on Jan 1st I am just choosing to make some changes that I'm hoping will make a lasting and positive impact on my life and the lives of those around me.

One thing that I am doing is "making old things new". I was lucky enough to have my very best friend visit me for a week with her husband and her two sweet girls this last December. We had a great time and it was great to catch up. I miss her so much living so far away. This has me thinking, I have really good "old" friends who live close by that I rarely ever connect with. These are people who helped shape my life and make me who I am. I miss them. So I plan on reconnecting with my old girlfriends and making them a priority in my life. I am going to choose to make special time for them. And while I cherish the friendships that I have now, there is really nothing like those friendships that you forged with girls that you really grew up with. I think that this is going to be a very big and important step for me and my "Newness". It makes me happy just thinking about it! In fact I've already made plans with one of these important girls!

I know that everyday I am faced with so many choices. And I really want to think about them before I make them. I really believe that most choices are also just a mindset... happiness isn't a destination, its something that we can choose to be. Its how we deal with our surroundings and situations that we find ourselves in. Hopefully, I can choose to eat how I know I should and I will see a result in that choice. I can choose to smile instead of frown and smiling really can make you feel happy. I can choose to think before I speak, and choose words that are helpful and not hurtful, or I can choose to not say anything at all. (imagine that :))

Maybe you'll notice a change.. maybe you won't. But regardless I think its gonna be a good thing!