Joy Dare 2013 - Day 32

3 Gifts Red

1. I'm stealing this idea from a friend:

I like my red gift filled with unsweetened ice tea, please. 

2. Netflix

We don't have any sort of fancy cable in our house. It's just to darn expensive. We get the basics that somehow come "free" with our internet service. Ssshhhh....don't tell Comcast.

But we love us some Netflix! 

3. Cherry pie

I don't like cherries or cherry flavor. 

Except I really like this cherry pie.

Anna picked cherry pie instead of birthday cake this year.

I ate too much.

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 31

A Gift on Paper, In a Person, In a Picture

1. A Gift on Paper
I met a friend for lunch today and she brought a me a bouquet of yellow daisies in a beautiful vase. Along with it was a nice note expressing appreciation of our friendship.
A gift in a vase and on paper.

2. In a Person
Anna had her first basketball game tonight.
Zane was there watching the game and cheering for his sister....even after confessing his distaste of watching "women's basketball" (He must get that from his father.)

3. In a Picture

This picture is just a reminder of the gift that I received in going to Ireland.

With my husband.

I've always wanted to see Giant's Causeway and on this trip I got to see it and so much more. 

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 30

3 Old Things Seen New

1. Our backyard playset
It's not getting much action these days seeing that it's covered in about 8 inches of snow. But our wooden playset was old to someone else who didn't really want it in their backyard then it became new to us when they passed it along.

2. Grape Laffy Taffy rope

I used to eat these things all the time in high school. After school and before track practice we would often go to the town gas station (Jason's Pantry) and I would buy a few. 

You don't see grape LaffyTaffy that often anymore. But I found these at Meijer today.

3. 

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 29

A Song Heard, A Soft Word, Light Seen

A Song Heard
Tony and I recently discovered a new band.
Rend Collective Experiment
{bonus: they're Irish}
Listening to their new album today was definitely a gift. But these guys do a version of my absolute favorite hymn, so that's the one I chose.
Take a listen here:

A Soft Word
Hmmmm.....I can't say I hear too many of those around our house.
Unless it's when one of the boys whispers the word "fart."
But, I have to say that whenever Ty says the words "Mom, wanna snuggle" I definitely get all soft inside. And thankfully he still utters those words on a regular basis.
He's a heart melter.

A Light Seen
The lightbulbs on my microhood (I think that's the technical term for the microwave that hangs above the stovetop) have been burnt out for almost a year now.
Cooking dinner can get a little dark, especially in the winter. But for the life of me I could not find the specialty lightbulbs that fit the darned thing.
But thanks to our Handyman friend who can't help but step in and help out when he sees a need. He tracked down those not so typical lightbulbs and delivered them to me.
Let there be light!

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 28

3 Graces Found in Friends

1. Endurance
One of my very best friends lives 500 miles away.
I was the one to move first. Then she moved even further.
The truth is, when I moved away, I think I prematurely began mourning the loss of our friendship.
I'd had friends move before and before long I never heard from them again.
I knew the drill. The phone calls get fewer and far between, the common ground is lost, the season is over.
But after a while, I realized I was wrong this time.
Our friendship endured.
And here we are 7 years later and our friendship remains.
Yes the calls may be fewer and far between. But the text messages aren't. The prayer for each other aren't and the common ground definitely isn't.
Is the term "bosom buddies" even appropriate to use anymore?

2. Accountability
Another friend, who I am also lucky to call family and colleague, is excellent when it comes to accountability. We are going through this Joy Dare together and trying to share our joys with one another daily. We're also trying to hold one another accountable when it comes to our mutual habit of nail biting. I like to think that people who are excessively smart bite their nails.
Yep. I'm sure that's the problem.

3. Laughter
I have plenty of friends that make me laugh. And I try my best to make plenty of friends laugh.
Life just isn't the same without laughter.
And it burns calories.
And studies say it makes you live longer.

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 27

3 Gifts in the Kitchen

This one was hard for me in that I had a difficult time narrowing it down to only 3 gifts.
My kitchen is probably my most favorite room in my house.
But not for the reason you might think.
My kitchen serves its purpose and is fine and dandy for baking and cooking.
And the messes that usually cover its counters quite easily prove that it's used regularly.
However, my kitchen is my favorite room because of its decor.
Vintage 1970's
Green. Gold. Orange. Brown.
Delightful.

1. My Kitchen Window Valence
My valence is actually made from dinner napkins that my mom gave me. They were her dinner napkins that she had when she first got married. She made them.
Out of a bed sheet.
Now that is retro.

(a special note about an "unofficial gift" sitting in front of the window....it's a vintage metal cookie jar shaped like an orange. My mom found that for me too. Very fun!)

2. My kitchen island

When my parents bought the house they currently live in, it was an unoccupied 100 year old farm house that had no heating, electricity or plumbing. The house and the barn on the property were full of all sorts of treasures that were included in the selling price! If only I had known then what I know now about vintage pieces. But alas....my parents knew.

In the barn was an old porcelain top table. 

When Tony and I moved into our current house, my Mom remembered the table still residing in the barn (20 years later) and brought it to us for our kitchen to use as an island. The table sat lower than our counters and after a while my back got a little tired of bending over for all the meal prep.

Listen to me...."all the meal prep"....sounds like I'm cooking up a storm all the time. HA!

Anyway, I decided that it would be nice to have an official kitchen island. But I hated to give up that porcelain table top! It was knife resistant, heat resistant and gosh darn it, it was vintage.

So I came up with the idea to build and island and use the table top. And thankfully I have a dad who is a genius when it comes to woodworking.

My Daddy helped me turn my idea into reality and we built this:

We used the porcelain table top and added lots of storage underneath. The end pulls out and is big drawer that holds our trash can and recycling can. And both sides have sliding doors that open up to storage for paper goods and snacks and such.

A gift indeed!

3. A teapot

This one was actually a gift I received for Christmas this year. 

Yet again, my Mommy came through. I swear that woman is always on the lookout of things to add to my kitchen. This year she got me some Irish tea, a tea bag holder, and this beauty

She has taken up permanent residence on my stove top for all to see!

There are many more gifts in my kitchen, but alas I'll have to figure out a way to fit them in another day!

Joy Dare 2013 - Day 26

A Gift before dawn, at noon, after dark

1. A gift before dawn
Plain and simple, the fact that my children did not wake up before dawn was a gift in and of itself. My boys are early risers on the weekends, yet on school days I usually have to pry Zane out of bed. He informs me that it's because he doesn't want to go to school but on the weekend he doesn't want to miss a minute of play time. I suppose that makes sense.

2. A gift at noon
Today my gift at noon was watching Zane play in his first basketball game. He loved it! Go #3!
It was also a gift to have numerous members of our family there to cheer Zane on. All 4 grandparents, uncles, an aunt and 4 cousins. I think he had the biggest cheering section!

3. A gift after dark

Eating a slice of homemade cherry pie that was left over from Anna's birthday party earlier in the day. I don't really like cherries, but this pie is delicious!