My Can Rotater!!

THIS is my Christmas present from my sweetie!  He knew I'd been wanting to get something to store our cans for two reasons:

1.  So I can free up room in my very small kitchen
2.  So I can stock up on our canned food storage
3.  So I can have more organization and make sure I'm using the oldest stuff first

Okay, turns out there were actually three reasons ;)...

My sweetie loves to create and build and make.  It's probably the engineer in him.  And so he designed this can holder and built it.  For Christmas, I got the plans.  For New Year's, he built it ;).

And I LOVE it.  I am so excited that I now have a place to store all our canned goods.  And that means I can now start building our storage of them!!!  More than what I had before :).

And this definitely makes my grateful list today...  Because it is totally rockin' the Nilla Life!

What are you grateful for today?

My (Generally) Able Body

I will admit that my body's ability to do so much is one of those things I often take for granted. 

And then, out of the clear blue while not doing anything but bending over and standing up, my lower back tweaks and a strange sensation shoots down my right leg, and suddenly I'm realizing all my body does for me -- and how ultra-lame it is when something stops working awesomely.  (In this case, it's my lower back).

True, there are -- and have always been (and probably always will be) -- things I am not thrilled with about my body.  Mostly appearance things.

But my body (generally) functions as it should.  My body was even able to carry a baby -- something I worried would be an impossibility once upon a time.  I have ten fingers and ten toes; two hands and two feet.  How often do I realize what a great blessing it is to have all these working appendages?  Not often, I confess. 

I can remember being in elementary school, and one of my teachers showed us a video of a woman who was born without arms and hands.  She learned how to do so many things with her feet.  It was truly amazing.  If I'm honest with myself, I don't think I would have been as strong as that woman who excelled in spite of her body's limitations.  Half the time, when I've encountered my own body's flaws or limitations, I have been more of a whiner and a "why-me"-er.  Definitely need to work on that!

But, though my body is definitely imperfect in its own ways, it's certainly a very able body.  And I am grateful for that.  I am grateful I can walk and run (slowly... I'm definitely not a runner!).  I'm grateful I can hug and snuggle my baby -- and even change her diapers ;).  I'm grateful I can jump and drive a car and bend and carry and lift.  And do so many other things my body enables me to do without even thinking about it. 

My body isn't perfect, but it's mine.  It houses my spirit and allows me to experience so much of the wonderfulness of life so that I learn.  And I am grateful.  And I acknowledge that gratitude better on the days I am not up to snuff and my husband takes over baby duties so I can rest my back and heal.  (Mommies are in high demand, so it's never a good thing to be out of commission... even a little bit ;)!)

What are you grateful for today?

Puffs

That package I mentioned that contained the smile-making twinkies?  Yeah, it also had these!  (For baby girl, not me, in case you were wondering ;)). 

What was cool about this is that I was planning to buy some of these for her, but hadn't made it to the store since before Christmas, so it didn't happen.  And then...  There they were!  So awesome.  And sweet potato puffs too!  She loves sweet potatoes.

Anyway, I am grateful for these things, because they are a great stepping stone into helping our sweet girl learn how to eat things with more substance, but they are safer than starting her with Cheerios or crackers, because she's less likely to choke on them.  Because they disintegrate so quickly!  Love that about them.

I also love that they have the added bonus of being entertainment too!  (Possibly more for us as we watch her attempt to get them in her mouth...).  In all seriousness, though...  These were great for church today.  I'd put one in my hand and let her grab it out and spend 30 seconds to a minute trying to figure out how to eat it.  Then repeat.  Kept her quiet for a good long while! 

Plus, she's learning more fine-tuned motor skills.  Extra bonus there! 

So all around, these puffs are awesome.  And I'm totally getting more of them.  It's sort of bittersweet as it's just one more stage proving that my baby is growing up...  But it's a good thing.  And I'm grateful to have things like this available to me to help her as she grows, learns, and develops... and eats!

What are you grateful for today?

Twinkies

 

Want something that can put a smile on your face?  Arrive home to a package outside your door!! 

I got a belated Christmas package today from my awesome friend April.

Want something that can put an even bigger smile on your face?  Open the box and find...  twinkies.  (Among other awesome things... but this is all about twinkies ;)).

About a year ago, when the announcement came out that there would be no more twinkies...  Well, my heart broke a little bit.  What kind of a world doesn't have twinkies!?!  No world I want to live in!  Haha... 

Okay, a little dramatic.  But I was saddened by the news.  Twinkies are just a staple.  They should always exist.  My husband and I tried to find some at a grocery store after the announcement, but of course all were sold out by then. 

Thankfully, some other company decided to buy out Hostess.  I can still remember seeing twinkies back on the shelf for the first time in a year.  And I totally snagged a box that day.

The box of twinkies now says "The sweetest comeback in the history of ever."  And yeah, that about sums it up. 

I'm grateful for twinkies.  They make me happy :).

Plus, it doesn't hurt that my siblings and I share a funny memory about strawberry twinkies (don't think they make those anymore, but oh about...  20 or so years ago they did...) and waking up my brother's friend Kristian during a sleepover birthday party so he could eat one -- and he started crying because he wanted to sleep.  Apparently we thought the twinkies were that important that we woke up that poor kid.

What are you grateful for today?

Our Van

About a year and a half ago, my Buick Skylark bit the dust.  To tell the truth, I am grateful for that old clunker and the role it played in my life for almost 10 years...  I certainly have stories that make me laugh (and my friends too) like having to pull up my pant legs due to the puddle that always pooled on the driver's floorboard...  Or the time I taped the driver's sideview mirror together...  Or having to "tuck it in" at night during the winter so the locks wouldn't freeze (and prevent me from getting into my car the next day)...  Oh the memories... 

But that car did eventually bite the dust, and we didn't feel it was worth the money to repair it.  So we sold it to a junk yard, and moved on with life.

And the purchase of another vehicle.

We decided on a van for two reasons:  1.  Because we hoped to have a family.  2.  Because we figured even if we didn't (and/or until we did), we could haul around a lot of people anyway... plus we could take out seats and haul a lot of stuff.

And boy did we ever! 

We did some research and decided we wanted either a Dodge Grand Caravan, a Toyota Sienna, or a Honda Odyssey.  We had our price range.  And we started our search.  It took us a while, but one magical day, there was a posting on Craigslist.  Our van.  A 2001 Honda Odyssey meeting pretty much all our requirements. 

True, the girl from whom we bought it was a little flaky (she didn't realize we would show up prepared to pay for the van and drive it away that day... so we made a good-faith agreement that we would buy the van after she was done with it later that week -- so long as no damage occurred between those days). 

But we had found our vehicle.  An answer to prayers. 

And it has been a wonderful vehicle for us.  We have moved all of our belongings with it (including a mattress and couch and curio cabinet) -- though I don't think we could at this point...  We have loaded several kids in it.  We have traveled in it to visit family.  My husband just recently used it to haul all the wood he bought to make my can rotation thing (my Christmas gift). 

We feel blessed to have this vehicle.  It does a lot for us and hasn't given us any issues (well, maybe the automatic doors are a bit annoying, since one of them has already broken, but I guess that's what happens with convenience ;))... 

And I'm grateful for the freedom it affords me to go where I want pretty much whenever I want :).

What are you grateful for today?

My Cheese Grater

We buy the big Costco block of cheese.  Presumably because it's cheaper to just shred it than to buy it shredded.  I haven't actually crunched the numbers (and maybe I should...). 

For some reason, one of my least favorite things in the cooking department (second only to cutting onions) is shredding cheese.  I know, I know... Lazy.  I think it's partially (or mostly) because I don't enjoy washing that thing.  

So as I was shredding cheese in preparation for some home-made cheesy potato soup, I was being complainy (mentally) and thinking about how I hate shredding cheese (I'm a bit of a drama queen sometimes ;)). 

And then I thought about how great it is that I actually have a cheese grater.  I mean, how the heck would I have shredded cheese otherwise -- besides buying it?  Or how did they have it back in the day?  Maybe they didn't.  And so, rather than whining about how I would have to clean this boxy thing later (because that's what I usually complain about ;))... I decided to be grateful for this wonderful tool that allows me to have shredded cheese quite quickly and quite easily. 

And maybe I'll stop complaining about something so silly in the future and just be grateful!

What are you grateful for today?

Our Savior's Birth

Last Christmas, before I quit working, I received a Christmas card from a co-worker.  On the front of the card was a simple, but beautiful, picture of Mary, holding a tiny infant in her arms -- the Christ child.  No words were written.  But on the inside, in a single poignant sentence, the message of Christmas was shared, and it touched my heart.  So much so that I decided to keep that card for every year.

"In her arms she held the hope of the world."

Never has a card touched me so profoundly.  Perhaps it was that I was on the verge of motherhood myself.  Or perhaps it was the simplicity and beauty of the card.  The truth held within.

In ten small words, the meaning of Christmas was shared.  For with His birth, hope was born.

So, on this day set aside to celebrate and remember our Savior's birth, I give thanks that He came.  And that He came for me.

Merry CHRISTmas.

What are you grateful for today?