Happiness is...

Happiness is...

19 years...wow...hard to believe. We were so young then - you & me & baby makes three. These years have been so wonderful to me. It's hard to imagine, and it sounds cliche, but I truly do love you more now than I ever have. You are the most kind, generous, loving, supportive, loyal man I know. Your love for me seems endless. You know how I can be (and I'll just leave it at that), but no matter what, I always feel nothing but unconditional love from you. You put up with my occasional tantrums & my mood swings as if you'd been living with me half your life. Oh wait - we have been together half our lives! Oh my gosh, half our lives. And I am ever so grateful for all of the days we have yet to come.

Thank you for cooking dinners for me, for being my mr. fix-it, for being such a patient, wonderful father to our children. When I am sad, you are there. When I am mad, you make me smile. When my back is acting up, you reach over in your sound asleep to rub it for me. You are patient, ever so patient. Please don't give up on me, I am getting there. With you I feel loved, I feel safe & secure, and I feel happy. You are my best friend, & OMG how you make me laugh.

You are my everything in my every day. You are my sunshine that warms me, and heals me, and brightens my day. I couldn't live without you & I am so blessed, and lucky, and ecstatic that you are mine!

I love you baby with everything in me. From my toes to my head to the depths of my soul.

Happy Anniversary.
I. LOVE. YOU.

Happiness Is........

......listening to my new favorite music genre:
Bossa Nova.

Moments with Pinky & the Momma

Ever have one of those days when all is right with the world? Today was one of those days. My day began with a whole bunch of "me" time, then flowed into some much treasured "mother/daughter" time. I try to remind myself as often as I can that "The best things in life are not things", and how very true that is.

Today was my day off work and did I sleep in? Hell no! I headed out the door bright and early to do a little yard saleing, one of my hobbies. I love the thrill of the hunt, the excitement of a good buy, and the anticipation of transforming other people's "junk" into something beautiful for my home. The sun was shining, the wind was in my hair, and the ole' mini-van was haulin ass down Rte. 252 to be the early-bird at the yard sales. Woohoo - what a rush. I know, weird, right? Well after an hour and a half of hittin the sales I stopped in to see Ree, my favorite hairdresser. She cut my hair as cute as always and since she is also my daughter's dance coach, I got the skinny on the upcoming season.

Loaded down with a fresh new 'do and a van full of "junk", I headed home and was met by a hungry daughter. Off I went again crusin in the mini-van, this time with my teenage daughter. We had the windows down, music pumpin, and made a pit-stop at Jimmie-Johns for lunch. YUM! If you haven't had their sub sandwiches then you are missing something special sister! I love these stolen moments with my girl. I call them stolen because her time does not really belong to me anymore. Her time is her own and she chooses to give most of it to the cell phone, her girlfriends, "the boy", and her endless cheer & dance practices. I wait ever so patiently for moments like this afternoon when I can stealthily swoop in and steal my moments in time. Moments that belong to only her and I. Moments when we are in sync, when I am not rushing like a mad woman, and she is not endlessly texting. Moments when we share jokes and stories, and laughs, and time together. Does it get any better than that?

She helped me pick out a paint color at Home Depot (Fresh Pineapple in case you're wondering), and she chose a perfect throw pillow to match my chair that will soon be glowing in Fresh Pineapple, and we shared in excited glee when she found her favorite candy at the cash register (Sour Patch Watermelon - VERY hard to come by).

Twice today we grabbed hands and cracked up laughing at something that was probably random and goofy and that I can't remember now, but who cares what we were laughing at right? We were sharing an awesome moment to remember. It is the little moments such as this that I treasure these days. The moments when I am not lecturing, or issuing warnings, or dashing here or there, or working. Moments when her phone is in her pocket and she's not worried about being taxied to a friend's house, or practice, or school. Just time for us to chill, enjoy each other's company, and get a little whiff of the good old days. The days when she was a little peanut and I was the mommy that she looked up to, and imitated, and adored. Today I was not the Mom that gets on her nerves. Today she was not my sassy-mouthed teenager.

Today I was Momma and she was Pinky, and the sun was shining, and the radio was blaring, and we were singing along. Today we laughed and we shared and we were goofy and we both just "got" each other.

Today, all was right with the world.

Edited to join Chatting at the Sky for Tuesdays Unwrapped.

Also linking up with Melissa at the Inspired Room for her Beautiful Life Fridays.

Happiness Is.....

....flowers I picked from my yard - some wild, some planted. Love it !!

Happiness is....

....hearing the words "Kris...you are safe tonight". Woohoo!

Happiness is......

.......Being a front row spectator to your mother & her siblings trying to determine the amount of edible items given in the "12 Days of Christmas". Most hilarious thing I've seen in a long time. I highly recommend it to anyone.