A memorable moment…having flowers delivered this week from my husband and it’s not even a birthday or anniversary.

I am grateful..that I planted Lantana this spring outside my back door.

I laugh..when I think about how picky Miss Sam and Mr. John are about their “blankies”. They have to have them “just so” in order to sleep at night. As for me (as Mr. John would say) mine always look like “scrambled eggs”.

I love…that I have a friend I can call at the last minute and say “Hey, do you want to ride down to the beach this evening and capture some sunset shots on our cameras?” and she says “yes”. That’s where I will be heading in an hour or so.

Something new….a life jacket for a dog. No, this is not one of our pets. This is a random photo I captured about a week ago. Cute huh?

A Simple Pleasure: Guiding my daughter to make wise choices.

Something I read yesterday morning:

Leviticus 19:33-34

When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

How do you feel when you encounter foreigners (aliens), especially those who don’t speak your language?

Are you impatient? Do you think or act as if they should go back where they came from? Are you tempted to take advantage of them?

God says to treat foreigners as you’d treat fellow country-men, to love them as you love yourself. In reality, we are all foreigners in this world, because it is only our temporary home.

View strangers, new comers, and foreigners as opportunities to demonstrate God’s love.

Taken from The Life Application Study Bible

That’s all for now. I’m off to “unscramble” my blankies and take a nap before heading out to the beach. Mr. John and I went to a boat show in Tampa today and I’m a little tired…but not too tired to take my camera to the beach later!!!

Be sure to check in tomorrow to see what fun things we were able to capture with our cameras at the beach this evening.

A memorable moment…eating my own  home grown tomatoes for the very first time. They were more than delicious they were  simply indescribable. Patiently waiting for the next batch.

I am grateful..for the lazy days of summer.

I laugh..when I think about how opposite Mr. John and I are yet how easily we get along. Take for example this morning….I’m making spaghetti for an early dinner in the crock pot and I bought two pounds of ground beef with the idea to brown all of it and divide it…using one pound for another meal at another time. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Do you like lots of meat in your spaghetti (hard to believe that after almost fourteen years of marriage I even ASK this question)?

Mr. John: Well, I don’t like a lot of sauce. ( WHAT kind of answer is THAT????)

As for me, I like a lot of sauce and very little meat.

He likes biscuits with his spaghetti and I like garlic toast.

He likes rotini noodles and I like angel hair spaghetti.

He likes processed parmesan cheese and I like fresh.

The list goes on…and on….and on…..

I love…this new author I am reading Dorothea Benton Frank!! I can’t seem to tear myself away from her book Pawley’s Island..it makes me homesick for Georgia and South Carolina.

Something new….a sunflower!! Not sure how this one lone sunflower ended up in my front garden but I am absolutely tickled!!! I almost cut it down because I thought at first it was a weed. You know I’ll keep you posted with photos as it begins to bloom!

 Something I read this morning:

Like a tiny seed, a small amount of genuine faith in God will take root and grow. We don’t need more faith; a tiny seed of faith is enough, if it is alive and growing. From Luke 17:16 Life Application Study Bible

A memorable moment…when my husband asked that I keep my Friday (today) client list at a minimum so that he could take me to lunch.

I am grateful..for my flexible work schedule. I took today off.

I laugh..because two weeks ago every one complained about the drought and now every one is complaining about the steady rain that has brought us out of the drought season.

I love…second hand bookstores. On our trip to the big city today I am going to one of my favorites  Baroni’s Twice Read Tales.

Something new….Today we are going to try a new place in the big city called Ipanema Brazilian Steakhouse. I am soooo looking forward to lunch today. I am part Portuguese and it will be really nice to taste linguica again. I remember cookouts in our backyard when my parents would have my mother’s relatives over (the Portuguese side) and we would have the best linguicia subs!

A memorable moment…identifying with the main character of Ariana Trigiani’s Big Stone Gap series. The second book in the series “Big Cherry Holler” is having quite an impact on me.

I am grateful…that my husband sees my need to get out of the house and agrees to go out to dinner, even though he would rather stay at home.

I laugh… because I am joyful in all the ways that I have been blessed.

I love… going out to eat. It relaxes me. Especially when the restaurant is by the water like Charlie’s Fish House. Which by the way is what we did last night while Sam was swimming over at her cousin’s house.

Something new…. it was Earth Day this week. Sam and I went out and bought a “Bottle Brush” tree with a gift certificate from a local nursery that our neighbors had given us when John’s Dad died. We will plant it in memory of him.

A joyful picture from this week:

A memorable moment…was when Miss Sam and I dropped Mr. John off at Bass Pro Shop and we went in search of (what else) bookstores. We searched two strip malls along International Drive in Orlando….however, we failed to take a peek at the third one and proceeded to take a wrong turn ending up at Universal Studios. Of course it was the third strip mall that held one of the three bookstores we were searching for….the one we did not scope out as we drove by and took a wrong turn…but after a few giggles we found our way back.

I am grateful…that I don’t panic when I happen to get lost in a bigger, bigger, bigger city.

I laugh…that the first thing that Miss Sam tells her Dad when (three hours later) we picked him up at Bass Pro Shop:

Sam: Mom got lost and we ended up at Universal Studios.

Of course she conveniently fell asleep as we headed out of Orlando and Mr. John took a wrong turn that had us traveling in the wrong direction for 1/2 hour….and when we turned around we got stuck in the Orlando commute traffic which took an additional hour to make our way through…what was funny was when she woke up (an hour and 1/2 later) she asked if we were home yet and we were only five minutes away from when she fell asleep (grin).

I love…book shopping with my ‘baby’ girl.

Something new….what else… a book….Southern Living’s Busy Moms Weeknight Favorites. I’m going to try the Barbecue Muffins.

A joyful picture from this week:

Miss Sam tried four times to get a ‘serious’ photo…this is the best Mr. John could do. We were at Red Lobster…perhaps this was his ‘pirate’ imitation?????

Today I am grateful for: our 24 hour WalMart. I was able to get up bright and early this morning and do some much needed grocery shopping before the crowds arrived.

Samantha’s Corner:

Samantha (screaming from the kitchen): Mom!!! We have an emergency here!!!

Mom (trying to hook up the external hard drive in her office): WHAT is it?!?!!

Samantha: We are all out of ketchup!! This is a serious problem. WHEN are you going grocery shopping???

P.S. We were also out of three other ‘staples’…..frozen pizzas, hotdogs, and waffles. Thus the early morning run to WalMart.

A memorable moment…was when we lit the traditional ‘birthday doughnut’ to celebrate Snickers’ first birthday. She saw the doughnut and ran to the couch where she could not stop shaking from fright. Who is afraid of a doughnut?????????

I am grateful…that I thought about putting my ‘garden spot’ in the back corner of the yard. I am able to see it from my office windows and the feeders are far enough away so the squirrels won’t be tempted to nibble through the screened porch.

I laugh…that Miss Sam thinks I live in some kind of time warp and I don’t know what LOL and OMG means.

I love…the teriyaki wings at one of our favorite restaurants The Crystal River Ale House. We went there last night. The weather has been so awesome these past few days that we were able to sit outside and watch the boats go by.

Something new….a wicker chest that I picked up at a thrift shop. With a new coat of ‘Sparkling Canyon’ paint it will be perfect to store my hopes and dreams.

A joyful picture from this week:

Today I am grateful for:  the beautiful spring like weather we have been having. It inspires me to go outside and continue cultivating my garden ‘happy spot’.

Today I will simplify my life: by spending some time organizing my planner for next week.

A memorable moment…was when Snickers’ chased her first squirrel. This is progress for her. Usually the squirrels will chase her and she will run into the house and hide under the bed. She’s finally coming into her own.

I am grateful…that Miss Sam is on the mend.

I laugh…when I think on how Miss Sam reacted to my new cut and color:

Samantha: Mom, you look weird.

Mom: You don’t like it?

Samantha: I didn’t say I don’t like it. You just look weird.

Hmmmm…..wait another year or two and I am sure the roles will be reversed, don’t you think?

I love..my new hair cut and color. In fact….next appointment I am going to have some additional mahogany ‘peek-a-boo’ highlights put in. Thanks everyone for all your wonderful comments and support of my ‘risk’ of the month!!!

Something new….my new book bag. It was 30% off at Beall’s and I had $10.00 in Beall’s bucks so I was able to get a $40.00 bag for $18.00. I love it.

A joyful picture from this week:

Today’s Around the Square: Carol from She Lives. I have been visiting lurking over at Carol’s place ever since I made my appearance in the blogosphere. She is a lovely and talented individual. Go over and visit and have some fun. You’ll enjoy her post Thirteen Things That Might Coerce Me To Get Out of Bed In The Morning.

Today I am grateful for: having been a professor for five years. It means that I pretty much have my lectures under control with just a little tweaking to meet the needs of the current class demographics.

Today I will simplify my life: by getting my taxes done as soon as I hit the ‘publish’ button on this post.

Samantha’s Corner:

Dear Sam:

This week is the sickest you have been since you ‘caught’ the flu in Arizona when you were three years old. I have a suspicion that you ‘caught’ this flu from Miss Sue’s class when you went there Friday to mentor.

On Monday the symptoms you presented were a headache and extreme lethargy. As the week progressed they went full blown into aches and pains, sore throat, upset tummy, and eyes that hurt to move.

Finally by Friday you were able to get out of bed and eat a little bit. Today, although you are still quite lethargic, you are able to do what you like best…..be on the computer and eat steak.

I have to be honest and say that as a teenager you were not the best ‘patient’. I was unsure how many more days I could take the whining and the demands and reassuring you that your throat would once again not hurt and that your stomach would once again be able to handle something more than Ritz crackers.

Yet, once you felt more yourself, I had to say that taking care of you while you were sick was worth the ‘I love you Mom’ that you slyly snuck into the sentence ‘What’s for dinner?”.

Love, Mom

A memorable moment…because one of my little preschool clients (she will turn five soon) is learning to read ‘Dick and Jane’, Miss Sam asked me “When did I start reading?”. So Saturday morning I took down one of the vast journals I kept from age one to three and began searching diligently for the entry that announced her ability to read:

3-20-98 (age three)

Alphabet letters you can write: F, E, O, A, T U, H, P

You can draw an American flag and a square.

Words you can read: cat, dog, hot, Samantha, Mommy, Daddy, moon, fox, and pig.

But this was not the memorable moment. The memorable moment was reading other entries with Samantha (now almost fourteen) and hearing her giggle out of control at her toddler antics:

11-9-97 (age 2 1/2)

We were in K-Mart and it was our first time shopping there and we couldn’t find the toy department. You then stopped the next person you saw and said “Excuse me, can you tell me where the toy department is?”.

1-30-98 (almost three)

You were creating a ruckus to get my attention. I picked you up and sat on the balconey with you until you calmed down. When you calmed down I told you:

Mommy: “I’m tired of these shenanigans.”

Samantha: “Mommy, I left shenanigans in bed.”

Later that same day when I said:

Mommy: “Are you being a pain in the butt?”

Samantha: “No, I left pain in the butt in bed.”

Note: I always tell you when you wake up crabby that if you get up you need to let Miss Crabbycakes stay in bed.

4-26-98  (age three)

In a conversation about God making Georgia far away (Daddy is in school there) and being in heaven and everywhere, you asked me:

Samantha: “Mommy, what time is God going to come down from heaven?”

Mommy: “I don’t know baby.”

Samantha: “I wonder how he will get here, maybe with a parachute or something.”

6-1-98 (age three)

You were drawing and you said:

Samantha: “I want to be a drawer.”

Mommy: “Do you mean an artist?”

Samantha: “Yes, I want to be an artist when I grow up.”

5/98 (age three)

You came into Gram’s house and said:

Samantha: “Grandma, my butt’s broke.”

Grandma: “Why?”

Samantha: “Because it has a crack in it!”

Grams and Gramps laughed so hard tears came to their eyes.

8-6-98 (age three)

Samantha was watching a video where Linus was moving and Samantha asked:

Samantha: “Why is Linus moving?”

Mommy: “I don’t know why.”

Samantha: “Maybe it’s because Sally keeps calling him her sweet Baboo.”

September 1998 (almost four)

You came out into the living room and said:

Samantha: “Mommy come see.”

and you brought me into the bathroom where you climbed on the toilet and put your butt all the way into the water and you said:

Samantha: See, it makes a great butt washer.”

1-10-99 (almost four)

We were walking to the tennis courts.

Mommy: “I thought today was my day, what are we doing..going to play tennis?”

Samantha: “I changed it to my day. Tomorrow can be your day.”

Mommy: “Why do I not believe that?”

Samantha: “Maybe because you’re not smart enough?”

4-1-99 (age four)

Samantha yelled for me from the bathroom to wipe her poopy butt. When I was finished she patted me on the back and told me:

Samantha: Mommy, you’re the best butt wiper ever!”

April 1999 (age four)

You, me, and Grandma Batog were in the Target snack bar where you were enjoying your routine hotdog, Cheetos and Icee. I was telling Grandma that maybe when Daddy came home I could cook decent meals for you. You feigned surprise and said:

Samantha: “You??? Cook???”

4-9-99 (age four)

We were lying in bed one night getting ready to go to sleep and you were up to your usual antics. I said:

Mommy: “Samantha, you drive me crazy.”

and you smiled at me mischievously and said:

Samantha: “No Mommy, you drive yourself crazy!!”

I am grateful…that I took time out from being a new, overwhelmed,and frazzled mom to record all the details of my daughter’s early childhood.

I laugh…just remembering Miss Sam giggling at herself and her incredible sense of humor that began at birth.

I love..that we can laugh at her telling me that I am ‘just not smart enough’ and that at the tender young age of four she was intuitive enough to notice that I do indeed ‘drive myself crazy’.

Something new….as I was reading through the volumes of captured memories I became sad that after age four there is little of the written word to document the continuing antics of my precious girl. She does of course have two enormous photo scrapbooks for every age (that would make a total of 28 scrapbooks so far!!!) that include some journaling…but nothing like the journals from her baby years. Therefore, I am going to include a new addition to my daily ‘Around the Square’/Today I am grateful for/Today I am going to simplify my life…..it will be ‘Samantha’s Corner’. Here is where I will carry on the tradition of documenting our ordinary days that are building blocks for our extraordinary lives.

A joyful picture from this week:

I’ll be adding some more pictures this week and on Facebook. Also, by request, I will feature my ‘project’ birthday present in a post later this week

Today’s Around the Square: is Sandra’s food blog Full Bellies, Happy Kids. I have bookmarked several of her recipes. Tonight I will be making her Baked Spaghetti. I will let you know how it turns out. Until then, go see what you can ‘cook up’ for dinner tonight from her fabulous recipes!!!!

Today I am grateful for: that the robins are back!!! They make such a beautiful racket as they land and cover every inch of our front yard. I hope to be quick enough this week to capture a photo of them.

Today I will simplify my life: picking out the top four books from my long list of ‘To Be Read’ books and put them in the basket beside my bed. This will keep me from being overwhelmed by my addiction and keep me on track with my reading.

Samantha’s Corner:

Dear Samantha, It is a rule that you clean up your computer area before going to bed at night…or you will lose what???? That’s correct…you will lose an hour of your nightly allotment of computer time. This is how your computer area looked this morning when I woke up. Looks like you are not going to be on the computer much today.

Love, Mom

A memorable moment…was when Miss Sam and I visited the wildlife park this week. Not only did we get to see the bobcat for the second time in the eight years we have lived here…but the wolves (new additions) FINALLY made a public appearance after they were put in a ‘holding’ cell after trying to escape from their new home.

I am grateful…for family. We had a joyous weekend filled with good food and fun.

I laugh…when I think back about all my apprehensions concerning homeschooling. It’s been a somewhat rocky road (until I veered off and developed my own curriculum) but worth every experience, mistakes and all.

I love..my ‘wasn’t supposed to celebrate Valentine’s Day’ Valentine gifts from Mr. John and Miss Sam.  New Pajama Gram pajamas (my second pair and if you have never had any you need to put it on your next ‘gift’ list) and my new ‘Cuddle Blanket‘ from Brookstone. Again, if you have never tried one, it is definitely the best gift for someone who has everything and you just don’t know what to get them…a good book to go with it would really top it off.

Something new….of course it has to be a book…what else!!??? A Pocket Guide to Butterflies & Moths.

A joyful picture from this week:

Miss Sam enjoying her most favorite meal in the whole world….snow crab legs. Thanks Grandma!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Today’s Around the Square: is Lee from Chrysalis Dreams. I found out about Lee’s blog through Blogger’s ‘Blogs of Note’ which I have on my Google page. I love this feature as it has pointed me in the direction of some excellent bloggers…such as Lee. Here is what Lee has to say about herself:

When you’re a work in progress it seems to last all your life. Sometimes the changes speed up and at other times, well, you know. I’m in one of the faster phases of personal growth. That sounds strange to me. I’m a 56 year old woman. And yet here I am, being reborn. Right now I’m learning about unconditional love and service to others.

It seems we share much in common. Stop by and tell her hello.

Today I am grateful for: the Swiffer company. I know, I know, I can hear you yawning as I once again rave about their products. But honestly, I was able to mop all three tile floors in my home and dust my ENTIRE home in under an hour…..now is that not something to be grateful for??????? God Bless Swiffer!!

Today I will simplify my life:  by not worrying about the things I didn’t get done this weekend. I had fun and I relaxed (even with that whirlwind hour of cleaning this morning….LOL).

A memorable moment…was yesterday. I went to an Arts Festival in Mount Dora with a friend. It was unbelievably awesome. Not just the incredible, talented artists and their work, but enjoying the company of someone who gets my jokes and encourages me to be silly. I really experienced a sense of ‘normalcy’ and ‘living in the moment’.

I am grateful…that my friend thought of me when she wanted to go to the Arts Festival in Mount Dora and gave me a call to ask me if I wanted to go.

I laugh…because I mistakenly put biscotti INTO my cappuccino instead of DIPPING it which triggered about twenty minutes of uncontrolled laughter when it dissolved into chunks and made my cappuccino simply undrinkable.

I love..the insight that my daily readings of ‘Simple Abundance’ is awakening in me. I have so much to ‘talk’ about in regards to how the readings of the past few days has impacted the weaving of my ‘tapestry of contentment’. I will share it all within the next few days.

Something new….my watch. There is a story behind my choosing this watch. It has to do with the aforementioned readings in ‘Simple Abundance’. Again, I will share soon. But perhaps my ‘joyful pictures’ from this week will provide you a clue.

Some joyful pictures from this week:

Today’s Around the Square: is MiPa from Miriam Pauline’s Monologue. MiPa has been a favorite of mine since my initiation into the world of blogging. We met through Christian Women Online (one of my favorite networks) and she continues to be one of my favorite reads. There is much about MiPa that I admire…..she makes a home wherever her husband’s job takes him, her stitching talents are out of this world, and her honesty in what she posts. You may have seen the trend in my choices for ‘Around the Square’. I am such a fan of people who write from the heart, even when it hurts. MiPa has been such an encourager for me…especially when I was writing when it hurt. She is a beautiful individual inside and out. Take a peek at her space here in the blogosphere and tell her hello….and please keep her family in your prayers as something new peeks across the horizon for her and her family.

Today I am grateful for: my sense of humor. It’s quirky but it’s uniquely mine.

Today I will simplify my life: by using the ‘chat box’ on Facebook instead of the ‘notes/emails’. Thanks Joann for making me less technically challenged!!!!!!