Oops!

Part of being happy, I think, is learning to laugh at yourself. Luckily, there are AMPLE reasons for me to laugh at my self, so I'll be getting lots of practice and hopefully be extremely happy!

Here is an example:

A few months ago I decided to try to be thrifty and purchase a large box of baby boy clothes off craigslist. To pick up the box, I had to drive to a shady area of Arlington. I met with the lady, a friendly African American, took a quick peek inside the box to make sure it really was full of clothes, and high tailed it out of there. When I got home and unpacked it, I discovered a lot of really awesome clothes in really good condition, but frankly, they were all outfits that would look adorable on a little black boy, but extremely out of place on my white as milk, curly red-headed boy! You know, things like FUBU and Rocawear. All really good looking clothes, but all my black friends and neighbors would just shake their heads and laugh at me and my wannabe gansta son : )

Well, I kept some of the clothes anyways. They were just too nice. I always laugh when I put Nathan in them ; ) One of them in the pile was a high quality onesie with the letters RUN DMC on it. Since we live here in Dallas, I figured it was some logo for Dallas Marathon Company or something. That was, until my walking buddy saw it one morning and started laughing, amazed that Nathan would be sporting a onesie about a legendary and groundbreaking hip hop group from the 80's. I had NO idea. Wanna hear one of their songs?

RUN DMC- It's Tricky

Yep, that's who Nathan has been promoting on his belly for a couple months. My son, the rapper. Now all his jabber makes a little more sense.

Isn't life awesome?

Friends, Nothings Better Than Friends

I know my posts on here have been kinda spotty the last week or so. That is because we went on our first family vacation! We hit up Washington D.C. and had a marvelous time. I'll mention some of my happiness experiences with that later.

Now that Dave is finally DONE with studying and other such time-eaters with medical school, we will finally have some leisure time! Dave has no idea what that is any more : ) "You mean, when I get home from the hospital every day I can just sit and watch Star Wars?!" Pretty exciting, huh?

Well, with this free time, he'll have to find a new hobby or rediscover and old one to fill up his free hours in the evening. One of his favorite things to do is hang out with friends. He gets pumped up the more he is with other people. He sucks up all the energy in the group and goes wild! I'm not that way, I prefer more intimate parties of a few, where we can talk and create relationships. Dave loves big parties, I love small ones.

We've decided to compromise and start hanging out with people again after being off the planet for a couple years. I've already had a couple girl dates with some close friends of mine and we've tried to invite people to do stuff with us and respond positively to their invitations as well. In the last few weeks, we had my son's birthday party (originally planned to be just us, changed to force us to be social), went to an awesome tailgate/football game party hosted by people much cooler than us (it started at 9, WAY after Nathan's bedtime, but we got to get to know lots of people that we've been wanting to know but haven't had time too), checked out an awesome group game night, and had all the neighbors over for a barbeque. Pretty good, huh? I've also had a handful of girl dates :)

It is so nice to spend time with old friends and make some new ones. It is too easy to get caught up in your own life and start to think that this life of yours is what matters. Once you start being with other people, you remember that it's not all about you, that they have a life too, and you can help them celebrate their joys and relieve some of their sadness. You add variety to your conversation and swap ideas and interests. It is great. I've been blessed with so many really awesome friends while being here in Texas.

Woot.

Show a little love

It feels good to help people. To make your own life a little bit crazier so that someone else's can be a little less so.

What if everyone decided to spend less time on facebook and instead hopped over to visit someone in need? What if instead of watching football all weekend we gave some awesome service? THAT would be a happy world.

It's can be hard to find time to serve, but I know that God wants us to care for His children. How do you possibly help out everyone that could use it while still taking care of your own responsibilities and home/work/school/church? If we are sincere, and go to the Lord in prayer, and ask Him to help you organize your day in a way that will allow you to help out more, He'll give you the assistance you need. You'll find that you have time enough for everything when you put Him, and His children, first.

It feels good.

Life is happy.

Autumn Breeze

Dare I declare it Fall? This morning is just too perfect. Crisp, cool air. Foggy sky. Mist on my face. If I pronounce autumn finally here will it run away from me?

In case it does decide to retreat and return later, I will spend as much as today outside as I can! So excited for colorful leaves, jackets and scarves, and piling up our bed with down comforters and quilts : )

A Taste: An Addition

So, due to requests for the baked brie recipe, here it is:

Ingredients:

1 wheel of brie (I think mine was 14 oz. or something...)
1 roll of phyllo dough (2 come in each package so more for later! Or make some baklava like I was supposed too)
1 cup craisins
1/2 cup brown sugar
Cooking Spray

Cut brie into little cubes. You will be putting all this into mini muffin tins eventually so many sure your cubes make sense proportionally. No need to be precise or careful. The cheese will melt. And all that white outer cover will melt too, so don't worry about it.

Open your phyllo dough roll. There will be millions of rectangle sheets all stacked on top of one another. I cut the rectangle in half hot dog style and in thirds hamburger style, making 6 even sections. Carefully unpeel 2 thin squares of phyllo and place them into a GREASED mini muffin tray. You may have to kind of sinch everything together to look fancy-like.

The rest is easy. Fill with brie, top with some craisins and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Bake in the middle of the oven at 375 degrees for about 5 minutes. Watch closely to make sure the delicate phyllo doesn't get burned. Transfer to a pretty platter and enjoy! Taste best when warm. That is when the brie is most flavorful.

Not the best of instructions, I know. But it is easy! Go make some tasty goodness!

Nose Stuck in a Book

I love books. I would read some amazing novel every day if I could, but there are too many things to do, too many projects calling my name, too many chores screaming to be completed. I remember fondly the Christmas breaks of my youth, being able to just lie around eating fudge and reading a good book.

Well, on Tuesday a package arrived in the mail from my dear Mumsie. My mother is awesome in every way but ONE of those ways is gift giving. She is SO thoughtful. This package was full of presents for my little guys upcoming 1st birthday (I can't BELIEVE it is already here...) but she squeezed in a couple little gifts for me, one of them being the new Shannon Hale book, Princess Academy: Palace of Stone. I didn't even know she had made a sequel. She writes these darling little teen fantasy novels about princesses and love. They are so cute and I love them. So happy.

I decided to throw my obligations out the window and just read. And read. And read. When Nathan took his naps, I read. Once Nathan was asleep and my husband was studying, I read. After our nightly scripture study together and our bedtime routines, I read. And then in the morning before Nathan woke up, I finished it. It was fun little story and I had a blast.

It is rare that I just let everything go like that and really allow myself to devour a book, but there is something magical about letting a book absorb you. I love to breathe in the words, drink in the story.

Wish I could do that every day, but this will just have to quench my hunger for now. Thanks mom!

P.s. She had it signed by the author too. Sweet little inscription inside the front cover:

For Laura, AKA Sunshine-
May you find the balance of light in your life.
-Shannon Hale

Appropriate, no?

Imprints

One of the happiest parts of the day is when I get out of my shower, look at my foggy mirror, and see the adorable hand print of my baby on it's surface. You can't see it unless the steam has clouded up the mirror. It is precious and beautiful. Every time I clean the mirror, I inevitably have to go grab Nathan and have him leave his trademark all over it again. I just miss it too much!

Sometimes we see the most beautiful things in life when life gets a little hazy, when things aren't quite as clear and defined as we would like. It is the trial that helps us to see the blessing. This little boy is the light of my life. Some day, and nights for that matter, are tough and exhausting, but I wouldn't trade it for the WHOLE WORLD.

He has permanently put his fingerprints on my heart, and I LOVE IT.

A taste.

"The pleasure of the table belongs to all ages, to all conditions, to all countries, and to all aeras; it mingles with all other pleasures, and remains at last to console us for their departure." - Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

For a church activity tonight, I was asked to make an appetizer. I wanted to make baked brie but thought that would be too messy for everyone to scoop and such.

What about a bite-sized individual baked brie?

I already had some phyllo dough in the fridge so...

Tada!

Baked brie bites!

Brie, craisins, and brown sugar all wrapped up in a tasty pastry.

Yummy looking, huh? 

 Even better in person, believe me!

So simple to make yet so intricate when it comes to taste. Reminds me of Remy from Ratatouille. Isn't it amazing all the happiness that come from FLAVOR?!? Monsieur Brillat-Savarin was a wonderful gastronome and believed that "the discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star." 

Here's to you, Jean!