Celebrate the Small Things

This weekly blog hop is sponsored by the amazing Lexa Cain, and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner from Writing Off the Edge and myself. 

What exactly are we celebrating?

Every week, wonderful things happen, tiny things, which make us smile. But as time grabs us up, we forget all about these moments as if they never existed at all. This is the chanc
e for us to reflect back on those and remember that there are tons of things worth celebrating.

This week, I'm celebrating. . .

1) Help of friends and family! We've started hay season, which means lots 'o work. I'm so thankful for the extra hands to help me pick up those bales of hay.

2) Fire wood! With the warm temperatures this might seem a little odd thing to celebrate at the moment. BUT I just found out how much money I saved this last year on heating thanks to my wood burning stoves. It was well worth it...so much that I did a little happy dance.

3) Words from my oldest! We haven't heard from him for a couple of weeks and were thrilled to get a quick call this last week. Only 2 weeks of basic training (boot camp) left and he'll be off to his regular training. He's been complaining about the lack of food they get (small portions being scarfed down fast). As a treat and prize for winning a competition, my son's sergeants took them to a museum and a restaurant afterwards. (Okay, before I go on, it's important to know that my son is a 6ft 3 in bean pole. Super, super skinny). He was so thrilled to eat again that he ate: an order of chicken wings, salad, 3 cheeseburger menus, 2 pieces of cheesecake (and he doesn't even like cake), hot chocolate to wash it down, ice cream and then grabbed a bag of candy on the way out. Of course, he was super sick that night and next morning, but he said it was well worth it.
I guess the other guys wondered where he was putting all the food too.

That wraps up this week!

What about you? What put a smile on your face?
Get a super friendly greeting from a dog or cat?
See a shooting star?
Discover a new dessert?

What are you celebrating this week?

Celebrate the Small Things

This weekly blog hop is sponsored by the amazing Lexa Cain, and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner from Writing Off the Edge and myself. 

What exactly are we celebrating?

Every week, wonderful things happen, tiny things, which make us smile. But as time grabs us up, we forget all about these moments as if they never existed at all. This is the chance for us to reflect back on those and remember that there are tons of things worth celebrating.

This week, I'm celebrating. . .

1) My youngest son's birthday! He had quite the day of activities planned, which kept us on our toes, but it was tons of fun.

2) A day or two of cool temperatures between the hot ones! It's beginning to get hot and muggy, so any cooler day is always a treat. Next week there should be a couple too.

What about you? What put a smile on your face this past week?

Discover some change in the bottom of your sock drawer? Pet a sweet kitty? Did you finally complete something you've been wanting to do for a long time?

What are you celebrating this week?

Celebrate the Small Things

This weekly blog hop is sponsored by the amazing Lexa Cain, and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner from Writing Off the Edge and myself. 

What exactly are we celebrating?

Every week, wonderful things happen, tiny things, which make us smile. But as time grabs us up, we forget all about these moments as if they never existed at all. This is the chance for us to reflect back on those and remember that there are tons of things worth celebrating.

This week, I'm celebrating. . .

1) My stone wall plus veggie garden is up and thriving! I can't believe how well it's doing because...*cough* *cough*.... Let's just say that gardening and I have experienced our share of battles. But this garden is going so nicely that I'm planning on adding a second level behind it. Now, listen to the groans of my children, since they have to help me pick up the rocks from the creek and load them onto the trailer.

The wall goes up to the upper end of my thigh and currently has 2 zucchinis, radishes, spinach, lettuce and 12 tomato plants. There are two layers of rock to make sure it doesn't collapse on me, and the whole thing is filled with our homemade, fertilized soil (made from my lovely girls below.)

The light colored stones are what I added. Gosh, those corner stones are heavy! As in, they were shoved...never carried. Lol! I think they weigh more than me! The other, darker wall was already there.

And here are a few of my girls. The little black guy in the middle was born this last week. Now, we're complete with 7 cows, 7 calves and one super sweet bull. Yep, fertilizer production for layer number two is going well.

2) Plum wine! My husband has always enjoyed making wine, a hobby I'm glad he's found (and  trust me, he's experimented with every type you can think of over the years). Since we moved to the US, he hasn't gotten around to it. But this last Fall, we had so many wild plums that he decided to give it a go. The result? 25 liters of the most delicious, light wine...perfect for these hot, humid temperatures (and with only 9,5% *hiccup*)

3) My very own 'book' came out this week, A Glowworm! This is a Ubook (for those of you who haven't heard me squealing the past few weeks). What is that? It's a new form of book, being currently patented by the Black and White Publishing Company. The book plays out, sentence by sentence, on a video, while music, which has been composed specifically for the book, plays in the background to help create the right atmosphere. The music was composed and performed by Nathan Moran. I was lucky enough to also have my done in narrated form, so that it makes a lovely audio book as well. Thanks, Melanie Schulz! She had a little bit of a challenge since there are several terms in German, but she did a beautiful job.

It has a more 'artsy' feel to it and is lovely to listen to...especially with a glass of plum wine (if I may say so myself.)

This is about 1 hour and 10 minutes long and covers a lesser known event in history, which drastically changed the lives of hundreds of young women between the ages of 17 and 25 in the years following WWII in Germany.

Of course, I appreciate all shout-outs, shares and such...don't we all?

And that wraps it up for this week!

What about you? What put a smile on your face this past week? Hit those hot temperatures yet? Pop some fresh berries into your mouth? Find a new shampoo?

What are you celebrating?

Celebrate the Small Things

This weekly blog hop is sponsored by the amazing Lexa Cain, and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner from Writing Off the Edge and myself. 

What exactly are we celebrating?

Every week, wonderful things happen, tiny things, which make us smile. But as time grabs us up, we forget all about these moments as if they never existed at all. This is the chance for us to reflect back on those and remember that there are tons of things worth celebrating.

This week, I'm celebrating. . .

1) New pool! We 'inherited' an overground outdoor pool when we bought the house. Unfortunately, this year marked the end of the liner and pump. Luckily, we found one marked down (because it's camouflage and nobody's into camouflage???). The kids and I put it together, and now it's pool time!

2) Summer reading program at the library! The kids love participating. . .I'm not going to lie. They love the prizes more than the reading. But it keeps them busy.

3) Blueberry season has arrived! This meant a trip to the local farmer fields and lots o' pickin' to do. We picked up 2 gallons, which is just enough to bring us through the occasional blueberry pancake and muffin treats during the winter. . . and a blueberry frappe or two this summer too.

4) Seeing my finished Ubook! Yep, this one is going to hit the world pretty soon *squeal time*. It's quite a different experience to see the story not only appearing word by word on a screen, but the lovely narration and fitting music in the background are amazing. I can't believe how much work went into it and am kind of humbled...but also super excited!

What about you? What put a smile on your face this last week? Grab an inner-tube and head for a water slide? Go to a concert? Enjoy a delicious dinner?

What are you celebrating this week?

Celebrate the Small Things

This weekly blog hop is sponsored by the amazing Lexa Cain, and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner from Writing Off the Edge and myself. 

What exactly are we celebrating?

Every week, wonderful things happen, tiny things, which make us smile. But as time grabs us up, we forget all about these moments as if they never existed at all. This is the chance for us to reflect back on those and remember that there are tons of things worth celebrating.

This week, I'm celebrating. . .

1) Nice day with family! Monday, Memorial Day, we went to my parent's, had a BBQ and the kids went fishing and kajaking. It was simply a lovely day.

2) A Skype session with my son! He's off in bootcamp (for those who don't know). His group won the obstacle course and as a prize, he was given back his cell for two hours. So he spent the entire time talking to us. He's healthy, looks ridiculous with his hair buzzed and says he's dreaming of the day he can eat regular food again without having to stuff whatever he can grab in his face as fast as possible.

3) Lawn mowing! Well, not the work itself - obviously. It's amazing how many machines are always breaking down on our farm, and of course, all of our lawn equipment fell into this category the last weeks. Luckily, my hubs is a tinkerer (and I do what I can), and sure enough, we got enough of it running to attack those weeds. Ho! Were they tall. And we have several acres to slash. But it's almost done and looks so clean and neat!

What about you? What put a smile on your face this last week? Going on vacation soon? Find a new book? Discover a delicious coffee? 

What are you celebrating?