Good Things

This past weekend (and so far this entire week) has had its share of challenges. Melaina is getting over her nasty cold and cough, but was kind enough to pass it on to her baby sister. So Clara is battling the bug as well. I HATE it when my children are sick, just like any mom. I am prone to anxiety as it is and watching them be miserable just makes my blood pressure rise. It is especially hard when there is absolutely nothing I can do for them to help them get better. But the title of this post isn't "The Things That Make Me Want To Stick My Head In The Oven" so let's get on with a list of 5 good things. These things are so very simple but somehow have the power to make me smile if not make my entire day.

2 for 1 deal on Earth's Best baby food!!! Tom bought home 54 jars for 20 bucks!!! Eat up Clara! Now I get to rearrange an entire cabinet to have a space for all of this but that is a good thing. It was on my to-do list anyway.

Good hair day. Once in a blue moon as if all the planets align, I throw my hair up in some random ponytail/bun thingy and it looks like Kate Winslet at the Oscars. I wish I could preserve it in shellac and wear it forever, but alas all good things must come to an end. 99% of the time when I put my hair up in this fashion, I look way more like a sister wife than Kate Winslet., hence this next photo:

Moving on...

Thumbprint cookies! Delicious, absolutely delicious! And not too bad for you either! We have drastically changed the way we eat around the Dickinson house, but every now and then I need a little something sweet. So, here ya go: 1 cup Almonds, 1 cup oats. Process in food precessor until ground. Add the mixture to 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well and roll into walnut sized balls. Make indention in each cookie and fill with fruit juice- sweetened strawberry jam, or the jam of your choice. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes and eat like no tomorrow. The photo is from the web, becuase there are no more of mine to take a picture of. Me and my family devoured them in less than 24 hours.

Days of our lIves. I have watched this soap opera since I was five. This is one of those things that goes along with having a sister 15 years older than you. I may not catch much of it, but it doesn't matter. Months can go by and if I even catch 5 minutes, I've got the jist. I feel like I know these people. The cast used to come to Greenville every year for a charity softball tournament. My oldest brother, being a local celebrity and all, got us tickets for the game but also the "Dinner With the Stars" that night. We got to meet all the greats!!! Patch, Kayla, Jennifer, Abe, Jack (who was wasted and totally hit on my sister), Sean (for those of you who are die hard old timers like myself) and Calliope! Anywho, love that show. Can't even help myself.

Sweet sisterly love. It's so great watching these two. They really do love each other. Melaina is so loving toward Clara and at times, if she's feeling really overwhelmed with lovingkindness, let's Clara hold Kitty. No one holds Kitty except Melaina. It's kind of a big deal.

Well, there ya go. There's so much awfulness going on in the world right now that I won't even begin to express my feelings on at this time. It's good to have perspective and see all the many good things we have. None of these things are incredibly deep or profound (except the wonderful sisterly love part), but writing about them helped brighten my day.