This is one of my latest favorite read, recommended by my daughter. I loved it so much that I am now on my way to reading all of John Green’s other books. I’m so glad the weather is getting warmer and staying light later! I have more time to read outside now. Have you read any good books lately? Give me ideas what’s good out there.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The ‘chicken spaghetti’ as my daughter calls it! You can have a fancy name for any dish, but kids alway have a way of calling it like it is, don’t they?

Chicken in Puttanesca Sauce

Back in the days of snail mail, I received the following story and had it taped up on my refrigerator for the longest time. Then came along email and the internet and the lesson got passed along some more. I no longer have the story taped up on my fridge and I have gotten this story probably hundreds of times now, but the lesson never gets old.

After a long time (at least a couple of years) of not seing it, it just happened to pop up on me again recently and guess what? I read it through again, and still felt it resonate…

Never sweat the small stuff Have a great week, everyone!

The Familiar Lesson

“A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2 inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So, the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled everything else.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things—your family, your partner, your health—anything that is so important to you that if they were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first (which is what we often do), there is no room for the pebbles, and the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”

Do you remember what you were doing two decades ago? Well, almost two decades. I do! I remember exactly what I was doing 19 years ago.

19 years ago, I was huge as a house! No, really! I was so big, I could hardly move. 11 months after my first baby, I was delivering my second. Yeah, crazy, right?

It was a crazy time, it was exhausting, but it was also the most rewarding and joyous times. Ah, I miss having babies.

Now, she is a young lady and still screaming for attention even when she’s not trying. That’s just the kind of young woman she is. She’ll make your head turn even if you don’t mean to. And don’t let her flash a smile at you, you’ll be sunk for sure. And if you ever get a chance to talk to her, you might as well have heard the sirens sing. You won’t be going anywhere else.

Everyday since she was born, she’s made us proud. Even then, as a new born she garnered attention as people came to gaze at the biggest baby at the nursery that day. lol! I supposed we should have realized that omen was just a taste of what was to come. She commands just by BEING.

To my baby girl, HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY!

That I love you, is a given. That you are my daughter, is a blessing that I am thankful for everyday.