Puppies

Who doesn't have a great day when they get to cuddle with puppies?!

My brother and sister-in-law just started fostering puppies and got their first litter last night. The puppies are about 6 weeks old and are some kind of mix of lab and spaniel. You can read more about them at Moritz Foster Dogs. The puppies are adorable and love to cuddle! Don't you want to take one home? :o)

This is Joey...isn't he precious?!

10 Years

I'm thankful for my amazing husband every day, but today he gets a special shout out on the blog. :)

10 years ago this very moment, Joel and I were on our first date. I was a senior and he a junior...yes, I "robbed" the cradle. (We're really only 8 months apart.) We went with my friend and her boyfriend to see my High School's production of Robin Hood and hung out with some of his friends afterward. We had worked together for almost a year at Family Fare, so we didn't really have any of the awkward getting to know each other stuff since we'd been friends for a while. It was a wonderful first date, but who knew what the future held for us at that time. I have to say that the past 10 years have been amazing and I cannot wait to see what the next 10 years and many more after have in store for us. Love you Joel!

Unexpected Day Off

Today I am thankful for a Snow Day!!!

We did not have a 'mid-winter break' scheduled for the teachers this year. The kids get Friday off, but we're at school. It's still a bit of a break for us to not have kids for the day, but nothing like having a day off. It looks like we got a 'mid-winter' break after all. I got a call at quarter after 5 this morning saying school was cancelled.

Days off are grand, but unexpected days off are amazing!

When you know you're going to have a day off, you plan to do a bunch of stuff, so it's not very relaxing, but when you don't know you're going to have a day off, you can't possibly have a bunch of stuff planned to do. So, here I sit in my cozy robe watching the news and enjoying a cup of coffee from my Keurig. The only things I have planned for the day...baking and maybe finishing my first knitting project. What a great Monday! :)

Friends

This morning, I am thankful for wonderful friends.

Last night, we had a few friends over and made plans to rent a cabin on Torch Lake for a week this summer. Can't wait! We also ordered pizza and just hung out. At one point, us girls left the table in the kitchen to sit comfy in the living room and realized we'd been sitting at the table just talking for 4 hours! Holy cow! You know your friends are awesome when four hours fly by just talking! I feel very blessed. :)

Peppermint Mocha :)

So, my guilty pleasure is getting either a white chocolate or regular chocolate peppermint mocha from Starbucks, but as you know...it's really only out around the holidays, it's probably not that great for me, and it can be a little hefty on the pocket book. Well, have I got the best news ever...

Coffee-mate now offers Peppermint Mocha creamer year round! Yes, folks, not just for the holidays, but all year round. Right now I'm enjoying it in a cup of hot cocoa made in my Keurig. What a great day! So, obviously, today I'm thankful for my Coffee-mate Peppermint Mocha creamer. :) Yum!

Chicken Pot Pie

Today I'm thankful for my cast iron skillet. 

I'm kind of in love with watching cooking shows and casually mentioned how nice it would be to have a cast iron skillet. Well, my wonderful husband listened and got me one for Christmas. Yeah, you know you're old when kitchen supplies are exciting gifts. :) I've been searching for some great recipes to make in it and decided to try one out tonight. Chicken pot pie...it's officially going to be added to our list of favorites. So yummy! It made for a great Valentine's Day meal. :) 

Here's the recipe if you're interested. :)

Cast Iron Chicken Pot Pie
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch thick coins
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped ( I just use my press)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill (I just gave a sprinkle of my dry dill)
1 (9 inch) store bought pie crust, such as Pillsbury (If frozen, thaw)
1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Heat butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook until carrots begin to soften (about 6 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in flour. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in heavy cream and broth, using a whisk, until combined. Stir in chicken, peas, and dill and bring to a boil. remove from heat.

3.Gently roll out pie crust until it reaches 12 inches in diameter. Place dough atop chicken mixture and brush with egg; cut vents in pastry. Transfer skillet to oven; bake until crust is browned and flaky, about 35 minutes.

Kindle

I'm always thankful for my wonderful hubby, but today he was especially thoughtful. I've gotten into reading a lot more lately and actually started a book club with my sister-in-law this fall. I've been trying to spend more time reading and less time watching random things on tv just because I'm bored. So, for Valentine's Day/our 10 year dating anniversary, my wonderful husband surprised me with a Kindle! I've already downloaded 14 books for free and can't wait to start reading them. :o) I'm so spoiled!

Squeaky Clean

Today I'm thankful for a clean house...that I didn't have to do! :)

I really don't mind cleaning, when I have the time. During the school year though, I hate cleaning! The idea of coming home or spending my weekend cleaning is awful. My wonderful husband thought that it would be great if we started paying someone to clean our house every other week during the school year. It has been one of the best investments we've made! Those of you who know me, know that we're not frivolous, but in my opinion, paying to have our house cleaned is money well spent!

Today was cleaning day and I loved walking in the house to the smell of clean. :) Thanks to Kerry, our wonderful friend and cleaning lady. :)

Church Visit

Today I'm thankful for people who enjoy being at church. :)

Joel and I are in the process of finding a church home. We've gone a few places over the last several months, but nowhere that made us feel excited or extremely welcome. It's been really easy lately to chill on Sunday morning especially since Joel has been working a lot of Saturdays. We decided we needed to go somewhere this week, so I found a church through some internet research that looked interesting, and we made plans to try it out. We were tempted once we got up today to just stay in our pj's again, but we pushed through and headed to their second service.

We were very warmly greeted as soon as we entered the church. The service was great! Excellent choices of songs and we both enjoyed the Pastor and what he had to teach about today. We even chatted for quite a while with another couple who were new as well. We didn't feel any awkward first visit feelings. We felt very welcome and comfortable. On our way home, I asked Joel what he thought and he liked it a lot. We've decided to go again next week.

Our main reason for wanting to return, which Joel said in the car, "It's nice to be in a church where you can tell people are excited to be there."

I couldn't have said it better myself. :)

The Beginning

The first post; this is a big deal! Since I decided on starting a blog, I've been having tons of ideas go through my head about what I could possibly write about. I don't think of myself as a writer, but I don't think that matters; as long as I enjoy it. So, here it goes...

I like to think that one of my strengths in life is looking for the good in every situation. It's kind of funny though; as a child I tended to be pretty negative and think the worst. My mom really tried to change my thinking and did it with the help of two things; the movie 'Pollyanna', and my Great Grandmother.

For those of you who have not seen 'Pollyanna' (I think it was made in the 60's), it's about a girl who goes to live with her Aunt for a while. The people around her are very depressed and she teaches them to play the Glad Game (hence the name of my blog). In this game, they practice finding things to be glad about and it's amazing how it changes their outlooks on life.

My mom also taught me, and I began to see, how wonderful my Great Grandmother was. She never talked negatively about anyone and always had a smile on her face, even when she was gravely ill.

So, with the help of these three, I decided to change my mindset and to begin finding the things in my life I should be thankful for. It's amazing how it can change your attitude! So, I'm sure I won't be writing every day, but keep your eyes out. It will be my goal to find things to be thankful for in my life; I'm sure some of them will be obvious, but I have a feeling some will not. Enjoy. :)