The Old Ones

So, blogger was being difficult and I needed to change up my login stuff and whatever...I don't really understand it all. At any rate, I have been unable to login to my old blog...so, I started a new one and copied all my old posts into this one post. Here's the oldies:

Monday, October 4, 2010

“May the love hidden deep inside your heart find the love waiting in your dreams. May the laughter that you find in your tomorrow wipe away the pain you find in your yesterdays.”

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” Albert Einstein

“Hope is the most exciting thing in life and if you honestly believe that love is out there, it will come. And even if it doesn't come straight away there is still that chance all through your life that it will.”

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise” Oscar Wilde

Posted by amyshappythoughts at 6:02 PM 0 comments

I got called ma'am today at the grocery store. Why does that make me feel so old?

Posted by amyshappythoughts at 5:11 PM 0 comments

Thursday, September 30, 2010

treasuring autumn
I love fall! I love everything about it. I'm a Wisconsin girl. A wearing nubby sweaters while still wearing flip flops kind of girl. A let's go to the orchard and pumpkin patch kind of girl...and I don't even have any kids! I love when the trees start changing color and the familiar drives turn into "ohh, look at those hills" and "Wow, check out that red!" I love walking outside and taking a big deep breath of that crisp autumn air that has "that smell."And the apples! Oh the apples! There's nothing quite like a honeycrisp apple fresh from the orchard! yum! (or the grocery store...cause we all know they are still that good!)

So, right now these are a few of my favorite things. Of course there are always new things, but right now, this is what I'm loving!

I love...
the start of football season
apples
cozy autumn scents filling the house

baking just because it smells good

crisp mornings

warm afternoons

my favorite jeans

perfect bonfire weather

a gigantic orange harvest moon

simmering homemade soup on the stove

mums

curling up under a cozy blanket to read a book

crunchy leaves

oh yeah...a great new recipe! Caryn, Lauren and I baked them this afternoon...yum!

Old Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze (recipe follows)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease baking sheets.

COMBINE flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle Glaze over cookies.

GLAZE:
COMBINE 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl until smooth.Cooks Note: For a variation add 1/2 cup chocolate chips or nuts to the recipe.Estimated Times: Preparation - 10 minutes; Cooking - 18 minutes; Cooling Time - 2 minutes cooling.


There are so many things to love about each change of season! I'm enjoying this one before the snow flies!

Posted by amyshappythoughts at 6:02 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Thirties.
I was having a conversation with my sister the other day about ages and what I like about being in my thrities. (Yikes! Did I just say that?) I like that I've learned that my mom was usually right about things. I love that I can revert back to child-like curiosity and wonder to appreciate little things like a good hug, singing my heart out in the car to a good tune on the radio, a great bowl of mac & cheese, digging your toes into the sand at the beach, swining REALLY high on a swing...I've learned that just because you are a "grown-up" doesn't mean that you have to act boring or stuffy like you once thought grown-ups were supposed to act. You can still have fun! In fact, a lot of fun! It's a time when you know yourself, you continue learning things about yourself and you learn that it's ok to be you.

I've learned that love, truth, and faith are real, but so is mortality, dishonesty and heartache. I think that makes me real.

I love that I can smile and laugh for no reason other than I like to do it and it makes me feel good. I like that simplicity can be just as fun if not more fun than extravagant. I've learned that I'd rather be wise than rich.

I've learned that you cannot change your past, but you can do things to write your future. I've learned that life is what you make it. Embrace change. It's ok to feel blessed. I've learned that wrinkles are earned! The ones that I have around my eyes and my laugh lines around my mouth mean that I laugh and smile. Even though they are proof that I am no longer in my twenties, that's ok.

I'm lovin my thirties...My youth? Love the memories and totally looking forward what life has in store for me!

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. -Dr. Seuss

Posted by amyshappythoughts at 8:50 AM 0 comments

Friday, September 17, 2010

Drink up...

Brian's professor once told him his daily tips for the start of a healthy life.

Eight glasses of water.
6 hours of sleep for males.
7 for females.
8 for fools.
A glass of Ovaltine.

Not terrible advice. True for everyone? Who knows. However, I do know that Ovaltine is pretty tasty! I haven't had it for so long, but recently bought a can of the chocholaty powder and have been having a glass almost everyday for the past couple of weeks. Is it because someone told me that I should? No. Is it because it is chuck full of vitamins? That helps, but no. Is it because I get a serving of milk when I drink it? Again, that helps, but no. I just like the stuff! Every once in a while you have to do something just because you like it. Not because someone said you should, not because it's good for you, or because it's expected of you. I know a glass of Ovatine seems like a small thing, but it's something that I do for me and not for anybody else.

Cheers!


Posted by amyshappythoughts at 7:20 AM 0 comments
Monday, September 13, 2010

Use those arms!
Take your two arms, wrap them around each other. There. A hug. What a great thing! Makes a bad day at work seem not so bad. Makes some bad news a little more bearable..or at least you know that you're not alone. I love hugs! I came home from a not-so-great day at work tired and not in a very good mood. I was greeted with a hug when I got home. It's amazing how something so simple can make things seem better. I'm sure that Brian had no idea how his hug made me feel or how much I needed it. Again...I love hugs!Give someone a hug today! You never know how much they might need it!

Posted by amyshappythoughts at 7:52 AM 0 comments

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Ever had a day where you didn't really want to do anything? Just a lay around, read a book, drink some coffee, enjoy the sunshine kind of day? That's been my whole week! Yes, I've had to go to work, but on my days off, I had these plans to organize things, clean things, spruce the place up a bit. Did any of that get done? nope. not yet! But I did finish a good book, drank some great coffee, and sat on my swing outside enjoying the September sunshine. The dirt will still be there tomorrow.

Posted by amyshappythoughts at 10:06 AM 0 comments


Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The beginning

A blank slate. There can be so many things to fill this space with.Some call me an optimist. I guess that I am. I usually have a smile on my face and love when I am able to put a smile on someone else's. It's not that my life is perfect and everything always goes my way, becasue it doesn't. I have just opted to choose how I react to things. I can't always change the circumstances of something, but I can choose my reaction to it. Don't get me wrong, there are days that this is hard. It's these days that the little things help me to see good each day.Some things that always bring a smile to my face:The smell of clean laundry, sitting around a campfire, hanging out on the lake, a freshly mowed lawn, bows in little girls' hair, hugs and kisses, the affection of a pet, painted toenails, clean sheets, doing something spontaneous, a great sunrise or sunset, my family and my fiance Brian.