Special Surprises

You wake up expecting the day to go just like any other. You go through your daily routines expecting nothing out of the ordinary. Then all of a sudden someone shows up at your doorstep with a bouquet of flowers just because they are thinking of you. Your seemingly ordinary day is transformed into something special just like that.

You're sitting on the couch watching TV after a long day and all of a sudden you get a text from a friend you haven't talked to in a while. 

You put on your coat for the first time in the winter season and find money in the pocket. 

Your cleaning house and find that last item that you thought you'd never find. 

These are the kind of surprises that I love! Little things that happen unexpectedly and brighten up your whole day. 

In the past few weeks I've had two of these wonderful surprises happen to me. 

One day I was getting ready to go to a viewing and in the middle of doing my hair I got a text from a friend asking if I was home. I replied that I was and a few minutes later there was a knock at my door. There stood my friend with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. She said that she just wanted to let me know she was thinking of me. Totally made my day!!

The other special surprise I got came from a candle. A few weeks ago I bought something called a Diamond Candle. They are great smelling candles and hidden in every candle is a ring valued anywhere from $10 to $5,000. In order to get the ring you just have to burn the candle and as it melts down you'll ring will appear. It could be near the top of the candle or it could be buried at the very bottom...who knows. You also have no idea what the ring is going to look like as each one is very different. I have been burning my candle and enjoying it's sweet honeysuckle fragrance for a week or so when I suddenly noticed something shiny floating in the wax. I got so excited! I scooped it out and unrolled the foil to reveal a very pretty ring! I loved it. It was such a fun surprise to brighten up my day. 

I'm so grateful for simple unexpected things that can change the course of my entire day! Life should always be filled with special surprises! 

Television

I am a big TV watcher. I think it runs in my genes because my mom is also a big TV watcher and my sister is like a walking TV Guide! Every morning she will call me and tell me what is on TV that night. Now, I'm not saying that I'm a major couch potato sitting fat and lazy stuffing potato chips in my face while bouncing channels. I am simply a fan of TV.

The past few weeks I have been glued to my television as I have watched the winter Olympics in Sochi. I love the Olympics! The grace of the figure skaters, the speed of the bobsledders, the agility of the skiers...I love it all. I also love to hear the stories behind these athletes. I love how someone who was a no name becomes a household name almost overnight. For me the best story so far to come out of these games is that of Noelle Pikus Pace.  She is an American athlete from right here in Utah. She won the silver medal in the skeleton event. One thing I love about her is the example she is setting. She is on a national stage right now as the whole world watches her, and through it all she has been wearing her Young Woman Medallion. She said she wouldn't compete in the Olympics unless her family could be by her side. She is an example of always standing for what you believe in and putting family first. I love it! I also have to say that I have a new found love for snowboard cross! I didn't really know much about this sport until these Olympics, but it is now one of my favorite events to watch. I was seriously glued to the TV when it was on. 

With the Olympics coming to an end regular television shows are going to be resuming and lots of new ones starting as well. I spoke with my mom on the phone today as we discussed the various shows that will be starting up next week and how excited we are about them. I for one am excited for the new seasons of Survivor, Amazing Race, and The Voice.  I am also very intrigued about a new show starting in a few weeks called Believe. It could turn out to be a pretty good one. 

Some of my all time favorite TV shows though are: 24, which will be coming out with a new season starting in May that I am super excited for! Grey's Anatomy, gotta love all the hot doctors! Vampire Diaries, I can't explain it but I love the dynamics of this show. Oh, and Damon...I love Damon. Pretty Little Liars, I got sucked into this show from the start. I began watching it on Netflix one night after a recommendation from my sister-in-law and was immediately hooked. I can't wait for the next season to come out on Netflix. 

Are you a television watcher? What are your favorite shows? Are you loving the Olympics? What event is your favorite? 

Words That Touch The Soul

In an earlier post I mentioned that I'd be posting a lot of lists. Through the wonderful world of Pinterest I found a site with 52 list prompts. One for each week of the year. These prompts are designed to be fun and inspiring along a journey of self-discovery. I really liked the idea and plan to incorporate many of them as part of my Project Life journey.

This weeks prompt is Words That Touch Your Soul:

Love                              Hope                         Overcome
Family                            Light                          Focus
Sister                             Unconditional             Precious
Daughter                        Peace                        Escape
Grateful                          Example                    Cozy
Believe                           Remember                Sunset
Life                                Journey                     Compassion
Discover                        Faith                          Create
Comfort                         Laughter                    Ponder
Acceptance                    Brave                        Trust
Imagine                          Worth                       Memories

I really enjoyed coming up with this list. It wasn't about the list as much as it was about why these words came to mind and what they really mean to me. It seems like my words are more about my personal experiences. I can think of a touching and meaningful experience associated with each of these words. These are experiences that helped to make me into the person I am; perhaps that is why these words touch me so deeply.

Are You Paying Attention to Your Life?

It's time to share a few more pictures from my Project 365 photo a day. I don't post every one of them here in the blog, but if you'd like to see more of them you can follow me on Instagram. I post quite a few of them there.

Day 20: I have been super sick which means I spend most of my days just lying around in my pj's trying to feel better. Well, on day 20 I actually got dressed for the first time in 20 days! It felt good! I had missed wearing jeans. I love wearing comfy clothes, however, you don't realize how much you appreciate good clothing until you've gone so long without it. I am so grateful for clothes to wear both on days when I'm sick and lying around in my pj's and for days when I want to get out of the house and dress up a bit. It's little things like this that make me realize how much I take for granted.

Day 30: I love discovering new things, especially when they are right in my backyard! I was at my Mom's house when my Uncle called and said, "Do you want the best hot dog in Utah?". Recently the local news station ran an article about the top 4 hot dog joints in Utah, and the number one place is right around the corner from my mom's house! I had never heard of the place, had absolutely no idea it was there. The name of the joint is simply "That Hot Dog Place". When we got there the worker was giving someone their to go order. He then turned to us and asked what he could get for us. As all seven of us placed our orders he explained that it would take a minute for him to get it all together because he was on his own tonight. 

We got talking to him and found out he was the owner and had sent his other employee home because someone in her family was in the hospital. He was very kind and actually worked quite fast, it seemed like our order was ready in no time. My mom loves polish dogs, but she is very specific on how she likes them. She told this guy exactly how to make her polish dog. He had never made one that way before, but said he would do his best. Afterwards my mom commented that it was the best polish dog she's ever had, he had made it perfectly! The rest of us loved our dogs as well. While we were finishing up eating I glanced up and noticed the owner was looking towards us and counting how many of us there were. I thought it was a bit odd so I kept watching him...he walked over to the corner and started doing something on a machine, and that is when I realized he was getting ice cream. He came over and gave each of us a small container of vanilla ice cream since it was our first time in the place. It was so nice; the kids loved it! All in all we were very pleased with the place. The buns on the hot dogs were the best part...so delish! This cool little place has been right around the corner from my mom's house for two years and I never even knew it existed. It makes me wonder what else is out there that I'm missing out on because I'm not paying enough attention.

Day 32: Sometimes you just have to force yourself to do something even if you don't really feel like it. I wasn't feeling well again this day and would have really liked to stay in bed and rest. I'd done a lot the previous two days with doctor visits and such and it was wearing on me. However, today was the day of the Tarzan musical at Weber High. I bought tickets for this show back in December and gave them to Tara and Savannah for Christmas. Becca Shaffer was also in the show and I've attended most of her plays since she was in junior high....I didn't want to miss this one. We had tickets to the matinee performance it included what they called, Feast with the Beast, which meant that you got a boxed brunch and while you ate the apes from the show ran around the room and interacted with everyone. There was also a professional photographer who would take your picture with Tarzan and Jane. When she first saw them Sav was a little
afraid of the apes, but once we explained they were just people in costumes she opened up to them and loved every second of it. They would come and take pictures with her, play with her hair, and one even sat on the table playing with her stuffed animal she brought with her. All of the excitement from the brunch got Sav even more excited for the play. The cast did a great job, as they always do, and the show was fantastic. Savannah spent the rest of the day pretending she was an ape! I went home and literally crashed, I think I fell asleep that night about 6:30 pm! Attending everything had really worn me out, but I'm glad that I forced myself to do it. I had a blast watching Tara and Savannah have so much fun, watching Becca be a silly ape, and watching a wonderful play. Sometimes you just have to force yourself to do something even if you don't feel like it, because in the end you'll regret it if you don't!

Colors

My favorite color is purple. I have love the color purple for as long as I can remember. At one point in my life I remember that I wanted everything I owned to be purple. I even had a purple leather jacket! The color purple stands out more to me. On a day to day basis I think I am pretty unaware how much purple is around me. Even now as I sit back and look around the room I see lots of purple! I'm drinking grape Gatorade, my mouse is purple, my phone case is purple, and I have purple and red Valentines decorations around my home. 

I started wondering what does my favorite color say about me. I looked a few things up on the internet and here is what I came up with: 

"If you love purple you are compassionate and sensitive. Purple is associated with luxury and sensuality. Purple lovers are artistic in nature, creative and glamorous. They are supportive and always think of others before themselves. They possess a strong desire to be different and often achieve high authority positions in life. They are true in nature and generous givers. Very idealistic and often impractical, love to live in an imaginary world of fantasy. Creativity is something you pride yourself in, though you may not be good at artistic endeavors (such as drawing or painting.) You tend to be sentimental and have a great amount of empathy for others."

Wow! That hits the nail on the head in describing me! While not all of it is 100% me a good portion of it is. I do love being creative. I'm not great at arts and craft stuff, but I love to write, scrapbook, and make cards. I do believe that I am a very supportive and sentimental person. I tend to put others before myself ninety percent of the time. I also love living in an imaginary world of fantasy. I think that is why I enjoy reading so much, because it is a gateway to that world for me. 

I find it fascinating that something as simple as my favorite color can tell someone that much detail about me. Our personalities are literally woven into every little thing we do. 

What is your favorite color? What does that tell you about yourself? Check out this website and find out. http://tinyurl.com/kznxwd2  Then come back and post what you found. I'd love to hear about it!