Happiness is . . . From the book "Eat Pray Love"

I just finished reading the book "Eat Pray Love".  I was hesitant to read this book, as I am not really big into praying and didn't want to get sucked into some religious rant.  I am glad I decided to read it.  It was a different kind of book for me, but it was good for the soul.  There was one particular excerpt from the the book about happiness that I found inspiring and wanted to share:

" . . . people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you are fortunate enough.  But that's not how happiness works.  Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.  You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it.  You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings.  And once you have acheived a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.  If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment.  It's easy enough to pray when you are in distress but continuing to pray when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to it's good attainments."

Go ahead and nominate me for Mother of the Year

Yeah, that's right.  I bought these for my children.  And it wasn't a spontaneous purchase.  It was a very methodical-went-to-4-different-stores-to-find-them kind of purchase.  You see, the kids have a game called "punch", where they take their fists and beat them on one another's chest.  Some might call it boxing.  But, they both love it.  And surprisingly enough, it almost never ends in crying.  So, I let it fly.  They are boys, right?

Then, a couple weekends ago, we were at a birthday party.  Coy turns to Tate and says, "Yet's pay punch." At which point, the fist throwing and laughing begin.  Nearby, a father of two young girls is overcome by a horrified look.  I feel like I have to explain.  I say, "we have a game called "punch" at our house.  They love it."  To which he responds, "Umm, yeah.  If my kids hit one another, I tell them to stop."  I think he may have keeled over and died had I told him the name of another of the boy's favorite games - Bite My Finger. 

So, I bought the punching bag and inflatable gloves.  The gloves at least discourage them from hitting with their bare fits. They'll have their teenage years to explore that.

What the fluke?

Did you know that the tail of a whale is called a "fluke"?  Me either.  Know what else?  Each fluke has unique markings and no two flukes are alike.  A whale's fluke is like his finger print.  Why am I giving you all these fluke facts?  Because I like to say fluke - makes me giggle.  In all seriousness, wanna know what else I learned while in Hawaii?

Whales: 
The whales migrate to Hawaii every year.  Whales also migrate to Japan and Mexico.  The male whales sing "songs".  Every whale sings the same song, BUT, the song is slightly different depending on the region where they migrate - the whales in Japan sing in Japanese, in Mexico it's Spanish, and in Hawaii it is very "Jack Johnson" like.  Ok, so the last part may not be completely accurate, but they do sing a different song depending on the region - at least according to a crew member on our SNUBA boat, who may or may not have been a pot head, so I totally believe him. 

Male whales create these "competition pods" to show off for the females.  At one point our boat was surrounded by a  competition pod.  It was pretty awesome.  5-7 whales, doing all the cool whale stuff you see on the Discovery Channel.  This is what is in the photo above (there are 4 whales on the surface). 

The spectacular views: 
Hawaii is as gorgeous as it looks in the photos - actually MORE beautiful.

And just when you think you have seen the best view, you see this. 

What is so special about this, you ask?  What?  You don't recognize THE rock? THE VERY FAMOUS rock?  The one and only VERY FAMOUS rock featured in the opening scenes of Jurassic Park.  That's right, folks, not only did I get to go to Hawaii, but I got to see a very famous rock.  Let the envy begin.

And last thing on my list of things I learned in Hawaii -

THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THEY SEEM IN HAWAII . . .
For example, that very delicious cheeseburger you just ate at the cliche restaurant "Cheeseburger in Paradise" while over looking the ocean, sipping on pineapple daquaris?  Well, that cheeseburger may be delicious, but it will cost you about $60.

And those chips you picked out SPECIFICALLY to go with your picnic lunch consisting of all things "Hawaiian", because they seemed very, I don't know, HAWAIIAN?

You know, the "Maui Style" chips that you enjoyed while overlooking a very beautiful and scenic view of a very famous rock, eating a very delicious turkey and pineapple salad sandwich and drinking Hawaiian water?  Well, it turns out they were manufactured at a plant just miles away from where we live in Texas. 

What the fluke?

Back to reality . . .

We are back from Hawaii and we had a FANTASTIC time.  We stayed in Maui, relaxed (don't we look relaxed), had massages, went on a snorkeling/SNUBA charter, saw TONS of whales, drove the road to Hana, hiked for waterfalls, golfed (and watched golf), and the best part . . . . HAD ADULT CONVERSATIONS UNINTERUPPTED BY CHILDREN!  It was heavenly.  Check out the slide show on the left for some of our photos.

Gratitude daily . . .

Gratitude daily . . . getting the chance to wear my favorite sweater.  Brandon bought me the greatest sweater for Christmas last year.  It is soft and snuggly and very cute.  If I could, I would wear it everyday.  But, since we have been blessed with a couple of weeks of 70+ degrees, it has been sitting patiently in my closet.  But today, it was cold and rainy, and I got to wear my favorite sweater.

Random ramblings: Forever playing catch-up

These days it seems like all I ever do is try to catch up with everything that needs to be done. Often times I wonder if there will ever be a time when I think, "you know, I really don't have anything to do today". And, how will that day feel? Seems like I might curl up into the fetal position and start rocking back and forth . . . . all of that free time might just be the one thing that will cause a mental breakdown. Maybe that is why I keep adding projects to my list? Maybe subconciously I know that if I ever complete my to do list, it will be the end of my sanity. Of course, anyone who knows me well enough knows that I always have a new project brewing, something to obsessed about, so I am fairly confident that my to do list will always be full of things that I know will someday may or may not get done. I have come to accept that everything will not always get done, because let's face it, sometimes things get added to the list that are completely irrational -- like organizing the toy room and EXPECTING IT TO STAY THAT WAY.

The good news (or maybe bad news) is I get a high from crossing things off the list. . .like this cabinet in my kitchen. It was the dumping ground for everything that did not have a place when we moved in. And, for the last eight months, each time I would open the door, my OCD would kick in and my neck would start to twitch and I would be overcome fear that opening the door too quickly might throw off the delicate balance of the pile of junk and an appliance which had never been used and I had long forgotten I owned would come flying out of the mess and kill me instantly. And then, I would be one of the crazies they report on the news as "Woman killed by a TurboCooker in less than 20 seconds, ironically about the same time it takes to cook a roast", and my children would be forever haunted by as seen on TV appliances. So, last weekend, I had enough with the twitching and decided to do something about it before me, or anyone else was injured. So, I removed everything, threw out the things that had never been used, put down some contact paper, organized everything by frequency of use. And now, each time I open the cabinet (which is a lot because it also houses the garbage can), and see the organization, I smile and feel a little giddy -- which I am fairly sure takes me one step closer to insisting that the food in the pantry be organized alphabetically.

Living, Laughing, Learning

I have been hounded relentlessly by countless friends and family members - "You have to get a blog" - to which I have always responded "I don't have time for a blog". And the truth is, I am not sure I do, nor do I think of myself as a "blogger". But, if you were to ask me where my time goes, I am sure I can't account for all of it. And I do make a habit of keeping up on several friend's blogs . . . So, here it is, my blog.

At the very least, I strive to make it a place to keep you updated on the lives of my beautiful boys and my wonderful husband. And maybe, it will serve as a place to house those funny things that happen throughout the day. You know, those things you intend to make note of to show your kids someday. A listing of the funny things they say and do. I have a list a mile long stored somewhere deep in my brain. The thing is, I can't find it . . . .