Remain Optimistic by Any Means Necessary
Sometimes you are with someone for so long that you forget to let them know that you appreciate and love them.
I encourage you to let that person know that they are still the one!
Not sure what words to use?
Well watch Shania Twain in the video below and see how she says it.
Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day and week!
Sometimes you have those years that are so awesome you feel sad to see them go. In that year you had so many good days that you didn’t even notice the rain all around you. Life was full of fun, laughs and more bliss that you thought possible.
For me it would be the years we bought our first house, when I became pregnant, got the brand new SUV that I had been wanting for years, gave birth to a healthy baby boy, was promoted to my dream job, and was financially comfortable.
During those times life was good! I mean GREAT!
So I’ve had those kind of delightful years BUT this was not one them. I didn’t complain but Lord knows eventually I broke down and had to cry.
Today I am not crying.
There is hope for a better year on the way.
I know I can’t be alone in wishing 2011 good bye! Right?
This wasn’t your year either? No worries.
You know why?
The BEST is yet to come.
2012 Welcome! I’ve been waiting for you.
Here’s to a wonderful New Year!!
And remember the best is YET to come!
NO place like H-O-M-E!
As many of you may know I live very far away from my family and from most of my close friends. For the last seven years or so I was lucky if I saw my family twice a year.
Yes. I know. In some ways this is a good thing.
BUT I have to admit by this time of the year I really miss their craziness, and even the drama!
I look forward to catching up with my friends and doing the fun girl stuff, like shopping, watching “chick flicks”, eating at our favorite restaurants and having cocktails, etc.
AND I especially look forward to having someone babysit my son that I don’t have to pay a ton of money! So that means date nights with hubby!!!
Although, I absolutely LOVE my blog friends I had to make the tough decision to take some time off to enjoy time with my family and friends.
Don’t worry, I won’t be gone long and if you really miss me I’ll still be lurking around twitter. If you want to say hello from time to time be sure you are following me @AnOptimisticMom
See you back here soon……well not TOO soon.
I wish each of you a wonderful holiday and may you be blessed with the desires of your heart this holiday season.
In the video below is a song you’ll find me singing every year as the holiday season approaches.
Source: Pinterest
Okay, let me get right to the point. We all know the holidays are here and the time to exchange gifts is upon us! I need to know you are ready with something nice to say.
I know you all are aware of the gifts that are the so called “bad gifts”. BUT we have to remember it is not about the gift but the spirit in which it is being given, right?
So with that said. I made a few notes for you to refer to after opening a crappy heartfelt gift.
First of all do not start your response with anything What the ****? It’s just not the way to go.
I am not saying lie and say you love it, a simple thank you will suffice.
Next. Well, you might have to practice this one in a mirror a few times but it is a must. Find your happy face. Sometimes after receiving a bad gift your face automatically goes into disappointment mode, so you’ll need to train. I recommend starting the night before the big day.
Now, you are not to switch gifts when no one is looking!
But what you might do is leave your gift for exchanging in the car, by accident, until you see exactly what type of goods people are pulling out. This can be tricky but with a little creativity you can pull it off. The key is to have more than one gift, just in case you need the back up gift, you know the crappy one.
No laughing at gifts. No pointing. No saying, thank goodness I didn’t get that or that sucks. But you can take pictures, if appropriate, and then email them to me. I love a good laugh!
Seriously, be mindful of the TRUE reason for the season and know that gifts aren’t everything.
How do you respond after receiving a gift that is undesirable? Please tell me about in the comments, I wanna know!
Today I am so EXCITED to have Brandi as my guest. She is so creative! In following her blog I have witnessed her take a piece of junk used material and turn it into a wonderful masterpiece. AND the best part is, she barely spends any money in her “do it yourself” transformations. After reading her wonderful gift idea for the holidays and leaving your comment here, be sure to head on over to Don’t Disturb This Groove and start following today! You don’t wanna miss a single post that Brandi shares.
Hello friends of Life Is Hard, Laugh Anyway. My name is Brandi and I blog over at Don’t Disturb This Groove. I’m excited to be here today to share an inexpensive gift idea for teachers, bus drivers, neighbors and more. Thank you so much Latorsha for inviting me to be a guest!
To show my appreciation for my son’s teachers, this year I’m giving them a mug full of hot chocolate and a package of cookies to enjoy with their warm drink. Don’t we all love hot chocolate? There is nothing better than a mug of hot chocolate to help keep us warm as the temperatures drop.
To keep the gifts affordable, I gave myself a small budget of $10. I purchased 2 mugs from the dollar store, 4 single packs of cookies while shopping in IKEA, at 1.29 each, 1 six pack of hot chocolate for 97 cents and 2 single serving packs for 88 cents. Total cost…$10.01! With no money left in the budget for gift wrap or pretty gift bags, I thought of an inexpensive way to make brown paper lunch bags (that I had on hand) seem less brown paper bag-ish and more like gift bags! I was able to embellish the bags with items, most of us, probably already have.
I made a gift tag using two different sized circles cut out of a lunch bag and scrap paper and added some glitter and sticker.
I wrapped the mugs in bubble wrap before placing them in the bags because I had some on hand, of course it’s not necessary!
Then, I realized I wouldn’t have enough room in each bag to fill them with a mug and cookies. So instead of nixing the whole gift bag idea, I simply placed the items in separate bags!
I stamped “Merry Christmas” on one bag using wooden stamps and an ink pad. Lastly, I tied them shut with ribbon from my stash. All the items I used to decorate the bags, can be purchased for cheap at craft stores and Walmart.
Giving a gift is not about how much money we spend. I truly appreciate the meaning behind the saying, “It’s the thought that counts”. If your gift recipient does not like hot chocolate you can easily switch it out for coffee or tea!
Happy Holidays! Thanks again Latorsha for having me as a guest!
First off, I must state I love Optimistic Mom. From the very first, I found her blogs funny and heartfelt and real, so I’m honored to be guest blogging for her . Make sure you subscribe to her site or you will definitely miss some great stuff!
Ah, the holidays are upon us. The chaos, excitement, stress and joy usually combine and combust until we lay broken on the floor, tired and lifeless on January 1st.
Oops. Forgot I’m guest blogging here. Be gone drama.
My boys are four and six now, so they are in prime time to enjoy Christmas. Even on Thanksgiving, my older son woke me up at 7:00am, standing by my bed, dressed in his new clothes and eagerly whispering, “Look, mommy, I’m dressed and ready to go…is it time for turkey?”
Oh. My. God.
Christmas is always worse. I can’t blame the poor things – it’s overstimulation galore. Threats of being good or Santa wont’ come. Twinkling lights and endless TV commercials tempting children of delights that are beyond their parent’s pocketbook. What really sucks about this is my kids believe Santa is rich.
This is completely my fault. Somehow, along the way, I forgot to inform them Santa really only brings children two toys each. In my own parenting excitement to get them most of what they ask for, as long as it is not extreme or too expensive, I signed Santa’s name to most of the gifts and completely screwed myself.
This year, the boys’ Bible was the Toys R Us catalogue. For real. They carried this thing around, dog-eared, battered, marked up, and my younger one slept with it one night. Target and Walmart were a close second. As their buzz and delight grew, my heart sank like the frikkin Titanic. This year, they wanted A LOT. And things were more expensive.
So, as I do often in motherhood, I relied on the most predictable rule of parenting 101.
I lied.
I explained to my boys that Santa can only bring a child two toys each. And that meant they would get the most important, “had to have them or die items” on their list, but the rest would need to wait until their birthday. Two pairs of solemn eyes stared back at me as they dissected my statement until I shifted and felt as if I had gone on the naughty list myself for LYING. And so it began…
“Santa brought us more than two toys last year,” the older one said with puzzlement. “And there were lots of poor children last year.”
“The rules have changed,” I announced brightly. “There are more people who need help this year, and Santa doesn’t have the ability to bring that many toys to so many children.”
“Yes, he does,” said the younger one. “You said Santa was magic and could carry as many toys as possible, remember?”
Oh. Yeah.
I mumbled on and talked about money and expenses and being grateful, and after a few minutes I could tell they just glazed over because they didn’t care about anything but getting all marked items on the toy list.
Then I encountered an elf problem. Namely, the Elf on the Shelf. See, if you are a mother, you need to get this thing because it is the only type of blackmail item you can solidify. The kids can see the elf – they can’t see Santa. The concept is simple: the stuffed elf is named, and stays in your house till Christmas. Every night, the elf flies off to the North Pole and lets Santa know if your children were good or bad that day. The job for the parent is the put this Elf in a different place every morning so the child sees the Elf is in a new spot and knows it has definitely taken the trip to see Santa.
Great idea. But another thing to remember.
Barry the elf arrived on Sunday this week. Already I forgot to move him TWO TIMES IN A ROW. I encountered literal tears the second day from my boys who did not believe my same excuses, and said the elf didn’t care about them and was not doing his job. So, what did I do?
See item above. I LIED.
I told them Santa had a brief vacation and Barry didn’t need to see him for those two days, but promised he’d be back to the North Pole that very night. I cannot fail on this job one more time or my whole blackmail idea with Barry the elf with crumble. And I need all weapons in my arsenal around the holidays.
Besides these two neon failures, I have about a hundred memos papered to my refrigerator regarding Santa outings, from cookies to photos to breakfast, and bake sales, coat drives, penny auctions, holiday parties, tree lightings, and endless other activities guaranteed to make your children happy for the season.
My summary? Honestly, my children give the season a special magical quality that usually humbles and delights me. As long as I am not too exhausted to enjoy it.
Jennifer Probst is a published author of several books and you can find them here. I personally purchased a copy of The Tantric Principle and I will tell you it is worth checking out. And if that isn’t enough you can find her blogging at 4 Bad Mommies and on twitter @JenniferProbst and @4badmommies.
BUT most of all she is my one of my very first blog buddies, and she has been with me through my blog.com, blogspot.com, and now the .com sites. And I haven’t scared her off yet.
Thanks Jennifer! Smoochies. xoxoxo
Ahhh the holidays are here. How can you tell? People are putting up their decorations….earlier than usual. When I was growing up my mom use to have different Christmas tree decorations in a box, I remember we had a seashell tree, a teddy bear tree, a gold and red tree, an angel tree, and my favorite a snowman tree. I thought as a young girl my mom was doing a bit much with all the different trees but now that I am older I see that different trees are nice. I only have one set of decorations for my tree and that is blue and ice silver. I even get the gift bags and gift-wraps to match the tree (I know I overdo it).
Now the outside is a different story. We put up lights when we first moved into our home but after that, we were too lazy to put anything up. In our neighborhood people usually do a lot to their outside. They put up reindeers on the roof, Santa’s in the yard, and candles in the window. I for one do not feel like putting anything up because I don’t want to take anything down. All the décor is nice but here is my problem when you put lights up can we please be uniformed and put the same color lights in the yard. I hate going around to different houses and seeing regular lights, then blue lights, then lights with different colors. I also do not like when the little trees have lights that look like they are thrown on the tree.
Now let us talk about the tree itself. When putting the tree in the front of the window make sure I do not see things like a tree that is not fully lighted or a tree that has no light what is the purpose of opening up the curtains if the tree lights are not on them. All in all I love the holidays but when it’s over and I see houses with lights still on them I say in my mind this is why I don’t put up lights because I don’t really want them on my house year round.
Kita is creator and voice of Say What U Wanna, a place where she discusses a variety of topics adding a touch of humor. I connected with Kita via twitter, and you can find her @Colorcoated10. She is one of my favorite tweeps and I feel like we are old friends. I believe you will find that she keeps it real at all times and enjoys connecting with others.
Let me also tell you, Kita is very creative and willing to help others create their visions for parties, events, and much more. Instead of me telling you about her talents, check it out for yourself at her newly launched business site Innovative Creations by Kita and to follow her innovative ideas find her on twitter @Creatively Kita.
Some days you gotta just do it. UNPLUG! Disconnecting can be a great way to reflect and sort through your thoughts without interruption. Even if it is just for one hour consider unplugging from your computer, smart phone, and all the fancy tech gadgets.
I know you can do it but the question is Will you do it?
Just try it for a short time. I am definitely not asking for you to try a digital detox package.
Leave your response in the comments. I will reply but not today because I am UNPLUGGED. 
Source: Pinterest
Let me just start off by saying there is no way I could list everything that I am thankful for here in one post. Honestly I don’t know if I would ever have a complete list of all that I am thankful.
I would like to say just a few things since you stopped by during the holiday. I am thankful that you decided to visit this site on this day. I hope that you find something that makes you smile, laugh, nod in agreement, or just shake your head (yes, I’m weird like that).
Take your time and look around, click a few links here and there. And if you are feeling up to it feel free to leave a comment about what you are thankful for on this day. If you aren’t feeling up to it today, come back another day when you are feeling up to it. I’ll be here waiting.
Here are a few past posts that I listed here just for you. You know, just in case you needed them on this day.
You got it bad, are you serious?
The tweet that changed my outlook
6 Tips for putting the thanks back into Thanksgiving
Card declined, are you serious?
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