Busy Doesn't Begin To Explain It

I can't explain how wonderful it feels to be relaxing at home on a Monday! For those of you who don't know, I'm in my 4th week of my new job! It is going very well and besides the normal crap that comes with any new job, I'm loving what I do! I'm working at a therapeutic boarding school for troubled teenaged girls and I can already tell that it will be an amazingly rewarding experience. Sundays and Mondays are my days off but the past few weeks have been hectic so my schedule was all messed up and I think this is the first Monday I've had off since I started. I'm using the time to catch up on things like grocery shopping, house decor shopping, and of course, some relaxing! Tuesdays thru Saturdays are my normal schedule. I get off rather early though so I'm home before Ryan and still have the whole afternoon to get dinner ready and things together for the next day, so that is nice. Ryan is currently working 55+ hours a week at work so you can imagine how busy (and tired!) he is. Bless his sweet little heart, he is such a hard worker and still finds the time and energy to make me the happiest girl in the world. Lately, he's been surprising me with a fresh bouquet of flowers every single week! After working 12 hours a day you would think he'd want to come home and just fall right asleep. Nope. He's always thinking of something loving and thoughtful. How did I get so lucky!?

My Grandmother Dorothy passed away earlier this month and was laid to rest last week. What a wonderful woman she was. Always willing to do whatever she could for everyone else with a smile on her face and love in her heart. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's for years and her health began to deteriorate so as sad as it is that she isn't physically here with us anymore, I'm thankful that she is no longer sick and in pain. Knowing that she is able to watch after us and be apart of our lives in a more spiritual way brings happiness to my heart. My brother was able to come home from Afghanistan on emergency leave to spend time with the family and attend the funeral. I'm so thankful for that. He has to go back this Friday and I'm not looking forward to it at all. I've missed him so much since he's been gone and it seemed as if everything just fell back into place and having him here just felt normal. I knew that sooner or later he'd have to leave.. I just wish it wasn't back to Afghanistan. But he has a job to do, and he'll do it and come back. It's just so nice having everyone together. I love that him and Ryan got to spend so much quality time together. They are the best of friends and I am so grateful for that. They are so funny together and I know that Ryan will miss having him around too.

Lets see, what else? Progress on our house has somewhat slowed down due to not enough hours in the week. With Ryan working 55+ hours/week and me working 40/week, we're pretty exhausted. Saturday afternoons and Sundays are our only days to get things done and the weekends seem to just fly by so quickly. We did get tile laid in our bathroom though and it looks so beautiful! The only part left is around the toilet and we have planned to pull it out this weekend and finish it up. I also need to paint one more wall and hopefully I can get that done someday after work this week. I went and bought 4 really pretty lamps today for around the house, so that's exciting. I love decorating the house! We were planning on laying wood floors throughout the remainder of the house but we've decided to go with carpet and I am so excited for that! I really wanted carpet all along! It's so much more homey to me and I'd rather run a vacuum than sweep and mop any day!

Well, hubs just called and is on his way home from work so I better get going. I think I'll make some chicken alfredo for dinner. Ooo, yummy!

HAPPINESS

If you want to be happy, then be. Don't let anyone else get in the way of that. Don't let the actions of others bring you down. Simply find the things that bring joy to your life and forget about all the rest. Life is too short to worry about what others think of you. The most important thing is how you feel about yourself and I feel really good about the person I am. I may not be the prettiest girl or the richest girl in the eyes of some, but to me, I have it all. I have a heart that loves like no other, a soul that cares for all, and a mind that keeps me focused on what truly matters. I put my heart and soul in everything that I do and that makes me pretty. I have a husband who loves and adores me and does a wonderful job at making me feel like the most beautiful and loved girl in the world. I get to share the most amazing things in life with him. I have a family that loves us to pieces and supports us through every decision we've made to this day. I have friends that have become my "chosen family" that I cherish and would do anything for. That makes me rich.

Focus on the things that really matter. We all have qualities that make us the "prettiest" and the "richest." Some times you've just got to sort through all the crap and remind yourself what it is that makes you, you. The pretty you. The rich you. The you that you love. The you that the important people in your life love. That is what matters. A friend of mine once told me (after telling her I was worried about what someone thought about me), "...Don't worry about them. If they don't like you, they obviously don't know you or are passing judgment because of something they're unhappy or upset about. It has nothing to do with who you are as a person because you're one of the most kind, loving, good hearted people I've known my whole life." I know that because she's my friend she'll always have something nice to say, but it's true and goes for everyone. If someone doesn't like you or passes judgment on you, don't take it personally. Stop and think about why they don't like you or why they're upset with you. I would almost guarantee that 9 times out of 10, it's a selfish, self centered reason; something that has more to do with them rather than with you. Whether it be personal insecurities, plane ole' selfishness, or whatever, it shouldn't affect the way you feel about yourself. Remember the famous quote... "Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Give people a chance before passing judgement, they might turn out to be an amazing friend! Embrace life and be happy!!

Do you think he really cares what people think about him?

Why should we!?