:: Happy Easter ::

Today, we gather with our families and friends, celebrating a day that should never be forgotten! Everyday I pray for the wisdom and ability to teach my children the word of the Lord.

In our younger years, we look forward to the egg hunts, and dying eggs to decorate (as shown below)! However, I can only hope she grows to learn the history of today - and follow Him in her heart.

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

-2 Corinthians 5:21

Hope everyone has a BLESSED day!! 

Espresso yourself... [a coffee confession]

...the caffeine? ...the taste? ...the aroma?

All of the above would be suitable reasons why I love desire this popular morning beverage. Although, for me, it would be ...

 morning   afternoon   evening

Now, I'm not talking caffeine overload - only necessary in the morning, to avoid my inner Oscar-the-Grouch. Decaf is certainly my alternative for those afternoon/evening cravings. 

Dependency on any kind of caffeine stimulant is not ideal, and avoiding it at all costs was a lifestyle choice many years ago. Now? ...it seems I can't live without it. Well, at least a little bit. Restraining from this addictive beverage is something I'm beginning to consider, given our future plans for a 2nd pregnancy. This could be a tough challenge! Although, it's comforting to know (credit: WebMD) caffeine withdrawal is possible without severe effects. Luckily, my intake of caffeine is not excessive. 

The MOST challenging part of it... is the creamer!! 

Decisions! Decisions!

My everyday, go-to creamer, is the sugar free Delight French Vanilla. Every now and then, the hubs and I will experiment and try something exotic. Although, one of the most anticipated days of the year (secondary to Christmas, of course) is...

...the Starbucks announcement of their seasonal Peppermint Mocha!! Mmmmm. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Of course, until that glorious time of year, I often opt for the generic (yet, still tasteful) Coffee-Mate "Peppermint Mocha". Trust my taste buds! I have tried different brands, but this one takes the cake!

Lastly, I am a guaranteed sucker for a nice café. I'm talking:

...but, given the reality that I do not live remotely close to a real café in France, I'll take a Starbucks (or the local Coffee Crossing) table outdoors in the sunshine. 

Regardless of my surroundings, I'll never refuse a good cup of joe - which by the way, has two interesting theories regarding the history of its term.

 

Check it out, here.

So, there's my confession. Was it a serious one? No. However, it is something that needs restraint. In the meantime, the hubs would be happy to know:

Haha.

Love to you all!! Hope you have a blessed day!! :)

photo credit: 1 2 3 4 5

There, Their, They're...

THEY ARE not the same.

These are three of the most commonly misused words in the English dictionary - which no one takes time to review before publicly posting their thoughts or opinions. Among them: your, you're, its, it's, past, passed... the list goes on. 

It isn't required that we know the accurate definition of such words, but it is suggested we take time to learn the difference of where they belong in a sentence. 

Is that wrong?

At some point, I feel as though I'm just a lonely perfectionist, who nitpicks everything. 

Then, I stumble upon this beauty:

...nice to know there are people out there who think like me.

Now, most of you reading this are probably thinking, "I know the difference, I just don't care." or "...don't care to correct myself." In that case, there's hardly an argument. Personally, I will delete and retype - over and over - until it is correct! Proof read? You better believe it! I'll also *** with corrections (my text buddies know this well) if I misspell a word, or if auto-correct thinks it's better at that game than me, filling in what it THINKS I meant to say...

This leads me to my last, and final, thought... 

Although, we can't change the way people speak... there SHOULD be a law against "text grammar". 

For example:

 Really ..."L8"? When did English become a game of BINGO?

If you are, indeed, a text grammar participant, well... (as the saying goes) live and let live. I'm not here to place judgement - this is a happy, welcoming blog to all readers - but it is a frustrating ordeal I do not often tolerate. Lol <-- why not.

There is no solution to this matter; no one is perfect. I may call myself a perfectionist, but I am FAR from "perfect". My post was merely to share an opinion. If you agree (or even disagree), feel free to share your thoughts!! 

In the meantime, I'll leave you with one more humorous photo. 

Good day to you all!!

Looks like it! 

Motivational Monday

Happy Monday, everyone!! ...or not so happy? If that's the case, you aren't alone.

Let's face it. The only Monday that 90% of Americans celebrate is Cyber Monday after Thanksgiving. Am I wrong?

The point IS - Monday has a steady reputation for being the most depressing day of the week!! Terrible, but true (for some). I, on the other hand, have learned to change my perception on such a renown depressing day. 

The idea for this particular blog post, was inspired by my high school volleyball coach - Terri Purichia aka "Coach". On Monday, the entire team and coaches, wore a custom t-shirt with an inspirational quote on the back - the idea was for each player to read the quote on the shirt in front of them, to keep us going . Coach deemed that day as "Motivational Monday". Although, at that age, we are usually too young minded to appreciate such a gesture; yet somehow, it remains with you forever. 

With ALL that said, I would like to help, the little I can, with those Monday blues. A preface of this magnitude will not be given for every weekly post. I will (hopefully) help inspire some of you with just a quote and side note. Here's hoping for a better look on Mondays, and a better start to your week!! God bless.