the simple things - part deux.

happy thursday, y'all.  it's time - once again - to link up with jesslyn amber & remember what matters the most...




simple, lovely things i'm celebrating this week...

• the short week. even though long, holiday weekends seem to make tuesdays feel like mondays, it's always nice to wake up knowing that you're one day closer to another weekend.
• having my kids home. they had a GREAT time traveling with their grandparents, but our home is definitely a home once again. 
• heading to the beach on a rainy sunday morning only to have the clouds part, the sun come out & catch a cooler full of these guys & gals:

• spending a very BUSY fourth of july weekend with friends & family.
• having a date night with my husband...and knowing that in a few weeks we'll be having another date night.
• listening to this cd:

{source}

• fresh veggies from the garden, especially yellow squash & zucchini {i love cucumbers, but thank goodness our other veggies are producing some goodies!}.
• squeaky tight finances. yep. it really puts into perspective what you have & what you really don't need to have. 
• black-eyed susans {or rudbeckia}...need i say more?

• shakeology. because not only do i enjoy drinking it, but my eight year old son does, too. 
• being amused by the fact that one of my garden shoes is currently in the process of being buried by one of our two boston terriers:

• lazy summer days. seriously. i'm talking l-a-z-y. i didn't change out of my jammies on tuesday. 
• an early bedtime. for once in my life, i seem to have amended my night owl ways. i'm more of an early riser now. weird.
• going soda-free. okay, so it's only been one day. but, i think i've got this. i already cut back my soda consumption to just one a day, but now that all we have in the house is mountain dew, well, i have no choice but to quit!
• sprouting flowers from seeds:

{yes, these three sunflowers were sprouted from seeds & yes, one is a couple feet shy of the peak of our neighbor's roof}

• listening to my children giggle.
• the excitement that comes from knowing that i'll have feathers in my hair next week {i'm getting them done with this fun gal!}.
• making red, white & blue strawberries for the fourth of july:

{a phone pic that i took of the berries - while chilling - in the freezer!}

• going ga-ga over my new blog layout thanks to this gal.
• {barely} catching buxton in the act of 'smelling' the zinnias we sprouted:

• having a roof over our head & food to eat.
• seeing the joy in my husband's eyes as he hugged & chatted with friends of his family that he hasn't seen in years.
• talking about plants & crafts with adam's aunt.
• watching the $2.50 dahlias that i bought from wal-mart come to life:

what simple things are you celebrating this week?

be sure to link up with jesslyn amber!