The Crankiness Crusher™

I often talk about the importance of appreciating life’s small moments in my blog posts, but when BIG things work out, there’s even more reason to be thankful. Two people who I’m very close with just got back healthy test results and I couldn’t be more relieved. Whenever I start huffing and puffing over some little annoyance, I take a step back and remember that this miniscule issue pales in comparison to a friend or family member having to battle a terrible disease. Take some time today to savor the short & sweet moments that bring you happiness (like I’m going to do below), but also reflect on the big picture. If most of your life’s major things are in check, then you’re a very lucky person!

Here are a few pics of things that have been my crankiness crushers over the past few days. Hopefully they’ll bring a smile to your face too!

My mother-in-law usually comes over on Thursdays to visit with me and spend some quality time with the kids. She never fails to bring us something thoughtful, delicious, and/or beautiful. This week she baked us a margarita cake and brought me some pretty wild flowers from her garden.

On Friday, my parents treated me to lunch–and I even got to pick the place! I chose Bahrs Landing seafood restaurant because it’s on the water and I was having a major craving for shrimp salad (which was thoroughly satisfied). We all decided to order a drink, and I was quite pleased with my frozen vodka lemonade with mint. 🙂

And this is part of the view that I had from my seat. Looking at boats, seagulls, and the bay will never get old for me!

Another crankiness crusher this week was heading to the Disney Store at the Freehold Raceway Mall with my husband and two kids. They loved the coloring/craft station which also showed Disney movies as well as playing in the various hiding spots throughout the store (and of course grabbing every stuffed animal they could along the way!). As a girlie-girl, I was fascinated by the miniature sparkling castle that has gilded mirrors for dress-up.  Here’s my mini-Rapunzel admiring herself. 🙂

Yesterday we went to an amusement park that my brother and I used to go to over 30 years ago. Taking my kids there brought back some wonderful memories–but I’ll save that for another cranky crushin’ blog!