Yummy Apple Dew Dessert, Sharks Teeth, and Smiles. . . .

it seems everyone i know is on a diet.

oh, i know some say "it's a lifestyle, not a diet".

ya, okay.

if you have to cut out every. single. good-sweet-satisfying

 thing you ever loved to eat, that is a diet. . . . . . . . .if you ask me.

and that's okay too.

because i'm supposed to be losing weight myself.

and as we all know, it's one day at a time.

but does that mean every once in awhile, we don't come across a

super easy delicious recipe to try?

nope!

and this one is SO easy and YUMMY,

i have to share it with you!

it's one of those that takes only a few ingredients.

comes together real quick.

is so good, everyone will be lickin their plates and asking for the recipe.

the SECRET recipe.

with the SECRET ingredient!

(not so secret now I guess:)

here's what you do. . . . . .

Apple Dew Dessert

2 packages crescent rolls, separated

4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and quartered

2 sticks butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

12 0z. mountain dew (SECRET ingredient:)

~ ~ wrap apple quarters in sections of crescent rolls and place side by side in

a 9x13 pan.  Make sure apples pieces are totally covered with dough.

~ ~ bring butter, sugar and cinnamon to a boil and pour over apple roll ups.

pour the mountain dew over the apple roll up mixture.

bake at 350 for 45 min. till golden brown.

~ ~ serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream or both:)

*****even better with cinnamon ice cream. just soften a quart of vanilla ice cream,

stir in cinnamon to taste and refreeze.

DOUBLE YUM!!!

~ ~ apple dessert can be made ahead and reheated before serving.

well, enough about food, right?

SO, you know you live in Florida when you're walking. . . . .

in FLIP-FLOPS. . . . . . 

and you feel/hear something on the tile floor.

you reach down, thinking there is a staple or a nail in the sole of your flip flops,

you pull out the staple/nail thing and you see that it is neither.

as you bring it closer you realize,

there is a

SHARK"S TOOTH

 in the bottom of your shoe.

seriously...is that cool, or what???

i mean, how often does that happen?

a perfect shark's tooth!

my new lucky shark's tooth:)

yep, this is when you know you're not in kansas anymore:)

okay, now i just have a few more smile worthy things to share today.

like this. . . . . .

how can you not wake up with a smile to this big nose in your face?

gotta love my big boy Maui:)

so happy i had my phone by the bed to snap this pic!

and on the same subject, i love these guys!

they will curl up with me wherever and whenever.

my girls woke up to this picture...sweet, huh?

i made a facebook cover on smilebox the other day.

fun and very easy. . . .check it out and make one of your own someday. . . . .

well, that's it for now!

hope you smile today. . . .more than once if possible:)

xoxoxoxox

Suzanne

The Reason Why I Blog. . . . . . .

 if you have a blog,

this is a really good question to ask once in awhile.

i mean, there are definitely some who know 

why they blog.

usually, it means they're really good at something. . . . . .

cooking, crafting, writing, photography, parenting, couponing, organizing.

something!

and they are kind enough to share it with the rest of us.

thank you for that!

but for a few of us, we are just as clueless as to why we blog

as you are when you look at our blog.

take mine for instance.

it's all over the place!

sometimes in the same post...now that's crazy.

but that's me.

and i think it's really important,

if you like to blog,

to take a look at the why's of it every once in awhile.

so that's what i'm doing today.

and guess what conclusion i'm coming to.

my reasons are pretty much the same,

i just get off track every so often.

but basically, i blog for me.

yep, you read that right.

for me.

every now and then i start writing for others,

and that's when i go off track.

that's when i get stuck.

and that is when i think " this is stupid...i'm done with this silly 'ol blog".

but within a few weeks, i miss it.

then i'm back:)

lucky you!  

hahahaha. . . . .just kidding:)

well, maybe i don't just blog for me.

i also blog for you!

i just meant i blog about the things i would like to read if i were you.

hmmmmm. . . . .i have a feeling that didn't come out quite right,

 but my intentions are good:)

because i have not taken the time to master

any one particular thing 

(i can do a lot of things but am master of pretty much none:)

i  steer away from trying to teach others my

half-baked way of doing something.

unless i am totally confident i did it right the first time:)

which is why you rarely see tutorials on my blog.

a teacher i am not.

(i do find great photos though, don't ya think? :)

but what/who  i am, is this;

~ ~ a friend, mother, wife, daughter, sister

~ ~ whose faith is important to her

~ ~ who is extremely forgetful and downright flaky

~ ~ who still hasn't totally grown up. . . and never will

~ ~ who has somehow, so far, managed to raise 2 pretty incredible young ladies

~ ~ who loves to laugh and cry. . . .sometimes in the same conversation

~ ~ who is still a dreamer. . . .and who encourages that in others

~ ~ who would rather stay home with her family, 

watch reruns on tv and eat caramel corn way more than a fancy dinner out 

~ ~ who is very nice. . . .until you mess with her children. 

 or dogs. who are not pets but boys. my precious boys.

so don't mess with them;)

~ ~ who is grossly unorganized but tries to fix this every day.  not successful but i try.

~ ~ who was once told she was a "simpleton" by a somewhat confused patient. . . and didn't know it was a compliment, until now. i'll take simple every day of the week:)

~ ~ who has everything and nothing in this crazy world figured out.

~who has her own struggles and flaws

~ ~ who believes that if nothing else, sharing a smile with someone is a fabulous achievement.

 which brings me to this blog.

why i blog. . . . .

not because i do or say anything brilliant.

but because i try, most days, to be happy about something.

to smile about something.

at least once.

because that is important.

and if i can make someone else smile at my blog,

i did something fabulous.

so that's it.

that's why i blog.

i don't say the words "smile" or "be happy" casually.

i don't always feel like smiling, and i am not always happy.

and i know the same goes for you too.

but i do believe if we look around us, there has to be something worth smiling about.

so with that, i hope that today, you smile. . . .at someone or something.

and feel a teeny tiny bit of happiness.

and if not today, i hope tomorrow is a better day.

i may not be the best at blog comments,

but if you need a friendly shoulder to lean on,

i'm right here, willing and able:)

because besides blogging for me, i really do blog for you. (there, i said it:)

i just don't keep track of visits, comments or followers closely.

don't get me wrong, i LOVE them.

i simply hope that the person who needs something i have to give will

somehow stumble on my lowly blog.

and be happy:)

Suzanne

One AMAZING New Years Resolution We Can All Keep in 2013. . . . . .

i didn't want to do the usual resolution/new year's post,

mainly because most resolutions are the same every year.

we all want to lose weight, exercise more, get in shape. . . . .

some want to quit smoking or drinking,

cut sugar or caffeine,

others want to save more money.

all great ideas. . . . . .

yet we still manage to give up on them

 sooner rather than later.

at least, most of us do.

so i didn't want to do the typical post.

but i DO have an idea for a resolution that is

 SUPER simple to do and to keep,

and could make a difference in YOUR life 

and the life of someone else.

are you ready?

got a pencil and paper handy?

here you go.

with much thought on my own part,

as well as inspiration from many others in various places,

my suggestion for a new years resolution is this:

S
M
I
L
E

M
O
R
E

yep, that's it!

smile more.

okay, okay. . . . . 

don't check out yet.

this is a good one, trust me.

stick with me and i'll explain why.

come on, didn't you smile when you saw this picture?

there must've been someone who made you smile.

and if anyone was looking at you,

they would've seen you smile and it might have made them smile.

it's like a SNOWBALL effect.

a few happy facts~ ~ ~

It takes seventeen muscles to smile but it takes forty-three to frown.

smiling is EASIER!

you don't have to feel happy to smile.

Studies show that when you smile something wonderful happens within your body.

 When we smile, we release into our body a feel good chemical message 

known as an endorphins. You feel happier. 

Endorphins have the ability to make you feel happy, 

and whenever you smile, you release them.

 So even if you are not happy when you begin to smile, you might be afterwards, 

and the more often that you smile, the happier you will feel. 

Smiling has also been proven to be contagious,

 so you have the power to make other people smile.

 You can do this by simply passing a smile to someone else.

Pretty cool, huh?

Maybe all you have to do to make someone happy is to smile at them.

 A smile is infectious. Try it.

 Smile at someone on the street, 

and odds are you will make that person smile back at you.

then they'll be releasing their own endorphins.

and so on and so on:)

(hmmm. . . . i think he's smiling, but i'm not sure:)

Smiling at someone might make their day seem a bit better,

make them feel a little happier,

maybe make them forget their troubles of the moment. . . .

physical or emotional.

some people will think you're crazy.

they just aren't used to someone smiling at them.

that's okay.  you're doing this for you and if it rubs off on others,

GREAT!

but you'll be doing your part, 

and its so easy to do.

it's been proven, a smile is powerful. 

 it can heal emotional pain,

even if temporarily, and sometimes physical pain.

think about it. . . .there are people who don't know what it's like to

receive a smile.

it can make them feel encouragement and acceptance.

a smile can calm fear and anxiety.

okay, what do you think?

do you like the idea?

i hope so:)

just so you know,

i'm not some smiling POLLYANNA.

not that it would be a bad thing, but i'm not:)

i have my good days and bad.

my personal struggles and concerns.

i often feel overwhelmed and helpless.

but i'm told. . . .often. . . .that people like my smile.

and i didn't even know i was smiling.

i've had sales people thank me and my daughters for walking in

with a SMILE.

So maybe there is something to this.

do you see why i said it was the ONE resolution we ALL

could and should do?

it's easy and might just make a huge difference.

so why not?

it's easier than dieting:)

i hope you'll join me.

i'll be the lady driving around town in a cute mini cooper,

smiling. . . . .for me and for you.

here are a few more thoughts on smiling.

i think this one by Maya Angelou is

 ESPECIALLY important to remember;

“If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don’t be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning “Good morning” at total strangers.”

~ Maya Angelou

so please remember to smile first at home,

THEN go out the door and smile at others:)

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.”

~ Mark Twain

i'm honestly happy with my laugh lines.

how can i not be???

they came from smiling:)

 Happy New Year!

xoxoxo

Suzanne