You CAN Find The Blessings In The Negative {Savor 7 Saturday}

If I can find the blessings in the negative, then you can too! I know this is easier said than done depending on just how big of a negative it is - but there are blessings to be found. Sometimes we don't see those blessings until we're through it or past it though.

It's time for Savor 7 {Saturday} again - listing out 7 blessings from the week. But I'll try and find 7 blessings from the negative instead of from the positive. I don't have any big trials going on right now, so it's a little harder to find the blessings in the little negatives. I have talked about seeing the blessings that come out of the bigger negatives before, in my Just One Son post.

Ok, here are 7 minor negatives that I've experienced this week and the blessings I've found in them:

1. Negative: Mosquito bites. In October. So not right. They love me and I get a nice red itchy welt after they bite. Blessing: The only one I can come up with is experiencing the relief and satisfaction of scratching an itch! {Simple itch relief tip here.} How would we know just how good it feels to scratch an itch if we never had an itch in the first place, right? :)

2. Negative: Spilling a whole bunch of water on the floor, making a large puddle that involved a lot of cleanup. Blessing: Hey - easy blessing there - my floor is extra clean in that spot!

3.  Negative: Friends who bring over too many yummy, fattening goodies {not always a negative, but I happen to be doing Weight Watchers at the moment}. Blessing: Friends who take all the extra goodies back when they leave, just to help you out.

4. Negative: Busy busy grocery stores. Ick. Blessing: When those stores are busy, then lots of cashiers open up so the lines are short and fast! {Except for Walmart - that is never the case there - LOL.}

5. Negative: Filling in for the 4th grade teacher at the end of the day when you aren't sure of the exact procedures to follow as you cover the material. Blessing: A class full of shiny, happy, helpful students telling you about 10 different ways that things may or may not have been done in the past. Too funny!

6. Negative: Having to track all the food you eat because you finally went back to Weight Watchers. Blessing: Losing 3 pounds in a week! Woo hoo!

7. Negative: Running way behind on #31Days posts. Boo. Blessing: Learning to give yourself some grace and deciding to continue posting the series through 10/31, whether or not the total number is 31 posts.

Did it! Yay! But I have always been a look-for-the-silver-lining, cup-half-full kind of gal, so I realize that this may be more difficult for some of you. Do give it a try though! List out some negatives from the week and try to find the blessings. If you can't find a blessing in some of those things, look at them again in another week or a month and see if the blessings can be seen then.

You CAN find the blessings in the negative!

Do you always look for the blessings in your trials? Have you experienced an amazing blessing from something negative? Share in the comments!

Day 19 of #31Days. Find all the posts in this series by clicking the pic...

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Have a blessed day friends!

You CAN Find The Little Blessings {Savor 7 Saturday}

If I can find the little blessings in daily life, then you can too! Welcome back to Savor 7 {Saturday}! This is where I look back at my blessings from the week. But this week I thought I'd focus on the little blessings that aren't so obvious.

It's fairly easy to list out our big blessings. But what about the weeks where nothing extraordinary happens to us and all we experience is the daily mundane tasks like dishes and laundry? Can we find the blessings to savor?

I say yes! Some of it is just a matter of perspective and some of it is forcing yourself {with a little help from the Lord} to really see beyond the drudgery.

Let's put it into practice by making all 7 blessings right from one mundane household task - laundry. Everybody knows that the obvious blessing of laundry is that it means we have clothes to wear! But let's go beyond that. Here are 7 more blessings of having to do laundry:

1.  I have a washing machine {you probably have one too or at least access to one}. It's a big time-saver not to have to wash all our clothes by hand like they did years ago.

2.  I have laundry soap, which means that I'm able to go to the store and buy what I need for our household. I'm blessed to have the means to do that.

3.  I'm physically capable of doing the laundry. I'm blessed with health - I'm not paralyzed or too crippled to get to my washing machine.

4.  As I wash my son's clothes year after year, I watch the clothing styles and sizes change. I'm blessed to have our son and to be able to watch him grow up. {Um, I've watched my clothes growing in size too, but let's not go there - LOL!}

5.  I'm blessed to be able to *cheat* and sometimes throw son's school clothes in the dryer to get the wrinkles out instead of ironing them. :)

6.  We have electricity in our house to run the washing machine and power so many other appliances. Having electricity is a blessing we often take for granted.

7.  Laundry=Memories. A grease stain reminds me how my hubs fixed my car. A snag reminds me how my son enjoys school. A spot reminds me how I came up with a new recipe to try! Certain items remind me of anniversaries or birthdays or vacations - such a blessing to remember all those times with family!

Now it might feel a bit silly when you first try it, but if you keep finding the blessings in the mundane, it can slowly change how you look at your daily life. The blessings are all around us, just waiting to be savored! I challenge you to give it a try!

You CAN find the little blessings!

Day 11 of #31Days. Find all the posts in this series by clicking the pic...

If you want to make sure you keep up with future series and posts, just click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!

Have a blessed day friends!

You CAN Count Your Blessings {Savor 7 Saturday ~ 10/5}

If I can count my blessings, then you can too! It's easy to rattle off 3 or 4 blessings, but consistently looking for the blessings in daily life can be a little tougher. That's why I've done Savor 7 {Saturday} off and on for a while. I like to look for 7 blessings to savor from my week - 1 for each day. I used to fit the blessings into 7 different categories each week, but then decided that it's simpler to just come up with a list of 7.

Sometimes the blessings are big and sometimes very small - that doesn't matter. What matters is finding them, savoring them, and giving praise for them. {Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in him! Psalm 34:8}

Let's look back at our week and "savor" {to have experience of; to taste or smell with pleasure; to delight in} together. 

7 blessings. 7 experiences, tastes, smells, delights. 7 ways to share, encourage, inspire. 1 for each day of the week. Join me? Write your own post sharing 7 blessings from your week ~ link it up anytime this weekend. If you don't have a blog, share your blessings in the comments - I'd love to hear them!

Savored this week: 

1. My hubs puts up with me wanting to get a fancy coffee drink every Sunday afternoon on the way home from church. He doesn't say, "We have coffee at home." He doesn't say, "We don't have time for that." He drives to the coffee place of my choice. He rocks. :)

2. A family with a sense of humor! Do you know that we make each other laugh every day? I can't imagine life without laughter.

3. *Not* getting a speeding ticket! That is definitely a blessing! I don't speed very often and even when I do, it's only 5-10 miles over the limit. But I happened to be on a straight stretch with a green light and no traffic in front of me - I was not paying attention to my speed. And then I saw him - the man in black with a big old radar gun pointed right at me. I glanced quickly at my speedometer and knew it at least close to 10 miles over the limit or more. It was too late - he had me. As I was muttering to myself, getting ready for the inevitable pullover, I realized I didn't see him behind me. He was still pointing the radar gun at oncoming traffic. He wasn't coming for me! Woo Hoo!! :) I've only had 1 speeding ticket in my life and that was about 10 years ago {Trying to avoid a Blockbuster late fee ended up costing me a whole lot more - LOL.} Have you had speeding tickets?

4. My son - he always holds doors open for me and carries things. I don't even have to ask him. I just love that! Somebody taught him well. :D

5. I finally had a chance to get some of my Fall things put out. My dining room table was a mess, but I cleared it off and put a little Fall display on it. That makes it feel a bit more cozy in here.

6. I had some buttermilk to use up so I made these Lemon Blueberry Muffins and took them to my son's school office {why yes, they *do* love me there - LOL}. Yum.

7. This #31Days series is a blessing! Not only have I found some great series to follow {I'm saving them on a #31Days Pinterest board}, but I'm really enjoying the challenge of writing a post for each day!

You CAN count your blessings {and savor them}!

What blessings did you savor this week? Post your 7 and link up anytime over the weekend. Even if you don't post {or don't have a blog}, I'd love to hear about your blessings!

Day 5 of #31Days. Find all the posts in this series by clicking the pic...

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Have a blessed weekend friends!

Savor 7 {Saturday} ~ 9/21

Savor 7 {Saturday} is back - and you can link up with me! You can read last week's post, if you missed it. I'm keeping it simple by just posting the 7 blessings rather than using any certain categories like I did in the past.

Let's look back at our week and "savor" {to have experience of; to taste or smell with pleasure; to delight in} together. 

7 blessings. 7 experiences, tastes, smells, delights. 7 ways to share, encourage, inspire. 1 for each day of the week. Join me? Write your own post sharing 7 blessings from your week ~ link it up anytime this weekend. If you don't have a blog, share your blessings in the comments - I'd love to hear them!

Savored this week: 

1. We love having soup as the weather starts to cool off a bit, so I made Sausage & Kale soup. Sooo yummy - one of our faves {In fact, it's on my Family Favorites Pinterest board!}. I mostly follow the original recipe, but I use a half stick of butter instead of a whole stick in my pot.

2. I haven't been able to meet friends to walk quite as often because of schedules, but I do walk every Saturday morning and got to walk on Thursday with another friend. It's nice to be outside and a great chance to chat at the same time. Do you go walking/running?

3. I got all my pumpkins out to decorate for Fall, but I haven't actually done the decorating yet. Hopefully this weekend!

4. We recently realized that my son had very little memory of all the Disney movies he watched when he was little {how can you not remember a movie you watched like 30 times as a kid - LOL}, so now we are trying to watch some of them. I don't mind watching all of them over again! :) What's your favorite Disney movie?

5. We're going to get a little rain today, which is such a blessing for the grass & plants! I don't mind a little rain now and then if it doesn't interfere with my plans. :)

6. I mentioned that I would be doing a week all about apples and that is official! It starts Monday, so come on back for some yummy recipes during the week! I can't wait to share them with you and celebrate Autumn!

7. Maybe you've heard of the big 31 Days series link-up each year for blogs {over at The Nesting Place}. Even if you're not a blogger, you should stop by there on 10/1 to see if there are some blog series you want to follow. You're sure to find a series that's just what you've been needing to read. It's been happening for a few years and I've always avoided joining in because it seems like too much pressure. But I *think* I'm actually going to try it this year! Yes, by now you should know if you're doing it or not, have a plan, have posts written, have a button, etc. I do have some things in mind and if I can get moving on it in the next few days, then I'll make it official. I guess the point actually is to do 31 posts in 31 days, but not everybody does. I'll announce it on the blog if I decide to go for it. Do you participate in 31 Days?

What blessings did you savor this week? Post your 7 and link up anytime over the weekend. Even if you don't post {or don't have a blog}, I'd love to hear about your blessings!

If you want to make sure you keep up with future series and posts, just click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!

Have a blessed weekend friends!

Savor 7 {Saturday} ~ 9/14

Savor 7 {Saturday} is back - and you can link up with me! You can read last week's post, if you missed it. I'm keeping it simple by just posting the 7 blessings rather than using any certain categories like I did in the past.

Let's look back at our week and "savor" {to have experience of; to taste or smell with pleasure; to delight in} together. 

7 blessings. 7 experiences, tastes, smells, delights. 7 ways to share, encourage, inspire. 1 for each day of the week. Join me? Write your own post sharing 7 blessings from your week ~ link it up anytime this weekend. If you don't have a blog, share your blessings in the comments - I'd love to hear them!

Savored this week: 

1. It's getting Fallish {well, somewhere it is - it's still hot here} and that means that Melissa from The Inspired Room is having her annual Fall nesting series. It starts Monday and you can link up any Fall blog posts! It's always pretty over there and Melissa will be sure to have some fun through her 31 days of posting about Fall!

2. Speaking more of Fall, my friend Denise from Denise In Bloom just released a lovely little ebook called Autumn Bliss! It's full of great ideas, Scriptures, family fun, recipes and more to help you experience the richness of the Fall season. And it just so happens that I have a yummy muffin recipe in the book!

3. I had my 1000th blog post this week. That really does feel like an accomplishment. I stuck with something that long - no matter how much I struggled with it through the years. By the way, have you entered the giveaway? I've got a couple of cute chocolate-themed aprons just waiting to make an appearance in your kitchen. :)

4. We are praising God this week for taking care of one of my son's close friends. He ended up having emergency surgery because his appendix burst. But he's OK and healed up much faster than the doctors expected. He's back home now. Quite a scare!

5. I had to sub 3 days for the teacher of the 5th & 6th grade typing classes. And I survived - LOL {extra lattes also helped}! That is definitely a blessing that I'm savoring. :)

6. My son is doing well in high school so far and really enjoys it. It's such a blessing when your child loves going to school and loves his teachers. How is school going for your kiddos so far?

7. Gotta love apple recipes this time of year! I'm working on a few as I want to give you an apple-themed week here! I'm hoping to do it the week after this one. We'll see if I'm ready. It's been a while since I did a theme week. In the past I've done Summer Campout Week, Cake Week, Pumpkin Potpourri Week, Simmering Soup Week, Fall Fruits Festival, Pumpkin Posting Party, and Pear Week! I might have a slight obsession with theme weeks. :)

What blessings did you savor this week? Post your 7 and link up anytime over the weekend. Even if you don't post {or don't have a blog}, I'd love to hear about your blessings!

If you want to make sure you keep up with future series and posts, just click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!

Have a blessed weekend friends!
Lisa :)

Savor 7 {Saturday} ~ 9/7

Savor 7 {Saturday} is back - and you can link up with me! You can read last week's post, if you missed it. I'm keeping it simple by just posting the 7 blessings rather than using any certain categories like I did in the past.

Let's look back at our week and "savor" {to have experience of; to taste or smell with pleasure; to delight in} together. 

7 blessings. 7 experiences, tastes, smells, delights. 7 ways to share, encourage, inspire. 1 for each day of the week. Join me? Write your own post sharing 7 blessings from your week ~ link it up anytime this weekend. If you don't have a blog, share your blessings in the comments - I'd love to hear them!

Savored this week: 

1. It was so nice that all 3 of us had Monday off together. Usually if we're all off, then we have somewhere to be. But we had no deadlines - plenty of chores to do around the house, of course. We slept in and enjoyed a late breakfast before starting our day. Were you off on Monday?

2. I am so blessed to have a handy husband! He's very good at working on cars, so he did a tune-up on my car himself. He has saved us probably thousands of dollars over the years. His auto-shop classes in high school paid off!

3. Made some Sugar-Free Lemon Blueberry Sauce and had some of it on top of Low-Carb Waffles - yum! I know that low-carb waffles don't sound yummy, but they are a family fave - they have almond meal in them and we love the flavor. Plus they are more filling. You should give them a try sometime as they make a breakfast that sticks with you on a school day.

4. Son started taking tennis classes again this past week. I do enjoy relaxing in a chair and watching him play.

5. Son has choir class this year and has to get a tux for performances. They have a uniform exchange every year, so we went - I assumed we wouldn't find anything that fit him, except maybe a shirt. We found the whole thing - shirt, pants, jacket, cummerbund <----seriously did not know that's how that word was spelled, bow tie, etc.!! Woo Hoo! Saved some $ - what a blessing!

6. I was delighted to discover this free ebook {just sign up on her e-mail list} for bloggers by Trina Holden. The book is More Than Numbers - Blogging for people, not stats. It's based on a presentation she did at the Allume social media conference last year. I was blessed to be at that conference and I sat in on Trina's session. It was my favorite session by far!! So if you're a blogger or thinking about blogging, I think you'll be blessed by this ebook.

7. Pinterest. Do I even need to say more? :) {Find me on Pinterest.} Are you on Pinterest?

What blessings did you savor this week? Post your 7 and link up anytime over the weekend. Even if you don't post {or don't have a blog}, I'd love to hear about your blessings!

If you want to make sure you keep up with future series and posts, just click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!

Have a blessed weekend friends!

Savor 7 {Saturday} Link-Up ~ 8/31

Savor 7 {Saturday} is back - and you can link up with me! You can read last week's post, if you missed it. I'm keeping it simple by just posting the 7 blessings rather than using any certain categories like I did in the past.

Let's look back at our week and "savor" {to have experience of; to taste or smell with pleasure; to delight in} together. 

7 blessings. 7 experiences, tastes, smells, delights. 7 ways to share, encourage, inspire. 1 for each day of the week. Join me? Write your own post sharing 7 blessings from your week ~ link it up anytime this weekend. If you don't have a blog, share your blessings in the comments - I'd love to hear them!

Savored this week: 

1. Pumpkin Bread! Yes, Fall is on the way! I made 4 loaves of the stuff already - some for church, some for us, some for friends, and some for hubs' coworkers.

2. I love watching hummingbirds in our backyard! Saw a cute one today and it reminded us that we need to put up a feeder for them. Do you have hummingbirds in your yard?

3. More backyard fun - saw a napping squirrel on the fence a couple days ago - so funny to see! Looked much like this one I saw a few months ago, though it was a smaller one...

  4. A Boy Scouts Court of Honor where our son received a few merit badges - proud of the hard work he does to earn those! He earned: Cooking, Blackpowder Rifle, Fingerprinting, Golf, Salesmanship, and Weather. Good job son!

5. James Bond movies on Instant Netflix. Hubs and I are watching some of the old Sean Connery ones - it's been several years since we've seen them. We like seeing the 60's clothes and special effects {not a big fan of his *many* lady friends, of course!}. Gotta love those Bond villains! Do you have a favorite Bond movie or do you dislike them?

6. Are you on Google+? {You can find me here.} I admit, it's hard to learn something new and I haven't done much with it. But thanks to a great series for bloggers by Chef Dennis Littley, I think I'm starting to understand it! If you're a blogger, I highly recommend reading his series {Part 1, Part 2}!

7. The pumpkin spice lattes have already appeared at Starbucks and other coffee shops! And do you know what that means? My annual sharing of the pumpkin spice latte video *starring* me and my friend Kim from Homesteader's Heart! Of course, I don't do much in the video other than giggle...a lot. :D But even if you decide you can't handle the awesomeness of the video, there is a recipe in the post so you can make your own pumpkin spice latte!

What blessings did you savor this week? Post your 7 and link up anytime over the weekend. Even if you don't post {or don't have a blog}, I'd love to hear about your blessings!

If you want to make sure you keep up with future series and posts, just click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!

Have a blessed weekend friends! 
 

Savor 7 {Saturday} ~ 8/24

Savor 7 {Saturday} is back! You can read last week's post, if you missed it. I'm keeping it simple by just posting the 7 blessings rather than using any certain categories like before.

Let's look back at our week and "savor" {to have experience of; to taste or smell with pleasure; to delight in} together. 

7 blessings. 7 experiences, tastes, smells, delights. 7 ways to share, encourage, inspire. 1 for each day of the week. Join me? Write your own post sharing 7 blessings from your week ~ link it up anytime this weekend. If you don't have a blog, share your blessings in the comments - I'd love to hear them!

Savored this week: 

1. Listening to my son whistle or hum while he works. He usually does this when he's doing chores in the house. He's done it ever since he was little and I just love it! :)

2. Son started high school this week and he really likes it! Even Geometry - LOL. We're so blessed that he can go to such a wonderful Christian school and that he enjoys it there and has so many good friends.

3. Loved this guest post by Stacy Makes Cents on Homemaking From Scratch: A Grace-Filled View On Food. It so perfectly says what's on my heart!

4. Thanks to some awesome suggestions from my fans on my Facebook page, I tried cooking Brussels sprouts for the first time! They sure looked good, but I'm still not a fan and my family really isn't either. I may try one more time just because they're so healthy. But yay for trying new things at least!

5. Craig's List is such a blessing. We've found many wonderful things on there over the years. This past week, we found just the right desk and chair for my son's room and it was very inexpensive!

6. Chipotle. Y.u.m. One of our faves - makes for a great Friday night when we get it and take it home. Delicious food and no cooking for me! :)

7. Sponsors! They often help keep blogs going by offsetting expenses or contributing to the family income. I have a sponsor on the sidebar that's been there before - just a simple coupon widget from Coupons by Answers.com. Feel free to use it to search out good deals anytime you like!

What blessings did you savor this week? Post your 7 and link up anytime over the weekend. Even if you don't post {or don't have a blog}, I'd love to hear about your blessings!

If you want to make sure you keep up with future series and posts, just click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!

Have a blessed weekend friends!  

Savor 7 {Saturday} ~ 8/17

Savor 7 {Saturday} is back! You can read last week's post, if you missed it. I'm keeping it simple by just posting the 7 blessings rather than using any certain categories like before.

Let's look back at our week and "savor" {to have experience of; to taste or smell with pleasure; to delight in} together. 

7 blessings. 7 experiences, tastes, smells, delights. 7 ways to share, encourage, inspire. 1 for each day of the week. Join me? Write your own post sharing 7 blessings from your week ~ link it up anytime this weekend. If you don't have a blog, share your blessings in the comments - I'd love to hear them!

Savored this week: 

1. My hubs decided to install laminate flooring in our spare/office room since we just switched it with son's room. Such a blessing that the project got finished - LOL - but also that my hubs is so handy! :)

2. I finished getting school supplies and clothes for my son! Yay! {He starts Tuesday. High School. Gulp.}

3. I got my 2 permanent crowns at the dentist. Doesn't sound like much of a blessing but when you have temporary crowns, you can't wait to get those permanent ones! And 1 crown was free since it shouldn't have broken so soon - so another blessing there. Um, take care of your teeth and see your dentist regularly. And floss!! You want to avoid crowns - they are expensive little buggers.

4. We got rid of TV - that was the week before, I guess. But it's a blessing that we haven't really missed it. We have Instant Netflix and movies and laptops to watch other shows if needed. I wish I could say we were saving a ton of money doing it, but we're not saving much at all. Still, it's good for us!

5. If you need the blessing of a little help getting back into a cleaning routine, you might want to download this FREE cleaning schedule from my friend Christin at Joyful Mothering! Click here: http://joyfulmothering.net/free-cleaning-schedule/

6. I love how quick and easy this Chicken-Tortellini Soup is! Made it this week - it's one of son's faves!

7. Gotta love free birthday meals at Chevy's...and extra opportunities to embarrass your son! He had to *suffer* through the wearing of a sombrero and the staff singing to him. :)

What blessings did you savor this week? Post your 7 and link up anytime over the weekend. Even if you don't post {or don't have a blog}, I'd love to hear about your blessings!

Have a blessed weekend friends!

If you want to make sure you keep up with future series and posts, just click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!
 

Savor 7 {Saturday} ~ 8/10

It's back! My last Savor 7 post was back in January. I have wanted to bring back Savor 7 {Saturday} for a while and feel like I'm ready now! This time it won't be so complicated {but you can use my original 7 categories if you like} because who wants complicated on the weekend? This is a simple way to look back at the week and appreciate the blessings, big or small. You don't even have to explain/describe your 7 like I did - just list them out and post!

Let's look back at our week and "savor" {to have experience of; to taste or smell with pleasure; to delight in} together. 

7 blessings. 7 experiences, tastes, smells, delights. 7 ways to share, encourage, inspire. 1 for each day of the week. Join me? Write your own post sharing 7 blessings from your week ~ link it up anytime this weekend. If you don't have a blog, share your blessings in the comments - I'd love to hear them!

Savored this week:

1. My silly son turning 14! I'm sure all you moms get that I'm happy and sad at the same time! Love.that.kid.  :)

2. So so loved hearing and seeing son interacting with his friends. He had several friends over just to hang out, goof around, and eat cheesecake. They all had so much fun and I love those sounds of laughter {OK, I said laughter, not so much the screeching sounds - LOL}.

3. Creamy Baked Cheesecake. Yessss. That's what my son requested for his birthday along with strawberries and homemade whipped cream. 'Twas delicious.

 

4. Mostly finished switching son's room and spare room plus the painting/reorganizing of it all. There's still a bit more painting to be done and we need to finish organizing his things. But we got him moved in before his birthday, so yay! He's very happy with his new room and a full-size bed now since he's 5'11".

5. Secret Facebook groups. Sounds weird, but it's cool! The secret part means that only members know about the group, who is in it, and what's posted. I created the group for my local running/walking friends so that we can easily post times and places for our walks. We also share links for recipes and articles about exercise, etc. It's so much easier than messaging everybody.

6. If you're a blogger, then you might also love this post from Amy Lynn Andrews ~ Blogging Time Management: The Main Hurdle. Such a great post!!

7. I'm savoring Savor 7 {Saturday}!! :D Hope you can join me!

I'm posting this a little early in case you decide you want to post your own list of 7 and link up - feel free to do so anytime over the weekend! I'd also love to hear from you in the comments - share your blessings from the week! 

Thanks for being here with me friends! I do savor the blessing of having you here reading along - you keep me going. Have a blessed day! :)

If you want to make sure you keep up with future series and posts, just click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS! 

I Call Him Napkin Man

I know, I'm weird. You won't even understand from the pics why I came up with the name - I'll have to explain.

Some time in the last year or two, when we were driving around on the opposite side of town, we noticed something strange. It was a man standing on the corner at a busy intersection - waving & swirling his hands in the air - hands which held napkins {or paper towels? or handkerchiefs?}. He had headphones on and was obviously doing the swirling to the music he was listening to. It was a rather odd sight.

As we drive around in that area of town, we see him again...and again. And I call him Napkin Man. The more I drive to that part of town {kiddo started tennis classes}, the more I observe Napkin Man. I realize that he's not always on the same corner - he switches corners in an area of a few blocks. He's not just a crazy man who ends up on the corner waving his napkins around - he's there with a purpose. He rides a nice bike to his corner of the day and brings a backpack with food & water. When it's hot, he takes plenty of breaks and sits in the shade. He does not have anything out asking for money.

I've never spoken to Napkin Man, but I've made some assumptions just based on my observations. He considers his napkin-waving on the corner almost like a job, or a duty. He prepares for it, knows which corner he's going to, and stays there for at least a couple of hours, if not more. I believe he does this simply to spread joy to the busy people driving by.* If you saw the amazingly big smile and sheer joy on his face while he waves the napkins to his music, you'd believe the same.

This is just what I'm talking about when I say "stop and smell the chocolates" - take a moment to appreciate the little blessings right in front of you! Will you drive quickly by Napkin Man and mutter to yourself about the crazy person on the corner or will you take a moment to see the joy and smile back?

I always smile when I see him. And I still call him Napkin Man even though he's upgraded to streamers {even more awesome}. :)

*Gotta love the internet - found a story about him from last year. His name is Clifford and he's a disabled senior. He dances on the corner to alleviate his arthritis. Though the story doesn't mention it, I still believe he does it on the busy corners to spread some happiness at the same time!

Have a blessed day friends and don't forget to look for the little blessings all around you!

'Twas A Very Merry UnChristmas

I hesitated to post about our Christmas for fear of judgment. Yes, it's true that some of you may just be horrified at some of the things we didn't do this Christmas! But then I thought of others who just might feel a little better about not being perfect, not getting it all done, and not stressing about it!

This year, we were headed out-of-town to visit family for Christmas. This shortened up my time frame quite a bit for getting everything done. I had been extremely busy the week before making gobs and gobs of homemade goodies and putting gifts together to give and to ship. All of the gifts are due at the same time every year it seems: office staff at school {where I volunteer}, kiddo's teachers and classmates, hubs' coworkers, friends, and family gifts to be shipped. I made more homemade goodies this year than ever before! Whew!

Every year I run out of time before Christmas and have to let one or two little things go, but this year? Wow - I really let go! And believe me, it wasn't easy. I have high expectations for myself at Christmas time. 

I compare myself to the people who get out 10+ bins of decorations *and* make their house a wonderland the day after Thanksgiving, the people who get professional family photos *and* send out their cards at the beginning of December, the people who host Christmas parties *and* host Christmas breakfast/dinner with family, and the people who actually wrap all their gifts with pretty paper *and* bows! I love all of these people! But I have to remind myself that these fabulously talented people do not represent the majority of people and it's perfectly okay that I am not like any of them. It.is.O.K. {Still reminding myself there.}

Rather than go into the long drawn-out stories leading to each thing that didn't happen, I think it's better to just make a list.

UN-Christmasy

• Did not take a family photo of ourselves
• Did not write a Christmas letter/puzzle etc.
• Did not send out Christmas cards {after 15+ years of doing it - *gasp*}
• Did not really decorate for Christmas
• Did not spend an evening driving around to see Christmas lights
• Did not even attend our school's Christmas concert {sshhhhh...}
• Did not play every Christmas CD we own
• Did not have a special Christmas breakfast
• This one will really freak you out--->Did not wrap the Christmas gifts we gave to each other!

Aahhhh - that felt good to confess it all - LOL! But here's what did happen.

Christmasy

• Made lots & lots of homemade goodies and packaged/distributed before Christmas
• Had all Christmas gifts purchased well before Christmas
• Put lights up on the outside of the house
• Put up the tree that has lights already on it {but didn't decorate it - LOL}
• Enjoyed the Christmas lights we saw everywhere as we drove around
• Attended a brass band's Christmas concert
• Played 3 of the Christmas CD's several times
• Made a yummy dessert to take out-of-town and eat Christmas Day
• Delighted in the gifts we surprised each other with
• Visited with family that we don't see often
• Enjoyed celebrating Jesus' birth just the same as we do all year long

Not that I would recommend following this every year, but it was actually a nice break and we all had a very Merry Christmas - though I will refer to 2012 as the year of the UnChristmas! And you know - my son and hubs were SO happy to skip wrapping gifts that it was like an extra Christmas gift for them! :D But like the Who's down in Whoville know - the fluff isn't what Christmas is all about anyway, right?

And hey - one can always use photo-editing sites to create a truly *lovely* family picture collage to remember the year. Like this one...

:)

{My son does not look like that naturally - that's his own disturbing photo-editing work.}

I hope you were as blessed at Christmas as our family was and I do pray that all of you have a wonderful 2013!

Savor 7 {Saturday} ~ 1/5

Welcome to Savor 7 {Saturday} friends ~ a new way to share blessings and encourage each other! *You can either follow my categories or just simply list out 7 blessings from your week - this is not meant to be stressful!* For explanation of the 7 categories, see the original post. 

Let's look back at our week and "savor" {to have experience of; to taste or smell with pleasure; to delight in} together. 

7 blessings. 7 experiences, tastes, smells, delights. 7 ways to share, encourage, inspire. 1 for each day of the week. Join me? Write your own post sharing 7 blessings from your week ~ link it up anytime this weekend. If you don't have a blog, share your blessings in the comments - I'd love to hear them!

Savor 7 {Saturday}

SCRIPTURE: I'll share the Scripture again that gave me my One Word for 2013 - it's a good one for me to remember!

2 Peter 1:5-7
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

STORY TELLER: I have to recommend my lovely friend Katie Tevis to you! She's back writing on her blog and is about to start sharing an amazing series there on Mondays. If you are divorced, or are experiencing marriage struggles or know someone going through a divorce, you'll want to read Katie's series. She's been through a painful journey, but God has blessed her through it all and she wants to share her message with other women. Please take time to read her Intro post and share with any friends or family who you think would be blessed by this series.

SOCIAL: I think my only "social" outings this week involved helping a friend move and being out and about with my hubs most of the day yesterday - LOL. But hey - I've been enjoying the last of the Christmas break. Routines start back up on Monday when kiddo goes back to school and life gets back to normal around here. Did you have any fun social outings? Do you do anything exciting for New Year's Eve {our family just hangs out at home}?

SILLY: I got back to doing FB Friday Fun on my Facebook page yesterday and plan to continue it on Fridays. Be sure to stop by there on Fridays to guess a mystery cover photo, answer a trivia question, check out a recipe and more! It's kinda fun! :) And it's not too late to go and guess as I won't post the answers until tonight {Saturday night, West Coast, so late for you East peoples!}.

SNAPSHOT: Double rainbow that we saw on our way home after Christmas! And the second half of the full rainbow. So pretty - can't capture it too well with a phone through a moving car, but I did what I could. Rainbows are such a pretty blessing from God {and a wonderful reminder of his promise}!

SIPS: My recipe creation - the Mocha Oatmeal Frappe - has come in handy more than once! I've had a couple mornings that I didn't have enough time to have breakfast or coffee before heading out the door so I whipped up the frappe & added some protein powder and took my drink out the door!

SWEETS: Get them out of the house now, right?! LOL! I ate the last candy cane yesterday, so that's good. But I need to whip up something sweet today for a church banquet. The good thing about that is that it goes out of the house and gets shared!


Share 7 blessings you're savoring today!

• Write a Savor 7 {Saturday} post listing 7 blessings from the week and come back to link up - or share about your blessings in the comments.
• Please link to the actual post, not just your blog & include a link back to this post so people can find it! And you're welcome to use the graphic at the top in your post or sidebar.  
• Visit another linker or 2 to share some encouragement!

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Thank you for joining me and have a blessed weekend friends!