Money

I'm sure I am not the only one who wishes money grew on trees. I'd plant me an orchard full of them if they did. A few rows for one's even more rows of twenty's, fifty's, and hundreds. I can picture myself walking through my lovely orchard each day admiring my foliage. I'm sure it would be kind of like an outdoor version of Scrooge McDuck swimming in his money on Ducktales. Ah...the image makes my heart smile. 

Unfortunately, this is the point where I wake up and face reality...money does not grow on trees. Despite that fact I am grateful for the money I do have. I'm may not have an orchard full of Benjamin's, but I have what I need to pay my bills each month. I have the money I need to put food on the table every day. Those are the things that matter. I'm so thankful I have that. I know there are many in this world who don't and I don't want to take what I do have for granted. I feel very lucky and blessed.  

Cute Couple

Today I have some very happy news to report. I got a call a little after 1:00 am from my brother's girlfriend telling me how he had just proposed! They're engaged!! 

I love my brother so much! He has always been such a light in our family. I have always been impressed by his carefree, happy, personality. He is one who definitely knows how to make the best out of any situation. He is always doing or saying something that makes me laugh. He's always there for me when I need him. He does so much to help our family with all the "manly" things that come up in life...and he very rarely complains. 

Ashley is an absolute doll! She is very much like my brother in the fun personality department. She is super sweet and thoughtful of others. I also love how smart and crafty she is. I am so excited to have her joining our family! I'm getting another sister!! 

These two are perfect for each other. Their personalities balance each other out nicely. It is definitely a match that was meant to be. The funny thing about these two is that they share the same birthday. They were born on the same day, in the same hospital, a few hours apart. They have often teased that they saw each other in the hospital nursery and made a plan then to meet and fall in love later down the road. :0)

Today I'm super grateful for this cute couple!

My Beautiful Sister

It's November 1st, which means it's time to start my daily "thankful" posts. Each day I will post a little about something I am thankful for that day. This year I am going to try and include a picture with each day as well...I'm quickly becoming addicted to Instagram!

To start things off I have to say how grateful I am for my beautiful sister, Tara. She has been pretty sick this week, so I've spent the past few days hanging out with her. We all know being alone when you are sick is never any fun. We spent days watching Disney movies and reading stories. I love how even though she is sick Tara still has a smile on her face and does things to bring a smile to mine. 

Last year when Tara broke her ankle I bought her a Disney Fairy book and thought it would be fun to read it to her using voices to make it more entertaining. At the time I had no idea how much she would love it. It has now become almost a tradition that when she is sick I read her a fairy book using my fairy voices. I guess it is a secret talent I never knew I had! Monday we loaded a new fairy book onto her kindle, snuggled up on the couch, and I started reading. The second we came to the first bit of dialogue and I used my best fairy voice, she just started giggling. It made me giggle as well.

One night before going to bed the topic of Christmas came up and she proceeded to tell me that I was going to get a really nice gift from Santa because I had been a good girl by helping her when she was sick. Hearing such a sweet little "Tara-style" compliment from her just melted my heart. 

I could go on and on about all the things she does that make me smile and fill my heart with love. She is such a special person and I am more than thankful to have her as my sister and best friend!!

Halloween Night

Halloween Night

The ghouls and goblins are out tonight

Visiting houses with scary sounds and spooky lights

Witches and warlocks all having a party

On the doorstep of Uncle Harvey

Superhero's and villains too

Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh

Fairies and clowns line the street

All screaming out "Trick or Treat!" 

-Tiffany Goodson

Rain

It's a little after midnight and I can't sleep. I'm sitting in my room listening as a light rain falls outside my window. There is nothing more peaceful and calming to me than listening to the rain. The tiny pitter patter it makes as each drop hits the ground. The low rumbling of the thunder that makes it sound as if the sky is fasting. There is a soft wind whistling through the trees. Some drops land closer to the window sill making a louder splat than the others. One drop here, another there, it comes down slowly at first but is beginning to pick up speed. The constistency of the soft rain is soothing and as I sit with my eyes closed my mind slowly drifts off to sleep. The sudden grumblings of thunder bring me back to wakefulness only to leave me peacefully listening to the rain again.

The smell of rain is my favorite scent on earth. Everything smells fresh and clean; pure once again. In a world that is always moving and ever increasing in speed it's the smell of rain that brings me to a halt. It's as though the rain is begging me to stop and breathe it in deep. Inhaling al that freshness is invigorating and calming at the same time. It focuses my mind to the things that are truly important. Exhaling I can't help but smile as a sense of inner tranquility envelops me. At this moment all is right with my world. 

Insomnia

Ahh...Sleep, what a wonderful thing it is to crawl into a nice warm bed, pull up the covers so you're snug as a bug, nestle into that fluffy pillow and just relax. You let every muscle in your body go loose, every bit of the days stress just releases into the covers surrounding you. You cuddle up in your favorite sleeping position, close your eyes, and try to picture a beautiful field of lush greenery, butterflies everywhere you look...but the image won't stick....your mind starts to wander...what time is my appointment tomorrow...did I lock the door...what am I going to do about this problem, and that problem? You toss and you turn, but the harder you try to fall asleep the more awake you are. Finally out of frustration you throw back the covers screaming, "I give up". Sleepily you wander into the kitchen to grab some cookies and milk, then you plop in front of the tv for some mindless entertainment until you finally drift off to sleep.

Am I the only one who goes through this? Sleep seems to be a precious commodity that I don't get much of anymore. As a teenager I had no problem functioning on very little sleep. I could easily stay up all night reading my favorite mystery novel then get up and go to school in the morning. Now, that I'm older I need every bit of sleep I can get. As a kid getting sent to bed early was a punishment, now I view it as a reward! I recently read a saying that said, "Adults without sleep become tall two-year-old's". How true is that!?! When I don't have the sleep I need I feel like a tall toddler who simply wants to be tucked into bed and left alone.

Bedtime is upon me and the tossing and turning has commenced. I'm sitting here eyes half closed, wanting nothing more than to slip away to dream land. Hopefully I will get a bit of this precious gift tonight, but if not there's always the cookies and milk!

Clearing out the Negative

Have you ever had one of those days where all you wanted to do was cry? Maybe something super sad happened like the death of a loved one or loss of a job. Perhaps you simply saw a sad movie, stepped on a lego, or ran out of chocolate. No matter the reason for them, tears can be very cathartic.

Life is full of it's up's and down's and I often have days where I just feel like curling up in a ball and crying. I want to cry out all my anger, fear, frustration, worry, and stress. Society tends to look upon tears as a bad thing, a sign of weakness; I disagree. Experience has taught me that tears are the bodies cleansing our hearts. They free us from all those negative emotions we are feeling and bring us to a place where we can begin to feel peace.

One of my all time favorite TV shows is One Tree Hill. It is full of amazing quotes about life. Here is one of my favorites:

"...cry out all their tears to make room for a heart full of smiles" How precious is that!! It's totally true! When your heart is heavy and weighed down by sorrow tears release the pressure of that weight and make room for  a heart of smiles, sunshine, peace, and hope.

Next time you feel like sobbing into the closest pillow don't hold back. Let it all go, let the tears flow, and free yourself from the negative emotions that are closing in on you. Give yourself a break, we all deserve one now and then! Have a good cry, eat your favorite dessert, and then move on with the hope that tomorrow will be a brighter day.

Luvs & Hugs
Tiff