Top 10 Things That Made Me Rethink Pool Day

So, my daughter had a sleep over and my husband and I come up with the bright idea of going to the pool. First, let me preface this to say that this an outdoor pool at our local gym...which means not only is it crowded, but there's a variety of people...all different shapes, sizes and ages.
As an avid people watcher with a serious case of A.D.D, this is a visual heaven for me. So what types of things did I see?!

• The kids that act like this is the first time they've ever been anywhere...obviously so because they are acting buck-wild!
•The puppy love couple that forgot that there's little children out here....obviously so because they are clearly touching each other inappropriately.
•The Life Guard that is more like Drill Sargeant or annoying hall monitor than a lifeguard....obviously so because every 5 seconds she's blowing her whistle.
•The parent that thinks it's funny to almost drown their kids...obviously so because the child is kicking, screaming and crying as the parent throws them in the deep end.
•The parent that thinks that floaties are babysitters...obviously so because as their child was drifting away, they were on their cell phone facing the opposite direction.
•The Daredevil 2 year old that thinks he's invincible just because he has a life jacket on...obviously so because the toddler gets a running start before diving in the pool like Evil Kanevil.
•The woman that forgot she was coming to the pool...obviously so because she's wearing two layers of makeup and every piece of jewelry she owns.
•The man that forgot it's 90+degrees outside...obviously so because he's wearing black jeans, blue long sleeve shirt with socks and tennis shoes. Oh AND a jacket!
•The wannabe model that mistook the pool for her personal photo shoot...obviously so because in between her walking back and forth (for no other purpose than thinking she was on the runway), she was taking selfies WITH THE DUCK LIPS!
•The hairy Italian stallion that has no concept of 'a little goes a long way'...obviously so because amidst the forest of hair he had on his chest, he must've rubbed a gallon of sunblock on...yea, it was white and greasy. Yuck.

We were there for 4 hours  and this is just the "Top Ten" folks!
The absolute worst thing I saw:
•The 12 year old in a Victoria Secret swimsuit. C'mon Mom&Dad, really?!
The absolute best thing I saw:
•The 8 month pregnant mom who was wearing an appropriately pretty and sassy swimsuit that swam and played with her adorably cute 4 year old.

So all and all, it was an interesting day. The girls had fun so that's all that matters...right?!  :) 

Who You Are

This month my oldest daughter turned 21. Just typing that makes me feel old. UGH!!

Now mind you, I also have a 22 year old son....but it's not the same. Seeing my daughter grow up into womanhood has been one of the most difficult things for me. She's not my little princess, my Barbie doll, my little Tinkerbell or little mermaid any more. She's an actual woman. One with aspirations and goals of her own...one with ideals that I no longer have control over...one that has her own opinions of the world, how it works and how she's going to live in it. (Honestly, she had her own opinions since she was 10 but that's a whole other blog story.)

I think back to her younger years...was there anything that I should have told her that I neglected to? Is there some secret to life, love and happiness that I've forgotten to share with her?

Coincidentally, through cleaning out my email, I came across this video. It resonates with everything I wish I could now convey or get through to my daughter...my princess.

I hope it encourages all of you. Have an AWESOME week because you are AWESOME!


If Every Woman Believed Every Word in This 3 Min. Video—It Could Literally Change the World – FaithIt.com

Hello Friend, It's Been Awhile....

My apologies, it's been almost two months since we've last talked...57 days to be exact.
In that time, I've often wondered "Are you waiting for me?"...Are you thinking, "What is that crazy lady up to?" I could give you a dozen different reasons of why I've been off grid...you know the typical excuses we all give..."been busy", "being pulled in different directions", "family and work stresses", "dealing with the kids"...ecetera, ecetera, ecetera. All of them are true, but none valid enough to neglect the commitment that I've made to all of you. Honestly, in this case (as in every), my A.D.D got the best of me. I kept meaning to log in (or more appropriately 'blog' in), but as my nature took over, I'd get distracted. Next thing I know, it's been 57 days and I'm thinking "Wow, has it really been that long?".
So, here's a brief synopsis of what's been going on in my little corner of craziness:

Currently I'm....

• Starting...a new weekly blog challenge
• Reading...Breakthrough by Joel Osteen
• Playing...less Candy Crush
• Watching...Once Upon a Time, Crisis, and Redemption
• Listening to...Alice Smith
• Wearing...more workout clothes than regular outfits
• Cooking...alot of fish and ground chicken
• Eating...more clean
• Drinking...more water and homemade smoothies and juices
• Wanting...carbs!!! (reason: refer to previous 3 answers)
• Texting...my eldest daughter who lives in another state
• Pinning...food and fitness (yes, I know. Counterproductive)
• Tweeting...coupons and giveaways
• Going...to the gym 4-5 days a week
• Discovering...that I like all of those annoying online surveys
• Loving...the warmer days
• Hating...that my youngest will be leaving me soon for summer vacation
• Enjoying...that my husband works from home now
• Thankful for...my mom and step-dad
• Celebrating...God's favor and grace over my family
• Feeling...bloated from tonight's meal
• Finishing...this blog until next time so I can lay my bloated self down!

Is it okay to be happy sometimes?!

So, this morning I'm going through my normal routine of running through all of  the different Social Media News sites and after 20 minutes I'm exhausted and feeling slightly depressed.
Articles like: "42 things that just wanna make you die a little" to  "Battling depression while on vacation" and "Why it's your fault your kids are out of control"....Not to mention all of the horrific real life news of the homeless, abused, and missing people. It really makes you value not only life in general but your life. I dare you  to watch or read an hour of local (or even world) news and I promise, unless you're completely desensitized, it will humble you.
It got me to thinking...Where is all of the good news? The fairy tales with happy endings? The "Wow!  That's so awesome!" The " Yay! What started out as Bad turned out Good.". Is there anyone out there that's just happy that they woke up today?
So, I decided to dig to find it. It was unbelievably harder than I thought it would be. I guess as a society we're starting to thrive on the unhappy.
*Side note: Maybe that's why there's so many successful, drama filled reality shows out there?!
Well, you know what?!
I PROTEST AGAINST UNHAPPY!
It's is ok to be happy. Sure, we all have our moments...and sometimes even the moments seem to last all day or week, but we all have something (at least one thing) to be happy about, right?  So why is it so hard to find in the media?
I give you all another dare....BE HAPPY!
Not only that, but profess it on the Web. Share your thankfulness and let the world know that it's OK to be happy sometimes.
Here, I'll start:
1. I'm thankful that I actually had a good night sleep despite my flat pillow that has been giving me neck pain recently.
2. I'm thankful that when I got up to wake up my daughter for school this morning it wasn't a struggle. That she was actually on time today and not rushing.
3. I'm happy that after my daughter left for school, my hubby and I were able to hit snooze and cuddle for a few more hours because we didn't have anywhere to be this morning.
4. I'm sooooo very happy that it stopped raining long enough for me to run into the gym and workout. (Although because I hate exercising,  the rain would've been a perfect excuse to skip today)
5. I'm happy that I even had the motivation and physical ability to exercise.(Oh, did I mention I hate exercising? )
6. I'm happy that I completed my entire workout without stopping...Even though Mr.Creepy Gym Man kept gawking at me.
7 . I'm happy that the sun is finally out and it's in the 70s considering it's been in the 30-40s for the past few weeks. (I hate cold weather almost as much as exercising)
8. I'm happy and thankful that I didn't get hit in the parking lot on the way home from the gym because it seemed like a few people were auditioning to be a driver for NASCAR.
9. I'm happy that I had all the ingredients to make my after workout smoothie without having to go to the store.
10. And of course, I'm happy for all of you....yea, yea, yea...I know, desperately cheesy right?! 
Anyways, find your happy. And if you can't, then just rejoice in someone else's.

Here's a little help to get you started:

" Instructions for a Bad Day"

Random Shout-Out...My new Love

Ok, as always, this is completely random and may seem a bit out of left field....and I promise this shameless plug is not a paid advertisement...I just wanted to share a new found love!
As of recently, I've been following a Facebook page that came to me by way of those tricky marketing people at Facebook through the suggested likes page. At first, I didn't think too much into it; I just clicked like and proceeded about my day. Then I got bombarded by the massive post from this page; at first I was ready to be annoyed and 'dislike'....but something said "just read one or two posts first". And WOW, now I'm hooked! Being a 'Mighty Girl' myself and mother of 2 awesome 'Mighty Girls', I found the stories and books to be very insightful and inspirational. That's why I wanted to share.
So, to all of the 'Mighty Girls' out there, here's a couple of my favs:


Love this fantastic "We Are All Wonder Women" print by Chicago artists and sisters Sarah and Catherine Satrun! 

When we shared this print a few months ago, it sold out quickly so here's your chance again -- it's available in the artists' Etsy store at http://etsy.me/1dqv8R5

If you or your Mighty Girl loves Wonder Woman, you can find Wonder Woman books, costumes, t-shirts, and toys in A Mighty Girl's "Wonder Woman Collection" athttp://www.amightygirl.com/character-collection/superhero-characters/wonder-woman

For more empowering depictions of female superheroes ranging from Batgirl to Buffy, visit our "Superhero Collection" athttp://www.amightygirl.com/character-collection/superhero-characters

And, for more girl-empowering wall art, visit A Mighty Girl's "Art & Decor" section at http://www.amightygirl.com/toys/kids-gear?cat=521

"Children are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate."

To find a few great role models to inspire your children, visit A Mighty Girl's collection of over 400 biographies of incredible girls and women from throughout history athttp://www.amightygirl.com/books/history-biography/biography

Brrrr! Rabbit

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced on yesterday a state of emergency for 45 counties due to a winter storm projected to surge into the state today (Tuesday) through Thursday. This, of course, was an attempt to get ahead of the ball...so that there isn't a shortage of salt or salt trucks, that we're not gridlocked and stuck on the interstate for 10-24 hours, having abandoned vehicles along side of and in the middle of roadways, have over 1200 traffic accidents, sleeping in grocery stores, or have children stuck on buses and in schools overnight. Bravo to him for thinking ahead and not wanting a repeat of the fiasco a couple of weeks ago.....But didn't he and other city/state officials get the memo when a similar situation happened in 2011?! I have to wonder what the people up North must think of us Southerners. By the way, I should tell you, I'm originally from Texas - a shorts and flip flops type of girl. so the fact that I've experienced temperatures below 75 during winter had me in shock. Seriously, I own one sweater....which I bought AFTER we moved here. So, can you imagine my reaction to snow?!!!
Well, Mr. Jack Frost, you will not win this time! I, with the help of Google, will be prepared!
In true 'rabbit hole' fashion of course.....

And for when your stomach starts to grumble.....

http://www.pinterest.com/princessfairygd/soup/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/winter.html

To keep the little one occupied, so I don't rip out my hair.....

Trust me, I've browsed through more than 50 (ok, maybe 100+) other sites....so this list can go on and on, but let's stop here for today.

With any luck, this time it will be less of.....

And more of.....

Keep safe and warm everyone!

Follow me down the rabbit hole.....

So, I wake up this morning to an overwhelming response to my first blog post.
 Side note-Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! :)
 Truth be told, I honestly didn't think there would be any interest. So anything more than 2 views (my husband and my mom), I'm ecstatic.
That being said, I felt anxiety and my mind spiraled....'Now what?!...What on earth was gonna be my second post....How long could I realistically sustain this....How long could I continue to capture everyone's attention...oh, and...Am I even doing this right?!'
Freakin' crap!!!
Ok, let me roll out of bed and do some research. Thank God for Google! OMG, wait a minute...so there's like ummm a bazillion hits for how to do a successful blog. How do I pick? Who do I trust? Is this gonna cost me any money?! Calm down, Enna....
 Let's start at the beginning.....There's how-to on adding pictures and videos, making money with affiliate programs, adding music, optimizing SEO, posting events, selling products..etcetera. etcetera...Ok, Enna, keep it simple stupid! Let's just look at the 'beginner/blogging for dummy' sites.Yeah, about 5 websites in, my A.D.D takes over and I'm on Pinterest and playing Candy Crush. Ugh!!  Let me just go downstairs and update Hubby. Maybe that'll get me focused (yeah right).
So, I talk things through with him. Of course he's excited for me. He gives me a few ideas and words of encouragement; then continues with his work. Sure that helped a little, but I still have butterflies. So, I start thinking again about how I'm gonna do all this...Hubby blurts out, "It's cold outside; especially for you." Did he just interrupt my deep thinking for a weather report?!!! "What are you doing today?", he says in a playful tone....workout?! Yep, today is workout day...It's 'I hate to exercise, It's 50 degrees but I better suck it up cause I'm trying to look sexy for beach time, But I REALLY REALLY HATE TO EXERCISE' workout day! Ok, fine! Off to the gym... Maybe that'll get me focused (yeah right).