Movie Date!

Saturday Night is our designated "Movie” night. 

It’s either we catch the latest on the cinema or someone gets a movie or we find something on a cable station and watch a movie together as we are eating pizza. 

It has been like a family tradition and my kids grew up with our Saturday dates.

We even have a mini theater room made for my movie buff husband and son.

It’s always been fun and each time has always been special to me.

Allow me to share how we  make movie viewing more fun, and use this activity a bonding time for the whole family.

At the movie house:

·        Agree on which movie to watch

·        We try to catch  an earlier show time to avoid the crowds

·        Dine at a favorite family restaurant before or after the show

·        Sometimes, we buy souvenirs from the movie

At home:

·        Agree on a pre-selected title for home viewing, or we surprise them - with an old favorite or a new release

·        Serve popcorn, chips, and refreshments (pizza is our favorite)just like in the movie house

·        Dim the lights and turn on air conditioning to set the mood

·        We either watch in the theater room, or huddle in our bed

It's difficult to spend quality time with the family when everybody seems to be busy.

But by adding just a couple of routines into a schedule, families can recapture their time together and reconnect.

Happy weekend!

Simple Pleasures

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”. This age old saying still holds meaning in today’s world.

I believe that I have mentioned in my previous blogs that Autumn is without a doubt my favorite season of all. 

The chill in the air, the changing color of the leaves on the trees and the dark cozy evenings.  

Lovin’ it!

When Autumn came , my husband and I decided to have our morning walks. 

I am always excited about our morning walks.

There's just peace and calm everywhere. 

And there are also a few people on the road.

 Some like us were enjoying the early hours of an autumn morning.

This morning we took a longer walk than we usually do. 

The light was really nice, autumn colors deluxe on the falling leaves and the air was super crisp. 

The sky was turning a shade of deep blue from black. 

It seemed the blue was chasing the black all over the sky.

It  is not only the walk itself that is good. 

It’s so lovely to come back home again with cold cheeks and to sit down with a nice cup of warming tea.

Tiny everyday pleasures that carries a lot of happiness...

Holiday Decorations…

The Holiday Season is here and thinking about bringing out Holiday Decorations. The Holiday Season is here and thinking about bringing out Holiday Decorations. Seasonal holiday decorating for me , typically starts in October for Halloween, not ending until after New Year.

Decorating our home for the holidays is not really that daunting for me. With a little planning, you can unpack, decorate, repack and store precious holiday decorations in a systematic way that saves time and space. It is very important that you store these decorations properly so that it’ll be easy for you to unpack them if you need to.

In packing your decorations for storage:

Evaluate your decorations. Throw out broken ones you’ll never fix, give away those you haven’t used, don’t have place to display, or don’t like. Keep only the most important decorations.

Have the right storage boxes and store them properly.

Room by room, gather all decorations. Put them onto a large, central table or at least all in the same room. There’s nothing worse than thinking you’re done only to find a nutcracker high on a bookcase. Look, look and look again.

Carefully wrap and store the rest, labeling boxes as you go. When you know everything fits into a container, you can continue replacing decorations into the same box, year after year, knowing everything fits.

Easy. 

If you have these things stored and organized properly , it’ll save you time and effort if you need to use them again…

Remembering Loved Ones

It’s that time of the year again.  

It’s Halloween and everybody gets excited with all the trick or treating and costume parties.

But a  part of me is also remembering loved ones who have passed away.

I miss them.

This was a beautiful poem that was read in a funeral service and I believe it will bring encouragement to anyone who has lost a loved one.

Safely Home

“I am home in Heaven, dear ones; Oh, so happy and so bright!

There is perfect joy and beauty In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief is over, Every restless tossing passed;

I am now at peace forever, safely home in Heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly Trod the valley of the shade?

Oh! but Jesus’ arm to lean on, Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely, For I love you dearly still;

Try to look beyond earth’s shadows, Pray to trust our Father’s Will.

There is work still waiting for you, So you must not idly stand;

Do it now, while life remaineth–You shall rest in Jesus’ land.

When that work is all completed, He will gently call you Home;

Oh, the rapture of that meeting, Oh, the joy to see you come!”  

~Unknown

The pain of losing someone you love so deeply cannot be described with words and going through the grieving process cannot be escaped.

Even though they are not with me there is not a day that goes by

that I think of all the good times & they  bring  a smile to my heart.

♥♥♥

Halloween!

Embracing the spirit of the season.

Halloween can be such a fun time of year! Dressing up the kids ( I can’t do that wit my Louise and Matty anymore, teenagers) , decorating the house (My front yard has been halloween-fied!), eating up the candy, and of course, seeing all the ghouls and goblins that come to the door begging for candy.

 At this time of year, I also like to wander around my neighborhood and see what others are doing for Halloween. 

I love other people’s decorations and I have some sweet neighbors who spend  time decorating their homes for the season. 

Bloody hand sticking out of the mailbox. 

Mailbox covered in faux cobwebs. 

Mammoth spider strung from the balcony. 

Tombstones in the yard. 

Severed head hanging from the garage. 

You get the grim picture.:-)

I’m looking forward to see trick or treaters on our front door this Halloween  My kids had their share of trick or treat moments and one thing I’m sure of is that trick or treaters loves Halloween candies!:-) 

Favor and treat candy bags are one of the adorable Halloween stuff that everyone loves, especially kids.

I think I should start preparing for trick or treat time..:-)

I love CHOCOLATE!

Chocolate is my favorite.

.

Dark Brown, creamy and yummy chocolates, they are admired by the entire world.

Infinite variations of this food product is found in the planet earth, the recipes include fresh chocolate cheesecakes, cookies , brownies, tasty truffles, desserts and the list goes on and on and on.

I truly don't understand when people say they don't really like chocolate! How is this possible?

Chocolate, which is derived from beans located on the inside of bright yellow and orange pods that grow along the trunk of the cacao tree, has a complex chemical make-up.  According to this website, the chocolate we eat contains over 600 chemicals.  Don't be alarmed by the sound of this - many of these chemicals are responsible for what enhances our mood when we eat it!

Chocolate also naturally contains “uppers" like caffeine, sugars, and phenylthalymine, which will make your heart pound a little harder, your breathing come a bit more quickly, and give you a feeling of alertness. The effect is not dramatic enough to be uncomfortable in most people; it’s mild enough to produce a pleasant “high," which is often equated to the feeling of being in love.

Chocolate my pathway to enlightenment. I actually associate it as my comfort food.

I love it when I want to write something. It can boost your brain same thing goes to COFFEE!

I just love chocolate!YUM!

Home Organization – Everything has a place

Do you ever find yourself moving the same thing every time you want to get to something behind it? Are you regularly searching for keys, cell phone or other items of daily use?

Organizing your home can be a daunting task when the piles are overflowing, the laundry is scattered, and the office is flooded in papers.

Getting organized is a great way to reduce stress.

Here are some important tips that really worked for me when it comes to organizing my home.

Plan your Strategy

Be realistic in your goal of organizing your home. Plan your strategy according to a time schedule.

 Everything should have its own home.

To keep your life organized, you must assign a home for all of the objects in your house. Have a specific place for your keys, pens, pencils, incoming papers, and mail. There are  a variety of organizing tools that you can use , including drawer organizers, shoe racks, magazine racks, filing cabinets, drawers, and shelving units. Make sure that everything has a proper holding spot. If an  item has been removed, make sure that it is returned to its place when no longer in use.

 Reduce Clutter

One of my favorite organizing tips is to dump it!

Get rid of things you haven’t used in one year, things you really don’t like, or things that are broken. If you do nothing else, you will see space you never realized you had.

Organize Your Drawers

Start by removing all of the junk, go through the remaining items and sort them into 3 piles: stuff you want to keep, stuff you’d like to give away, and stuff that needs to be put somewhere else. One of the best ways to organize these piles is to use large boxes or bags and label them “Keep“, “Move“, “Trash“, and “Donate“.

Now put everything that you want to keep back in the drawer. You should now have a much smaller pile. To keep everything nice and organized, I would recommend getting a drawer organizer. A drawer organizer can be especially useful for organizing office items such as pens, paper, tape, scissors, staples, and paper clips.

Keeping your home organized is an ongoing process.

So, what are your best organizing tips? I’d love to hear about them :-)