Happy New Year! I can’t believe we are already a month into 2020! And, what a busy year it has been so far, with activities, a new puppy, preparing for a play production, and school activities.
Life Updates
Well, this month’s biggest update was adding our little Becksie, a Wheaten Scottie to our family. He is so full of life, funny, feisty, and thinks he is a big boy in a puppy’s body.
One of the perks of being a teacher is having a few weeks off for the holidays. Over the break, my mom and I took a trip to Universal Studios to see the Harry Potter World. I grew up reading the books and was so excited to finally travel to Hogwarts for the day and try butterbeer in Hogsmeade. Spoiler alert, I didn’t much care for the butter beer. I will be sharing more on our day next month.
My break ended with a fun filled day with my mom and her best friend since high school (wow) to see Frozen the musical at Pantages. I always love seeing plays at the Pantages because it is a relatively small venue and the art deco architecture is dazzling. What an amazing show filled with so much Disney magic!
Later in the month my Mom and I took a Saturday trip down to San Diego to visit the penguin exhibit at Sea World. While we were down there, we saw the Oosterdam, the cruise ship I used to work on before I started teaching. I hadn’t seen her in such a long time. Our day at sea world was so much fun. I can’t wait to share our experience. And we met M-209 an adorable macaroon penguin.
Love It
- For Christmas I gave my mom this necklace with Becks’ paw print engraved on the front and his name on the back. Needless to say, she loves it and wears it all the time. What a wonderful way to remember such a special little dog.
- Winter means I can expect to have dry itchy skin. I have added this body lotion to my nightly routine and it has made all the difference, and my husband loves it too!
- I can’t wait to wear this sweater on Valentines Day.
- One of my favorite lifestyle dog blogs, Pretty Fluffy wrote this book. It is a must have for any dog mamas, and if you look on the back cover you might notice a certain proud dog mama with her little girl Schenne Marie.
Link It
Just like all of you, I have my list of favorite blogs to read through daily. Here are a few links to blog posts and articles I think are interesting and noteworthy to share. Hope you all enjoy!
- I love animal and any time I come across an article relating the benefits of having pets, or how amazing they are you can bet I’m going to read it. This article gave me insight into what it means when your dog puts his paw on you. And, who knew dogs can do math while pictures of cute animals can help lower stress?
- Since I have such a long weekday commute, I have really become an avid audiobook listener. (In fact, since August I have listened to or read 56 books!). Since I now listen to so many audiobooks I was wondering if it was as mentally stimulating as reading. Turns out it is! This was a very enlightening article. Additionally, I loved this article about the most beautiful phrases in literature, who knew Ernest Hemingway could be so romantic?
- I am a big fan of Casey’s from DIY Playbook and her DIY projects, this one may be my favorite to date. Now to find a spot for some built-ins. I can’t wait to see the finished project.
- If you are an animal lover like me, I’m sure you were devastated about the loss of animal life in the Australia wildfires. Over 1.3 billion animals lost their lives. This greatly impacted me and I felt helpless until I came across this article on organizations I can support and this article on ways my crafts can support the animals. My thoughts and prays are with you Australia!
- This renovation was absolutely stunning. So much inspiration if you like classic decor with a modern twist.
I think it is safe to say that the horrific helicopter accident that occurred on Sunday, January 29, 2020 has left us all in disbelief. I can’t begin to grasp what all of the families are going through. So much love, so much devotion, so much dedication. Our community is mourning all the families affected, as we grapple with sudden loss and try and process it all. My heart goes out to every person affected and suddenly thrust into a journey of grief. It’s just so unfathomable. And, so we are yet again reminded of how precious life is and how we really don’t know how much time we all have together. Treat one another with kindness, love, and compassion. Always.
On The Blog
- I finally was able to get our front porch clean with this eco-friendly homemade concrete cleaner.
- I closed out 2019 with a remembrance of the year and a look at what to expect with the blog in 2020, plus my reader’s survey. It’s not to late to leave me some feedback.
- This past July my little buddy Becks past away unexpectedly. I’m remembering Becks in this post.
