Shoe Love

Today's Beautiful Thing is my cute new shoes. I just opened the box and fell in love on the spot. :)

Something to Look Forward to

Today's Beautiful Thing is making plans. The hubby and I reserved a room at a cute little hotel near the place my cousin is getting married on the 19th. It will be nice to go early and relax at the hotel before the wedding and not have to drive home afterwards. :)

Dinner for Four

Today's beautiful Thing is dinner with friends. Our neighbors took us out to dinner--their treat. That was a beautiful thing to do!

Joe

Today's Beautiful Thing is Joe, Jill's husband. He's been keeping us informed on Jill's progress after her surgery (she's doing well, in case you were wondering). Thank you, Joe. It's been great getting those updates.

Hibernating Flowers

Today's beautiful Thing is unexpected flowers. In the flower pots on either side of the porch are some pansies. They're pale yellow with a splash of pink and a little crispy around the edges. Today, some bright red flowers from last year popped their heads up in the same pots. We didn't even know they were sleeping under there! What a bright and cheery surprise.

Compliment

Today's Beautiful Thing is a compliment from a friend on my weightloss. It made me feel good. :)

Jill's Good News

Today's Beautiful Thing is Jill's very good news. Jill, I love you and I will be praying for you all day tomorrow. Smooches!

Relaxing

Today's Beautiful Thing is a relaxing evening. The hubby didn't want dinner and neither did I. Later he nuked himself a snack and I cuddled the dogs and didn't feel the least bit guilty about it.

Easter Dinner

Today's Beautiful Thing is Easter dinner with family. I had fun baking a cake, wrapping gift bags & making my niece's Easter basket. I hope you all have a very happy holiday!

Cute Pups

Today's Beautiful Things are my cute pups. I love them. They make me smile. Sometimes I watch them for hours, my heart warmed by their friendship.

Wine & a Movie

Today's Beautiful Thing is indulging in a glass of wine and watching a movie with the hubby. I hardly ever drink any more, but it's a nice treat once in a while.

Virtual Gifts

Today's beautiful Thing is a gift from a friend. B sent a virtual badge of honor to her friends (including me) today. Since a lot of us have been going through some trying stuff lately, it was the perfect little pick me up. Thank you, B.

(If you're interestd in purchasing the badge or something like it, check out the So Charmed Etsy store.)

Excel

Today's beautiful Thing is Excel. Really! My boss taught me how to make Excel do all kinds of math for me. How cool is that?!

Kong

Today's Beautiful Thing is Kong dog toys. Lulu and Ace can't stop playing with them. :)

Dog Pile

Today's Beautiful Thing is a pile of pups on the loveseat. How cute are they!?!

Easter Candy

Today's Beautiful Thing is the taste of Easter candy. I bought some jelly beans, marshmallow ducks & bunnies, and Cadbury Mini Eggs to decorate an Easter cake. I put some away for next week and we munched on the extras.

Staci

Today's Beautiful Thing is my cousin, Staci. I had a wonderful time at her bridal shower and I can't wait for her wedding next month!

Pictured: my cousin Kari- married 7-7-07, my cousin Staci- to be married 4-19-08, me- married 10-4-92. Kari was one of my bridesmaids; Staci was one of my flower girls!

Bonus Beautiful Thing: Looking at those photos from Kari's wedding makes me smile. I'm 35 pounds lighter now and I can really see it--finally!

Giftie Time

Today's Beautiful Thing is buying shower gifts for my cousin Staci, the bride to be. Mom gave me her money too, so I got to buy some nice stuff off her registry. :)

Friends

Today's Beautiful Thing is Friendship. I saw my old friend Chris today. I also saw my hairdresser, Julie. It's nice to catch up with both of them every couple of months.

Making Up for Lost Time

Today's Beautiful Thing is making up for lost time. The hubby and I spent the day shopping, lunching and gabbing with my cousin, and the night having dinner and gabbing with her parents and my mom as well. We had the BEST TIME. All of us wondered what took us so long to get together. Time is precious and it flies by too quickly. Send an e-mail or pick up the phone and contact someone you haven't talked to in a while. You'll be glad you did.

Family Reunion

Today's Beautiful Thing is a family reunion--my aunt, uncle & cousin are visiting from the east coast. My husband and I saw them three years ago, but my mother hasn't seen them in 35 years! It was so nice to get togeher with them tonight and we'll get to see them tomorrow too.

Quick 'n Easy!

Today's beautiful Thing is Bertoli Frozen Mediterranean Style Dinners. They were on sale and I had a coupon, so I thought I'd try them. Most of them were too high in fat, but the Garlic Shrimp, Penne & Cherry Tomatoes only had 11 grams of fat and, IIRC, 340 calories per serving! One bag feeds two people, just pop it in the pan for 10 minutes--just long enough to make a salad and heat some nice crusty bread. Enjoy!

Clean House!

Today's Beautiful Thing is the sparkle and fresh smell of a clean house. We spent quite a while cleaning the house this weekend and it really shows. I can't wait for our company to get here on Wednesday!

Meet 'n Greet

Today's Beautiful Thing is attending a monthly meeting with friends. I always look forward to the second Saturday of the month.

Lani's Ladies

Today's beautiful Thing is Lani's Ladies. These ornaments are so cute! Each and every one makes me smile.

Phone Call

Today's Beautiful Thing is a call from my cousin. She, my aunt & uncle will be visiting us next week. They live back east and I've only seen them a handful of times in my life, so I'm excited.

Easy Peasy!

Today's Beautiful Thing is a home cooked meal that was easy to prepare. I browned chicken breasts and cooked them in pasta sauce and served them with some thick hearty imported Italian pasta, steamed zucchini, and a crisp green salad. A sprinkling of low fat mozzarella over the top gave it just the right flavor. Mmmm...

Another Primary

Today's Beautiful Thing is yet another Tuesday Primary Night. The hubby suggested we order a pizza--and too bad we couldn't have a small party. This is our version of sports. :)

Mojito Cake

Today's Beautiful Thing is the lovely S. She brought her famous mojito cake to work today and it was deeee-licious! I hope she'll share her recipe. :)

Making a List

Today's Beautiful Thing is a productive weekend. There is much to do around here, but I made a list and I'm crossing things off.

Clean!

Today's Beautiful Thing is our second-hand carpet cleaner. We bought it from some friends who were moving. We helped them out; they helped us out. I used it for the first time today and it worked very well.