They Say It's Your Birthday...

Well, hey, it's MY birthday too! What do you know?! And what a nice, pleasant birthday it was. I got one lovely surprise after another from this sweet little family of mine. Alani made me these healthy, wheat-y, oat-y, blueberry filled pancakes that I LOVE, God bless her!

But I couldn't eat them all so I shared them. So yummy! (Yes, that is peanut butter and yes, I eat it with my pancakes. It's a quirky thing my dad's always done and it rubbed off. Don't knock it till you try it.)

My sweeties also did a little decorating.

Luke got me some of my favorite lip glosses!

Alani got this great set of bracelets!

She also got me a cute grey cardigan sweater that I didn't get a photo of. I think it's called a fly-away cardigan. It's the kind that stays open, no closures. It's kind of like this.

Then my sweet husband got me some workout gear, which I'm super happy about because I use mine so much, they get kind of raggedy after awhile.

Super comfortable and they fit great!

I also got a CAKE!! (Yes, that's right, I'm talking about workout wear and cake straight after. I'm kinda crazy like that.) The reason this whole cake thing is so exciting is because I haven't had cake since the summer. That's a long time! Oh just look at the lusciousness.

And it has coconut on it! *squeeck

Of course it had to have the proper number of candles.

So if you want to know how old I am, you're going to have to count. Mwahahaha!

As I get older, I think we're going to have to get a bigger cake...to hold all those candles...not because I want more cake. Nope, not that.

Even though there was so many, I got them all out in one breath.

And just when I thought I may not get a balloon this year...

Alani's friend, Nick surprised me with one! And also a Starbucks card. (Thanks Nick!)

Which is really funny because it says "Thank you". They gave it to him through the drive-thru and he didn't look at it until he pulled away. But I think it's better than a birthday one!

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, and everyone I got to see and hear from! I feel so blessed and am thankful for each of you!! My oldest is sick so didn't get to come, but I will see you soon, Q!

If you had a birthday yesterday too, or today, or this month, I hope your day has been beautiful and full of love! Until next time, Taniya

My Run-Around Saturday And A Pretty Cute Mug!

When you spend your day running errands, it's best to have a little fun too! You don't want your whole day taken up with stuff you "have to do". We need to enjoy everyday as much as we can. So if that means going here after your grocery shopping, well then that's what has to be done.

I also needed food.

Chicken, brown rice...

and some greens!

This is what my fortune cookie said.

Wow! Wouldn't that be nice? While I was taking this picture our cat, Buttons, started eating the other half of the fortune cookie.

So I gave it to her.

While I was out and about I saw this lady in a parking lot surrounded by so many seagulls! She was feeding them bread.

There were a hundred more outside what my camera captured. 

Check out these cute shoes I wore for errand running!

My daughter's friend takes custom orders and paints them up for you, and she does a great job! Here's some more shots of this pair.

If you want to check out her work, look up Shoeshavesoles on Instagram!

And finally, last but not least, this cute mug I found that I'm sending to my friend.

How cute is that!?

Oh, and I got a cute birthday card today!

Now tell me, who doesn't love a frog on a motorcycle? (Thanks Dawn!)

Until next time, I hope you threw some good times into your day any old way you had to!

Taniya

A Chilly Day and a Throwback

Well Folks, we finally got some rain! Just a little, but it's better than nothing. California is in for a BIG time drought if we don't get some serious rain and snow, so we are literally praying for rain! Here is a shot of our cloudy, sometimes wet, day.

A new pair of fringe boots included! Which are super comfortable so I love them!

Now for a bit of a throwback Thursday, I thought I would show you this fun little gem I came across the other day.

This is my sister and Me on my cousin Michele's bed playing with Barbies. (I'm in the middle) I always had the best time with Michele because she was patient, kind and has loved kids for as long as I can remember. She used to say that she wanted to adopt ten kids when she grew up! 

I hope this brightened your day, even if you don't like rain! Ha ha! Happy Thursday :)

Praying for (more) rain in Cali, Taniya

Why I Love Activated Charcoal

Yep, you read that right. I LOVE activated charcoal, and I'll tell you why. Activated charcoal is some pretty amazing stuff! It has saved us many times from some pretty awful circumstances...like the stomach flu. If you ever feel some sort of stomach/intestinal disturbance coming on, take a teaspoon of charcoal in some water, drink it down and you will feel SO much better pretty quickly. This is what it looks like.

One day I read all about it and it sounded so wonderful I just had to get some for our family. And I'm so glad I did! It has saved my children from having to suffer through food poisoning and the stomach flu. While others who got sick at the same time as us were spending a lot of time in the bathroom, we were recovering. We've given it to friends and family members and even have neighbors who come by sometimes for a dose! Now don't go thinking you can eat that piece of toast you burned this morning and get the same benefit. Activated charcoal has been put through a process that makes it's surface be covered with super tiny holes or pores that bacteria, viruses, and fungus stick to, and then can be carried out of the body. This is what it looks like under a microscope. It goes through your body like a little vacuum sucking up all the bad stuff!

Hospitals have activated charcoal on hand to give to anyone who has swallowed poison, as do ambulances. It can also be used to whiten your teeth and freshen breath. It's also used on the outside of the body for skin problems. This is the kind I get.

It's from a company called My Father's Healing Herbs at www.healingherbs.biz but you can find it in other brands in capsules, soaps, even toothpaste at health food and specialty stores. 

My bag is getting down to the last few tablespoon fulls so I just ordered a new one and thought, "Why haven't I told the world (well, my tiny, little blog-readers world) about this crazy great stuff?" So here it is, folks! And I hope you never have to use this, but, my goodness, it sure is handy if you do.

Until next time, charcoal kisses from Taniya

Throwback Thursday: Our Grand Canyon Adventure!

Once upon a time (about 10 years ago), Clark Kent and our three little ones traveled to the Grand Canyon.

 And is it ever GRAND!! If you have never had the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it. It's a most amazing sight. Photos are just not the same as actually being there. My lovely friend, Dawn, and her husband and family, went too!

There's Dawn on the right. And that's me and little, tiny Luke.

Here's my handsome Clark Kent with two of our babies. Look at that amazing canyon in the background!

On our way there we had stopped in the woods to eat lunch. It was a long drive! Here's our oldest, Qiana (I don't know why she's wearing gloves) with Alani, who is holding a big cookie.

This is the cutest picture with little Luke peeking out of his daddy's jacket! It was October when we were there and it was chilly. We actually got a little snow! But it didn't stick around very long.

So this was our Grand Canyon adventure! I would love to go back some day. I think I would even love to live there! So beautiful, so peaceful. 

Happy Thursday everyone, and SMILE! Tomorrow is Friday! 

See you soon. Taniya

A Day In The Life of a Homeschool Mom

Today was a red letter day! No, not because we finished all of our schoolwork, but because I got some new jeans in the mail! See, I'm not one of those people that orders clothes online. I have to make sure they fit just right or I don't waste my time. So they MUST be tried on. But my favorite pairs of jeans aren't made anymore so I had no choice. Nothing fancy, just some American Eagle brand, but they fit just right. Which is very hard for me to find. I had a supply of them but over time (I hold on to my clothes for awhile) they got all ripped up.

So I was pretty excited to have some unripped pairs!

Good old Ebay!

Later we got some Chinese. Yum!

Violette kept looking at me like this.

So I gave her some chicken.

Then I painted my nails.

And last but not least, I put away the last of my Christmas decorations. Yes, I leave out my nativity sets the longest. Look at what I discovered when putting them away.

Instead of Joseph holding his staff, he has some sort of machine gun! I wonder who put that there. Probably this mischief maker!

I hope your day was full of happiness, family, friends, animals, whatever makes you smile! Until next time, Taniya

P.S. I also did this workout!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_PcO9bfRtk#t=836

Dad's Northern Adventure.

Several years ago, my dad and his wife bought a piece of property far from home. They were living in L.A. and had dreams of getting away. Really away! So they scoured the upper reaches of Idaho until they found five acres covered in cedar and pine.
For a while, Dad would make a trip up there once or twice a year to work on building the garage with a living quarters above. So they could move up, live in the garage apartment, while working on building the house.
Well, this summer their dream came true when they were able to pack their bags and head up to start a new adventure. And what an adventure it has been! There are art fairs and music festivals galore in the warm months. In the cold months there's lots of snow! They see deer and elk on a regular basis and a moose was found sleeping in their neighbors yard. They haven't seen one on their property yet but there has been evidence left behind of one passing through.

A couple nights ago they got about six inches of snow, which , being from Los Angeles, is an exciting event. They sent photos...because they know me so well and knew I would love it! Here's their pretty trees.

Maybe only Southern Californians are appreciating these photos but I am just so excited about going up for a visit. I can't wait until the house is done because then we can stay with them. They even sent a photo of the truck in the snow. Ha ha!

Here is a photo of the house. It's looks done on the outside but there's quite a bit of work left to do on the inside.

A couple days ago when this snow fell, the local news had a story about a man who robbed a convenience store of three thousand dollars worth of cigarettes. Apparently he'd left on foot because all the police had to do was follow his footprints in the snow and they led straight to the robbers house!
I hope this post brightened your day! Come on by now and then to see what we're up to over here. See you soon! Taniya