Some days are diamonds and some days you lose one……..like today.  Somewhere in my travels, I lost the diamond out of my wedding ring.  And of course, I wasn’t at home at all during the day, isn’t that the way it goes?  I’m particularly sad because it was a diamond out of my late moms wedding ring and I really don’t have much of hers so I’m a little bummed out to say the least.  I know it’s just a diamond which can be replaced but I won’t be able to replace the sentiment I felt wearing that specific diamond, oh well, at least I have my wedding rings still and that’s what really is the most important part.  I’ll be honest though, I had a little cry and then remembered that I have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams but sometimes you still need to take a look around and remember some of the little things that brings you joy.  So I put on one of my favorite diffuser blends and sat down to do just that.

Here is my today list of 25 little things that bring me joy, in no particular order!

1. A perfectly popped bag of popcorn. You know what I’m talking about. The bag with no kernels left, I have this down to an art I might add!
2. Birds waking you up for the first time since Winter.  I will say that this gets a little old come the end of August when they start waking you earlier and earlier! But at the beginning of summer, I love it!
3. Waking up at 11 pm feeling like you’ve been asleep all night and realizing that you still have 8 more hours to sleep. Doesn’t happen often, but it’s amazing how it tricks your mind into thinking like you are getting extra minutes added to your day. Yippie! 
4. Climbing into freshly laundered sheets.  When I win the lottery, I intend on hiring someone to come in and change my sheets every other day, I love it that much!!
5. Chocolate peanut butter Häagen Dazs ice cream – those that know me, know that there is no other type of ice cream for me! Unless it’s a peanut buster parfait from Dairy Queen.
6. Giving someone on the street the last change in my purse. It might not be much, but I like to think that every little bit helps.
7. The first day you get to wear shorts after hiding your legs all winter. Well, except for the hairy white legs. Thank goodness for razors and self-tanning lotion!
8. A beautiful sunset / sunrise.  Especially when I get to watch them with the people I love! I’m always amazed by God’s paint palettes!
9. Laughing until your sides hurt and you can hardly catch a breath. In fact, I can do this all by myself and at myself, but it’s even better when you can share that with your friends!
10. Turning over your pillow in the middle of the night so you rest your head on the coolness of the pillow case. If I wake up for any reason during the night, I flip my pillow and am instantly ready to go back to la la land.
11. Listening to the rain on the skylight. We get a lot of rain and sometimes I like to just sit on the stairs and listen to the pitter patter of the rain drops.
12. Having a good hair day.  This usually only happens on the day that I have a haircut scheduled, but I’ll take it whenever I can get it.
13. Singing to my dog (cuz nobody else likes my singing) – and I mean nobody! And family, I don’t need you piping in here! 
14. Having coffee in our favorite deck spot with the love of my life. We have dedicated it as a no phone zone and this includes the Ipad or lap top. It is a place for peace and quiet, where we can just listen to the rustling of the trees and watch the boats out for a morning sail in the ocean.
15. My new Native shoes. These are the cool girls crocs! I was leery about the comfort, but I am amazed at how comfortable they are! They are easy to clean and look awesome with shorts, pants, you name it! Go get some, you will love them!  https://nativeshoes.com
16. New seasons of my favorite shows on Netflix.  Grace and Frankie, Bloodlines, House of Cards, The Ranch and more! We like to binge watch so Netflix, Crave and Amazon Video are a perfect fit for our house!
17. When things don’t make sense and you can’t explain why something is happening, but you have faith anyway.  I try to look for the silver linings but when it doesn’t jump out at me, sometimes faith is all I can rely on.
18. Listening to my grandchildren laugh with each other, especially when they don’t know I’m watching.  I am finding it so awesome to watch them interact with each other. We are lucky to be able to watch them learn to share, learn to problem solve, learn to compromise (or not) and encourage each other (or not). At any rate,  playing with their cousins will be something they remember for the rest of their life. 
19. Somebody telling you they miss you.  Usually this happens just when I need to hear it. My husband is great at reading me and sensing when I need to hear it.  He will call occasionally while he is at work just to tell me he misses me and it instantly brightens my day!
20. The smell of Cloves. The power of clove essential oil is unbelievable and luckily I absolutely love the smell! I don’t know what it is, but it reminds me of Christmas and I can’t get enough of it. When diffused it also works as a mental stimulant and encourages feelings of protection and courage and supports our health in a variety of ways (look it up, I dare you!).  
21. Camping trips. We love this! Sometimes we like to go it alone just my husband, myself and the dog but we also love to take the grand kids along for the ride!  It’s the middle of June and we are already hearing the kids asking if we can go, please…..please…..please?
22. The perfect pair of slippers. I have slippers in every room of the house. This way I can be sure my tootsies stay nice and warm and dry wherever I am.
23. Water gun fights with the grand kids.  Although I usually lose, it’s fun none the less and we make a habit out of doing it every chance we can. Every summer the guns get bigger and bigger. 
24. Climbing under the electric blanket that you turned on 20 minutes before bed.  And since my husband is like a furnace, we have one that has 2 separate sides so mine can be on and his can be off. It makes for a happy sleep time!
25. Finding the perfect gift. It always makes me happy when I find that perfect gift for someone, something I know that they will love and something they likely wouldn’t buy for themselves.

And the bonus joy is of course, cooking!  And because I love it I’m going to share this yummy Lemon Blueberry Muffin recipe! Of course, I found this recipe on Pinterest (Meatloaf and Melodrama) and I have now made them a couple of times and they have turned out perfectly every time.  I made one small addition this time around though, I added some Young Living Lemon essential oil from their Vitality Line and it just intensified the lemon to a whole new level.

The gal behind Meatloaf and Melodrama has 5 kids and I have no idea how she finds the time to blog, develop recipes, do DIY projects, shoot the pictures and everything else that life throws at her.  Hats off to you Dee!

Enjoy!