FINALLY! :)

First of all, I want to say ‘thank you’ SO much to all of you for visiting Loving Simple Moments as often as you have, and for all of your emails, comments, and encouragement.  I started blogging with the sole intent of forcing myself to write more often.  I hardly expected to make the friends I have.

You all have become a huge part of my life and although I haven’t met most of you, I feel as though special ‘blogging’ friendships have formed.  All I can say is ‘thank you’ for everything… and I hope you’ll follow me to my new little corner of the internet!  🙂

I’m SO looking forward to the fun blogging days ahead!!

So without further ado, let’s head over to:  JUST LIVE IT!

Almost there!

Hello, my friends!  🙂

I know that I was supposed to start my new blog today, but would you be dreadfully upset if I took one or two more days?  I’m just setting up a page or two and am so close to putting my finger on how I want this new blog to turn out!  🙂

Just a day or two more, I promise!!!

Thank you SO much for understanding!  I’m SO excited to share my new blog with you!  I’ll be remaining true to my writing style and there will be more stories of life in the country with my hubby and two cats…  But I’m hoping for a more upbeat feel, more dedication to putting out solid writing, and DEFINITELY more pictures, crafts, recipes, and VIDEOS!

Sorry for the wait and for not blogging at all these days.  I will do much better in the upcoming days, I promise.

Hope you are all doing well!

Nicole  🙂

A Day in Beantown

Over the weekend, I drove to Boston with two very special ladies — my sister Sarah and our friend Ashley.  (Ashley and I were roommies in college during my Junior year and have been best friends since).

(Sarah is on the left in that pic, and Ashley is on the right.  Apparently, I didn’t get the memo to wear blue, because I showed up wearing a black T).  😉  Oh, well, better luck next time!

It was THE most beautiful day, full of sunshine and cool breezes. I could have honestly sat in the Boston Public Gardens all day and just watched people walk by.  (Now that doesn’t sound creepy at all…).

The thing about Boston is that there is no shortage of things to see.  The history of America had some pretty important beginnings here.

And if you’re a foodie, Boston is a city of never-ending delights!

The girls and I decided to eat lunch at B. Good Burgers, which is a ‘fast-food’ restaurant that serves all-natural burgers (your choice of turkey, beef, or veggie) and baked fries.

Be still my heart!  My Goomba burger (topped with locally made swiss cheese and sautéed mushrooms) was as tasty was it was fun to say…   It was also about the size of my head, making it worth every penny.  (Oh, and the sweet potato fries were amazing.  ‘Nough said).

As if this wasn’t enough over-load for my taste-buds, we walked a bit further down Newbury Street to try some Froyo for dessert.

Sisterly love, in my book, can definitely be defined as enjoying Froyo together.  It’s like bonding at its best.

I ordered the peach flavor, and — WOW — was it amazingly delicious.  It was happiness in a cup…

Oh, and just to set the record straight, we didn’t spend the entire day eating in Boston.  Just like 3/4th’s of it…

We did do a lot of window-shopping along the shops in Newbury…

… and I found my future home.  You know, someday when I’m rich and tired of living in the country.  Because this apartment comes with its own private forest.  So perfect for me, my hubby, and our two cats, don’t you think?

What’s your favorite city?  🙂

Too many pictures

You know you’re married to a blogger when you check the storage space on your wife’s hard drive and find out that she is one photo or two away from crashing her computer…

I tried to convince Nate that this near-tragedy was actually a good thing.  I mean, I’m taking more pictures than my computer can handle.  Doesn’t that make me official or something?

He, however, wasn’t quite as amused by the fact that too many pictures of me smiling, holding up food, and posing with our cats had caused my computer to run at the speed of a snail ‘racing’ across our front lawn.  Pretty much, there was no speed.  I mean, you could plant a small garden in the time it took me to load a picture onto WordPress.

So I was without a laptop over these past few days as my hubby diligently transferred all those pics onto a newly purchased drive.

But the end result was fantastic, as my computer runs much faster… and it’s just in time for me to begin working on my new blog!

Now I just need to figure out how to access that drive to upload photo’s.  And I suppose I should figure out how many photo’s it can hold before it becomes in danger of being too full.  😉

12 days until I move to my new blog!!  🙂  Super excited!

Happy Mother’s Day!

You have always been there when I needed someone to talk to…

You taught me to be happy — and proud — of who I am, no matter what others might think…

You raised me to love and respect others, to fight for what’s right, and to treasure the things in life that really matter… which includes, but is not limited to, shopping for a new pair of shoes.  😉

You gave me advice on boys, faith, and the occasional mean girl.  You taught me to treasure my friends, to always put family first, and to make time for prayer every day.  And I must say, that as I get older, each year I find myself thinking, “Wow, you were right.”

Thanks, Mom, for everything.  I love you!!

Morning

Morning came way too early today…  I’m not exactly convinced that I had as many hours to sleep last night as I usually do.  Maybe there was a time warp or lapse or a black hole…  Something.  I’m pretty sure of it.

So I, of course, had to compensate by over-sleeping.  And taking a bit more time in the shower to wake up.

That’s just the normal response that any human would have, right?

So rather than take my time writing a very inspiring, humorous, or picture-filled blog post, I am writing about mornings.  And black holes.  And am now going to rush around the house at break-neck speed so that I will have time to get ready for work.  (This can be translated into, “I am now going to rush around the house at break-neck speed to get ready for work… not because I care at all how I look today.  I just want to have time to stop for coffee on my ride in.”).  😉

Priorities.  It’s all about priorities…

Happy Thursday.  🙂

I’m a good girl, I am…

I’ve pretty much always been labeled a good girl….  I’m sure that’s mostly thanks to my Christian upbringing, but also partly due to my personality, my love for anything pink, and maybe even the small collection of pearls I wear on special occasions.

I mean, after all, I’m sure that if I were to prefer much darker colors and long, pointy spikes instead, my label would be something different.

I’ll bet it would even help if I wiped the large goofy grin off my face and stopped posing for pictures when shopping for Mother’s Day presents.  (That pic was taken with my fuzzy, old camera. See the difference?)

Yep, that would probably help too.

Here’s the deal…  I like who I am.  I’m not perfect by a long shot, but I definitely try to be a friendly and outgoing and just an all-around good girl.

So why in the world did it bother me so much when — the other day — a girl said to me, “You are such a good girl.”

Maybe it was her tone?  Maybe it was because she was being sarcastic, and I realized that the term ‘good girl’ was being used in a negative light.  Maybe it was because I didn’t want to be on the outside looking in and if being a ‘good girl’ was the issue, then maybe I shouldn’t be so ‘good’?

Maybe it was because she added, “You really need to get out there and live a little.”

Funny, isn’t it?  How one person’s tone can make you think that maybe being good isn’t so grand after all?  Because in reality, this society associates being a good girl with not having a back bone.  With being prude and secluded and maybe even being shy.

Another funny thing is that this girl has lived in town her entire life, while I have actually traveled and lived out of state.  But apparently I’m the one who has to start living and experiencing things?

I can tell you that I’m not any of those things that she seemed to think I was.  I talk too much, and have experienced so much, and certainly don’t blush at the drop of a hat.  Just because I choose not to swear or to go out drinking every weekend doesn’t mean that I don’t have guts and even maybe a bit of a sassy attitude.  😉  It doesn’t mean I haven’t lived.

I’m just me.  And if that makes some people think less of me, then so be it.  If who I am causes people to make judgement calls that causes them tothinkthey know who I am, then that is their loss.  Because there is SO much more to this girl than just a smiley face and the color pink!!  🙂

Has anyone ever judged you by your appearance?  Have you ever been called a ‘good girl’ and not liked it, even if maybe being good is what you’re striving for?

Looking through my camera

It’s amazing how looking through the lens of a new camera can give you a fresh  perspective on life.

For example, I’m pretty sure that I don’t give my trash can enough credit for being as bright and cheery as it is.

It almost makes me want to write a post entitled Ode to Trashcan.  Well, almost.  But not quite…

And the red berries I pass every Sunday on my afternoon walk through the woods with Nate are so often over-looked.

And my little, yellow car….

Oh, who am I kidding?  I couldn’t over-look that thing even if I wanted to.

It’s amazing how we overlook so much color and beauty during the course of our day, mainly because it’s the familiar or the mundane… or maybe we’re just too busy to open our eyes.

Maybe we’re too busy to process… and see… and enjoy.  Too busy to ‘tiptoe through the tulips’ and actually notice them.

Too busy to sit down a moment and reflect.  (To be completely honest, in this pic, I’m reflecting on how bad my sister’s cat Humphrey’s breath really is.  But, hey, at least I’m reflecting).

.

It’s funny what a new camera can teach a person.

Life sure is beautiful!

What’s one beautiful thing that you noticed today, when you could have over-looked it?

Camping Plans

So I will be jumping over to my new blog on Memorial Day weekend, and I must say that I am quite excited.   Loving Simple Momentshas served me well, but I’m looking forward to a fresh start and some fun new additions (including video, if all goes well).

(Yes, I’m quite aware of the fact that I look half-asleep in that picture.  But I can’t get over how adorable those tulips are, so I liked the pic anyway).

I’m also CRAZY excited that I’ll be taking pictures with a brand-new camera!!  🙂  It’s a birthday present from my husband, even though my special day isn’t until June. Long story short, I was complaining so much about my current camera that he was convinced I was just going to buy one…. when he already had bought one for me.  So he scolded me a bit for forcing his hand… and then gave me the gift early.  😉  It is AMAZING, and I cannot wait to learn about all of its features.

AND the new blog will be just in time for my upcoming camping trip in June, which I will — obviously — need to document in great detail.  Because I’m going camping in a tent.  Yeah, no-TV-or electricity-or-mattresses camping.

The real deal.  The I-need-to-walk-a-mile-to-use-the-bathroom-or-shower kind of experience.

I actually grew up camping with my family, so I’m not inexperienced when it comes to putting up a tent, using a camp-stove, starting a campfire…  or hiding in a sleeping bag when there are strange noises crunching in the leaves outside the tent.  But it’s been awhile since I’ve done it.  As in six years, at least.  As in, I’ve gotten used to sleeping in hotels with running water, beds, air conditioning, and walls.

Nate first suggested it several weeks ago when we realized that our Hawaii trip planned for early next year was sucking all of this year’s vacation money.  It looked like we might not be able to go away this year, except for our trip to the cabin in the fall.

But the thing about camping is that it’s cheap.  About $20 a night cheap.  That and the fact that Nate has been begging me for years to go camping with him.  So we booked a campsite, and that was that.

A camping we will go!  🙂

Have you ever gone tent camping?  Do you like it?

Under Construction

No, it’s not winter in New England, despite my winter scene on the header of my blog.  😉  I apparently hit my quote for photo’s on the blog, so I’m rearranging a few things… and getting ready to jump over to my new blog. So bear with me, as things will be much nicer looking in a few days.  But for now, things could look a bit sketchy around here…  😉