Big Apples & Beautiful Plants
The big apple and beautiful plant on my desk!
These past couple of weeks I have been in a bit of a funk…. Some little unexpected things happened that I let pile up and bother me. Instead of letting these incidents roll off of me and turning my focus towards the many blessings in my life I let these little disappointments and inconveniences capitalize too much of my energy.
All I have to do is look around me to how truly see blessed I am and yet at times I struggle with being content. My negative attitude is not benefiting myself nor those who are in close proximity of me (family, friends, co-workers). In reality it is probably pretty toxic to myself and those who have to be in my presence. While my life is not even close to being “perfect” mostly because I manage to mess it up more than I care to admit, it really isn’t bad by any means either. There are a lot of people that are going through far more challenging situations.
As I was thinking about some of these recent events, situations and incidents that got me into this little funk I was reminded of big apples and beautiful plants. I know it sounds random, but sometimes it’s silly little objects that help bring clarity and focus to my messes of life. Often times these objects remind me of the person who thoughtfully and gave or made them for me which in return makes me smile.
My husband will randomly get me something that he knows I will enjoy. An apple is a common fruit found in my work lunch, one day he surprised me with a very large apple as my work snack. It made me laugh because the apple was so big it barely fit in my lunch bag and ended up being part of my snack and lunch. I love all kinds of plants and flowers, however, I have a black thumb which means it is a miracle if I keep a plant alive for a year or more (yes, I have managed to even kill a cactus….). One day he brought home an adorable potted plant for me. I took it to work and had so many files on my desk that day that it ended up finding a home next to my monitor and in front of my main work space. He is thoughtful and knows how to make me smile. The photo above is the day I had the big apple next to my beautiful plant. While these are just two visual examples of ways I am reminded of him and the many blessings in my life there are many more if I take a moment to look around me.
Unfortunately, there are many days when I am busy with tasks that I overlook the big apples, beautiful plants, and the many other little reminders of the multitude of blessings in my life. Some days I get sucked into tackling a variety of “to do” items or choose to focus on disappointments which tend to weigh on me instead of working hard while appreciating the positive blessings all around me. It’s time to break out of this funk and remember who really is in control of my life. When left up to myself I get off track, my focus is not on what truly matters in life, and I am not the easiest person to hang around. I am ready to get back on track, anybody else ready?
A few ways to encourage us to turn our focus towards positive blessings:
- Look – What do you see around you that makes you smile or brings are certain special person to mind? You probably have more blessings than realize you once you take a few minutes to look around and think about it.
- Relax – The to do list is always growing, don’t set unrealistic expectations for yourself. You can relax every once in awhile without being considered lazy, it’s actually healthy for us.
- Breathe – Take a few deep breaths, it helps clear your minds and relaxes your body
- Focus – Choose to focus on the good parts of your life. The hard times and inconveniences will come, but they do not have to monopolize all your time and energy.
- Time – Spend quality time with family, friends, and people you love. Life really is short, make a point to invest time in people.
Here’s to a life full of many blessings! May we always remember what’s truly important and if we forget hopefully we’ll get back on track quickly.
Beautiful Plants & Basket from My Thoughtful Husband
Love it when he surprises me with something special!
My husband brought home these plants as a surprise for me a couple weeks ago. He is sweet and I love it when he does the random thoughtful gifts. My only regret is that it was such a busy weekend I did not take a picture of the beautiful basket with both plants green and blooming.
At this time only one plant is still alive. Yes, I have already killed the miniature rose bush. I love the mini roses, but have a horrible time keeping them alive for very long. You can see pieces of my sorry looking rose plant beside the one that is pretty and still green.
I love plants and flowers, however, I am not the best person to grow them. Usually I either over or under water them. I like the ones that are easy to maintain and can handle wet or dry soil and withstand lots of sun or no sun. In other words a very strong and durable plant that handles extremes well. Grateful for a thoughtful and caring husband. Love my plants and basket!!!
I love the basket the flowers came in and have already used it a couple of times since he gave it to me!
It has been fun using this basket for surprises and goodies! Thankful for my husband and everything he does for me.
Vacation: “Sky Safari Zip Lining ” – Basseterre, St. Kitts (Part 2, Pictures)
The following are some pictures from our day in Basseterre, St. Kitts!
We arrived in Basseterre, St Kitts! We had a fun time exploring the capital of St Kitts. Basseterre was a neat place to walk the streets and meet people. They had monkeys you could take pictures with after getting off the port, if you wanted a picture with the monkey you had to pay $20. You learn quickly to say “no, thank you” because there can be so many people asking for your attention.
Dad getting an aloe massage! While the rest of us were walking through the shops Dad sat down for a few minutes at a table and ended up getting an aloe massage. The guy said he looked 20 to 40 years younger after the massage, it was pretty funny to watch!
Sailboat Cruise Ship, really neat! There was a sailboat cruise ship at Basseterre, St Kitts. We encountered a lot of amazing boats during our vacation!
Coca Cola appeared to be a universal soda of choice in many of the islands! Coke was a popular sign no matter where we went. Here is one of their advertisements painted on the side of a building in St Kitts.
Building a house in Basseterre, St Kitts! A construction crew working on a home. Often times they would go ahead and run the pipes before building the next level that way they had a head start when they were ready to build again.
Beach at Basseterre, St Kitts St Kitts had beautiful turquoise water and white beaches. We didn’t make it to the beach that day because we went on the Sky Safari but we heard a lot of great feedback from other people on the ship.
Catch of the day, Basseterre, St Kitts! The catch of the day! The fish were almost as big as the fisherman carrying them. One of the big industries in St Kitts is fishing. These guys are rinsing off some of their fish they caught earlier that morning.
We made it to our Sky Safari Zip Lining Adventure! We arrived at our excursion. They took us by bus to the Sky Safari Zip Lining adventure! It was a beautiful place and soooo much fun going on the zip lines.
Standing in the Botanical Gardens overlooking the town and ocean! Amazing view while standing in the Botanical Gardens and overlooking the town and the ocean. It was a breathtaking site, absolutely beautiful!
Fresh coconut in Basseterre, St Kitts Fresh coconuts were hanging in the trees all over the island. They had a spot where there were so many coconuts they just couldn’t eat them all. Almond trees were in abundance as well.
Beautiful flower in the Botanical Gardens, St Kitts! Beautiful flowers in the Botanical Garden in st Kitts! They had interesting flowers, trees, and artists to see!
Fresh Fruit on the trees in St Kitts! A tree loaded with fresh fruit, I think these were the goya fruits. Very popular in the islands!
Local artist in St Kitts demonstrating how she uses wax, paint and canvas to create her paintings. A local artist showing us how she does her paintings with wax and canvas. Each color takes a day to paint and dry some paintings take days before they are complete. Very interesting to watch.
Flowers & Bench at the Botanical Gardens in St Kitts! Beautiful white bench with flowers peeking through at the Botanical Gardens on St Kitts! They had plenty for flowers, plants, and trees to see or you could just relax on one of their benches.
Neat "Wagon" Wheel Bench in St Kitts! I really thought this wagon wheel bench was pretty neat. The Botanical Gardens had great stuff to see or you can take a moment to relax and enjoy the surroundings while we were visiting.
A friend running past in the Botanical Gardens! We saw several lizard or iguana type animals during our excursions. Although it was neat to see them running around I was thankful they wanted to keep their distance from everyone. I think our guide called them ground lizards.
Old Sugar Mill in St Kitts Sugar Cane was once very popular industry on St Kitts (and many of the other islands). This sugar mill was no longer active but was very neat seeing how they use to make the sugar from the cane.
St Kitts form of Poison Ivy! This is St Kitts form of poison ivy, none of us volunteered to touch. We decided to take our guides word for it on that one. No one was wanting any type of poison ivy reaction on our vacation.
Apples growing in St Kitts This is a St Kitts apple growing in their tree. Almost everywhere you walked you could see fruit growing in trees. Even though the apples are not the same as ours I am sure they are delicious. They don’t eat the skin on their apples.
Very thorny tree in St Kitts! This tree was near the Sugar Mill in St. Kitts, in the past it was said that when slaves first came to the islands they were tied up to these thorny tree for several days. I didn’t even want to touch it because the thorns were so sharp, ouch!
Jake's all geared up for the Sky Safari zip lining adventure! Jake all geared up and ready to go. My handsome man helped me get all my gear on as well. The hats and harness were pretty comfortable and everyone had a blast on the zip line. Fun times together with family!
Basseterre, St Kitts Goodbye Basseterre, St. Kitts hope to see you again! It was wonderful spending a day with you and we enjoyed all the fun adventures on your island!
A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
