Texas Lou

Happy Tuesday friends!  It feels like I’m always in a hurry these days, but here’s a quick list of gratitude to keep me mindful!

1. I’m thankful for a healthy heart, strong legs, and a nice day that allowed Ben and I to run the Charlottesville Ten Miler on Saturday.  We each got personal records for the distance and ran the whole time despite a lack of training due to cold weather, snow, illnesses, and overwhelming parenting duties!
   

   Ben and I at the finish line!

2. I’m thankful to my mother-in-law for everything she does for us.  She got up early on her day off and watched the boys so Ben and I could run the race Saturday.  She rocks!
3. I’m thankful for my 3 men!  The other day I was thinking that it finally feels like I have a family!  I’ve been missing this feeling since I went away to college and I finally feel complete again.
   

   Visiting Daddy at work on Friday!

4. I’m thankful for warm weather and sunny skies!  My 3 men and I have been going on lots of walks outside now that spring is upon us!  I hope to instill a love of the outdoors in my children so we’re getting out as much as possible!
5. I’m grateful for spring and summer!  There are so many fun things planned in the next few months, I can hardly contain myself!

Happy day friends!

Hi friends,

I’m super busy but here’s a quick list of gratitude:

1. I’m thankful neither of my boys caught either of the stomach bugs I’ve had in the last month.
2. I’m thankful for the health of my family and myself.  There have been a few deaths among my circles recently and it makes me realize how grateful I am that we are doing well right now.
3. I’m grateful for spring and warm weather!  We have had a few warm days in the past week, including one with a temperature of 82 degrees!  I’ve been able to get out for walks and runs the past 3 days!  It was a long winter but I think warm weather is here to stay a while!
4. I’m thankful that my Morgie got a clean bill of health from the pediatric urologist at his post-op follow-up visit on Monday.
5. I’m thankful for our physical therapist and the great strides she’s helped my boys make over the past few months.

Happy day!

Kind of a long title for a post, I know!

I recently discovered that an individual out there maintains a genealogical website about members of a branch of my family tree.  I’ve always been interested in genealogy so the website alone intrigued me.  However, I discovered that within his website, he was linking to a term paper I wrote my freshman year of college about my relative, Edward F. Mitchusson, who fought and died at the Alamo.

I had created a professional website a while back, leslieelsaifi.com, and linked to my term paper mostly as a way of being able to reference the document whenever I wanted and have a backup copy in the cloud.  I had no clue anyone else even knew it was out there, let alone linked to it!

It’s pretty cool that research I did almost 13 years ago is getting shared with others around the web!

Today I’ve got made thanks for the following:

1. I’m thankful that both boys slept all night because all 3 of us really needed it with fighting these colds!
2. I’m thankful we got through the time change this weekend without any major sleep issues.
3. I’m thankful for celebrations coming up…lots of fun baby showers and my boys’ first birthday party!
4. I’m thankful for a fun weekend that included brunch with my husband at World of Beer (awesome breakfast tacos) followed by the movie Chappie.  Then I got to meet awesome friends for dinner and drinks at Timberwood Grill for Collin’s birthday followed by cake and beer at his house.  Timberwood had Three Notch’d Brewery‘s new Biggie S’mores Imperial Stout that I’ve been wanting to try!  And to top it off, we took the boys to brunch at Fellini’s (they have a Make Your Own Bloody Mary Bar) with our awesome pals, Robert and Crystal, followed by a sunny, warm stroll on the Downtown Mall!
5. I’m grateful for my husband!  I love him so much and the older the boys get, the better partners in parenting we are becoming!

Happy day friends!

Hi All!  Here’s a long-overdue Thankful post.  Today, I’m thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful my boys haven’t caught the stomach bug that Ben and I had last week.
2. I’m thankful that both of my boys are sleeping in their cribs, in their own room, through the night now!
3. I’m grateful for my little family.  Last night, Ben and I just sat on the floor in amazement, laughing at our adorable little boys!
4. I’m thankful for spring time…it’s been a long, cold winter, but it’s March and we’re almost there!
5. I’m thankful for books.  One of my favorite things to do is to read to my little guys and I’m grateful for our little library of books that we have to choose from!

Happy day friends!

10 Things You Should Give Up To Boost Happiness is really great advice from Lifehack.org.  It includes the following gems:

1. Give Up Jealousy

2. Give up the Fear of Change

3. Giving up Control

4. Give up Overwork Time

5. Give up Blaming

6. Give up Complaining

7. Give up the Need to Be Right All the Time

8. Give up Limiting Beliefs

9. Give up Bad Friends

10. Give up the Past

I do alot of these, especially #1, #2, #3, #5, #6, and #10 and this article is a great reminder of the need to be mindful of what is going on in my head and how it can affect my happiness.

I have ALOT to be thankful for today!

1. I’m thankful that my Morgan made it through surgery safely and seems to be recovering really well so far.
2. I’m thankful for all of the prayers, good thoughts, and well wishes we received from friends and family.
3. I’m thankful for my mom, the nurse, who gave us lots of advice and support along the way.
4. I’m thankful for my in-laws who watched Carter while we were gone all day for the procedure.
5. I’m thankful for all of the amazing doctors, nurses, and staff at the University of Virginia Hospital who took such good care of my baby.
6. I’m thankful for Ben and his support during the very rough time for me as a mommy.
7. I’m thankful for God and his watchful eye over it all.

Happy day friends!

These are possibly two of the most intriguing and interesting blog posts I’ve ever read (and I’ve read alot of blog posts)!

The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence and The AI Revolution: Our Immortality or Extinction

I highly recommend these posts as well as most anything written by WaitButWhy.com.  They explore some really interesting and unique topics using a casual, informal, and entertaining manner.

If you are intrigued by the topic of Artificial Super Intelligence, as I am, I recommend these two free e-books about fictional rises of artificial super intelligence:

Manna and The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect

Disclaimer:  If memory serves me correctly, these stories contain some adult subject matter that may be disturbing to some.

Here’s another great infographic from happify.com:

Happy hump day!  Here’s what I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m grateful that both of my boys, for the time being, are finally sleeping well and mostly through the night.  I can finally get a semi-decent amount of sleep as well as feel less anxious about waking them up after they’ve gone to bed for the evening.
2. I’m thankful that my father-in-law was able to help us troubleshoot our broken shower so we didn’t have to pay a plumber.
3. I’m grateful that we have a spare shower to use while we wait for the new part for our broken shower to arrive.
4. I’m thankful for my flexible work schedule and an understanding and supportive employer.  Now that I’ve gotten into a groove going back to work, I feel like my part-time schedule is the perfect balance for a working mom, allowing me to spend the majority of my time with my family but also allowing me to make enough money to help pay our bills.
5. I’m thankful for Skype, cell phones, and technology which allow me to keep up with my family who live far away, most recently my mom and my cousin Megan.

Happy day friends!