I’ve decided that I am deficient in gratitude.

Probably not more than the next person, but still.  Enough that I need to do something about it.

I think that being grateful is not something that comes easy for most of us. We have expectations. We feel slightly entitled.   Some of us just don’t know any different. We don’t know what it is like to really, REALLY go without.  We’ve always had clean water to drink and food to eat.

I am blessed to have a wonderful, caring husband and two sweet children that I adore. I have a house, a job and modest creature comforts. Yet still… I sometimes take these things for granted.  In my opinion, I lack a true, deep level of gratitude in many areas in my life.  I don’t tend to cherish the small things.

I want to cultivate a more grateful attitude.

I’ve heard it said that once you concentrate on something consistently for an extended period of time it becomes second nature to you.  A habit.

I’m banking on this.

For the next 32 days I plan on documenting my gratitude in a journal in the hopes that I will learn how to truly and deeply comprehend the blessings in my life.  A simple reaffirmation of the glass being half full, instead of empty.

You probably think that 32 days is an odd number… it is and it isn’t. The significance? My birthday. I would like to celebrate my birthday with an improved attitude and a more joyful and thankful heart.

I probably won’t subject you to 32 days worth of my musings, after all, it would get a little boring and a tad too personal. I just encourage you to play along if you want to and keep track of those things in your life that make you grateful and joyful, no matter how small. You never know, you might just surprise yourself!

“Gratitude consists of being more aware of what you have, than what you don’t.” –Unknown

My family and I spent the day on a family adventure exploring two lovely towns as part of the Eat, Drink, Buy Art program being coordinated by Maryland Life Magazine.

I’ve got to be honest, here. I’ve largely spent my “life” in the Western part of Maryland and quite frankly, have not given the Eastern counties much though except when passing through on my way to Ocean City. But in following this promotion, I have been pleasantly surprised to find so many lovely little communities! It has been so much fun making these discoveries. (I’d previously visited Snow Hill and Berlin as part of a fun girls’ weekend away.)

So, we packed up the kiddos and together embarked on a day trip adventure to the communities of Cambridge and Denton.

It turned out to be the perfect excursion. We enjoyed some real family time on the road and had a chance to just enjoy each other’s company. (Except for the part where my sons insisted on playing Michael Jackson tunes non-stop for 30 minutes. Yeah. Don’t ask.)

Things we enjoyed about Cambridge… mosaic murals everywhere! Lovely shops and shop owners.Water, gulls and the smell of the sea. Adorable cobble stone streets. Talented artisans. History.

And Denton was such a charming town! The atmosphere was laid back, the food was delish and it was the perfect fall day for exploring. (Just ask my boys who collected “the biggest leaves EVER!”)

If you are interested in seeing some pictures of Cambridge and Denton, click here. (Fan page on Facebook for Hip As I Wanna Be… more photos will be uploaded later.) If you live in the Maryland area, I would encourage you to check out Eat, Drink, Buy Art. You might be surprised at what you find when you go exploring!

Last night I took my family to see Disney on Ice in Baltimore.  So super fun!

My kids had a blast.  I had a blast.  My husband… well, he had fun but his Phillies are in the World Series so he was kinda preoccupied.

THE BEST PART?  I got to hang with my gals!  Lara of Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom and Mary of Pajamas & Coffee.  SA-WEET!

Together we make one fine group of, um, Hip Chicken Nuggets In Pajamas?  Well, whatever.  You get my point.

Not exactly the same as a girl’s night out but still, it was nice to connect for the night.

When you put us all together we have like, 382 kids so we DID have to pay attention to the little buggers and make sure we kept track of them.  Cause how bad would that look if we lost kids at a Disney show?

Actually, I am sure it has been done before.  And that might have made a good blog post, come to think of it…but anyway.

Want to see some more pictures? Check out my Flickr.

Wanna see my official review or get tickets?  Check it out here.

BUT ONE LAST THING… You know how I feel about Tinkerbell, right?  Well, last night she was there and I swear she was waving JUST TO ME.  No, not to those darling little pre-schoolers all dolled up in their fairy wings.  Me!

I can die happy now. 

Can I just say – DISNEY ON ICE – is coming to my town!!! (Baltimore)

I am so excited about this! I am a huge figure skating fan and have never had the chance to go see something like that live and in person.  And considering we just took our big family trip to Disney a couple of months ago – this is perfect timing.

So you can only imagine my reaction when I was contacted by the Disney On Ice folks to be a guest at the show next week at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore!

Why would I tell you this?  Because they are letting me offer my blog readers a discount on tickets!

Here are the details:

You can get a four pack of tickets for just $44 Monday-Friday (You must purchase a minimum of four tickets, however, more tickets can be purchased at $11 each.)

If you can’t swing it during the week you can still get $4 off per ticket for weekend shows.

Tickets are on sale HERE simply enter the coupon code MOM. (One thing though – This offer is not valid on Rinkside or VIP seating. It also  can’t be combined with other offers. Service Charges, Facility & handling fees will apply)

Hope you enjoy!

As a working mom of two young boys, well, I don’t EXACTLY get out much.  You won’t find me travelling to far away and exotic destinations and sipping wine on a veranda.

Notsomuch.

Except this past weekend I DID get away. On a girlie weekend, no less!  I know, right? Small miracle.

My BBF (Best Bloggy Friend, duh!) Mary, from Pajamas and Coffee, and I traveled to the Eastern Shore in Maryland to begin exploring various towns as part of Maryland Life Magazine’s Eat. Drink. Buy Art. program.

I’m gonna stop right here for a moment and state the obvious: You already know that I am a over-stressed mom who doesn’t get out much. If you read PJ&C then you are probably deducing that the two of us together might be an interesting combination…. and you would be right.  We had a BLAST!

We stopped in Snow Hill, MD first and visited with the most wonderful people.  Truly they were so welcoming!  We began as tourists and honestly ended up more like friends with the shop owners.  Take a looky at these photos. (While you are there become a “fan”of Hip As I Wanna Be!) How can you not fall in love with this town? Not to mention the fact that we were given a spur of the moment tour of Mary’s favorite house on the Eastern Shore – the Governor’s House. (She was in heaven!)

From there we traveled to Berlin, MD and lo and behold discovered a fiddler’s convention.  A WHAT?  Yes, a fiddler’s convention.  I had no idea either.

But I soon learned that it was a BIG DEAL in Berlin. Being a country music fan from way back when I lived in Nashville, of course I enjoyed the music.  Not only that, but during the course of our stay we ended up meeting some stellar folks in that town.  I’m not giving away all of our secret adventures (although Mary might) but l will say that because of this convention we ended up with a surrogate husband named Bill. We met him after being asked to photograph him and three of his lady friends lounging in bed together watching the golf channel. (Don’t ask.) From there our relationship evolved. ‘Nuff said.

I could devote an entire post dedicated to our hotel stay.  We spent the night at the Atlantic Hotel. It was beyond lovely.  And dinner?  Phenomenal.  Drinks? Mmmmm…. Truly the most unique place I have ever stayed in my life.  I couldn’t find one thing I disliked about this hotel. Not that I was trying. Oh, except for a couple of creepy historic pictures running down the hallway. They really might wanna ditch the angry chick with the haunted eyes. And, um, androgynous ringlet kid. The stuff of nightmares, people. Just a thought.

All kidding aside, I was able to relax and really enjoy myself this weekend.  That is a rarity for me these days.  I think it was a combination of the company – Mary, the lovely towns and their extremely (!) pleasant residents.  (Not to mention the shopping!) It was such joy to be able to explore these areas and appreciate their uniqueness.

And as fate would have it, I found a new quote in one of the shops along the way -  “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Just perfect!

And one last picture, especially for Mary. Trust me… some things you just can’t explain.