365 Days of Thankful ~ Day #55 & Day #56

Day #55
Today I am thankful for Redskin potato salad ...  


Day #56
Today I am thankful for the good things that are yet to come ...  

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day #53 & Day #54

Day #53
Today I am thankful for the desktop computer we won that is warrantied for life ... 


Day #54
Today I am thankful for the sweet scent of the Hydrangea candle my sister-in-law & family gave us for Christmas ... 

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day #50, Day #51 & Day #52

Day #50
Today I am thankful for the ability to hang in there when I want to give up ... 


Day #51
Today I am thankful for Hobby Lobby ...
I am absolutely in LOVE with this store !! They have the coolest things & I discovered some things for new endeavors in my Etsy/Facebook store !! WOO HOO !! 


Day #52
Today I am thankful for hot apple cider in my crockpot ... 

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day #45, Day #46, Day #47, Day #48, & Day #49

Day #45
Today I am thankful for the way God brings people into your life at just the right time  ... 

Day #46
Today I am thankful for time spent laughing with my family ... 
I was blessed to be able to spend the weekend at my sister, Robyn's house & my other 2 sisters & my mom came over tonight & we had chili & hot apple cider in my crock pot !! It was SO good & we had a really good time.  I've missed being able to see them all the time & I am blessed to live close enough to be able to have monthly visits with them !! I can't wait until next month's visit !


Day #47
Today I am thankful for special blessings ...

Day #48
Today I am thankful for the extra day we had with Shae ... 
Shae didn't have school today & I guess her mom didn't have anywhere for her to stay while she was at work.  So, we were blessed to be able to keep her an extra night & spend an extra day with her !! I am very thankful for those extra moments that we are able to spend together !!

Day #49
Today I am thankful for the ability to keep moving forward, even when it's hard sometimes ...

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day #43 & Day #44

Day #43
Today I am thankful that I  can take care of  my health ...
I may not always like the answers the doctors give me (or DON'T give me LOL), but at least I am blessed to have health insurance where I don't have a co-pay at all for most things & I have the opportunity to get my health needs attended to & the needs of my children & I never have to worry about how I'm going to find the money to do so ... 


Day #44
Today I am thankful for my new group of AMAZING ladies online ...
Some days just plain out suck, but then someone in my group will post something SO funny that it turns my day around ... Or I make something really cool that no one else would care about except the ladies in my group, so I have people to share my accomplishments with ... Maybe I got a really awesome order that wouldn't be important to most people, but the ladies in my group understand how exciting that is & are happy for me & share in my joy ... AND SO MANY MORE THINGS !! Thank you VU ladies just for being YOU !! <3

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day #41 & Day #42

Day #41
Today I am thankful that I  have more than enough ...
I may not have everything I want, but I definitely have everything I need & that is MORE THAN ENOUGH for me !!


Day #42
Today I am thankful for coupons ... 
Couponing has allowed me to save so much money in the last 6 months & I really need to spend more time doing it !!  It allows me to frequently be able to buy some of  the things that I want that I might not otherwise be able to afford !!

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day #35, Day #36, Day #37, Day #38, Day #39, Day #40

Day #35
Today I am thankful that I am who I am ...
"It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not." ~ Author Unknown

Day #36
Today I am thankful for being able to accept the things I cannot change ...

Day #37
Today I am thankful for DVR & internet TV when I miss some of my favorite shows ...

Day #38
Today I am thankful for the ability to find humor even in bad situations ...

Day #39
Today I am thankful for the ability to share books on a kindle ...

Day #40
Today I am thankful that today was a better day...

.::GIVEAWAY::. 16 GB Apple iPad2 + Several Kindle Fires

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day#34

Day #34
Today I am thankful for the ability to forgive... 
If “I’m sorry,” will mend a relationship, it is a small price to pay for peace.

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day #33

Day #33
Today I am thankful for the battles ...
Serving God does not mean that we no longer have difficulties in life. We are still on the battlefield, but we never have to fight alone.

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day #32

Day #32
Today I am thankful for the FREE gym across the street from our house ..
One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to lose a few pounds & work out 2-3 times a week for my general health.  I was REALLY slack about it last year & a new research study (http://blogs.psychcentral.com/adhd/2010/05/how-long-does-it-take-an-action-to-become-a-habit-21-28-or-66-days/) suggests that it takes SIXTY SIX days of doing something before it becomes a habit !! SERIOUSLY ?!  I don't know if the ADDer is gonna accomplish this goal, but I'm sure gonna try !!

So, I did Zumba fitness 1 day for about 20 minutes.  Another day, I did about 5 minutes of Zumba fitness & 45 minutes of Dance Central with Nicole (and if you have never played Dance Central, it is a SERIOUS work out !! LOL).  So, today was my third day of exercise.  30 minutes on the Elliptical at the FREE gym in our neighborhood, which just happens to be conveniently located right across the street from our house !! SCORE !! Makes me MUCH more likely to keep up the good work !! GO ME !!

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day #30 & Day #31

Day #30
Today I am thankful for my FABULOUS, soft electric blanket that my mom gave me for Christmas a year ago ..
It is the greatest electric blanket EVER !! It's made out of this really soft material & it has been so comforting on these freezing cold days we've had this week !! I absolutely LOVE it !! Thanks, Mom !! <3


Day #31
Today I am thankful for the difficult moments because they have made me stronger ...
When life is difficult, try to close your eyes, put your hand on your heart, feel your breath, feel the earth underneath your feet and say thank you. Feel the difference and say thank you again.

A New Year & A Few "Resolutions" ...

Well, 2011 wasn't by far the worst year I've ever had, but it wasn't the best either ... 

I have dealt with a lot of health problems (some old, some new & scary), found out that some people that I thought were my friends (my BEST friends) really were NOT (THAT was a pretty devastating blow !!), and a few other things that I really just would like to leave back in 2011 ...

I don't make New Year's resolutions ... EVER ! This year, however, I felt that some things needed to change & that maybe if I broke my rule & made some "resolutions," perhaps I would be more apt to stick to them !!  So, here goes:

#1) My number one, first & foremost resolution is to let my light of Christ shine brighter than it was last year !!

#2) Get my "fitness" on !! 

I was super, super, super slack with working out in 2011.  I have made a vow to work out 2-3 times a week at least.  If I can do more, then I will, but with my health so up & down some days, I decided I should start slowly !!

#3) Cut myself some slack !!

I'm my worst critic !! I always have been !! I'm harder on myself than anyone else could EVER try to be ... Ask my mom !! I have always pushed myself & when I couldn't live up to the hype I created in my mind, I belittled myself beyond belief, tore myself down & flat out let myself have it for not being "perfect." Well, newsflash for anyone who thinks otherwise (TOTALLY joking here ...), I'm not perfect & I never will be.  So, resolution #3 is to not be so hard on myself when I fail.  I inevitably will fail.  I'm human.  Time to accept that it's okay.

#4) Read my Bible every day. 

I was doing really well with this & then I stopped.  I have no excuses.  I need to do it & so I will.

#5) Try not to be so judgmental.

It was hard for me to acknowledge this one.  I like to think of myself as open-minded.  I'm not. Okay, well verbally I am, but inside, I'm just not.  I think things & feel things that I may not say out loud, but they are still there nonetheless.  It's not something I am proud of & I have vowed to strive to think good thoughts & not automatically see the worst in people.  Focus on the good & good things will happen.

#6) Let go & let God ...

This should probably be up there with #1 ... I am really bad about praying & asking God to take control of a situation that I have not fully given to Him.  While I may not know a whole lot about some things, I am certain of this : God takes charge of the wheel & does not need me as a back seat driver.

#7) Change the way you look at things & the things you look at change ...

You can't change other people & you can't make them do what you want them to no matter how much you want to or how much you love & care about them.  But you can change the way you handle things & the way you look at them.

Enough said ...

#8) Do a better job of keeping my 365 Days of Thankful Blog Project on track.  

I got a little behind with the holidays ... I'm a natural born procrastinator, but I am trying to make a more conscious effort to do my blog entries every day & not have to make them up !!

#9) Spend more time with family !!

Life is SHORT !! As a child, you think that people will live forever.  So, the first time someone passes away, it is a totally devastating blow.  Not that it isn't a devastating blow EVERY time someone passes away, but the first time is most definitely the worst ... Losing my cousins, my grandparents ~ that was hard.  Losing my father was a loss that I don't think I will ever fully recover from even though I know that I will see him again some day in Heaven ...

For some reason that I will never be able to explain, the inexplicable feeling of doing everything in my power to see my family at least once a month from here on out (unless I move to another state again) came over me during the holidays.  I want to make the most of my time with them, because you just don't ever know ...

So, those are my New Year's resolutions for the year.  Pretty tall order, huh ? Well, as I said, I set pretty high expectations for myself & I very rarely do anything small.  I know I can do it, though. I believe in me, and with God's help, I can do ANYTHING. 

365 Days of Thankful ~ Day # 23, Day #24, Day #25, Day #26, Day #27, Day #28 & Day #29

Day #23
Today I am thankful for Choice. 
I love that every day I can choose to be happy. Fabulous! 


Day #24
Today I am thankful for Blogs. 
I love writing mine and I love all the blogs I read on a regular basis.


Day #25
Today I am thankful for Fun. 
Who doesn't love a little bit (or a lot!) of fun in their lives ?!


Day #26
Today I am thankful for Change. 
It scares the crap out of me sometimes, but it can be a wonderful thing.


Day #27
Today I am thankful for Quality Time. 
When you get to spend really quality time with someone whose company you enjoy, it's SO fabulous !!  


Day #28

Today I am thankful for Films. 

A movie that leaves you feeling moved -- priceless!   

Day #29
Today I am thankful for Inspiration. 
There's nothing quite like coming across something that inspires you !!