I posted this on my blog on www.Sparkpeople.com
I am not one to post about gratitude every day. I have it, I just don't
post it. This morning though I thought I would share with you, in the
spirit of the holidays and all.
1. I am grateful that I can afford to send out xmas cards to my friends
and family. I know that not everyone can do this. Stamps and cards are
expensive and it is outside of many people's budgets to send them.
2. I am grateful that we can afford to have a SHELF full of cereal at
our house, okay 1/2 a shelf now but a few weeks ago we bought stuff on
sale and we had SEVERAL boxes of the stuff. We still do have quite a
bit. 20 years ago I was lucky if I had a single box for myself. Now my
daughter has 3 or 4 boxes to choose from in addition to frozen waffles,
eggs, and pancakes. I know she will have a healthy breakfast.
3. I am grateful that I have health insurance and that I can afford the
copays to see my doctor when I am sick. I have been going back and
forth for a few months now trying to get my asthma/breathing situation
under control. I know that not everyone could do that. Many people would
just "live with it" as long as they could.
4. I am grateful that God, or a higher power, or whatever forces in the
universe there are..whatever you want to believe there.... brought my
husband together in 2002.
5. I am grateful that my husband was accepting of who I am, faults and
all. I am also grateful for his family being accepting too. I am not a
saint. I had a life before him and it wasn't all roses.
6. I am grateful to have a full-time job, with flexible working hours and paid time off.
7. I am grateful for the internet. ;-)
8.
I am grateful to see my daycare bill this month and see that it is only
3 digits instead of 4. It wasn't so long ago (July) that it was 4.
9. I am grateful that both of my parents are still alive.
10. I am grateful to have found my long-lost foster sister on Facebook
this year. That is probably one of the best things to happen to me in a
long time.
11. I am grateful for my daughter.
12. I am grateful to be the kind of mom that will sit down on a dirty
kitchen floor and do an art project with my daughter until we run out of
paint!
13. I am grateful that my ears work so that I can hear things like
"Mommy, I know we have the prettiest Christmas tree in the whole world!
No one could possibly have a tree as nice as ours."
14. I am grateful for my Spark friends.
15. I will add... I am grateful for my readers here, whoever you may be. I hope you all have happy holidays!
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Merry Christmas!!
I'm holding onto my boundaries with people in my life. I took some extra time off from work because I was sick and because my daughter didn't have school so I feel like I am doing a decent job of putting family first so that's good too. I'm actually kind of relaxed going into Christmas, and I'm usually a stress case so this year... on December 23rd anyway... is better than it has been in the past.
Tomorrow we will see my mother. Plan is for lunch with her and then going to her apartment to exchange gifts. I hope it goes okay. It will have to be quick at her apartment because of the cats and the smoke but since she is recovering from surgery I thought it was fair that we went to her place, as long as we don't eat there. I hope I don't regret that tomorrow.
Anyway, no one is coming here so I don't have to clean. The gifts are wrapped, the groceries have been bought, everything has been done I think that needs done and I can't usually say that this far ahead. So all is good.
Now we just have to get through it. Merry Christmas everyone!!
Image via Wikipedia
Tomorrow we will see my mother. Plan is for lunch with her and then going to her apartment to exchange gifts. I hope it goes okay. It will have to be quick at her apartment because of the cats and the smoke but since she is recovering from surgery I thought it was fair that we went to her place, as long as we don't eat there. I hope I don't regret that tomorrow.
Anyway, no one is coming here so I don't have to clean. The gifts are wrapped, the groceries have been bought, everything has been done I think that needs done and I can't usually say that this far ahead. So all is good.
Now we just have to get through it. Merry Christmas everyone!!
Image via WikipediaSaturday, December 11, 2010
Happy Holidays!
I'm still out here in cyberspace. I've been busy with a weight loss blog, and I have been doing okay with that FOG stuff and boundaries with my mother. Haven't figured out how to apply the FOG to my marriage. Not that my husband is blackmailing me or anything- he's not. I just know that I act out of feelings of FOG sometimes. We probably both do, and you can see it with our finances especially. We both want each other to be happy and we overspend as a result.
Oh well... those are problems for another day I suppose. We're working as a team on other fronts such as our daughter's education which is undergoing some changes during the next few weeks. Things we have no control of are happening so we have to decide how to respond. On Monday night my husband will attend a meeting to gather more information on the situation and then we will have to decide what course of action to take. Trying to practice the Serenity Prayer over and over in my head. Right now I'm feeling like we may have flushed $25,000 or so down the drain. Not a good feeling!
Anyway, life goes on. I am managing my boundaries, trying to stay out of trouble, not doing a great job of losing weight but trying.... and looking forward to Christmas somehow. :-)
Happy Holidays!
Image via Wikipedia
Oh well... those are problems for another day I suppose. We're working as a team on other fronts such as our daughter's education which is undergoing some changes during the next few weeks. Things we have no control of are happening so we have to decide how to respond. On Monday night my husband will attend a meeting to gather more information on the situation and then we will have to decide what course of action to take. Trying to practice the Serenity Prayer over and over in my head. Right now I'm feeling like we may have flushed $25,000 or so down the drain. Not a good feeling!
Anyway, life goes on. I am managing my boundaries, trying to stay out of trouble, not doing a great job of losing weight but trying.... and looking forward to Christmas somehow. :-)
Happy Holidays!
Image via WikipediaWednesday, December 30, 2009
Still standing...
How has it been 2 weeks since I last put up a post? Sigh.
Well, we're still standing and the tree is still there and everyone is still speaking to each other, I think. I think but I'm not sure.
My husband gave me the best gift on the 23rd by taking our daughter out of the house for a few hours so I could wrap and clean. I only needed 2 hours, but he gave me 4. By the time they came home I was actually missing them and a little worried. Still, I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders and was grateful for the peace he gave me.
On the 24th we saw my mother. We picked her up, called the restaurant to be sure of a table, and went out for lunch. Then we stopped at a grocery store, and finally came up to our house. The whole process took longer than we expected, but it went fine. Everyone behaved mostly, in spite of a few rude comments from my mother. My mother gave us exactly what we had asked for regarding gifts, with only a few weird things thrown in. In the end she decided she didn't want to go to church after all, so I drove her home just before suppertime, and then found a parking lot with internet so I could check a few things online. When I got home, I ate some dinner, and put my daughter to bed. Did my Santa thing later in the evening, and actually got some sleep. On Christmas Day we had our planned Christmas morning, which went fine. Then in the afternoon my dad and his girlfriend came over. I like her, and my daughter is very comfortable with her so that went well. It wasn't until after they left that I realized it was the girlfriend's first visit to our home.
Oddly none of our guests ended up eating in our house, so all the snacks and extra foods that we bought... we are still eating. Oh well.
Of course good times never come without some pain, and the day after Christmas we got our property tax bill and credit card statement. I hate money in January, it's always rough.
Meanwhile my mother had planned to spend Christmas day with my brother's ex-wife and her children, and possibly my brother. I'm not really sure what happened, but a series of phone messages that she left tell me that things did not go well. My mom has this annoying habit of not answering the phone when I call. She lets the answering machine "screen" all her calls. Then she calls back and says "Sorry I didn't hear the phone ring." Personally, I think it's bulls---. I have caller ID though, so when she gets particularly ugly, I ignore her calls myself. However, she makes a game out of it. One night this week she got this game going where she had called me when I was at work, and when I called her back, she didn't answer the phone. Then she called me back when I was busy with supper so I couldn't get to the phone. When I called her back, I got her machine again. Finally, she called back and my daughter decided to answer the phone. I wasn't near enough to stop her, but my husband could have. He decided not to stop her though, and I guess the conversation was somewhat comical. Evidently my daughter told my mom that I was taking a break, and that was the end of it. I called my mom back one more time, and she gave me the machine again. Stupid game in my opinion. That was a few days ago, and I haven't talked to her since.
For New Years Eve we are expecting a snow storm. My husband might go out anyway, might not. I plan to stay home with the kid and drink some sparkling apple juice or something. Nothing exciting. On Saturday we'll celebrate Christmas with friends at some point, and maybe on Sunday I'll take down the tree. Or maybe not. We'll see. I'm not in any hurry.
Happy Holidays! May your New Year be healthy and happy.
Well, we're still standing and the tree is still there and everyone is still speaking to each other, I think. I think but I'm not sure.
My husband gave me the best gift on the 23rd by taking our daughter out of the house for a few hours so I could wrap and clean. I only needed 2 hours, but he gave me 4. By the time they came home I was actually missing them and a little worried. Still, I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders and was grateful for the peace he gave me.
On the 24th we saw my mother. We picked her up, called the restaurant to be sure of a table, and went out for lunch. Then we stopped at a grocery store, and finally came up to our house. The whole process took longer than we expected, but it went fine. Everyone behaved mostly, in spite of a few rude comments from my mother. My mother gave us exactly what we had asked for regarding gifts, with only a few weird things thrown in. In the end she decided she didn't want to go to church after all, so I drove her home just before suppertime, and then found a parking lot with internet so I could check a few things online. When I got home, I ate some dinner, and put my daughter to bed. Did my Santa thing later in the evening, and actually got some sleep. On Christmas Day we had our planned Christmas morning, which went fine. Then in the afternoon my dad and his girlfriend came over. I like her, and my daughter is very comfortable with her so that went well. It wasn't until after they left that I realized it was the girlfriend's first visit to our home.
Oddly none of our guests ended up eating in our house, so all the snacks and extra foods that we bought... we are still eating. Oh well.
Of course good times never come without some pain, and the day after Christmas we got our property tax bill and credit card statement. I hate money in January, it's always rough.
Meanwhile my mother had planned to spend Christmas day with my brother's ex-wife and her children, and possibly my brother. I'm not really sure what happened, but a series of phone messages that she left tell me that things did not go well. My mom has this annoying habit of not answering the phone when I call. She lets the answering machine "screen" all her calls. Then she calls back and says "Sorry I didn't hear the phone ring." Personally, I think it's bulls---. I have caller ID though, so when she gets particularly ugly, I ignore her calls myself. However, she makes a game out of it. One night this week she got this game going where she had called me when I was at work, and when I called her back, she didn't answer the phone. Then she called me back when I was busy with supper so I couldn't get to the phone. When I called her back, I got her machine again. Finally, she called back and my daughter decided to answer the phone. I wasn't near enough to stop her, but my husband could have. He decided not to stop her though, and I guess the conversation was somewhat comical. Evidently my daughter told my mom that I was taking a break, and that was the end of it. I called my mom back one more time, and she gave me the machine again. Stupid game in my opinion. That was a few days ago, and I haven't talked to her since.
For New Years Eve we are expecting a snow storm. My husband might go out anyway, might not. I plan to stay home with the kid and drink some sparkling apple juice or something. Nothing exciting. On Saturday we'll celebrate Christmas with friends at some point, and maybe on Sunday I'll take down the tree. Or maybe not. We'll see. I'm not in any hurry.
Happy Holidays! May your New Year be healthy and happy.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Just plugging along one day at a time....
I'm still at a standstill with my parents. My father isn't ready to make Christmas plans, and my mom is still calling every other day to find out what the plans will be. 2 weeks to go, and it's only a one day thing anyway. Oh well. Today I am trying to decide where to spend my time. I have a list of personal things that need doing, and I'd like to get out of work to do them. Unfortunately I haven't made a list, or written the list, which would really help me organize. I just keep putting that off. So I'm at work, doing some work, doing some of this, and some of that. We'll see how long I last.
We had our first snow day this week. Work didn't close, but preschool did. Both my husband and I decided to stay home with the child since the road wasn't plowed anyway. We played in the snow, burnt cookies, and watched too much tv. A perfect day! Well... I really wanted to clean the kitchen, make brownies, and wrap presents... but it wasn't about me. Maybe this afternoon I will take some time for me to get bills paid, shopping done, and stamps bought, and maybe just maybe pull out my netbook and put some updates or some games or something on that. We'll see.
We had our first snow day this week. Work didn't close, but preschool did. Both my husband and I decided to stay home with the child since the road wasn't plowed anyway. We played in the snow, burnt cookies, and watched too much tv. A perfect day! Well... I really wanted to clean the kitchen, make brownies, and wrap presents... but it wasn't about me. Maybe this afternoon I will take some time for me to get bills paid, shopping done, and stamps bought, and maybe just maybe pull out my netbook and put some updates or some games or something on that. We'll see.
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