Joyful Gratitude: October 31

I Am Thankful For:

Making a school lunch for the first time in years
Time with my "baby" sister
Looking at the photos everyone took at the wedding
Lunch with my dad
When the rain stops
Visiting with my mom
A sneak peek at a new project my sister is working on
The grand kid making up new holidays
Lunch with my sister and niece
Stories from the Grand kid
Late night talks
Watching "scary" movies with the grand kid
Homemade soup when I'm feeling yucky
Rainy Saturdays
Poached eggs and toast

50-ish

It's almost the big day!  I have had an amazing year as my 40s rolled to a close. And I'm looking forward to seeing what the next decade brings my way.  But before I got into all of that - let's take a look back at my "Before 50" list from last November!

1.  Finally lose that extra weight that I have been carrying
Thanks to Weight Watchers, almost 30 pounds are gone and I am well on my way to reaching my goal weight!  


2.  Visit at least 1 new destination.

For our vacation this year, we went to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.  While there, we took a day trip down to Savannah, Georgia.  Both were places I have never visited before. 

3.  Read at least 5 books I've never read before from this list
Four out of five is pretty good.  

•   Anna Karenina
•   Fahrenheit 451
•   Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
•   Great Expectations
  

  
4.  Be vegetarian for a month
We did this for two weeks, rather than a month.  I think the Man of the House and I could have gone the full month, and may still give that a go later this year.  But after going along for two weeks, the Male Offspring was ready for some meat-based protein.  

  
5.  Take one of the specialty tours at Biltmore

  
6.  Join a crochet/knitting group

 7.  Learn to meditate
I used "The Basics" on Headspace to help me get started. After that I switched to an app called Insight Timer for another series on meditation basics and now use it as a timer for most of my meditation sessions. I like that the timer includes options for nice ambient sounds and bells. Occasionally, I use a Christian meditation app, Reflect, for some Scripture focused meditation.   I practice meditating several days a week and I am really enjoying the quiet time to give my mind and spirit a chance to clear out and refresh.  

  
8.  See a play (or two. I adore live theatre and don't know why I don't go more often)

  
9.  Get my office organized once and for all
Yeh, I did!!  It's so nice to have that space feeling like my place to work and not just a spot to store my suppliesl

10.  Take a yoga class

11.  Get a really good haircut by a curly hair specialist

12.  Go to a movie by myself

13.  Go to bed super early and get up super early for one week.  Or a  month.
I tried to do this one week, but life got in the way and I never seemed to make it to bed until at least 10pm each night. I have made an effort to go to bed and get up earlier - just not "super early"

14.  Send postcards whenever I go out of town or visit somewhere new

I made a half hearted attempt at this.  I bought postcards when we went on vacations.  I even sent one to the grand kid.  But that's as far as I got with that.

15.  Overcome my fear of heights

I can't say that I have "overcome" my fear of heights, but I have taken steps to push past it.  Like walking the Sky Bridge in Gatlinburg, TN.  Yes, my legs were shaking the entire time and I didn't do much looking around (especially down); but I made it all the way across and back.  And we were waaaaay up on the upper deck at the Panther's game and I did very well with that. 

photo taken by me from the center of the Gatlinburg Sky Bridge

I enjoyed making a list of things I would like to accomplish, experience or try each year.  So much so that I would like to make it a regular habit.  Stay tuned... I will be posting a new wish list for the next year very soon!

Back on Track

The past two weeks have been completely crazy!  Goals were just about the last thing on my mind.

The entire week before our daughter's wedding flew by much too quickly.  Anything on the to do list other than planning and prep got set on the back burner.  The wedding?  She was beautiful.  It was beautiful.  There were many, many, many happy tears.  The whole day is a bit of a blur.

Last week was full of unwinding after all the prewedding stress, visiting with my sister, and taking care of the grand kid.  I forgot how much time goes into school pick ups, packing lunches, etc! To be completely honest - setting goals for the week never even crossed my mind.

This week is all about getting back into my routines.  And getting back on track - with my healthy habits (drinking water, tracking food, etc), my blogging and my Etsy orders.


My goals for this week are:

• Set goals for November
• Plan goals and wish list for the upcoming year
• Ship 3 orders
• Write 3 upcoming blog posts
• Clean/Declutter/Organize bathroom drawers

What are your goals for this week?

Sunday Inspiration: Joy and Suffering

Joyful Gratitude: October 24

I Am Thankful For:

Happy curls
New undergarments
Early to bed
Waking up before the sun
Spooky TV for October
Morning bird serenade
Treating my curls to a little TLC
An afternoon with the grand kid
Taco Thursday
Shiny toenails
Family arriving safely
Happy tears
Backup plans
A beautiful bride
A beautiful wedding
Crackers and ginger ale
Dinner with family

Sunday Inspiration: Three Things

Joyful Gratitude: October 17

I Am Thankful For:

Cloudy days
Working on orders
Morning phone calls
Rainy afternoons
Veggie spring rolls
The Man of the House home again
Taco Tuesday the Wednesday
Low point lunch
Apologies
Extra foggy morning
When the grandkid says, "Oma, I can't wait to see you again"
New shirts for the Man of the House
Planning dinners
Rainy mornings

Boys on Bikes

When the male offspring was young, he used to free range to some extent.  While there were rules, boundaries and expectations, he would pretty much play all over the neighborhood.

He enjoyed exploring and playing pretend.  And we gave him a certain amount of freedom to do just that.  He would ride his bike up and down the street, coming home with the typical bumps, scrapes and bruises.  As well as one flip over the handle bars that led to the emergency room to have a gash on his chin glued shut.  I didn't think much of it at the time.  I remembered doing the same thing as a child. 

It's funny how our perspectives can change over time.

There's a little boy a few houses down from us.  I see him from time to time, riding his little four wheeler up and down the street.

And... It. freaks. me. out!

He seems so little.  And what if a car turns down the road and doesn't see him?  Is he wearing a helmet and pads? (He is, btw)  He's all by himself!

Oh... what the hypocrite I am!  When did my attitude change so drastically?  And, why??

Is there something that you have found yourself looking at in a completely different way ?

Sunday Inspiration: No One Expects

Joyful Gratitude: October 10

I Am Thankful For:

24 pounds GONE
Pinterest
An afternoon thunderstorm
A new month
Seeing and feeling changes
Learning new things
Taco salad
Waking up
Mercies that are new each morning
Front door ready to be painted
Package arrived a day early
Hulu
Driving home at sunset
Cancelled plans
Simple dinners
Finding a dress for wedding
Weather finally feels like fall
Early birthday dinner for The Man of the House
A healthy brunch
Panthers win 3rd in a row

Dedicated to the One I Love

As of today, this guy completes one more trip around the sun and begins another.

And I am the incredibly lucky lady that gets to take the journey with him!  I am so very blessed to have him as my husband, my biggest cheerleader, my shoulder to cry on, and my best friend.

I don't know how he does it, but every year he just gets better and better.  He's even better looking now than at 19 when I first met and fell in love with him.

Happy Birthday!

What Are You Waiting For?

The other day I was thinking, "Once we get past the wedding, things will slow down and I can..."  Then I realized how many times I have said something similar over all the years.

"After the baby is a little bigger, I can ____"

"Once the kids are in school, I'll have more free time to _____"

"After the holidays, things won't be so busy and I'll be able to _____"

Do you find yourself saying the same things?  Why do we do that?  The truth is, things are never going to slow down.  We very rarely have the ideal conditions - if ever.  There is always going to be some reason, some excuse, why we haven't gotten around to doing something we claim we want to do.

Maybe it's time to stop waiting for whatever it is we're waiting to happen or to be in the past before we do the next thing. 

Do today.  Tomorrow may be too late.  Or, you may find yourself at the end of you life saying " I never found time to _____"

Go back to school.

Take that class.

Declutter that closet.

Join that club or group.

Set your goal and take the first step toward making it happen!

Speaking of goals - my weekly goals for last week didn't go so very well.  It's my own fault.  I kept letting myself get distracted and off schedule.  This week will be better.

My goals for October 7 - 13:

•  Create Sunday blog posts for November
•  Ship 3 orders for Etsy shop
•  Find shoes for wedding
•  Make boutonnieres for wedding

What are your goals for this week?  What's on your To Do list? Share them in the comments!

Sunday Inspiration: Masterpiece in the Making

Joyful Gratitude: October 3

I Am Thankful For:

Early mornings before sunrise
Fresh cantalope
Marking things off the To Do list
NOT eating the leftover donuts
Crickets
Podcasts
Change of plans
New front door is installed
Planning ahead
Washi tape
Getting my flu shot
Picking out paint colors
Watching college football
Our favorite teams won
White chicken chili

Currently... October 2019

Right now, it feels more like July.  But the calendar says October.  So, I'm going to go with that and trust that the temperatures will start too cool down very soon and feel a little more seasonal.  I think autumn has been cancelled and we're all just going to wake up one morning to discover that we've gone straight from summer to winter.  I know that some of you have already experienced this and are now digging out of several feet of snow!

Reading:  Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.  I'm finding it tedious.  I want to like it.  Really I do.  There are bright spots where I start to believe the story is starting to pick up.  Then it starts to get slow and monotonous again.  I don't care for Pip or most of the people he comes in contact with.  Miss Havisham is the only character that holds any interest for me at this point, and we see disappointingly little of her.

Celebrating:  It's a HUGE month for celebrating around here.  First we have the Man of the House's birthday.  Then, after over a year of planning and anticipation - the Female Offspring's wedding happens this month!!

Working On:  Etsy shop orders and wedding preparations

Enjoying:  All the trappings of Autumn. Pumpkin spice coffee, fall decorations, comfort food in the crockpot and the scent of fall candles.

Wanting:  To find some good books about time management, especially those working at home.  Any suggestions?

Needing:  Some new clothes.  Thanks to my continuing weight loss, my pants are all now too big and starting to get to the point where just tightening my belt isn't going to do the trick anymore.  I don't want to go buy a whole new wardrobe while I'm still in the process of losing weight. My solution may be to purchase a few swing dresses that I can wear with tights or leggings and top with a sweater if needed to get me through the cooler months.

Making:  Some changes to my daily schedule and my current system for blogging as well as scheduling my promotions for my Etsy shop on social media

Feeling:  Tired.  I have been trying to go to bed by 9:30 PM and start my day by 6 in the morning.  I'm getting up as planned; however, even though I go to bed early - I am not able to fall asleep until 10:30 or 11:00.  This leaves me feeling pretty tired in the later afternoon and always makes me think that this is the night I'll fall asleep easily.  Which doesn't happen.

Anticipating:  Several things...  The top of the list is probably when my youngest sister comes to visit for the Female Offspring's wedding.  I haven't seen her for over a year and miss her so much!  The leaves have started to change and I can hardly wait until the full colorful display appears.  Oh, and I have a pretty big milestone birthday coming up on the first of next month. 

That's where the beginning of October finds me.  What are you up to this month?