Sunday Inspiration: Priorities

Thankful Thursday: June 25

I Am Thankful For:

A clean puppy

Homemade Key Lime pie

The puppy's surgery went well

A chance to get everything swept and mopped

Benedryl

The puppy feeling better

Grandkid excited about the beach

Music

The Mand of the House making me a smoothie

Puppy in a cone

Prescription refills

Sleeping dogs

Movies that make me laugh

My dad

Blessings upon blessings

Ten Things That Make Me Happy

Let's face it - the first half of 2020 has been TOUGH.

Between Covid-19 concerns, "normal" life being turned upside down, police killings, protests for social justice, riots, and the political climate - some days it can be difficult to find a bright side.  

Even so, as I've mentioned before - science shows that negative thoughts give access to more negative thoughts.  Which means that we have to find those little moments of bliss in the everyday. We have to seek them out and pursue those things. That's one of the reasons I keep a gratitude journal.  To remind myself that there is always - yes, always - something to be thankful for in every single day.  

What brings you joy?   Does something come to mind easily?  If you need a little inspiration - here are a few of the things that make me happy:

1. Sunsets (and sunrises)
2. A child's laughter
3. Fresh flowers
4. Reading
5. Working with yarn
6. Watching the birds at the feeders
7. Tacos
8. Kissing the Man of the House
9. Snuggling with my puppy
10. Clean sheets

These things are in no particular order.  I mean - if I was ranking them, kissing my husband would definitely rank higher that #8!  But they all make me joyful.

Share something that makes you happy in the comments!

Sunday Inspiration: Dads

Thankful Thursday: June 18

I Am Thankful For:

Bubbles

The puppy barking at a squirrel

Talking with a neighbor

Morning mist rising on the mountains

Puppy "zoomies"

My handsome husband

Baking cookies with the grandkid

The sound of thunder

Feeling rested

Red sky sunset

The Man of the House bringing home dinner

Puppy playdate at the dog park

New socks from my daughter

Homemade pizza

Starting a new book

Pretty summer days

Sunday nap during a storm

It's Been a Long Week - and It's Only Wednesday

I know it's only Wednesday (aka: hump day).  But have you ever had one of those Wednesdays where Monday feels as if it was so very long ago?  That's my story right now.

It's all because I am a worrier. And because of this:

Max, the dachshund puppy, had his surgery to be neutered yesterday.   

I didn't sleep well Monday night because...

1) I was worrying about his upcoming surgery

and

2) I had to be up early to have him to the vet at 7:45am and for whatever reason I never sleep well when I know I have to be up early for something.  I guess part of my brain is worried I'll oversleep and be late or miss it, so I keep waking up

After dropping Max off at the vet, I can home and anxiously awaited the call from the doctor letting me know it was over and he was ok.  On the bright side, I took advantage of this time to sweep, mop and vacuum without having a little canine chasing me around, barking his little head off and trying to bite the broom/mop/vacuum cleaner.

Of course, his surgery went well.  He's a little champ.  And I was even able to pick him up earlier than they had told me to expect when I dropped him off.  

Once home, I had to keep an eye out for any signs of stress, nausea, diarrhea, etc.  I had to watch him because he was still a little groggy.  He was also learning to do things with the "cone of shame" - walking for example.  

Last night, he was a little restless.  Probably sore from the procedure.  And I can't imagine sleeping with a plastic lampshade around your neck is exactly comfortable.  Needless to say, I was aware of every time he shifted or moved around and would wake up to check on him.  That made night #2 of poor sleep.

Woke up with a headache this morning.  It started yesterday.  I think I can blame that on the change in the weather to cool and rainy.

Today, Max is clearly feeling much better than he was yesterday evening.  He seems to be mostly back to himself.  Which is good.  Except that this means he wants to play, and wrestle with his blanket, and run and try to jump on me.  All things he should NOT be doing right now.  It's giving me all kinds of anxiety.

I had hoped his pain medicine would keep him a little tired, but so far that doesn't seem to be the case.  The vet had said I could try some Benedryl if I need to sedate him a little.  Or she could prescribe something.  I hope I don't have to resort to that, but if he feels even better tomorrow and is trying to bounce off the walls - desperate times call for desperate measures. 

He does seem to have quickly figured out that the has to hold his head up to walk with the cone.  But he still keeps bumping into things.   I thought about getting him one of those soft, inflatable neck pillow type of rings to see if he likes that better, but there were mixed reviews online - so I'm not sure about that.

Have you ever had to cope with the recovery of a pet following neutering?  What's your best tip for getting through the process?

Sunday Inspiration: Finding Happiness

Friday Favorites: Grocery Pickup and Delivery

During the pandemic, so many things were different.  Things we took for granted were put on hold.  We had to make adjustments and changes to how we did things. 

When I stopped leaving the house to protect myself, my family and others - I started using grocery curbside pickup and delivery services.  I tried several , and - as is true with most things - some were more trouble than they were worth, some were pretty good, and some were fantastic.  

Grocery Delivery

My least favorite of the delivery services tried was Shipt for Target.  The delivery arrived promptly and went well enough.  The only issue I had was that the delivery person stated several times she was unable to contact me in order to inform me of unavailable items and that I needed to update my contact info.  However when I would check my profile, the information was correct.  With this being the most expensive of the grocery services I sampled - it was an easy decision to stop using Shipt and depend on the others.

I have two favorites of the delivery providers.  Instacart for Aldi and Amazon Prime WholeFoods have been top-notch in my experience.  (Instacart also provides curbside pickup for Aldi, and we'll get to that in a minute.) 

My Whole Foods deliveries were free through Amazon Prime with a minimum order.  Instacart delivery had a low delivery fee and a minimum order, although they also offer Instacart Express where you can pay a flat fee and get free deliveries for the term of your membership.    

With both services, I was always able to get a quick delivery time.  The shoppers were quick to message me with options when an item I had ordered was unavailable.  I was pleased with the produce selections made.  Deliveries were left neatly on my doorstep as requested. I have used both services several times and will definitely continue to do so.  

Grocery Curbside Pickup

I tried the Walmart Pickup a couple of times, and it went well.  But then it became impossible to get a pickup time.  So, that was that.

My very favorite has been the Target Drive-up Pickup.  It's tricky when it comes to grocery items, most perishables are not available for pickup.  But for household, pantry and personal / health and beauty items this is my top pick.  My orders are ready for pick up within a few hours.  Unlike the grocery delivery services, there's no option for replacing those unavailable items, but it has only been a couple of times that an item I requested was out of stock.  

The Instacart Curbside pick up at Aldi has also been a good experience.  The Aldi employee doing the shopping has been extraordinarily helpful.  They have confirmed items with me if there is any question (such as the size/quantity I requested), and I am able to approve any chances if there is an item out of stock.  We did once  have an issue with a glitch in the app during pick up.  After checking in and waiting several minutes,

we received a message to pick up our order inside the store.  But when the Man of the House went inside, the store employee kept telling him that he needed to check in on the app.  You know... like we had already done.  Once she finally contacted the employee doing the shopping, it was cleared up quickly and our order was brought to the car.  

Honorable Mentions

PetSmart has been offering curbside pickup for their order online-pickup in store feature.  It is a bit tedious, because you have to call the store when you arrive and go through the whole automated system to talk with an actual person to have your order brought out to the car.  But it's worth it to avoid going in the store any more than absolute necessary!

When my local library closed, I admit I had a tiny panic attack.  No books?? Unspeakable!  (Sure, there was digital library, but still...)  Fortunately, they also offered curbside pickup!  Put a book on hold through the website, they let you know when it's available, you drive up, call them, give them your name and library card number and they bring it right out. 

What are some of your favorite services you made use of during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Thankful Thursday: June 11

I Am Thankful For:

Perfect blue skies

The cat and puppy chasing each other

The puppy finally lost his retained canine

Growing and learning as a person

Last day of "school"

Decongestant medicine

Sunshine

Nectarines

Trimmed puppy nails

Quiet afternoons

Hummingbirds

Breakfast smoothies

The puppy playing with the basketball

Watching movies at home

The sound of silence

Watching a chipmunk

Filling the bird feeders

Facing My Attitudes About Race

I wasn't sure how to approach my post for this week.  It felt wrong somehow to just write my regular sort of content without any acknowledgement of everything going on in our country right now.  But I also find myself at a loss of words - I'm hardly an expert on the subject of race, racism or the fight for racial equality.  I was afraid of saying anything that may only work to trivialize, dismiss or lessen the hurt that people of color experience. Or worse - to say something that might deepen that pain.  That's the last thing I want to do.  But it mostly feels wrong to just say nothing. 

Growing up, there wasn't much discussion about race or racism in our family..  Sure - there were words we were told not to use, but that was pretty much that.  "Not being racist" meant pretending you didn't see color or acknowledging that people look different.  

Race was never addressed in school other than some lessons about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves and maybe a word or two about Martin Luther King, Jr (probably during Black History Month).  And in the mean time we unconsciously absorbed and internalized the prejudices and biases of the society around us.

As a result I always thought "hey, I'm not racist!" And I thought that was good enough.  

That's easy to believe when you're not the one having to live with the day to day reality of racism because you happen to have been born into the race that causes the systems to work to your advantage. 

When my husband and son leave the house every day, it never crosses my mind to worry they might be killed during a "routine" traffic stop.  When my husband goes out for a jog, I never fear that he might be chased down and shot because he "fit a profile".   I've never thought about where I might sit down to rest, go for a walk, or  which street I drive because it might look "suspicious" to someone.   

I am realizing that I still have much to learn about my own thought processes and beliefs.  That denial and ignorance are not the tools needed to bring about justice and equality.  That just being "not racist" is not enough.   I need to better educate myself.  I need to stop making excuses, stop offering up platitudes and start listening.   To be able to admit that I have played my part in the problem and say "I'm sorry.  I'm still learning.  From here on out, I'm trying to be better."  

  

 

 

Sunday Inspiration: Stick To It

Thankful Thursday: June 4

I Am Thankful For:

A quick trip to Lowes - fully masked

Back porch set up for summer

Ribs on the grill

Leftovers

Potential new customers

A day well spent

Short "school" days

Working on an order

A ramp for the puppy

Rain showers

An unexpected "Mean Girls" reference

The puppy was a good boy at the vet

So was the grand kid

Friday evening chats

My son

Birthday presents to wrap

Chocolate cake

Fresh morning air

At-home pedicures

Planning for the month ahead

Currently... June 2020

Just when we thought that 2020 couldn't get any crazier - it goes and does just that!  

If I'm being honest, I'm really struggling with what to type right now. I wish I had the right words to express how I'm feeling.  I'm not going to pretend to understand what it means to live under the shadow of racism day after day.  What I can tell you is that God is definitely using the current spotlight on racism to show me a few things about my own beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes.    

I pray for peace in our country.  That we will all come to do exactly as Scripture tells us - loving one another.  Regardless of skin color, gender, political party, or anything else that may be dividing us.  

Reading:  Mercy House by Alena Dillon and Good Morning, I Love You by Shauna Shapiro, PHD.  I definitely recommend the second one if you are looking for a good book about mindfulness and self compassion.  I didn't do as much reading as I would have liked last month, so I hope to make up for it in June.

Working On:  Drawing exercises for myself and the grand kid to do together.  Getting back on track with my meditation and journaling habits.  Brainstorming and pre-planning some posts for the blog and social media posts and promos for my Etsy shop

Loving:  Having my local craft store open again.  I am still trying to limit my exposure to the general public, especially since on my first visit to this store I noticed that most of the customers were not wearing masks or taking much care to social distance from others.  But I am so happy to have easy access to yarn again and to be able to offer "made to order" items in my shop once more. 

Celebrating:  The only thing I can think of off the top of my head for June is Father's Day.  There may be more, but at the moment I don't know what that would be.

Wanting/Needing:  At the risk of repeating myself from last month - A new haircut.  It's been so long that my hair has grown out to a place where I'm considering trying something a little different.  We'll see.  I'm still not feeling safe enough when it comes to the virus to go sit in a salon chair for as long as it would take for a cut.  By the time I get there, I may have changed my mind about what I want to do with it. 

Dreaming About:   A summer vacation.  Lazy days on a beach or by a lake would be nice.  

June Goals:

• Meditate at least three times per week
• Journal every day
• Hang pictures in laundry room
• Create Sunday posts for July
• Create Thankful posts for July
• Write at least 3 additional posts for blog
• Start at least 1 new Christmas item for Etsy shop
• Write three new posts for shop blog
• Preschedule at least 15 social media posts for July
  

What are your plans and goals for June?