Other Plans

Last week did not go according to the plans I had made for myself. I started off strong. The plumber came out Monday to give us an estimate on a lot of work that we need to have done and we got that scheduled for this week.  I took care of some cleaning I wanted to get done in the kitchen. Got some orders shipped out. Had lunch with my dad and his wife and ran some errands. 

On Thursday morning, I woke up with a horrendous headache, some sinus congestion, body aches, and chills.  I was definitely sick.  And not at all happy about this development. I had things I planned to knock off my to-do list on the last two days of the week and now I didn't feel like doing any of it.

My top priority now was to find somewhere that I could get scheduled for a Covid test.  Not as simple as it sounds since cases of omicron are sky-high where I live.  Fortunately, I was able to get a drive-thru test at CVS on Friday morning.  I received my results on Saturday which were negative. Thank goodness!  I dodged that bullet (this time) I was also negative for both strains of flu.   

I'm still not feeling super great thanks to this cold or sinus infection, or whatever it is. I'm sad because we were supposed to go over to our daughter's house to celebrate the grandkid's birthday on Sunday.  That didn't seem like a great idea under the circumstances.  I don't need to be taking any germs over to them.  But, I also feel fortunate that it's not Covid and that a few more days of rest and fluids should take care of that. 

I can't help but think of the old expression: "We plan; God laughs".  Sometimes, life gives us a minor illness that forces us to rest when we would rather be checking items off our to-do list.  

Hopefully, I'll be feeling 100% better and ready to tackle my goals for this week.

• File sales tax for Etsy shop
• Complete and ship open orders
• Finish 2 Easter items for the shop
• Write 3 blog posts
• Clean our linen closet

What are your plans for this week?

Sunday Inspiration: Lasting Change

 

January Thoughts on Abundance

For my word of the year for 2022 - Abundance - I try to spend sometime each day with the word.  This might be thinking about abundance - what it looks like and means to me, what it might mean to others, etc. Sometimes I look up Scripture verses related to abundance. Or I might read a book about Abundance. Or look for quotes on the subject.  My hope is to share some of the thoughts or insights this gives me each month with all of you.

As I pondered on the word during this first month of the year, I began to think it's possible that finding abundance doesn't start with obtaining more or "having it all".  

Maybe it begins with just enough.

Perhaps you can't have true abundance until you realize that what you have is enough. That you are enough.  

It's only when you are able to realize and appreciate the enough-ness of your life and yourself that you can begin to recognize and appreciate the more-than-enough that is abundance.

Thankful Thursday: January 27

 

I Am Thankful For:

The drip-drip-drip of melting snow

Warm showers

Things that make me laugh

Loft house cookies

Reruns of my favorite tv shows

Deer in the backyard

Grapes

Afternoon coffee and reading

The dogs snuggling next to me to warm up after morning walkies

Seeing a project coming together

Exciting football games

Work scheduled

Love

10 years as a grandmother

Chocolate

Monday Musings: Last Week

Some weeks things are just out of your control. All you can do is sit back and ride it out.

Last week started with a snow storm on Sunday.  We were buried under about 10 inches of the white stuff. Plus a thin layer of ice. This pretty much affected the direction my entire week took.

The Man of the House and the male offspring were both home from work on Monday.  This always throws me off and leaves me constantly having to think about and remember what day it actually is for the rest of the week. 

We were supposed to have a plumber come out on Tuesday.  We've been having an issue with the pressure pump in the house. Their van wasn't able to get up our road that day, so we had to be rescheduled for this week. Fortunately, we aren't in a dire situation. We have water. But I have been selective about laundry and running the dishwasher - just in case it decided to shut down entirely. 

The grandkid's school went remote for the week due to snow and ice-covered roads in their area.  I got to watch him while his parents were at work. I'll never complain about any reason for spending more time with him! 

As you can see, the week was a play it by ear, day to day planning kind of a week. I am behind on laundry and a few other chores.  But, I did get caught up on Etsy orders, put out my Valentine's decor, and did some extra reading.  Which was nice.

As long as there are no other unforeseen circumstances, this should be a productive week.  My goals include:

• Schedule a vet appointment for Max
• Clean our the linen closet
• Start some blog posts for next month
• Prep facial round samples for the Etsy shop
• Make at least 3 mini baskets for Etsy shop

Tell me what's on your to-do list this week!

Sunday Inspiration: You Reap What You Sow

 

Thankful Thursday: January 20

 

I Am Thankful For:

Healthy foods

A warm and cozy bathrobe

Another stunning sunset

Sleep

A beautiful day

Finding a forgotten gift card

Lunch with my husband

Late dinners

Running errands before the storm

My son making dinner

NFL playoff games

The quiet beauty of snow falling

The power stayed on

Texts from a friend - just checking in on me

A flock of cardinals in the pear tress

Homemade soup

Sunlight sparkling on the snow

Sunday Inspiration: Excellence is A Habit

 

Thankful Thursday: January 13. 2022

 

I Am Thankful For:

Music

Winter

International Etsy orders

Early morning wakeups

Easy decisions

Rest

Winding yarn skeins into cakes

Replicating a delicious restaurant dish

Contentment

Being safe and warm on cold, windy days

Having plenty of food in the house

My son texting me cute dog pictures

My daughter calling me on her way home from work

Spending a little time with the grandkid

A yummy new recipe

The dogs napping in the sunny spot

Monday Musings: In A Fog

 As I'm writing this post it's almost 4:30 on Sunday afternoon.  I should say as I'm trying to write this. I am dealing with a serious case of foggy brain and the words are not coming easy.  When they come at all.  

It's been like this for the entire past week.  I have what seems to be just a general inability to concentrate on things.  Just getting a simple task accomplished is taking forever because I can't seem to focus on anything at all. 

On paper, I got a lot accomplished last week.  There were several tasks marked off the ol' to-do list.  But it feels like I didn't get much of anything done.  I realize that probably doesn't really make any sense.  It definitely doesn't. 

Perhaps it's because it was the week after the Christmas break.  The guys went back to work and I was at home by myself trying to get back to my "normal" routines.  After over a week of staying up later than usual and having lazy days watching football games and movies.  

Maybe it's because after indulging over the holidays, I am trying to get back to healthier eating and my brain is struggling to adjust to the lack of processed sugars? I also haven't been treating myself to a little caffeine boost in the afternoons. 

Or, there's always the chance that it is my hormones. (or lack thereof) I feel like almost anything can be blamed on perimenopause.  

Whatever it is, I'm hoping that it's on the way out and I'll be able to stay focused and knock out all of my goals for the coming week.  

What are my goals for the week?  Well, I'm glad you asked!

• Clean and organize bedroom
• Clean out fridge
• Write 3 blog posts
• Prep Sunday posts for this quarter
• Ship 3 Etsy orders

What are your goals for the week? 

Sunday Inspiration: Dream

 

Thankful Thursday: January 6, 2022

 

I Am Thankful For:

A new year

Sleeping late

Winter thunderstorms

The Man of the House taking the dogs out on a rainy morning

Sundays

The first snowfall

Dogs playing in the snow

A glass of wine

The crunch of frosted grass beneath my feet

Doggy footprints in the frost

My home

Libraries

Sunshine on a cold day

The first sip of morning coffee

Currently: January 2022

Not only is today Monday... It's the first Monday of 2022! How's your new year going so far?  Mine has been suuuper lazy.  I'll let you in on a little secret if you promise not to judge me. Deal?  Ok, here goes - my Christmas decorations are still up. I know, I know.  But don't worry.  They're coming down today. Definitely tomorrow at the latest. 

My guys go back to work today. It's going to seem so quiet around here without them here. But I'm also looking forward to getting back to the usual routine.

Working On:  I decided to take on a year-long crochet project in the form of a temperature blanket. This is a crocheted blanket created with different color yarns that you have assigned to different temperature ranges. Each day you crochet a row with the color associated with the high (or low, or average) temperature for that day. (You can read more about temperature blankets HERE ) 

I also plan to spend the next several weeks getting all the skiens of yarn in my stash wound into yarn cakes and reorganizing all of them.

Celebrating: Not much. There are no special occasions happening in January that our family celebrates. I guess we'll just have to find a few everyday things to celebrate this month!

Wanting/Needing: Hmm... Someone to put away my Christmas stuff? LOL 

Eating: After the holidays, I am feeling a little gross.  I ate too much junk and over indulged on many, many days.  It's time to get back to healthy eating.   Lots of chicken, fish, whole grains, fruits and veggies. 

Loving: The new year. I love that sense of a beginning. New years. Spring. Back to school. There's something about a fresh start and all the promise and hope that goes along with it.

Goals for January:

• Eat healthy and track all food on Healthi app
• Drink at least 64 oz of water per day
• Start Easter items for Etsy shop
• Start winding yarn into cakes and reorganizing it
• Write 3 blog posts per week

Sunday Inspiration: Open a New Door

 

My One Word: Abundance

It's that time of year again.  As 2021 has turned the page to 2022, everyone is setting resolutions and goals for the new year.  I'm not much for resolutions.  It's not that I don't like making them - I love new year resolutions! It's that I never keep them.  This is why several years ago I stopped making resolutions and started selecting one word each year to guide me throughout the year.  

For 2022, that word is "Abundance".

I always feel like I don't have to think much about picking the word. Most years a word just keeps coming up again and again, pressing into my heart and mind until I recognize it as the word for the next year. This year the word started as "more", but then as I began thinking about what that would look like for the year - it began to shift toward "abundant".

This word has the potential to be a bit tough for me. I often think from a mindset of scarcity or frugality. So to live life with an attitude of abundance is going to take a bit of a paradigm shift.

For me, abundance isn't about wealth (or not just about wealth). Abundance is about living life with my mind, my heart, and my arms open to receive the overflowing of the abundant life that God promises and all the good things that brings.

An abundance of joy and love. 

An abundance of health. 

An abundance of strength - in mind, body, and spirit 

An abundance of faith that God will provide beyond my wildest expectations. 

An abundance of creativity for creating new content for the blog and items for my Etsy shop.

An abundance of gratitude for all that I have.

Abundance means believing that what I have is enough and being secure enough in that to openly share the overflow with others that are in need. 

So, here's to 2022 - the year of abundance!

Do you select a word for the year? If so, tell me yours in the comments.  Or share what abundance means to you.