Sunday Inspiration: Next Year and Forever

 

Thankfuk Thursday: December 28, 2023

 

I Am Thankful For:

Baking Christmas treats

Construction debris gone

Polish gingerbread cookies

My husband wrapping gifts

My son making dinner

My husband deep cleaning the living room

Christmas treats from the neighbors

Watching Christmas movies

Family gathered together

Christmas eve

Time with my kids and grandkids

A relaxing Christmas day

Leftovers

My husband taking the dogs out when it was raining 

Pajamas until noon

Relaxing days

Sunday Inspirational: Christmas

 

Thankful Thursday: December 21, 2023

 I Am Thankful For:

Decorated Christmas trees

Christmas cards

Binge watching 'The Crown' 

Nail polish

Finding a tree topper that works

Healthy new recipes

Packages mailed

Learning about my heritage

Christmas shopping with my husband

BBQ lunch

Silly little gifts

Christmas shopping done

Being able to surprise my husband after 30 years

Laughing

When my daughter stops by

Playing with my grandson

Siding finally done

Lunch with my husband

Packages received

Sunday Inspiration: Winter

Thankful Thursday: December 14, 2023

 

I Am Thankful For:

Cold and blustery days

A cup of Earl Grey

Book recommendations

When the painting is finished

My husband bringing all the Christmas decorations from storage

Christmas books

Joy

My cousins

Christmas candy

Helping others

My husband putting up the Christmas trees

Ordering pizza for dinner

Rainy Sunday mornings

Christmas shopping

Pasta

Reminiscing over Christmas ornaments

A hot bowl of soup

Reflux medicine

Oatmilk

My husband home from a work trip

Sunday Inspiration: December

Thankful Thursday: December 7, 2023

 

I Am Thankful for:

Beautiful new rings

Meal planning

Finding the perfect gift for someone

Starting a new crochet project

My husband taking a day off

When my grandsons make me laugh

Items for a care package

Christmas florals

Movie night in

Grocery pick-up

An afternoon of painting

Pumpkin muffins

A kitten's purr

Tacos

Christmas scents

Sunday Inspiration: Rest

 

Thankful Thursday: November 30, 2023

I Am Thankful For:

My husband making it home for Thanksgiving despite delays

Family

The means to provide a nice Thanksgiving meal

That full, sleepy feeling after the turkey

Pumpkin pie

Christmas shopping with my daughter

Holiday traditions

Thanksgiving leftovers

Selecting paint colors

The dog finished medicine and doing well

A warm bowl of chili

A fancy schmancy new coffee maker

Windy days

Homemade sweet potato dog treats

My husband

A warm house on a cold day

Farewell to November

Remember last month when I said October had been a fast-paced whirlwind of activity? Little did I know what November had planned for us! It feels like my birthday was about five minutes ago. Yet, here we are - already at the end of the month!

The Man of the House did more traveling for work this month. In fact, he had to head off to Boston on my birthday (November 1).  And he was in California for several days right before Thanksgiving.  Hopefully the travel schedule will slow for the remainder of the year and I can enjoy having him at home in the evenings. 

The nice thing about his travels is when I am able to tag along. While he was in Boston at the beginning of the month, I flew up on that Friday to join him. We spent a Saturday exploring Boston - walking the entire Freedom Trail and ending the day with dinner at a historic tavern in Charlestown. Sunday we took the train down to Foxborough to catch a football game at Gillette Stadium. It was my first time visiting Boston, and I very much enjoyed the city. 

While I was a little disappointed that the Man had to be away for my birthday,  it was still a nice day.  I had lunch with my dad and his wife.  And that evening my daughter's family took me out to dinner. The next day when I realized that I had not even treated myself to a single piece of cake on my big day, my sister sent me a lovely tower of cakes from Nothing Bundt Cake to remedy the situation.  

Just before Thanksgiving we were finally able to get the last two replacement windows installed and the damaged patio door was swapped out.  That same day, the install of our new siding began. It's still an ongoing project and sometimes it feels like one bump in the road after another. But hopefully by the end of next week everything will finally be wrapped up. 

Our Thanksgiving was nice. The kids and grandkids were here.  I enjoyed seeing the youngest grandbaby enjoying some Thanksgiving foods for the first time.  On Black Friday,  the female offspring and I did some Christmas shopping.  We didn't head out at the crack of dawn which was just fine with me! I was still able to get a good start on the gift shopping.  

November seemed like a quick month.   But it was a good one!  

What is your favorite memory from November?

Sunday Inspiration: Choices

Thanksgiving Thursday

 

I Am Thankful For:

Keeping a sense of humor about it

Kitten playing with the dogs

Getting help with Thanksgiving prep

Getting a quick vet appointment 

Fast lab results 

My husband fixing dinner when I was running late 

My husband and grandson playing together 

The dog seems to be feeling better

A big Sunday breakfast 

Cute little dog hats

Late night texts 

The windows are finally done

Work on the siding has started

Groceries for Thanksgiving

My husband

31 years of marriage

The life we've built together 

Our little family

Sunday Inspiration: Small Steps

 

Thankful Thursday: November 16, 2023

 

I Am Thankful For:

Inner strength

Taco salad

Holding hands with my husband

Pink morning clouds

Little birthday cake for dogs

Texting with my Canadian cousin

Much needed rain

Clean laundry

Falling asleep quickly

Lunch out with my husband

Getting a haircut

A nice pot of tea

Soup cooking in the crockpot

Planning for Christmas

Lipstick

Sunset

Siding installation scheduled

Afternoon tea with my daughter

Reflection

My One Word for 2023 is Explore. In the spirit of exploration, I made the decision not to stop at one word this year - but to also have a word for each month.

For November that word is: Reflection

Every year as my birthday comes around on the first of November, I find myself reflecting on my life.  I look back at where I have been and how far I have come over the previous years. I think about where I am now. And I consider where I want to go, what I want to do,  and who I want to be in the future. 

I am reflecting on my personal patterns, habits, and behaviors. What's still working for me? What's no longer working? What can I remove, add, or change to improve my life?

With only two months left in the calender year, this is often when I start thinking about the next one. I reflect on how I did with my goals for the current year and what I might want to accomplish in the next year. I am also reflecting on my one word for next year by looking back at this year and considering making a significant change

This isn't a time for self doubt, criticism, comparison, or negative self talk. Although, if I'm being honest - it sometimes turns into that and has to be guided back to something more positive and constructive. This time of reflection is about remembrance, honest evaluation, and dreaming/planning.

Do you regularly spend time in self reflection and evaluation?

Sunday Inspiration: Introducing

 

Sunday Inspiration: Enjoy the Company

Thankful Thursday: November 2, 2023

 

I Am Thankful For:

Going home

That first glimpse of the mountains ahead of me

Being greeted by my dogs

Already planning my next trip

Sleeping in my own bed

Making birthday plans

Grocery shopping with my husband

Bright red Autumn leaves

Beautiful weather

The Panthers finally won a game

Family

A cup of fresh, cool water

Feeling the cold air moving in

Finding me ring

Cute dog costumes

Quiet evenings at home

Good-bye, October

You know how some months are slow paced and easy going? This was not one of those months. October felt like a mad whirlwind of activity!

The Man of the House has a birthday in October, and the first weekend of the month was dedicated to celebrating him.  On the Saturday before his birthday, we went for lunch at a local barbeque place and the a matinee of the new Exorcism movie. The original is probably his favorite scary movie, so he was quite curious about this new chapter. Was it great? No. But it also wasn't as terrible as I expected it to be. And movie theater popcorn is always yummy. 

On that Sunday, (his actual birthday) we had some family over for football, pizza, and birthday fun. Our daughter made a Fruity Pebbles cheesecake. Yes - as in the cereal.  It was a whole lot of sweet, but tasty.

He also had to spend a week in California during October for work.  Since he was there over the weekend, he did find time for a little sightseeing. He walked the Golden Gate Bridge and visited Alcatraz while in San Francisco.  I didn't tag along on this trip because a day after he got home I was off on a little trip of my own.

My youngest sister and I spent a lovely week in the low country of South Carolina on a sisters getaway. We stayed at an RV park near Beaufort, which was convenient for day trips into Charleston, Savannah, and Hilton Head. Since it was just about a week or two before Halloween and we were visiting what are considered two of the most haunted cities in America - we decided to roll with that and declared it our "Spooktacular Sister Getaway". We visited historic cemetaries, ate at reportedly haunted restaurants, and took a ghost tour in both Charleston and Savannah. We laughed, ate too much junk food, and had an all around great time.

I did take a nasty fall after tripping on one of the many uneven sidewalks in Savannah. At the time, I thought maybe I had escaped with just some scrapes and bruises. However after waking up early the next day with a considerable amount of pain in my left hand and wrist - we spent an afternoon in an Urgent Care, followed by xrays at the outpatient radiology center to determine if I had broken something. Fortunately, the images were negative for any fracture. Just a severely sprained hand and wrist. It could have been much worse and I am very grateful that it wasn't. 

Unfortunately, October wasn't all celebrations and travels. My 16 year old cat crossed the rainbow bridge this month after a short illness. It was very sad and I'm still coming to terms with him being gone. 😞

And that was October. A lot of highs and lows and activities all stuffed into one month.

How was your October?