Thoughtful Thursday

Positive Thoughts

Here We Go!

Things are starting to happen as we begin the process of getting ready to move. Stan started his new job on Monday, and we have been interviewing companies to get some of the work done on the house as well as having insurance adjusters making their way througout our home.

This afternoon AJ and I went out and got some moving supplies and not only did it barely fit into the Jeep, but it made a mountain in our garage!

We're trying to get the outside taken care of as the temps begin to drop. We have a landscaper xeriscaping our front yard, and we're replacing the roof as well. And we're also painting the exterior, I just need to decide what color to paint it. Help!

While that's being taken care of we're getting started packing and cleaning the inside and moving out as much furniture as possible before we tackle the inside, which we're painting as well, and replacing the kitching/dining room floor.

I tell you, I'm tired just thinking about it all!

On a fun note, Kevin became a blond today. His girlfriend Kate is in beauty school and colored his hair for him. He looks adorable! AJ keeps teasing him that now he's going to "have more fun." Maybe so...

Kevin and I Buy a Car!

Kevin and I bought a car together! A first for me, that's for sure. It's helping build his credit and it's making life easier for us. With Kevin going to school at Pike's Peak and working, and then AJ going to UCCS we were stretched trying to figure out how to accomodate both of their schedules with only one car. It wasn't going to work. And with the price of gas I saw nothing but $$ flying away.

We decided to get a little car that Kevin could use since he will be doing most of the driving. We looked for a used car and wound up purchasing a 2003 Ford Taurus. It's a great little car and will be wonderful for him. Things will run much smoother this fall when the two boys are so busy!

Of course, I'll still be without a car most of the time, but I guess that'll just leave me more time for writing!

Remember This ....

Resolution Schmesolution

Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve ... and the time most of us start to think about New Year's Resolutions. And, nope, not gonna do it this year. Every year I make some resolution to do something new, make a specific change, etc. and it never happens. So this year I'm not even going to think about it.

Instead, I'm going to recommit myself to doing better at what I'm already doing. Number One: I want to work harder and keeping myself  in-sync with the Lord's spirit. I want to work harder at hearing what He wants me to do and then doing it. When my spirit aligns with His things go better for me so I am going to keep on working at that.

Number Two: I'm going to continue to remember to let those that I love know that I love and appreciate them. Specifically, to make sure my family doesn't feel like I don't love them with all my heart. Sometimes I get caught up in things and take them for granted. Since this summer I've been working at making sure that doesn't happen so much. Of course I slip up, but I am rededicating myself to making sure that my husband and boys know and feel that I love them.

Number Three: Keep writing and publishing the things I like to write, and also the things I like to read. If I like to read certain types of stories, then others probably do too. I also want to make sure that I support and help other writers as well. I've received so much help I want to pay it back.

Number Four: This is the harder one; to get moving more. I've set up a walking and bicycling plan for the new year that I intend to keep up. My poor old joints are telling me that the life of a writer is a good one for my brain, but hard on my body. I need to shake things up, including my booty once in awhile. I'm also going to start incorporating some meatless meals into my menu plans along with more fish. I'm actually excited to make these changes.

And that's it.  I'm going to continue doing the things that I have been doing, but be more dilligent and faithful in that regard. And to move more and improve some menu ideas for myself and my family.  No big, earth shattering changes in my life, just quiet, small steps that make big changes in my heart and soul. We've gone through some big challenges this year, and 2012 looks like it's going to hold a few more major upheavals. If I follow the path I'm already on, we should sail through it all intact.

Happy New Year to you all, and many blessings on your heads!

It's All in How You Think!

In All It's Purple Lovliness!

We lost a good friend today .... our toaster. Oh, he'd been going downhill for quite awhile, and it was not pretty. Smoke alarms going off .... toast burnt so black you'd think it was charcoal, and that was on the lowest setting!

Then finally it got to the point that you had to stand there and hold the button down and wait for it to toast. While it was nice to spend time together like that, I had to keep letting go to make my hot chocolate, turn the CD on to listen to while I ate, grab some napkins ... you get the picture. It was time to say goodbye.

AJ bought me a new toaster today, an early Christmas present. And it is amazing in it's beauty, because it is PURPLE!!! Those who know me know it's my favorite color. It looks perfect in my (non-purple) kitchen.

Can't wait to see what Stan says when he gets home tonight!



Isn't it cute?

And don't you love AJ's reflection in it??

The Big Change

Many of you know my youngest son Kevin. He's a sweet, fun young man with a good sense of humor and a loving heart. He graduated from high school in May 2010. Since then he's been working hard losing weight. I'm so proud of him! His dedication, his perserverence and doggedness on this quest has been inspiring.

He finally has reached his goal! I'm so proud of him! He has lost, since last May, a total of 106 pounds. Here are before and after pictures:

Here are a couple of photos from his senior year:

And here he is now! Doesn't he look great?



 I think he looks fabulous, and he is an inspiration to me. Here's three cheers to Kevin!

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and, therefore, the foundation of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and relevetory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

J.K. Rowling, Harvard Commencement Address, 2008

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Winston Churchill
1874-1965

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

Enjoy life!

This is not a dress rehearsal.

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.

Oprah Winfrey

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

Thomas Edison
1847-1931

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

The remarkable thing is, we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
Charles R. Swindoll
1934 -

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

If you don't like something, change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.

- Mary Engelbreit (1952 - )

Gladsome Vernal Equinox!

Tomorrow is the first day of spring and it's the start of Spring Break! Yay!

Now that my boys are in college, they don't get the two weeks off that they did when they were in public school. We haven't got a lot planned for the week, but Stan is taking off an extra day so we can knock around together.  We're planning on catching a couple of flicks and maybe going out to eat a couple of times and I've got pulled pork sandwiches planned for dinner on one of the days after spending the day at the Y swimming and playing.

I keep thinking I need to plan these big outings, but I've been so beat lately. Not having a working CPAP to help me get a restful sleep at night I just don't have the energy to get out and do anything, much less being able to think of something to do, that I thought maybe we'd just hang out together. After all, isn't the important thing that we're a family?

I think so.  So this summer maybe we'll do a little more. In the meantime, I hope you all have a fun spring break too!

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.

Patricia Neal
1926-2010

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.  -- Groucho Marx, 1890-1977

Haircuts, Lunch and a new 'Puter!

We've been having a ton of lightening storms complete wih thunder, rain and hail the past week.  The last one we had fried our poor old (relatively speaking...it was 8) computer.  Today we bit the bullet and went out to get a new one.  But we decided to make a day of it.

First we we went to the barber shop and got the menfolk purtied up.  Don't they look good?

Then we went to Gunther Toody's Diner, where AJ used to work.   Wednesday is Burger Day.  You buy one burger and drink and get a second burger for five cents.  Of course you need to buy a drink for that burger as well, but with four of us we wind up with a pretty good deal.

After that, looking good, our tummies full we went computer shopping.  Stan is having them double our memory, and we got ourselves a really good surge protector.  Should pick up the new toy tomorrow morning and we'll be back in business!

Funny how quickly you can get addicted to all this stuff, isn't it??