Here are a few things I’ve recorded in my Daily Thankfulness Journal lately…
General Thankfulness
About my Husband
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Our friends have endured the heartache of not one but multiple miscarriages. I search but cannot find words that will help fill that void and make them feel better. I am so very sad for them. In times like these I cling to the hope of the word of God.
This past weekend I cleaned out a few things that were being stored in our back room in the basement. I stumbled upon an old scrap book that had a few misc. items tucked inside. The scrap book was from my senior year of high school. There were pictures, 3newspaper clippings, and misc. keepsakes from my travels and activities back then.
I was in the FFA. I was a leader of my local chapter. I received the DeKalb award, one of the highest awards afforded to high school FFA students. It made the newspaper and the article said that I was planning to pursue Agriculture Education. Really? What? I don’t even remember how that came about. And why didn’t I pursue it? I might have been a good one!
I also found some pictures. I don’t have them scanned yet, but I wish I did. My best friend and I went to JCPenney and had our portraits taken together. I wish you could see the outfits and the hair!!!! This is early 90’s!!! We look so young!
I found a letter from an old acquaintance that I worked with at the stable. I have occasionally wondered what ever became of him. His hometown was Harrisville, PA and if I remember correctly he wanted to become a vet, with equine interest. I wonder if I can find him on Facebook? Hmmm…
I found two love letters from a guy that I went on a couple dates with. The funny thing is that I remember his first name and what he looked like, but not his last name. He must have made quite an impression???? The letters were sweet but at this point in my life they make me laugh. He wrote “every night before I go to sleep I pray that I will have a chance with you.” Seriously? Even funnier… I don’t even remember exchanging letters with this boy. Sorry Pal.
I didn’t even know this scrap book existed until I stumbled upon it. It’s amazing the things we forget as time goes by.
Summer harvesting is upon us. It seems like it came on awfully quick this year. It’s just getting started! Friends and family are picking corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, all sorts of yummy summer favorites. Sunday night I ate an entire zucchini (fried) all myself. That was pretty much my entire meal. We do not have our own garden. I have but a couple lonely tomato plants on and beside my porch with an array of delicious herbs alongside. It doesn’t keep me from enjoying the fruits of other’s labor. My friend supplied the zucchini. The stores are bursting with flavor of freshness from near and far. I’m loving it!
So today I count the blessing of plentiful harvest, fresh wholesome goodness, and that I have a taste for it. Thank you God for these delicious and healthy provisions.
I don’t feel like I did much in this area this week… I went into work on my day off to get some signatures. I did some extra farm chores. I’m trying to teach my friend’s horse to be good about getting sprayed with the hose before she gets back from vacation. (it’s a work in progress) I made coffee for my hubby this morning and lunch for him before he left for work. I did lots of housework this weekend, which is not only beneficial for me, but for my hubby as well. I made sure all of HIS clothes were first to be washed. I broke down and put the air conditioner in the master bedroom because I want my hubby to have a comfortable place to lay his head… in a bed where his feet aren’t dangling off the end. I wrote a heartfelt note to a kindred friend who is enduring a rough time. And I agreed to do some more house-sitting in the weeks to come. All in all… I guess I’ve done a few selfless things, but these are all the kind of things that just come naturally. I need to do something a little more out of my comfort zone… Hmmm… maybe I’ll have something better next week?
We did BASIC shopping yesterday, meaning primarily essentials. Most of what we got were not big sale items, but mostly necessary… including fresh vegetables. We also made some store brand choices, because K gets a 10% discount on those. So what’s in store for our meals this week???
Meals…
SNACKS… Why haven’t I been planning snacks? He always asks for them and I admit, I usually have 2 snacks every day. So here’s some ideas for this week:
Sundays Splurge… I only eat ice cream on Sunday!
One scoop of chocolate ice cream, peanut butter drizzle, squirt of whipped cream, and a sprinkle of crushed Reeses peanut butter cups…. Mmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!
In keeping with my theme of recording daily items of thankfulness in general and about my Handy Hubby. Unfortunately my list was short this week because I haven’t been home and I keep the list on the desktop of my home computer. Here are some things I’ve recently recorded:
General Thankfulness
About my Husband
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God… (Romans)
Did you ever stop to think about what it means to fall short of the glory of God? I was reading Romans last week and found myself contemplating this very question for days now. Remembering back to the days of my youth when I learned the basic Catechism… What is our purpose? To glorify God and enjoy him forever. We are given innumerable opportunities to glorify God every second of our lives. All that we think, say, and do is an opportunity. Falling short is inevitable!
Obviously there is no cure for this ill, but we MUST strive to improve. So in response, my daily morning prayer is that the Holy Spirit will author my thoughts so that the words I speak and action I take will be a sweet reflection of the presence of Christ in my life. I’m a work in progress.
Have you clipped a coupon of wisdom from your studies lately? Feel free to share.
I was just thinking the other day about social skills. Does anyone think that I was socially inept as a child, or even now? A week or so ago we were at a family function talking about a recent trip to downtown Pittsburgh. My mother shutters at the thought of the big city. Quite honestly, she put that fear in me long ago, but I have since grown out of it. Then Mom was talking about her being the youngest child and how she always had to fight for attention or something. I think that’s what starting this whole topic on my mind lately… the things we do or do not learn as children. It’s amazing how our childhood plays a part in our adult lives.
I remember being kind of a loner as a child. I was a middle child. When the younger children came along I think I felt just sort of forgotten. A couple of times I might have tried to vie for some attention, but alas I always felt overlooked or discounted. Maybe that is the root of my independence? Maybe it was because we lived way down over the hill in a rural area with neighborly friends not very close, thus limiting the usual interaction of children???
I didn’t reach out to befriend other children. I waited for them to approach me. Why is that? I’m still kind of like that. When I meet new people I’m not sure what to say right away. I usually wait for them to ask all the questions. My husband will sit on the porch and talk with the neighbors, but I’d rather not. I like my privacy. I would be happy living in Timbuktu where the neighbors are not so close. I don’t seek out social opportunities, but when K does talk me into it, I enjoy it. (just like visiting the city)
I was telling my lady friends this on Saturday and one of them said that the way I am makes me a very approachable person. Wow, that was quite a compliment. So maybe it’s not a bad thing after all? I do hope that if we ever have children that they are more socially balanced than I. (or at least better than I perceive myself to be)
This week I’m counting the blessing of having an air conditioner. There is nothing like being without it in the hottest days of the summer to make you realize what a blessing it is to have one. In May the A/C in my car stopped working. My Handy Hubby recharged it himself and it worked like a dream…. for three weeks. Since then I’ve been such a little worker bee running to and fro that I haven’t had time to get it into the shop to be looked at. On the very hottest days we had last week the heat took my breath away when I would climb in after work. Lucky for me the morning was cool enough to not need it on the way to work, but after… oh my goodness!
Last week I stayed at my friends house. She doesn’t have A/C in the house. It was hot upstairs, so most nights I slept downstairs or at least for half of the night until the evening air was bearable. We have just one air conditioned room in our house, the spare bedroom. When it’s really hot we just hang out or sleep in there. That works. At least we have a room to escape to and so do our pets.
So I’m feeling really blessed to have that one air conditioned room right now. Thank you God for the comfort of that room.
Do you have a blessing to share? Marcy of Amazing Graze Farm hosts this. Please pay her a visit.
This week’s topic is “Glass” hosted by my Mom at According to Jemit this FRIDAY, 7/16/10. Check it out… participate… link-up… show your talent! Great topic. I hope I can put something together for it.
Mom… you need to design a logo for your FPF.
I’m just coming off about 10 days of house-sitting. Now there’s something I don’t mind doing every now and then and it helps out my friends. It can be win-win. I get to relax at someone else’s home and they have someone to feed and play with their pets.
Keith is planning something selfless this week. One of his coworkers forgot to ask for a particular day off for an important family event this week. He’s going to cover some of the time for her. That’s my Keith… always looking out for his employees.
Selfless Sunday isn’t about getting a pat on the back. It’s intended to simply remind me to seek out opportunities to be selfless. What can I say… sometimes the opportunities just find me without my even looking, but I’m trying to be deliberate about it. Have you done something selfless lately? Feel free to comment.
I really enjoyed participating in Monica & Carrie’s Sister-Swap. Thank you ladies for organizing it. My partner was Becky from Steps to Grace. Oh my goodness, we were a perfect match!!! Not only did we find that we like similar things, but several of the items in our boxes were similar too. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my new Sister. Without further adieu, here is the box of goodies I received from Becky, with her chosen theme of “PINK LOVE”…
I’m so pleased with my new friend and all the goodies she’s sent my way with love. Thanks Becky and Monica and Carrie. This was a fun activity. Let’s do it again sometime!
There is a little show and tell going on over at Carrie’s blog… take a look.
As I’ve mentioned before, I recently started keeping an Excel spreadsheet of things that I’m thankful for in general and about my husband. I’m being deliberate about thankfulness.
Here are a few items from my daily list of things that I’m thankful about:
And some things that I’m thankful for especially about my husband:
What are you thankful for? Don’t forget to thank the Lord.
In honor of Father’s Day, I should mention a few fond memories about my Dad:
He’s my Dad. I’m proud of him and I love him very much!
My good friend gave us a dresser this weekend. Thank you Amy. Over the years we’ve only ever had a couple dressers. We each had one from our childhood that didn’t quite make it in one piece from move to move There are a couple small dressers in our house that were here when we moved in, but not nearly enough space for our clothes. We each also have 4 Rubbermaid tubs. They are stacked two high. The bottom ones have our out of season clothes and the top ones have our everyday clothes. It’s not real pretty, but functions. We haven’t ever found ourselves with enough money to purchase a new bedroom suite. We don’t even have a headboard for our bed. Oh well… we don’t need “things” you know, but sometimes it is nice to have some. I’m delighted to have this new dresser. I’m totally claiming it for myself. (sorry Keith) It has a lovely mirror with some little shelves and that’s just what girls want in a dresser.
So this Monday morning I’m counting the blessing of good friends with generous hearts and LOVING my new dresser!
Ok. I admit it. I am not the least bit motivated to do my grocery shopping. It’s storming outside, hot inside, and I just feel like doing mostly nothing right now. UGH. Maybe if I plan my meals for the week I can map out what I need from the store.
1) Stir-fry. I’ve been making this about once per week for a while now. It’s good because it’s almost all vegetables and as I said last week… we need to consume more of those. Hmmm…. what kind of meat shall I use? So many choices. I have chicken, pork, and beef in the freezer so it could go any direction.
2) Breakfast. Another almost weekly idea. It’s either eggs, bacon, and toast OR pancakes. This is one of those meals I make when I just don’t have a lot of time to slave over a meal. It’s quick and easy and that suits me just fine. I can always serve it with a side of fruit or glass of juice.
3) Beef Roast. I have a small roast in the freezer. It’s a perfect crock-pot idea. Hmmm… should it be BBQ, or Mushroom, or French Onion flavor? OR… I could turn it into a stew. I even have the potatoes and carrots already. Hmmm… I’ll likely serve this with mashed potatoes and green beans.
4) Chicken & Dumplings. Now here’s one I haven’t made in a very long time. Again, I have just about everything I need to make this. Maybe I should get some frozen peas & carrots to dump in it? That sounds yummy.
5) Pork chops. BBQ or Garlic??? I might serve this with rice and a vegetable, maybe broccoli? I have some rice mixes but need to pick up some plain white rice. I like Jasmine rice or Sticky rice the best.
6) Grilled Cheese with tomato soup and a side of fruit.
So my grocery list is short again thanks to my full freezer and well stocked pantry. I will need milk and snacks like cheese sticks, yogurt, some fresh fruit & veggies and the dreaded chips (especially for the Hubs). YAY! I did it! Now I just need to look at the ads to see what great deals are out there that I shouldn’t pass up!
This weeks theme proves to be as difficult as any of the others. It’s HARD to pick just FOUR favorites!
I took this photo of a fading sunflower in the fall as the sun was setting.
My niece, Gayle. She is so beautiful. I love the splash of color.
The kind eye of my precious Penny.
Wizard… so majestic.
For more FAVORITE Foto Friday entries, head over the Rebecca’s blog.
I recently decided that I would embark upon a project to purposefully record things that I am thankful for. On my computer I set up an Excel document entitled “Thankfulness” and saved it on the desktop so I would see it each time I turn the computer on. It has 4 columns of note. The date, three general things I’m thankful for during that day, and at least one thing I’m thankful for about my Handy Hubby. This project is also helping me to be deliberate about being grateful for my sweet husband. You know when you live with someone for so long, after a while life seems mundane and we forget the sweetness of just loving one another and loving on one another. Here is a snippet of what I’ve recently been thankful for:
Sweet thankfulness about my Handy Hubby:
This is just something very simple that I’ve been thinking about lately:
When you pray for something… don’t just sit back and wait. SEEK IT! For example, if you are praying for better eating habits… don’t buy junk. If you are praying for a better marriage… work on it! Don’t just say it. Do it!
This past week was hot, for me anyway. When it gets up to 80 degrees plus, I’m miserable, especially when there is no air-conditioning. The other day I was thinking, reminiscing, about my sweet Gram Ditties. She lived in an older trailer and for most of it’s time it had NO air conditioning. She had a couple fans, but nothing that did anything more than move around a bunch of hot air. It was sweltering in her trailer. She had her ways of dealing with the heat. She would put on her “house-coat” which was basically a very light robe of sorts that zipped or snapped up. She kept glass drinking glasses in her freezer so when you poured a cool drink it was ICE COLD, like a frosted mug. She’d sip ice water and sit on her swing in the shade of the trees in her backyard. Why can’t I be so content in this heat? Maybe I should try frosted glasses of ice-water? She may have been on to something there!
A few weeks ago, I noticed that the air conditioning in my 2006 Toyota Corolla wasn’t working. I’m all about saving a buck, so I went to the auto parts store and bought a can of the refrigerant to recharge it. Boy was I glad, because otherwise we were going to take the Big Bird (Hubby’s truck) on vacation and that would suck up a lot of gas. As it goes, I was SOOOO glad to have a/c in my car again. I do NOT enjoy the heat and I don’t care to be windblown when I’m going to work. That lasted only a few weeks. It’s blowing hot air again. Oh drat! I wonder how much it will cost to get it fixed? I wonder how hot I will let it get before I am crazy enough to find out? I’m so disappointed.
And thus I am counting the blessing of a/c in general. What would I do without it? Our home is HOT, but we have a/c in the upstairs bedroom. That is where the house is most bearable right now. The coolness of that room reminds me of how blessed we are to enjoy it.
A friend of mine recently bought her first home. She’s a single mom of two lovely young ladies. I helped her move. It’s times like these that remind me of what a blessing it is to have the Big Bird (hubby’s truck). I wanted one for so long and now that we finally have it, I enjoy sharing it with others who need it’s use. It’s a great feeling.
Does it count as saving if you just plain don’t do the grocery shopping? Or does that just make it double next time? UGH. I’m going through a very unorganized phase. I know that’s hard to believe. Ha Ha. I haven’t been keeping up with my weekly planning and shopping as I used to. Don’t get me wrong, I do some shopping. It’s just not the frugal cheapskate coupon-clipping wizard I was for a while. I need to get back at it because we saved so much those days.
So meal planning: (in random order)
1) breakfast: either eggs & bacon or pancakes
2) personal size pizzas (cheese, pepperoni, & mushroom)
3) Stir-fry (chicken or pork with LOTS of vegetables)
4) Buffalo Chicken Salad
5) Ravioli with side salad
So what do I need to put on my list? A little bit of stir-fry meat and some salad makings. That should do it! I have everything else.
I’m realizing that I need to increase our vegetable consumption. I need to step away from the bread-filled meals like sandwiches. I like sandwiches because they are quick and easy. I want to make a pot of soup, but it’s just way too hot and sticky to even go there right now. Sometimes I think it would be good to add more fruit, but honestly, so much of it doesn’t agree with me. Kiwi and pineapple burn my mouth. Bananas are squishy and smell funny. Pears have a funny texture. I like apples and grapes, but tire of them easily. I love melon, especially in the summer, but my Handy Hubby does NOT. Anyway… at least I realize what would be a good change for us… more vegetables. BRING ON SUMMER… I can’t wait for fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, beans, zucchini, and more!
A friend, distant cousin, has injured his hand. He lost part of a finger and coincidentally had to have more of it amputated this week. He’s a dairy farmer, the brother of my beloved friend Ed who went to Heaven ten years ago this fall. There’s milking to be done and I’m glad to be able to assist, several times now. It’s not just about helping someone in need. I like the cows. It takes me back 15 years or more, a time when I was milking there regularly. I have many precious memories with Ed… milking, feeding calves, eating ice cream, and busting a gut laughing! It’s a life I love. If I didn’t need to work my regular job… I would simply milk cows.
While this may be my example for Selfless Sunday, it surely is one of the most enjoyable ones.
I haven’t actually gone grocery shopping for weeks. We just bought essentials before we went on vacation. No sense stocking up on perishables when we wouldn’t be home to use them. We will be home for a week tomorrow and it took me until today to get to the grocery store. Life took over. It’s been very busy and not very well planned and structured lately.
After spending hours clipping coupons, I’m proud to report that I saved almost $50 on our groceries today. I used coupons, fuel perks, and stocked up on store-brand items which we get for 10% discount because of his job. I had several free items via coupon, plus free ice cream when I bought 3 boxes of pierogies, which I had coupons for. I re-stocked all essentials, some pantry items, and some paper goods and pet food as well.
I also went to Sams Club this morning for berries, stir-fry veggies, personal size pizza shells, and some yummy frozen pot pies that my Handy Hubby can pop in the microwave when I’m not home.
Planning meals sure does save a lot. I did spend about $100 today, but that’s actually not unheard of after so many weeks without my usual grocery trip. This week we will have:
I’ve been away part of the week. I went to a work-related conference in Philadelphia. I traveled with a friend who does the same kind of work in another community hospital not far from us. We had a grand time. Last evening as we were relaying much of our silly stories to K on the ride home from the airport, we laughed so hard that I’m sure he could barely understand what we were saying. Fun times! Gotta love it!
So tomorrow is K’s birthday. My sweetie will be 38 (I think). We’ve already gone “out” to celebrate, but I also got him a Nascar t-shirt. (Dale Jr.) It doesn’t matter that it’s not his FAVORITE driver’s t-shirt (Mark Martin #5). ANYTHING Nascar is exciting for him. No doubt he will get it autographed this summer. My family is having a little picnic dinner in his honor later this afternoon. More good times are on the horizon.
Today the Kentucky Derby runs. I’ve never been into horse racing at all, but there is just something about a Kentucky tradition that resonates within. I have precious memories of my old Kentucky home and the purposes for which I was there. Part of me actually wants to watch the race… don a silly glamour hat… and toast with a mint-julip. The realist in me says… what?
Going to take a little nap now. Chicken is marinating and I have a few more items to pick up at the store. It’s a beautiful day here in Western PA. I plan to enjoy it and the company!
