The image above says "I am not lucky, I am blessed" printed in black typewriter font letters on a light gray background. A soft lavender and white flower with a green stem, appearing to be done in pastels or watercolor, is centered behind the text. The image is borrowed from LIVELIFEHAPPY.COM* This simple statement forms the core of my personal beliefs and is the reason my heart and mind are ever-grateful. Luck has nothing to do with it.
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Well, here I am yet again on Tuesday night as I scramble to collect my thoughts and write my Ten Things of Thankful post for the week. It apparently is my new "schedule",but not one I am fond of and I'm working on that. As you've most likely noted, I haven't been spending time in the blogsphere for the past month or so, even less time that I'd been spending here since the end of Summer. I've been working on re-evaluating and realigning my priorities, and I've spent a lot more time connecting one-on-one with people, both in "real life" and via the Internet. I feel good about that. I am thankful for the new perspective about being in the here and now and taking things moment by moment as they happen. It feels right.
That being said, it doesn't mean that I won't return to being an active presence here, just maybe in a slightly different way. I've always said that our Ten Things of Thankful blog isn't about me, it is not my personal ego trip. I simply am the facilitator in providing a weekly place for us to come together and share. I enjoy doing that and I will continue to do so as long as people continue to participate. I am so very thankful for the great turn-out we've been having at our TToT blog link-up each week... I love and appreciate you all!
Right now I am looking at a new format for my personal blog. I've used Blogger since I started blogging over ten years ago, and I am comfortable with it, but not with the changes that transpired when Google took it over. What was once easy is now a real pain in the butt in that several people are unable to comment on my posts no matter what level of access I use for settings, even the most open format Blogger has available. I also encounter this problem on a few other Blogger blogs that I am unable to comment on. It's frustrating! I have a Wordpress blog and I've tried it, but it feels very clumsy to me, and I can't say I really like it. So I'm checking out a couple other options and will hopefully be able to have something better in place by the beginning of the new year. I am thankful that I may have found something suitable for my very basic blogging style.
For awhile I considered just stopping writing altogether. Then I realized how many times a day something happens, I see something or read something, or someone says something, that inspires me to write about it, but I never get it done. I've come too far from the original "stream of consciousness/daily journal" concept of my original Josie Two Shoes blog, and I want to return to it. I go back and read some of the things I wrote long ago, and I miss that level of sharing. I am thankful for the wonderful record of life that blogging provides over several years time. I also think it is an awesome gift to pass onto my children someday. I wish I could go back and read my mother's thoughts or grandmother's thoughts about their lives!
That being said, I also want to do more creative writing, but only when I feel inspired and not under the pressure of a prompt. If one speaks to me, great, but sometimes I found myself feeling more like it was an assignment than a desire or inspiration, and that doesn't make for good writing. I am thankful that I have friends who will stop by to visit and see what I've written regardless of what I write about. Some of the very best friends I have in my life, I've met on the Internet and I am so very thankful for each one of you!
As we move closer toward Christmas, I am thankful for the fun we've been having with my children and their partners as we send gifts back and forth and take full advantage of Amazon free shipping. I am thankful that both of my kids have such giving hearts, and that they enjoy even the simplest things in return. They've always been that way. Right now fudge is high on their request list and I'll be getting that done and ready to mail in the next couple days.
I am thankful for the many warm days we've had so far this "winter". Nights are cool, often in the 30's, but we've had some really nice weather which keeps my spirits high, despite the fact that it doesn't feel a lot like Christmas here in Texas after growing up in South Dakota.
I am surprised, delighted and thankful that our new furnace is resulting in a much warmer home and a reduced electricity bill... win-win! How often does it happen that you end up paying less for something than you did previously?!
I am thankful for the many opportunities that have been given to me in recent weeks to reach out to others and offer some words of kindness and encouragement. I remember well what it feels like to have no hope, and I am most happy when I can share my story and present the possibility that things change and good things can happen when we least expect it.
I am thankful that my inside and outside furkids are healthy and happy and provide us endless affection and endless entertainment. They love the new cat trees that my daughter gave them, and the insiders enjoy visiting with the outsiders as they sit on opposite sides of the window. I am thankful that I am able to provide for their needs. I am thankful that Papa Bear and I have stayed healthy this year too!
And on that note, I am most thankful this year that we have been able to somehow stretch the budget and make ends meet with no feeling of deprivation and yet with learning ways to make our dollars go further. I can see how much we've learned by having less income to live on, and it's been good for us!
Bedtime coming up here, as is the deadline for this week's linkup, so I will close and be back with the new linkup for you on Friday. Thank you again for your kindness, your patience, and your understanding. I will continue to work on getting my life more organized so I can participate here more fully in the coming year. :-)
Blessings to you in this season of love and hope... Look for reasons to be thankful in your life, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!
That being said, it doesn't mean that I won't return to being an active presence here, just maybe in a slightly different way. I've always said that our Ten Things of Thankful blog isn't about me, it is not my personal ego trip. I simply am the facilitator in providing a weekly place for us to come together and share. I enjoy doing that and I will continue to do so as long as people continue to participate. I am so very thankful for the great turn-out we've been having at our TToT blog link-up each week... I love and appreciate you all!
Right now I am looking at a new format for my personal blog. I've used Blogger since I started blogging over ten years ago, and I am comfortable with it, but not with the changes that transpired when Google took it over. What was once easy is now a real pain in the butt in that several people are unable to comment on my posts no matter what level of access I use for settings, even the most open format Blogger has available. I also encounter this problem on a few other Blogger blogs that I am unable to comment on. It's frustrating! I have a Wordpress blog and I've tried it, but it feels very clumsy to me, and I can't say I really like it. So I'm checking out a couple other options and will hopefully be able to have something better in place by the beginning of the new year. I am thankful that I may have found something suitable for my very basic blogging style.
For awhile I considered just stopping writing altogether. Then I realized how many times a day something happens, I see something or read something, or someone says something, that inspires me to write about it, but I never get it done. I've come too far from the original "stream of consciousness/daily journal" concept of my original Josie Two Shoes blog, and I want to return to it. I go back and read some of the things I wrote long ago, and I miss that level of sharing. I am thankful for the wonderful record of life that blogging provides over several years time. I also think it is an awesome gift to pass onto my children someday. I wish I could go back and read my mother's thoughts or grandmother's thoughts about their lives!
That being said, I also want to do more creative writing, but only when I feel inspired and not under the pressure of a prompt. If one speaks to me, great, but sometimes I found myself feeling more like it was an assignment than a desire or inspiration, and that doesn't make for good writing. I am thankful that I have friends who will stop by to visit and see what I've written regardless of what I write about. Some of the very best friends I have in my life, I've met on the Internet and I am so very thankful for each one of you!
As we move closer toward Christmas, I am thankful for the fun we've been having with my children and their partners as we send gifts back and forth and take full advantage of Amazon free shipping. I am thankful that both of my kids have such giving hearts, and that they enjoy even the simplest things in return. They've always been that way. Right now fudge is high on their request list and I'll be getting that done and ready to mail in the next couple days.
I am thankful for the many warm days we've had so far this "winter". Nights are cool, often in the 30's, but we've had some really nice weather which keeps my spirits high, despite the fact that it doesn't feel a lot like Christmas here in Texas after growing up in South Dakota.
I am surprised, delighted and thankful that our new furnace is resulting in a much warmer home and a reduced electricity bill... win-win! How often does it happen that you end up paying less for something than you did previously?!
I am thankful for the many opportunities that have been given to me in recent weeks to reach out to others and offer some words of kindness and encouragement. I remember well what it feels like to have no hope, and I am most happy when I can share my story and present the possibility that things change and good things can happen when we least expect it.
I am thankful that my inside and outside furkids are healthy and happy and provide us endless affection and endless entertainment. They love the new cat trees that my daughter gave them, and the insiders enjoy visiting with the outsiders as they sit on opposite sides of the window. I am thankful that I am able to provide for their needs. I am thankful that Papa Bear and I have stayed healthy this year too!
And on that note, I am most thankful this year that we have been able to somehow stretch the budget and make ends meet with no feeling of deprivation and yet with learning ways to make our dollars go further. I can see how much we've learned by having less income to live on, and it's been good for us!
Bedtime coming up here, as is the deadline for this week's linkup, so I will close and be back with the new linkup for you on Friday. Thank you again for your kindness, your patience, and your understanding. I will continue to work on getting my life more organized so I can participate here more fully in the coming year. :-)
Blessings to you in this season of love and hope... Look for reasons to be thankful in your life, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!
* Descriptions of the included photos are being provided for those who may be unable to view the illustrations.
Many blessings to you, i hope you do find ways to continue sharing, as i know what you mean about some blog platforms being difficult to work with. If you let me know where you are, i'll follow!
ReplyDeleteI will find a way to make it work, Mimi, and I'll definitely keep you all informed of where to find me if I move to a new address! :-)
DeleteWonderful thankful list. Your children sound like they take after you - amazing. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! They have both taken their lives much further than I ever could have dreamed or hoped for and I am so proud of both of them!
DeleteWhen I first started blogging, I thought it would be great to post to several different blog hops, a different one (or even two) for each day of the week. However after doing this for a while and trying to keep up with reading and replying to others who were participating, it became a little overwhelming and was taking more time than I thought was best for me and how I thought was the best way to use my time. So I backed off. Some of the other blog hops were ones with photography challenges which can really be fun, but again was more time consuming.
ReplyDeleteMaking your dollars stretch is a great thankful item.
I remember being frustrated by not being able to make comments on some sites that used Wordpress. I hope you are able to find a site to use that will allow you to do what you want to do with your blog.
Thank you for being the administrator for this blog. You do a fantastic job!
You are so right that it easily becomes very time-consuming, Pat. I could spend all day blogging happily, but then nothing else would get done, and that's not good. It is always about balance.
DeleteI am so thankful that we've made it through this year one day at a time.
Not being able to comment on blogs you enjoy is very frustrating, and eventually you just give up trying, or I have in the past, so I'm hoping to find a place/way that anyone can comment without jumping through hoops. I had to add a Wordpress address just to comment on the blogs there, but that doesn't even always resolve the issue with Blogger blogs.
I hope to be a more timely administrator for our TToT linkups in the coming year, these past few and months have been a little rough and disorganized and I'm working on getting life on an better path.