Getting ready for the holidays!

It’s been a minute.

I really haven’t had too much going on project-wise…little to share. I guess I could have shared the new water line I ran from my seasonal meter out front to the back yard. Or maybe the repairs I made to a neighbor’s kitchen island or garbage disposal. Could have shared the cute cupcakes the little girl next door and I made and delivered to our neighbors.

I could share the Alaskan cruise we went on in September. I’m not a travel blogger…just go! I promise you won’t be disappointed.

But seriously, no major projects. I have a few in the thinking/planning stage I will share in the coming months. One will be a room makeover for a very special “delivery” coming in May! Stay tuned!

So for now I will just share what is coming this weekend….CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Yep…for the first time ever I am actually doing a little Christmas decorating BEFORE Thanksgiving!

Why? Well, it has been a lifelong dream to have a tree in every room of my house…and last year I finally achieved that dream.

It started with the “black and white” Christmas tree I put up in the office….I share that HERE.

This year we are going to set up the vintage train set around this tree.

Callum, our youngest grandson, will be 10 months old and he will LOVE it! This is the train set Brian’s grandfather gave his dad when he was a little boy…so Callum will be the 4th generation to enjoy!

The Stewart plaid tree is one I added to the sunroom two years ago…..I shared it HERE!

And for the first time ever, I decorated the master bedroom for the holidays….

What I didn’t share is the large red and white tree I added to this room later in the season.

So with these new additions, as well as ALL the Christmas decor through out the house, I just don’t think I can get it all done the weekend after Thanksgiving….the main tree in the living room takes an entire day!

So for the first time ever I am breaking my hard fast cardinal rule of NO CHRISTMAS BEFORE THANKSGIVING! I love fall decor and I really want to enjoy it for as long as I can. So I have decided to decorate the office, master bedroom and sunroom for Christmas since those rooms don’t have a lot of fall decor!

So stay tuned…at some point in the next few weeks I will share all the holiday decor….again. Little changes from year to year but it is my hope that something I do, and have done for years, may catch your eye and give you a little “Christmas inspiration!”

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Thanksgiving 2019...

An amazing year!

I started this post to publish at the end of the year…kind of a “New Year’s reflection”…but this week is a week of “thanks” so I decided to focus on a few things I have been blessed with this year and am thankful for!

I got to go to Phoenix and spend time with Mitchell, Tay and the girls…we visited the Grand Canyon and Tombstone!

Katie graduated from college…that makes Brian and I five-for-five!

My oldest grandson graduated from high school and started college.

I got to take my baby girl to New York City…something I have wanted to do for YEARS!

Brian and I vacationed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and toured Yellowstone…an AMAZING trip!

Matt and Hannah’s wedding…I honestly didn’t think anyone could top a wedding in Maui…but their wedding on a bluff over-looking the mountains was just as beautiful!

I am healthy. I have everything I need. I have a wonderful partner and we have five amazing children!

It has been another amazing year.

That is not to say that “bad” things haven’t happened…but I CHOOSE every day to focus on the positives.

After all, happiness is a CHOICE! So this Thanksgiving, choose to focus on the positives in your live, be grateful for those things and resolve to carry a heart of gratitude all year!!!

I have said it before and I will say it again…..

Happy Thanksgiving….but more importantly, have a HAPPY LIFE by focusing on that for which you are grateful!!! (and remember, it IS a choice!)

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Be grateful....

Last year I shared the importance of “choosing to be happy” and how focusing on the positives and gratitude are an important element to being happy.

Still one of my favorite posts, and I actually reread it often just to remind myself of the importance of staying focused on the positives in my life and why I should always be grateful…for everything!

This past weekend Brian and I had a list of mundane chores we needed to do around the house. Clean the dryer vent (super important after THIS fiasco!), throw out some old tile in attic and put the new tile up there, rake and bag leaves and pine needles and clean out the flower pots, scrub the grout in the dining room and kitchen, repair some trim on the garden shed, and charge the battery on the riding lawn mower (still wouldn’t start…curses!)

We have our weekly chores…stripping beds, vacuuming, dusting, deep cleaning the kitchen and baths…stuff we do every week together…but this was “extra” stuff that we have kind of been putting off. Ugh!

So how do I stay positive and happy when I have a laundry list of “chores” to accomplish and actually ENJOY the mundane chores?

I focus on the positives!

For the first day in weeks the temps were in the upper 60s…beautiful day to be outside!

I am thankful I have a new walk in shower I love so I have a bunch of spare tile that needs to go in the attic.

I am thankful I have beautiful mature trees and a yard I love, and I live in a part of the country that has four seasons…so yes, I have to rake leaves and pine needles a few times a year.

I am thankful I have modern appliances that make my life easier IF I give them proper attention on occasion.

I am thankful I have a home I love that deserves my time and attention in return!

I am thankful I have a great partner to give me a helping hand when I need it!

Yes, I could focus on what I DON’T have…but in order to be happy in this life you have to stay focused on what you DO have. Find the positive in every little thing and be grateful!

I wish I had spent more time in my life focusing on the positives. Sometimes we get so mired down in the “don’ts” we fail to focus on the “dos” …the positives…the things we SHOULD be grateful for!

This is a great week to celebrate the things in our life (family, friends, home, food, shelter) we DO have…the things we should be grateful for…the things that, while they can easily be seen as a negative at times, we have to learn to “flip the switch” and focus on the positive….something to be grateful for!

In return you may just find a tiny bit of happiness creeping in.

Grab ahold of that…focus on it.

When you are tempted to see something as a pain in the rear, look for reasons why it is actually something wonderful and something you can be grateful for!