As I began to write this post, I noticed that this is my 975th post--not for the TToT (although hopefully the TToT will continue for that long), but for this little blog. Wow. Regardless of my inadequacies as a blogger, I can't argue with that number. I'm going to refrain from making any quality v. quantity comparisons, and just be delighted for a moment.
(1) I'm thankful for blogging.
For the past few weeks, my mailbox has been filled with greetings from far-flung friends and family. I like seeing photos of smiling faces and catching up on the events of the year.
(2) I'm thankful for connections.
After the full house of Christmas, we had the just-the-three-of-us house of the New Year. For reasons we still don't know, oldest daughter's original return flight was canceled, so we got to enjoy having her for an additional day.
(3) I'm thankful for time together.
Deedee is old enough to venture out in public now. She's accompanied me to the pharmacy, to an office supply store, to the grocery store, and to the church for a New Year's Eve party. In all of those settings, she has behaved well. She's a confident puppy who seems to enjoy working.
(4) I'm thankful to be a puppy raiser, and (5) I'm thankful for a wonderful co-raiser who shares Deedee with me.
John is starting to feel a little better--so much so, that we went for a run yesterday. We traveled 2 miles at an extremely slow pace. John's goal was to be able to breathe. Mission accomplished! He still calls his illness a cold, because after yesterday's run, "walking pneumonia" would be a misnomer! I don't care what he calls it, as long as he continues to feel better.
(6) I'm thankful for improved health.
While on our run, we noticed a B-2 bomber flying overhead. We stopped for a moment to watch it go by. We learned later that it was on its way to the Rose Parade.
(7) I'm thankful to live in a place where I can see military planes frequently flying, but (8) I'm thankful that I live in a peaceful place, where those planes are not engaged in combat.
This week, we also took care of some household tasks. We made great strides in de-cluttering the attic, we updated our "here's how to run the household" file, and we talked about future goals.
(I highly recommend having a hard copy of a spreadsheet or file that lists everything-- financial, social media, etc.-- including user names and passwords. That way, if one person becomes incapacitated, the other one could easily know what to do. And, go over the information every so often. You never know when you might find that you have forgotten to add something--like a retirement account from a previous employer that was somehow overlooked. Just sayin'. Happy New Year!)
(9) I'm thankful for the newness of the New Year.
John and I went out to see a movie last night--Love, the Coopers. It was an interesting character movie. Not the best movie ever, but enjoyable and better-than-average, with a good cast. What we loved most about it, though, was that we couldn't relate to the characters of Diane Keaton and John Goodman. They had been married 40 years, and were ready to call it quits. One of John's (my husband, not John Goodman) most brilliant ideas was in establishing consistent, regular date nights in our marriage from the beginning. Yes, it is easy for parents to get caught up in parenting issues, but weekly dates go a long way to remind us that we are first a husband and a wife. (I recommend weekly dates even more than I recommend a hardcopy of the above-mentioned file!)
(10) I'm thankful for John, and for his great idea about date night!
And with that, the 975th post is a wrap! What are you thankful for this week?
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(1) I'm thankful for blogging.
For the past few weeks, my mailbox has been filled with greetings from far-flung friends and family. I like seeing photos of smiling faces and catching up on the events of the year.
(2) I'm thankful for connections.
After the full house of Christmas, we had the just-the-three-of-us house of the New Year. For reasons we still don't know, oldest daughter's original return flight was canceled, so we got to enjoy having her for an additional day.
(3) I'm thankful for time together.
Deedee is old enough to venture out in public now. She's accompanied me to the pharmacy, to an office supply store, to the grocery store, and to the church for a New Year's Eve party. In all of those settings, she has behaved well. She's a confident puppy who seems to enjoy working.
(4) I'm thankful to be a puppy raiser, and (5) I'm thankful for a wonderful co-raiser who shares Deedee with me.
John is starting to feel a little better--so much so, that we went for a run yesterday. We traveled 2 miles at an extremely slow pace. John's goal was to be able to breathe. Mission accomplished! He still calls his illness a cold, because after yesterday's run, "walking pneumonia" would be a misnomer! I don't care what he calls it, as long as he continues to feel better.
(6) I'm thankful for improved health.
While on our run, we noticed a B-2 bomber flying overhead. We stopped for a moment to watch it go by. We learned later that it was on its way to the Rose Parade.
(7) I'm thankful to live in a place where I can see military planes frequently flying, but (8) I'm thankful that I live in a peaceful place, where those planes are not engaged in combat.
This week, we also took care of some household tasks. We made great strides in de-cluttering the attic, we updated our "here's how to run the household" file, and we talked about future goals.
(I highly recommend having a hard copy of a spreadsheet or file that lists everything-- financial, social media, etc.-- including user names and passwords. That way, if one person becomes incapacitated, the other one could easily know what to do. And, go over the information every so often. You never know when you might find that you have forgotten to add something--like a retirement account from a previous employer that was somehow overlooked. Just sayin'. Happy New Year!)
(9) I'm thankful for the newness of the New Year.
John and I went out to see a movie last night--Love, the Coopers. It was an interesting character movie. Not the best movie ever, but enjoyable and better-than-average, with a good cast. What we loved most about it, though, was that we couldn't relate to the characters of Diane Keaton and John Goodman. They had been married 40 years, and were ready to call it quits. One of John's (my husband, not John Goodman) most brilliant ideas was in establishing consistent, regular date nights in our marriage from the beginning. Yes, it is easy for parents to get caught up in parenting issues, but weekly dates go a long way to remind us that we are first a husband and a wife. (I recommend weekly dates even more than I recommend a hardcopy of the above-mentioned file!)
(10) I'm thankful for John, and for his great idea about date night!
And with that, the 975th post is a wrap! What are you thankful for this week?
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sounds like a very good start to the New Year! Will look forward to photos of Deedee.
ReplyDeleterunning as a means to recover from a cold... like the concept! takes a but of determination, I would think.
totally with you on Item#1
I should have put in a photo of her working at the church, but I was in a hurry. She's getting bigger!
DeleteDeedee must be getting pretty big if she can work in public now! COOL! Wow Walking pneumonia... of course the boogey woogey blues cant be far behind! I hope John continues to improve... Happy New Year Kristi!
ReplyDeleteWell, he hasn't been diagnosed with anything, but it sounds like you also are great with medical humor--boogey woogey blues! I'll have to put on my dancing shoes! :-)
DeleteI am thankful for a wonderful day out with Grampy and Amara. We took her to see Star Wars at IMAX and it was such fun just the 3 of us! We seldom splurge on things like movies and popcorn but it was a special day and I'm glad we splurged!
ReplyDeleteWe saw Star Wars at our IMAX, too, and that was also a splurge for us! Great movie, and fun times!
Delete2016 is a year filled with blessings for us to discover. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you, too!
DeleteThe idea of having the file on all the pertinent details for home organization is genius. And date night really, truly does help you let go of the petty day to day stuff.
ReplyDeleteIf either John or I were incapacitated, it would be hard enough without having to figure out household details--having a file of information hopefully will make life just a little bit easier in the event of an emergency. And date night is just plain fun!
DeleteHard copy of the spread sheet? I don't even have an e-copy. Somethings I need to work on this new year.
ReplyDeleteI keep my e-copy on a flash drive; I don't trust it to my computer drive. It is a work in progress.
DeleteSo much too late, but a true wish nonetheless; Have a wonderful New Year and may all your dreams and wishes come true.
ReplyDeleteI've been not a good (blogger)friend lately, being far too busy in the house, painting, decorating and recovering from all the painting and decorating.... I have only two settings on my body it seems; Too hard or Off.
Good to read you had a great time with your daughter and that John is improving health-wise.
Just another 25 posts and you'll have a great celebration going on here.
I really should get blogging again, but I can't seem to find the time or mood for it. Maybe once my life is back to "normal" again??
Oh, Bianca, I've been wondering how you have been, and hoping you weren't wearing yourself out with all the new-house stuff! How exciting to be able to make the house home!
DeleteI'm trying to figure out how to celebrate 1000 posts. The nice thing is, I can control the timing of it by the frequency that I write!
And you definitely are a good blogger friend--you are one of the few who have been here from the beginning! :-)
Date nights are a great idea. So easy to get side-tracked and let life get in the say of enjoying each other. Glad John is feeling better and your life is decluttering. This is the perfect time of the year for organizing and cleaning out. Happy New Year, Kristi.
ReplyDelete"They" say that marriage takes work, but I think date nights are a big part of that work! And date nights don't necessarily mean glamorous events--last Friday, we saw the dollar theater movie, grabbed a burrito at Rubio's, then stopped at Walmart to buy a bathroom scrub brush!
DeleteHappy New Year to you, too, Val!
Let's not worry about the math (or maths, even!) and just keep plugging along. Why wouldn't we be still TToTing it up then? :-)
ReplyDeleteMy daughter did have to miss a day of work, but her boss was very nice and accommodating, so it all worked out. Snot-and-wheeze-free sounds wonderful--a girl can dream, right? Seriously, though, he is getting better, slowly but surely.
I'm hoping to complete the spreadsheet soon. It's started, but not finished yet.
Happy 975! I'm happy to hear Deedee has graduated to going out with you. I am still going to look into the service puppy thing, although I've had to give up on it being a guide dog for the blind :(
ReplyDeletePoor John! I somehow feel like he caught my crud long distance! I still have a little bit of a cough, but at least I got it confirmed that it wasn't pneumonia, although at one point I was pretty sure it was.
John thinks his might be pneumonia, too, but he hasn't had it confirmed one way or the other. He hasn't named it Dyanne, either, so I think you don't have to feel guilty. :-)
DeleteIf it IS pneumonia, at least they give you steroids to help get you over it. When it's just bronchitis, they just say sorry, here's some cough syrup.
DeleteGrateful for blogging and peace.
ReplyDeleteGlad your puppy training is going well. Hope that continues.
Deedee has had an exceptionally good week, which makes puppy raising easier!
Delete