Month: November 2016

Day 76 – 100 Days of Happiness

I have a habit of being late… but this one was not my fault!  Today was our late Thanksgiving dinner.  My daughter and boyfriend both worked on Thursday so we planned dinner today after my daughter was off work.

I always stress about getting things done at the same time or at least close so nothing gets cold, and I think i pulled it off pretty well.  My daughter ended up working more than an hour later than expected so we were in a holding pattern for a while, but nothing burned and it all got cooked close to the same time.

It was good to have family around the table and stories and laughter.  I am very thankful they are in my life and accept me and all my flaws.  I love them all.

Now the dishwasher has been run once.  There will be another load of dishes in the morning and it will be all cleaned up.  We even had enough room in the refrigerator for all the left overs. I can’t wait for turkey sandwiches tomorrow!  Yummy!

Day 75 – 100 Days of Happiness

It was a drizzly rain that lasted all day yesterday.  Temperatures in the low fifties so the rain felt like a chill to the bone.  Rain always makes me ache, cold always makes me ache, but the weather was not going to put a damper on the day.

I met my daughter for a nice breakfast at Perkins.  Fueled up on french toast and coffee we set out for our destination in the rain.  We made it into the “big city” and didn’t get lost once (thank you Google GPS).  We had arrived at the civic center.

It was the day the two of us had been waiting for, for a long time.  We were going to see the live stage production of the musical Rent.  It was a Saturday matinée and I was sad to see there were empty seats left for this 20th anniversary show.  But it was AMAZING!

rent-11-27-16

The subtle differences between the movie and the stage production were obvious but not distracting at all.  I loved the way they staged the multi character scenes.  The voices were magnificent.  All the actors did a fantastic job!

Now my daughter and I have seen four different Broadway show here on the small stages in Iowa.  We have seen Cats, Wicked, Beauty and the Beast and now Rent.  I can’t wait for the next show to add to our list… would love for it to be The Color Purple when it starts to tour!

Today I have memories and a new tour shirt to wear … yesterday was definitely a day of happiness in spite of the weather!  Now off to today’s moments of happiness.

Day 74 – 100 Days of Happiness

This week started off really bad… I lost the diamond ring my boyfriend got me a couple of years ago and I was in a car accident – no injuries, but a very dented door from the lady who backed into me in the parking lot.  I was without my regular doctors visit to see my therapist because of the holiday.  Just really a week to run and hide.

Tonight was a bright spot however.  Although I was sure the ring was either lost in the works of the recliner I sit in or lost forever, tonight as I did the laundry I heard a clink on the floor outside of the dryer.  It was my ring!  I am guessing I either dropped it in the laundry Sunday night or it was caught in the clothes I had on.  No matter what happened to it, I am very glad I found it.  Maybe this is the start of a turning point for good?  I sure hope so.  I know tomorrow is gonna be good… so excited to tell you about it tomorrow as I am sure it will be the highlight of happiness for the day!

Day 73 – 100 Days of Happiness

I cried again today… not for sadness though.  It was a more or less humbling moment.  My boyfriend and I have been in sad financial ways for some time now and I have been very worried about Christmas.

I grew up with Christmas always being a time of giving and I LOVE to buy stuff for other people and see the joy it brings them.  Strapped for cash though that is hard to do.  We have been saving change, taking pop cans to the redemption center, using coupons when possible… all the tricks we can think of to save.  Today my sister and father surprised me with a check to use for Christmas shopping.  It was all I could do to stop the tears from flowing right away.  I am so lucky to have family that understands what I am going through and is there to help where they can.

So one worry has been lessened. And happily I was able to take advantage of a Black Friday sale and get a shirt for my daughter at half price almost.  Now if I can get organised for Cyber Monday I can do some more shopping and then it will be a happy Christmas once again.

100 Days of Happiness – Thanksgiving

I once more am putting together two days posts, but they are both regarding Thanksgiving so I guess it works that they are together.

Day 71 – This is the day I tested my brain power.  Used that mental list of what is normal to have on Thanksgiving and hit the store to buy a bird and the fixings.  Thankfully my boyfriend gets a discount where he works and we found a lot of what we needed on sale.  I have had some years where we shopped the wrong store or the wrong time and didn’t hit much for sales.  But since we are not having our family dinner until Monday we could wait until the “last-minute sales” and did really good.  Trying to subtract the extras off the receipt I add up the whole meal to only run about $45 to 50 to feed 4 and have leftovers … I love bargain shopping!!

Day 72 – Today was a very quiet holiday for me with my boyfriend and daughter both working.  But I had a nice day reading and telling my friends and family that I loved them and was thankful they are a part of my life.  Whether in a text message or email I connected with those I care about today and any day I can do that makes me happy.

I hope all of you that celebrated Thanksgiving today had a good day and took a moment to reflect on what you are thankful for.  And anyone planning on shopping in the craziness that is Black Friday sales finds great deals and safely returns home with them. Having worked 20 years in retail I have certainly seen some crazy things happen on Black Friday… but that is a story or two for another time.

Day 70 – 100 Days of Happiness

I really need to get back on a writing schedule at night or I will be a day behind forever… but then that is one thing about me, ask any of the family and they will say I am perpetually late.  That was the only detention I got in school was for tardiness.  My daughter says I will be late for my own funeral.

But I am not here to talk about my inevitable death.  My happiness for yesterday… I finally got a couple of recall fixes taken car of for my car and sought the irritating source of a LOUD clicking noise the car was making.  If I had been feeling better I would have been pacing back and forth worried about the bill.  Car repairs can be so expensive and right before the start of the holiday season unwanted expenses really hurt.

I got the call that the car was fixed and they told me the total on the bill I about passed out.  All the work outside of the free recall fixes was covered under the extended warranty policy so I just had a $50 deductible to pay.  My car is nice and quiet, does not leak oil, and is safe again.  And I still have money for groceries – Yippee!!

100 Days of Happiness – Thank you!

My internet went out last night…and it was horrible I had to find something to do that required no connection, yikes!  In all seriousness, I was really looking forward to last nights post as it is one that makes me happy and humbled… I have more than 100 followers now.

Starting out this blog I wanted to have a connection with a least a few readers.  I know I have not followed any one path in my writing and for that I apologize.  I find the daily prompt a lot of fun to challenge my creative side and this 100 day challenge has been good for my depression.  I have above all always tried to stay true to myself in all that I write though and that has not wavered at all.

I am not a great writer, but I feel so grateful to have a number of people who on some level can connect with my writing.  THANK YOU all for taking the time to read my posts.  I plan to continue to bring words forward as long as my muses let me.  Now I must go see what the word of the day is and try to stretch the brain a little more for a poem or post.  Thanks again!  (((HUGS)))

100 Days of Happiness

Another night got away from me.  Fatigue and insomnia… it is a coin flip on which will happen.  Last night it was fatigue and who knows what tonight will have in store.  So once again here is yesterday’s and today’s post for my happiness days in one blog…

Day 67 – There are times you just have to cave in to cravings, even if they are for food that is not good for you.  My daughter called last week and was sharing a craving.  She said she had been wanting pigs in a blanket for a while now and I should invite her over for dinner and have that… no, she is not subtle at times.  So tonight was pigs in a blanket with cheese inside all ooey-gooey and melty.  It is one of those foods that is far from gourmet, but sometime you just have to do it for the good of comfort foods!  And because your daughter asked nicely.

Day 68 – This may seem strange but my happiness today came from a sweatshirt.  In the fall when the crisp is in the air but I am too stubborn to turn on the furnace yet there is nothing like the feeling of a warm soft fuzzy sweatshirt to keep the chill off.  My boyfriend bought me one for my birthday last month and it was just the thing to wear most of the day to stay comfy and cozy in.