T13 5/17

Thirteen Things that matter the most. I've been feeling rather blue lately. I know it has to do with the fact that my husband has been out of work for so long. We ran out of savings a long time ago, and we are having some trouble. I've been trying to stay positive, but there are days where I feel like crying (and often do). I know that I have a lot of blessings, and a lot to be thankful for. I am rich in ways other than money. When I'm feeling lowest, I think of the things that matter most to me, and I always know that I have what truly matters. 1.... My family My husband is a gift beyond belief. He is honest, loyal, and honorable. He loves me totally and completely, and is always looking out for me. I love him more than I ever felt possible. I've never been happier than I am with him. My children are my joy. I have been blessed with five wonderful children. They each have their strengths and differences, yet they each bring with them an incredible spirit, and they fill my sould with joy. This makes me rich beyond measure. 2.... My church I know who I am, why I am on this earth, and where I am going when this earth life is through. I am truly blessed to know that God, my Heavenly Father, loves and knows me personally, as does his son Jesus Christ. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ I have the means to be forgiven for my mistakes and to one day return to live with my Heavenly Father and my family for eternity. This makes me rich beyond measure. 3.... My home I have a modest three bedroom apartment that I wouldn't have chosen by itself, but I am really glad that I have it. I overlook a courtyard with a playground, and every day all the moms sit in lawn chairs under the shade of the trees there and watch our children playing together. We talk and laugh and share problems with each other. We talk about everything from current events to what's for dinner. How rich and fulfilling that is. 4.... My friends A person is truly rich who has friends. I know that when in need, I have certain people I can call on. I have true friends who love me in spite of our differences, and they know that the feeling is mutual. I would do just about anything for my friends. I am a loyal friend for life. I have friends I've known for 27 years now. We don't need to talk every day to know our friendship is secure. True frienships are worth their weight in gold. 5.... We don't go hungry I may not be able to serve lobster for dinner, but my kids wouldn't eat that anyway. We have food to eat and I'm thankful for it. My cupboards are full and my freezer is too. I don't have to worry about whether there is enough food for dinner. Many families do. Many families don't have enough to feed everyone. Some children go to bed hungry at night and wake up hungry in the morning. I can go right now to the fridge and have a snack if I want. I can sit here and plan tomorrows dinner, and have multiple options. I don't have that worry on my mind. To me, this is something to be truly thankful for. 6.... We are warm, safe and dry I go to bed each night in a soft bed with my pillow and blankets, after tucking my children in to their beds. We are dressed in pjs. The air conditioner/heater is on, (depending on the season) the house is cool when it is hot outside, and warm when it is cold outside. I don't worry about the rain coming down and dripping inside my home. I don't worry about predators coming in and harming us. I sleep peacefully knowing all is well. Tomorrow there are many options for what to wear. I don't have to wash our only outfit at night to wear again the next day. We don't have to sleep on the floor. We have clean running water for hot showers and cold drinks. What a blessing that is! 7.... My country I live in a country where I feel safe. I don't worry about what I am writing and if it is being read by the government. (If it is, it is just one more hit on my blog, yeah!) I can say what I want and it is okay. If I want to move to another state, I can. I can go to work as I please, and do as I please. I don't hear gunfire from my home. I don't see men in army uniforms patroling our streets with machine guns. I don't see homes and business destroyed by artillary. To me, this is worth a lot. What a blessing. 8.... My health I may not be 100% healthy, I take medicine for my blood pressure, but I enjoy good health. My family is healthy, too. We all can walk down the stairs on two feet, take a deep breath of the fresh mountain air, run, jump, bend over to smell the flowers, see the sunset, hear the birds singing in the trees and enjoy life. How thankful I am that we are not battling cancer, or some other dreadful illness. How thankful I am that we are not weekly, or daily patients at the doctor's office. Common colds and allergies aside, we are a healthy lot. I am so thankful for this blessing. 9.... Sunshine I love the sunshine. I love to watch it coming up in the morning and setting at night. It is so beautiful. I love to play outside with my kids and feel it upon my face. I don't like being incredibly hot, but where I live it is usually mild. It gets hot in late July and then is fine again by late August. Even in the winter, when the snow covers everything, I'm thankful for the sunshine. There are days when the sky is overcast and the rain is coming down, and I sit in my home and watch it rain. I love the smell of the earth after a good rainfall. Then when the sun comes out, I smile. It is like welcoming home an old friend. A simple pleasure I think, but one I am thankful for. 10.. Animals I love animals; I am the Cat Lady afterall. There is something to be said for the stress relief of petting an animal. I love to go into the mountains and look at the wildlife. I have seen deer, elk, wolves, fox, moose, and a variety of small critters. It is wonderful. How empty life would be without them. I look forward in the morning to hearing the birds sing. Animals add beauty and richness to my life. 11.. My talents I may not be able to do everything I want, but I do have my talents. I enjoy reading a good book; I know some who have difficulty learning to read. I can draw, I'm not a renowned artist , but I enjoy it. I love music, and with practice, I could play the piano better. I like to sew, I'm good with kids, I am fairly creative, I can write stories, I can cook; all these are talents. My talents enrich my life, and I'm thankful for them. 12.. Opportunities to serve others The chance to serve others makes a person feel very rich indeed. It may be something as small as bringing dinner to a neighbor who just had a baby, or baking cookies for a family that just moved in next door, but serving others makes me feel good inside. When we are out driving, my husband will often stop to help someone who has broken down on the side of the road. I remember being broken down in Missouri (nothing against people who live in Missouri, lol). I was obviously pregnant, and it was late November. We needed a jump and didn't have cables. Everyone who stopped wanted $10 to give us a jump. We didn't have $10. With disbelief I watched people drive away, leaving us. We ended up spending the night in a broken down van under an overpass in freezing weather. I don't want to live like that. I will gladly help anyone who needs help. I know that no matter what my circumstances, there are people worse off than myself. Sometimes just a smile will brighten someone's day. If you look everyday for some way to give service to others, you will find it, and your life will be all the more richer for it. 13.. My life I am supremely thankful for my life. Through all the troubles and trials I've had, and there have been many, they have shaped me into the person I am today. I am thankful for each new day that I have. Every day brings new opportunities, new surprises, new reasons to smile. At the end of each day, as I kneel in prayer beside my bed, I am thankul for the day, whatever the day brought. Each day is a chance to be with my family and friends. Each day is a chance to tell someone I love them. My life is good. I am rich! When I'm having blue days, it helps to remember it. I may not have money at the moment, but that is temporary. Where it counts, I'm rich. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

I need a vacation

I need a vacation; a real vacation. Unfortunately, now that my husband is out of work anc can take the time to go somewhere, we don't have the money. Why do vacations cost so much? It should be a break from your everyday life... a chance to unwind and recharge. It doesn't work that way all the time though. I worry about packing everything and do we have enough money, and how am I going to keep the kinds entertained in the car, and when are we going to get there? Then we try so hard to get to see and do everything we can in the time we have that by the time we get home we need a vacation to recover from our vacation!

For the last two years I have given birth during the summer so that we can no go to my husband's family reuinion. Usually that is our only vacation of the year... camping for 4 days in Arizona with his family. I really enjoy my in-laws. We get along great and I love seeing them. I hate sleeping on the ground in a tent. I also don't like to be hot or dirty. You can't help but be dirty when you are camping and you can't help but be hot when you're in Arizona. I always come home tired and cranky from not getting good sleep, and aching from head to toe from sleeping on the ground. I do like being outside, and would enjoy camping more if I had a way to shower, and a comfortable place to sleep at night.

My idea of a great vacation is to rent a hotel on the beach somewhere... sleep in, have brunch, explore the beach, maybe go to an aquarium, swim, enjoy dinner & relax with a movie before bed... after a soak in the tub. Have I EVER had such a vacation?? NO! I would love to go to San Diego and see Sea World, and the zoo, and the wild animal park. I'd love it there... not to hot, nice ocean breezes. I'm not sure when we will be able to afford it, but I dream about it.

My husband and I decided years ago that we would go on an Alaskan cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary. However, it will come when we are both attending school, and it will not be possible for us to go then. It isn't realistic to even think we could pull it off when we are both in school. Now we are saying, maybe when I graduate we can take the kids to Disneyland.

I really don't want to wait four more years for a real vacation! I want one now!! I NEED one now! Now is when life is stressful. I'm overwhelmed thinking about school, student loans, getting unpacked from moving, settling in to our new apartment, when will my husband get another job, how are we going to get the bills paid, can we stall off a few bills one more month?, who will watch the girls when I go back to school this fall?, how are we going to pay for brakes on the Durango when we have no money coming in? I wish I can just pack an overnight bag for everyone and load up the car and just GO. I don't really even care where. I just want a break. I just want to relax, watch a sunset, go on a walk, play, de-stress!!! The problems will still be there when I get back but I will have the reserves to deal with them.

I'll have a real vacation one day. When, I don't know, but hopefully soon. Until then, I'll close my eyes and try to hear the roar of the ocean, smell the salty air, feel the ocean breeze on my face, and the sand between my toes.


Then I'll open my eyes and return to my real life.

T13 5/10

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Today is my Punkin's 2nd birthday!In honor of my little Punkin, my T13 is thirteen pictures of her. Happy Birthday Punkin!! 1…. 2.... 3.... 4.... 5.... 6.... 7.... 8.... 9.... 10.. 11.. 12.. 13.. The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Being taught by a 4 year old

This morning, Boo and I were sitting on the couch talking and the room got noticably darker. "What happened mom?" she asked, "it got darker in here." "It is okay," I replied, "the sun went behind a cloud." "Mom," Boo said in her most serious 4 year old voice, "the sun doesn't move, it CAN'T go behind a cloud. Only the clouds move. The clouds would have to move in FRONT of the sun. Actually, that means it will probably rain. When the clouds are dark and they block out the sun, it will probably rain. You have to say the clouds made it darker by moving in front of the sun, not that the sun moved behind a cloud." She actually kind of laughed at the end, like I was SO crazy for what I said. I sat their dumbfounded. SHE'S 4!!! My bigger question is, if she knows all that... WHY DID SHE ASK ME???

Thursday Thirteen 5-3

Thirteen Things that the Cat Lady LOVES to have for dinner Since we have moved... and it took 10 days to get everything out of the old place and into the new... we have eaten take-out more than a few times. My kitchen is in chaos, as is the rest of the house, as I try to unpack boxes and find a place for everything. We have had one too many ham sandwiches for lunch and dinner!! So with food on the brain... here is my T13 1... Steak and baked potato. This is a great classic meal. 2... Chicken and fetuccini alfredo. 3... Homemade tacos. I make them the way my mother did, and I can't find anything at a restaraunt to compare. I love these things!! 4... Lasagna. My husband can make a pretty good lasagna, but the best by far is at a restaraunt called Johnny Carino's. It is 12 layers of delicious. 5... Chicken and dumplings. Great on a cold night. 6... Corn chowder with or without chicken. I love this soup. My husband likes it with chiken, because, according to him, it isn't a meal without meat in it. I like it without better. 7... Halibut AuGratin. This has to be one of my all time favs. I love halibut and it is fabulous cooked this way. 8... Halibut parmesan. Another halibut dish. This is also a good way to cook tilapia. 9... Lettuce Wraps. Asian Star makes the best I've ever had. 10.. Chicken salad. I love chicken salad that has chunks of chicken, grapes, celery and nuts. It is refreshing to eat on a hot summer day. 11.. Fresh vegetables. My mother used to make red potatoes with a white sauce, fresh green beans out of the garden, and fresh, crisp corn on the cob. Sometimes there were others, but those are my favorites. 12.. Spaghetti. I love a really good plate of spaghetti. I like it with a thick, meaty sauce and grated cheddar cheese on top. 13.. Fall off the bone, bbq ribs. Yum-O Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!