Thankful

In all honesty, it's been a little difficult to be thankful lately.  It's been a difficult few months for me and for my family.  However, that's not to say that I'm not thankful.  I keep a running list of things to be thankful for, so I won't forget how blessed I truly am.  And as a reminder that even when things are difficult, there is still much to be thankful for. 

This year we will be celebrating Thanksgiving at my parents home here in Georgia.  This is only the second time in my life that I will not travel to Chicago to be with my family, to be with my grandmother.  The first was when I was in high school, my sister marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  It's not going to be easy.  My mom and I are cooking on our own, we will have a very small crowd, my sister is not going to be with us, and most importantly, my grandmother won't be with us.  There will be tears, some happy, some sad.

I thought I would share a few of the things I'm thankful for:

1. Long weekends

2. Long conversations with my dad

3. Long conversations with my mom

4. Painting pottery with my sisters

5. A very patient husband

6. House starting to feel more like a home

7. Instagram so I can keep up with my cousins

8. Lighter holiday traffic in the mornings

9. Woman in the car in front of us paying for our Dunkin Donuts 

10. Snuggly puppy

This list may seem trivial, but I'm so thankful for the little things!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Election Day

I have read a lot today regarding voting.  I have listened to CNN all day about people going to the poles.  Earlier today I put a tweet out there that I am ready for all of this election propaganda to be over!  And I mentioned I am not voting.  I did not receive a huge backlash but there were a few people that responded to me and some that responded indirectly, so I decided to take my tweet down.  Not because of their response but because of my own beliefs.  My grandmother always said it’s not good to talk politics in a social setting.  I’m not even sure why I posted it in the first place, it’s very out of character for me.

But, I did and I thought I should explain.  It is my right and my right alone whether I chose to vote or not.  I’m not trying to sway people not to vote or to vote one way in particular.  I understand that especially as a woman I should feel a strong obligation to vote considering how many women fought to get the right.  I’m not trying to take anything away from that.  I understand that there are several places in world that people do not have the opportunity to vote or have gone to great lengths to be able to vote.  However, it is my personal opinion, that until they change the way the votes count, I am choosing not to vote in this election.  It baffles me that the man who wins the popular vote may not win the electoral college and therefore will not win the presidency.  So, my vote doesn’t count, right? Right.

I’m not saying which way I would vote, but in a historically red state, if I chose to vote blue, it wouldn’t count at all, and if I chose to vote red, well I’m in the majority, so what will one vote do?  Nothing.  And since I cannot positively agree with one side or the other, I chose not to vote.  I don’t talk politics too much, even though I have been known to voice how I feel about certain issues, my overall knowledge in politics is limited.  What I do know, is that our country is in a bad way.  But one man, one candidate, one party line does not hold all of the answers. 

I don’t expect anyone to agree with my choice.  It is my choice and I feel confident in it.  If you feel led to vote, you should do so!  Whichever party does win, I will pray that they make the decisions that can help get our country moving in the right direction.  There is no argument here that there needs to be change.

Scentsy Buddies BOGO

Scentsy buddies are one of my favorite things about Scentsy.  They make great gifts for baby showers or gifts for birthdays and holidays.  Kids love them because they are so cute and parents love them because they stay smelling fresh!

Now through the end of the year they are buy one get one free!  What a great deal!!  Make sure to stop by my website to check them out!  Christmas is coming!

Happy Weekend!  We are off to finally plant some bushes in our front yard!!

A Roller Coaster of Emotions

I’m not sure where to start.  The past few months really have been a whirlwind of emotions.  At first I thought it was only September and October, but I guess it really started in the summer, back in June.  I wrote this post about my grandmother being in the hospital and thankfully making a miraculous recovery.  We had the joy of the birth of our nephew in August.  We had the joy of finally after years of searching purchasing our home at the end of August.  We quickly sprinted off to the beach with my family and then returned home to finally settle into our home. 

Unfortunately, life never goes as planned.  And this has always been a tough lesson for me, very Type-A planner.  Early September 28^th, we lost my grandmother.  I was on my way to work when my mom text me that I needed to call when I got to work.  Knowing that at 7:30am this was not normal.  I immediately pulled off the road and called her.  So in a vacant Applebee’s parking lot I learned that we had lost one of the most beautiful women I have ever met.  I knew her health was not the best and I knew that she was having a very hard time remembering us, but it doesn’t make it any easier. 

We flew up to Chicago Saturday to prepare for the funeral.  It was truly a bittersweet time.  I was able to connect with some of my cousins that I haven’t seen in years (seven to be exact, when my grandfather passed away).  We went through so many things from her home, especially pictures.  We put together a board for the visitation that had pictures of her with all her grandchildren.  These are just a few of my favorites.

It hasn’t been easy.  I cry a lot.  I miss her a lot.  I think about her a lot.  My cousins have been sharing stories back and forth on Facebook about her and my grandfather and it’s tough to read.  Some make me smile, some make me laugh, some make me cry so hard it hurts.  I’m not sure my words could ever do her justice.  We read 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 at the funeral and no truer words could ever be said about her.

The following weekend I took a drive down to Auburn.  I debated most of the week whether I wanted to go or not, but I’m glad I did.  It was a nice relaxing Saturday.  Mallory, her sister and law, her mom and I went to the Auburn v. Arkansas game and it was dreadful.  Unfortunately, we are worse than terrible and it was miserably hot.  But, I loved spending time with one of my closest friends and her family.  We ate, we slept, we laughed, it was great. 

My mom had her second knee replacement surgery.  Unfortunately, it did not go as well as the first.  She spent five days in the hospital with a fever and a sinus infection. But, she is home now and doing better every day, hopefully. 

And we have started our first “big” project for the house.  I believe in my previous post, I mentioned how terrible the landscaping or lack thereof is.  I’m not sure what made us do it, but we started taking out the bushes in the front yard.  Ryan took the chainsaw to them, we also cut down a tree in the backyard, talk about mini panic attack, but alas we made it unscathed.  My BIL came over this weekend to pull stumps up out of the ground, these bushes were like trees, and if we had to dig them up by hand I would have quit.  Right now our hard is much “cleaner” we have laid top soil down to map out our plan.  We took a trip to Lowes, Home Depot and Pikes and still have yet to figure out what we want to plant.  We were minutes away from buying an apple tree, but upon further investigation, they grow to be about 15 feet wide, so the front yard is not ideal.  No worries though, I have big plans to clear out the back yard and plant two apples trees back there (they have to cross pollinate to produce fruit).

I almost forgot, in the midst of our landscaping mess, we took a break to head to the pumpkin patch.  It was Lainey’s first trip and I’m so glad we got to go.  Boiled peanuts, homemade ice cream and pumpkins, what’s not to love!

 

Happy Hump Day!