Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Gratitude Journal Week One

I honestly believe in the power of keeping a gratitude journal. It is a simple habit and it only takes a few minutes. 

It is the key to a happier life. 

Once you begin to keep your journal, you will notice how much you were taking for granted. 

A few wonderful side affects of keeping a gratitude journal are:
  • overall happier
  • keeps you focused on the good in your life rather than the bad
  • changes you from a negative person to a positive one
  • helps you get through the tough times
  • inspires you to share the gratitude with others and improves their lives

Here are two important things to remember when keeping a gratitude journal. You can read the rest of the post about keeping a journal HERE.


My Dollar Store Gratitude Journal

1. Write it down. 

There's something about writing down a gratitude list in my journal that makes it real.  I can go through my list in my mind or out loud to myself but it just isn't the same. Seeing it, and writing it helps so much. 


2. Feel it.

Close your eyes and repeat it then say thank you, thank you, thank you and really feel it.


Gratitude Journal Week One


  1. I am so grateful to my Mom for letting Honey Bunny and I stay with her until we can find a place to live. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  2. I am extremely grateful for having Honey Bunny in my life because she gives me reason to keep moving when I am down, she is the sunshine in my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  3. I am grateful for having a roof over my head because being homeless with a small child would be devastating and . .  Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  4. I am grateful for all the money I have to make this transitional stage bearable and even enjoyable at times. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  5. I am grateful to Gary for his sensitivity and understanding and helping get through these tough times. Thank you, thank you, thank you.


Never under estimate the power of your gratitude journal. It is one of the best tools to give you an attitude for gratitude. And subsequently bring you sustainable happiness. Thank you, thank you, thank you.



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Well, thanks for stopping by. 

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Have a fantastic day!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Happiness is . . . Playing in the Rain

Did your parents let you go out to play in the rain? Mine did.

My sister and I went out and rode our bikes. My bike had a banana seat and long upright handle bars. I loved that bike. It was great for giving someone a ride and the seat was tre comfortable.

We got drenched from the rain and from the puddles. It was so much fun splashing in the murky water that flooded the road by the curb.

I let my daughters play out in the rain. As long as there wasn't thunder and lightning of course. It’s gotta be a childhood ritual. Did you ever play in the rain?

My husband thinks I’m crazy for sending my granddaughters out to play in the rain. That’s just because his parents didn't show him how much fun it can be.



To be honest, I still like being in the rain. Not splashing in the puddles because it’s kind a gross. I know what kind of creepies might be in there – like worms. Ewww.


But standing outside in the warm rain watching my granddaughters singing and splashing is a definite treat I would not miss for anything.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Grieving A Loss

There is a heaviness in my chest - my heart is aching and my stomach is turning. 

I can feel the anxiety building up deep inside my solar plexus. Indistinctly, I close my eyes like I can block out reality. I take a few cleansing breaths trying to recover some sort of serenity.

My nose and eyes are tingling as I try to push back the tears. Why? I let the flood gates open. I sob loudly and violently.

This has been my reality for the last few months. I am grieving a loss.


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Friday June 21, 2013. I was actually feeling pretty good considering the circumstances. I was smiling and I could hear my Honey Bunny chattering happily with my Mom as they were getting out of the van behind me. I moved quickly to unlock the front door.

There it was. The paper I had been dreading for the last three weeks.

The notice from the sheriff as directed by the bank that holds my mortgage. The notice to vacate the premises on or before Friday June 28th at 8:30 am.

The fat lady was singing.

I felt my heart drop. I blinked slowly, pulled the notice off the door and walked through the house to sit out on the dec in the backyard - my backyard. Tears swelled then slowly rolled down my cheeks. 

There were no coherent thoughts just the feeling of overwhelming loss. And the tears kept coming - faster and faster.

Mom quietly sat down beside me.


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I had tried to prepare myself for this moment but I kept thinking everything was going to be okay and it would all work out in the end.

This is my house. My home for ten years. This was the only place that felt like home since I eighteen years old.

This was the only home that my Honey Bunny has ever known. She loves her home. 

I remember her telling me that she was grateful for the roof because it kept us dry when it was raining. 

She waited all winter for me to clean out the pool and fill it up so she could swim. 

She is such a little fish. She was only three years old when she learned how to swim under the water across the width of the pool. She practically lives in the pool all summer.

The back yard was one of my favorite places to be too. I loved the deck. It was covered so we could sit out back when it rained. It was so beautiful out there listening to the pitter patter of the rain drops hitting the roof.

Dinosaur eggs and bones.
Faith and I loved playing in the yard. One summer we had such fun digging for dinosaur bones and eggs. Oh and all the mud pies we shared.

Playing with bubbles, chalk . . . the birthday parties . . . the snowmen and snow forts and blanket tents. . .

My flowers! No not my flowers too - daisies, purple cone flowers, lilies .... My strawberries, chives, onions, ferns and rhubarb plant. Gifts from my daughters, husband and friends. 

Oh, and I can't forget the surprise unknown crop that magically sprouted up in our garden last summer.

We kept trying to figure out what was growing in our garden. It turned out to be decorative gourds. My granddaughters loved cutting them off the vine and displaying them on the window sill.



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Everyone keeps saying it's just a house but it's feels like so much more to me.

This house is my home and it has been home for ten years. 

Have you ever lived some where that just never felt like home? I have. Until I moved into this house.

Of course there are so many memories attached to this house. It's like our house is part of the family.

It also feels like an extension of me. We did so much work here. I picked out the flooring, all the paint colours, the base boards, trim and doors. I picked all the light fixtures. 

We installed a new bath tub, sinks, faucets, vanities, light switches. I think we replaced just about everything in the house - except the kitchen cabinets.

I know it is a matter of pride. How could I not feel good about owning my house. We worked and saved for this house. We did it together.

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I don't know how many times I have been told that one door closes and two open. That does not console me one bit.

The pain is so intense. I can only compare it to breaking up with my high school sweet heart. I grieved for six months - til I met someone new.

I think I just need to grieve my loss and time will heal the part of me that is broken.

I hope in time that I will be able to forgive myself - I let my family down.


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How did we get here? 

It was a long time coming, starting almost six years ago. That is when my husband was injured at work.

Unfortunately it took almost six years for him to be diagnosed.

Six years, trying to figure out why he couldn't stay at a job more than a couple of weeks. 

Six years, thinking this job is the one that he will stay at and everything will be okay again.

Six years struggling financially because everything we had was based on two incomes.

How would your family do if your household income dropped by fifty percent or more? 

I cashed in my RRSPs, spent my savings, maxed out our credit cards just to get by.

I couldn't understand why he would just walk off the job. It made me so angry. Until he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

To be honest, I can't completely understand his PTSD. I try. He says that it didn't happen to me and I could never understand what he is going through. That might be true but I do know what it has done to our lives.

We have lost everything.

We are homeless and our family is spread out.

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Where do we go from here?

I can't go there yet. I have not grieved enough yet. The wound is still too raw. I need just a little time.

I am grateful for my Honey Bunny because she is the reason I get up and go every day. With out her I'm not sure I would find the strength.

I'd like to thank Pamela Dale. Her words keep ringing in my ears. Will I be a victim or victorious

I will victorious. Just not today.

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Well, thanks for stopping by. 

If your interested, stop by my Etsy Shop, Little Shop of Treasures or check out my Free Printables page.
If you would like to receive my blog updates please subscribe via Emailor follow me on TwitterPinterest or Blog Lovin.




Monday, July 1, 2013

Moving Day

The day of the move was hectic.

I had started packing on Monday. Mom and Nicole helped but the bulk of the packing was left to me. At first I was methodical and organized marking my boxes. Towards the end, I was just throwing things in boxes and people were grabbing ones partially filled.

We had to be out by Friday morning by eight a.m. 

The actual moving didn't start until four o'clock on Thursday. My Mom and her boyfriend arrived to start moving my stuff out. Then within the next three hours my sister and her two daughters arrived, one with her boyfriend. Then Cole arrived. Christina with her boyfriend. Gary and his sister with her daughter. 

I was getting scared that I would never be able to move everything on time but my family came to my rescue. Like a flurry of busy bees, there was a rush of commotion and I watched my belongings go out the door. It was about five o'clock a.m. when total exhaustion set in. We just couldn't move anything else.

We ended up leaving a few items behind because of they were too big to fit in the car and the vans were gone home. 

The above ground pool was left with the swing in the backyard. In the basement was my computer desk, clothing rack and a pile of garbage which I swept into a pile in the laundry room. 

On the maim level I left a tall white cabinet which I used to store my dishes, microwave and canned food. It was still in good shape but I was all out of man power.

Upstairs was the vintage cabinet from my room which I used for linens, videos and the t.v.

I felt good knowing that I left the house in such a good state. The lawn was cut and the gardens weeded. Washrooms and kitchen cleaned. Floors mopped. 

I wish I had the time and energy to pick up the garbage in the laundry room. It was actually the only place that I left garbage. The rest was bagged and put to the curb with a few other furniture items that I didn't want to keep.

I also wish I had spent more time working on the house than worrying about coming up with the money.

I was going to give the walls a quick coat of paint. I was going to paint the washroom ceiling and plug in the ceiling fan. I was going to replace another one of the floor tiles in the kitchen. I was going to get the paint off the basement washroom floor.

But I didn't.

I was going to take pictures of our house empty.

But I didn't.

We walked the house and took one last look, locked the doors and drove off.

We were beyond exhausted and feeling grimy. 

I am so very grateful to my family for helping me last minute move. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And to Nick for taking my Honey Bunny out of the house and taking care of her. Thank you, thank you, thank you.


Chalk Board Printable about Gratitude




Thank you Marcie at I Gotta Try That for featuring my post and one of the most viewed link at the party.

Marcie says, Get this cute free printable from Darlene Nemeth











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