What I Am Thankful For in 2020

2020 has been one heck of a year. Even with everything that happened this year, this is so much that I am thankful for, things that I will always be thankful for, not just this time of year.

• Being able to keep my job (I know many people had lost their jobs because of Covid, which is/was NOT their fault, but I was-and am-fortunate enough to still have my job during all of this)
• My workplace figuring out ways in which to keep everyone (both employees and patrons) safe during this time
• My home
• Being able to vote in the presidential election
• Clean, running water whenever I need/want it
• My favorite blogs
• My favorite YouTubers/YouTube channels
• My friends, both old and new
• My family
• My cats
• Joni and Friends
• Zoom get-togethers with my Joni and Friends "family" 
• Co-workers emailing/texting/calling me every once in a while, to see how I am doing
• Naps (I love to sleep!)
• My cats
• Snuggles with my cats
• Photography
• Baking
• Writing
• Long conversations with friends (whether it be through phone calls, in-person, or text messages)
• Essential workers who were, and are, willing to work through this pandemic, to help others
• Masks, gloves, and other ppe's that can help protect people from sickness
• Text messaging with friends, family
• Grief Share, which a co-worker turned me on to
• My favorite TV shows
• My favorite movies
• My favorite music
• My favorite books
• Grocery home delivery services
• Being able to have the Joni and Friends Walk 'N' Roll event through Zoom
• Audiobooks
• Fall colors (leaves changing to all different colors, pumpkins, etc.)
• Pumpkin pie (I love pumpkin pie!!!)
• Brussels sprouts (yes, Brussels sprouts...one of my favorite veggies!!!)
• Showers and baths
• Chocolate
• Video games (I have been playing video games A LOT this year)
• Board games
• Card games
• Sweaters in cold weather
• Central air
• Headphones
• Pinterest
• Musical instruments (especially violins, as I used to play)
• Knitting
• Crochet
• Audiobooks
• Netflix
• Disney Plus
• Puzzles
• Christmas music
• Backpacks (I LOVE backpacks, and have several of them!)
• Edible cookie dough
• Comforters
• My bed
• Songs that speak to me (and when they come on the radio at the right time)
• Alone time
• Silence (sometimes, I just prefer to have silence over sound)
• Notebooks and pens (I love notebooks, and have accumulated a very large number of them, especially composition notebooks)
• Making a sweater for my dad
• Learning new crochet stitches

To those who celebrate, happy Thanksgiving!! What are you thankful for this year?

My Holiday Thankfulness

I know people usually do thankfulness lists on Thanksgiving, but I got lazy and didn't do one then. So, I've decided to do one for Christmas and December.

Here goes my thankfulness list:

1. Having a warm house to live in.
2. Having a warm bed to sleep in.
3. Having food to eat every day.
4. Having clean water to use every day.
5. My family.
6. My friends.
7. Living close enough to restaurants and shops where I can walk to them if I want to.
8. Having multiple ways to keep in contact with people.
9. Listening to my favorite music, over and over. And over. And over.
10. Blogging/writing.
11. All the pets I've had in my life, including my current pets.
12. Having clean clothes every day.
13. Being able to get back to near normal after experiencing the loss of a loved one.
14. Being able to get a good education, and doing well in school.
15. Having friends that truly care about me and my well-being.
16. Teachers that truly care about their students, and their success in school.
17. Doing things that I truly enjoy (baking, photography, writing, etc.).
18. Knitting or crocheting something, and giving it to someone in need.
19. Watching my favorite movies many, many times, and never getting tired of them.
20. Reading my favorite books many, many times, and never getting tired of them.
21. Going to the movies with friends or family. Or by myself if there is something only I want to see.
22. Going to restaurants with friends or family.
23. Being able to pull up my GPA in school, and getting acknowledged for it.
24. Taking time for myself, to rest, read, listen to music, or whatever else I want to do.
25. Spending the holidays with my family.
26. Living in a neighborhood where everyone is supportive of each other.
27. Having more good days than bad.
28. Trying something new and really enjoying it.
29. Being able to pay for a lot of the things I need/want, whenever I need/want them.
30. Laughing so much/so hard that I cry.
31. Celebrating milestones/accomplishments/etc.

Merry Christmas...

And a happy New Year!!

I can't belive Christmas is here already. The year went by way too fast. But, it was a wonderful year, and I am happy with the way it went.

For those who celebrate, I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas, and New Year. I hope that your year was amazing, and that 2015 is just as amazing for you.

If 2014 wasn't a good year, my heart goes out to you, and I pray that 2015 goes better for you and your family.

Tonight, my brothers get off work early, so we are going to have a pizza dinner, and then open presents. Tomorrow, we are going to my sister's, to have another Christmas dinner, and open more presents.

I am really looking forward to seeing my sister and her family. I love seeing my niece and nephew!

Apart from the presents from family, I got a few presents from a neighbor family I am friends with. They gave me a picture keepsake box, chocolate covered marshmallows (I already had some and they are addicting!!!), a pair of socks, a Christmas tree shaped tea light candle with a few red glittery tea light candles, a copy of March of the Penguins, a 10-pack of blank notecards (decorated on the front with cupcakes...which is SOOO me!!!), and a Christmas card.

I also got a Christmas card from another friend of mine, which was nice.

Again, I wish you a very merry, safe Christmas and New Year!

Easter Fun

Well, Easter is over now. The day went by fast, although I really enjoyed it.

The day started out with church at 9:30 am. On the way there, I saw a little girl wearing a bunny ears headband. I have one of my own, and love it.

Around 12:30 pm, my dad and I left go drive over to my sister's place, to celebrate with her and her family.

My niece and nephew were both very happy to see us, and to get their Easter baskets. We had an Easter dinner (ham, asparagus, potatoes, and sauerkraut), my niece and nephew had an Easter egg hunt (I was asked to hide the eggs again, which I don't mind doing), we had dessert (French silk pie), and then just relaxed awhile.

During that time, a friend of my niece, and her little sister had come over to play for a while.

The sweetest thing that happened was that the younger sister (who I think was about three years old) kept sitting next to me, even sitting right up close to me a couple times.

That made me feel really good, as it showed me that the girl trusted me enough to want to sit next to me, and to like me. We have never met before, so I was a little surprised by that, but I didn't mind at all. She was such a sweetheart!

Her older sister was also very nice to me, but she was really talkative. That's not a bad thing exactly, but seeing./hearing a six-year-old (I think that's how old she is) talk that much is...interesting. In a good way.

Prior to Easter, I had boiled eggs on Friday, to dye them later. That is one thing I will NEVER get tired of doing. Ever.

Saturday, I dyed the eggs, which came out really well, and made a bunny cake. It wasn't the greatest, but it came out better than expected, which I am happy about.

I had never made a bunny cake before, so I didn't really know what to expect, but it was a neat experience.

I have seen recipes for bunny cakes on several occasions, and have been wanting to make one for a while, and I finally got the chance to make it for the weekend.

Here are some pictures of the fun.

French Silk Pie...Yummy!!

                                                 The garage of the LEGO Simpsons House

The LEGO Simpson House, in progress

In progress

The Easter Bunny cake I made for Easter

Happy Easter!! These are magnetic color cubes that I got for my birthday, from a neighbor family.

Dyeing eggs for Easter

I had to change to these cups, as the other ones didn't work as well.

Hard-boiling the eggs so I can dye them for Easter.

All the eggs are dyed!

 

 

I hope everyone who celebrates it, had a wonderful Easter!

 

Already Planning For the Next Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Collections

I know it's only February (really???), but I am already planning for the next Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection. I was able to send two last year, one for a boy and one for a girl, and hope to do so again this year.

I might even send more than two, if it all works out.

I really enjoyed putting together the boxes last year, and I am honored to have been a part of something so amazing!!

If you want to find out more about Operation Christmas Child, you can go here. It is an awesome organization, and you won't regret it if you make and send shoeboxes!

My 2014 New Year's Resolutions

I don't know why I make New Year's Resolutions each year, as I never keep them. But, I do it anyway. And, I will be make some for 2014.

One of the bigger resolutions I've decided to make for 2014 is to do one activity a month that takes me out of my comfort zone, as I am a very shy person.

I really want to have more experiences in life, but my extreme shyness prevents some of them from happening.

I never had very many friends growing up, and my self-esteem/confidence has been low as well.

Now that I'm an adult, I want to feel better about myself, I want to be more confident.

I hate feeling like everyone is judging everything I do and say. I am very self-conscious about how I look, what I do, what I say, and sometimes what I wear.

Outgoing people intimidate me, and I don't like crowds of people. I rarely raised my hand in school, and I don't usually start conversations unless I am with friends and family.

All of this makes me feel like not many people want to be friends with me. And that hurts. So, I really want to try and be more outgoing.

Newsong - The Christmas Shoes

This song always gets to me, every time I hear it. This is one of my favorite holiday songs.

Remember, this season, those who are struggling for whatever reason.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed, and safe day today, whatever you may be doing.

I am going to my sister's today to celebrate. I get to see my niece and nephew today, which I am very happy about!!

I am so thankful for this life, and everything in it. Even the bad. Without the bad, I probably wouldn't enjoy the good as much.

Even though my mom isn't alive to celebrate with us anymore, I think today is going to be a good day. I am looking forward to seeing my sister and her family today.

Christmas Music Before Thanksgiving...Too Early

One of my favorite radio stations, 93.9, has started playing Christmas music already. I think that is way too early for that.

 

By the time Christmas comes around, I will be sick of the holiday, and it won't be as enjoyable because of that.

 

Almost two months of holiday music...yeah, way too much. But, they do that every single year.

I love holiday music, but I want to enjoy Thanksgiving first, before thinking about Christmas. One holiday at a time people!! Don't rush things.

No matter what holiday(s) you celebrate, I wish you the best this year, and in the new year! Happy holidays!!

Goings On In My Life

Yesterday, I had a couple friends over for an Easter get-together. We dyed eggs, made cookies, had an indoor Easter egg hunt, had snacks, and listened to music. My friends gave me some bags of jelly beans, and a container of milk chocolated malted milk balls. Those are really good, and one of my favorite snacks. I had a good day yesterday.
Today, I went to church to celebrate Holy Week. I got the palms, and enjoyed listening to the service. Church was pretty packed today. After church, my dad took me driving. I was nervous, since it has been about 7 years since I last drove, but I did pretty good. We were out for about 40-45 minutes. It didn't seem like that long. I did better than I thought I would. I can't wait to get my license.
Next Sunday, I will be going to my sister's house, to celebrate Easter. I am really looking forward to seeing my niece and nephew. I haven't seen them in a while, so I can't wait until next weekend.
I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so I am planning on buying the DVD of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 sometime this week. I know, I know. I would have gotten it earlier if I had the money. But I have the money now, so I will be getting it soon. I can't wait until part 2 comes out.
I also can't wait for Breaking Dawn to come out, either. That's another one of my favorite series. Stephenie Meyer and J.K. Rowling are awesome. I love their books.
That's pretty much it for now. More to come later.

Hearts and Butterflies