Thankful Heart

 I woke up today tired, not feeling good and a bit crabby. I felt like staying in bed but that is boring so I got up, washed the dishes, took some Amazon things back, and started reading my book “When prayer is a Struggle.” I had a lot to pray about this morning and I started by telling the Lord how I was feeling and that I didn’t feel like praying, but I kept going, still in a bad mood. I felt like I was not pleasing God with my prayer. 

The author of the book I’m reading, Kevin Hollaran, stares “A heart that lacks gratitude will not experience the peace of God. 

I was thinking that I need to have a thankful heart to pray; not one who begrudgingly prays. He further states that we are to be thankful even in the most frustrating of circumstances. It is very potent in challenging times.  

I will be thankful now when I pray, telling the Lord what I am thankful for. 

Talent

 She is so talented! That would be my granddaughter Riley. She is sewing beautiful journal holders out of the cutest fabrics. She made me two and I love them! 

We were at our favorite store (Hobby Lobby) this morning and when she was buying material, a lady asked what she was making. When Riley pulled a journal out of her purse the woman wanted her contact information so she could order one. 

She adds ribbon and cute little charms on the outside. I have four separate little journals in mine. I can switch the covers when I want. They are adorable! 

These are not from a pattern, Riley designed them herself, complete with a snap closure and a loop inside to hold a pen. She is thinking of selling them at a craft show in December and she is taking orders!

Oh, the fun we have when we are together; looking,  planning and buying for our crafts. She helps me out so much and it is pleasure being with her.

Lunch was in order after the store; I appreciate her driving and all she does for me. Fun, fun, fun! I am truly blessed! 

Goodbye

 I cried when they left. Ryan and Alyssa, our grandson and wife, stopped by to say goodbye today, the day before they leave for their move to Florida. We talked about the move, Florida and the baby that is due January 12. Next week they find out the sex of the baby! How exciting! 

We will miss them. We loved that he was a police officer in Livonia. We loved having her be our dental hygienist! Ryan would come over and help Don do yard work and then sit and talk with us while he ate a grilled cheese sandwich. 

They will be about 4 hours away from us in Florida and we are hoping we can visit them when we are in Florida.

Goodbye, drive safely! 

Saturdays

For as long as I can remember, I have gone to a farmer’s market. When Don was working I used to go to Plymouth early while the kids were still sleeping. I would buy my produce and always a bouquet of flowers. Then I would get myself a coffee and something to eat with it and sit by the fountain and watch people. It was so relaxing

Then I started going to the market in Farmington on Saturday mornings. I often took Riley with me and we went out for breakfast afterward. And then, everybody wanted to go; Brady, Karen, Riley (if she wasn’t working) and Karen. We all went to breakfast either before or after the market. That got to be too much money so everyone came over here after the market for breakfast and Don made pancakes. It was a fun morning. 

Now, Don and I go alone. We have a normal breakfast before we go and then go early. I mentioned to Don that it was a little lonely. But all is well and we bought some portobello mushrooms to grill tonight with burgers. I bought a pretty pair of earrings from a new vender and we bought salad mix, raspberries, green beans and broccoli sprouts. And then we went home…alone. 

I realize time changes things and I’m okay with that. Brady wants to sleep in, Karen wants to walk early before it gets hot and Riley has places to go. All in all it’s been a good morning. I got the laundry done and some scrapbooking done and I feel good. No headache yet. 

Keto

This is my 4th week on the keto diet. I’ve done very well keeping under 50 carbs…except for last night. I went to 51 carbs because of the keto ice cream bars which have 9 carbs in them. They are chocolate with a chocolate coating and are delicious! I was alone last night and I just couldn’t resist. Some of the things I eat are not that great but they have a lot of protein so I eat them. This morning I had cottage cheese with chocolate protein powder in it. It was gross but that plus a 1/4 of avocado held me all morning. I did not get hungry until 1:00 PM. I can put the protein powder in yogurt or ricotta cheese but the yogurt gives me a headache and the ricotta cheese has less protein in it. Maybe tomorrow I will put the cottage cheese and protein powder in the blender with some almond milk.

There are some real good-looking recipes on Facebook that I have saved. I will have to try one of those. I guess I will try Karen’s egg and Parmesan cheese recipe. I don’t know why I have such a hard time eating eggs. 

Is it worth it? It is if my blood sugar and A1C go down. As a bonus I have lost 10 pounds and my clothes fit better. 

Headache

 A headache got the best of me today. I was out for coffee, sitting outside with a friend. I could feel it coming on and I tried to drink more water. But it kept getting worse. 

I don’t feel like doing anything and nothing is making it go away. I’m am caught in the nightmare of a bad headache. 

I’ve been doing better this summer so far, by drinking water and not taking anything for the headache. I don’t want to have rebound headaches which you can get if you take meds every day. I also take an antihistamine every morning. All that seems to be working most days. 

I will probably have it the rest of the day and evening until bedtime. I’m thankful I am home and not out somewhere. 

The Day After…

 I can’t believe the day is over! The day I wait for all year! I woke up tired and groggy at 4:15 a.m. because I went to bed early. I did sleep again around 6:00 a.m. but it took some coffee at my Bible study this morning to really wake me up!

I decided Kohls isn’t so bad after all. Karen got me a gift card to Kohls so I plan to wait for a while and go to her Kohls which is a lot bigger. I found quite a few things last year after my birthday. 

Riley and I went to Hobby Lobby today and used a gift card I got for my birthday. Riley got me a gift card too but I didn’t use that one. I got some paper pads, washi tape, and stickers. They had quite a bit of new stuff. It was fun to pick things out knowing I had gift cards. Everything was on sale too!

I appreciate all the calls and texts and Facebook wishes! It was a fun day!

The Day Of…

 My birthday! We started the day off getting up early and going for a walk! There was expectation in the day ahead. 

There were messages on Facebook and texts and phone calls. I showered and ate breakfast out on the deck.Then I got dressed and Don took a few pictures. I went to the scrapbook store; they were having a sale and I got a few things. Then we went out to lunch with our friends Jack and Pam. I tried to stay on my keto diet by having walleye and cooked spinach and a side salad. I didn’t have a roll which was hard because at Rocky’s they are hot and delicious! We stopped at a consignment shop where a got a pretty eyelet lace top one size smaller. I still haven’t gone down a size-it has been 3 weeks since I started this journey, but the top ran a little on the bigger side. 

I’m looking forward to a restful afternoon; after all, I am 78 now! Tonight is dinner at Karen’s house! All in all it’s been a pretty good day so far! 

The Eve of My Birthday

 This is the last day of being 77. Age seems relative now unless you are turning 80 like Donaldo in August. The thing that we keep talking about is how fast time has gone by! 

I get kind of nostalgic on my birthday remembering past birthdays. And of course I always think of my mom on my birthday. She told me that she was three weeks late on the 4th of July and it was really hot. She spent all day lying down in front of a fan, and then I was born three days later. 

I have a scrapbook of memoirs that I made and it has baby pictures and things I have written. It also has items and pictures from my school years. I got it out yesterday and looked through it. It is nice to remember things you have forgotten. 

I remember my life in increments of ten years. I feel like I am in the last ten years of my life and that is a little sobering. I want to finish well in this life that God gave me and thankfully I am still growing in my Christian life. It seems like I should have “arrived” by now. But God is never done with us. He still has lessons to teach us. 

I thought I would buy myself something for my birthday; something to wear tomorrow. I went to Kohl’s and realized why I don’t like Kohl’s; it doesn’t have anything good, especially my Kohls. I ordered a dress from Amazon, my old stand. 

I am so excited for my birthday even though I will be a year older. It feels like a special day. 

Heat and Rain

 After all the heat we had last week; heat indexes were in the low 100’s, it stormed Friday night. The storm came with lots of wind and rain! Thankfully our power stayed on! Our church which is a block over lost electricity and there were no services today. A lot of trees and limbs came down and traffic lights were out. 

Today it rained all morning. The sun is out now at 3:00 p.m. It is still humid out but it is a lot cooler. 

I did my walk in the house, around and around and up and down the stairs. It’s just been too hot and humid outside! 

Hope you enjoyed the comeback of my blog. It’s been several years since I have written. Tomorrow’s blog is Birthday Eve.