I will continue to be Thankful even with Thanksgiving being over.

Sorry I have not done any post for awhile, I got a promotion at work and have been very busy learning about  my new position.  But I wanted to take time today and think about all I am grateful for.  I also want to remind everyone not to stop being thankful because Thanksgiving is over.  I have learned over the past months that Gratitude brings great blessings.  So be sure to find things to be thankful for everyday.
Here is my Gratitude list for the week.
1. I'm thankful for all the people at my work that support me in my new position.  While I learn lot of new things many people are being kind and helpful and telling me they are happy I got the position.  So Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
2. I'm thankful for warm sunny days.  I love to sit in the sun and just rest.  I get to do that often and it is so relaxing.
3. I'm thankful for kind and creative children.  My children are just wonderful.

4. I'm thankful that I will get full health benefits at work.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
5. I am thankful for people who write books about meditation and healing.  I'm enjoying some new spiritual journeys.
6. I am thankful for computer technology.

7. I am thankful for the beauty of our world.  And the animals and plants that we share this world with.
8. I am thankful for a healthy body that I push to the limits sometimes at work.  I do a lot of standing and running about.
9. I am thankful for quiet moments.
10.  I am thankful for "God Winks"  Thank you , Thank you, Thank you.
G.G.

I focus my attitude on gratitude.........

Friday came fast.  I am struggling this week with my blog as I have gone from working early mornings (last week) to working all closing shifts at work this week.  Then next week will be all early mornings again. Ugh!  So my poor mind and body feel a bit out of it.
When I have time to read, I have been focusing on learning about connecting with my spiritual side and learning to rely on intuition.  I love to learn and the book I've been reading this week on this subject has a small section on gratitude.  So I thought I'd share from it.
The positive thought that you  think to yourself is : I focus my attitude on gratitude.

Here is a quote from the book I'm reading : " Gratitude encourages intuition and abundance.  Be thankful for who and what is in your life - instead of complaining about what you don't have.  Appreciate all the abundance and goodness that's around you whether big or small.  Be thankful for your health, children, sunny days, your garden, family, best friends, or even the person who let you jump ahead in line at the bank.  The more joy you begin to notice and appreciate, the easier it is for your intuition to lead you to even more happiness and prosperity.
Here are somethings I am thankful for this week:
1. a loving and supportive husband
2. wonderful children
3. a healthy kitty who keeps me company
4. people who have helped  me while I learn my new job.
5. my smart phone.  I will be using it a lot more now.
6. better health.
7. the ability to attend the Temple.
8. Time to learn and grow in this world.
9. People who are kind
10. Customers who are kind and thankful for the service they receive.
11. Quiet time to sit in the sun, and recharge my inner self.

It's fall and my garden is no longer in bloom.  I miss my flowers so I'm grateful for all the great photo's I got.
Remember to count your blessing when you feel discouraged instead of counting all that is wrong.
G.G.

Frugal Thursdays.....

I don't know about the rest of you, but times feel tough.  It always seems like there are more bills to pay than money coming in.  Over the past year I have worked hard to figure out ways to cut my budget.  It's hard, some payment are fixed, like your mortgage, and insurance.  Others are not but sometimes they are the ones where I over spend without any thought.  Groceries, eating out, utility bills.  As a new year creeps up on us, and it is coming fast since we are already being surrounded by Christmas decorations and advertising I have decided to dedicate my Thursdays to learning about being more frugal, and thought I'd share it with you.  There are tons of blogs, and websites that talk about this subject.  So I hope to have lots of related sites for you.

Over the past year I can say that I have been able to cut a lot from my budget.  Some things I have done.
1. I have only bought about 3 new items of clothing for myself this year.
2. I have only bought food from the work vending machine a handful of times.  I used to buy almost every day, but when you add it up and find that you have spent $500.00 on sugar,salt, and fatty items you realize that the money could be spent better.
3.  I have stopped using expensive cleaning products.  I now use Baking soda, and vinegar to do the majority of my house hold cleaning.  Does vinegar smell pretty, no, but most cleaners don't smell that great either.  I am amazed at how clean my house is with these products.  My next step is to learn how to make my own laundry and dishwasher detergents.
4.  I've consolidated all the debt from our move, it has a lower interest rate, and I have stopped using credit cards.

My steps that I will be writing about are:
1. Trying to cut my grocery bill in half.
2. Living on 80% of my budget.
3.Working towards finding a more rewarding job, possibly one that pays more, or at least finding a 40 hour a week job.
I would love to hear from you and how you save money and work to be debt free and frugal.
G.G.
Related site:
Frugal living 101

I don't know about you, but I'm NOT feeling 22........

I have to say that I really like Taylor Swifts songs.  What I like is that her songs tell of experiences that young girls and young women deal with.  The first song that I want to talk about is her song "15".  I like this song and the video because I can see how many young girls can connect with it.  Even at my age of almost 42 I can remember back to my high school days and think about how true the words of her song are.  We all know what it is like to be young and have a first love and all the pressures that go with that.
Here is a link to her song "15"

Another song that I really like is " I knew you were trouble".  Haven't we all met a guy in our lives that we were interested in and yet something in you said this is exciting but most likely not going to be good for me.  And when you finally get out of the relationship you have totally been changed. And haven't there always been men like this.  When I do family history I find many of these trouble makers.

I also really like her song "We are never getting back together."  Don't all women have that one guy that they are just done with and have to figure out a way to get it through to them that it's over.

The song I've really been thinking about lately though is "22".  I'm not 22 any more, and in looking back I realize what a wonderful time in life that was, I was young, I felt good, and I didn't have the burdens of adulthood and family life to deal with.  I felt like the world was great and that every thing would be alright.  Her lyrics are " I don't know about you but I'm feeling 22."  Many times I'll say to friends or coworkers " I don't know about you but I'm not feeling 22."
I don't feel young, and I'm heading into midlife and great changes. These changes happen to most women starting between the ages of 35 and 40 and going until they reach 50 or older.  They are not fun, and it doesn't seem as if many women have the support of others as they go through these changes.  So I'm hoping that every Tuesday I can begin to blog about the health issues that women in their late thirties and through their forties deal with. Because I think there are many women out there who are like me not feeling 22 and needing to have more information about the changes that occur at mid-life.  So look for my post next week as I begin to discuss life at "Almost 42."  I hope Taylor Swift has a good career and is still singing songs when she is 42, I'd like to see what type of song she would write when she has her mid life crisis.
G.G.

The Great Pumpkin is real and he comes to our house Charlie Brown......

My favorite Halloween story is "It's The GREAT PUMPKIN Charlie Brown."  I remember being a child and waiting for the night that you got to watch all the Halloween shows on TV.  It's not like today where you can own a copy, or possibly just go on to the Internet and watch it.  You had to wait, you had to be home to see it, and if you weren't home you missed it for a whole year.  I think sometimes that is a problem in this world, no one knows how to wait and enjoy something when it finally comes.  But that is not my topic.

In the Great Pumpkin movie, Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin in the pumpkin patch and misses all the Halloween fun.  The Trick or Treating, and the Halloween party.  Trick or treating with kids is fun.  My kids through out the years loved to go out and get free candy.  When they are little you can control the amount of candy they get and eat, but as they get bigger what do you do?

I realized as my children got bigger  that they wanted to go to more and more houses and get more and more candy. The ability to control the amount of sugary treats in my house at Halloween and after was not an easy task.

Then I got a great Idea.  Thanks to Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin.  I told my children that The Great Pumpkin would come to our house after Halloween if they would do one thing.

They wondered what that was.  I told them if they would leave out their Halloween candy, that The Great Pumpkin would come and take some of the candy and leave them a present in place of the candy. 

They were so excited about receiving a present for their candy. That the first Halloween that we tried this they left all their candy out.

Here is one of our Great Pumpkin Halloween offerings.  The kids never minded that most of the candy disappeared.  They were so happy that The Great Pumpkin came to their house and left a gift.  The gifts were never big or expensive just a small toy.  It was worth it though as I did not have to argue with them about how much candy they were eating after Halloween.

This year my children are teens.  My daughter dressed up and went out to a few houses, she brought home a little candy, but not the mountains of their younger years.  My son stayed home and gave out candy.  He really enjoyed giving out the candy.  There was no need for a Great Pumpkin visit.  But we all watched the video and remembered the years that unlike Linus who never had a Great Pumpkin visit, we had quiet a few.  I hope when my children become parents that they carry on the tradition of a Great Pumpkin visit.

So if you are a parent in that stage of getting too much Halloween Candy, try having a Great Pumpkin visit.  You may find the days after Halloween are happier and not filled with arguments over how much candy your children can have every day.  I know we used to get enough to last until the Easter Bunny came.

G.G.

Don't let November be the only month that you find time to show gratitude.

If you Facebook....(who doesn't?  oh yeah my dad doesn't, well he does because he looks on my moms page but don't tell him that.)  You probably have noticed that many of your friends are doing daily post about things they are grateful for.  My thought to you is to not let November be the only month that you focus on gratitude.  Be grateful every day of the year.  November is a great time to start, but keep it up all year long.  There are so many blessings that come to a person who finds things to be grateful for every day.  So I'm one day behind but here is a list from this week.

1. I'm thankful for my children and all they have taught me this week.  My son stayed home and gave out candy to the neighborhood kids.  He talked about how much fun it was to give things away, what a good feeling that gave him.  He also was very concerned that children got a treat that they would like and that we had to be careful not to give out anything with peanut butter as he would not want to cause anyone to have an allergic reaction to their Halloween candy.  My daughter did a little trick or treating and was kind and shared with her brother.

2. I'm grateful for all the fall colors.  I love all the orange and red colors that surround me.
3. I'm thankful for good news from the doctors.  I was also glad to be able to do a survey for the doctors office and give them all exceeds expectations. I know how important it is to tell people they are doing a good job.
4. I'm grateful for a good night sleep.  The past couple of weeks have been stressful and so being able to sleep is great.
5.I'm grateful for people who find a cause and write books about it, and blogs too.  I have been reading a lot about what is going on with my body lately and I love the ability to be able to go to the library and take a book out and read on the subjects.  Soon my Tuesday post will be about my health issues.  I was surprised that no one has blogged on this issue yet.

6. I'm grateful for quiet.  I get to spend many of my mornings in quiet solitude.  That is probably going to change as I've applied for a supervisor position at my work and if I get it I will not work all night shifts. But the benefit of that is wonderful.  When everyone comes home and radio's blast and my son begins skyping with his friends and you can hear him in every corner of the house, I really realize just how nice a quiet morning is.
7. I'm Thankful for books on how to save money and live on a budget.  I'm determined to figure it all out and be debt free again.  It is one of life's struggles.
8.I'm grateful for my husband who is very talented and helped my daughter with her science project because I have no talent with building things.

9. I'm thankful for legs that don't ache after standing on them for 8 plus hours.
10.  I'm grateful for bee's.  I love watching them work in my garden.  I hope to plant more bee friendly flowers next year.

I have one of the most beautiful views from my back porch.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Related sites:
Count your blessings instead of sheep
Proof positive count your blessings
Have a great weekend. G.G.