Kindness and Generosity

I think another way of sharing the joy of Christmas is by doing something nice or generous to someone you don't even know. These "random acts of kindness" tend to make us feel as though we've done a special favor for someone and we hope they are so inspired that they will "pay it forward" by doing something thoughtful for someone else. And so on and so forth. I wanted to elaborate a little on this idea so I went to my best internet friend, Google. I found a website called http://www.helpothers.org/ I found a wealth of things that you can do to feel better about yourself and make someone else feel better at the same time. For instance, what can you do with five bucks to make someone's day? Tape the exact change for a soda to a vending machine or a payphone. Pay the toll for the person behind you. Leave flowers in front of someone's house. Bake cookies for your neighbors. Put quarters in the laundry machine for the next person. Send cards with beautiful messages to anonymous people. Leave chocolate on the desk of your co-workers. Treat someone to a cup of their favorite coffee. These are just a few inexpensive ways to feel better about yourself. The link has many more. Here is one more, Reach out to the homebound -- seniors, ill or incapacitate children or caregivers committed to caring for their family members at home. Connect them to communication resources like radio, TV or Internet so they can stay connected to the world at large. Find a good-news story in the media and email them regularly. Tag them with an inspiring book. Offer to bring them books from the library. Share 'smile stories' you've read in this newsletter. Help them take care of their pets. Convince a beautician or barber to make a house-call. Buy them nice stationary so they write appreciative notes to those they are grateful for. Maybe one way to avoid being blue this Christmas is by donating some of your own kindness and generosity. It couldn't hurt and just maybe it will help. Bless you all and to all a good night............

Doctor's Follow-up Visit

Yesterday my DH had his follow-up visit with his doctor. He told him he has diabetes and also he tested him for a reactive protein in his blood. It came back very high, in fact the doc said it's the highest he's ever seen. So now he is prescribing him a drug like Lipitor to lower his cholesterol and fight placque. He said that DH needs to lose weight and start exercising. I was relieved to hear he had diabetes and not something they couldn't diagnose. Not that I wanted it but I kind of knew in my gut that he did. He is tired all the time. In fact he has changed so much over the last few years that I knew it had to be something like diabetes. I don't know that he is taking it seriously. He wanted to tell a friend he talked to that he was borderline diabetic. He isn't. The doctor didn't prescribe him any meds for the diabetes at this time. He wants him to try diet and exercise first. He has to go for another blood test in 2 months. I sure hope he thinks about what is at stake here and makes the effort to lose some weight and get up out of the recliner and start walking or come to the gym with me. Men can be so stubborn! He went ahead a drank a full sugar coke last night. I told the doctor he was drinking them and he said that one soda a day will add a pound a month. He didn't come right out and say no sugar!! I think that may be why DH isn't taking it seriously. My mother died as a result of diabetes and I don't want to lose him too.

Twenty Four Days Before Christmas

Well I got some LED lights for outside but we haven't hung them yet. I still have to drag out my decorations from under the house. I know I was going to do it the other day but instead I went shopping. I went to Michael's and got some more silk greenery for the house. They were 50% off plus I had a 20% off coupon. Quite a deal I think. I took down the fall garlands I had up over the kitchen cupboards and had hubby help me with the rope lights we have up there. I had to replace them since the old ones had discolored from use. Now I just need to put some Christmas decorations up there and then I can add the pics and things I bought and it should look festive. I'll take a picture or two when I do.

I took Chloe for a walk to the park where they have the Festival of Lights display yesterday afternoon. I took my camera but I don't know if I took anything worthy of publishing here. I haven't checked them out yet.

We are going to go see a movie this afternoon. It's Fireproof with Kirk Cameron. Last week we saw 4 Christmases with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. It was very funny. I really enjoyed it. Well, I need to go fold some clothes out of the dryer now. Hope everyone has a good day today.

The Christmas Season is Officially Underway

I have packed up all my Thanksgiving and fall themed decorations and am in the process of dusting and vacuuming. Then I will begin the monumental task of crawling under the house in our mini basement and taking out the Christmas boxes. I think I have about 30 of them. They haven't been out in about 4 years. We were not at home the other years so I didn't decorate. We need to get new outside lights since the last time we used ours they had sections that were dead. Now with the new LED lights you can plug in a really large amount of strings together and they don't overload the circuit. I was checking the ads in the newspaper and Home Depot has a pretty good deal on them. Now all I have to do is to get DH up out of his recliner and get him moving so I can have some help with this job. He was playing WII Golf last time I looked in the livingroom. Men!! Little boys in a bigger package. Well he is moving around now so I guess now is the time. By the way, I didn't go shopping today, YET. I went to the gym and saw lots of cars on the road and the parking lots were all full at the stores I passed. Maybe around dinner time would be a good time. All the early birds will be home by then. Well, better go check on him.

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish all my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving from my house to yours. I also want to thank those of you who have posted such warm and encouraging comments on this blog. I hope you will all be surrounded by loved ones and friends who help to make new memories for years to come.

Blessings..........

Today is the day. The day for taking care of all the last minute details of what needs to be done for tomorrow (The Big Day). Last minute cleaning and dusting and making sure everything looks perfect, so when the family arrives and comments on how they just don't know how you do it all, you can say, "oh, it was easy" Yeah, right!! We know how we stretch ourselves it sixteen different directions trying to get everything done. We wonder if it will all come together and somehow it does. There may be a few things that go unfinished but they usually go unnoticed also. If the truth be known, the important thing is that you are with your family and your friends and that you make new memories to cherish in years to come. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and be sure to thank God for all our blessings.

Time to Rant a Bit

I think it's pretty darn infuritating that when the gas prices went up as fast as they did last summer, restaurants and grocery stores, among others wasted no time in raising their prices. But now that gas prices are down to what they were over a year ago the restaurants and grocery stores haven't done anything to adjust their prices accordingly. That is my rant for the day!! I am suffering from band tightening right now. I fixed dinner and wasn't able to eat it. It won't go down!! Certain things affect the tightness of the band, one thing is the barometric pressure and I don't know what ours is here but the weather was foggy and dreary all day. Maybe that is what does it, I am not sure. I was also a bit miffed at DH. He was being grouchy and yelling at the dog and the cat and then he didn't care for what I had made for dinner. Baked chicken and rice. He isn't much of a rice eater. But I love it. Anyway, all that combined made me as tight as a camels arse in a dust storm. So here I sit, reading blogs. Tomorrow I have to go out and brave the crowds at the grocery store and buy what I need for Thanksgiving dinner. We are having dinner with friends at their home. I am making pumpkin pie to take and a vegetable dish. Haven't quite decided what veggie to make yet.