November 18 - Thankful For

...a little sunshine and blue skies this morning, even though the forecast was for rain all day. It's now afternoon and the clouds are rolling in, but this morning it was so nice to see the sun. It's still been really cold today, but the sunshine made it all worth while.

November 17 - Thankful for

Today I am thankful for Dom's good health.

It has been a bit of a rough road lately, especially since last June when we were told he had Atrial Fibrillation. But since the cardioversion was done, he is doing so much better. Every day I see him getting stronger and getting more like his old self. It is so wonderful to see the engery coming back and knowing that he is feeling better each and every day.

November 16 - Thankful for...

Today I'm thankful that I got to talk to my grandson and find out that he had a really good day. It was his first day at his new school since moving to Alaska a week ago. He sounded happy and excited about his teacher, his class and the friends he has already made.

I'm so thankful that Aiden loves school and is such a good student. He really enjoys learning new things and doing school work. He is such a good boy.

I love you Aiden and hope you have a wonderful school year! Keep calling grandma and let me know how your day is going.

PS: I know he looks sad in this picture, but he's really not. He just hates me always taking pictures of him. This is a very rare recent photo where he is actually NOT covering up his face or hiding from my camera. Got to love him!

New Class - Holidays in Hand

Today I started a new class on Jessicasprague.com called Holidays in Hand. Tara and I are both taking this class and I'm really excited about it. We will be making a holiday album for this year as well as getting and staying organized throughout the holiday season. I think it's going to be fun!

Our first assignment is to make a list of our holiday goals for this year, so here goes...

2009 Holiday Goals

1. Get into the holiday spirit earlier and more intensely.

It seems like every year it is harder and harder for me to get into the holiday spirit. With just me and Dom here at the house it is hard to maintain that "festive" spirit. Putting up holiday decorations just seems to be a bother instead of a joy with nobody really here to enjoy them.

I need to do this even if it is just for the two of us.

2. Get Christmas cards made and mailed early.

Last year I had the cards made and ready to mail before Thanksgiving. I have barely started them so far this year. In fact, I think I only have 5 made so far and about 30 more to go. I also need to get my mailing list done. I lost my list from years past when my computer crashed, so I'm starting over from scratch.

My goal is to have all this done no later than December 1.

3. Have all gifts bought and wrapped by one week before Christmas.

This will be a hard one because Dom is always wanting to put this off until the last moment. I must keep pushing to get everything bought and wrapped early so the week before Christmas is completely free from these tasks.

Gifts going to Alaska need to be bought and mailed by December 1.

4. Make a Holiday Album documenting our activities this year.

I have already been thinking about doing this and in fact bought an album to use for this purpose last July when Ali Edwards mentioned it on her website. This class will be just what I need to make sure I reach this goal.

Those are my goals for this year...now I must stay focused and accomplish them all!