Thanksgiving Day 2010

Another year has passed and once again the holidays are upon us.  We are about to feast and celebrate Thanksgiving dinner with some of our family.  We all have so much to be thankful and looking back at the months gone by I can say that God has been so good to me and has answered my prayers many times.  

 As we give thanks for the many blessings we've enjoyed I sit here and my heart goes out to those whose lives have been turned upside down because of the economy and are having to struggle to make ends meet.  We have all had to make adjustments learning  different ways to make ends meet and smile because we are truly blessed in so many ways.  

I am married to my best friend who also happens to be the best husband in the world.  He is so very good to me and always there willing to do anything if its going to make me happy.  I love my family and even if I don't see them I know that they are in the hands of God, and that is all I can say or do about that subject.  Since I live with my daughter Tiffany & son-in-law Dino I also see my grandchildren every day and that makes me happy.  Having my dad living here and not an hour away gives me peace of mind that I know he's doing good even if he is sad sometimes because mom is gone and he's alone now.  


I have many wonderful friends that I've known for many years and who I know will be there for me in times when I need prayer or just an ear to let me vent.  

This past year had many ups and downs, a lot of sadness and health problems.  We have over come all of it because God is so good and knows exactly what we need and when we need it.  My poor son-in-law has had a terrible year with back & neck surgery and going through red tape with disability insurance etc.  We have cried together through our sadness of losing our loved ones. Helping each other with all the dilemas  of our everyday life I have learned patience and accepted that life is only hard if we dwell in our problems.   It wasn't  easy at times but we know that The Family that prays together stays together.   

Thank you Lord for your goodness and for filling my cup with love.

I Earned it I deserve it and I Want it!!

Running for my $$$

Today I have officially arrived at my goal and I am officially a senior citizen.  Now I can receive the social security check that I have earned in the many years that I have worked.  Never mind that most of the money will probably go to help pay for all my aches & pains lol.

I earned it I deserve it and I Want it!! 

SSI

 

Never ever did I expect to reach this age.  Iin my mind I don't feel a day over 30.  I remember when I was a teenager I thought anyone over 30 was old.   God forbid if we knew anyone who was 50 yrs old, they were soooo old.  We can't even imagine ourselves at that age,  how little do we know that the years go by faster after your 20 and we can't stop them hahaha.  Our desire as teenagers is to become adults or be older so that we can do or go places where kids can't enter.   I always imagined myself traveling with a spectacular career and driving a 'Mustang car'  lolol.  Well I finally got my car but its 11yrs now old haha,   so why wouldn't I get old?

  

The Fallen Tree

There is one special Marine who I would like to honor on this day and his name is Adrian Ramirez.   He is a family friend serving his country in Afghanistan.   I pray that God will keep His hand on Adrian until he comes home.  I am thankful also for all the men and women serving their country and sacrificing their own welfare to keep us safe.  We must pray for them every day and  ask God to bring them home safe.


This day will always be remembered not only because of its obvious meaning but because on this day strong winds ripped off  part of a tree in the island  in our pond.  


These Santa Ana winds come every year during this month,  but I don't remember them being as strong in the past.  We have been having summer weather even though it is already November with  a couple of days of rain and cold nights.   The tree which was very big and beautiful with many branches now looks very bare and empty.  Its leaves had started to fall off and change colors, hopefully my husband is right and it will grow back.  
 

As  I look out my window I thank God for giving us this beautiful view of all He has created for us to enjoy. .

                                                                   The fallen tree

Happy Birthday Miss Daisy

Saturday was beautiful, breezy and cool with the sun shining bright all day until late afternoon when it got cloudy with a hint of rain which newscasters kept predicting.  The outside heaters were lit up and my son-in-law got the fire pit going.  

My daughter decided that since Daisy had a huge party last year for her 13th birthday with about 100 people, this year the family would celebrate her birthday at Disneyland and take a few of her friends for her to hang out with.  Those plans didn't materialize for several reasons, so I decided that we would have an impromptu  birthday party.   It was a small family affair with some of my sisters-in-law who came bringing  some of their kids and a few grandkids.  Daisy invited the friends who were supposed to spend the day with her anyway and they all hung out together playing games and going for a walk.  

We decided to have cupcakes instead of buying or making a cake, that way everyone could get their own or as many as they wanted.  They were so cute with yummy butter frosting  topped with Lady Bug pickets.   I bought her a small cake anyway, after all whats a party with no cake?   haha.   What are grandma's for?  My daughter found and bought the biggest and cutest lady bug balloon that fit right in with the theme of her party.  

Everyone had fun, fellowship and ate lots of good food.  As it got later it also got so cold that we were all forced to take the party inside.  Daisy opened several presents and received gift cards, and now that I think about it she also got some money but never revealed the amount.  


Fourteen years ago this little angel who I nick named Daisy was born and wove herself into our hearts.  Daisy is vivacious  and dorky at times but always fun loving and always willing to help others.   She is a good student getting good grades and is in the AVID program in school.   She loves the Lord and is very involved with the youth group and is in the church choir.   Daisy has always been a good little girl and now she is a very respectful young lady who is nice to everybody.   Her Tata loves her very much and spoils her, as for me I'm not prejudiced but I think she's beautiful cute and pretty.


                                               ♥ HAPPY  14TH BIRTHDAY DAISY ♥

I AM A VEGETARIAN

Yes I am on a diet!!  I finally decided to say it out loud so the walls can hear me ' I need to lose weight'.

One day while looking at myself  in the mirror I saw how out of control my weight was and I realized I was in big trouble.  Sooooo......right then & there I decided to do something drastic, like lose the excess baggage I've been carrying around for the past ten years.

It has  been three months since I took my last sip of soda or coffee.  My coffee cup was large so I felt that putting  2/3 big table spoons of sugar was ok ( who was I fooling?) hahaha.  I am an admitted sodaholic addicted to drinking at least one six pack a day by myself.   Although I did drink lots of water, I must not forget to include the big glasses of iced tea or pink lemonades I would consume whenever I ate at a restaurant.

Why do parents reward their children with candy or food?   Eating when we are happy or sad is also a habit that I was guilty of.  Weight creeps up on us through the years until one day as I did,  took a good look and realized the day had come...........it wasn't too late yet so I had to hurry and repair the problem I created within myself.   My intake of food was incredible, portions were getting bigger and the places where we chose to eat were the kind that served as much as you can eat.

In August I decided to stop drinking soda and any other sweet drinks, and after 3 weeks the results were wonderful and I was so proud of myself.  I didn't care if anyone else noticed because I saw a difference in the way my clothes fit which was so exciting.  Thats when I decided to stop eating sugar.   That meant no cakes, candies, ice cream, donuts, etc etc.

Was this hard one might ask?  Of course, after years of eating and drinking whateva, my body went into withdrawls.  The headaches were atrocious while my mouth watered at the sight of all I had given up, but as all things came to an end all the symptoms did too.  Yippeee I was sugar free!!

After researching some information from my friend Nancy who is a Vegan, I understood what she had been trying to tell me.  Eating meat created many physical problems (for me anyway) and was also the cause of weight gain.  Yeap I gave up meat!  After coming to this decision I in so many words become a vegetarian.  This allows you to eat fish and chicken unlike Vegans who do not eat ANY meat.  Eating healthy is a lot of drama, especially when you have to watch each and every morsel of food that goes into your mouth, but as the days go by its getting easier.  I make sure everything I eat is healthy and I drink lots of water.

Will I become Vegan?  I think so..............eventually, but right now I just want to lose this excess cargo I carry around everyday.  What I eat now is satisfying so I can wait to take that final step.   I have a fantastic family who are very supportive.  They make sure that I eat healthy food while they root for me.  My wonderful husband has joined me on this diet of mine and he has also lost about 35lbs just by staying away from soda.  For the most part even though he will eat a cookie or two and satisfies his sweet tooth he eats whatever I do and is also trying to stay away from meat.

My feet were in such terrible shape swollen and grotesque making it hard for me to walk without a cane.  My mother was a diabetic so everyone assumed  I was too. Now my feet are back to normal (but still look grotesque in color) and each morning I walk about 3 miles. My daughter or my husband come along too so that I won't walk by myself.

Soon I will reach my goal and I'll have done it to save myself and enjoy the rest of the years that God gives me by living a nice long healthy life.