I am a Victorian Soul, who lives in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion!! I just recently lost my Hubby Joe, who was a Retired Letter Carrier. I worked night shift as an RN on a Hospital based Rehabilitation( Physical Medicine) Unit for 37 years before I had Knee Replacement Surgery and officially Retired in 2019 after 41 years working in Direct Patient Care ... I am so glad that we retired at 62 years of age and got to spend that time together before he passed....I still do love Retirement!!!!

I DABBLE IN A BIT OF THIS AND THAT!!!!

" IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN"
George Eliot
George Eliot was actually a pen name for a woman named Mary Anne Evans......

BLOGGING FOR FUN AND FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

My One Little Word for 2023


 

 

 Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

 
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!
 
 
I am now posting 3 times a week !!!
 
 I will be posting on TUESDAY, THURSDAY and SATURDAY

 As always, click on each picture if you would like to enlarge it....
 
 
 
In my last post, I shared a few new "Buys" that I got after Christmas and will be using for Winter decor along with some new Dollar Tree Valentine Buys....
 
 
 

 

 


 Click HERE if you missed that post!!

 
 
 Can you believe that it is 2023????


Where does the time go????



For over a decade, I have chosen One Little Word to focus on for the New Year....


Do you choose a Word for the Year????


Some years I chose a Word and a Theme....

Not doing that this year....

Just One Little Word....


My Word for 2022 was THRIVE!!!!


 You can read the post about it HERE!!
 
I started off the year following these suggestions....

What does THRIVE mean exactly.....

prosper; flourish.

And I wanted to Flourish!!!
 
 In the beginning of the year, I was far from thriving....
 
Since I stopped working, I had become used to sitting back and letting life go on anyway it chose...
 
An effect not only of the Pandemic but also from years of chronic pain, immobility and then finally getting the chance to do what I wanted to do when I retired.....
 
And that meant staying home and enjoying "playing" in my own home and garden....
 
And I did just that happily content to never leave...
 
Since 2019 after I had my knee replacement surgery and stopped working, I was as happy as I could be just staying home.... 

And don't get me wrong....

I enjoyed every minute of my solitude and I even embraced the Pandemic and welcomed staying home even when I didn't have to....

I really did not want to go out anywhere because I was having too much fun at home and not having to go to work anymore after 41 years!!!

But come the Spring, after almost 3 years since I stopped working, I was getting restless....

I started missing the life I had before chronic knee pain with the subsequent weight gain that immobility and neglect on my own part caused and had changed everything...


In May, I took a long hard look at myself and what was holding me back....

I stopped making excuses and finally admitted to myself that I hated the way I looked and the Pandemic had given me the wonderful opportunity to "Hide"!!
 
 

Yes, I was "hiding" because I was mortified with myself....

After making the decision that we would stay in this house until one of us can no longer physically do so or passes away, I knew things had to change....
 
I knew I had to become physically healthy enough to be able to contend with the steps not only in our townhouse but the ones to walk up to our townhouse...


After doing a lot of research during the month of May, I decided it was time to start a Journey toward a much more Healthier Life which included changing my Lifestyle!!


I developed my own plan for exercise and how to start to lose weight incorporating foods that I was able to eat without kicking my IBS in...


You can read about what I did to lose 36 pounds in 6 months HERE!!

I went from this, taken in 2020....
 
GASP!!!


To this, taken on Christmas Day 2022...


Look at the change in my face!!!



That weight loss changed me not only physically but mentally too!!

I felt so much better both physically and mentally....

I had less chronic arthritic pain, I could move better and was now walking for exercise which I thought I would never be able to do again...
 
 I was hardly ever experiencing IBS attacks...
 
 I was mentally brighter....
 
 I had more confidence and felt better about myself....
 
 
 
I started going out more.....

We even returned to our church which was a long time goal of mine after we stopped attending Mass there because of a priest that was assigned to our parish....
 
We now have a wonderful young priest that we really like a lot and that our son Joey sees frequently as Joey works for the Scranton Diocese and Father Alex is head of Vocations for the Diocese...

Since I felt so good, I became more creative and energetic and was crafting and doing projects that I wanted to do in the house and garden.....


But of course, there is always those Nay Sayers who thought my regime that I developed was "Too Rigid" and told me to "Live a Little", "Lighten Up" and "sit back and treat myself"!!!

This only made me more determined to continue on my Journey toward a Healthier Lifestyle....
 
 
 
And in doing so, I was THRIVING.....
 
And I did "Lighten Up".......weighing 36 pounds LESS!!!
 
Sticking to the plan I made for me and me alone, will hopefully allow me to not "Live a Little" but "Live a lot More" instead!!!

All in All, 2022 was a very good year for me....

It was the year that I feel I took back control of my life....
 
I stopped giving my chronic health issues control of how I lived my life...
 
I started to feel like the "Old" Me again!! 

I feel that I really did THRIVE in 2022!!!

 
 And with that being said, now that it is a New Year.....

What is my Word for 2023???


When I started my Journey back in May, I wanted to be living a much Healthier Life by the time I turned 65 years old....

Each year, I said "this is the year I will get this unwanted extra weight off and be healthier"....

But that never happened and the years went by....


Last year, I finally changed things.....

 I am proud of myself for accomplishing what I did....
 
And when I do turn 65 years old this year, I know I will be much healthier and more vibrant and energetic than I have been in the past decade or so!!!! 

But I still have a ways to go to get to my Goal....


I thought about all the words that I chose other years.....

Gratitude

Positivity

Focus

Peace

Wellness

Hope
 
Live

Joy

Happiness

Me

Then I came across this...


Feeling so much better and more alive, I want to embrace doing new things...

I feel younger now than I have in the last 10 years....


So yes, I am getting older but I do feel that these are the BEST years of my life....


And in light of that....
 
It is Time to Shine!!


SHINE is my Word for 2023!!!

  Now what exactly do I mean by SHINE......
 
The definition of SHINE:

to give out a bright light

 to give forth or glow with light;  to be bright ; glisten; sparkle.to appear brightly or strongly
 
 

YEP!!

That is exactly what I want to do this year!!

Give out a bright light!!

Sparkle

Glisten 

and SHINE!!


This year, I want to do what makes my Soul Shine.....


I am going to continue on my journey toward a healthier lifestyle.....

I hope to lose another 20 pounds by June 1st which will be the one year anniversary that I started this journey....

My Goal for December was to not gain any weight over the Christmas Holiday...

I only gained a pound, which I have already lost, instead of the 10+ pounds I usually gain over the Holidays...

This is what I wore to Mass this past Sunday....


 
I am now wearing clothes that are in the lowest size I own and they are starting to get a bit baggy....

So I have come to the realization that I will most likely have to buy all new clothes or at least jeans and dress slacks...

And this will give me a chance to clear out a lot of clothes and create a pared down Retirement wardrobe that will fit my needs in Retirement...

 
Now that could be fun but I do truly hate to shop for clothes but maybe after losing this weight, I might enjoy it again...

So how do I intend to SHINE???

I shared this in last year's post....


Well, I pretty much did everything last year on this list except for the last thing....
 
My Bad!!

I did buy things this past year but honestly in my defense, not a lot compared to all I used to buy....

This year, I plan to do a lot more of the things mentioned on that list...
 
I want to do more sewing like I did when I was back in high school making a lot of my own clothes...
 
I want to be able to make all the crafts that I wanted to do and bought supplies for over the past 40+ years... 

I want to do more reading and maybe get through all the books I have accumulated, planning for my retirement...

And yes, I even want to cook some new things even though I honestly can not believe that I am saying that!! 

LOL!!!

Plus I hope to go back to doing things that I used to do like volunteer work at our Church....
 
Being involved with Fund Raisers...

Going to Concerts and Shows...

Hosting more friends and family Get Togethers


And going to the local places that I have on my Bucket List to see...

No big travel plans as I have been there and done that....
 
 
I am grateful that we did a lot of traveling when our sons were young...

But I truly have no desire to do that again.....

However, I do want to enjoy things that are right here in our Community that local residents tend to ignore and bypass...

There is a lot of History in this area going back to the Indians and the Revolutionary War.....

Maybe I will get involved with the local Historical Society....

Time will tell....

 
So this year, 2023, I intend to SHINE!!!!

And hopefully, make the year I turned 65 years old the BEST EVER!!!!!

 
After all, this has been my favorite quote for many years....
 

So what is your One Little Word for 2023?

 If you do not have one, what Goals have you set for this New Year, if any?

I also have a To Do List which I will get into in a future post....

LOL!

In my next post on THURSDAY, I will be sharing a few more after Christmas Buys, some crafting I did with them and my Winter Front Porch and Yard.....






So I hope you will stop by to visit again on THURSDAY to see how I SHINE!!!!!!  
 
 
 Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......


I am linking up to these parties:
 


 
Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!
Posted by at

9 comments:

  1. Creations By CindyJanuary 10, 2023 at 2:47 PM

    You look wonderful sweet lady. Keep on SHINING! Hugs and blessings to you. Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kim January 11, 2023 at 9:47 AM

    Happy New Year, Debbie!! You look fabulous. I'm so impressed with your progress and your attitude! You go!! Hugs!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joanne January 13, 2023 at 9:11 AM

    Congrats on your weight loss! Shine is a great word going forward.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JeanieJanuary 13, 2023 at 12:20 PM

    I'm still working on my word. Actually, I think I've got it but haven't posted yet. By the time I do, it'll probably be March!

    ReplyDelete
  5. PaulaShort January 15, 2023 at 11:09 AM

    Debbie, you look fabulous sweet friend! Great finds too. I love your word of the year. I can see you truly shining 🌟. My one word 2021 was Selah (pause and reflect), 2022 was Intentional, and this year 2023 is Advent because I want you live an Advent life in my everyday.
    Visiting today from Unlimited Linky 98 #35&36

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dee | GrammysGrid.comJanuary 15, 2023 at 12:45 PM

    Just perfect! Shine away and good luck ♥ Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 98. Shared.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cindy@CountyRoad407January 19, 2023 at 1:09 PM

    Congratulations on all that hard work. You look great! Love the new word for the year and look forward to seeing you SHINE even more than you already do. Thank you for always being a great supporter of Farmhouse Friday. It means a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Carol BentonJanuary 23, 2023 at 3:12 PM

    Congrats on your weight loss success in 2022! Now, it really is your time to shine! Thank your for sharing this post in the Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 49.
    Carol
    www.scribblingboomer.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dee | GrammysGrid.comJanuary 26, 2023 at 5:48 PM

    Debbie, CONGRATS! Your post is FEATURED at the Unlimited Link Party 99!

    ReplyDelete

I always love to read your comments and opinions!!
I will try to respond to your comment as quickly as I can either on your Blog, through an email address or here on the posts where you commented if I cannot find any other way to contact you!!
If you are a vendor and insist upon leaving a comment with a link back to a website, it will be deleted immediately as I check my comment several times a day!!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...