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I now will be posting 2 TIMES A WEEK on MONDAY and THURSDAYS!!!!
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It has been a long time since I took a break from Blogging......
Truth be told, my Twin granddaughters were re-admitted back to the hospital in the NICU on Wednesday due to low body temps....
They came home yesterday ( Sunday)....
Again .....
Hopefully, they will not have to go back....
We had the grand pups for the last few days....
We were camping out together on the sofa bundled up in blankets...
Because during this time, I was also under the weather with a head cold and sinus issues going on...
And to top all of that off, we got the first snowfall of the Season and the largest one since 2022 as last year was a total bust when it came to snow here in NEPA!!!
I did manage to take a few pictures even though with all of this going on, I really was not feeling well.....
At dawn from the front door....
After Joe shoveled....
I wasn't even able to get out and shovel in the front, which I LOVE to do!!
Yes, my Christmas decorations are still up, both inside and out as this weekend was the
Feast of the Three Kings or Epiphany which in the Roman Catholic Church is the official end of the Christmas Holiday Season...
And it was also Russian Orthodox Christmas which is still celebrated here by many of the descendents of immigrants from Eastern Europe who came here around 1900....
We got about 5 inches and parts of the Pocono Mountains got close to a foot of snow .....
Some of the trees around our house in the woods and on the side of the road....
In the back yard....
So pretty but it will all be gone on Tuesday into Wednesday as we will be getting another storm with a predicted 2 inches of rain!!!
I had rescheduled some of the Christmas visits from friends and family from the week between Christmas and New Year's, that got cancelled because of the birth of our granddaughters, to this past week ...
But that was not meant to be either....
Because you all know the old adage....
Maybe next Christmas....
Every year since I first started Blogging, I have chosen One Little Word to guide me through the Year.....
During the Pandemic, I chose a Word for each month....
Some years, I also chose a Theme Word for the year....
Last year, My One Little Word for 2023 was SHINE!!!!
And I think I did exactly that!!!
With my new ability to move a lot better than I have been able to do in years because of losing over 50 pounds, I was able to accomplish a lot of things that I wanted to do around the house and in the garden....
I did a lot of crafting too and a lot of decorating which is my passion.....
Health wise, I maintained my weight, lost a few more inches as my clothes were big without losing many pounds and I remained physically active...
All in all, I felt it was a good year for me.....
I found this graphic last year and tried to live by it during the year...
Okay, I did falter on the last one....
"Buy Nothing"
I admit that I did go a bit crazy this past year with Falloween and Christmas merch....
My Bad!!
I am proud to say that I have not bought anything on Christmas Clearance and Joe has strict orders not to do so either......
Now if I do come across something at 90% off somewhere, that may change....
But for the most part, I plan on using what I already have, upcycling and repurposing things, creating decorations from my vast Craft Stash and "shopping" my own home....
This is not a new concept but one that I recently started doing when decorating for the last few Holidays....
When I was working, I was "stuck" into using the same things in the same rooms because it was much quicker that way....
Now that I have more time, I realized that I no longer have to have that mindset.....
Click
HERE to read a great article on it!!
I also thought about all the Words that I chose other years.....
Gratitude
Positivity
Focus
Peace
Wellness
Hope
Live
Joy
Happiness
Me
Thrive
Then I came across this...
At this point in my life, since I feel so much better than I have in years, I want to embrace doing a few new things...
And yes, I am getting older but I do feel that these are the BEST years of my life....
I do enjoy being home and getting to "Play" in my house more than anything else, whether it be decorating, gardening, crafting, organizing and dare I say, even cooking!!!
Many years ago, when all my health issues started to rear their ugly heads, I knew that my traveling days were over so I set about creating my own Victorian Bed and Breakfast in my own house so I would always feel like I was on vacation....
You can tour my little "Bed and Breakfast" decorated for Christmas HERE!!
I feel that I have succeeded in doing this because in the 5 years since I
stopped working, I have been perfectly happy to simply Stay Home as I feel I am now always on vacation!!
I am glad that we did do a lot of traveling when our sons were young...
And with all that being said.....
Just what is my One Little Word of the Year for 2024?????
PAUSE!!!
Now what exactly does PAUSE mean...
There are 2 different meanings to the Word Pause....
First, as a NOUN....
temporary inaction especially as caused by uncertainty
And then as a VERB....
I feel I need to use the PAUSE button more often....
After working for several years in an extremely toxic environment, where I found myself having to constantly defend myself and my coworkers on my shift which was night shift, I am very quick to respond and often it is with aggression....
Honestly, it is what I needed to do to survive in the Nursing Profession doing Direct Patient Care as long as I did!!
There, I have said it...
I do admit that my reputation to do so precedes me, which can be a good thing, as many know that I mean business when I decide to act on a problem....
But the time has come to ease up on that behavior......
A bit....
Also in the 5 years since I stopped working, I have found that it is sometimes much better to remain Silent .....
Especially at home....
For my own mental well being and happiness....
By pausing, I mean simply not responding one way or the other in certain situations....
This way, the POWER becomes all mine and I get to chose what type of situation I want to be part of....
This will then allow me to BREATHE!!!!
Sadly, I have learned that no one else cares about my Happiness but ME!!!
And this is why I have been disappointed by people my entire life....
SO I am going to chose to be Happy no matter what....
And as a means of Self Care, I will be pushing the PAUSE button, choosing to be silent....
So that is my One Little Word for 2024......
BUT....
I have also chosen a Theme for this year.....
And it is BALANCE!!
Now what is the definition of
BALANCE??? a state of equilibrium
mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.
But there is the deep meaning of BALANCE!!
"Balance is having the right amount —
not too much or too little —
of any quality, which leads to harmony or evenness."
"You might admire the BALANCE someone has achieved between working hard and having fun."
This year is going to be a year of CHANGE to say the least....
As many of you know, I recently became a first time grandparent to Twin Girls....
This alone will be a big change in our lives....
As of right now, my son Jim has taken a one month Paternity leave to help our DIL Danielle with the babies and they are not requiring any other help from anyone with the twins at this point....
They pride themselves on being fiercely independent ( I wonder where Jim got that from as I never ask for help and refused help when I brought my sons home from the hospital) !!!
So time will tell what my involvement, if any, will be....
In the Fall of last year, I decided that after 5 years of staying home and thoroughly enjoying doing so, it was time to step a little bit out of my comfort zone.....
Before my knee joint started to deteriorate, I was very active in our church, co chairing several Fund Raising events....
I had to step away from all of that when the deterioration of my knee had progressed to the point that I could barely walk....
Last Fall, we decided to start attending Mass in person again post Pandemic....
Our parish now has a young, fairly new priest who really wants to make our Parish a Community and one that likes to have Fun together.....
He set up 4 different groups in the Parish for Parishioners to join....
In early November, I joined the Community Group.....
This group will not only be responsible for coming up with fundraising ideas but also for parish get togethers....
First on our agenda was to set up monthly coffee and donut gathering after Mass on Sundays...
The first one was a great success!!
Click HERE to see more...
There is also a possibility that, I will be taking over some of the Public Relations work for the church like advertising Fund Raisers....
And on top of that, I will also be co-chairing our church's annual Harvest Tea this coming October!!!
In addition to these new duties, I have also consented to write a Newsletter for both Residents, including Tenants, and Homeowners in our townhouse development for the HOA's Council!!
So you can see that I will be stepping out of the comfort zone that I was quite happy in for the last 5 years....
And other people were quite happy to keep me in....
So......with these new and exciting changes that I will be experiencing to my "normal" routine this year....
I will need to be able to BALANCE it all!!!!
Click HERE to read a great article about finding BALANCE in all aspects of your life....
So there you have it!!!
PAUSE is my One Little Word for this Year.....
And BALANCE is my Theme for the Year.....
I do also have a few Goals for myself....
I will still try to lose a bit more weight and finally get off the plateau that I have been stuck on for the past several months...
I am proud to say that I only gained 2 pounds over the Holidays and since I am a stress eater, I am proud to say that I did not gain more with everything that was going on....
I plan on keeping up my walking for exercise.....
I hope to do more reading....
I do have a few projects in the house that I want to get done....
A lot more crafting and a bit of sewing....
Reading more Blogs and spending less time on Face Book...
And LESS GARDENING!!!
Yes.....
I have come to the realization that it is really quite stupid to spend the money and the time I do on flowers and plants in the Summers when I truly can not even stand to sit outside and do not even get to enjoy them because of the increasing heat and humidity that we are seeing here in NEPA with climate change....
So I do plan on cutting way back so I will not spend my Summer watering to keep my flowers alive to only be able to look at them from the windows of my air conditioned home!!
I like these Goals too....
So.....
Have you chosen a Word or a Theme for this year????
I am looking forward to this year and all the possibilities and opportunities it can hold....
But with that being said, I will be cutting back to 2 posts a week....
Starting immediately.....
I will be posting on Mondays and Thursdays.....
If I have a lot to share, I may throw in an extra post here and there....
If I do not have anything new or interesting to share, I will skip a post....
I am not going to be as regimented in my posting as I have been because truly....
It was GRUELING!!
I had planned on sharing my Winter Front Porch on Thursday but that will not be happening because of the pups being here most of last week along with the snowfall that we had over the weekend and the deluge of rain that is predicted for Tuesday into Wednesday...
I am still not feeling well but I will start taking down Christmas in the Den today, changing it over to Winter decor...
Hopefully, I will have something to share on THURSDAY...
If not, I will see you all on MONDAY!!!
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:
THURSDAY
Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!
.webp)
I'm so sorry you are down with this sinus infection! We have been "enjoying" it over here, too. We were both in our recliners the week between Christmas and New Year and I still haven't shaken it. The newest was when my head cold spread to my eyes. That is slowly clearing up. Buh Humbug. SO GLAD to hear the little ladies are safely home again! I'm glad the doctors are keeping an eye on them and so happy they are home. So precious! I hope the parents are feeling better with them home, too.
ReplyDeleteI love your word and theme. I was relating it to myself as I read. Wishing you a wonderful year!!!
Happy New Year, Debbie! Congrats on the newest addition to your family, the twins look all snuggly and adorable in that photo. And also, congrats on the weight loss. That takes a lot of work, effort, and diligence. Great job. Your photographs of the snowy trees are beautiful. We got the snowfall too, but it certainly didn't stay around very long, melting as fast as it came! Thanks for visiting Rosemary's Sampler. It was nice to 'see' you again.
ReplyDeleteHNY Deb! Loved your post. I hope you’re all feeling better & your granddaughters are home and doing well. Sending prayers your way. Pause is a great word!! Balance is also a great theme and it was my word one year. I’ll be sharing me word for 2024 soon. Thanks for sharing at the Home Imagined link party. We love having you over. XO- MaryJo
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post, Debbie! Sounds like you’ve chosen two good words for yourself this year. Pausing is actually quite biblical, so you are spot-on with working on that! Balance is a great one, especially since we tend to take on too much in this busy life we’ve created for ourselves. Sounds like you’ll be doing lots of balancing between the twins and all your church activities! I wish you well on all your endeavors! I found you on Talking About it Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteSally,
DeleteThanks so much for stopping by and for your kind comment!! I stopped by your blog and your art is amazing!! You are very talented!! I saw that I was not able to comment there so I am doing so here!!
Happy New Year to you and your family!!!
Hugs,
Deb
Debbie, this all sounds encouraging and so upbeat. That pink meme about romanticizing your life! I love it. That's so smart. And your twin grandchildren! I will pray for them to stay healthy. How exciting!! gracious! And the grand doggies-so cute.
ReplyDeleteApril,
DeleteI tried leaving a comment for you over on your blog several times but it would not go through so I am commenting here...Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by !! And thanks for your prayers for my granddaughters...so far, so good!!! Happy New Year to you and your family!!!
Hugs,
Deb
I loved so many of your quotes and graphics that I saved a few of them! Congrats on the weight loss - that’s definitely one of my goals with this baby weight. And your granddaughters are beautiful and I wish them all the best!
ReplyDeleteLove your take on a word of the year and a theme of the year, Deb! It's been so exciting to follow along on all your adventures from making your health and wellness a priority to all the ways you've decorated your house throughout the different seasons. I have no idea how you come up with all these ideas but they're always spot on! The word of the year for our family is communicate and part of that is also learning to pause before responding and we are finding out it is much harder than we anticipated it would be so I can't wait to see how progress on this journey too. Sending lots of prayers for your and your grands that you will heal and recover well. They are too cute for words and I'm super excited you'll have them to treasure! Hugs and happy new year, CoCo
ReplyDeleteHope those grandbabies are doing well now. I think you made good choices for your word and theme of the year. I do hope you aren't overdoing things by taking on a lot of responsibility outside of your comfort zone. I slowed down on my gardening a few years ago, same reason as you ... it cost a huge amount of money and time. I cut out my annual gardens and went strickly with perennials, such a good choice for me and my joint/back situation. It is now 2 months since my full knee replacement surgery, and I'm doing well. I'm working on strengthening and balance now, soon will be back walking at the waterfront trail. Take care.
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie from another Debbie but on the other side of the world to you. I'm a blogger in Australia where we are having very hot days currently so your snow shots looked delightful. Congrats on your new twin granddaughters, and on becoming a grandmother, I love this job the best!! I have chosen a word for the last few years and this year I'm going with THRIVE, your word is a great one and PAUSE can be used in so many ways. I enjoyed all your quotes and can relate to the one telling us to pause before we....do whatever. I'm visiting from the Weekend Traffic Reboot linkup and I'm pleased to meet you here. Debbie from Deb's World www.debs-world.com
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie thank you for linking up and sharing with us at Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot. I do hope your twin granddaughters are okay. It must have been such a worry for you all. You are experiencing snow and here in Australia we are having cyclones, flooding and hot humid days. Balance is a great word for 2024. We all need some balance in our lives, don't we?
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the twins are back home and I'll pray that they continue to grow and thrive on their own. I didn't really accept much help with my boys either; other than the occasional meal delivered by family which I was so thankful for. You have a wonderful WOTY and theme to guide you. I look forward to seeing how both play out for you.
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon and glad to hear the twins are okay. My twins were in the NICU for 11 and 13 days. It's difficult. My mom was called Mamaw of twins. I stopped by here from Craftastic. Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! I tried to choose a word to guide me last year, but I forgot all about it pretty soon after New Year's. Oh well. Happy new year!
ReplyDeletePause is a great one word choice! My word for the year is Curiosity. I've already been seeing it everywhere!
ReplyDeleteNow that you have your one little word, pause and yearly theme, balance- you'll need to keep us updated with your progress. You will LOVE being mimi to your two grand babies! Praying for good well.
ReplyDeleteTake care and best wishes.
Deb, beautiful reflections of life, then, now, and future! Thank you for sharing with SSPS.
ReplyDeleteMy mom always left her decorations up until the epiphany. I even left up some of her favorite Christmas village houses up and will take them down this weekend. Congratulations on the twins and I will be praying for them to return home soon. Blessings for an amazing year ahead, it sound like you're off to a great start!
ReplyDeletexx - Maria