Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Happy New Year - Now It's Time to Start the Year Out Right!

Happy New Year to my friends, near and far. My holiday cards have taken a beating for my overseas friends. My friend Hans in the Netherlands got half a card, but colored what he had beautifully (which makes sense, because he's such a talented artist). He sent that to me at the same time as my mailbox holding the card that he sent to me. My mantle is resplendent with holiday cards from SO many friends. My family stopped sending cards when their kids grew older, so it's really all friends, and many from overseas. I love each and every one of you for your kindness. It's really made my holiday season special. 




I don't know where I'd be or through what darkness 
I would be swimming without all of you to help 
me out of the dark and into the light. Thank You 
is inadequate, but it's all I have. My friends, 
near and far, are my lifelines. 



Today I hit the ground running, so to speak. I need to get to the gym and swim - I'm about two pounds over where I want to be. I also have an 8:00 am appointment at my orthodontist, then I have to go shopping at my co-op (although I might push that off a week because next week's "wellness" sale is a must-do), and a few groceries that I forgot yesterday need to be purchased. Then I'll make a set of eight stuffed peppers for dinners for the next week+, and do laundry, laundry, laundry. 




I'm making a batch of eight stuffed peppers for my 
dinners today. It's one of my favorite winter recipes, 
and even though we've barely gotten any snow (I'm 
VERY happy about that), it's still cold, so they're a 
perfect meal. 



Still, it was delightful to get a few days off. DH finally opened his birthday gifts more than a week after his birthday, and he was generally pretty happy with what he got. So, SCORE! For a change, I was pretty on-point with my gifts. That's a relief. 




I really needed these days off for a reset. Today I'm 
headed back to the swimming pool, and at 8:00 am 
today, I see my orthodontist. I'm hoping I'm still on 
track for getting my braces off for my birthday, but 
I'll have to wait and see what he has to say. 



What I really needed, though, was rest, relaxation and catching up on some sleep. I did go to the shop yesterday (even though we were closed) so that I could pull all of the holiday ornamentation off, and bring the shop back to "normal". I'll text Chickie to remind her to pull the holiday hours signs from the door and windows, but the rest of the store no longer looks like a tinsel explosion hit the factory - LOL. Instead, it looks ready for business. 




So, I put all of the holiday decorations away at the shop 
yesterday. I knew I didn't have any time to do it today, 
and I didn't want to leave it until Thursday. So I went over 
on my "day off" and took care of it. "Dusted and Done". 



I, however, still have to get a load of laundry started before I leave for the gym, so I'll wish all of you a wonderful 3rd of January. It's great to have all of you out there, reading. Your friendship - near and far - really help me through the bad days and into the good. I'm grateful for all of you every day, and send my love and wishes for an exceptional and joy-filled day your direction. Enjoy your Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.



No comments: