Happy Holidays!

Hey, I guess I was in the land of the missing for a while. I can't believe it has been almost two weeks since I last posted. Things got pretty bad for a while, but I really think things are on the upswing for good now.

I have been seeing a therapist for a while and we are making progress...hallelujah! We have started setting goals for me and I actually accomplished one today. I have cleared a spot in my craft room so I can stamp again. I feel really good about it because I truly love stamping! Lots of "I's" in these sentences. Sorry. There is no shame in seeking help. That's a good thing, thank God! My therapist is such a doll. She has helped me so much to look less at what I am not and more at what I am. Anyway...!

My grandson's baptism was a very special time. I had a lot of fun at my DD and SIL's. It was really good to see his folks as it had been a while. The night before the baptism was spent at DS the elder's home. My mom and I babysat the two older GB's. What a blast! Mom went to bed early as she had just arrived that day from baby sister's in Texas. The girls and I watched "Barbie" in "A Christmas Carol". Cute! Then we watched the first "Home Alone" movie. Well, the oldest and did. My younger granddaughter fell asleep shortly after the movie started. I was so thrilled as the oldest snuggled all evening with me. Talk about Grandma heaven!

Well, thanks for listening. I probably won't post again until next week. I think I will spend the weekend doing laundry, (is that me talking?) and stamping a few things. All of the children and grandchildren will be here Christmas afternoon and I am so looking forward to it. That means there is lots to do though.

TTFN
Ginny

Better!

I am so happy to be able to say I am feeling somewhat better now! Our cruise is less than a week away and I have finally started to think about what I am packing. JC Penney's was having a great clearance sale and I picked up a couple of nice blouses for the cruise. The tops I have been taking are starting to look a little pilly (is that even a word?) and worn. I usually take a pair of black slacks and switch out tops for a different look. And I will take a nice dress for the formal night. During the day I stay with athletic style cropped pants and tops. They are easy to wear, look okay and are very comfy.

I am still working on my bedroom. Today I went through my unmentionables drawers (they are small drawers) and it is amazing how many pairs of socks I have collected over the years. There are at least thirty pairs too many and I am sending them off to St. Vincent's; along with a bunch of other things I don't need. Why do we hang on to things that we don't need or even want? If you look in the dictionary under clutter you will find a photo of me...I swear! It has been my downfall forever. In fact, it is the second most often thing DH and argue about. I don't think I was born with the gene that enables domestic ability. Is there a pill for that?

Last night I had the best night's sleep of the last week. I was in bed by 10:30 and asleep by 11:00. It was 9:00 before I even woke up this morning. That was probably the reason I felt perkier today. I met my mom and sister in Madison for lunch before I went shopping. Over all a very nice day. Sis is spending the night here tonight and we watched an interesting movie. It was "Ladies in Lavender" with Dame Judith Dench and Maggie Smith. They played elderly sisters who live together. One of them was married but is now a widow and the other never had a relationship of any kind. They find a young man washed up on the beach by their house and nurse him back to health. He turns out to be an extraordinarily talented violin player who fell off a ship and managed to swim to shore. The spinster sister falls in love with him, (I know, weird), but he meets a younger woman who gets him in touch with her brother, a famous conductor and violinist himself. He goes off with her and breaks the heart of the sister. Interesting, no?

Is this upbeat enough? I sure hope so, because I am trying really, really hard. My only complaint, (hey, I am not being down, just complaining a little), is my arthritis has kicked in hard during this colder weather. Did I mention that fall seems to be over? Today was cold and WINDY! A few areas around here even got a few flakes of snow. But, hey, the Badgers won Paul Bunyon's Axe again! That was a wild game! Okay, enough for now!

TTFN
Ginny

Crisis

This has been a rough week for several people in my family. I am not going to go into details or name names, but I have to say that a couple of us have finally reached out for the help that has been needed for a while. It never ceases to amaze me at the lengths we will go to to keep people from knowing that we are struggling; including ourselves. Depression tends to run in our family. I suffer from it myself but for the most part it is controlled by medication. Since I retired, I have had problems with motivating myself to get going every day. I am now going to get help with that. I saw someone yesterday to get started and I am feeling like things will get better soon.

DD and the GBs are back in Chicago for a few days. SIL has some time off so they are doing family things. My mom is staying with my sister for a few days so DH and I have the house to ourselves. It has been quite a while and I am ready to enjoy it.

Only two weeks until us girls leave on our cruise. It will be so nice to get away from it all for a few days. Sun and fun, woohoo!

TTFN
Ginny