It's amazing how after years of wanting little things and never getting them and eventually giving up, that I realize I'm now getting those things. And those little things all add up to a big, remarkable, wonderful happiness.
Every day before and after work the simple act of a hug and kiss from or to Dave just makes the day better. And the texts during the day to see how each other is doing reminds us how much we care about each other. The zzzziinnnggg that my phone makes when a text message from him comes in makes me smile and my heart warm every time I hear it.
I am not a materialistic person by any means, but on the flip side, I, like Dave, like to spoil our loved ones. Even if it's just by buying each others' favorite candy while we're at the gas station, we just let each other know that they are never far from our thoughts. I don't need or want flowers, jewelry or expensive gifts. It's like Kenny Rogers sang...
Buy me a rose
Call me from work
Open the door for me for me, what would it hurt?
Show me you love me by the look in your eyes
These are the little things
That mean the most in my life
... And I have the little things that mean the most in my life.
XOXOXO
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Day 178, Post 1
Ah... Sometimes it's hard not to let the stress of money get to me. But when it does I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful support network who remind me to keep my chin up and that God will provide.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Day 170, Post 1
I'll start with a little bit about optimism and keeping a positive attitude. This weekend was hindered by a dark cloud that I won't really get into, however I'm amazed by the positive attitude that some can keep, despite the rolling thunderstorms that seem to pop up on a random, unpredictable schedule. While some people in my life have an amazing (and to me un-admirable) ability to pick out all that doesn't work in their lives, those that pick out the good when the thunderstorms roll in have my support through anything. I certainly don't want or intend to be a fair weather friend, however those who can keep their chins up and keep smiling give me so much more hope about my own abilities to work through the storms in my life. So keep it, lovely. Keep smiling. Keep laughing. I love you and I'll be there for you through it all.
Moving on...
Being in love, and I mean REALLY in love, has made me feel almost bad for laughing... er, scoffing... at lines in movies when the actors said how love felt. Take Sleepless in Seattle for example. Tom Hanks' character says that when he and his deceased wife would touch it would feel like *magic*. I remember rolling my eyes at this line numerous times. "Yea, right." I would think. Love can't possibly feel like that. But folks, it does. And I'm in awe to actually be able to experience it for myself. I never imagined being with someone who would give me butterflies anytime I thought of him, and even more so whenever I see him. Someone who makes my arm tingle when he touches it, and makes me feel beautiful.. all the time...
I hope you all can feel this type of love someday if you don't already have it. To me, being able to give you this would be the best gift possible. Unfortunately I don't fly around in a diaper with wings on my back and a bow and arrow in my hand. But if I see cupid and know you're looking I'll send him your way.
Moving on...
Being in love, and I mean REALLY in love, has made me feel almost bad for laughing... er, scoffing... at lines in movies when the actors said how love felt. Take Sleepless in Seattle for example. Tom Hanks' character says that when he and his deceased wife would touch it would feel like *magic*. I remember rolling my eyes at this line numerous times. "Yea, right." I would think. Love can't possibly feel like that. But folks, it does. And I'm in awe to actually be able to experience it for myself. I never imagined being with someone who would give me butterflies anytime I thought of him, and even more so whenever I see him. Someone who makes my arm tingle when he touches it, and makes me feel beautiful.. all the time...
I hope you all can feel this type of love someday if you don't already have it. To me, being able to give you this would be the best gift possible. Unfortunately I don't fly around in a diaper with wings on my back and a bow and arrow in my hand. But if I see cupid and know you're looking I'll send him your way.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Day 164, Post 1
Today has already been a whirlwind day. And it's probably going to get even more so considering I just drank a 6-hour energy shot and I'm currently nursing an AMP energy drink. (Can you tell I was feeling completely exhausted?)
To start the day off, Thing 2 beat me at a game of Backgammon (almost) fair-and-square before school. I found out my paycheck was deposited so I went to the ATM to get money for Dave and I to buy gas and my card was rejected as invalid. Invalid?? I called the bank and because I changed my last name due to the divorce, a new ATM card was issued a month ago. I just never opened the envelope. Doh.
So home I went, and then to Speedway to buy gas. Yea... I paid for $15, pulled the handle so it would pump while I was taking care of trash and the next thing I know, my car has $21+ in gas. And I'm an honest person so I went back in to take care of the balance I owed, but the girl at the cash register couldn't figure it out and customer comp'd the difference for me. Two gallons of free gas?!? I'll take it!
Then, an hour after I got to work there was a fire alarm and the fire truck came so... A nice ten minute break was had.
But I was crashing... Hard... I don't know why, but I was completely exhausted and coffee wasn't working so I went out during lunch to buy an energy shot. I decided while I was out to buy new headphones (Slacker.com keeps me going during the day and my headphones broke) at Meijer and while checking out, I had a feeling to buy two scratch-off lottery tickets for $1 each. And I won $4!
This afternoon I am getting my haircut for the first time since my birthday, and I am REALLY looking forward to it. While I know I could go to Great Clips and spend $15, haircuts by my favorite local stylist are the one luxury that I really allow myself. I am anything but a materialistic person as far as I'm concerned, but damn... A good haircut complete with a shampoo and style just feels SO great sometimes.
Dave reminds me occasionally that God will provide what we need, but today He is being VERY good to me! It's a GREAT day! Thank you!
To start the day off, Thing 2 beat me at a game of Backgammon (almost) fair-and-square before school. I found out my paycheck was deposited so I went to the ATM to get money for Dave and I to buy gas and my card was rejected as invalid. Invalid?? I called the bank and because I changed my last name due to the divorce, a new ATM card was issued a month ago. I just never opened the envelope. Doh.
So home I went, and then to Speedway to buy gas. Yea... I paid for $15, pulled the handle so it would pump while I was taking care of trash and the next thing I know, my car has $21+ in gas. And I'm an honest person so I went back in to take care of the balance I owed, but the girl at the cash register couldn't figure it out and customer comp'd the difference for me. Two gallons of free gas?!? I'll take it!
Then, an hour after I got to work there was a fire alarm and the fire truck came so... A nice ten minute break was had.
But I was crashing... Hard... I don't know why, but I was completely exhausted and coffee wasn't working so I went out during lunch to buy an energy shot. I decided while I was out to buy new headphones (Slacker.com keeps me going during the day and my headphones broke) at Meijer and while checking out, I had a feeling to buy two scratch-off lottery tickets for $1 each. And I won $4!
This afternoon I am getting my haircut for the first time since my birthday, and I am REALLY looking forward to it. While I know I could go to Great Clips and spend $15, haircuts by my favorite local stylist are the one luxury that I really allow myself. I am anything but a materialistic person as far as I'm concerned, but damn... A good haircut complete with a shampoo and style just feels SO great sometimes.
Dave reminds me occasionally that God will provide what we need, but today He is being VERY good to me! It's a GREAT day! Thank you!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
DAY 163, Post 1
It never ceases to amaze me how completely miserable some people are willing to be 24/7. Whether they be friends, family, exes or co-workers, I just want to smack them into a state of contented bliss. Even during my lowest times, I did not allow myself to walk around in a state where I allowed myself to be a bitch to everyone around me.
The other night DH started a line of bullying interoggation with Thing 1 while on the phone with him. I heard the conversation and decided I needed to put an end to it. DH is convinced he knows more about what goes on in my house than I do and has proceeded to tell the boys how things work at MY house. To me, this is not acceptable. When the boys are with me or on the phone with me I want them to be comfortable, not feel like they are on the witness stand. They have no reason to be in the middle of a battle between their dad and I, and as far as I'm concerned, there shouldn't be a battle. We would be able to co-exist peacefully for the sake of our boys. But for him, that is not possible.
Today there is a co-worker (not in my office) who has decided to be rather testy via emails. To give you background, inter-office mail lost an envelope that was mailed from me to her two weeks ago. My dad taught me to never burn bridges, but apparently this woman has never heard of this strategy and it's rather unfortunate.
Dave shared a story with me about how he blessed a former co-worker with niceties (is that spelled properly?) because she was such a sour woman. The pissier she was, the nicer Dave would be to her. And today and this week that is how I am trying to handle the sour people in my life. Well, except with DH. Dave said the best we can do is pray for him, and I agree.
The other night DH started a line of bullying interoggation with Thing 1 while on the phone with him. I heard the conversation and decided I needed to put an end to it. DH is convinced he knows more about what goes on in my house than I do and has proceeded to tell the boys how things work at MY house. To me, this is not acceptable. When the boys are with me or on the phone with me I want them to be comfortable, not feel like they are on the witness stand. They have no reason to be in the middle of a battle between their dad and I, and as far as I'm concerned, there shouldn't be a battle. We would be able to co-exist peacefully for the sake of our boys. But for him, that is not possible.
Today there is a co-worker (not in my office) who has decided to be rather testy via emails. To give you background, inter-office mail lost an envelope that was mailed from me to her two weeks ago. My dad taught me to never burn bridges, but apparently this woman has never heard of this strategy and it's rather unfortunate.
Dave shared a story with me about how he blessed a former co-worker with niceties (is that spelled properly?) because she was such a sour woman. The pissier she was, the nicer Dave would be to her. And today and this week that is how I am trying to handle the sour people in my life. Well, except with DH. Dave said the best we can do is pray for him, and I agree.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Day 159, Post 1
Today's Song of the Day... Thanks to a great choir at church, we've been introduced to this song by Chris Tomlin over the past few weeks. I LOVE it!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Day 152, Post 1
Yes, I am at work. I'm continuing to work on a special project with a couple of great co-workers, however today is review day and... It gets a bit boring. Except for when one of them starts tapping out sitcom theme songs on the table and a google search for the actual theme song follows. That's what's happening now.
I talked to the boys last night (they are at their dad's), and I feel bad for their dad. Why? At the end of the conversation they wanted to know when they are coming back to my house and wanted to blow me kisses. They don't do that during conversations with their dad, but that's because he hasn't earned the respect from them to receive that type of treatment. And that sucks.
Dave and I are continuing to work wonderfully as a team. Last night we relished in the fact that we paid the rent not only on-time, but a day early. While this may seem like a small accomplishment to some, it's huge to us. Although it will be slow-going, we see in our near future that all bills (well, all household bills, not my personal debt) will be caught up, on time, and paid on a timely basis. And that's a WONDERFUL feeling. While in the past I hated with a passion the necessary task of balancing my checkbook... And refused to do it... Now I have an Excel file that breaks down all my spending into categories and I check my bank account on a daily basis. Plus, I have a yearly tab which shows the spending per category from one month to the next and is truly an eye-opener. I have to remember that the month of May included a road-trip for the four of us back to New York, but the amount I/we spent eating out was ridiculous!
I can't figure out how to include my spreadsheet (my figures excluded) to this post, but if you would like the file to use for yourself, let me know!
I talked to the boys last night (they are at their dad's), and I feel bad for their dad. Why? At the end of the conversation they wanted to know when they are coming back to my house and wanted to blow me kisses. They don't do that during conversations with their dad, but that's because he hasn't earned the respect from them to receive that type of treatment. And that sucks.
Dave and I are continuing to work wonderfully as a team. Last night we relished in the fact that we paid the rent not only on-time, but a day early. While this may seem like a small accomplishment to some, it's huge to us. Although it will be slow-going, we see in our near future that all bills (well, all household bills, not my personal debt) will be caught up, on time, and paid on a timely basis. And that's a WONDERFUL feeling. While in the past I hated with a passion the necessary task of balancing my checkbook... And refused to do it... Now I have an Excel file that breaks down all my spending into categories and I check my bank account on a daily basis. Plus, I have a yearly tab which shows the spending per category from one month to the next and is truly an eye-opener. I have to remember that the month of May included a road-trip for the four of us back to New York, but the amount I/we spent eating out was ridiculous!
I can't figure out how to include my spreadsheet (my figures excluded) to this post, but if you would like the file to use for yourself, let me know!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)