THURSDAY THOUGHTS - 20 Years!

HAPPINESS:  Yesterday was my 20 year wedding anniversary and one of my best days ever.  A coworker surprised me with doughnuts, a bouquet of flowers and a spa gift card as a thank you..  Nice!  Then Hubby and the kids and I walked down State Street and had lunch at Five Guys.  Cheeseburgers and fries...yum!  Couldn't live without these in my life.  I also spotted a new bakery nearby and stopped in to treat us all to cupcakes and truffles.  Boy, did I feel spoiled! 

SADNESS:   My younger brother has been struggling for a long time to find his place in this world.  I  see him struggle and wish I could help him.  I've been through this and know that the only way he can find and maintain the life he wants is through hard work and dedication.  It also takes maturity and really knowing oneself.  The knowing oneself part has taken me the longest of all, and I am still learning.  I pray for him nearly every week and keep faith that he's on the path he's meant to be on.  I'm a big believer in "everything happens for a reason."

THOUGHTS:  Changes.  I'm still stuck on simplifying my life and being the person I want to be.  Every single time I examine who I want to be, it is a creative person and a writer/author.  I enjoy my job but it doesn't fulfill me.  Even worse, many of the hours I spend are directly contrary to becoming who I want to be.  This includes surfing blogs, gossip web sites and message boards, watching TV and "window" shopping and making me want more when I'm trying to simplify in the first place..  I have made some big changes over the past couple of weeks to become who I want to be.  

• I have been exercising more.  Feels great.  Currently obsessed with the Wii Fit Table Tilt, Bubble Balance and wanting to master the plank.
• I have started reading the Bible.  One of my lifelong goals that I have tried and failed at several times.  This time I am sharing it with the kids, reading one chapter a night before bedtime and then talking about it afterward.
• I drastically cut down the number of blogs that I visit.  Some of my favorite scrappers in particular, they had to go.  I was being distracted by their creativity and life and not focusing on my own.  
• I signed up for an online writing workshop and have begun that course.
• I am trying to eliminate "I meant to" statements from my vocabulary.  If I really meant to then I would have, right???  Instead, I will do it now. 

There are a few more things I've changed in my daily life which should become more apparent as the weeks go on and the tone and focus of my blog gets a bit different.  I will no longer have a Use Your Stash blog post on Mondays.  I will continue my creative endeavors (and perhaps even expand them) but they will be for my own pleasure or to be sold in my shop and I will continue with the Shop Update blog posts.  

My big goal is to settle into my Wednesday Words blog posts to share my current writing endeavors with you.  I've been talking about this goal for a LONG time but have been unsuccessful in putting it into action. 

I will do it now. 

CONFESSION:   I feel so blessed right now in so many ways.  Wish everyone felt this good.