I’m grateful for…

… Creme Caramel.  The hubby has been wanting to take me here for awhile and we just never had a chance to go.  Today, we went and I loved the bread pudding.  We also had the ube upside down pie and while it was good, the bread pudding won my heart.  I’m hoping to order a dozen for our upcoming new year’s eve party.  Not only was the desert good, but the customer service made the whole experience that much better.  The owner (as I believe the person who helped us was based on her convo in the shop) took the time to learn each of her customer’s names.  She asked the hubby and mines when she took our order and greeted each customer by name that came in.  I’m so grateful when smart, talented, young women start up businesses that excel.  I hope that this business continues to grow as she truly deserves it.

… having a day to run errands.  I worked a bit in the morning and once I got through the emails and urgent stuff, the hubby and I went off.  First to Fry’s and they have horrible customer service but we suffered through it and I looked at the various laptops they have.  My old laptop is no longer usable and with our upcoming Florida trip, I need a very good laptop to use over the 3 weeks we’ll be gone.  So I’m doing shopping now so I’ll have the next 6 months to get it up to speed.  Anyway, I didn’t like what I saw so off we went to have lunch in Van Nuys.  The first spot we went to was a place my friend has been raving about.  Unfortunately, they’re closed over the holidays as they are doing some remodelling.  So we were at a lost since we were both hungry and had no idea where to go.  It couldn’t just be anywhere – we wanted something great!  We ended up at Pita Kitchen – one of the hubby’s favorite mediterranean places.  They have a great steak plate.  I’m sure that’s not what it is really called but I never order here so I can’t tell you what it is.  I hold down the table (it’s a small space so I sit down as soon as I find a spot, while the hubby orders).  It was a great last minute choice for lunch.  Afterwards, we went to Creme Caramel for dessert.  Then to Best Buy to see what they had to offer for laptops.  And then to the groceries.  Whew!  By the time we got home, I was beat.  Checked the emails again and spent some time cutting fabric for Scrapitude 2016!

… being able to shop for a new laptop.  Many people can’t just do that, with cash, so I’m so grateful to be in a position now where I can.  The hubby and I are working hard on getting our finances up to snuff and moving towards living a debt free life.  Don’t get me wrong, we’re nowhere near where we want to be but we’re trying to make the right choices every day to get us there.  (and sometimes we make wrong choices that we have to live with!)

… being able to live the life I want to live.  When work is busy I work my butt off.  When it is slow (like it is now) I get to live life the way I want.  I’m grateful for how life is right now.  Of course, it can’t always be this way because if it is slow – then I won’t have any money to pay the bills! 🙂  But it is nice to have it like this temporarily during the holidays.

Have a great evening!

I’ve been gone and I didn’t take the time to post one of these while I was out of town.  I’ve neglected this and I’ll try to be better over the next year.

I’m grateful for…

… living in Los Angeles.  I do not like being cold and I love the weather here.  We still need rain and thankfully it’s been raining a bit here and there.

… spending some time with family.  It was short and sweet but I enjoyed the brief time with the family.  I need to spend more time with them but I’m not sure how I’ll be able to do that.  I’ll have to think about it and see what we can do.

… my children and their enthusiasm.  For Christmas, this year the boy got a gaming headset.  These could run on the expensive side but I didn’t get him anything expensive.  He didn’t know the difference and he LOVED it.  The girl got new underwear.  I know, underwear!  There’s a story there but she might be embarrassed so I’m not going to tell it here unless she says I can.  Just know that she LOVED it too.  Such simple gifts but the hubby and I got them what they wanted and they are happy.  They know that the big gift comes in June when we all go to Florida! 🙂

… watching a movie in the middle of the day.  I’m off this week (or just checking emails for anything important) and the kids are spending time with their grandparents up North.  That means the hubby and I can go to the movies in the middle of the day!

… while we were away, apparently there were high winds and the tree broke off huge chunks of limbs and branches in our front yard.  Thankfully, they didn’t fall onto the house but fell on the other side and only a piece of our fence broke.  I’m so grateful that the house didn’t get affected and our cars parked in front didn’t get damaged.

Have a great evening!

I’m grateful for…

… making it to yoga two straight days in a row.  I can’t move my body parts right now but I feel good.

… I keep thinking I’m done with my shopping and then I remember one more thing I need to get.  I’m grateful for remembering now and not forgetting entirely.

… rain.  It’s been raining here in Southern California and while I don’t like driving in it I am so happy it is raining.

Have a great evening!

I’m grateful for…

… having a day to relax in my sewing room and do nothing but work on my projects.

… taking the time to work a bit on my 2016 goals.  My quilty and craft goals are pretty much done but I need clarity on my personal and professional goals. I’ll be working on these over the next 4 days and hopefully will have enough courage to share them. ;0

… leftovers!  Today was leftover day as we empty our fridge of all the dinners that have piled up over the last few days.  We have enough chicken for another family meal tomorrow.

Have a great evening!

I’m grateful for…

… spending the morning doing our final bout of Christmas shopping!  There were no lines, there was a ton of parking, and now I’m pretty much done.  We’ve got to get them all wrapped and under the tree and now maybe I’ll feel like baking cookies. 🙂

… sleeping in.  The day is always better when I sleep in a little bit.  Of course, the kids were not happy having to rush this morning!

… today was the last day of school!  More days to sleep in!

… our company holiday lunch.  We exchanged gifts and I got some lovely mugs! and my favorite Sees Candy’s box set – “Nuts and Chews!”

aren’t they cute!

perfect before my first cup of coffee!

M is for Melanie!

Have a great evening!

I’m grateful for…

… It’s almost Friday.  The kids’ last day of school is tomorrow and my office holiday party is tomorrow and the hubby and I will be going holiday shopping tomorrow morning and at 5pm PST we’ll be watching the Clipper vs. Spurs game.

… goal making.  It’s a time to reflect on the last year, what worked, what didn’t, and listing my goals for next year.  The quilty and craft goals were pretty easy.  The personal and professional goals not so easy.

… AAA.  My battery died in my car and I needed a new one.  AAA makes it so easy to have them come and replace it.  Of course, I could probably get it cheaper somewhere else.  I could probably do it myself or the hubby do it himself.  But, it’s nice for it to be done so easily.  I’m grateful that they offer this service.

Have a great evening!

Sorry for the drop off.  Life got busier than normal for a bit. My mom came to visit, we took her to Vegas and then my sister and her family spent a night with us on their way from Disneyland.  It was busy and there was no room for quilting.  But over the last few days, here are some things I found to be grateful for.

I’m grateful for…

… leading blessed lives.  My family and I are healthy.  We live in a single income family and the hubby drives the kids around and takes care of us.  That means on the weekend we are free to do whatever we want.  I forget how it used to be when we both worked and weekends were basically spent catching up on cleaning, groceries, laundry, etc.  We don’t always have the things we want, but we have the things we need and we have each other.

… rain in Southern California.  It didn’t rain today but it rained a little on Friday and a lot on Sunday.  At least it felt like a lot.  We’re scheduled to have a nice week but for rain to come back again on Sunday.  I’m looking forward to staying indoors on Sunday.

… getting rid of more stuff.  As I’ve been going through boxes and getting rid of things, I gathered some stuff I thought my niece would like.  She took a bag full of stuff and my girl’s old princess sleeping bag.  In addition, I was able to give my sister 2 boxes from our garage.  These boxes were hers and when we moved back from Northern CA, we accidentally took it with us.

Have a great evening!

I’m grateful for…

… last night, we watched Idina Menzel’s new musical If/Then.  Even though it started at 8, we left the house at 5 so that we would have plenty of time to deal with traffic, have dinner in Hollywood and get to Pantages with plenty of time to enjoy and not rush.  It was perfect planning and I’m grateful everything fell into place.  The boy wasn’t feeling well but felt much better as it got closer to 5 and was well enough to come with us.

… being able to sleep in a little.  The girl had cheer practice at 6 so I got up in time to wake her up and get her to practice.  But afterwards, I went back to sleep and didn’t make it into the office until 9:30.  By then, everyone was in a roll working on the things they needed to work on.  I was able to answer everyone’s questions and help where needed.

… having a house ready for my mom’s visit.  After I post this post, I’ll be heading out to the airport to pick up my mother.  The house is ready, the girl’s room is ready and now we just need my mother. ;0

Have a great evening!

I’m grateful for…

… waking up early.  I love being able to start my day bright and early.  I get so much done and have such a head start when the rest of the world wakes up.

… tylenol and cold compresses.  The boy came home from school with a headache and a fever.  We gave him tylenol and sent him to bed.  Every 5-10 minutes I would put a cold compress on his head.  A couple of hours later and he’s feeling much better.

… work slowing down before the holidays.  It doesn’t always happen but when it does, we are able to catch up on some projects and work at a leisurely pace.  We’re able to clean our office and get ready to start the year off right.

Have a great evening!