Sometimes you just need a good talking to!

Hello everyone. My, we've all been a bit disconnected this week. I know everyone has so much going on in their lives, so I'm glad to catch up with some of you over the weekend. I'm so happy for those who are having a great week, and sad for those going through some tough times. I think it's important that we stick together for support. I know it helps me. This week I was able to have a video chat with Rosalie. I was at work, but I saw she was on facebook (hey I'm the bosses wife, I can do facebook at work !) I messaged her to get her phone number and she said, let's chat online. I had never done that before, but it was really easy and so cool to talk in person. Rosalie, I can't thank you enough for the pep talk, and for setting me straight on things I've been doing wrong. We all need that and she was a dear friend to take the time out for me. Lots of love to you Rosalie! Anyway, I also got alot of great positive supportive comments from all of you. I saved them in a folder in my windows mail, and when I'm feeling down, and feeling like things aren't working out for me, I am going to read over them again. I've said this before, but we all need to talk to ourselves the way we would talk to others. We need to treat ourselves as kindly as we do others. More importantly we need to reach out for help when we need it. Someone is always willing to help. I was embarassed to admit I'm feeling like quitting, that I'm feeling down and that I feel like I'm all talk but no action. It took some digging deep to put that down into words. But getting that  negativity out of me, made room for lots of positive stuff to come in. I've always been able to accomplish everything I put my mind to. This battle of losing weight, should be no different. It will require some undoing of old habits, and old thinking habits too. Like Rosalie said, you have to get your head in the right place. So let's forge on together.

A table in my basement full of different Santas I've collected.

So the day after Christmas, one of the radio stations started playing full time Christmas music. Crazy you say? I say not! It makes me happy and keeps me smiling, and in my opinion we are now officially in the start of the holiday season. I believe it starts the day after Halloween, and so I intend to get to my decorating this week, and maybe even today if I get my work done. I know some of you may say I'm rushing it. I say I like lots of weeks to enjoy it. I put up four trees, and lots of indoor and outdoor decorations. It can take me a few weeks to do it, so I want to do it slowly and enjoy it as I go. We used to actually buy four live trees, believe it or not, but now we have three very nice artificial ones, and then we buy the one for our family room. I do the toy tree in our finished basement. That one has all the cute little ornaments the kids made through the years, and many of the ornaments I bought especially for them. I always give them one ornament per year, and put their name and date on the bottom. It usually is reflective of something they liked at the time, like Sesame street characters, or Mickey mouse characters for the times we went to Disneyworld. There is even a beer mug too! I'm spilling a secret, but I never took this one down last year, or the table of Santas either! When the kids are gone, no one uses he basement, except maybe the work out room. I figured who would ever see it but me and my husband. So I left it up!

 

This was the original dining room. It is small and a great little sitting room now. I moved the chair and put the tree in the corner.

Then I do a glamour tree in my living room which is really a small music room with our piano.The tree in there is all gold and burgundy, sparkly with ribbons draping down from the top.  

The former living room, now a much bigger dining room.

 A few years ago, when we built our addition, I switched the living room and dining room. The living room was bigger and no one ever went into it. I think that's the way it is with lots of homes.I don't have any before pictures on my computer, but  I figured it would serve us better as the dining room, so I flipped them, moved the chandelier, downsized the furniture in the one room, and moved all the dining room furniture into my living room. It works great and can hold a lot of people now. I didn't even buy any new furniture. Just reupolstered the chairs, got new drapes, and painted the walls. 



 In the kitchen, I do a more rustic, country tree. I like to use old fashioned ornaments, dried hydrangeas and colored lights. Then the combination tree, part glamour, part sentimental, part old fashioned, goes into our family room That room has 9ft. tall ceilings, so we get a big monster tree, that is hard to get in the house, and then we have to cut off the branches to get it out when Christmas is over!. It's alot of work but as long as the boys come home and help us get it in the house, I guess we will continue to do it. I will post some pictures of the decorating along the way. I would love if you would do the same. I love to see how everyone decorates, and it would be like we're going to one of the Christmas house tours, except in cyberland!

So I wish everyone a great week. Kay, I'm keeping your sister in my prayers. Thanks again to all of my wonderful friends that support me on this journey. Hugs to all of you!

Thought for the day:  "Unless you're willing to have a go, fail miserably, and have another go, success won't happen."
Phillip Adams