GRATiTUDE can make a difference!

I have been thinking about GRATiTUDE lots lately... and how it affects people's lives.  I am one who likes to be grateful for so many things, but I also appreciate it when people are grateful for me as well!

I got a great little book for Christmas from my very good friend, LINDA and it is called GRATITUDE... (I LOVE IT)... and I must say I LOVE my friend LINDA too... she has done so much for me as a friend in life.

Today I was realizing how GRATEFUL I am every morning for my Quaker Oats Maple & Brown Sugar instant oatmeal.  Each individual package comes with a little healthy heart tip on it!  Today's said "Nourish your emotional heart".  Now really.... you gotta love it!  A bit of that with some yogurt and blueberries and it gets my day off to a great start!

Our TV wasn't working when I got up today.  Sask Tel Max is installing a new program... so I am so "technology challenged" that I was so GRATEFUL for my husband, Brian, who got it going in time for me to watch ELLEN... (my favorite morning show!)... And really I couldn't ask for a better husband... he is just the best!  I need to tell him that more often!... (he might read it in this blog today!)

I have been grateful for all the BONDING time I have had with my wee grandson, BEAU, this week... even though he has had a few more fussy moments than I am used to him having!  Today he doesn't come until the afternoon... (so I am grateful for a morning to myself to write my blog!!! hehehe)... I'll look forward to more quality one on one time with Beau again this afternoon!

I am actually enjoying having a blog, too... It gives me a chance to write out my inner thoughts!... and soon I will attach pictures as well, but you get no shortage of those from me on FACE BOOK!

I remember in around 1998 on the OPRAH show on TV she was emphasizing the importance of having a GRATEFUL JOURNAL.  She was encouraging people to get one and write out what they were grateful for every day, in it.  I thought it would be a neat idea that year to find cool different journals for everyone on my Christmas list as my special start to their gratefulness!... HMMM... I kind of wonder what happened to all those journals... not really sure if any of those people ever followed through.  I know my son, Colin's is still in my basement! (empty!) I guess everyone has a different way of being grateful... and a journal didn't work for him!

I'm grateful for so many friends in my walks of life!  I have met so many wonderful people in my career as a dance teacher and just in daily encounters. I'm grateful for my family, too!

Although both of my parents have now passed away... I reflect on all the good they did for me every day... I learned so much from them and for that I am grateful... they DANCE on in my heart daily.

OK... ... well I could go on forever... here... once I get started... there seems to be no end!.....

I'm grateful for polka dots, stickers, chocolate, starbucks,music, tap shoes, mydog, "Shuffle"... my printer, crafting.... cards... and anyone who enjoys hanging out with me and sharing my loves!... oh and so much more...
(maybe in another blog!)

OH... I forgot to mention my cousin, Gwen, popped over yesterday for a visit... I can't believe I didn't even get my camera out!  Anyhow Gwen and I have lots in common and love when we can get together!... she is one of the most enthusiastic people I know... and what a great quality to have!

Well that should be enough GRATEFUL thoughts to get me through my day!

So my little poem of the day is short and sweet!...

Remember the GIFTS you have inside,
FREE them now and don't let them hide.
FOCUS on the GOOD ... and not the bad,
Dwell on the HAPPY and not the sad!
Think of times that made you LAUGH lots,
Also about the very KINDEST of thoughts.
Do things for others to HELP them out...
Just TAP right in, without any doubt!
Be GRATEFUL for little things everyday,
Then HAPPiNESS will be in your HEART to stay!

Random Rambles!

OK... so I have had the privledge of babysitting my grandson, BEAU for this entire week.  He is nearly 5 months old now... (I know where does the time go?) It seems like only yesterday when we were anxiously awaiting his arrival!

ANYHOW... as my daughter dropped him off this morning, she said "I can't believe I'm almost 30!" It made me realize just how precious time really is...and just how fast it goes by.

My daughter Jana also has a 4 year old daughter, Mariah who goes to daycare, and when Beau is 6 months he will join her there, too! So I am just enjoying all the bonding I am able to do with Beau  while I babysit him now. I realize why we have our children when we are young, though...I don't have the same energy I had when my kids were little!

We are all coming up on birthdays around here... January is a big month for those in our household! Mine, my daughter's and my son's all happen within a week  of each other... then, my hubby, Brian has his in October! When my kids were small we used to get by with one big party and have all the nieghbour kiddies over at the same time to celebrate the two in one big party... well those days are only memories now... and oh I have so many of those stored up... (don't get me started!)

I wrote a little poem in honor of BIRTHDAY season today...

FIVE... SIX... seven, eight... Soon it's time to CELEBRATE!

Birthdays are a special time, that come but once a year,
They are that wee reminder, that OLD can bring some cheer!
In my household they happen almost all within a week...
We celebrate and celebrate and then turn a new cheek.
Funny how it goes that way... so many at a time.
I craft a special card or two and add a little rhyme.
For me I like that part the best, it really isn't hard!
But I don't think my kids care much if they receive a card.
I love a card with lots of thought, to show the giver cares...
To keep it in a box of cards, to read for future shares!
When I look back on times gone by, they seemed to go so fast.
I want to put them all on hold so I can make them last.
To cherish all the memories  and make the most each day.
And make each day a special one, that's in my heart to stay.
Capture all the stages, all the hours, every minute...
And keep them in my memory bank, with all my treasures in it!
Life is such a precious thing, and birthdays mark each year...
I have to just remember , growing old can be so near.
Soon it is our birthday time, and we can celebrate,
No matter how we choose to age... I know it will be great!

I think being grateful for all things great and small is important... sometimes I think APPRECIATION is a bigger deal to me than to most... but my good friend LINDA sent me a very interesting article by email yesterday...

"ACCORDING TO AN AUGUST 2010 ARTICLE IN THE DAILYBEAST.COM, A STUDY BY A UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR FOUND THAT GRATEFUL PEOPLE ARE 25% HAPPIER THAN THEIR UNGRATEFUL BRETHREN. FOR THE MOST PART, BECOMING MORE GRATEFUL JUST MEANS OPENING YOUR EYES TO THE BLESSINGS YOU ALREADY HAVE."

On another note... I watched NATE BERKUS today... I actually really enjoyed his show... I could see myself getting into that one... he is sure cute, too! (just saying!)

Last night I enjoyed the new reality show called LIVE TO DANCE... with Paula Abdul as one of the producers and judges... it is on again tonight, too! You dancers out there might also enjoy that one!

Well I happened to have a small window of time while my darling Beau had a nap, so I could jot down my random thoughts of the day... here is hoping all my blog followers are TAPPING into a happy day today!

Day 5 of my little BLOG WORLD!

Hello BLOG FOLLOWERS!

Well here it is day 5 already... and I have managed to make a post for each day that I have had it...and still cannot add a photo, or attach it to an email to sent to relatives... hmmm what am I doing wrong?

This is a full week of babysitting for me and I love having my little baby BEAU around. But as I mentioned yesterday... I don't get lots of my work done around here! I guess when I stop and think about it, though... the memories of having a baby around I will cherish forever and who cares is my basement is still a mess? RIGHT?

I feel truly blessed to have two adorable grandkids, Mariah and Beau...and I want to make as many memories with them while they are little as I can. Mariah goes to day care, and soon Beau will too, but until he is 6 months he is too little yet!
Well I'm hoping to squeeze in a little gym this morning before I have Beau, so should get on that now!

I hope all my BLOG- FOLLOWING FRiENDS (BFF) have a super duper day!

Baby Sitting Beau for a Week!

I have a week ahead of babysitting BEAU...
I LOVE him more than you could ever know!
But when I have him, I have too much fun...
Infact, really I get so very little done.
I just have to say, and I also confess...
My basement is just a big huge mess!
BUT... here I am , sidetracked again,
When I should be cleaning ...
the basement, ... or the den!
Beau is sleeping so now is my chance,
Instead I put on tap shoes , and did a little dance!
And Shuffle's whining in her kennel, now...
So I need to pay attention to her...and how!
Funny how my days just get all eaten up,
With a lot of doing nothing, and lattes in my cup.
A "GRAMMiE'S" life can be fun, it's so true...
But I get nothing done... and have so much to do!

Just Hanging with the BEAU man this week!

This will be a week of just staying in because I will be hanging with the little Beau man! I am sure there will be a picture or two snapped as well!... but dang if I can figure out how to attach one to my blog... (I have no trouble attaching pics to FB... MANY, infact!!!) But one of my purposes for doing a blog was to put pics up there instead! HMMMMMM

 I guess all the blog experts are not actually reading this... I really need a lesson when it comes down to it. I was quite amazed I got this much going in the first place... I sort of fumble-bumbled my way through the instructions and got to this point... but after that it seemed like a big learning curve for me!

Anyhow... should go get dressed now as my little BEAU will be arriving shortly. I am hoping to set up his JOLLY JUMPER in the basement today and sort through my crafting/Christmas mess down there, before taking down the decorations and adding them to it!

I am always a little sad to put away "CHRISTMAS" for another year... when my decorations go away... it seems rather drab around here, but I guess when it is over... it is time! It takes me many days to get them all out... so often the take down is a process as well!... and with babysitting in between it all, it might even be more chopped up this week!

For those of you tuning in here daily... I am glad you are enjoying my little blogs... and hopefully soon you can enjoy some descriptive pics as well! That will be the fun part, I am thinking!

In the mean time... I will go HANG with my BEAU!

Fondly Remembering my DAD!

It is hard to believe 11 years has past since my dad passed away. His was a sudden passing so it was really shocking when it happened. There isn't a day goes by that I don't think of him and remember him fondly. He was a great guy and the best dad I could have ever hoped for.
Here is a little poem for him today...

When I look back on good times that I had,
So many revolved around my sweet dad.
He set an example that was second to none,
When it came to fine people, he was just number one!
Although eleven years now have passed,
He lives on in my heart and those memories last.
I've comfort in knowing he and mom are together,
She joined him last fall before the cold weather.
Together they're angels watching down from above,
They're sprinkling us all with their warmth and their love.
My parents were special and always will be,
They hold a dear spot right inside of me!

On another note...

Yesterday was my cousin Bev's annual New Year's open house. I took Mariah with me to share in some fun and visits. She was very social for a 4 year old! She also snapped many photos, too!  I enjoyed seeing the relatives who were there at the time and always enjoy that event each year.

Today we just took Mariah home after her little sleepover at Grammie's, and tonight we will have my brother for supper. YUM... Ham and Scalloped potatoes... one of our favs!

MaKe ToDaY a PeRfEcT ONE!

Well it is 1/1/11...
which is really enough to make it a perfect ONE... don't you think?

I pretty much think this will be a very good year... so far so good!

I need to decide what my resolutions are.... hmmmm...

1.was to create a blog...
(yay, I've had that as a resolution for the past two years...and I finally did it!)

2.get fit... ( I know that is everyone's resolution every year!)

3.eat healthier... (we are almost out of all the extra Christmas stuff around here!)

4. downsize...I have wanted to downsize many things for a long time
Clear out stuff I no longer need... make more space to enjoy... and yes make it so I can park in our garage again!

5.enjoy things that make me happy... forget about stuff that bugs me!

OK... That should be a good enough list for now... after all I am really trying to TAP into SiMPLE!!! right?!

TaPpY NeW YeAr everyone... make it the PERFECT ONE!