Carin's Gratitude

Well, it's the awards night tonight. So, I'd like to thank a few people and things that supported me through my shopping, eating, and studying habits.

Join us.This week's letter is the letter G.

I have Wally, Paul's Border Collie, 100% for a week as Paul is out-of-state, so I got to take more pictures of him. We have this new water fountain that he would not get near off for the first day I have him. My daughter wanted to get him a separate bowl so he could drink. "He will die of thirst, mom." "No, he won't." Soon enough, I caught him putting his head down, gulp, gulp, gulp he went for a long time. He was thirsty all right. Enough shots with Wally, so I called brown Velvet for a picture, and girl, she came so closely. LOL. Happy Monday you all.

I just came from a whole day of tribute to a dear friend's husband. 

Can you guess which bunch is given and which flowers are bought?

I have been checking (and have purchased) planners lately. Most of them I liked but not fully. There was always some parts I do not like that I think is a waste of space. I want to keep my planner small that fits in my everyday bag that is suitable for two small books like A5 size. I like the idea of bullet journal and Rituals, among a few, so I decided to make my own. Even the pages on Moleskine, I did not like because they are so faint, I have to squint my eyes to see the numbers. Maybe I need glasses too, but that's another story. I dated a hardcover notebook I purchased from Walmart. I also got some stickers, erasable pens, markers, and highlighters. Wallah, I have a planner/journal with the table of contents and pages I will use. I am happy. I love the looks of fish growing up by the big pond, and I am Pisces, so I attached a fish on the bookmark. The whole thing makes me smile. What also makes me grin is the city cleaning up the homeless tent in at the back of my h

I did not walk her first thing in the morning because of early commitment, so I got home and this is how she looked. No welcome for me. (Poor Velvet . . . and giraffe).

Miracles surround us. 1. Life is a series of thousands of tiny miracles. Notice them. I was reminded of this quote last night as I watched Netflix series with my daughter, A series of Unfortunate Events, where three children got put in the custody of their undesirable uncle after the death of their wealthy parents in a fire. "At least we have a home." But it is one of those scary looking witch-house, dark, messy, and dirty inside. The siblings shared a small bed in the attic, and they have to do a very long list of chores in this house daily. Well, they have a helpful neighbor that takes them to a store and lets them borrow the home library. (The older siblings love books). Anyway, the show is based on fiction books of the same title. It is unreal, and a lot of times, ridiculous. It is still synonymous with real life. Sometimes change can be so drastically absurd. But each day we live, tiny miracles are happening. We just have to notice them. Read, for

I am sitting in the class with my third helping of breakfast and third cup of coffee. E ducation is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. --Malcolm X  I had small talks with my son recently who just turned 18. He is on his last year of high school. I was wondering why he has not started looking for colleges yet. "I want to take a whole year break from school to work and save up for a car." In a program where he is now, he can possibly get assistance for housing up to a year. I don't know the details of this but I told him that I see this as a waste of his time. He can just stay home rent-free and concentrate on college. Working part-time can just be extra and not required to pay for necessities. I am not trying to make him stay under my wings forever but I do want to help him succeed as early and as least painful it is to him.

"Nobody can be uncheered with balloons." -- Winnie the Pooh 1.  I have no balloons this week, but I have this  smile throw pillow  to borrow during family therapy with my son. The pillow is always there when we have our session. It makes the session easier, at least, it is comfy as I have it on my lap, resting my elbows. It gives me comfort. I am thankful for little things like that. 2 . I am always thankful for the healthy food I enjoyed while Paul is out-of-state. No calorie-laden (but an oh-so-delicious gigantic platter of eggs benedict++) this weekend. I had, instead, an all-you-can-eat salad at Red Robins.

I got up and did my routine chores on a Saturday morning. My seventeen-year-old daughter appeared only to use the bathroom, then back to her bedroom she went. I had to call her to come back out and eat something and take her medication. She did. Her phone rang a couple of times for the few minutes she was with me. Again, she left and went back into the room.