Tag: Thanksgiving

Holidays

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

The turkey was barely cold before the shopping frenzy started this year.  Vicki actually talked me into going to an insane number of stores.

The nice thing – we used coupons to save money.  We used our apps – Ibotta and Checkout 51 – to save money.  While we did some spending, we reduced the price as much as possible.

I need to get working on afghans.  I have a queue of five right now – more I’m sure if I look at my list.  However, before I can crank on the afghans, I have to finish the holiday gifts which I have two or three left to do.

I’m going to have a number of days off between Christmas and New Years.  I’m looking forward to the time but the holidays are always a struggle for me.  It surprised me this year how annoying I found holiday music – even songs I enjoyed previously.  I’ve also been super annoyed with the Christmas commercials which started right after Halloween.

I’m going to attempt to be less of a bah humbug but I’m making no guarantees.  Ken told me the neighbors were all putting out their decorations.  All I could think was what a waste of money.  I know I’m a humbug.  I try to keep it to a minimum but still… it affects me.

In an attempt to look on the bright side, I’ve been enjoying how November hasn’t been as gloomy.  We’ve had great weather which is a bit unusual for us.  It’s been pleasantly cool but still nice enough to enjoy.  The days haven’t been too gloomy – though today is.  I’m watching the low clouds move across the sky and thinking they look like snow clouds but I don’t think we’re quite cold enough for snow yet.

December is fast approaching, work is slowing down from frantic to crazy.  I’m looking forward to about eleven days off in a row at the end of the month.  I’m hoping to get a lot of crocheting and organizing done.  In the meanwhile, I’ll work on not being grumpy with people about the holidays.

Gratitude

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

Everywhere I’m seeing how we need to be grateful and thankful.  It’s that time of year with the US celebrating Thanksgiving.  I saw an article where some celeb gave away 1000 turkeys for the holiday – my first thought was where was this celeb the rest of the year since poor people need food year round.  This was harsh of me as it is possible the celeb does help out year round but with the holiday it got noticed.

I’m not going to lecture about being grateful etc.  It’s everywhere and nothing I have to say will mean much.  I do want to acknowledge though that everyone can get focused on the me-centric aspect of life.  Everyone struggles and sometimes the struggles overwhelm to the point where you forget to see how others are struggling.  All you can see is how hard your own life is.

I’m not a holiday person.  I find most of them annoying and shallow.  The only good thing about them is I usually get a day (or two) off work.  However, I like the idea of a holiday where people are supposed to remember the good things in their lives.

Today is one of my nieces’ birthday.  My daughter’s birthday is tomorrow.  These events remind me how blessed I am to have these strong and amazing women in my life.  I know they’ve learned lessons from me but I’ve also learned from them.  They’ve helped me be humble, silly, loving, and so much more.

There are struggles in my life, sometimes I feel like life is only a struggle.  However, I know I can rely on those nearest to me to help me see past the struggle of the moment and into the good things.  This is what I’m most grateful for – the people who matter in my life.  You know who you are…

Thanksgiving… a lot to be thankful for…

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life, Writing

This Thanksgiving I have a lot to be thankful for.  My daughters are healthy.  Two of them are buying their first house.

The weekend went as planned to a point.  We drove to Vicki’s in Indiana on Wednesday night.  I was disappointed Virginia and Stephanie couldn’t get time off to come up but understand that between new job for Virginia and the new house they couldn’t make it.

Thursday was good with cooking, hanging out with Vicki, and checking in with the girls in Georgia.  Friday Vicki and I went to JoAnn’s for their sale.  The morning was fun with yarn shopping and fabric shopping for Vicki.  Ken sat in the car waiting as we shopped.  He is a very patient man – mostly.

We went to Menards next as they had some things on sale that Ken and Vicki wanted. I wrote in my journal and listened to music.

Friday evening my sister, Alicia called.  My mother suffered a stroke Friday morning.  It was mild and didn’t do a lot of damage.  Alicia was busy running errands in the morning but when she got home she noticed mom was a little off.  She took her to urgent care who then sent them to emergency and they did their thing and ended up sending mom to the hospital.  Fortunately this is all in one building.

It is hell being three states away when someone you love is suffering and you just want to go to her.  Normally I would be ten minutes from where she was being treated and could have gone to offer support.  I’m grateful that Alicia and my niece Cristina kept me up-to-date while we were so far away.

After many phone calls apprising me of the situation, we opted to cut our visit a little short and come home about six hours earlier than we had planned.  We got back to town and immediately went to gather with the family.

One of my sister’s gave me a run down of how mom was and what the occupational therapist had to say.  It was a relief to hear the information.  We opted not to go visit mom on Saturday night because there was a line of people who all visited her.  We were concerned about taxing her when she needed rest.  Other people were taking care of her, keeping her company.

Today we went over and spent a long time with her.  The doctor came in and the physical therapist came in while I was there.  They were very encouraging and positive about mom’s condition.

Tonight I’m grateful to my husband and my daughters who offered their support to me while I was stressed and worried about my mother.  While driving back from Indiana, Ken held my hand while I cried.  I kept flashing back to when my grandmother was in the hospital before she died.  We all lined up in the waiting room for our turn to visit with her.  The comfort of his hand in mine, the strength that he gave me with just holding my hand helped me push those memories away and deal with what was going on rather than the sad memories of losing my grandmother.

My daughters have listened to long conversations about the situation up here.  They have offered their love and support for which I’m very grateful.

Most important, I’m grateful that my mother is doing well and moving towards recovery.  I know she is determined and strong enough to come back from this.  I am glad the medical professionals took good care of her and are helping her recover.

Done – almost….

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Writing
Thanksgiving was wonderful with my daughters, nephew and husband.  We had a good time being together, shopping at a craft store, playing games, watching tv.  Nothing spectacular or extravagant went on but we had a good time just being together.
However, this week has been hell for me.  It is no one’s fault, work hasn’t been bad, classes haven’t been bad.  I just want to be DONE!  Officially I have four class periods left, one chapter to read, two assignments for that chapter and a final exam for that class, and for my other class I have one project to finish with a reflective paper.  If I thought I could still maintain my grades I would say – to hell with it all and just let it all go by the wayside.
I can’t do that because my grades would suffer.  Tonight I’ve spent an hour and half working on my final project.  Tomorrow night I will read the chapter and work on the two assignments.  I know there isn’t a lot left to do and I just need to dig in and do what’s left.  I’m just out of energy.
In two weeks I will be done with not only the semester but with the degree.  I’ll be able to go back to writing on a regular basis (need to have several alarms available so I can set them and get to bed at a good time).  I was hoping for a federal grant to assist with the costs of writing but I didn’t get one.  It won’t stop me – I’m just going to move forward at a slower pace and budget out what I can afford to do. 
First though, I have to get through these two weeks and all the assignments.  I know I will but in this moment I feel worn out and ready for it all to be done and go away!!!!  

Very Tired… But Got a Lot Done

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized
I got a lot done this weekend.  Formal project for class, presents crocheted, finish edits for romance novel, family gathering, movie, all done.  I’m sure there are other things I did but I am too tired to remember.  It was a weekend of late nights and lots of work being put in.
The good thing – I finally have a rough draft of my formal project.  I’ll edit it tomorrow and turn it in tomorrow night.  Then I have to read the last chapter for the class, write a short story, turn in my journal, and take the final.  Only a few short steps and I’ll be done with this semester.  I’m sure I’ll have more quizzes as well but those I’ll take as they come. 
I don’t think I’ve made it to bed before 2 am in the last 4 or 5 days.  I really just want to fall into bed and sleep but my mind is going so fast I doubt I’ll sleep.  Perhaps it might be time to redo my post its – or I could give myself a break for a day or so. 
My gout is definitely doing better.  I’ll have to see how it behaves on Tuesday after I walk the long distance to class.  Last time, I was in pain most of the day.  I’m hoping though that it won’t bother me as much this week.  Hopefully by Wednesday, I’ll be driving myself and not relying too much on Vicki any more. 

I need a weekend to recover from my weekend…