GiST #99

1. I called to get tickets for Les Miserables and found out that the show was postponed to May. In a way, this is a good thing because hopefully we won't be so financially strapped.

2. My Daily Affirmations For Adult Children of Alcoholics came in the mail today. I got it for $.01 on Amazon and then just paid shipping and handling for it.

3. I wasn't able to get the doctor to agree to a book crossing zone in the waiting room but at least I talked to him about it.

Explanation: Ever since I can remember, the Center for Family Guidance has had a book case where people bring books or take them home. It was sort of like a take one/leave one idea. I left many many books there and also picked up many good reads. Suddenly, it disappeared. When I asked, the office manager (who loved the idea and nurtured it along) said it was because a parent complained about her kids looking at the covers of romance novels. The manager was annoyed with the mother saying it just takes one to spoil it for everyone. All the books had to be removed. Today I decided to present an idea to the psychiatrist in charge. My idea was to move the bookcase across the room where kids don't play. I volunteered to bring in toys for the kids and to check the covers of the books. The doctor liked the idea but said unfortunately they can't go with even that idea because of that woman's complaint. Yeesh, the romance books there are just those cheap things you see sold at the grocery or drug stores. Oh well.

4. I didn't follow my writing or walking schedules today but I was mindful of what I ate!

5. Lost is on tonight! :D

GiST #98

1. The rain wasn't snow.

2. The temperatures were mild, not cold.

3. Corned beef leftovers for lunch and dinner!

4. A good therapy session

5. Now I'm in a HS play kick. Just saw Beauty and the Beast with Kristin and am now planning to see Les Miserables with Bill. TB doesn't care for musicals. I really shouldn't go ($) but I'm going to. I feel starved sometimes--and it's just $20...so I keep trying to convince myself.

GiST #97

1. What a beautiful day yesterday!

2. Today is another lovely day so far. I love it!

3. Our grandson, Little T, came over yesterday and that's always a grace for us!

4. We went for a nice walk. I took pictures of Little T and some of the scenery on our walk. It's going to be fun taking pictures of our walks throughout the year!





5. Kristin and I went to see the high school production of "Beauty & the Beast". Many of her friends were in it and I have to say--it was very well cast. I truly enjoyed myself. Two of her closest friends (since sixth grade) "stole the show" as Lumiere and Cogsworth!

GiST 96

1. I kept to my writing schedule this morning too. :)

2. It's a good thing we just got a couple of reams of printer paper!

3. TB decided he didn't want to go to his doctor appt. this morning. I was relieved--it's a long drive and my stomach was acting up. Appointment was rescheduled.

4. Although I didn't make such great food choices today, I was mindful of what I was doing and that's half the battle!

5. TB and I went for another walk. It was great! The sun was so warm and there was a lovely light breeze.

6. I took my camera along and got this nice picture of what could have been a wreath (but it's fresh from a tree).



Little T loves to go for walks and I thought I could take pictures of these familiar places during each season and catch the changes. That should be fun!

GiST #95

1. Day Three of sticking to a writing schedule--I need to do this for three months before it becomes ingrained as a habit so I'm going to track it with GiSTs too!

2. It's fascinating to read what I wrote years ago. What a difference between me in 2010 and me in 2001/2002!

3. I found out I saved my diaries and blogs from 2001 on, thank goodness! I used to have all my diaries from age 13 to adulthood and in a moment of anger, I threw them out. Stupid, stupid, stupid...all that history. Oh well.

4. The mess around my desk grows and regrows like mold--so today I cleaned and cleaned again. Much better!

5. Leftover corned beef and cabbage for lunch--yay! It's just about all gone now. In previous years, there wouldn't be any leftovers so weight loss surgery brings yet another blessing! ;)

6. I am being mindful of what I eat and my vitamin regimen. Just took my calcium.

7. My hair is getting really thick and I need a haircut. We can't afford for me to get one yet. On the up side, though, my hair is curling up very nicely.

GiST #94

1. The sun's been out today and yesterday. The sun's brightened everyone's moods!
2. Every day we are closer to the promise of spring. :D
3. We were spared this:

But TB's gotten a lot more logs and is already busy at work on them!
4. There's a good reason I haven't been online with GiSTs. I've been writing.
5. There is a complete story to part of my life already and I've been working on that--widowhood, struggling through the fog and pain of grief, making a decision to go on, and my remarriage to TB.
6. I've finally begun "scheduling" appointments to write. I didn't like to do it before, found it to be formal and a form of pressure. Whenever I wanted to write, though, something was always coming up. I'm doing much better now that I'm scheduling the time in.
7. I'm being mindful with my snacks, measuring them and limiting how much I eat.
8. We're having corned beef and cabbage again for dinner. I'm so thrilled! I'm also making soda bread scones to go along with it.
9. I am finally wearing the shirt my daughter got me from Walmart that says "Saint Patrick's Day March 17, 2010". It's a large. I was wearing a 2XL and those shirts were getting snug.
10. I've lost over 100 lbs. in the near year I've had surgery and I'm feeling really good!

GiST #93

1. I got in a solid eight hours of sleep overnight! I think the reason I slept so well was because we'd chased most of the cats out. Lately, Cubby's awakened me early in the morning. It sure felt good to sleep in!

2. Said Cubby kneaded my tummy as I watched the morning news with TB. Have you had a cat knead you and purr as he's doing it? It's soothing! It's also very hypnotic.

3. TB made home made hash from left over corned beef, potatoes, onions and peppers. He also made fried eggs. What a delicious breakfast!

4. The sky brightened this morning after a couple of days of miserable driving rain. The sun came out a little too. We're supposed to get more rain tonight but I don't mind.

5. TB thought to bring his chain saw along when we went out and so he was able to get another couple of nice logs. He's very very happy about that and so am I. :)

6. I got a book out of the library yesterday about writing my life story. This morning I read a little of it and started working on the exercises. I've already done some of the groundwork. That feels good.

7. I am done with 1916--I wasn't enjoying it much! I blogged about it on my reading blog. I started on Cane River this afternoon.

8. Munchkin's been unusually snuggly and especially affectionate with me today. :)

9. I have been mindful of what I'm eating today.

10. I thought of twice the number of GiSTs than I normally do. Today's been good!

GiST #92

1. Today we got some large, thick branches from a man on Freecycle. TB brought his power saw and cut the 8 foot lengths in half so they would fit into the car. Now he can make more things ... and it was free!

2. The rain is coming down and the wind is blowing hard! The grace is that we are inside, warm and dry. We have a roof over our heads!

3. Everyone in the family likes corned beef and this is especially a grace for me because I love it. ;) Corned beef and cabbage for dinner tonight!

4. The raisin bread we got from St. Ann's is so fresh and delicious toasted with butter.

5. Between writing in a book and typing, I'm managing to get a lot more memories down. They're not all that good but enough of them are so I feel grateful. I shared some with my brother. He doesn't have good memories. I feel sad about that but glad to share the good ones.

GiST #91

1. God looks out for good people who do foolish things. To get a clue what I'm talking about, check out the next grace.

2. A free heavy wooden door. TB saw it in a dumpster near my surgeon's office. He climbed up and managed to drag it out of the dumpster. Luckily, he didn't slip off, fall, or break his neck.

3. The doctor's visit took all of five minutes and we didn't have to wait long in the waiting room.

4. Corned beef is on sale! I love corned beef!

5. GiST has helped me give the day a much more positive spin. :)

GiST #90

1. Freecycle. TB picked up a DVD player with a surround sound system. The people giving it away upgraded to a BluRay system. The system only works with the DVD player but it sure makes our movies sound great!

2. St. Ann's food pantry. Every other Thursday, we go and pick up some food. It's a real blessing. We make just a little too much to qualify for food stamps.

3. The sun was out today! The rain storm apparently was delayed. What a beautiful day it was!

4. Having your insurance company think you're going to dump them is good for negotiations. A lower premium will bring down our mortgage payment some more.

5. Crockpots are great for a delicious all-in-one type of meal--so convenient, too!

GiST #89

1. A quiet day? There's no doctor appointments today!

2. We're supposed to get a lot of rain through the weekend but it's so mild it won't be snow!

3. The free afternoon has given me time to back up my blogs, upload pictures and work on more memories

4. I'm a very fast typist and can finally keep up with my flowing thoughts ... and give my cramping hand muscles a break!

5. Lost discussions on my email list are more and more fascinating with each passing episode. This last one was so moving! I will so miss this show!

GiST #85

1. Cubby's back with his motoring purr. He likes to head-butt me too. It never fails to melt my heart, lol.

2. The sun came out this afternoon and the dreariness of the day went away.

3. I found some more pictures of my dad and recalled some more good times.

4. I had another productive session with Susan, my therapist. I feel like I'm making some real progress.

5. We have a general outline for Plan A, B, C and even a D with respect to the house and what we can do about the situation we're in.

GiST #88

1. Reading other blog entries on GiST. I'm inspired by so many people here!

2. Freshly made coffee!

3. I had so much fun posting about Kosmo's tummy for Cats on Tuesday!

4. This morning, the birds were singing again and the cats were crowded together in the windows, chattering back like mad!

5. Although it was a little chilly this morning, it still felt mild enough to open some windows to let in wonderful fresh air!

GiST #87

1. Another positive session with Susan, my therapist. She wants me to write on paper about my re-emerging memories because there's more of a "connect" or something. I've been doing that but the memories are coming so fast I can't keep up. I started to make a list so that I can go back and remember memories I need to write about. It would be a lot easier if I could type it. Oh well.

2. The man who services our water system (we have a well so we need to have a softener and other servicing done to it so we have clean water free of iron) is a very decent man. He is letting us split his fee into four monthly payments and that is such a relief for us!

3. We got into a discussion about books with the office manager at our therapist's office. We've known her for several years and it's nice to go beyond the formal niceties and actually talk to people we deal with regularly (at a business level, I mean).

4. There was a chilly start to the day but it soon became another lovely day! Oh spring, are you here?

5. I got some adorable pictures of one of the cats showing off his tummy and am going to post it for my "Cats on Tuesday" tomorrow!

GiST #86

The weekend edition:

1. It was so much fun to play "Noah's Ark" with Little T! How our game has evolved!
2. The weather has been so mild I could go around with just a sweat jacket. I loved going outdoors--it's feeling like spring at last!
3. We made arrangements for family therapy, starting in two weeks. We all need to come together to talk about certain issues.
4. We may not be able to help my daughter with a car (as we helped her older brother and sister) but we could give her the family room end tables and coffee table and entertainment center (all in very good shape) to use when we do have to move.
5. I didn't have insomnia last night and slept very well!

GiST #85

1.  The temperature went into the 50s today!  What a wonderful break from the recent cold, nasty weather!

2.  My daughter got hired and not just as a cashier.  She's working in the deli.  It'll be hectic there and lots of pressure but I think it'll be easier than dealing with tons of groceries coming down the line.  Maybe not but we'll see!

3.  I finished Everything She Ever Wanted by Ann Rule and

4.  I started 1916 by Morgan Llewellyn.  So far, so good!

5.  I've gotten through another week without stressing out too badly so now I'm going to kick back and relax this evening!

GiST #84

1. My computer is so slow I have trouble with many websites and have real time-out problems trying to get around to read other blogs and stuff. ... I'm learning patience. Sort of.

2. It's Wednesday, Hump Day, and actually we're just about over it and heading to the weekend!

3. My cat has a noisy, loud purr that's very soothing.

4. His skin condition is coming back but luckily we still have lots of medicine left over.

5. It looks like my daughter's got a job at last (it only took nearly 2 years of searching--job hunting is hard for teens nowadays) and I'm very happy for her. She's very excited!

GiST #83

It's been several days since I posted a GiST and I really missed it. It's been days of ups and downs and this list probably will cover something from each day.

1. This morning I saw one of those specially bred Bengal-domestic cats. The animal was ginormous but so beautiful and graceful! I wondered who she belonged to as she loped down our street. I seriously doubt this specially "designed" breed has hit the stray population yet so someone is missing their very valuable cat!

2. Well, another virus infected my computer and it was down most of yesterday but I have a very talented hubby who devoted hours to getting rid of it. Thanks, TB, love you!!!!

3. Linda is having a baby girl. Of course, this would also be a grace if she found out she's carrying a boy. I think it's really cool to know so we know what the new baby will need. I always enjoyed getting pretty things for my girls when they were babies.

4. My son's car broke down on his way to work Friday--yes, while the snowstorm was going on. He has no cell phone so he had to hoof it someplace to use a phone. The police called and said they'd found his car and I surmised what had happened. Well, the darn cops called a tow truck even though the car was on the shoulder and their tow truck arrived before AAA could get there. All of that was very irritating and costly but on the bright side, the same durn cop gave my son a ride home and we didn't have to go out on slippery roads to rescue him.

5. My daughter's car is up and running so now she can pitch in and help get her brother to and from places until he can get his car fixed (hopefully tomorrow).

6. The snowstorm wasn't as bad as predicted.

7. Our Angel Foods order came and now our freezer is full until next month.

8. The epidural TB has two weeks ago has caused a really bad flare-up of his back problems. But when we saw the doctor who gave him the injection, he was supportive and sympathetic and absolutely believed that TB could have fibromyalgia. With proper treatment by a specialist, his pain could be reduced without having to keep increasing the pain meds. So now we have an appointment to see that specialist.

9. Last but most definitely not least, it's always a grace to see our Little T. Both TB and I miss our other grandchildren and it's a true blessing to spend time with each and every one of them.

10. Oh! That reminds me of one more grace: I spoke for a short time with grandson Ryan. He normally isn't a talkative young man but I enjoyed it and was amazed at how deep his voice has gotten!

GiST #82

I may not say it every day but always, there's the grace of having the support and kind comments from other GiST bloggers!

1. I am excited that my DVR counselor is totally on board with me going back to school to finish my degree--even at age 55. I know that there are older people who get their degrees as well, it's just exciting for me. I'm feeling productive.

2. I finished another book -- The Widow's War. Now I've begun another book. I so love to read!

3. We have gotten a reprieve of sorts from the mortgage company. We'll only have to pay a $150/mo. increase instead of $500. It's difficult for us still, but I'll take it. We won't have to sell the house.

4. Lost continues to amaze and astound us!

5. I've become peacefully resigned to another big snowstorm. I can't make it go away so why get in an uproar about it?

GiST #81

1. A more upbeat session with Susan (my therapist) today. I brought in my photo album and we began looking at my pictures. The idea is to help bring back memories as well as give Susan more background information. We started with pictures I have of grandparents, great-aunts and -uncles and so on. We ended up with baby/young child pictures of me and luckily almost all of these evoked happier memories!

2. I also had a good session with the psychiatrist in that he adjusted some of my meds to help my cope with the agitation that's been coming back. The meds don't numb my feelings. They're just supposed to regulate the anxiety and anger some memories are bringing up.

3. The library is having a book sale and I have $5.00 in my pocket! Wooohoooo!

4. I got another upsetting letter from the bank but decided I would not react and respond. They are wrong and I can correct their mistake but will do so in a calm manner. I will call them tomorrow when I can think clearly.

5. We'd moved the dreadmill into our bedroom to give my mom more room when she was living with us. It definitely crowded us, though, and today my son and TB moved the darn thing back to the family room. The bedroom is less cluttered now, hooray!