Daily Prompt: Happily Ever After

“And they lived happily ever after.” Think about this line for a few minutes. Are you living happily ever after? If not, what will it take for you to get there?

I’m not sure what “happily ever after” means, but for me I would have to say it means being continuously content, with what I have and also with what I don’t have, and joyful, with the good and with the bad.  But at the same time, striving to improve the things that need improving and making a difference in my family’s lives.  

My husband and I have been married 36 years this July.  We’ve certainly had our good times and bad.  We have had some major differences and disagreements, but we have come to a tacit agreement to accept and respect each other’s views.  I left him for a year and a half, and took my daughter and granddaughter with me, but all the while I knew I belonged with him.  I left to make a point and decided I wouldn’t go back till he heard me.  The time finally came last summer when I knew without him even telling me that he understood.  I, my daughter and granddaughter went back home.  

But, ya know what? I learned something too.  He also had a point, and I heard it.  I’m not the only one with a point to make.  It took a year and a half, but when we came back together, we were better.

I guess what I am trying to say is that the thing that makes this “happily ever after” is love.  

A Book and a Bone

And both are good! I love it when my granddaughter reads – and enjoys it. This book is called 43 Old Cemetery Road, Over My Dead Body. I’m a little confused as to what it’s about but basically it’s about a boy who was abandoned by his parents and comes to live with a Mr. Grumply. This is book four of the series and Kenzie likes it alot. Books are good. Her new puppy is beside her, learning to like her chew bone instead of my slippers. Bones are good.

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Daily Prompt: Proud

When was the last time someone told me they were proud of me?  I’m always so busy letting my children and grandchildren know that I’m proud of them that I forget to notice what’s being said to me.  Now that the question is being asked, I’m wondering, Are they proud of me?  I don’t remember my children ever saying they were proud of me, but I know my husband has (and that’s very important to me).  I realize that I tell my family I’m proud of them so they can learn to be proud of themselves, which is ultimately more important than them telling me.  I know they love me, maybe that’s enough.

But… I think I’ll ask them.  And then post their answers.  Maybe.

One of my favorite things

I love to be creative and one of my favorite hobbies is digital scrapbooking.  I found a template at http://www.scrapgirls.com for a yearly calendar, and this is my February 2013.  I decided to make this month my Mom’s month because her birthday was in February, the day after Valentine’s Day.  She left us in 2003 at the age of 87, and I miss her more as time passes, especially since my father passed away in September 2012 (a day after he turned 96).  She had a wooden box almost identical to the one pictured, which I now have, and of course she kept all her old bottles and little dolls so when I saw these digital embellishments, they seemed to have Mom’s name on them.

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DP Challenge – eBooks, Paper Books, or Both? That is the Question

I love to read, I read every day.  I couldn’t live without books.  Most of the time I use an ereader of some sort, usually my tablet. My kindle isn’t used as much since I got my tablet, especially when I found out I could put the kindle app on it.  🙂

I read newspapers on it, I read inspirational / self-help books on it, then when I am ready for an easy-read, I switch to a mystery thriller.  Then sometimes I interrupt that to look up a recipe for supper, then back to my story again.  I can even journal on it.  All in one little device.  How cool is that!

In the mornings, I read my Bible (actually several) and various other religious / devotional / inspirational books to get my day started.  And sometimes, I’ll take it in the bathroom while I’m getting ready for the day, and since I can’t read and put on makeup at the same time, I will listen to a book.  

There are times, though, when I have to have a book.  There are times when I am trying to follow a manual while I am doing something like Photoshop, and I would rather use a book because it’s easier to see the directions and pictures on the pages and cross-reference if I have to.  Searching on an ereader can be frustrating.  

And, last but not least, there are times when I like to fall asleep with a book, and I would rather drop my book than my tablet.  🙂  

 

Renewing myself

I decided to pick up a hobby that i haven’t spent time with for a while but now that i made up my mind to do so, i’m getting back in the groove and getting excited.  Hobbies are good, i think.  I love to read and be creative.  i have always been a reader and will always be.  But when i discovered digital scrapbooking, i found something that would allow me to be creative and express myself as well.  So, off i go to do a few more pages!

Life happened

Since April, many things have happened.  I have moved with my daughter and granddaughter to my father’s house.  Then my daughter moved back with her dad, but that didn’t work out so she is back with me.  I’m hoping this is temporary but it may not be.  Time will tell.

What I See

The third thing I see as I am sitting in my parent’s living room is my son’s marine picture.  It makes me think about how proud I am of him.  He is 31 now and in college.  I don’t see him as often as I’d like, but he’s doing what he loves and when my children are happy, I’m happy.

I Have a Lot to Learn

I was going back thru my first few posts and I see that the photo I used in the first theme wasn’t included when I changed to this one.  So when I have a minute, I will have to figure out how and where I’ll put it now.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that I’m rather abrupt when I start a topic so I’ll have to work on that.  (Maybe I’m abrupt whenever I talk.)

I’m somewhat excited and somewhat fearful of blogging.  Excited because I will be learning something new and expanding my horizons, so to speak; and fearful because I am essentially afraid of expressing myself and giving myself away.  I’ll have to work on those too.

Well… let the lessons begin!

Sunset

The heading picture above is one I took of a sunset on Lake Erie in 2009.  I was at my brother-in-law’s beach and everything was beautiful and right with the world.  Whenever I see this picture, it has a calming effect on me.