Day 4 Gratitude

• I'm thankful that I got to the gym and did my workout.
• I'm thankful for the Old Navy summer capsule wardrobe FINALLY coming out.  I really need some new clothes.
• Even though there is a lot I am annoyed at about this country, I am glad and thankful to live in America.  Happy Independence Day! (a little late because I have some catching up to do)

Day 3 Gratitude

• I'm thankful that I got to the gym.
• I'm grateful that I had so much time and energy to do the meals for the month.
• Ariana and Lucy went to play at Aunt Asia's and the house was so quiet!  Really thankful for that!

Day 2 Gratitude

• I'm thankful for getting the grocery shopping done.
• Thankful for the story of the Tabernacle- I had my Bible Study today and it was eye-opening.
• I am grateful for Chinese food and lemonade. 

New Challenges: 30 Days of Gratitude

I got a new book so I have new things to write. 

I am diving right in to the first challenge: Write down 3 things you are grateful for for 30 days.

This is usually a challenge that people do in November but we can be thankful all year long, right? 

• I am thankful for Women's Camp and the announcement I got to make in church today.
• Today was a great reading in the sun day.  I have been reading Ghost and The Help.  
• I'm thankful for the smell of strawberries. 

Person of the Year

Dearest Reader,

Wow!  I get to write again.  I am so happy.  Today I will write about who I would pick to be TIME Person of the Year.  I don't have a huge opinion on this but I will give it a shot.  First I would break it down into categories of personal influence, cultural influence, American influence, and world influence.  I wish I had more time to think about it but I am just going to go off the cuff today.

I think I would be more inclined to pick groups of people or objects rather then singling out one specific person.  Especially since this is my first time I would also like to start out by being fair.  So here goes:

My Family- Larissa's Persons of the Year 2018

The Avengers- Cultural Persons of the Year 2018

Libraries or Librarians- American Persons of the Year 2018

Jesus- World Person of the Year 2018

Okay, I know these are more personal then they should be but I don't pay much attention to the news.  When I do I tend to cry and get really depressed and that is not a great way to live your everyday life.  Since this is just for fun I can do it how ever I want and so I didn't put ONE particular person or even group up.  I just couldn't do that.  I picked these groups of people or persons because this is how I see the influences for the most part.  I don't know if I can explain any more than that without taking more time to think about it. 

Who would you nominate for TIME person of the year? 

Yours Truly,

L.L.

Take Care

Dearest Reader,

I have been working on a big reading and blogging project over at Owlowiscious Girls so I haven't spent a whole lot of time here.  Since I Randomize my schedule it hasn't picked a writing hour in ages!  But here I am!  Still here! 

Today's topic is "When you are unwell, do you allow others to take care of you, or do you prefer to soldier on alone?  What does it take for you to ask for help?" 

Can you guess what my answer is?  Okay, so I don't necessarily PREFER to soldier it alone, but it seems to work the best for me.  Often when I am sick the only thing I want done is just housework and leave me alone to get better.  In my mind there is no way anyone can "help" me feel better except by leaving me alone.  Though I wish I could ask for help sometimes.  I sometimes don't even know what to ask for except just make me dinner and let me watch TV till I feel better.  Maybe I should try that next time.  

The man cold vs. woman cold seems real though.  I am no where near as mean as the woman in this Youtube video and my husband doesn't think he is dying so much as he describes his symptoms in such strange and abstract ways that I just feed him to make him be quiet and because I actually LIKE taking care of sick family members.  It makes me feel useful.  We recently acquired a breakfast tray and I intend to use it in my bed when I get sick again. 

One time I was so sick I couldn't really move from the toilet.  I had my kids get me the phone and I called my husband and a baby sitter to watch the kids while I huddled in the fetal position till the horrible feeling past.  So there was a time when I was sick enough to ask for help.  Also that time I had gallbladder attacks and I had babies- I knew I couldn't do that alone.  So I guess I ask for help if I know there is no way I can help or watch my kids in the condition I am in.  Thankfully I don't get to terribly sick often. 

The last time I was sick I had bronchitis and hadn't really slept in days.  My husband took me to the urgent care and that was the one time I felt like someone actually could evaluate my health for me and I just gave in.  So thankful so very thankful for that.  When I am sick I do worry about the cost of medicine so I can sometimes put stuff off so I worry about that for myself. 

I think that is all I have to say on that topic.  I will leave you with a funny video of Sick Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. 

Yours Truly,
L.L.

I Want to Know What Love Is

Dearest Reader,

Today I am doing a ramble.  I am going to write without overthinking until my timer goes off on the topic of LOVE....queue the song....

I find myself today with a topic I am not really interested in rehashing.  I have sat in many a Bible Study and under many a preacher trying to give the definition of love. 

This clip cuts out Lily (or was it Robin?) blowing a raspberry and doing a thumbs down, but still I have to be honest- it is how I feel about this topic.  I am not upset because I don't feel loved or have some tragic story about my past.  I felt very loved.  I had a wonderful childhood.  I am just tired of this topic.  It is talked about so much that it has lost itself.  The English language has got to be the poorest of all the languages in even giving us an understanding of what love is.

If I am to understand my Bible- God is love.  But when I say, "I love you."  or "I love ice cream" am I really saying "I God you?" or "I God ice cream?"  Makes no sense.  I am sure it doesn't really work like that in any language.  I have to understand the original context. 

I think we can agree that the word itself is complex because of the layers.

I love certain things- all kinds of food, books, bookstores, libraries, movies, cross stitching, flowers, coffee, mugs, etc....but obviously don't love my family or other people the same way. 

I am getting so distracted.  This isn't my thing for sure.  Love ,to me, is more of a choice then the world wants us to believe.  Am I the only one who doesn't have these huge emotional bonds to someone or something?  I figure love must be inside of me and if I love someone or something you would most certainly be able to tell. 

Love is sacrifice.  Love can be easy and it can be hard.  It can be the fuzzy feelings and can be the intense feelings.  It is just so many things it hurts to think about.  That must be why I didn't want to write about it this morning.  I don't want to do the hard thing and dig into myself.  I don't want those intense feelings.  They can take over to the point where you don't feel in control.  I need the control.  We all need to have a certain amount of self-control, but with love I think some people think it is a free for all. 

Sex is not love.  I hope you know that.  I can't tell if this is a problem or not.  Just thought I would get this out there.

I can't keep this up for much longer.  I am not a smart woman (yes, I am stealing from Forrest Gump) but I do know that love is a devotion and dedication to someone or something that can change your life.

Yours Truly,
L.L.