Intentional (Doing things on purpose) So there's that!

 Hello, 2024,  

Please be good to me and Charlie this brand-new year.   December was pretty hard on me this past year.  I waited too long to start my Advent Ribbons, especially those that needed to be mailed to Canada, Texas, my sisters, and Aunties!  Poor Suzy, Tim, and the boys. I didn't finish their Ribbons till the very last as they live 10 minutes from our door.  Every year I tell myself I need to start earlier making the ribbons and every year I procrastinate till it's almost Christmas.  I did really well on the sealed sentiments this year, but it gets harder every year.  I reread some of the ones I had written previously and am pretty sure I have reached my limit; I can't outdo myself.  

This year for the little girls (Texas grands) I put in affirmations I got off Pinterest thinking they really liked the candy more than the sentiments.  I was wrong! Lyra told her Daddy she liked the notes best of all, so now I feel like I let her down.  It's the worst feeling in the world to know you disappointed your grandchild. 

I made an Advent Ribbon with a "Bit of Honey" for Terry (Tim's dad) and for Anita Swell (sweet senior friend) as both of them love that particular candy.  I only made 23 ribbons this year. Last year I made about 60.

I feel like I let my friends, widows, and those that I write to encourage, down. I ran out of time and out of motivation.  I felt like I hit an emotional wall that I couldn't scale and just gave up.

My office is totally trashed.  Yesterday Charlie helped me take up several storage bins out of my office into the attic.  I have a little more floor space now, but my desks, bookcases, and workspaces are still loaded to the brim and my motivation to clear them is waning at best.

I was able to catch up on my entries for Diva's Diary Vol.2 today.  I was behind in my posts so wrote 12 entries today to catch up.  I am so glad I learned to blog years ago and would faithfully blog "Monday Memories".  I had forgotten some of the stories and details, so it was a great help in filling in the gaps in my memory.

I find my memory starting to slip and that's disheartening. My word from the Lord this year is "Intentional".  It means doing things on purpose.   It's a great word but I am having trouble remembering it.  So today I printed the word" Intentional" out in big letters and made 3 signs.  One is glued to my daily planner; one is on the computer in front of my face and the other is in my Bible.

I do want to live my life on purpose, on task, and for the Lord.  Big aspiration, little motivation.  I get sidetracked very easily and lose focus and motivation.

I spend most of my time looking at Facebook or playing games on my phone.  I should take them off, so I am not distracted but I won't as I enjoy both.  I also enjoy watching TV with Charlie.  So Intentional is a great word for me.

Charlie and I checked out Planet Fitness here in Elizabethton.  It is a really nice workout facility and is only about 10 minutes from the house.  With winter snow only days away we thought it would be helpful to have a gym close to the house.  We did find out that our insurance will pay for our membership fee, so there's that!

For Christmas, I asked Charlie if he would take me to Tuesday's visitation with the church for the elderly and shut-ins.  He has a men's pastor's meeting at Bojangles every Tuesday and stays to chat, so he is never home by 9:30.  I hate to drive or go anywhere by myself (yes, I know I'm a strange bird.) He is the social butterfly whereas I am becoming a recluse.  I have wanted to go for the last 5 years and he finally said yes!  The first visitation for the new year is January 9th, so there's that!

My weight is up, my stamina is down, my cholesterol is up, so I agreed to take a new cholesterol medication that I really didn't want to take...so there's that! 

I got new glasses but need more magnification for reading so I don't have to keep taking off my glasses to put on readers.  I have a 90-day grace period on my new glasses so asked for stronger magnification to read and do close-up work.  I am getting new glasses with the improvements....so there's that!

I have so many books I want to read this year so I will definitely have to use my time wisely.  I have moved my Bible and devotional materials to the kitchen table so I can drink my early-morning Coffee and have my Bible Study and prayer time.

Big aspirations, and little discipline, usually mean bigger disappointment...so there's that!