Yay! Time to link up with Rebecca Jo, one of the sweetest bloggers I know, for Thankful Thursday! Today I’m talking about all the things I’ve been grateful for lately.
Holden's first haircut
Okay, I put this off for way too long because he is my BABY and I knew he’d look older once he had his hair cut, but I’m thankful that we all got to go as a family and that he looks so handsome. Pretty sure he’s thankful that he can see now without bangs covering his eyes.
A new friend and a good movie
I went to see Doctor Sleep over the weekend and it was SO GOOD. It was nothing at all what I was expecting, but I loved it. I went with my friend, Margaret. I actually met her through my dad over 15 years ago, but we just recently started talking a lot and hanging out. She runs the primitive doll group with me on Facebook that I started. It’s hard for me to make friends because of my introverted-ness, and I’m grateful to have made a new friend and movie buddy. Bonus, we went to one of the the theaters with the comfy reclining seats.
Picture thief caught
Last week, I received an email. This lady knew someone on Facebook who made fake troll accounts to post on Facebook cruise groups and say negative BS. Well, this woman lifted photos from my blog and used them on one of her fake profiles to try and look real. I am EXTREMELY grateful for the woman who notified me because she said it took her a long time to find where the photos came from before her search finally led to my blog. I contacted the thief (and Facebook) and demanded she remove them or I would take legal action. While she never responded, I know she got the message loud and clear because first she deleted the photos, and then eventually, the profile was gone entirely. Now I’m debating about what to do. I might go back and delete a lot of the photos from my blog, OR watermark them all (as seen below, which is pretty ugly!). Going forward, I won’t be posting many personal pictures on here. I already started slowing down on the photos a couple of years ago, but I will definitely keep this rule going forward. I am most concerned about photos of my kids. I try to keep those to no more than one photo a month on here. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions?
Grocery Delivery
We’ve been getting our groceries delivered for a couple of weeks now because we signed up for a free trial of the upgraded version of Instacart with free deliveries. I cannot even tell you how much I LOVE not having to go grocery shopping, especially now that it’s snowing (oh yes… it started snowing here this week!). Jerry and I usually take turns every week, and it will be a sad day when our free trial ends soon, because then it’s almost $10 each time to have them delivered. Sigh.
Holden elf doll
I’ve made several doll artist friends over the last couple of years, and one of them was inspired a few months back by a photo I posted of Holden. She told me she saved it and she wanted to make an elf inspired by him. Well lo and behold, this week, she did it! She made a doll who bears a perfect resemblance to my baby boy! I am ELATED! Her business name is From My Mind’s Eye, in case you want to check her out.
A night of laughter
My brother, sister in law, and I went to see one of our favorite comedians earlier this month: Chris D’Elia! We were only about 10 rows back from the front row too. It was AWESOME! I would absolutely love to see him again sometime and hope he makes his way back out here on his next tour. Oh, also, bonus: my best friend was seated directly behind me!!! We both did the pre-sale tickets right around the same time, so we really lucked out.
Booking an author visit
I’m part of a small team at work who has been planning a town-wide reading event for next spring (we’ll encourage everyone to read the same book, and then will have the author here for a discussion and visit). We’ve been looking long and hard at different options, and when we chose an author we wanted to have visit, I reached out to her publisher. After some back and forth, she passed my messages on directly to the author, and…. WE BOOKED HER!!! She was my first choice and we were nervous because this is our inaugural event… but she said yes! I’ve been emailing with her for several weeks now and she is so gracious and lovely. Several of us read her debut novel last year and loved it. She’s coming out with a new book next year too, so the timing is just perfect for our visit. I’ve got to tell you, this has been one of the most rewarding moments of my career thus far, and I can’t wait until the time comes for her visit. We haven’t announced it yet though, so the author is still a secret for now. š
First Hobby Lobby visit
There’s a Hobby Lobby about 20 minutes from me, but I’ve never been there because me and crafts do not mix. However, I saw these really cute Christmas figurines online that they were selling but they were sold out online, so I ventured to the store and picked them up (for $6 a piece, to boot) and holy cow, it was glorious. Home decor is one of my obsessions, and they have SO much of it, and it’s so cheap and adorable! Ahhhh! I definitely foresee myself making many more visits in the future.
Snow plowing contracts
Ever since buying our house, we have NEVER gone a winter without having a snow plowing contract. For the last 2 years, we’ve been using one of Jerry’s coworkers and he’s been really great (way better than the guy we used to use). He gets here early, so we’re able to get out of our driveway on time for work, and it’s such a relief not having to worry about it. Snow came sooner than expected this year, and we haven’t paid him yet, but he still came out and plowed our driveway this week. Thank you, Matt! P.S. if you live in New York and do not get your driveway done, DO IT! It’s not obscenely expensive (we pay $180 a year), and you get to stay warmer longer! Plus, I hate hearing those stories about people out shoveling for hours and having heart attacks. AHHH!
Those are just some of the things I’ve been thankful for lately! I also wanted to mention that you have probably seen an uptick in contributed posts here in the last week or so. I haven’t posted much of that stuff in the past, but it’s been a good opportunity for me. I hope you all don’t mind. I will not be posting my personal content any less than I normally do (that will all stay the same), but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with a great company. It’s nice after 10+ years of blogging to be able to monetize a bit here and there, since typically I lose money each year with hosting and domain costs. Please stick around, and if one of the articles catches your eye, definitely check it out. All of my usual series and posts will still be here, too!
On that note, I hope you all enjoy your weekend! I’m working all day Saturday, so the upcoming Thanksgiving break is looking better and better each day!
What are you thankful for right now?
No comments