Changing it up this week since Thanksgiving is this Thursday.  So today I bring you:

25 things I am Thankful for (in no particular order)…

1.  A 3 day work week…….weeeeeeee!   Does that mean today would be considered Monday-Wednesday?  J

2.  Grateful I am gainfully employed with benefits and a generous salary.

3.  Parents…..blessed that both mine and Ray’s are still on this earth.

4.  Siblings….well all 8 of them!  I love that I have such a huge dysfunctional family.  J  Ray is still adjusting to such a large family.  Lol….

5.  Children…our big family of blended children, doesn’t get any better than that.

6.  Grandchildren…well what can you say, they are truly God’s gift and I love them all dearly.

7.  The Lovelies….what would I do without you?  There are no words to describe how much you mean to me and how grateful I am that we are together, y’all are truly a blessing.

8.  Friends…how blessed I am to have so many wonderful, kind, loving, funny, caring, remarkable new and old friends in my life.

9.  My husband…my life has changed so much since 2012.  I am grateful for my wonderful loving husband.   In the beginning tried to persuade him that he didn’t want to get involved with me, boy am I glad he didn’t listen.  J

10.  Lorraine joining us for Thanksgiving dinner this year.  J

11.  Small business Saturday shopping with Tena…….hoping this will continue to become an annual event.

12.  Home…whether it is the house I live in or the State of Michigan, nothing warms my heart more than being home. 

13.  The lake house up north….it has been in our family for close to 60 years, it’s our bloodline, its where so many memories reside.  I love that house.

14.  Co-workers…I have been truly blessed to work with, past and present, so many remarkable people.  The bonus is that a majority of them may no longer be a co-worker, but we are still friends.

15.  Coffee….oh how do I describe this wonderful love affair with coffee.  J  lol….

16.  My health…grateful for every single day that I am healthy and alive.

17.  My dog Teddy…I rescued him many, many years ago and I’m happy he is still with me.

18.  Pinterest…yes Pinterest, if it wasn’t for Pinterest I would not have discovered chalk paint.  J

19.  Facebook…for bringing so many amazing people into my computer, my life and in my heart.

20.  Shoes…ok did you really think I would complete this list without mentioning shoes?  Lol…

21.  Grateful for a husband who LOVES to grocery shop! 

22.  I am thankful that my idea of doing the Toys for Tots campaign at work is turning out to be a huge success.  

23.  Grateful for the ability to wake up every morning and make the decision to be happy and to try to bring a little bit of happiness to wherever my day may lead me.

24.  I am grateful that I am at the age where I do not “sweat the small stuff”.  Some people learn this sooner than others, it doesn’t matter when you figured it out, it just matters that you do.

25.  And last but not least I can say that I am so very thankful and truly blessed, although life has not always been easy, it is my life and I am extremely happy for everything I have experienced, learned, loved, lost….but most importantly I am grateful for all of these experiences because they have helped to get to where I am today. 

25 Things on a Tuesday…

1.  Its Tuesday for the 25 things, way too busy yesterday.

2.  I don’t work insane hours like my lovely friend Tena, but I have been a whole lot busier at work lately.

3.  No complaints here….I prefer to be busy, it energizes me.   

4.  What a crazy weekend it was, glad that’s over.

5.  I’m eating the other half of my tuna wrap for breakfast this morning.  J

6.  Oatmeal or yogurt just wasn’t cutting it for me today.

7.  We decided to paint one wall in our dining room to be “Symphony”, it’s a dark purple/plum.

8.  There will also be two more accent colors, more neutral.

9.  Not sure why this combo struck me the way it did…..cannot wait to actually see it.

10.  And the chandelier from the now dining room will move into the new dining room.   

11.  Now I just need to find new colors for the now dining room/kitchen and family room.

12.  I really dislike the colors and have no idea what I was thinking when we painted last year.

13.  And I found the color for the master bedroom too.

14.  Hoping to get a big chunk of the painting done this weekend.

15.  We do plan on removing the carpet from the bedrooms too.

16.  I’m pretty sure all the floor work will take place after the holidays.

17.  Speaking of holidays…….wow, Thanksgiving is next week!!

18.  Before we know it Christmas will be here……yikes!

19.  I’m almost done with filling out the Christmas cards.  J

20.  They will be complete and stamped this week ready to go out after December 1. 

21.  At least that is one thing I can cross of my “Christmas To-Do” list. 

22.  I really need to figure out what I want to get Ray for his birthday and Christmas.

23.  We will be up north for his actual birthday visiting with the in-laws.

24.  Our 2 year anniversary of our first date is this Thursday.

25.  We will return to the scene of the crime……Tom’s Oyster Bar.  J  

25 Things on a Monday…

1.  I think I am still recuperating from Saturday. 

2.  Want to go home and sleep on the couch all afternoon.  :/

3.  And yes I am whining that this is a 5 day work week. 

4.  Wonder how many times I have said I am never drinking again in the course of my life.

5.  Yesterday marked my 5 year anniversary at BAE Systems.

6.  I get to pick out a $100 gift card for a service award.

7.  Now question is do I pick out a gift card for something fun and frivolous or practical?

8.  Right now I am leaning towards the frivolous and going with Pottery Barn.

9.  Where the frivolous would be the Eiffel Tower Christmas Tree Topper.  J

10.  Now the question is do I really want and/or need it?

11.  Another idea in the frivolous category would be faux fur mink, fox or chinchilla throw.

12.  I’m seriously leaning towards that idea.

13.  Or go with Williams-Sonoma and buy something for Ray.

14.  As you can tell I think the ADD is kicking in again.

15.  Seriously can I go home and take a nap?

16.  Definitely plan on making some of the chocolate covered Oreo’s soon.

17.  So much to do and so little time…where to start?

18.  We have less than 45 day’s until Christmas.

19.  You know that time is going to fly by faster than the speed of light.

20.  I’m still getting used to writing my new name.

21.  Need to find that perfect way to set off my signature.

22. I loved the flow of my signature with my old last name.

23.  Although I do love my new last name more.  J

24.  The B just doesn’t flow as well as the Z did.

25.  Pretty pathetic that I spend so much time worrying and practicing my signature.  Lol…

25 Things on a Monday……..

1.  How did it get to be November already?

2.  Is this year flying by fast or is it just me?

3.  So many blogs and so little time.

4.  This is really getting serious……I am going to need a “blog intervention”.  J

5.  Reading so many blogs is not always a good thing.

6.  And the photography skills on these people too…..amazing.

7.  These witty, intelligent, crafty and amazing women can make you feel extremely inadequate.

8.  Then again my amazing, intelligent and extremely talented husband makes me feel inadequate.

9.  Apparently I not only didn’t get the hair and make-up gene, I didn’t get the amazing gene either.

10.  It is my job to come up with a cocktail recipe for Saturday.

11.  Wish I could wiggle my nose and the entire inside of the house would be painted.

12.  And done by Saturday.  J

13.  And it would look like all the blog photos I like on Pinterest.

14.  I’m on the fence whether to go see Catching Fire Part 1.

15.  Bothers me that they are splitting the third book into 2 parts.

16.  And part 2 will not be released until November 20, 2015.

17.  Coming up with nothing for my parents for Christmas.  L

18.  What do you buy when they already have 2 of everything?

19.  That’s it starting tomorrow I am giving up sugar…..I need to do something.

20.  So what does work for women that are over 50 and find themselves gaining weight.

21.  It’s just not fair…..how are we going to feel ‘fierce and fabulous’ if our clothes don’t fit?? 

22.  I’m certain Catwoman wouldn’t feel so fierce or fabulous going thru menopause.

23.  Or even Wonder Woman for that matter.

24.  Is it too much to ask to look like Thelma (aka Susan Sarandon) instead of Thelma from Scooby-Doo?

25.  Tonight I open up my “Blogging for Dummies” book and see if I can figure out  the big “blogosphere world” out there.