A Good Day and a Few Updates

Sometimes after “life” or “negative energy” throws you a curve ball, you just have to do a few things that give you comfort and peace and “make your own” positive energy. George is a big supporter of all things positive and helps with the boost. He is usually NOT the one trying to ruin my day, lol. In case you wondered. So on this day and the days that followed, I began doing my best for the pull toward positivity and peace. For me shopping, eating spaghetti (my lifetime favorite food), getting a pedi, are some of my favorite things to do. You can watch the vlog HERE.

Other Updates

It’s been a fun and busy few days of editing.

We keep filming footage and so I have 5 videos to edit currently and get scheduled before we go on vacation and there’s really not enough time to do that so….yikes. But I’ll get done what I can. I’m purposely trying to cut back on what I do next week so I can focus on the editing as much as possible.

Obviously this is an AI generated picture based on my description. lol. It’s not horribly far off but we don’t put shoes in the boxes, and the bears are nothing like that as they’re flat – lol. The AI labels are hilarious.

Packing Magi Boxes at church. Oh my gosh.

I went to help do this yesterday and was taught the ropes of how to pack the boxes in the assembly line. The room took my breath away. Beautifully organized tubs of toys, gadgets, clothes, personal toiletries, sewing kits, plush toys, etc. separated by gender, size and age. The love and care that goes into these boxes!

There was a lady that dropped off freshly sewn soft teddy bears, small enough to put in the box. There is a group that meets to make jump ropes out of t-shirts for the boxes. There is a lady that makes little sewing kits for the young girls ages 8 to 11. Soaps were wrapped gently with a wash cloth to be placed within in box.

There was someone behind the scenes that stages it. She sets the small outfits and unswear and socks that go in each box into small stacks. If there are 14 sets of girls clothing laid out then that is how many we do of that size and gender. We label 14 boxes with “girl” ages 8 to 11 for example and get the boxes ready first.

Here’s what goes in the best I can remember: clothing item, underwear, socks, a composition book (coloring book if ages 5 to 7), toothpaste, toothbrush, a comb, pencil sharpener, 5 pencils, 4 bandaids, crayons, a barbie doll, a sewing kit, a bag of little toys or gadgets, a soft toy, a little piece of jewelry in a little draw string bag, a hair scrunchy, a kazoo, a soft plush stuffed animal (might be a beanie baby or a sewed bear), a jump rope, stickers, and a little book about Jesus. I’m sure I’ve forgotten but I tried to remember the line up in my little decaying brain, lol.

This was right up my alley and I loved the process and seeing how it worked. I was introduced to the others a new member on the team, lol. I guess I will be since I was inducted, lol. They pack twice a month and I can commit to do that. I can also be on the lookout for items they use, as I go yard sailing with George, or shopping in general in my discount stores and thrift shops. There is also a clothing shop set up in our church in which they collect items for back to school, including clothes and that room was equally as organized by sizes. They collect t-shirts to make the jump ropes with too so it’s all organized and integrated and the teams collaborate. It’s just a neat thing. And I’m so grateful to have been introduced to this line of work in the church. I’d never even set foot on that side of the building. So I was the one blessed with yesterday and a ministry that I know God set me up for when I ran into Carol L in the lobby that morning during church when I got up to go to the restroom! It led me to a new friend and a new role too, as a part of the church.

Finishing my Retirement Devo book that Lisa J gave me as a retirement gift.

Ignore the “previous excerpt” message. I grabbed this from my photos. It was good book for those adjusting to retirement, especially if they had no clue what to do. I DID have a clue so some of the chapters did not relate to me as I’m very organized with my life and a big planner of diving into a lot of things. But as the book went on I found it to be more rich with many things that DID apply to me and it ended with a great last lesson. Loved it and enjoyed it every morning. Even though some chapters were things I already had an edge on, it DID kinda certify for me that I was on the right track and doing things the right way, if that makes sense. Blessed that Lisa J gave me this book. I gift I enjoyed for at least 52 mornings! 🙂

The last lesson was perfect talking about setting clear goals, staying connected with family and friends, continued learning, focusing on health and wellness, spiritual growth, financial planning, volunteering and giving back, pursuing hobbies and passions, traveling and exploring, reflecting, and adjusting. All the while, seeking God and his guidance in all the efforts. Sounds like a good plan to me.

I love critiquing the AI pictures. It’s another growing passion, lol. The coffee is about to fall off the desk. And how crooked is that keyboard? I love the deer peeking in the window. I asked it to do that, lol.

Things accomplished this week. Got a family member’s IRS tax info mailed to my aunt as she does the person’s taxes. Got as I far as I could on completing Grandaddy’s ship papers but I have to have a copy of his death certificate so that is on tomorrow’s list to get from a family member. Completed my Passport papers in black ink. (Will get pic and set appt to apply after Texas.) Filmed George and the spice cabinet, filmed a vlog of the fridge clean out and making lasagna and a few things in between. Did the Magi box packing. Bought a family member’s groceries and spent time editing two vlogs, uploads, and thumbnails. Read a lot more than I usually do, watched the rest of Virgin River, watched the Netflix show about the death of the Petito girl and Brian Laundrie as I had kept up with that in the news. And it was particularly interesting because of the van life in the beginning. So really a great week of doing a lot of various things and I loved it all. It was a very balanced week. Got some housework done too.

Things not accomplished this week. I did not get the PJ’s hemmed. Are you surprised? Didn’t get the puzzle started but I got the table set up and brought out some oven pans to separate the pieces in. Didn’t start the grandson board but it’s all ready with the materials in front of the board. Put off the Valentine’s dinner redo as we had leftover lasagna and guys night out was happening this week. We had said “if guys night didn’t happen” we’d go out b/c George never knows til late afternoon if it’s on or not and then we don’t have a dinner planned. But the lasagna made 2 nights of leftovers so that is what I ate. And we’d have both stayed home and had that if guys night hadn’t happened. So maybe we can go out this week for our Valentine’s redo since our Sanika dinner basically was the most annoying Valentine dinner either of us have ever had. Except for maybe the spaghetti dinner that sent me barfing all night long with food poisoning along with my date. His family got him an ambulance. He got over it fast. I was sick for a week in bed and barely could eat much the 2nd week. So maybe Sanika’s was the 2nd worst Valentine’s for me. lol

Today’s planning day so I’ve not looked at next week yet but I’m going soft on the goals and hard on the editing! Everyone have a great week and if you have read the blog and need the link again for the VLOG this week, you can watch it HERE. Have a great week ahead.