52 weeks of gratitude : week 1

Week one of the 52 weeks of gratitude only says " Why start this challenge", so here is my reasoning for participating.

As previously mentioned I am a fan of gratitude.

By nature I am a pessimist, and the facts of our lives - being lesbians in a small, conservative, community while raising children with disabilities - means we face a fair number of challenges.

It would be very easy for me to get bogged down by the things in our lives that are difficult, going wrong, or just different than the life I imagined for myself once upon a time. The fact is, it would not take much for me to just give in to the despair and spiral out of control with negativity. But, I find that if I find things to be grateful for it helps me to get through the day. It helps me to stay grounded. I PERSONALLY enjoy being appreciated, so why not appreciate others and the things around me that I find in abundance to be grateful for!

My days have looked like this:
It's -30 degrees C, our car wouldn't start, the warning lights on the dash all came on (which may mean the car is in dire need of repair or the mice living in the vehicle have eaten all of the electrical cords - neither scenario is a happy one). The block heater isn't working, the pipes in the basement may have frozen, and the kids have eaten all the snacks we only just got for lunches which is supposed to last for the next two weeks of school - and I've only been awake 30 minutes!

But, if I focus on what I am grateful for :
My neighbour came and plowed the yard and so I can get out (when the car starts) and the kids have a place to play which will entertain them for hours.  We were up in time and the kids were all dressed and made it to the bus (WITH THEIR BACKPACKS!) this morning so I don't have to drive them to school. The boys wanted to pack their lunches for school last night, which saved some time getting ready this morning and I was able to get hold of a neighbour who can drive me to work and back for the next two days. So you see - focussing on what I am grateful for makes for a happier mama Ju - and let's face it. When the mama's aren't happy our lives are a WHOLE lot worse!

52 weeks of gratitude

I have decided to participate in the 52 weeks of gratitude challenge. I'm a fan of gratitude and  I'm looking forward to participating. I'm a little slow on getting started so I will have to do three posts right away - It doesn't hurt anything to be extra grateful! 

Here is the list of things I'll be posting about over the next 52 weeks.

Family photo

This summer we finally went and had family photos professionally taken for the first time ever. I have bad memories of family photos from my family of origin where many of our jaunts to the studio were fraught with arguments. One time in particular my one brother shaved his head and showed up bald. It's funny now  - not so funny that day! Oh man my dad was not impressed ! 

I have a great friend in a near town who has started taking photos and wanted to increase her portfolio and the price was perfect - so we went down to the river and took some photos. I am thrilled with the results. 

Gone, Gone , Gone, Been Gone so Long

It has been a LONG time since I have blogged and I have REALLY missed it. I am excited that things have changed enough in my life that I feel I have some time to recommit to posting again. Hip Hip Horray!
Obviously in the seven months or so since I have been here a lot has happened but I'm not going to go back and try to recap everything for you. Instead, as I move forward I will share some exciting things that have happened.
Last year I was able to experience one of my life dreams and that was to attend a tattoo convention! I loved every single minute of it and I look forward to attending many more in the future and continuing to expand my collection of tattoos from artists I love (and follow on instagram!) I was tattooed at the Calgary Convention by Ben Merrell from Tribal Rites in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was a most excellent experience.
Here are some photos :