blessings – Page 158 – hugsnblessings

Pesky & Persistent!

Published on January 18, 2016January 18, 2016 by Dawn Marie6 Comments

it’s the monday giggles…

Image 1-18-16 at 9.29 AM — Photo courtesy of Pinterest

The mail comes routinely at 4:30pm every afternoon. And no matter where we are in the house both Helen & I can hear the mailperson deposit the daily delivery through the mail slot; which then is quickly followed by the sound of each item slidding across the top of the still present 1950’s milk-box, before they then cascade in a stream onto the floor below. The clink-clunk of the brass mail-slot cover closing behind the mayhem, now puddled all together, is a call for us to discover what has been left for us today. Somehow though, when Cuppycake is home, he never hears any of this. (Hello???)

At some point in time, I believe around the mid 1980’s, I became the unofficial unsolicited poster child for: Catalog Queen! Oh, lucky me!! I know there must be some perpetual list out there where my name may never be removed. Truly….it is as if I am at the top of every catalog distribution list. And if it were ever to be permanently erased I do believe a complete collapse of Catolog distribution would occur. TRUST ME! No matter how many times we have moved…the catalogs follow me. Phone calls and on-line opt-outs help for a period of time to slow down the delivery traffic; however, some anxious, antsy, higher-catalog-power relents under pressure and I am somehow back on the distribution list once more, so that balance may be restored.

I always feel sorry for our mail delivery person too and frequently find myself apologizing for the large bundle they must lug around in their mail sack until they at last approach our door. I’ve left Massage Therapy gift cards as a means of Care & Concern. I absolutely hide on the day the thick enormous Restoration Catalog is delivered!! Some days they relent by rubber-banding the large pile together to be left lumped outside on the ground below the slot or have, on occassion, opened the exterior door to the milk-box & slid the 8 inch high pile inside. (It only took a 3 day supply to fill the box!)

I am sure you are curiously wondering, “Do you look through all these many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many catalogs each day???”

No.

Well…not all of them.

Just a few.

Especially the thin ones. It’s easy to flip through those while I’m standing over the pile and Helen is sniffing through the puddle, sorting them for me down below. OCCASSIONALLY, in one of those flipping through moments, my attention is caught. I may put that catolog aside & dog-ear the page to look at more closely another day. And then of course there are those times, where as I am flipping through, suddenly….the world stops spinning for just a brief second…and everyone can hear my squeal of delight!

I’m sure you ALL heard that moment when it happened yesterday, right? Please, oh please, I pray at least my Cuppycake did! (Hello????)

This would be the moment I discovered, in one of these cursed Catlogues, that…

LONG JEAN JACKETS are COMING BACK in Style!!!!

FullSizeRender — The most **PERFECT** gift for someone turning 50 this year, *don’t you think!!!*

The long jean-jacket was my most coveted piece of clothing in my late teens! I worked 3 retail jobs when I first became of working age. Most of my earnings went to savings, gas for my beloved rust-bucket car, and auto-insurance. But I will never forget the day while working my shift at a popular clothing store in our local Millcreek Mall, Foxmoor’s, when I was unwrapping the day’s inventory boxes which contained…the Long Jean Jacket(s)!!!! I had never seen anything so cool and chic! I wanted one sooooo badly. I knew with some over-time at one of my other jobs and some penny pinching in other areas I could manage (what was for me,) a splurge-purchase. My retail manager gave permission to put one in my size aside and it took me 3 pay periods, with the little I could put aside at a time, to finally pay it in full so that at last…I could wear it home. Magically, (I believed) it went with EVERYTHING!!

Who knew the fashion world would come full circle to spread that same

long-jean-jacket-designer-magic again?

And I’d have never discovered this…unless a pesty-little catalog company hadn’t persited in continuing to spill through my mail-slot, despite my annoyance.

Now I just have to hopity-hope….“Cuppycake…are you listening?” (Hello????)

hugs n’ happy surprise blessings to everyone who is listening!!!!

Respite.

Published on January 14, 2016May 12, 2016 by Dawn Marie10 Comments

“Ahhhh!” deep exhale. It’s 3hugs&blessings Thursday!

Papa exchanges a warm gesture with one of his Swiss guards. How thankful he must be for their care of him.

And just like Pope Francis in the photo above (courtesy of Pinterest,) I am lifting up thanks for the special care I have been receiving these past several weeks!

Some have inquired why my blogging habits have changed…“Why so few posts as of late?” one asked. “I miss you. Will I be hearing from you more regularly soon?” asked another. Sweet, dear gestures reaching out to touch my heart.

And the answer to both is: “Yes. By the grace of God I hope to get back to my normal publishing calendar.” said I.

Jared catches Helen & I working on a Christmas post!

But for right now I’ve had to put my feet up to care for myself body, mind, and Spirit. Mostly body; however, the mind and Spirit are grateful for the extra time being provided to them as well!

And so it is that today I seek to give thanks in those 3 very categories, as each of them have received warm gestures reaching out to touch my very whole (self) and I am so thankity-thankful for their care!

Body:

My therapy continues & I am so thankful for the wonderful PT’s at Hertel & Brown who are helping me get ready to snow-shoe again! Everyone is wonderful there from the greeting at the door to the “see ya’ next time.” A few I’ve had the pleasure to work with like Michael, Jeremy, Matt & Lori always kindly remind me to at least “try” and ice 3 x’s a day and are always polite enough to agree…I am NOT a baby.

Lori is the sweetest!

Peddling…because I am not a baby!

Stim work!

Mind:

I am counting my blessings for the DECISION to commit to ‘clean eating’ once again. I cannot tell you how much clearer my focus is. My thoughts are crisper and I can concentrate with less effort, which restores my peace of mind.

You would never know today but in the early 2000’s I struggled just getting out of bed. I would often fall, my hands would lose their grip and sometimes, especially following exertion, go so deeply asleep they’d curl & palsy. But the worst was the terrible brain fog! A once fully organized person I’d somedays have no memory of where I’d parked the car and was always opening/reopening the calendar because I just could not focus long enough to remember where I needed to be next. It took over a year for the final diagnosis, with everything from lupus to Parkinson’s being considered, but finally fibromyalgia was the diagnosis.

Close to two years we experimented with medications, which greatly helped to get me back on track, but through my own research I began exploring more holistic ways to treat the illness. I have been med free for close to 12 years, yippee! Part of my holistic management; however, is key to what I do & do not chose to eat. Carbohydrates (especially the processed ones) are my worst enemy!! As well as white flours and processed sugars. So when the brain-fog begins to seep back in I need only look to two different triggers: the cupboard or the pillow! (Because restorative sleep is also vital at keeping fibro-flares at bay.) The holidays & my injury took big hits in both those areas but today I am counting my blessings at having each back on track!

Plus it is good to remember where I parked the car again! Now if I could only remember to fill it up with gas…giggles!

Spirit:

I am especially blessed to have the most wonderful Spiritual Director, Fr. Dan, who though I do not deserve it…keeps my Spirit fit as a fiddle!

He guides me, challenges me, and always makes certain I am staying Spiritually Fit! At our last gathering he instructed me to begin a Do-It Yourself Retreat using Fr. Michael E. Gaitley’s book, Consoling the Heart of Jesus , as my guide. Opening the book today during my time in the adoration chapel I was so grateful that Fr. Dan knew, just as he always does, exactly what was needed to refresh my Spirit.

Maybe you will join me to0? Which will it be?

Snow-shoeing? Better eating? Or Retreat?

Hey, how ’bout all three????

AND please be sure to let me know if you’ll be joining me…

for I will be sure to count my blessings for thee!!

may these hugs n’ 3 refreshed blessings go out & touch you by the hand!

take a chance on me!

Published on January 9, 2016January 10, 2016 by Dawn Marie6 Comments

“What would you do if you won?”

That seems to be the 900+ million dollar question around our local town today.

“I wouldn’t show up for work on Monday, that’s for sure!” we overheard one man say at the corner convenience store, where long-lines of people stood prepared to make their Pennsylvania Power-Ball purchase.

Tonight’s drawing is a record breaking 900 million dollars and climbing! Leaving suspicion that it may reach One Billion dollars before the drawing actually occurs this evening at 11:28 pm EST. No one has won the Powerball jackpot since early November, which is why the prize has grown so large.

Cuppycake & I have had this conversation once before when this same Pennsylvania State game-of-chance was creeping toward a previous record winnings. Thankfully we both had very similar desires on how the over-sized prize would be distributed. Our first distribution of funds, said almost simultaneously to one another, would be:

“That the first 10% of the total winnings goes back to God!” we proclaimed.

Today, with my potential winning ticket in the pocket of my gray cardigan sweater, I’ve flit-fluttered through the afternoon imagining what that could truly mean. What would I want this gift for God to look like? What good works could I do for Him?

I know our local Catholic Charities office would benefit greatly, as would our Diocesan Bishop’s Breakfast Program! Our parish of course, the Seminarian program and most assuredly the retired priest program (Methuselah Ministry) we established a few years back…all of these would receive the reward of these winnings.

And then there’s the dream I’ve had for establishing a restaurant which serves as a beacon of hope for those looking to rebuild their lives…

Eve’s Garden!

The model for Eve’s Garden is to offer a training opportunity for those seeking to re-enter/enter the work force after a particular difficulty in their personal life. There would be training opportunities in all aspects of culinary service, revolving around all aspects of food preparation. There would be training opportunities for hospitality service and management training for those seeking to progress further.

The entire operation from menu planning to food ordering would offer the opportunity to re-build themselves not only financially but more importantly emotionally & spiritually. Always keeping in mind that this place…Eve’s Garden…is a safe, supportive, stepping stone for them to use as they build toward a renewed life for themselves. The goal would not be to solely train individuals in food service but rather to help help them to believe in themselves again. To assit them in setting goals for their future and see the potential in what they have the power to create this New Life to be.

Why will it be called Eve’s Garden? Because in my dreamity-dream I have always seen us located right next door to our local Fuhrman’s Apple Cider Store! The menu would showcase their famous Cider and lots of apple-icious food dishes to boot! And of course the most famous apple orchard of all comes from the Garden of Eden…where Eve often could be found picking the apples I am sure. But it’s not this Eve the restaurant will be named for.

Rather the New Eve, Mother Mary.

Eve Becomes the “Mother of All the Living”
New Eve Becomes the “Mother of All Who Live in Christ”

Eve – a female – sinned and brought about the Fall; thus, there is a certain justice in God’s providence allowing someone of the same sex – Mary – usher in the salvation of humanity. In a full understanding of her biblical roles in salvation history – the New Eve, the New Ark of the Covenant, and the Queen of the Eternal Davidic Kingdom – Mary is seen as the highest created being. She was the pure and perfect vessel for Christ’s Incarnation, i.e., the Theotokos, the Mother of God. No other created human being will ever have such an elevated role.

The New Eve, Mother Mary undoer of the sin of the original Eve, would be the Mother to those seeking to rebuild their lives as they sought safety, support and understanding under employment at Eve’s Garden.

I am certain there are other opportunities to gift God through our potential winnings too, but these are the quick dreams that I would proclaim if I were to be asked,

“What would you do?”

And predictably, if you knew my Cuppycake, he WOULD still show up for work on Monday! (But if there is a lottery-angel out there somewhere, perhaps he may consider at least leaving early that day.)

hugs n’ dreamy blessings to all the lottery-winning angels who may be out there!