Friday, January 06, 2023

Friday's Fave Five #715


Happy New Year everyone.  Welcome to a brand new year, a fresh new start on the calendar.  A perfect time to start cultivating a habit of looking for the blessings of God in your life and being thankful.  Practicing this habit when things are good helps us to keep it up when life gets harder.  And everyone goes through something hard at some point.  It's not just a matter of having a positive attitude or being "a glass half full" mindset.  It's about being able to see the hand of God in your life even when life is not easy.  It's about having a heart of gratitude and not entitlement.  So won't you join in this year, if you haven't already?


~ a quiet new years ~ This year I just wasn't feeling the whole party thing this year.  Not that I've been a big New Year's party anyway.  But I just wanted to be home, curled up reading and maybe watching a show or two.  I was tired and just wanted some peace and time to reflect on the year.  I got my wish.  I was in jammies by 9:30 enjoying discussing books amongst other things with a like minded online book group.  The evening was mellow, slow and peaceful which is  just what I needed.  I went to bed approximately 2 minutes after midnight.  

~ easing back to work ~ after a wonderful 10 days off work I thought I would be hitting the floor running.  I was not looking forward to out of routine kids who have had too much sugar and late nights and sleep in mornings trying to back to coming to dayhome.  And I thought I would have a new child or two thrown into the mix on top of it all.  But the new ones don't start till next week, one is still home with visiting grandparents and the other little has been happy as a clam.  It's been a nice start.

~ milk frother ~ My hubby got me a milk frother for Christmas and it has been getting steady daily use.  I love it.  It's been so nice having my oat milk warmed and frothed up to go in my coffee keeping it hot.  And if I want a an extra bit of thicker foam I use 2 percent milk.  He hit it right on with that gift.



~ birthday celebration ~ for my birthday Hubby and I went to a nice steak restaurant for dinner.  The food was delicious and our server wonderful. I had steak oscar and hubby had peppercorn steak and we had a fabulous appetizer recommended by our server: a warm mushroom cheese dip with hot croissant pull apart bread.  YUM!  It was a lovely evening out and bonus:  Most of the meal was paid with a gift card from one of my dayhome parents that I still had from when restaurants were shut during covid.  

~ fresh new calendar ~ I always love when the time comes to put up a brand new calendar.  There is something about closing the calendar on last year and putting up a new one that isn't all written in.  It reminds me it's a fresh start with so much potential.  

What were your five favorite blessings from the last week?







12 comments:

Gattina said...

My calendar is in my computer, tablet and smartphone ! I don't use paper anymore. And then I know where it is. Nice that you could start calmly, I can imagine that the little flees are sometimes hopping around and make a lot of noise; Apparently you had a very nice birthday celebration. My week wasn't nice, I was sick and nailed in the house !

Faith said...

I'm so glad you had a good start back to running your daycare! I could never do daycare with those long hours and I do pray for you daily.

2023 so far is starting out better than 2022 was. For that I am grateful.

LOVE that you could have a nice relaxing New Year's Eve....we did too!
And I love that you two had a nice birthday dinner out....yay for gift cards from parents. I received 4 coffee ones this xmas and have used 2 already :)

ENJOY every moment of the weekend.

Deb J. in Utah said...

So glad that your new year is off to a good start. Yes, we stayed home on New Year's Eve, and I didn't even stay up until midnight. I'm glad you have had an easy week with your Day Home so that you can ease into the New Year. It is hard to get back to work after a nice bit of time off. Your birthday dinner sounds like it was very nice. Yea for having a leftover gift card that you could use to pay the bill! The Milk Frother sounds like a lovely gift, and I completely agree with you about brand new calendars. So glad that you have found so many things to be grateful for the first week of the new year. See you again soon!

Barbara Harper said...

Belated happy birthday! Sounds like a great way to celebrate it! We had a quiet NYE, too. I usually stay up to turn on the TV just long enough to watch the ball drop in Times Square. But this time, with the next day being Sunday and an earlier wake-up time, I went to bed before midnight. We had been out with the kids for bowling and pizza earlier, so it was nice to have a quiet evening to wind down.

How nice to have a lighter start getting back into the work routine. And new calendars made my list, too.

Linda Hoye said...

Happy Birthday! Dinner out sounds like a lovely treat.

Susan said...

Belated happy Birthday! I like that milk frothier. I want a hand blender to mix protein powder into my coffee. I need to get a new calendar too. I use the one on my IPhone, but I like being able to look at a paper calendar too. Enjoy your weekend!

nikkipolani said...

What a nice (calm) surprise to your work restart. Birthday meal sounds absolutely perfect with that decadent appetizer (wow). You're the second I've come across to show such appreciation for their frother -- I just shake up my oatmilk carton really hard ;-)

Agree with you about the quietness to reflect on the year just passed and the new one dawning. And how apt it is to reflect on God's work in our lives and in others as we open our eyes to His purposes.

Wendy said...

Your birthday dinner sounded lovely and glad you've not had to hit the ground running this week. Settling in newbies at daycare can be challenging. I think my New Year was very similar to yours - we've done the "let's go to London, see the fireworks etc" when we were much younger. It wasn't that pleasant - very crowded, rowdy etc. I was home, watched some TV and then after midnight straight to bed!

Karen said...

It sounds like you eased into the new year really nicely. I love the idea of discussing books on new year's eve:)

ellen b. said...

Your birthday meal sounded so yummy. How nice to be able to finally use that gift card! Your New Year's Eve sounded similar to ours except we were tucked in by 9!! How nice to have a slow start. Hope 2023 is filled with many good things!

Willow said...

Your New Year's Eve sounds like ours. Early to bed.
Love that frother! And I noticed your mug. Love it, too!
Happy Birthday to you. Another year to enjoy all that God brings us.
Glad your day care is easing in to the new year slowly.
Have a good weekend!

Melanie said...

I've not heard of a milk frother! What a unique thing! Happy Birthday! My New Year's Eve and day were quiet as well. I went to bed early on the Eve and awoke to firecrackers going off at midnight. I hope you are having a great weekend.