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Thankful

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November is the month to take a look back on the year and give thanks for all the blessings around you. This month I have been publishing daily inspirations to remind you to take a moment and be thankful. One of my favorites is “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have” by Friedrich Koenig. This is the best time of the year to stop and reflect on what you do have and to be thankful for it. Don’t compare yourself to others. Be happy for what you do have.

This year we have had a lot of ups but we had a major down in that we lost sweet Gram in February. I still look back and am thankful for all of the time that I got to spend with her, and I don’t regret it one bit. I still feel sad that she isn’t here with us to enjoy the snow falling in Pennsylvania or the wind blowing in her face on our boat rides in Florida. I miss her being there beside me every day asking “What is this?“.  It still hurts my heart that my little buddy is no longer with us. But I know I can’t stop living because she is gone, and I need to be thankful for all of the moments that we had together. I know she is happy in heaven and enjoying dancing her polka dances again with Gramps.

thankful jeff and stacyJeff and I are very blessed, and we often talk about how lucky we are. Some of the blessings we are thankful for are…Thankful that we had Gram. Thankful that we have his two boys and they are growing into wonderful young men. Thankful that we can create memories with our little niece and nephew, and my mom. Thankful that we can spend time with Jeff’s mom. Thankful that we have amazing friends in every city that we go to. Thankful that we are healthy and active. Thankful that we have a house over our heads and a job to provide for us.

For the past few years, Jeff’s family has come to Florida for Thanksgiving. Although I miss Thanksgiving with my family, I do enjoy Jeff’s family, especially his sisters. One is older and one is younger than me. I was the oldest but somehow my sister was the one I went to for advice. I miss her more than anything and would give it all to have one more day with her. But now I have two new sisters to go to when I am feeling down or need advice or want to share some crazy life event. I wish both of our families could celebrate Thanksgiving together and maybe someday we will. But for now, I will be thankful for my sisters and the fun times we have shared, and looking forward to many more to come.

thankful sisters

We have a really wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving in Florida. For 41 years, I spent Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania or Virginia. Although both are wonderful places for Thanksgiving, it’s different in Florida. We run Turkey Trots, go on the boat, have Thanksgiving dinner on the pool deck, and head to the beach for Thanksgiving Day. And it’s different that we are now the hosts. It’s a week of eating, drinking, and sharing good times together. There is no schedule and no agenda. We enjoy the days and the laughs and can’t wait until we can do it again.

Here is a little Thanksgiving acrostic poem from our family to yours:

T- Thankful

H- Happy

A- Appreciative

N- Nourishing

K- Kinship

S- Surrounded by family and friends

G- Grateful

I- Inspiring

V- Valuable

I- Irreplaceable

N- New Beginnings

G- Generous

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Week! Be thankful, be blessed, be strong, and be inspiring!

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

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chest
In How We Move

10-1 Chest

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Equipment Needed

  • dumbbells (light to medium weight)

Weekly Wednesday Workout

In today’s workout, you will do 10 reps down to one rep of three different arm movements. You will do 10 reps, then 9 reps, then 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. If you need to modify you can always just do the even-numbered reps.

Movements for each round:

  • Dumbbell bench press
  • Push-up
  • Dumbbell flys

How to Do the Moves

For the video of movements click here. Remember there are always modifications. Let me know if you need help or suggestions. Don’t forget the warm-up. Make this workout work for you!

Photo by Norbert Buduczki on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

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time to go
In Pilot's Wife

Time To Go

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We left northwest PA just in time. My husband had a trip and returned home Saturday morning. The weather was a mix of sleet and snow when I picked him up. The roads were still too warm for anything to stick but I could smell it. Snow was coming. It was time to pack up and head south.

Usually, we get to Pennsylvania in June. This year, we went to Virginia for six weeks to spend time with the kids so we didn’t get settled in PA until the middle of August. By the time we got there, everyone was going back to work and summer was pretty much over.

It went so fast, and we couldn’t believe it. It seemed like we just didn’t have enough time to enjoy the area. It is truly so beautiful in the summer. The days are long, the weather is beautiful, the creeks are made for kayaks, and the back windy roads are made for motorcycles. Because we were so late getting to PA this year we decided to stay at Gram’s House a bit longer. We got to enjoy the full beauty of fall. The leaves were beautiful reds, greens, and yellows. Then, of course, we had the chore of raking them all up, too! Although we could have left a few weeks ago, Jeff had a few more trips, so we decided to stay.

A few weeks ago, it rained and rained. I escaped for about four days with a friend to Florida for some sunshine. We came blankback for the weekend and then Jeff had another trip. I spent the week trying to get things packed up and the house cleaned. Finally, it was time to go.

It’s always sad to leave wherever we are. We have such amazing friends and even though we are never home, we never want to leave.

I saw in the forecast that snow was coming. It was cold. It was getting dry. The heat was on. I picked up Jeff in that sleet, and we both decided it was time to go.

We had one last fun night out with some friends. The next day we woke up and to our surprise, no snow was falling down. We shut down the house, packed up the Jeep, and got on the road. The weather was cold, but no rain and no snow.

A few hours later, we got a couple of texts from our friends.  One of them said, “I’m glad you got out of town when you did. This sucks!” Then we got a few pictures from our friend Meghan. Although my husband was relieved we didn’t have to leave town in a snowstorm, I thought it was beautiful, and I was a little sad that we missed it.

It’s always nice to be in the snow when you know you get to go back to the sunshine and warmth. I am ready for the sun, the boat, the beach, and the beautiful paradise of southwest Florida. But I did feel a bit of sadness about missing the first real snowfall of the season in northwest Pennsylvania.

Driving from Florida to Pennsylvania or from Pennsylvania to Florida is one of my favorite things to do. We take our time and drive a few hours a day. It takes us four or five days but we stop along the way and see amazing family and friends who are en route. So although it’s sad to leave one place when it’s time to go, it’s a great adventure getting to the other.

Picture of woods by @momma_d.3

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

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