Thanksgiving and the month of November are almost history, but that doesn't mean that the spirit of Thanksgiving should be forgotten. 

Enjoy these thoughts: 
​
"I am grateful for what I am and have. 
My thanksgiving is perpetual." 
- Henry David Thoreau -

"Be thankful for what you have;
you'll end up having more. 
If you concentrate on what you don't have,
you will never, ever have enough." 
- Oprah Winfrey -

"Thanksgiving Day is a good day
to recommit our energies
 to giving thanks and just giving." 
- Amy Grant -

"There is one day that is ours. 
Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American." 
- O. Henry -

"I've spent a lot of Thanksgivings
on the road with my band, 
so anytime that I can spend Thanksgiving
with my family in a traditional aspect, 
eating sweet potatoes and cranberries
and stuffing and all the trappings of
Thanksgiving and then get on a treadmill
the next day extra long, I'm happy." 
- Richie Sambora -

"On Thanksgiving I will stop to give thanks
that my family is safe and healthy, 
especially because I realize that,
following the tragedies of this year, 
it is all too real a possibility
that they might not have been."
- Bobby Jindal -

"Thanksgiving is a season
that is very much in accord
 with the themes and teachings
of Jesus Christ." 
- John Clayton -

"Over the Thanksgiving holiday I took time to reflect on what is most important to me and realized I need to find a way to put the fun back into racing." 
- Kurt Busch -

Being over 50 can sometimes cloud our thoughts with negativity, especially when we get up in the morning with an aching back, hurting knees, or must live our lives in a wheelchair and many other ailments that tend to strike us as we get older. When we take that handful of medications in the morning or before bed just to survive another day, it can bring out the attitude of 'why bother'. But if we concentrate on our blessings and all the things we can do, as well as, concentrating on feeling good, we can add productive time to our lives and enjoy each day as it comes. We can focus on the good things and getting better.

Staying active, eating right, and being social can do wonders to keep our spirits and bodies younger. However, without the right attitude, the positive attitude, none of that will matter. Even if you have a serious illness that prevents you from doing some of the things you wanted to do, concentrate on the things you can do. Focus on what you can do to get better or make yourself as strong as you can.

Illness will still strike us, accidents will still happen, and death is promised. Those things have no power except what we give them. So, be thankful for all the blessings in your life, big and small, and keep your thoughts on the positive.

Take Thanksgiving into every day
when you wake up. 
Be thankful for your life
and all that is in it.

Do you feel blessed? Can you name 10 things in your life that are blessings? Five? One? Do you wake up each morning thankful for another day? Share any thoughts you may have on being thankful and growing older.
​
XOXO

"O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."
Psalm 136:1  King James Version (KJV)

Yes, it's Thanksgiving already! This year is moving by fast, it'll be Christmas in no time and then 2017.

At my house, turkey is the guest of honor at our dinner table. We add other dishes such a stuffing, cranberry sauce, pea salad, sweet potatoes, and greenbeans.  This year my lovely daughter is preparing our Thanksgiving dinner at her home.  For the first time in many, many years I won't be cooking.

Here are a few interesting facts about Thanksgiving. Hope you enjoy:

    1.  Close to 46 million turkeys are eaten for this holiday.
    2.  Nearly 88% of Americans eat turkey for Thanksgiving.
    3.  The Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade began in 1924.
    4,  In 1621, Thanksgiving was only a religous holiday.
    5.  in 1777 all 13 American colonies celebrated a day of Thanksgiving.
    6.  In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November as a 
          federal holiday, Thanksgiving,
a day of giving thanks.
    7.  The first Thanksgiving (1621) lasted 3 days. It was held by the founders of the
plymouth colonies,
attended by 53 colonists
and 90 Wampam.    
​8.  Sample menus:
          In 1621 - swan, goose, duck, venison, shellfish, pumpkin, lobster, and root vegetabes.
          Today - turkey, stuffing, corn, yams, pies, ham, cranberry sauce, and potatoes.

Thanksgiving is just one day now set aside to give thanks for our blessings. However, we should be thankful every day for our blessings and look to them for encouragement.

As women (and men) over 50, we have lots to be thankful for. The very fact that we are still alive and able to celebrate another Thanksgiving is a grand one when you consider how many people are no longer living and will not be celebrating this holiday with their families
.
Live for today - enjoy today while you still have it. Tomorrow is not here yet and may never be - but we have today.

"As we express our gratitude,
we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Do you serve any unusual foods for Thanksgiving? Do you cook or does someone else in your family cook? What is one of your favorite memories about Thanksgiving? Do you have any good recipes to share? What one thing are you thankful for this year?

XOXO

Several years ago when I was still working in marketing, we had a book club. In this book club we discussed business books. Lots and lots of business books. One of those books was "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", by Stephen Covey.  One idea from that book, I applied to my personal life and it has proven to be helpful - the personal mission statement.

I wrote this in 2010 and each year I read it, update it and reconfirm my committment to it. It has helped me stay on course for several years in my personal life. I got away from it for a short time and I suffered for it. So I am back on it and find that creating this mission statement for my life has been one of the best tools I have ever used.

Here is my Personal Mission Statement:
As a woman with many roles and responsibilities such as wife, mother, daughter, teacher, care provider, employee, and so much more, my mission in life is to be the best that I can in all areas. While doing my best, I will remain strong and faithful to my Father in Heaven. By remaining faithful I will show myself honest, loyal, and "a worker that needeth not to be ashamed." I will work to make the lives of those I meet better in some way and thereby show God's love. The goal in my life is to live a life that is an example of a life committed to God's laws and principles, and to reap the reward of my labor when my life on earth has ended.

Stephen Covey's book is a very good book. I learned a lot about business and almost all of it could be applied to my personal life. The single most effective thing I got from his book was the power of the mission statement, both in business and personal life.

My suggestion would be to create a personal mission statement. Make it yours and post it where you can see it every day. Every year on your birthday, reconfirm your commitment to it and keep it fresh. I keep mine on my wall in my office.

"Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition
 - such as lifting weights -
 we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity."
- Stephen Covey -

 Have you ever considered a personal mission statement? Have you read Stephen Covey's book? What are your thoughts on personal mission statements? Share your thoughts. If you have a subject for a blog you would like me to write on, please let me know.
XOXO

On the first day of this blog, I set three goals for the year. I used the SMART goal setting example to accomplish these goals. This is an update on the progress of my first year goals, but also a review of the SMART process.

The three goals I set for the first year of my blog were:
    1. Go to Vegas with my hubby (I have been several times with my sister, but not with my hubby)
    2. Travel the East Coast from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to Upper Maine (the only part of the United States I haven't seen, yet)
    3. WRITE A BOOK!
So, over the past twelve months I have accomplished two out of the three goals. The third one almost happened, but it was dependent on another person, and that person had different goals for the year. 

The two that I did accomplish are:
    2. Travel the East Coast from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to Upper Maine (the only part of the United States I haven't seen, yet)
    3. WRITE A BOOK!

Yes! I did travel the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine. It was a beautiful trip and I loved every place we visited. 

During this trip, we visited the following states:
    North Carolina
    Virginia
    West Virginia
    Massachusetts
    New Jersey
    New Hampshire
    Connecticut
    New York
    Maine
    Delaware
    Rhode Island
    Pennsylvania

Each state has it's own beauty. The United States has so much diversity. 

The second goal I accomplished, was I finished my first book. It is written. It needs to be proofed and edited, but it is done. The book is fiction and I love it. This creates my next goal for the next 12 months: get this first one published and on the market and write the second book in this three part series.

The one goal that I did not accomplish was go to Vegas with my hubby. We had plans to go in April, but unforeseen changes didn't allow for that. Hopefully, next year it will become a reality.

The SMART process works. Sometimes it requires a little tweaking, but it is one of the best places to start when setting a goal. It provides specific steps to accomplish what you want to accomplish. It is important to lay out steps to accomplish a goal so that you know where to start and can see your progress. When you can see that your making progress, it is easier to see a goal to completion.
For example, when writing the book, I created specific steps to accomplish. By doing this I could not only see progress which kept me motivated, but I also could concentrate on what I was writing and not the process. The process was already laid out, all I had to do was follow the plan. 

If you have a big goal, the SMART process is the best way I have found to make the goal a reality. Yes, I did make changes to the plan as I worked through it, but that's the beauty of the SMART plan  - it's flexible.

Did you make goals for yourself this past year? Did you use the SMART process to accomplish those goals? Do you have any thoughts or ideas to help others with their goal setting and accomplishment?
 
XOXO