Monday - late morning

I got up at 7:30 am to let the dog out and went straight back to bed and to sleep. I eventually got out of bed at 10:00 am.  It doesn't happen often when there are no kids around and the only other adult in the house is not making any noise, either. I now have the entire house to myself.  The only thing I've done today is thoroughly clean the kitchen. A special green chili dish was made in the crockpot for last night's Friendsgiving, it was delicious, but then again, so was everything else.  Lots of good food, good company, what more can you ask for in life? 

Well, Jesus of course, He's on the top of any list.  

And so it is, we are in the Christmas season, I have bought nothing for gifts yet but I am thinking about the Lord.  He has been so wonderful to me during my lifetime, even through times where I haven't exactly been so great back to Him.  He loves us through the good and the hard times and helps lift us up when we fall.  We all fall, btw, if you say you never do, I would have some interesting words back for you.  Flesh and blood, we all are tempted by one thing or another.  Sometimes, we give into those temptations and then we have to ask Christ for forgiveness, but the good news is: He does forgive us!

Over a month ago, I quit smoking cigars.  At least for a while.  They aren't particularly good for you and i was smoking too many of them, too frequently.  I find going cold turkey works well for me.  It's also an expensive habit but the reason I quit is my health.  Smoking is not particularly heart friendly and cigars in that department are probably worse for you than cigarettes even if you don't inhale the smoke.  I cut way back on fats and cholesterol laden foods as well, attempting to get a bit better in the healthy living arena. Still a ways to go but I have a really good start on it.  

The folks decided this year we would finally get a real tree! I was the only one in this house that wants a real tree every year, they always get an artificial tree so I just either bought a small real tree for the porch or just shrugged it off.  I don't really try to get my way about things in life excepting in specific situations that demand it.  Trees are not in that category.  So, after the kids get home from school today, we are going up to Lowe's and see if we  can pick out a decent tree for the whole family to enjoy, including the cats which seem to have unusual interest in Christmas trees.