Thankful Thursday:) Best Friends In The World

Gina Barreca

“It’s not that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but it’s your best friends who are your diamonds.”

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Such a busy, wonderful, creative, fun, entertaining Thursday. Did I leave anything out?

This morning, Lynne invited us over to do some crafting with a Valentine’s Day theme. So, what did we do creative? We painted rocks. Yes, rocks. They turned out so cute.

Here are some of the rocks we painted.

After a lovely lunch, painting rocks and other projects, we were so motivated that we needed to take a road trip to Hobby Lobby… to buy more rocks, of course. Plus, other treasures made their way into our baskets.

By the time I got home, it was after 5:30, just enough time to get in a quick shower and scoot over to Delaney’s for karaoke. More fun with amazing friends. We did a lot of singing, dancing, and partaking of refreshments.

I left the house at 11 am this morning and didn’t land home to put my feet up and end my day till almost 11 pm. Just another jammed packed wonderful Thankful Thursday with the greatest friends ever. See why I’m so thankful!

Wednesday Words of Wisdom~ Sharing is Caring

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”

― Mother Theresa

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One of my greatest joys in life is making someone smile, and knowing that maybe, a little something I did put that smile on their face. It doesn’t matter if it’s my friends or family, or the janitor or the hardworking clerk at the Dollar Tree. Just a simple smile or personal greeting could make someone’s day. You never know.

My talents are a gift from God, and my time and efforts are gifts from me to share with others. Sunday, when I took some brownies over to Fire Station 9, I asked them when Captain Desiree would be back, as she was out a few weeks on a medical leave. They said she would be back Monday, so, I got up early Monday and made a huge container of penne pasta with meat sauce to take over for their lunch or dinner. I do love to cook. Just a kinda welcome back for the captain and crew. See those smiles.

Yesterday, I offered to take Bella to the Vet for Mr. Mike. He’s always busy and traveling, on a plane or on the phone. She was overdue for some shots, etc. Plus, he’s always helping me by fixing things, technology questions, unjamming my garage door, replacing my doorbell, coming over when my car is dead, changing smoke alarm batteries, etc. Bella is very comfortable and feels safe with me, so when we spent over two hours at the Vet, it was a nice way to help out.

This afternoon, I met with my friend Rick, a very talented local photographer. He and Isabelle go to St. Gabriel too, and until now, we have been mostly Facebook friends. Rick offered to give me some ideas about putting together a photo book of my artwork and poetry. He had admired one of my watercolors of the historic prison building on the square, so I offered to give him a print of the original when we met. He insisted on paying me, but I insisted that if I took his money, then it wasn’t a gift. Sharing is caring.

There are so many little things we can do every day to share a smile with the world. It just takes a little thought and a little time.

Ok, I thought this one was funny! 🤦‍♀️

Tuesday:) Toni’s Totally Awesome and Talented Friends

“If talented people across teams, functions, and geographies share the same passion and dedication, the results can be remarkable.”

~Marco Bizzarri

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I have been so blessed to have the most wonderful and talented friends. It’s great to get together with one or two of these amazing ladies, but when I have the opportunity to visit with an entire room full of them, that’s a really cool day.

My very dear friend Lynne, had an open house this afternoon, having invited the “Who’s Who” of McKinney’s finest. Her house was filled with artists, writers, photographers, print makers, potters, chefs, and entrepreneurs. The wonderful food was only surpassed by the noise level of enthusiastic chatter and sharing of stories. It was the perfect opportunity to meet with old friends that I hadn’t seen in a long time and a chance to make some new friends.

What a great group of ladies.

Thank you Lynne!!! It was such a blast. We have the greatest friends and the greatest town, and you are the greatest!

Montage Monday:) A Week in a Peek

“Most people dread Mondays because it means back to work or the tedious tasks for the week. On Monday, I like to reflect on the marvelous week that has passed and look forward to the wonderful week ahead.”

~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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A week in a peek…

Sunday Sermon and Some Other Stuff

“The past is behind: learn from it. The future is ahead: prepare for it. The present is here: live it!”

<Thomas S. Monson

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A cloudy misty morning later gave way to a lovely sunny Sunday. After an early morning doggie walk through the park, it was off to church to greet before Mass. It’s always wonderful to shake hands and share hugs. I ran down the hall to the east doors to meet the lovely ladies on the Chateau Senior Living bus. Oh, the smiles.

Today’s Gospel was about Jesus, after hearing of the arrest of John, He left Nazareth and went to live by the sea, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah…

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

My take on it… We gotta be prepared folks. You never know when your last day is. Live life to the fullest, enjoy, share, love, be kind, be a friend, be the best you can be.

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After Mass, I stopped for coffee with Mr. Jerry, then I went over to Tom Thumb for some groceries. Such a sale! A dozen eggs, 29 cents each, limit two. A pound of butter $1.99 limit two, a package of bacon 99cents limit two. Who needs more than two? Of course, the butter and eggs I’ll give to Miss Pat, the cookie lady. She goes rough that stuff like … butter.

After the store, I stopped at Sprouts to pick up some vegetables and fruit. Then, I invited myself over to Lynne’s house for a short visit. I was just down the street and did a drive by.

Fire Station 9 was my next stop. I had some brownies to drop off. They’re always glad to see me. Smile…

Home to walk the dog and catch the sunset.

A little FaceTime with the cutest granddaughters in the whole wide world.

A few phone calls. Debbie called and we did some catching up. Then, I called Helene to see if she was feeling better. Then, last but not least, a long phone call with my Matt in California. The perfect ending to a great day. I am blessed.

Saturday With My Sisters~ My CRHP Sisters

“A sister is God’s way of proving He doesn’t want us to walk alone.”

~ Unknown

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This afternoon, I spent a few hours with my CRHP 28 sisters. (CRHP stands for Christ Renews His Parish) These are the ladies from St. Gabriel the Archangel Church that I met at our women’s retreat a couple of years ago. It was a beautiful, powerful, and spiritual weekend with total strangers who became sisters. After our two day retreat, we spent the next six months meeting once a week to plan the retreat for the next group of ladies of CRHP 29. Another wonderful enlightening weekend.

Our group was asked to prepare and provide lunch for the CRHP 33 ladies today. Other groups volunteer to come to provide other meals for the weekend. It was so nice to visit with some of these “sisters” that I don’t get to see too often, maybe a hello or a hug before Sunday Mass, or sometimes just when serving these meals.

Even Father Don stopped by for lunch and a visit.

Here’s a couple of photos of my sweet sisters from other gatherings. We are truly blessed.

Like our biological sisters, we may not see each other often, but we are still true sisters in our hearts.

This is a perfect quote.

Friday:) This is Texas~ Go Big or Go Home

“This is America. We’re entitled to our opinions.”

“Wrong. This is Texas. And my opinion is the only one that counts.”

― Susan Elizabeth Phillips

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I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as quick as I could. I’m sure you’ve heard that before, but it’s true. Everything is bigger in Texas, so they say. I like that. It seems pretty appropriate today. When I cook, I cook big, when I bake, I bake big. Then, there’s Black Russian Friday.

Another day of counting my blessings. Mr. Mike came over this morning to finish installing my Ring Doorbell. I have the greatest friends and neighbors. I like the concept that sometimes God sends you angels and sometimes YOU are asked to be an angel for someone else.

While Mr. Mike was busy with the tedious installation, with several frustrating problems with wifi and settings, I received a text from my neighbor Allison. She said that she ended up in the emergency room yesterday with pneumonia and severe flu symptoms, and was feeling horrible. I asked her if there was anything I could do for her or pick up from the store. She was so thankful and gave me a short list of needed items from the store like soup, jello, ginger ale, orange juice, etc. I went to the store and dropped them off at her house.

We are all here to help each other. Good neighbors, good friends.

When I got home, I had a lot of cooking to do. I was a member of St. Gabriel’s women’s CRHP retreat a couple of years ago, and previous members are asked to provide meals for the new retreat members. They meet this weekend. Of course, I signed up for brownies. That’s my specialty.

Then, I felt guilty just making brownies. Too easy. So, I said I’d make pasta salad. Not just a bowl of pasta salad, but two huge bowls of pasta salad, starting with five bags of penne pasta. No recipe, just a lot of chopping, dicing, and love. “Go big or go home.” Very yummy.

To end my Go Big day, it’s Friday, so I decided to Go Big on my Black Russian Friday. A taller, bigger glass just means fewer refills along the way.

Happy Friday, my friends.

Theme Song Thursday:) LEAN ON ME

” There’s nothing we can’t accomplish if we just lean on each other.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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What a wonderful day of sharing, caring, friendship, peaceful prayer, and silly singing. I am so blessed.

When it comes to blessings, I have more than my fair share. I started out my morning running errands, bank, post office, and grocery store. One of my stops was at St. Gabriel for Adoration. A few prayers for those in need, light a candle, but most of all, just to say THANK YOU FOR MY BLESSINGS, my constant prayer.

When I got home, I gathered up several bags of food donations that I had for Holy Family School and a couple of bags for Community Lifeline. When the store has a great sale, I stock up to share with others, and every couple of weeks, I drive over with my donations.

Last week, I took some cereal and granola bars for the adorable preschoolers over at Holy Family School. This week, I took some oranges, gold fish crackers, peanut butter and apple juice.

My visits and donations are always appreciated by Miss Sondra and the staff. My thought is if everyone helps just a little bit, so much would get accomplished.

My next stop was Community Lifeline with some canned goods and pasta for the food pantry.

It seems like the more I give, the more I get back. When I got home, my neighbor and good friend, Mr. Mike, came over to replace my broken Ring Doorbell security system, and to install a security camera in my back yard. Needless to say, Mr. Mike is in security, and he takes very good care of me. I have the best neighbors. We look out for each other. While he worked on the installation, I made a huge pot of mostaccioli for his dinner. More like enough for a few days. I love to cook.

Now, for the rest of my fun evening. Tonight was karaoke at Delaney’s with the regular suspects, more great friends. We tend to lean on each other and share good times and bad. Just like the song says, “Lean on me..” We have the greatest time. How lucky am I!

https://youtu.be/82BmY4VhQUU

Life is good. Thanks Miss Loretta.

Wednesday Words of Wisdom from Facebook

“The majority of my information, news and words of wisdom, I’ve learned from Facebook.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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I don’t watch television much anymore, and I avoid the news like the plague lately. But, I do spend way too much time on Facebook. I love keeping up with old friends, family, and making new friends. I’ve learned a lot, and I like reading words of wisdom that people share to inspire the rest of us. Here’s a few things I’ve read just today.

Tuesday:) Toni’s Tip of the Day

“I found the best way to be productive is to balance a little fun with a little work.”

~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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As you may already know, I am a master of procrastination. I swore that I would start out the new year with trying to get organized and be more productive. Instead, I’ve been running around going to dances, parties, lunches, movies, and having way too much fun.

So, after all my birthday celebrations, which lasted about three weeks, I decided to balance a little fun with a little organizing. This week, I took all the hundreds of teeny tiny plastic containers and dozens of large Tupperware type containers out of the cabinet and get those organized. It was an all day event. I didn’t really toss too many things, but just getting them organized saved a lot of space.

The next day, I was able to have fun and go and have a craft day with the girls. Balance.

Today, I organized the junk drawer with all those pesky rubber bands, pens, scissors, notepads, etc. Then, worked upstairs in my “crap room” for about an hour.

Then, I stopped over at Fire Station 9 and took them some of my homemade three bean/corn salsa and chips. Afterwards, I went and picked up Jerry on our way to Loretta’s place for dinner with the gang. A little work, a little fun.

So, I’m starting to be more productive now. A couple of hours of chores and organizing, balanced with four or five hours of fun with friends. Now, that’s how it should be done. “All work and no play….”