Another Thursday is here. A special one for us here in the US as it is Thanksgiving Day. I'm thankful for a lot this year, so that is what my thirteen will be about this Thursday. These are in no particular order.
1. I am thankful for my health. Even with my migraines, back and neck problems and various other ailments I know I have better than most, and I am grateful for that.
2. I am grateful for my dad. He's a big part of my life. We may fight and disagree sometimes, but I still love him.
3. I am thankful for my brother Joe who lives here with us. He is a big pain half the time, but he has his moments of good. I'm also thankful for the family I have that is far away.
4. I am thankful for little sunshine, my cat Mikey, who loves me and I know it. He's a terror, but he is the sweetest thing alive.
5. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to have my cat JJ in my life. Watching him leave me and this world was one of the hardest things in my life. I know he is in a better place.
6. I am thankful for my friends, both online and offline. They make me smile on a constant basis, and there are some I do not know what I would do without.
7. I am thankful for the friends I have made through my writing, the Divas especially. I know I disappeared for a long time, but I am glad to be back among you all, even if I lurk a great deal. You've always been supportive of my writing efforts, and that means a lot.
8. I am thankful to have a roof over my head, food on the table and a place to call home.
9. I am thankful that I had a mother that raised me the best way she knew how. She was always in my corner, and even though she is no longer with me in body, she is still with me in spirit.
10. I am thankful I am getting to see my favorite band in concert in April with a really kicking seat. Yes, I am counting down the days to Bon Jovi!
11. I am thankful to be able to share the gift of the written word with others, and I hope to continue to do in the time to come.
12. I am thankful for music, as it the one thing that sometimes helps me through the bad times. A song can lift me like not much else can, other than my friends.
13. Lastly, I am thankful to everyone that stops by here on a daily basis, leaving comments and sometimes emails. You keep me going here, and for that I thank you.
Have a great Thanksgiving those that celebrate.
Thursday Thirteen #3
Posted by Regina Avalos at 12:06 PM 11 comments
Labels: life, thursday thirteen
Grooving Tune 11/17
Anyone that reads this blog knows I'm a huge fan of Bon Jovi. The group will be coming to the city I live in for a show in April, and I was able to get a ticket four rows from the stage this morning. I am so very excited for this. I haven't been to see them for a few years, and the last tour they skipped here. Here is a song from their most recent CD, Lost Highway. 'Til we ain't strangers anymore' is today's grooving tune.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 12:22 PM 0 comments
Labels: grooving tunes, life, music
There Is No Place Like Home
I've always lived in apartments. I've wanted to have a home of my own someday, but I've never managed to get into one. I'm happy where I live. I'm the type of person that doesn't like to move from place to place. Growing up, my family lived in the same apartment until I was eighteen years old, and then I moved from dorm to dorm for a couple of years before we settled in this apartment. On December 2nd, we'll have been here twelve years. The new owners are planning to remodel all the apartments in the building, and ours will be done sometime early next year. New carpets, new window coverings, new floors in the bathroom and kitchen and just new everything. It will be a hassle moving furniture around and stuff, but it will still be our apartment just so much better once its done. I've stayed in hotels for trips, and I don't mind them at all, but it still isn't home. I never feel totally comfortable in them.
I know it sounds silly, but the saying 'there is no place like home' really does apply to me. I know there are even people out there that actually live in hotels, and that is just something I could never quite understand. My dad has been talking about going away for the holidays, and I think I'd love that. If we ever could think of affording it, I'd love something like these Luxury Holiday Apartments. It might cost a bit more, but it might a bit more home like. Maybe anyway. First, we need to be able to afford a holiday trip. Then we can worry about where we are going to stay.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 1:57 PM 0 comments
Labels: life
Getting in shape
I'm trying to anyway. I've started walking. I walk a mile three times a week. It might even be a bit more than a mile. I walk up to the corner shopping center, look around a bit at things, and then I head back. I try to do this every other day. I walked up to get my hair cut on Tuesday, and I would have gone out for my walk yesterday, but it was raining outside. Today I headed down again because I needed to mail off something. Came back and found another one of my packages here. I have three more that I've ordered and two review items that I'm waiting for as well. I'm trying to cut back on my eBay shopping though because it can be really addicting. Also have a book coming in from Amazon.
Things are just going really well right now. A welcome change from a couple of months ago. It's like a complete 180, and I'm not sure how it happened. I'm glad it did though. I might have my new kitten in time for Thanksgiving. We'll see. If not then, I'll have him the week after that. I'm working at getting things in order in my life, one thing at a time. I've been making changes continually to my blog here. Mostly on the sidebar. I think I might be done with things now. Google seems not like my blog very much at the moment, and I'm not sure why. That is what prompted me to make a few more changes.
In other news, I just saw the trailer for Eric Bana's next movie a few minutes ago on you tube, and I so cannot wait for this movie. Apparently from the comments left there and elsewhere, the book is nothing like the movie. I have the book, so I might check that out once I finish reading my current read. The Other Boleyn Girl comes out in theaters on February 29th, and I really am excited to see it. That and The Time Traveler's Wife as well. Check out the trailer for The Other Boleyn Girl below.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 12:27 PM 0 comments
Not sure how I manage to do it!
Every morning when I wake up, my mattress is half off the bed. I must really move around at night for the bed to do that. My bed is old. When I moved in here, it was used, and that was almost twelve years ago. The bed belonged to my brother. I keep telling myself I need to get a new bed. This one has definitely seen better days, but it still sits in my room and it is the bed I sleep in every night. I don't understand how the mattress shifts the way it does. In the morning if I'm not careful, I can almost fall off the bed when I move to get up. I've done that actually. Not the way to wake up in the morning.
When I see ads on television advertising beds or mattresses, I always watch. There is always these ads for the beds that are supposed to be better for your back. Help you sleep better. I have a bad back, so I always look at these select comfort beds where you can choose the firmness or softness of the mattress you're sleeping on. That just sounds perfect to me. I wonder if beds like that actually are better for you to sleep on. Anyone know? I guess I'll have to find out for myself if I ever do manage to buy one. Someday maybe. I need to get rid of the old and bring in the new.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 5:11 PM 0 comments
Labels: life
Gloomy!
That is what today is. It has been raining on and off all morning. I'm cold and I'm hungry. I was going to head out for my new walking regimen, and about 10 minutes after I decide to do it, it started to rain and thunder. There went that idea. Oh well. There is always tomorrow right?
Posted by Regina Avalos at 1:35 PM 0 comments
Labels: life
Making It Through
Finances are always a problem in my house. Things are tight. My dad works. My brother coaches. I help out where I can. We all chip in somehow. At the end of the month, we're just trying to scrape by, and there have been times in the last couple few months where things have been especially difficult. A few unexpected bills and repairs came up that none of us really could expect. We have one car that kept breaking down, but right now it is the only car we have. Over the summer though, it was breaking down constantly, and it cost money to repair. I think I lost count on how many times my father came to me to borrow money. Money I gladly loaned him. He hasn't been able to pay me back yet, but I'm not worried about it.
On television, I'm always seeing these commercials for these payday loan places, and I always wonder about them. I know if my dad didn't have me when his car broke down, there would have been a definite problem. He might have had to go to a place like that. I found one online called No Fax Payday Loans. Just apply online, and they will give you a loan quote with no credit check required. It sounds harmless enough. Looks easy enough, but you never know. I know a lot of people do it too. If I was in a bind I probably would to, and my father would have to resort to something like this if things had continued. The bad thing about loans when you're already in trouble, the money just keeps adding up. That's the bad part.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 10:04 PM 0 comments
Labels: life
What a difference
Today I went to get my hair cut. I have very long hair. Well, I had very long hair. I told her to cut to my shoulder. Twelve inches of my hair were gone less than thirty minutes later, and it is amazing how different it feels. The weight on my upper body is gone, and I know my hair was the cause of a lot of my headaches and other problems. It feels so strange at the same time though. It wil take some getting used to.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 8:12 PM 0 comments
Labels: life
Someone needs to keep me away.
I've become an eBay addict. I'm learning how to buy there, and I've picked up some great deals on used CD's the last few days. Now I keep going back and looking for more things. The other day, I almost bought an MP3 player from there. I don't like buying electronics on the internet, but it was such a great deal. I didn't manage to snag it though. I did try! Buying used is sometimes good. I usually buy all my books used. I picked up a book just last week. I buy a lot of used DVD's too.
I've been looking at some of my current DVD collection, and I've been wondering if I should sell some of the ones that just sit there not getting watched at all. I can sell them, and then buy the DVD's I really want. I've been thinking about it. Today, I found this site which helps you with eBay research. I never realized what an art eBay could be. This one set helps you decide on when to sell, what to sell and how ... its a lot of information, but it may come in handy someday. Right now, I'm just resisting the urge to go back and find something else to bid on.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 9:49 AM 0 comments
Labels: life
I have no idea how I'm awake.
I've been up since about 6:30 this morning, and I have no real reason to be up this early at all. I am though.I could have gone back to bed, and trust me I did think of it. The gardeners are now outside my window being quite noisy, and I turn on my computer to find this damn ad that keeps popping up. I just did a total scan of my computer for spy ware and viruses two days ago, so this is something new. I'll have to run another scan and get rid of it. I'm running a cleaner first. Then I'll do the scan. The day has begun. Thanks to everyone that congratulated me over on the Diva's forum and elsewhere about my acceptance. This just means I need to write more! Once I get my computer clean again. Good day, everyone.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 7:27 AM 1 comments
Labels: life
Searching
For the past year, my dad has been looking into getting a new car. As I've mentioned before, he doesn't have the best of credit, and he has a repossession in his history. That doesn't help at all, so it had made looking for a car difficult. We might have come into luck though somehow. Not sure how things keep falling into place lately, but they are. A neighbor in the building died last week, and her husband is looking to get rid of her car cause he can't afford the payments. He wants someone to take them over and take the car. My brother and dad are looking into it, and it might work out.
Getting into a new car isn't easy. They are so expensive these days. There are ways of finding cheaper cars though. You can buy used of course, and then there is also wholesale and auctions. You just need to know where to look for and find the best deals. I found one site online offering a Honda Car Quote among others. A site like that puts you in touch with deals and helps you find the best deal possible. I'm really hoping that my father is able to work out some type of deal with our neighbor here in the building though. It's been hell having only one car in the house the past year. Both men work, and its just been a hassle working out schedules with the car. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 3:44 PM 0 comments
Labels: life
The week begins
Another Monday is here. A good many of you have the day off today for the holiday, and I hope you enjoy it. Checking out the news today, I find that on the strike front it looks like we have our first non-writer causalities. The people at The Office have laid off a good many of their behind the scenes staff with both writer's and actors from that series on strike. Also looks like fans of Scrubs will not be getting a series finale. That's how it looks like now anyway. Hopefully this doesn't continue on for too long. This is the end of the first week, and things are already looking dicey.
I have television to catch up on, but I'm almost tempted to save some of these in case the series I watch end up disappearing in the weeks ahead. Of course, less television to watch means more time to do other things, and then there is always DVD's too. I'm becoming an E-bay addict. I'm trying to resist, but I'm learning how to work the auctions, and I've been winning a few of them. Mostly low priced DVD's. I love DVD's. I might go through my collection, and sell a few I don't want anymore. I know there are some I never watch. Maybe I'll do that later.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 10:49 AM 0 comments
Labels: life
But I Don't Want To Go ...
I hate going to the dentist. I always have. Ever since I was a young child, I hated going, and to this day I put off visits to the dentist far longer than I really should. I don't have the best of teeth. I am a grinder, and my back teeth have suffered because of it. I was told that a couple of my back teeth will be all grinded down by the time I hit forty. I was told this when I was a teenager, and I didn't believe it. Now at almost thirty-two, I do believe it. One tooth on my upper right, and one on my upper left are nearly gone. This causes toothaches from time to time, especially in the colder months or depending on what I eat. I've had braces, so there is almost no pain that matches that for me, but it has come close.
I remember one time at a barbecue, I lost a filling in one of my teeth, and now that hurt. It really hurt, and it happened at the worst time. Dinner was on the barbecue, and things were just starting to get going good. I had to leave though. I missed out on all the fun. There always seems to be new things coming out though. You see the mouth aides in the store. I should probably have stock in at least one or two of them. While I was at the store yesterday, I saw something new that might have saved me a few years ago when I lost my filling, Dentemp OS. Today, I curious, so I checked out its website.
Apply this temporary dental repair and within sixty minutes, you're set until you can make it to the dentist to replace that lost filling or crown. You can eat and drink with no problems. That doesn't sound all that bad to me when it comes right down to it. Right now, I'm thinking about this because I know I really need to go the dentist soon, but I've been avoiding it like the plague. Soon. I keep telling myself soon.
Posted by Regina Avalos at 1:16 PM 0 comments
Labels: life
Feeling Good
I may not be feeling the best physically the last couple of days, but I'm feeling mentally good. That's important. I suffer from depression and agoraphobia, and while in the shower today I had this sudden urge to go for a walk. When I have those little urges, I follow through on them because as an agoraphobic person they don't come often. When I go out, I usually work on some kind of reward system. Even something as small as picking up something to eat on the way home.
The first week of NaBloPoMo is over, and I'm glad to say I've posted something everyday. Sometimes more than once a day. It helped me get back into gear with things here.Today I walked the half mile up to the discount store near my house, and I picked up a bunch of things that caught my eye. New shiny pens and pencils. Some other items. Came home, and two of my shipments from Half.com came in. A nice book, and another DVD I picked up. Both in good condition. The book in already broken in a little, and it is all ready for me to read.
I've also rejoined up as a Blogcritic. I used to write with that site back when I started this blog, and I decided to give it another go. I have a few review items coming to me, so keep an eye on this blog for when I post reviews on that site! I need to write something up this week sometime. I have a few new things I've picked up, so I'll pick one of those. Just need to decide on what!
Posted by Regina Avalos at 1:40 PM 0 comments
Labels: life