Thursday, January 2, 2014

Attitude of Gratitude

Live with an attitude of gratitude!

I don't want to sound trite, but I am welcoming this new year with an attitude of gratitude. God has so blessed me in 2013! I am excited about life, having fun each day, and accomplishing goals I never realized I could meet.



So what did 2013 present to me?
  •  Early in the year, I experienced great difficulty.  In March, I took a fall that has not been explained yet.  One moment I was walking on a perfectly flat surface, and the next I was down on the ground.  No ice, no cracks in the pavement, and no memory of how I got there. I was so banged up because I did not protect my fall, that they called an ambulance and took me to the hospital.  I had a dislocated wrist, broken ulna, my face was bruised from top to bottom, and to me the worst was the hematoma of my brain.  I was off work for three months to recover and went through every test in the book to figure out why I fell. The outcome is that I received outstanding care, had great support from family and friends, recovered and feel better than ever.  I did a lot of praying and thinking about my life, and what I want to do.  Life is a blessing!
  • As I went back to work I found less satisfaction in my job with the hospital system.  I didn't have my heart in it.  My desire was to work full time developing my Plum Beadacious shop here online.  I knew I did not earn enough from my Etsy shop to live on.  So I seriously set goals and was able to increase my revenue from that source every month.  In addition, I started putting one of my two paychecks from my full time job into savings, to see if we could meet our bills with a lesser income.  Most importantly I prayed to the Lord each day for guidance and blessings on my little business.  The business grew immensely, and by early fall I had doubled my monthly sales.
  • Next I got the wild idea that I could quit my day job and work the Plum Beadacious jewelry business full time.  I was 63 at the time, and knew I could collect Social Security.  My IRA was growing and thriving as well.  The big monster in the picture was health insurance.  So just for grins I called our benefits department to ask what COBRA would cost for the plan I have with the hospital.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I also went through the hoops of checking out the insurance exchange plans offered under the new Obamacare.  The COBRA was the better deal for me. Can you believe it?
  • I turned in my resignation in late October, and my last day of work was December 6.  I actually had time to make Christmas cookies without doing a marathon baking session.  I went to my grand-daughter's preschool Christmas concert during the day.  I attended a performance of the Messiah.  I enjoyed Christmas with my daughter and her family.  Best December ever, and my jewelry sales went through the roof.
  • Here I am in January planning a trip to Taos and Santa Fe NM.  Plus I am working hard to learn more about ecommerce, to create new products, and to enjoy the experiences along the way.

Happy New Year to each of you!

See Other Posts

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...