This Is My Blahhhhg...

I'm feeling a tad "blahhhh" today.  I'm probably too blah to blog, as a matter of fact, and I should just skip it altogether.

I don't know why I feel like this.  Perhaps it's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the wake of the recent presidential election.  Or the continuing stream of uncharitable political-themed posts on my Facebook newsfeed.

Perhaps it's that I woke up to the first snowstorm of the season--but it's not that pristine, sparkly-white blanket of happiness that fills you with the spirit of Christmas.  It's that wet, dreary kind of snow that makes you remember how cold, gray, and endless winters can seem up in our neck of the woods.

Now that I've brought you down into the dark abyss with me (sorry about that), I'm going to attempt to lift myself up out of the doldrums by thinking about my favorite things.  You know, "When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad," and all that jazz. So here, in pictures, are some of my favorite things (and people).

Any list of "favorite things" has to include chocolate--no ifs, ands, or buts.  Here we have peanut butter M&M's on the bottom tier and Rolos on the top. Neither is my favorite chocolate treat (that would have to be solid milk chocolate all the way, baby); but they will certainly suffice in an emergency.  Nothing says "Things can't be all that bad" like a mouthful of chocolate.  Am I right?  This red ceramic candy dish is also one of my favorite things.  And the antique sideboard on which it rests is one of my favorite pieces of furniture in one of my favorite rooms in the house.

I bought this wonderful old sideboard at a second-hand/antiques shop in our little New England town, for a fraction of what a new sideboard would have cost me at a furniture store.  Someone had already given it that distressed red finish, and the moment I laid eyes on it I knew that it was absolutely made for my dining room.

And speaking of favorite things, there's an oval-framed picture of Our Lady above my beloved sideboard--a picture which I picked off a pile of yard sale leftovers at the end of someone's driveway a year or so ago.  There was a sign atop the heap that said "Free," and I snapped that picture right up.  Love it.  It's one of my very favorite things.  And then there's the photo of my oldest son and his bride above the sideboard, too; now there's another favorite thing: family photos. My house is plastered with them, and when I look at them I feel happy.  Hey, this is working: I'm starting to feel less blah now.  So speaking of family pictures, how about this one?

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!  Happiness is filling my heart and soul at this very minute! This picture means so much to me, because this wonderful family of ours is hands down the greatest accomplishment of my life.  God has certainly been good to us thus far! And I look forward to adding new members so that it grows and grows and grows--and it gets so big that we can hardly fit together in a picture anymore.

But no list of favorite things would be complete without mentioning my beautiful marriage (of nearly 32 years, and counting), to my best friend and the love of my life.

The transition is complete: I've gone from blah to huzzah!  How can I ever feel low when my life is filled with so many blessings?  As long as I have my husband and my family, and as long as we all stay firm in our faith in God, from whom all blessings come, everything is going to be okay!

God bless us all...and God bless America!