Oh happy day, it's Christmas in two weeks! Two weeks! I can't even believe it...As I look ahead I found myself wondering if anyone has traditions they enjoy during the next couple weeks leading up to Christmas. In my home, we don't have any unless you count going to the movies on Christmas Day afternoon. 

I typically avoid patronizing places who have employees work on holidays but a few years ago, after my Mom passed away we decided we needed a new tradition to fill the emptiness of the day. It was fun and the employees thanked us for coming in because they said their day goes by faster when people are coming in. It's a win-win, right.

​With the exception of the movies, we don't have any traditions unless you count avoiding crowds and the hustle and bustle to enjoy time together at home. Time is the greatest gift one can give to another, time is one of my love languages for sure. What are some of your traditions and favorite things to do during the Christmas season? Do they involve hustle and bustle or the quietness of home and family? Regardless of what it involves, will you share with me?

The first thing I'm thankful for today is finding time to write, blog, and create for all of you. This is so exciting! 

I extend apologies and thanks to you all this beautiful Saturday...

Apologies for the sporadic blog posts over the past weeks and months. My mother would be so disappointed with me over this. She looked forward to reading my blog each day, then following it through the day to read other's comments. She inspired and motivated me to maintain my blog with consistency. I think this is the reason I struggle to be consistent today, I know my biggest supporter and cheerleader isn't anxiously awaiting the post. I apologize for letting you all down. 

With this said, I want to thank you for continuing to visit the blog looking for a new one and reaching out to send encouraging words the past few years since my Mom's passing. Friends told me the hardest loss we experience is that of a parent, they weren't kidding. The good news, with God and my faith, one day at a time, I'm moving forward and adjusting and creating a new normal.

In reflection I think part of the struggle was that I lost my mother and daughter within a year. My mother joined family and friends in heaven free of pain and cancer. My daughter started a new journey as a high school graduate and full-time college student. I went from being busy caring for two wonderful ladies to a lot of quiet time.

You'd think with the extra time for myself that it would have sparked more writing and creating but instead I found myself lost, lost in the extra time. Time is a precious commodity and I tend to run full throttle the majority  of the time so when thrust into a lot of quiet and down time, it's been a difficult transition, one I hadn't anticipated to be so difficult BUT on sitting here today writing this blog, I'm happy to report, a new norm and new groove is happening.

I don't have this new routine mastered or fully organized BUT I'm moving forward and figuring it out. I'm a slow study I guess, taking me more than three years to start figuring this out. Thank you again for your patience and encouragement. Let's get this creative party moving forward so you will be encouraged and inspired for years to come. You are blessings I count, thank you!!!

As I sat at the table earlier this week I was overwhelmed by the piles, boxes, stacks, and chaos surrounding me. While my husband was on vacation I erected the six foot folding table in the middle of the living room with intentions of working on my next children's book. Instead of it being of "work zone", it's become a "drop zone". Ugh! I don't even know where to begin.

Have you ever felt this way during Advent and the Christmas season? I don't think I'm alone and the more I think about this, it saddens me. Christmas isn't supposed to be about chaos and feelings of overwhelmment. We should be filled with joyful preparation and anticipation. It's Christmas! A time of year symbolizing Jesus' birth and reminder He will come again.

At Bible study earlier this week a woman shared how she struggles this time of year because of the commercialism. During our fellowship I shared how I avoid some of this and thought it might be worth sharing with all of you. My goal each year is to complete my shopping by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. It might not be wrapped or delivered, but the shopping portion is done.

​From Thanksgiving to Christmas I spend my time at home sewing, writing, wrapping, and watching mushy Christmas shows and movies. I find avoiding the malls and stores after Thanksgiving helps to keep my Christmas jollies and focus. Instead of pushing through the crowds and the temptation to overspend, I sip tea or coffee while listening to Christmas music or watching Christmas shows and creating gifts for those the closest and dearest to me. 

This is one way I find keeps the joyful preparation and anticipation alive and well in our home during the Christmas season.

As part of today's podcast I asked my listeners to share their favorite Christmas show or movie.

I tried to share mine and my one turned into a list, too many good ones:
Kid Shows
Charlie Brown's Christmas
Twas the Night Before Christmas
The Year without Santa Claus
Rudolph
Movies: Drama
White Christmas
The Christmas Card
Christmas Shoes
Movies: Comedy
Christmas Vacation 
Elf
Christmas with the Cranks

See what I mean, I can't pick just one and even as I started to make a list, I had to stop myself from adding more. This sparked my curiosity, do you have ONE favorite Christmas show or movie? If you do, take a minute and share it below in a comment. Have a great day!

Some of my favorite quotes are from Ralph Waldo Emerson. I stumbled upon this on the other day and it resonated with me. I spent so many years after my sister, Heidi Allen's, kidnapping angry. My anger primarily was of course that my sister was kidnapped and had to suffer the unimaginable but it was also at God.

I blamed God for her kidnapping and letting it happen. I could continue and list all the things that angered me but rather than focus on the past and all the minutes lost I'd like to focus on the latter. 

I think this is why Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote spoke to me. To think I spent more than a decade angry, it overwhelms me to think of the seconds of happiness I let escape me and those around me. I was curious so I looked up how many seconds I lost. One decade, ten years that is, has 315,532,800 seconds.

This is a lot of lost happiness BUT on the flip side, since restoring my faith, I've experienced 473,040,000 seconds of happiness. this doesn't mean I haven't had angry moments in life, instead, it means I've chose to make the most of life and not let anger get the best of me. If Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote isn't enough to inspire you then maybe the words of Solomon will encourage you.

I don't know about you but when the options are anger or happiness, striving for happiness and letting go of anger is going to be my choice. Earlier in the week I challenged you to live rather than exist, today I'll take you a step further. Choose happiness and joy over anger and negativity.

IAs the weather in Upstate New York transitions from days of sunshine and warmth to darker and colder days we have a choice. We can choose to hibernate and exist until Spring or we can dust off the winter boots and live. Life is full of choices and one of the most important, and sometime difficult choices, is the decision to put your feet on the floor in the morning. I choose to get out of bed!

What will you choose?

This morning I got up by 3:30 a.m. because the dogs wanted to go out. It was cold and rainy. The breeze awoken me to the degree of "not-going-back-to-sleep" and wanting a hot cup of coffee. Rather than tucking myself back into bed and laying awake until the alarm went up I chose to start the coffee and the day.

What is a girl to do so early in the day? I don't know about you but a hot shower and Hallmark movies was a great start. I recorded and published today's podcast by 4 a.m. and spent some quiet time resting and preparing for the day. It's not even 6 a.m. and I feel rested, recharged, and ready for the week.

Yesterday I started the day with a long list on the family white board and was on schedule to accomplish everything until I received a text, "I have a free afternoon and know you have the day off, want to spend some time together?" and a big smile instantly appeared on my face as I reply, "Of course". The list will ALWAYS be there and have items to cross off BUT time with those near and dear to me won't. We have a choice to make, we can choose to exist and go through the motions OR to live and savor each moment. 

I'm thankful for the afternoon and evening I had yesterday. It was a gift and inspired me more than crossing things off my list. The list is still there and guess what, the world didn't stop. I chose to live, not exist.

Living brings one joy and companionship. Life isn't lived alone but with others and offers each of us the opportunity to soar and excel in whatever we do. The time spent with family yesterday is invaluable and uplifting. The turkey dinner, delicious. The cookies tasted like the best cookies baked to date in my kitchen.

The memories and time spent with those closest to me yesterday will carry me through the week and weeks to come. To cross things off the list would have been accomplishment forgotten before today's sunrise. I chose to live, not exist. Will you?

Happy Wednesday Everyone! The weekly Tuesday post is a day late BUT it's posted. I didn't even turn my computer on yesterday and it felt good. I enjoyed some quiet time before school then time with family and friends after school. Life is good...

It might be Halloween BUT it's also a great time to get some of those Christmas gifts ahead of time so you can enjoy the Christmas season and avoid the chaos. What better gift can you give then a book or two? If you want to share hope, organization, and a smile with your friends and family, you can find me in a couple locations in November, and one in December, for signed copies of my books.

How often do you hear TGIF? In case you aren't familiar with it, TGIF stands for Thank Goodness It's Friday. I'm sure I've said it before after a tough week but as I thought about this concept earlier in the week, I realized something. I'm wishing five days away for two. These are not good odds, right? Why miss opportunities and blessings of five days because one is so focused on the two day weekend. 

Sometimes it's in the mundane and most exhausting days that God might reveal an A-Ha or wrap His loving arms around us. The next time I'm tempted to say, "I can't wait for Friday" or "TGIF", I want to change my attitude and outlook. Instead I'll say, "Thank you for being with me God" or "Lord, I need your strength, courage, or endurance for this week, please be with me." and when the weekend arrives, let us say, "Thank you for another weekend to recharge."

What do you think? What if we all had this mindset shift? Imagine!

A couple months ago I started to receive emails and communications about an "upcoming" changes and merging of my current (or should I say, previous, lol) publisher. If you can't tell by my tone, I wasn't too diligent in researching and preparing for this transition.

I logged into my previous publisher's account to check on a couple things and start formatting a new book to realize I needed to "merge/transfer" my current books to the new publisher. I'm pleased to say this was not only quick, it was easy. The publishers spent a lot of time planning and prepping for a smooth transition. It surprised me at the ease then I tried to find my books, ugh.

After watching a few videos on the publishers website, I was on my way to figuring out this new navigational portal and venue. It is clean and I think once I adjust to the differences, publishing will ebb and flow a bit smoother. I won't say smooth because anyone who has published a book understands it is a complicated, busy, hectic, and wonderful process all at the same time. 

The good news, as I move forward with this next book and prepare the behind-the-scenes parts of the publishing world, it's exciting to know my next book will be a new adventure in the publication world.

Stay tuned because the inspiration is flowing...yippee...let the writing and writing and writing begin. The editing and revision will come soon enough but for now...I write!

Happy Saturday to one and all!

It has been a fabulous week of blessings and things to be thankful for. Some might seem small and insignificant yet I've found in life that often the small things are really the things that can make the most difference in our life and outlook.


A few of the things I'm thankful for:

• Electricity to run the space heaters while we wait to move up on the waiting list to have our new heating system installed
• Amazing friends and family who are always there
• The love of a fur baby when we need it
• A loving husband who tries to help and ease my load
• A daughter who still calls home everyday and lets me know when she is in for the night
• A dad who is always there and reminds me how much he loves me
• Green grass and cool breezes as the season transitions
• SUNY Oswego Hockey STARTS TONIGHT!!!
• For a teachers' union that looks for ways to give back to the kiddos and the staff throughout the year and plans fun fellowship activities
• Color Street Nails to highlight my hockey spirit
• A new opportunity and love for makeup with Avon
• Owning a lot of blankets to stay warm
• A working washing machine and dryer so we can do laundry at home
• For finding new shoes that (hopefully) won't pinch my toes at school
• For the ability to laugh when the hanging light arrives in the mail after waiting two weeks, only to find I ordered the wrong one
• For all of you
• For those listening to Livin' With Lisa: Keeping It Real each day
• For the Bible who helps me to know who God says I am

Earlier this week, Monday afternoon to be exact, I captured this photo of the leaves blowing off the tree. It was beautiful! The wind was wild and strong, the dying leaves had no choice but to succumb to the wind's forceful gesture. The light rain transitioned to harder pellets yet I stood there, in awe of the beautiful change. A bountiful tree of green transformed into a naked resemblance of winter's nap.

I was unaware of the chill my bones felt until I entered the house. The girl I tutor said, "Mrs. Buske you are very wet. What happened?" I  told her it's raining so of course I got wet. I didn't want to tell her I stood in her driveway watching the leaves blow off the tree, enjoying the beautiful transformation of her tree. It's these little things we often miss, I'm thankful for the opportunity to catch a glimpse and have the time to stop and take it all in.

All to often we rush from here to there and miss the glorious things happening around us. I encourage you to slow down and watch the leaves fall, the clouds move, or listen to the birds sing. You'll be calmer, happier, and a lot more relaxed. Enjoy!

If you are familiar with my blog then Elaine isn't a stranger to you. She's been a guest blogger in the past, reviewed my book on her blog, and can be seen leaving comments now and again. I'm blessed to know Elaine as an author and even more by her friendship, mentoring, and faith.

Elaine's recent cancer diagnosis could have knocked her off her feet but instead of puddling and signing a woe is me song, she stepped up, strapped on the armor of God with joy in her heart because she knew it would be a journey and one God was leading the way through. Her new book, "A Hopeful Response to a Hard Reality: Praise the Lord and Pass the Chemo" is available now!!

The first thing I'm thankful for this weekend is that I slept until 2:04 p.m. on Saturday morning! Yup, you read that correctly, 2:04.

Let's look at other things that stood out to me this past week:

• ​Participating in the mission & vision work for our school district
• A fun and memorable field trip with the kiddos at school
• A clean house
• Time with hubby
• Time writing and helping a friend develop her one-page
• Time writing and organizing a booklet for a project at church
• Crossing items off the to-do-list in leaps and bounds
• For the ability to ignore the list and relax
• Running water
• Food in the cupboard
• Our loan was approved so we'll have heat within a few weeks - hopefully before it gets too cold or snowing 
• Time with good friends
• A career I love and enjoy
• For Internet
• Sunshine amidst the rain and clouds
• Anticipation of things yet to come
• For the breath in my lungs
• For the hope I have of life in Heaven with my Mom and sister
• For all of you...you encourage me!

In an attempt to achieve the goal set during the summer, I dedicated a few hours of my long Columbus-Day-Weekend writing blogs and scheduling them to post for this week and next. If you listen to my podcast, Livin' with Lisa: Keeping it Real, then you know I set goals for this school year.

In an attempt to maintain podcasts during the week, my blog, working on the next book, leading Bible Study, volunteering, working, and the joy of being a wife, mother & daughter...goal setting and scheduling was. and is, a MUST.

More than three weeks into the school year and I realize my balancing act isn't going so well. My good intentions of goal setting and scheduling aren't working as well as they did in mind or on paper in August. This is life though, isn't it. Sometimes the best plans need adjusting and modifications.

After a moment I realized it's possible to keep these goals if I manage my evening and weekend times better. Instead of sleeping until ten I need to get up earlier to complete the daily tasks and allow time to blog ahead of time for the week. Since you are reading this blog, it was a success.

Have you ever set a goal and adjusted to achieve it? This is life, whether you are a task master or running in the hamster wheel...sometimes we need to slow down and take another look at the plans and adjust. Adjustment is a life necessity. 

Happy Tuesday Everyone! How are you doing? It’s great to here from you. Some of you post in the Facebook comment attached to this blog, others send a private message, and then there are those who send an email or comment on the actual blog. Regardless of how you reach out and respond, there is a new avenue coming for those wishing to “CALL IN”.

You can call me at (315) 288-6962 to leave a message that may be shared on a future podcast.

* NOTE: This new option isn’t necessarily for those who only follow the blog but if you want to call into my podcast and leave a message, you now have an option. If you are a blog follower and want to leave a message for me to share on my podcast, you can call too and your message will encourage and reach even more people now. *

If you call in and don’t wish to have your message aired on the podcast or shared with those reading the blog, simply say, “Private Message – Not for Sharing” in your message when you call so I know. Messages will be screened, and administration reserve the right to play, or not play any messages left using this number.

The hope for this number is to allow podcast listeners (and you if this sounds interesting) an opportunity to leave positive and uplifting messages for the other listeners of the Livin’ with Lisa: Keeping It Real podcast. Click here for a direct link to the podcast via Anchor.

Thank you in advance for taking time to call in to the podcast, as long as you don’t say “Private Message – Not for Sharing”, by leaving a message, you are granting me permission to share this message publicly. 

A few items I'm thankful for this week:

• Good time with family and friends
• A weekend with our daughter
• Celebrating 80 years of life with our aunt
• Time & Memory-Making with family from Fl and NJ
• Food in the cupboards
• The heater repair/replacement man came two weeks earlier than expected
• A husband who loves and stands up for me, claiming me as HIS wife
• ​Fabulous and fun co-workers
• A career I love and enjoy
• Quiet in the morning
• Audibles so I can can get some reading (listening) in during the week
• Owning an umbrella and raincoat since it's duck weather
• To have a great relationship with my Dad
• Beating levels on Candy Crush
• Inspiration to write
• Ideas for a new book
• The ability to type with my fingers
• For each of you and my listeners, you encourage me
• Fur baby lovins - they are members of the family

A few years ago, after reading, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, by Ann Voscamp, I, and many others, started journaling the things we were thankful for. Bloggers dedicated a day each week to share their lists. I was one. Like me, some have stopped sharing their lists and possibly writing them in private too.

Others, like Terri Groh, author and blogger, continues her list of things to be thankful. As I look at this past week and reflect on where we were five years ago and praying for where we might be five years into the future I realized I've lost touch with being thankful each day then sharing this list with others.

I think I'm still a positive person and focus on the positive yet there is always room for growth. I started to type, "I'm not sure why or how" this realization came to me" THEN I chuckled to myself when I realized I know exactly why and who is responsible...the Holy Spirit came me a nudge, tap on the shoulder, a kiss from the king, or a Godstop...or whatever you call these moments of God working in your life. 

This is the first thing I'll chose to be thankful for. I used to share my list on Wednesdays as a participant of Ann VosCamps challenge but with my new Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday blog schedule...I'll dedicate Saturdays as my day of thanks. It will be a way to reflect on the previous week and move forward with more joy. 

My goal is to make a written list through the week, hence, start a gratitude journal again, then share the highlights on Saturdays. 

Without Further Ado...let me share my list of thanks and praise:

1. Thankful for my faith and a God who loves me even when I act like a toddler
2. For my husband who remains calm in the midst of financial stress when I struggle not to puddle
3. For wonderful friends who listen and lift me up
4. For the ladies at Bible Study and their excitement and energy to delve into their Bibles and learn what God has for them
5. For my podcast, a new way to reach more people and share hope, inspiration, and encouragement. 
6. For my husband who has electrical training and might be able to fix our heater using parts from my parents old Monitor that doesn't work any longer (prayers it works are appreciated)
7. For my Dad who remembered he had their old Monitor in the garage and suggested we check it for similar parts
8. To God for having the same exact model Monitor in the garage for my husband to work off to possibly fix our heater
9. For family visiting from out of state
10. For a family birthday party celebrating an aunt's 80th birthday that brings family from across the United States
11. To have our daughter home for the weekend, first time since she she had a few days off over the summer (which we spent traveling), enjoying our time with her
12. For the necessities that so many don't have: a roof over our head, food in the cupboards, multiple cars with gasoline for transportation, running water, and electricity
13. For Wifi...
14. For the desire and inspiration to write again
15. For all of you because you continue to encourage and support me as I venture forward

This might be a short list for a week but these are the ones that stand out this morning. Have a great day and remember to be thankful, each day is a blessing and tomorrow is not a guarantee. 

It is time to celebrate on the podcast, tomorrow, September 19, 2018, I will air my 100th podcast episode!

To make this exciting podcast even more fun, I'll be recording the podcast while doing a LIVE FACEBOOK event too!

You'll be able to message on the live feed, you can call in to the podcast via anchor, and comment via the website. 

I hope to "meet" you tomorrow on Facebook, on my "Livin' with Lisa: Keeping It Real" Facebook page as I record my 100th episode. If you haven't liked my podcast FB page, be sure to do it today so you are notified when I go live.