Strings Attached.....

I'm sitting down trying to gather my thoughts while I munch on a totally yummy salad! I've shared my salad "recipe" in one of my earlier blogs but it still continues to be one of my favorites and one of my fairly quick "go-to" meals. A good way to get a good amount of greens in! I've started buying a lettuce mix that has A LOT of spinach in it! It's not my favorite but I figure it's a good way to get my spinach in without having to eat it cooked. Yuck! I'm getting better about eating vegetables and trying new things since I've started trying to eat healthier. I did try my dad's stir fried tofu the other day and surprisingly, it was really yummy! He marinates it before cooking it, the texture is a little odd. Kinda like soft scrambled eggs but since I like eggs I can handle that! The taste is kinda mild, not really a taste at all but it went nice with all the spices and broccoli! For the most part I haven't had that tough of a time sticking with the eating plan. It is kinda hard to give up some of my favorite treats like the other night when we went to the movies, there wasn't ONE thing I could have there except a $5 bottle of water which I passed on and just ate some of the ice out of Beej's cup. Even though I hate the way I feel after eating popcorn and soda at the movie theater it was still hard to smell all that butter and not taste one bite! But I did it and I made myself proud! Chewed a 5 calorie stick of gum instead! Haha! Don't get me wrong, I'm still tempted a lot but I'm finding I have a lot more will power then I used to give myself credit for. I got tired of feeling so guilty after I would give in. I can't tell you how many times I looked at Beej's Oreo's in the cabinet last night or how many times I almost grabbed his ice cream out of the freezer and had a bite. But I know how AWFUL I would feel afterwards and it's just not worth it. Plus I'm seeing such great results with this program so far that I don't want to botch it in any way! I still need encouragement and motivation - luckily, my hubby has been super supportive and helpful while I'm doing this! But enough of that.....

I had several topics in mind to blog about today - I know sometimes I sorta repeat myself with certain blogs and ideas but it's probably because it's something I'm still struggling with or trying to find an answer to. But today, while I was cleaning my disaster of a bathroom, I found a "gift" I was give back at Christmas time. This was a very nice gift and not completely inexpensive either. At the time when I received this gift I tried to look at it in a thoughtful manner! But to be honest I was a little taken back. Not because the gift wasn't nice, it was, for someone else! Lol! This person was a "friend" of mine at the time and knows me pretty well. I've never been one for jewelry. Occasionally I wear a "cheap" necklace or something for a certain outfit but rarely. I hate watches, I have a few super cheap bracelets I wear for the time being. I wear my wedding rings and then I have some hoops I never take out of ears! So jewelry isn't my thing, AT ALL! The only jewelry I still want is a tiny pair of diamond studs to put in my second ear piercing.....but that's another story! So when I opened this gift and found a set of matching earrings and necklace I was a little taken back! It was pretty but nothing I would ever wear! I was surprised that this person went through all the trouble to get me a gift they KNEW I wouldn't like! I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt but I knew that this gift wasn't something I would like, it was something they liked. I have worn the necklace 1 time and will probably never put it on again, the earrings have yet to be worn at all! I look at it and it looks nice sitting in the box but it's not me at all. It's too preppy, to big, to over the top "mom-ish" for me! So here's the thing, don't buy someone a gift to spite them! It's not the worth the trouble! And my second thought is never give someone something and then hold it over their heads. I've recently had to deal with a couple of different people who've decided that because of other issues that had arisen to throw up in my face and my husband's face the "free" gifts they had given us. It makes me wish I had never received anything from them. I've also dealt with people give wholeheartedly but with strings attached. They have certain ideas of what you should do with their "gift" or how you should treat it or handle it. Sometimes I feel nervous getting gifts from people other then immediate family because I'm afraid that one day it might be held over my head when the right occasion arises for them to become accusing. When people aren't getting their way they try to do and say stuff like "Well, you forget I gave you this...." or " You forget I let you have that for free....", etc. Or there are the people who let you know when they don't like how you've handled their "gift" - "I thought you would have done this with it...." or " I never did that when I had it...." Aren't we lucky that God doesn't constantly remind us "Oh, by the way, remember I have you grace, love, mercy, forgiveness....all for FREE" We have a God who is just simply all those things - He doesn't constantly remind us or shove it in our faces or makes us feel guilty. He simply gave us those gifts because He loves us and wants the best for us. What we choose to do with them He has left up to us entirely.

So never give a gift where you expect a certain thing to be done with it, or you want it back when that person is "done" with it and never give a gift to spite someone!