All posts by Karen Teig

About Karen Teig

I am a 58 year old Native Minnesotan. I work as a Storekeeper at a local hospital here in town. I have been sober since April 18, 1982 and have not smoked since September 8, 2005. I am a Born Again Christian who loves Jesus and am grateful for each day I wake up. Life is really what I make of it, with few exceptions. God always has a plan.

Saturday, April 20, 2019

  1. I woke up today. What could be better. Thanks be to God.
  2. I am sober another day.  I celebrated 37 years of One Day At A Time’s on April 18. What a blessing my sobriety has been.  I did not pick up a cigarette today either.
  3. The beautiful Lake Superior.  There were fishing boats out there today.  It doesn’t seem that long ago I was watching a lady on snow skis going along the and her dogs following behind her. ;)
  4. Good coffee.  It is one thing I doubt I will never give up.  Yeah, I know, never say never. ;)
  5. My son.  He got another job the other day.  It was a bit less than what he makes at the restaurant, so for now he will work both.
  6. My dog and cat.  They do make life interesting.  Love them.
  7. The fresh air today.  It is 46.2 on the lake shore currently.  Hopefully it will reach the 50’s.
  8. Even with my aches and pains, I got to get out of bed and do somethings like laundry and cleaning my bathroom vanity, toilet, etc.  I think of people who cannot do that and I am very grateful I can.
  9. A young lady who was in a bad car accident some about 10 years ago rolling along in her wheelchair.  They were not sure she could even survive.  I ask her how she is and she always says, “very blessed”.  What an inspiration.  When I get in my head about my hip and knees I will try and remember her.
  10. When I worry about the house and all I need to do, I will give it over to God and do the “next right thing”.  Progress, not perfection.  I am learning this more and more.  Grateful for that.
  11. Good comedies on t.v. to make me laugh.
  12. Good food.
  13. The Easter service tomorrow.  I am looking forward to that and going to a friend’s house for Easter dinner.
  14. I was not planning on working yesterday but did anyways.  Glad I did as it was too much for one person.  Extra money and a paid day off this coming Monday.  Not too bad. ;)
  15. God.
  16. A.A.
  17. Life.

Monday, April 12, 2019 1:00 p.m

  1. Waking up to fresh snow.  Wasn’t looking forward to the storm but it does make things look a bit cleaner again.
  2. Two days off before I work tomorrow.  Normally when I work a weekend, I work the rest of the following week.  This time I have Good Friday off.  Only a 6 day, versus a 7 day stretch.
  3. Wanting to get back into blogging on my WordPress page again.  Starting a new.  It helped me immensely when my husband died to put my thoughts, feelings and daily routines down.
  4. I am sober and nicotine free another day.  Thanks be to God, A.A. and my church.
  5. My lady friends in my Bible study.  It is like having extra sisters.  I have one sister but she lives in Alaska.
  6. My son becoming such a good cook.  He cooked Gordon Ramsay’s sausage rice dish again last night and it was absolutely delicious.  I had to refrain from taking more than my share LOL.
  7. My dog, Jax.  He struggles but keeps on keeping on.
  8. My cat, Skeeter.  He is such a neat cat.  My son and I picked well for our first cat.
  9. My family and friends.  What would life be without them?
  10. I don’t get to go to church this weekend but have my Bible to read and that is a sufficient substitute when I have to work and cannot make it. Plus, I can listen to the audio of the church service later on.
  11. No power outages after the storm last night.
  12. My son interviewed for a new job the other day.  He goes for a drug test today.  Grateful he has a job right now and is not dependent on this other job to make money.
  13. Wanting to get into better habits of all kinds.  I need to pray for the willingness some days but I will do it, one task, one habit at a time.
  14. Last, but by no means least, GOD.  Thanks for letting me wake up and live another day, GOD.

Blessed

  1. A wonderful weekend with family, friends and church.
  2. Finding a new group, at least for me, called Seventh Day Slumber.  Really enjoying their music.
  3. Waking up to a new day of possibilities.  Thanks be to God.
  4. Reading Matthew in the Bible this morning and really enjoying it. We are also going over it in church. 
  5. Having quality time with family for my brother’s party last night.  Good food, good cake, good conversation, love, followed by a good movie.  I did not get to bed until before 1 a.m. but fortunately, I did not have to work this morning.
  6. Getting some chores done around the house today.
  7. Waking up sober and nicotine free another day.  May it never leave my gratitude list. 
  8. Tuning into my Spotify and enjoying good music while I type this list. :) 
  9. Resting the body when needed.
  10. I “GET” to go to my job tomorrow.  It really is a blessing.  
  11. Paying bills and not feeling the fear of years ago.
  12. Getting back on track with my eating today.  Chili and Dairy Queen cake last night was good but back to healthy eating today.
  13. A lady from my Via De Cristo table lost her husband to cancer.  He had suffered for years.  Grateful God is in her life and grateful to be able to spend a weekend with her last October.  She is such a wonderful servant of God and emulates all that is good.  Praying for her as I won’t be able to make her husband’s funeral.  I will send out a card in the coming days.  
  14. Grateful for this site. It is a pleasure to come here and share my gratitude.  I may miss some days but always will come back.  :) 

Growing….

  1. My mother-in-law said I have turned into a strong, independent woman.  I am thinking may be she is right.  I could not always believe that
  2. Reading Matthew in the Bible.  A nice part of the Bible to start reading.  I have never read the Bible all the way through before.  I am grateful I am enjoying it.  It has become a favorite book.
  3. I choose to give money to a lady at work who is running for charity to raise money for a women’s treatment center.  We don’t get along normally and don’t like each other but I chose to donate anyways.  It is about the cause, not the person.  Grateful to be able to separate the person from the cause.
  4. God.
  5. I am grateful for another day above ground to live, love and laugh.
  6. Sober and nicotine free another day.
  7. Good music.  I have been getting into some older music this week.  The band America is currently on my Spotify.  Bay City Rollers also. :)
  8. We are getting rain.  I hope it will clean up the streets.
  9. My Bible group friends.  I love those ladies.
  10. Celebrating another brother’s birthday today.
  11. Working on me.  I have lost over 7 pounds since January, most of which has been the past couple weeks.
  12. Trying to work on my insides also to match the outside.
  13. My son, family, pets.
  14. Coworkers who are like family.
  15. A burst of energy one day this week I had not had in a long time.  Very productive day at work.
  16. Still having a relationship with my step-kids.  I do not see them too often but we are still invited to theirs and the grandkids’ birthdays.
  17. Dreams.  They can be happy, weird and/or scary but they seem to teach me things.
  18. Good food.  For some reason I am enjoying it more and looking it more as fuel for my body.
  19. God woke me up another day.  :)

Sunday

  1. Waking up and saying Good Morning God and thanking him for another day.
  2. The sunshine outside.
  3. God.
  4. My family.  We had a wonderful time at my brothers’s birthday celebration.  Grateful to have some alone time with another brother as he picked me up to take me there also.
  5. Being able to sleep in a bit this morning.  I love that once in awhile.
  6. My friend who picks my up for church on Sundays is out of town seeing her father-in-law. I am happy she can get out of town and visit him with her husband. I am grateful for when she can pick me up but also grateful to have the opportunity to walk to church.  I need the exercise.
  7. Good coffee.
  8. I took yesterday as a cheat day for my eating but am back on track today.  Grateful I can do that once in awhile.
  9. Waking up sober and nicotine free.  Always a good thing.
  10. My brother and his wife will be able to pay off their house sooner than later.  Although I wish I could do this, I am grateful that they can. :)
  11. The sweet look of my dog, Jax.  The sound of my cat, Skeeter, roaring through the house like a tornado.
  12. That I am slowly working my way mentally to accepting my son will probably more out this year.  Excited for my new adventures and for him to start his new life.
  13. Peaceful, calm thoughts.
  14. The site of the beautiful lake.
  15. It is getting more and more like hoodie weather again.  Yayyyyyy!
  16. I have all my siblings alive and they all have outlived mom and dad who died at ages 59 and 60 respectively.
  17. My Bible and My Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.
  18. Prayer.  It is such and awesome thing.
  19. I have a roof over my head.  I might complain about how much has to be done but I am not on the streets.  Thanks be to God.
  20. I can think of my husband now and it does not always end with tears.  Tears are good but it is nice to think of him and then move on with my life.

Saturday

  1. Waking up to a new day.  Thanks be to God.
  2. My son. He is such a gift in my life.
  3. My family and friends.
  4. God.
  5. I am sober and nicotine free another day.
  6. I have lost 2.8 pounds this week.  I got back to counting my calories and recording them on Myfitnesspal.com
  7. A good work week.
  8. My coworker found a new apartment.  God bless her and keep her.
  9. The beautiful sun.  It is 25 degrees out but the sun makes me feel better anyways.
  10. Ice disappearing from Lake Superior.
  11. Good food.
  12. My pets.
  13. The blessing of just breathing in and breathing out.

Start of the week….

  1. Waking up to see a new day.  Thank you God.
  2. Waking up sober and nicotine free. Thanks to God and A.A. and family members who stuck by me through my sobriety.
  3. My son.  He is pretty awesome.
  4. My pets.  Skeeter walks around the house like he owns it.  Jax looks at me with the most love in his eyes.  He is going blind and death but he still show such great affection and seems happy to see both my son and me when we come home.
  5. My other family.
  6. My church family.
  7. Being able to plan my life but know in the end it is God’s will that is right and true.
  8. The snow is slowly but surely melting.
  9. The sunshine.  It is a wonderful pick-me-up.
  10. Good music.  I am a Christian but I still love a variety of music.  I found a Christian Rock band I enjoy today.
  11. A nice warm bubble bath.  Nice to pamper myself now and again.
  12. I can pray for people with all my heart and being.
  13. A job to go to that I like (most of the time) and can pay my bills.  On days I feel I don’t want to go to work that there is most assuredly someone who wishes they had a job to go to…..enough said.
  14. People at my job who have become like family to be over the years.  Grateful for them.
  15. My Pastor asking us to step outside sometime and look up at the heavens and say, “Hallelujah praise God”. I chose to do it at 5:20 this morning in the middle of 55th Avenue East.  Not too loud but I did it.  We have no problem jumping up and down when our favorite hockey team wins championships and praising them, so why would I have a problem praising God in the same way?  Very grateful for Josh’s sermon yesterday.
  16. Last, and by no means not least, this wonderful site for staying online all this time.  Love you guys!

Sunday

  1. God.  May he be in everything I do.
  2. My family and friends.
  3. Sobriety and not smoking today.
  4. A great church service.  
  5. Wonderful congregation.
  6. First A.A. meeting I have been to this past Friday in awhile. Good for my sobriety and soul.
  7. A place like this to come and post my gratitude.
  8. My Bible and A.A. Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.
  9. Beautiful weather yesterday.  Back to cooler temps today but the sun was out and I was grateful for that.
  10. A ride to church from a good friend.
  11. Playing Uno with my son.
  12. My pets happily chowing down their dinner.
  13. Sleeping in this weekend after a 7 day work week.
  14. Getting little tasks done around the house.  Plastic grocery bags galore.  No need for all of them.  Kept a few and few paper grocery bags.
  15. Pastor Josh and his wonderful message today.  
  16. Not letting projects around the house get me down like I used to.
  17. Extra energy today.  Yesterday was a day of rest.  Good for the mind, body and soul.  Much needed.

Today…

  1. Grateful to see a family member receive his 37 year sobriety medallion last night.
  2. Seven day work week was busy but grateful to have a job.
  3. God.
  4. A.A. and my church.
  5. 58 degrees today with a little wind on the lake.  Finally some Spring weather.
  6. Wonderful people in my life.
  7. Waking up sober and nicotine free another day.
  8. My family, friends and pets.
  9. A roof over my head.
  10. A day to relax and refuel.

Great day to be alive

  1. I get to go to a rock concert down in the Twin Cities with my son tonight.  It is his Christmas present to me.  Looking forward to rocking out with him.
  2. God.  Grateful each day he lets me wake up and enjoy life on this earth.
  3. Friends and family.  So grateful for them.
  4. My Bible.  It has become a more favorite book for me.
  5. Good food.
  6. Great service at church yesterday.
  7. The beautiful sunshine outside.
  8. We are getting rain tomorrow night and Wednesday.  Glad it is not happening tonight.
  9. Waking up sober and nicotine free another day.
  10. Remaining teachable.  Having an open mind to learning other things and getting out of my comfort zone.
  11. My pets.  Jax is getting older and not able to get around like he used to but I love him, even when he has the accidents.  Skeeter, well he is just Skeeter.  A orange fluff ball who prances around our house like he owns it.  I love the little guy.
  12. That I am slowly learning to not let other people’s opinions of me define who I am or who I think I should be.