Thursday, March 27, 2014

Eight Days of Gratitude

So I'm catching up my gratitudes today. I've been horribly ill over the past week or so and, by the time I got home, have barely been able to help take care of the kids and crawl into bed.

1. For Pandora.
2. For clean water to drink.
3. For hot tea.
4. For a colleague for going to get me soup from Wegman's.
5. For a local eatery that delivers because I'm freaking starving.
6. For Chloraseptic.
7. For Sucrets.
8. For quiet in the office.
9. For the Indigo Girls.
10. For Everybody Loves Raymond on TV Land.
11. For naps.
12. For Eggs Benedict.
13. For the Woodhouse Stadium Grill.
14. That my name badge for work was in my purse.
15. That Rick Springfield used the word "moot" in "Jessie's Girl."
16. That the lump in my throat finally feels like a small marble!
17. That we seem to have someone interested in our copy of Windows 7.
18. That I figured out a way to get my to-do list even though I forgot my flash drive.
19. That I'm getting my steroid shot in my right knee on Monday.
20. That Marc now has enough pants that fit.
21. For my letter opener.
22. That the people from tech services were able to troubleshoot my monitor-upside-down problem the other day. Good Lord, that is freaky.
23. For my SARK's Journal and Play! book.
24. That I still have time left in the semester.
25. That we still had a credit on the NYSEG bill.
26. That it's supposed to be warmer outside today.
27. That even though I was late, I got a parking spot across the street.
28. That I didn't have strep.
29. For something work-related about which I can't post details.
30. That the sun is trying to come out.
31. For a colleague's pink sweater.
32. For the Goo Goo Dolls.
33. That my candy sales have been enough to recoup the cost of one full case of candy.
34. For a friend who doesn't want to publicly be mentioned by name. But I love her smile. It brings me joy.
35. That candy sales were really good last night.
36. For pay day!
37. For something work-related about which I can't post details.
38. For rainbows.
39. For my Melanie.
40. For my Marc
41. For my Rachael.
42. For my John.

Love~
Elizabeth

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Gratitudes 3/19/14

“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.” ~ Lionel Hampton

Today I am grate*full...
1. that Melanie felt better enough to go back to school today.
2. that, as of right now, neither Marc nor I have strep, although we both have sore throats and fevers.
3. for one of our students who made me smile today, on a day when it was very much needed.
4. for my friend Stacy. She's one of a kind.
5. that I didn't get killed when someone came the wrong way down a one-way street this morning on my way to work. OMG.

OK so those are backdoor gratitudes today. But I still came up with five, and I'm feeling like crap. Focusing on things you're grateful for makes the universe take notice and provide you with more opportunities to be grateful.

Love~
Elizabeth

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

15 gratitudes (3/16, 3/17 and 3/18/14

“Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace of mind and happiness inside. No matter what is going on outside of us, there’s always something we could be grateful for.” ~ Barry Neil Kaufman

OK so today I am grate*full...
1. That my precious Melanie Jane, who has strep, is getting better.
2. For smiles from my Rachie Roodle, and that she is starting to really enjoy music and moves to it.
3. For Pandora.
4. For my officemate Laurie. (I'm grateful for her every day; she keeps me off the ledge a lot)
5. For my study group with Becca.
6. For something work-related about which I can't post details.
7. For tissues.
8. For hand sanitizer.
9. For new pants.
(funny story - slightly less grate*full for hand sanitizer as I just opened mine and SPLATTED A BIG BLOB OF IT ON MY NEW PANTS LOL!)
10. For lists.
11. For yesterday's mail.
12. For pink raffle tickets.
13. For the Creative Dream Circle.
14. For Satin Lips Lip Balm.
15. For the band Barenaked Ladies. Love me some BNL! (And I believe it might have been JoAnn Duffy Thomasson who introduced me to them?!)

Love~
Elizabeth

Saturday, March 15, 2014

15 gratitudes (3/13, 3/14, and 3/15/14)

“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” ~ Alphonse Karr

So I'm behind (again, don't have a heart attack and die from that surprise) and posting 15 gratitudes today :)

Today I am grate*full...

1. for a morning spent just me and the kids.
2. that the Cats won today.
3. for naps. Ever since I found out how bad the arthritis in my knees is, I've had a lot of fatigue. That and planning a recital takes a lot out of you too. Ideas running in your head tire you out like running a marathon.
4. that my godmother and I found each other on Facebook. (OK so she didn't actually stand up for me at baptism but the people who did abandoned me when I was three and they and my parents had a falling out; Diane stood up for me at confirmation and has been more of a godmother to me than they ever were godparents.)
5. that my husband is a quick-thinking handyman who doesn't panic!
6. that the New York Mets are on the air.
7. that my Melanie, seeing that we were watching the Mets, quickly shed her pajama top in favor of her David Wright t-shirt! Clearly I have been doing something right.
8. for sunny weather today.
9. that nothing major appeared to be wrong at my next-door neighbor Wayne's house as the fire department and gas company showed up this morning!
10. for Melanie's creativity. She took some of the scraps that we made while making her leprechaun trap for school and made a paper doll out of them.
11. for fresh perspectives.
12. for late night time with Melanie.
13. for Rachael "singing" (she says "la la la") and dancing. We had the Pandora on and Rachael and Melanie were rocking out.
14. for the internet. I've been trolling for the past hour looking for a good oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe :)
15. for the new stand mixer that's going to enable me to make said oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Love~
Elizabeth

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

25 Gratitudes (3/8/14 - 3/12/14)

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." ~ Henry Van Dyke

OK today I am grate*full...
1. That neither Melanie nor I have school.
2. For our babysitter Monica.
3. That the school district was prudent in their decision. It was a good idea to close rather than get everybody to school (which they probably could have done safely) and have the trip home be scarily dangerous.
4. For clean laundry.
5. For the ability to begin again.
6. For crutches.
7. For steroids that can be injected into arthritic joints for pain relief.
8. For coffee.
9. For Prilosec.
10. For the people who have agreed to donate stuff to the Chinese Raffle.
11. For Nolan.
12. That I don't have to drive to Corning today...better for the gas tank.
13. For my Keurig. No more crappy ass instant coffee.
14. That I can lie on my left side with minimal pain.
15. For study group last night. The wifi was down at Dunkin Donuts and I actually got more done than I planned.
16. For Band-Aids. I gave myself the worst paper cut ever yesterday on the pad of my left middle finger and it hurts to do EVERYTHING including type unless I have a Band-Aid on.
17. For shorts.
18. For zulily.
19. For Vera Bradley handbags.
20. For my Divine Office App.
21. For being able to share this experience with Marc and Fr. Tom.
22. That people are still fighting to keep Monterey Shock open. And that Tom O'Mara and Phil Palmesano seem to be on board.
23. For Facebook and its ability to bring people together.
24. For the gift of time to practice today.
25. For good friends.

Love~
Elizabeth

Friday, March 7, 2014

Gratitudes 3/5, 3/6, and 3/7

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~ William Arthur Ward

Today I am grate*full...
1. ...for my Divine Office App. It's pretty cool.
2. ...to be taking Managerial Leadership. I'm really enjoying the reading so far.
3. ...that I woke up at a relatively reasonable hour this morning.
4. ...for how cute Melanie's hair looked this morning. It is crazy hair day at her school.
5. ...for the secretary at Melanie's school, Maria. She is truly a wonder.
6. ...to be planning to attend stations of the cross this evening. I'm really looking forward to it.
7. ...that I reached out to Marc Bentley. It is so neat to be able to experience some of a seminarian's journey with him.
8. ...for our babysitter Monica.
9. ...that Rachael doesn't seem to be suffering too many ill effects from her shots yesterday.
10. ...that her growth seems to be progressing normally. She has doubled her birth weight. When she was first born we had trouble getting her to gain weight so my breath catches whenever they put her on the scale.
11. ...for the song "Africa" by Toto.
12. ...that my sister introduced me to Toto in the late 1970s.
13. ...for my job and my amazing coworkers.
14. ...for the lives of friends Ashley and Sue (and a few others to be added when I get home) who have birthdays today!
15. ...that my knee feels better than it did yesterday. It is still stiff and I have to go get x-rays taken later, but I am not limping anywhere near as badly as I did yesterday.

Love~
Elizabeth

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Gratitude 3/4/14

"If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you must look forward, do so prayerfully. However, the wisest thing you can do is be present in the present...gratefully." ~ Maya Angelou

Today...

I'm grate*full for sleep.
I'm grate*full that I don't have uterine fibroids.
I'm grate*full for Prilosec and Zantac.
I'm grate*full for something work-related about which I will not post details.
I'm grate*full that I got to see a couple of good friends yesterday.
I'm grate*full that I got a good parking spot at the doctor's office yesterday.
I'm grate*full that the weather forecast for Friday looks absolutely gorgeous.

Love~
Elizabeth

OK, so this is a shameless plug. But I joined the Creative Dream Circle run by my friend Andrea Schroeder. Visit her website here. I'm doing the first module of her "Creative Dream Incubator" class and amazing things are happening. Get in on the Creative Soul Alchemy!

Monday, March 3, 2014

Gratitudes 2/27/14 - present

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." ~ Marcel Proust

Over the past few days I have been grate*full...

1. that I got so much done Saturday toward completing my homework, and that my family was flexible with me to let me go elsewhere to work kid-free.
2. that my bills are paid...almost all of them for the month.
3. for my beautiful children. John was fixing the piano bench that belongs at our UU Fellowship last night. It was requiring him to drill. Rachael was sitting in her generic Bumbo seat and was tired, and the drilling was freaking her out. So I picked her up and held her until John was finished drilling and she fell asleep in my arms. It was so sweet.
4. that we had a really fun family dinner Saturday night with my father-in-law
5. for FlyLady and the things she encourages us to do. Menu planning being among them. 6. For my son's imagination. He just asked me to be a "big cement truck." So I was imitating a diesel engine. He thought I sounded like a motorcycle at first so he said, "No, Mommy, not mo-cycle!" I said, "No, big diesel engine!" And he said, "OK, do it again."
7. That my husband does so much with the house and the kids and keeps this place looking and feeling amazing.
8. For Nutella and jelly sandwiches.
9. That Marc loves his Tonka truck shirt that I got him. I knew he would.
10. That I was able to donate to 750 Words and my friend Adrien Gleason's Strings for Schools project.
11. That I finally got the Social Services monkey off my back (a bill paid).
12. That my husband found his heavy socks. We're going to need them if it's going to go down to -11 on Monday night.
13. That Memphis beat Louisville and Virginia beat Syracuse. I was not happy that UK lost to South Carolina (South Carolina?! Really?!) but those two other losses made me happy.
14. That the NHL is scheduling outdoor hockey games. I think that's super cool.
15. That I'm taking Melanie to see the Wizard of Oz next Saturday. I'm so excited!
16. That the skunk smell I was smelling in the house Saturday night turned out not to be my imagination. I mean, I'm not grateful that there was a skunk outside, but I am grateful that my imagination is not playing those kinds of mean tricks on me LOL.
17. For contingency plans. I have a certain amount of items I want to accomplish on my to-do list every morning. Certain items can be put by the wayside if I need to in case of oversleeping or something like that.
18. For Cars on DVD for Marc during the night. I know, I know, I just watched a news report that said to eliminate screen time for kids when they're supposed to be sleeping, but it's the only thing that cuts into my racing thoughts and so they got used to it when we lived at my father-in-law's house. So he got used to it.
19. That this miserably long, cold, and snowy winter will soon be coming to an end, at least on the calendar.
20. That, hopefully, today, we will get to the bottom of this medical problem that I've been having and that medication, not a surgical procedure, will remedy it.
21. For the ability to begin again.
22. For Peni and JoAnn, my stalwart companions on the gratitude path.
23 For a warm coat, gloves, and a scarf.
24. For my Keurig
25. For coffee.

Love~
Elizabeth