pizza

i am grateful for take out pizza. after most of my day prepping for our move tomorrow, cleaning and helping mike hang shelves... i am pooped. i'll be asleep by 10 and up by 8-9am to move!

good grip

one of the things i have realized about myself is... if my space (home/cube) are in order i feel the rest can be chaos. if my home is chaos (moving) the rest becomes annoying, i get put on edge by people's behavior and i'm anxious. i suppose that is half the battle. and knowing that it is a temporary place that i'm in. (limbo) i can hold my breath and hang on.

so today i am thankful deep breaths and a good grip.
and 'the long way round'. - ewan and charlie make me smile.

conversation

i am grateful for a stimulating conversation with joshua. 3 hours of stretching my brain. i love his thinking, philosophies, real life experiences all around the world and non-attachment to shit that does not matter.

... just enjoy your trip and let everyone enjoy theirs!

gas station

thanks gas station guy... for cleaning all my windows while whistling a nice tune.

bed

i am grateful for my bed. because i fell asleep before i wrote in here last night.

dreamed of ewan mcgregor and motorbikes. that's what happens when i watch 'the long way round'.

finnagan

i was going out for a late night walk and came across 'finnagan' the cat and had to stop and say hi. cats are such a great reminder (like kids) that the here and now are all that is important.
we played with the plants and cuddled, then we went about our night...

i am grateful for sweet cats that remind me to stop and play in the flowers and enjoy the moment the universe has given us and receive love where it is given.

it reminds me of all my homeless friends. i never know where love and kindness will reach me... with a smile from a street corner, a friendly cashier, a good friend, a lover... it is all love and i take it as such; with gratitude and reciprocation... and hope to pass it on in my next encounter.

as i pass it forward i am filled with love and know i am part of a greater good.
i am living proof that all the nice things i have done... have ALWAYS come back to me.

if you are a recipient of any of my goodness, please know that it holds all the goodness that has been shared with me. and when you pass it on... it only multiplies.

(i am grateful for joshua who helps me correctly spell all the words i say... but sometimes can't spell.)

auntie

oh addie... what a great girl. so smart, fast, friendly and kind. (i could go on.)
thanks for reminding me that soap dispensers and going to the bathroom can be a fun experience, when you are 3.5 years old or 35.

i am grateful for amazing parenting and good genes. thank you for letting be auntie mare.

painting

spent 2-3 hours painting the living room of the house. 8 days to moving day.

i am grateful for those hours of being in that moment. just painting. i sang with the radio as i painted. nothing more. nothing less. a moment... and i was in it.

8 a day

today was filled with hugs. i am a fan of hugs and hug often. i was once told that you need 8 hugs a day. i rarely get that many... but today i got some great ones.

i am grateful for hugs. hugs of love. hugs of friendship. hugs of kindness.

challenge

i am grateful for learning new things.

at work there is a bunch to learn. new systems, processes, people... it is nice to have something i don't know, but know i can do. it is a welcome challenge.

without apology

today i told someone how i truly felt, without apologizing for it. i knew it was something they did not want to hear, but it was honest and they asked. so... i told them.

i am grateful for being heard, being respected for my opinion and apologized to for over stepping the line.

i sometimes (often) think i am not worth telling someone how i feel. (fear of loosing that person.) something i am working on. worth.

questions

men make statements. women ask questions. it drives me crazy sometimes, how much i do this.

today i am grateful for rewriting an email in 'statements' and not 'questions'.

because i was not asking someone's opinion or permission. i knew what i want to say and what i wanted to happen. so i just said it. i do hope it goes over the way i intend it to.

period

my period. some months i am grateful and others, i am not.

i am grateful for my body. it 'works'. and does all this crazy girl stuff on it's own.

it has also made it through 35 years. it can do amazing things, especially when i treat it nice. and when i don't, it tells me and will forgive me.

thank you body. i appreciate you everyday!

friends

i am grateful for april.

her smile,
laughter,
good building skills,
color and design ideas,
navigation,
great ideas,
... and a million other qualities that shine every time i am near her.

thank you!

vi

today i had the privilege of speaking to my wonderful 93.75 year old grandmother. if there is a teacher of gratitude... she is it. her friends are dying all around her, her family is far away and she has out lived her parents and all but one of (her youngest) siblings. every time i speak with her... she says how blessed she is. and it is true. although... i can't help but think of how lonely it must be to see everyone you love, leave you.

i am grateful for grandma vi and her amazing spirit and continuing ability to love.

hugnation.com

... delayed by 10 hours and 7 minutes. (but i am still grateful)

i am grateful for a 90 second video on flickr. it was posted by halycon/john styn. (the hugnation.com guy) it was a video of him interviewing his 2 nephews. (3.5 years old and 1.5) it was so sweet and clever. it was a reminder that happiness, laughter and play are more important than work. and work should not be taken so seriously.

thanks john, volcanoes and silliness.

lesa m

i had happy hour drinks with a girl i met while doing my 365 on flickr. it has been at least 1.5 years since the first time we hung out. it was so nice to see her in person after seeing her almost every day on the internet. it is nice to keep in contact with people on the internet... but

i am grateful for seeing my friends face to face. i hope to be a better friend this year; to my old and new friends. create a better community of loved ones.

cookies

i am grateful for cookies that got me through my 11 hour day of work.

pen pals

this week i am going to make a couple of batches of macaroons and i have had two wonderful friends ask me to send them some. one box will go to alaska and another will go to quebec.

i am grateful for friends all over the world that want to eat my tasty treats and be my pen pals.

shock

today was a shocking day... i found out that one of my dear friends is going through a HARD time. her husband is addicted to pain meds, used 1/2 of her salary, kids christmas money, his 401k, life insurance... to pay for his habit for the past months/years.

i am grateful for what i have. a trusting relationship, hopefully no hidden issues of this magnitude and love.

i know i am not immune to these situations. (see exhusband) but i still have hope and results that show me (i hope) to be on a different path. if that makes sense.

i wish strength, hope, love and good decision making in the coming weeks and months for her; for all of us.

hiding things can be the worst disease. be who you are. say what you mean. mean what you say. be open to love and willing to give, even when it seems as if the universe is closed. (that is only an illusion) ... shit happens. don't loose hope. give. love. hug.

macaroons

i am thankful for homemade macaroons, flushing toilets and sweet, silly dogs.

pizza rin rin

the back story...
while in mexico joshua and i would frequent the local pizza place. pizza rin rin. it is greasy, cheesey, nasty goodness of mexican love. two of the fun things that occompanies your pizza are two sandwich bags (not the ziplock style) filled with... one = a hot spicy red sauce and the other bag is a 'red thousand island' style sauce. so... you have this pizza and 2 baggies. you cut one corner of the bag and squeeze the saucy goodness over your pizza. it really is magical. clever.

ok, back to today. i went over to the house and removed 8 4" long nails from the plaster walls. i bought some plaster repair from home depot. i thought it would be like 'dry wall compound' that was a 'paste' but it was powder. at the house i had no disposible container in which to mix said substance to apply to the wall, but i did have some sandwich bags. POOF! pizza rin rin. half an hour later... the holes are patched and i am out one rock hard sandwich bag.

i am grateful for pizza rin rin and old school sandwich bags.

lime

i am grateful for limes. at dinner i squeezed one over my pisole and was instantly back in mazatlan. sitting in the square, beer in hand, in the mid day heat with only the moment of squeezing that lime into my beer.

warmth

when so many people are without food or shelter on a daily basis, even in my own city, i am grateful for warmth within my home, more food than i can ever eat and a warm, comfy bed next to my lover.

garlic

i am grateful for garlic. even if everyone around me is not.

rot

not too excited about lots of rotting wood in the bathroom.

i am thankful for landlord's willingness to go with the flow, pay for repairs and get the job done.

wifi

i spent a better part of my day changing my address; everywhere. there were 19 things/places on the list and i have 3 left. i also got the garbage set for pick up on monday's, wifi internet to start on the 20th, canceled my electricity at my current residence on the 2nd of march and called in my 30 day notice to my landlord for the 1st of march.

my new landlord said the nicest thing in an email today... "You don't know how much I am liking this arrangement already... and falling deeply in love with you living in my house."

thanks to all the lovely and patient people working the phone lines and my new landlord/old friend.