Gratitude....

Today we bring a special treat...

... a chance for some cool weather in the summer heat wave!

Of course, for all of those salivating at having a hot and fun 4th of July, you're in luck... our weather will be in the high 90s and sun sun sun... but, for tonight at least... thunder, lightning, rain and in the low 70s!

Okay, I admit I am not so keen about the thunder part (I am, for some reason, frightened of the noise) but the lightning can be so much fun to watch.

I hope that last admission doesn't discredit me as an adult figure... don't tell anyone I shared that little fear with you, okay?

Gratitude.....

Thanks to Leah, who asked if I was going to be posting more of these gratitude posts... with all that has been going on lately I had put these on hold, but it was nice to know that she enjoys reading them as much as I like posting them.

So, for today, my gratitude is for friends and family. I have an amazing support system in my life that I probably take for granted more often than I should. Knowing that if I just need a hug, all I have to do is show up at my friend's house and she'll have one waiting for me. If I need advice or information, I have siblings and parents that are only a phone call or instant message away. If I need a positive lift, all I have to do is turn to my future spouse and he is there with love and words of comfort and acceptance.

What a wonderful group I belong to....and I am eternally grateful to have each and every one of them in my life.

Happiness is....

Knowing that countdown you started months ago is nearly at a close....

...Saturday it comes to an end.....

...Texas here I come!

Gratitude...

is after a long stress-filled week where you can't seem to find a way to calm down and just want to cry... to step outside, breathe in cool air, look up and find solace just watching the stars slowly appear in the evening sky. To find beauty in something so simple as sitting peacefully and just let your mind clear.

My last few weeks have been extremely stressful with work...the busy season has come full swing and I rarely seem to find a moment to use the restroom, let alone take a break. I've come home with severe headaches pretty much every day and find myself being short and snippy with everyone, and find myself hours after being home, still tense and on edge.

What a relief last night to be able to find time to sit outside, marvel at the stars, and be able to sit quietly. I said a prayer and almost immediately felt the stress just flow from my shoulders, down my arms and right out of me. It was amazing. I sat there so quietly in fact that a neighborhood stray cat walked right past me without seeming to notice I was there, and I held myself still while he ate some of the food we leave outside for just that purpose. Poor thing looked fairly starved, so I was glad that my outdoor excursion didn't prevent him from getting in a meal.

After he walked off I sat there still, amazed that my headache was finally melting away, and burst into tears. I've cried a few times since then, but I feel better with each crying spell as a little more of my frustrations and tension seem to fade away.... and while I am certain that they will find me again come Monday morning, at least, for this moment anyway, I am nearly back to normal...or at least what I consider to be normal for me. Still some stress in here...but a lot less than what I came home with.

I am counting down the days until my 4-day mini vacation in two weeks....I think I am seriously going to need every second of it, and am very happy that its nearly here. Fingers crossed and prayers sent upward that I can hang in there....

Happiness is....

(yes, this is my image this time!)

...finding a delicious single serve quiche in the freezer section for the days when you are too lazy to bake a whole thing for yourself.

Mmmmmm...love me some quiche.

No, I am not being paid by Nancy's to advertise their product.

Gratitude....

(once again, I do not own this image but snatched it off of some unassuming website. I need to start planning ahead and snapping a few photos before these posts!)

Hooray for delivery confirmation!!!! I am happy knowing that a pair of very special items arrived at their arranged destination (sorry to be all cryptic). I just love how technology allows us to know where our stuff is and when it should land on our doorsteps.

More on that later.

Sorry I didn't post a gratitude for yesterday, but it was sort of a not happy day until the very end.... so yesterday's gratitude was for having a listening (and completely sympathetic) ear at the end of the day who really did want to know how my day went and left me feeling good about sharing just one more part of my life with them. Thanks baby....love you!

We all need a good listener on our side sometimes, don't we?

Gratitude....

(this image is not mine but shamelessly purloined from the web!)

Today I was reminded of something that never fails to fill me with delight... snow drifting down out of a seemingly blue sky. I just love the contrast of the blue and the white, and the oddness of the moment of seeing blue skies overhead and yet flakes are drifting gently down.

Gratitude...

Tonight I am grateful for a nice warm bed to crawl into after a long hard day... and the ability to be able to crawl into that bed much earlier than normal. I may not fall asleep quickly, but I don't mind falling asleep while reading quietly.

Gratitude...

For the next little while (no set end date planned) I want to take a moment every day to share one thing that I am grateful for, appreciate or love. These will not be in any planned order, but will be more of a way for me to see all of the blessings that are in my life and the beauty that is all around me. I am noticing more and more in the blogs that I follow a certain negativeness to the world and the situations people find themselves in. While I understand that people are frustrated at the fact that winter has not fully departed yet, and that things do not always go as planned, I would like to see a little more positive and sunny outlooks out there in blogland. I admit I have my own moments of following the "downward spiral" and focus on the negative, but one blog in particular I follow has been nothing but doom and gloom and harsh criticism... it was enough for me to decide that if I want to see more positive things out there then maybe I should start with me.

So, in celebration of Easter, I would like to be grateful today for the simple joy of dying eggs for the holiday.



I was out at my friends' place this weekend, teen-sitting as it were, and no one had yet dyed eggs for the holiday. A quick trip to the store for eggs and dye (and a second trip for vinegar) and then the egg coloring went into gear.



For awhile I had a helper, and then she headed off to an activity with friends, leaving me happily finishing off the job. As I scribbled with clear wax on the eggs, and dipping them into the brightly colored dyes, I found myself relaxing and a big grin spreading across my face as I participated in this simple act of creativity. Looking back, I can see where I have really suffered from not taking the time for crafts and other artistic outlets.



I could have played with those dyes all day.

So, first challenge to myself....to spend more time introducing crafty/artistic projects back into my life.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.....

Woke up this morning to a deliciously gray morning with a hint of rain in the air....in fact we had a bit of a drizzle and I stood out by my car for a few minutes enjoying the weather change before heading in to work. I figured why not....I am not made of sugar, I won't melt and if my hair dries a little funny who cares? It was totally worth it just drinking that fresh rain-drenched earthy smell that filled the air.

Driving down to the office this morning I started thinking of all of the wonderful things the world has to offer that makes me smile and love this precious little planet all the more. I thought I'd share a few of them with you today. Yes, I am sure that I have done posts like this one before (I am much too lazy to actually check) and it probably happened the last time we got a good rain (so it makes me a bit contemplative....deal with it!)

Oh, and not to go all Julie Andrews/Rogers and Hammerstein on you but I really DO love raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Not that this is such a surprise....I think the whole family knows of my love for wool, rain, cats and how I dislike gold and rather love copper and silver instead. You'll probably also know most of the other things on this list.....but then again, maybe you will learn something new.

I still love dragonflies (man do we have a ton of them down here in Utah....except for winter you can't go a day down here without seeing at least a few of them zipping around....and we are talking BIG ones....not the cutesy tiny ones I usually saw up in Washington).

I also still love to watch crows and spend nights stargazing (though the stars are limited here in town.....I love going to my friend Cynthia's house because the light polution is much less and you can see so much more. I still can't see the Milky Way from her house though so I am looking forward to heading up to Dad's in October (if he still wants me!) and enjoying those dark skies!)

Here are a few other things:

I love quotes and poetry....and enjoy finding new ones. I stumbled upon a line of Robert Frost this morning that I don't remember reading before (funny since I have his complete works!) but found delightful: "My sorrow, when she's here with me, thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be; she loves the bare, withered tree; she walks the sodden pasture lane". Funny how all of my favorite poetry pieces have to do with a love for Autumn....I really need to find time to start writing poetry again.

I love squids (not as sushi) but I find the science behind them fascinating. It ties into my love of oceanography and all things underwater but everytime I find a book on the giant squid it somehow finds its way into my shopping cart or gets hauled home from the library. I've also begun collecting some "squidy stuff" from Etsy.......bad, bad Etsy! Which reminds me I need to find someone with a boat who would be willing to take me out....I haven't been out on the water in ages and miss it. Driving out to the lake and sitting around just isn't the same thing as being out ON it...bummer its too polluted to swim in.

I love the maple tree outside my work window and the pines across the street that I can look at during the day. I miss having trees around me.... my little Norfolk pine and ficus trees are growing nicely though...for now they'll have to do. I look forward to maybe moving to Oregon someday where I can be within driving distance of the ocean and be surrounded by my beloved pines. I'm thinking about taking a "mini vacation" of just a few days in the spring and driving over to the Redwoods....if Dan and Bill can let me go for a few days that is, as our busy season starts April/May.

I love gloriously blue skies in the winter when the world is covered in a blanket of white. Typically those are your colder days but I love the contrast in colors....and its funny but the sky always seems to be the most vivid shades of blue in the winter.

Wood smoke....

The bright orange of a field full of ripening pumpkins....

The promise that Halloween (undoubtedly my favorite holiday) is just around the corner....

And with that the joy of knowing fall is nearly here!....

The taste of homemade pumpkin butter spread on my toast in the morning....

"Girls Night In" at Cynthia's house....

Finding inspiration for all new crafty designs....(finding the time to make them is another thing!)