THANKFUL FRIDAY

Sunday I took the last of my antibiotics and believed with my whole heart that this sinus/cough/yuck thing would disappear as I swallowed that pill. Kind of like how I believed that once I hit my 20s I'd never have acne again. (I do believe in faeries. I do. I do.) The sinus/cough/yuck thing diminished, but did not disappear and by Thursday all of that stuff that had been just hanging around inside my sinus cavities decided to come out my nose. In buckets. I went through a whole box of Kleenex in one day. And even though it was (still is) disgusting and my nose is so raw I put chapstick on it, I am thankful that this is happening. Because that means this sinus/cough/yuck thing is about to be gone. There was a time when I thought it was normal to be constantly plagued with a sinus infection. When I was a kid, it was tonsillitis until they had my tonsils removed. Then it was sinus infections. In college, I had a sinus infection every month. One time it got so bad that it drained into my eye and I got an eye infection. I was sickly. The day before we were to leave for Vegas to get married, I started getting a sore throat and running a fever. We were already under a lot of stress because the travel agent we'd been sending money to for months had completely messed up and booked nothing. The day before we were supposed to leave and we didn't know if we were actually going to get to leave. Chris poured me an unreasonable sized glass of orange juice and ordered me to drink ALL OF IT. Everything turned out OK. The bookings got fixed and I managed to keep the sinus infection at bay until we returned and Chris never ordered me to drink orange juice again. Illness was a way of life for me.

But then things changed. I learned how to manage my stress better. I committed myself to using my Neti pot every day. I changed my diet and stopped drinking milk. The sinus infections that plagued me constantly became a thing of the past. I might get one once a year now and they don't stick around as long. Every time I do get one, I'm reminded that this is how I used to live my life. And even though I don't like them (who likes being sick?) I am thankful for the reminder. I am thankful that I've learned something about managing my health and I'm thankful that for the most part I am healthy.

This week, I am thankful for hot tea, Kleenex and decongestant. I am thankful that this stuff is beginning to clear up. I am thankful for the short week and the opportunities to rest. And as always, I am thankful for you. Here's to wonderful weekend and a truly Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Things have been shifted around at work so that we all have new microscopes and tasks. I've learned three new systems in two days and I've left work every day feeling completed exhausted. It is a week of transition. Things will smooth out again once we all figure out our new routine. Sometime around Thursday I finally felt like I had some control over the day. Next week will be even easier. I'm thankful for the changes and the new challenges. I am thankful that I still enjoy this job (for the most part) and I'm thankful that I made the decision to take the leap and accept this job even though it meant moving away from the people I love. But this forces me to make the effort to see those people I love. Often we take for granted that loved ones are just around the corner or down the street. Moving away really puts that into perspective. Robin and her husband will be visiting this weekend and I could not be more excited to see them. Distance truly does make the heart grow fonder because I've noticed that every time I get a chance to visit or someone gets the chance to come up here, it just means the world. I am so thankful for that time, time that I'm pretty sure I used to take for granted.

What else? J's eldest boy turned 17 yesterday. The realization that this child is no longer a child made me hunch over and need a cane and a shawl. I remember when he used to be so little. I remember taking him into the crooked house at Silver Dollar City and his little body was too small to stay upright. He'd take two steps and fall over. It was the most hilarious thing I'd ever seen and we laughed and laughed and laughed. Now he's driving and has a girlfriend. But I'm thankful for that rotten kid.

The ex-landlord replaced my leaky kitchen faucet, something else to be thankful for. I was able to ride the scooter twice this week, though one of those days was pushing it (my face and toes where numb by the time I made it to work). The joy from riding the scooter, in December no less, is something to be truly thankful for. And...I am always thankful for you. Here's to a grand weekend and a very very Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Mom bought me a tall slender pumpkin while she was house sitting for me in October. I decided that it needed a companion, so I bought a short round pumpkin to set next to the tall skinny one. Then I named them Laurel and Hardy. I thought about carving them at Halloween, but then decided to just leave them. That way they could be general Fall decor. Well it is almost officially December and Laurel and Hardy are still sitting in front of my front porch. Last year I let a pumpkin disintegrate on my front porch. It was so mushy I couldn't even shovel it up so I just sort slid it off the porch. Hey, I had a lot going on this time last year. But I promise. I'm not going to let that happen this year. I will cart Laurel and Hardy off to the compost bin this weekend. (Though I did toy with the idea of just putting stocking caps on them. Who says pumpkins have to be just for Fall?) I am so thankful I built that compost bin. This weekend will be filled with cleaning, recovering from last weekend, and maybe a little fun. I am thankful that I found some extra lights in our Christmas boxes because the houses on either side of me have put out lights and Christmas decorations. I am now "that" house. I am thankful that I have this weekend to finalize all the Holiday decorations. I am also thankful that the weather is going to be nice enough to do all of these things.

I always kind of struggle with that first Thankful Friday entry after Thanksgiving. We rush through a Holiday, fill it full with food and family, trying to cram EVERYTHING into a very short amount of time. It's not a surprise that we probably feel a lot like one of those Macy's Parade balloons after the parade. Deflated. Then before we know it, we're at it again. The clock to end the year starts ticking just a bit faster and everything takes on that blurry moving fast in a car haze. I am thankful for the little reminders to slow down and to pay attention.

I am always thankful for you. Here's to a wonderful weekend and a very Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Well...it seems like I will be one of those crazy people heading out for Black Friday sales. Who knows? Maybe by the time this posts, I'll already be done and napping. But I doubt it. I've decided that it's time to upgrade my tiny little TV to something where I can at least read sub-titles if I decide to watch a foreign film. I am not one for crowded shopping sale gimmicks. But thankfully, I'm surrounded by family members who are. I put Katrina on task earlier this week and she hunted down prices for me. I knew she would be the best person for that job because I've seen her in action. She's the reason my parents have a garage door opener. I'm super thankful for her mad bargain hunting skills. There's just so much to be grateful for this week. The weather feels more like Spring than encroaching Winter (though I think they are predicting Winter temperatures for me when I get back to KCMO). I've been filled to the brim with good food. Hooper is snoring on his bed from his turkey drippings dinner. Hope all is well with you and your family and that you have a very Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

I love reading the daily gratitude status updates some of my friends are doing on Facebook for the month of November. It reminds me why I do this entry every week. I started Thankful Fridays to remind myself to be Thankful for things other than it's Friday. I started it to remind myself that not all good things happen only on weekends. It's nice to have that reminder. I feel like I've started to fall easily into that living for the weekend trap lately. I'm forgetting to look for the good things in the week. Good things like breakfast with a friend or trying out a new recipe (even though it stunk up my house to no end) or meeting new people. These are all things that I am thankful for. But I have to be honest with you and say that I am also more than a tiny bit thankful for this weekend. This is the last weekend before the rush of the Holiday season hits. Pretty soon our weekends are going to be filled with family and friends and social obligations. Although these are great, they can also be exhausting. I'm thankful for this weekend where I can take some time and plan out some things. Maybe figure out a way to make the Holiday season a little easier for myself this year. This is the weekend to build up my energy store so I have plenty tucked away for those moments where I just can't seem to find the gurmph. I am so grateful for this.

So much for all of us to be thankful for I think. Jen Tucker celebrated a birthday. I am thankful for the contributions she brings to my little world and I hope her day was grand. I am thankful for the meals I've eaten this week. I am thankful for the daily walks with the dog and my time on my yoga mat. And I am thankful for you. Here's to a weekend to charge those batteries and a very Thankful Friday!

THANKFUL FRIDAY

I sat down twice this week to write a little more about my trip to Atlanta. I have deleted every thing that I started on this subject as well as an entry on how excited I get when I go vote. It's like the words are stuck or they come out so slowly that they don't form coherent sentences. You know how sometimes you say a word over and over and over and then that word doesn't sound right in your ears any more? That's how I've felt about everything I've written this week. Heck...I've deleted this entry four times already (not really). I have these little snippets of things from that trip that don't make-up whole entries on their own, but don't really flow together. I feel this away about many things that are happening in my life right now. There's just not enough of just one thing to tell a whole story. Normally this would bother me. It would make me feel too random and out of control and we know how I feel about being out of control. But I don't feel out of control at all. I just have a house full of burning candles. Each candle on it's own is just one insignificant flame and easily blown out. Put them all together and you get a pretty bright warm and fuzzy light. I am thankful for all these little snippets of good things in my life. There have been mornings this week where I've been driving to work and the most perfect song will be playing. When I turned on the car to drive to the polls Tuesday morning, my favorite Electric Guest song was playing and I car danced my way over to my polling place. I've found myself alone in an elevator dancing to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. And I'm thankful. I'm thankful for this music. I am thankful for the memories I'm holding onto from a good trip. I am thankful for each candle.

I cannot end this entry without saying something about Misti. Her birthday is tomorrow and she's taking the GRE. I am so happy for her new happiness and I am so proud of her and I know she will do just fine. I am thankful for her. I am thankful for old and new friends. I am thankful for new babies (our friend Amy in Australia had a cute little boy this week). And I'm always thankful for you. Have a great weekend everyone and a perfectly Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

A sensor light that I didn't recognize came on in my car last week. I had to dig out the manual to figure out the symbol. It's a tire pressure symbol. You guys? I've never EVER owned a vehicle that's told me that I needed to put air in my tires. As far as I knew, as long as the tire was actually inflated and holding the car up, you were good to go. I stopped by a gas station and attempted to put air in the front tires, but I really didn't know what I was doing. I didn't have a tire gauge and the air compressor made a lot of noise. I don't think much air actually made it into the tires. Actually...I know that not much air made it into the tires because the light never went off. Luckily, I know people. My friend Jeff from work invited me to hand out Halloween candy Wednesday night with his family. He also said he'd put air in my tires and I thought this was a pretty good trade off for sitting around, drinking his beer and handing out candy. As he was filling up the tires, he was telling about how the tire sensor works and psi and I just nodded my head like I understood what he was talking about. So...I'm thankful for Jeff and his cute little family for making me feel welcome and putting air in my tires.

What else? I'm thankful that Talaura is back at work so we can have our daily chats. I am thankful that cancer passed over Misti's house. I am thankful that all my friends and family appeared to have had a wonderful and safe Halloween. And...I'm thankful I didn't throw up while scooping a dead mouse up from my kitchen floor. Remember to set your clocks back an hour this weekend. Here's to a lovely one and a very thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”-George Moore

Prior to my Atlanta trip, I'd grown a bit lethargic. I had completely fallen off my yoga mat. I'd made it to the third Yoga Sutra when my meditation crashed to a halt. Weekly chore nights didn't happen, so I'd end up spending a Saturday or Sunday scrubbing down the house. Which isn't all that bad, but it was a good excuse for not going out into the big world and doing stuff. I hadn't touched my camera in weeks. I still walked the dog every day, but I'd gotten really good at laying on that couch and watching whole seasons of TV shows in one weekend. Every day was exhausting. I'd get home from work and immediately lay down for twenty minutes and then end up going to bed for the night around 10:00. The next day would just be a re-run of the day before. I was tired. For no reason.

My mini vacation was far from relaxing. We were on the go ALL THE TIME. OH MY GOD THE AMOUNT OF STUFF WE DID. I was sure that I'd need weeks to recover and get back into some sort of routine. If I was tired before I even left for the trip, I figured that I might need to be hospitalized for exhaustion after the trip. But that didn't happen. I've been on my mat every day this week and I've easily gotten up early enough to do a morning meditation practice. Chores are done and there have been zero naps. I have no excuse for not doing something this weekend. So, this is what I'm thankful for this week. I am thankful for the vacation to Atlanta. I am thankful for the nurturing affect it had on my soul. I am thankful for the soreness of my ribs from ALL THE LAUGHING.

But I am also thankful that I could bring that goodness back with me to my little house. I am thankful for the clean sheets on my bed and the root veggies Mom left in my pantry. I am thankful for the crazy happy dance Hooper did when I came home. It felt good to know that he missed me. And...I am thankful for you.

Here's to a blessed weekend and a wonderful Thankful Friday!

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Thankful Friday is in list form today because I present in lab meeting this afternoon and all of the brain juice went into that presentation. Things I'm thankful for this week?

1. Lab work on the dog came in and he is really super healthy. I think he's been milking the sympathy treats for all it's worth, but I don't care. Dog can have all the treats.
2. Our evening walks. Hooper gets so excited about going. He's such a dork.
3. Happy Hippo candy. Click on the link. That's all the explanation you need.
4. Honey Crisp Apple season!
5. Getting lab presentation over with before I leave for my trip.
6. $5 off a bath coupon at Pet's Mart. I'm using that on Hooper Saturday. This makes one of us very happy (me...it makes me happy).
7. Mom coming to stay with Hooper while I'm out of town next week.
8. All the love and support I get from you people.

Here's a great weekend, but a truly Thankful Friday!

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Wednesday evening, I had just finished my Love Thursday entry and was sitting at my desk crying (because sometimes that happens when I write these entries) when there was knock at my door. I opened the door with a tear streaked face and a snot drippy nose and there was a man standing there. He looked at me with wary eyes and said "Do you want me to mow your lawn?". I sobbed out something about not having any cash on me and he said that he'd take a check and I said "SOLD!". I had been stressing about how I was going to get the yard mowed before Jen G. showed up on Saturday. I need gas for the mower. It's turning cold (turned cold by now actually). Whine, whine, whine. And this guy showed up. I still cringe at the idea of paying someone to mow my yard, but I am so thankful this man showed up when he did. He was kind, efficient and he did an excellent job. He also told me that he does snow; he'll bring me a flyer. I have no qualms about paying this man to shovel snow when the time comes. Saturday morning I will pick Jen up from the airport and then we'll have a whirl wind visit before I put her back on a plane to OKC Sunday afternoon. I can't wait. I'm super thankful that she can get away to come see me. Jen's a shopper, or she used to be before she had a baby, and shopping with her is like nothing I have ever experienced. She's actually the one who gave me the courage to just walk into a Nordstroms. I would not own the best fitting pair of skinny jeans now if it hadn't been for her.

And finally, as always, I am thankful for you guys. But particularly this week. Your kind words and encouragement mean the world to me. So...here's to a shopaholic worthy weekend and a wonderful Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

In May, I went to my cell phone store to see about changing my account and getting an upgrade. I was told that I had to wait until August. August rolled around and I went back to the store. I told the sales guy that I wanted an iPhone and he said "OK, but look at these". I let him talk me into something that wasn't the iPhone, but when he went to ring it all up he realized that my upgrade wasn't due until the end of August and he needed a death certificate to change my account. As I left the store, again without changing anything, I got kind of mad. I want an iPhone! Why am I always letting people talk me out of getting an iPhone?!?! So, I waited. I waited until the iPhone 5 was released and I practiced my speech. "I want an iPhone 4S 16GB". A couple of weeks ago, I marched into the store determined. I looked at a different sales guy and said "I want an iPhone 4S 16GB...and I need to change my account". This guy was different. He said "OK" and then took care of my account, changing things, getting my bill lower, and when he was all done with that, he put his elbows on the counter and leaned in and said "Are you sure you don't want the iPhone 5?". So...I was once again talked out of the iPhone 4S and I am now the super proud owner of a new iPhone 5.

I didn't think I'd be this giddy over it as I am, but I have never, NEVER, owned the cutting edge of anything. I always wait for the cutting edge thing to be released and then buy the cutting edge's sister equivalent. Just like I never pay full price for anything I purchase from the Gap. But now I'm the girl with the newest thang. It's kind of exciting. So yeah...this week I am thankful for my new phone, but I'm also thankful for that salesclerk. Because at one point, while I was ordering the phone, he looked at me and said "You get what you want". Not one sales person has ever said that to me. I always let myself get talked into the thing that I don't want, but this time? This time I got the thing I wanted. So, I'm thankful for that salesclerk.

I'm thankful for lots of things this week. It's been good to me and I hope it's been somewhat good to you too. Here's to a wonderful weekend and a very Thankful Friday!

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Last weekend my sister, her husband and my niece came to see me. They came up so Daniel (my brother-in-law) could fix my window unit into the window as a permanent fixture. Before, we (I say we...I mean Chris) just hauled it out and put it into storage for the winter. I didn't want to do that this season because I hate having to ask someone to come over and help me haul the air conditioner into the garage. I completely admit that I don't think I could do this alone and if I'm right up front telling you this, then you know I'm serious. But Daniel took care of it and fixed it up nice. He even took it completely out and apart and cleaned it first. When he did that I was all "what?!? you can take those things apart and clean them?!". Apparently this something I should do on occasion. Huh. I am super grateful that Daniel could take care of this for me, but I'll tell you a secret. I probably could have gotten someone here to help me out with this task. I was just using this as an excuse to get them up here for a visit. I can tell my sister to come up here and visit, but she's more likely to actually come if I dangle a task carrot in front of her. I'm really thankful that I had the weekend to spend time with them. I got to hear all about Janell's new school year and the things she's teaching. I got to squeeze Amanda and hear about her first few days of college. We got to eat together at some of my favorite places and wander around some of Amanda's favorite shops. And I am thankful for that time.

Thursday of this week was the day I started to feel like I had pep in my steps, so I'm really thankful for that. I'm thankful for the promise of a peaceful calm weekend and the challenge of taking apart my lawn mower. I'm thankful for the many blessings in my life and I am always thankful for you. Have a wonderful Thankful Friday!

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Rarely do I state here that I am thankful it's Friday and that the work week is done. Mostly this is because I feel that this is stating the obvious. Of course everyone's thankful for the end of a work week and the promise of two days of rest. But that's not what Thankful Friday entries are for. These entries are a reminder to stop and take the time to verbally be grateful for the good in my week, which is sometimes difficult. When I have hard weeks, I have to look really hard for the good things to be grateful for. But because I'm devoted to these entries, I look. I look and then I see that yes, there is good stuff in those bad weeks. Earlier in the week my blog (and Misti's) went down. At first I thought it was just a routine maintenance thing, but then I started to worry. I emailed Todd in a panic and while waiting to hear back from him, I tried to hack into our hosting account. Then I was pretty sure I'd messed up the password and by the time I forced myself to just stop, I was convinced that I'd lost the blogs. I was convinced that I'd destroyed everything, doom, gloom, kablamy. I slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning and then I heard from Todd and of course it was all an easy fix. Todd told me what to do, for which I am extremely thankful, and all blogs were back up as if nothing had ever happened.

That moment between broken and fixed was just a moment, but it sent me into panic overdrive because of the thought of losing this space. The very thought of being without the blog made me understand just how grateful I am to have this space. I have never thought of myself as a writer or even very creative, but this space is a practice to help cultivate creativity. It's another practice like my 365 Days of Happy where I take a picture every day of something that has made me happy or Love Thursdays and even Thankful Fridays. This space is my place to spill the crazy randomness of my brain, to promote kindness and understanding. It's a home that I've worked on and cultivated for more than ten years. I may have bought my first house just last year, but this is truly my first home. And I'm more than thankful to have it.

Have a wonderful weekend and very Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Let us decide on the route that we wish to take to pass our life, and attempt to sow that route with flowers.

-Madame du Chatelet

This past week I've been keeping track of my brother and sister-in-law through Katrina's facebook updates. They rode their motorcycle to Canada! Now they're on their way back home, making stops at various places along the way. One stop is my house. Weee! I feel like the last time I saw them was I don't know when. And that's too long. I can't wait to hear all about their adventure, the things they saw and the food they ate. They are arriving here on a perfect weekend. Temperatures are dropping with tomorrow looking like crisp 78 degrees. This is a First Friday weekend, which means art walks and food trucks in the Arts District and maybe a tour through antiques in the West Bottoms. We may just end up at the Louisberg Cider Mill and the winery down the road from there. There are many choices and options, all of which I am thankful for. But really, I am thankful that Randy and Katrina where able to take this trip.

I have a lot of things to be thankful for this week and because of that this Thankful Friday entry is about to get really random and rambley. The new hair is a quite the hit around here. My friend Julia mentioned that she thought it was funny that I'd said "old Cindy" on my blog entry. She said "to us, you're the new Cindy". That's an interesting thought. I am thankful for the new hair. The power of a good, flattering hair cut has the potential to light buildings for weeks. Feeling low and in a slump? Get your hair cut. Trust me. It works. While your at it, buy a new tube of lipstick. These are all terribly sexist 1950s tidbits of advice, but there's something to it.

Monday night around midnight, I heard strange noises. I was all alone because Hooper was still at the vet office. I actually thought I'd sleep better with him gone for the night. Not so. Any way, noises, strange. I thought someone was trying to break in, so I got up to have a look. It was raining. Rain was trying to break into my house. I guess it had been so long since I've heard rain on a window that my brain just figured it was an intruder. I also heard tales of rain happening here last weekend. Lots of rain. Enough rain to make things sprout up out of the garden (I completely forgot that I had planted leaks) and the lawn green. I haven't had to mow the yard in almost two months. I'm not excited about having to mow the yard now, but I am so thankful for the rain.

Thankful, thankful. I am thankful for the beautiful weather, the walks with the dog, time spent with loved ones and the promise of good things in the next week to come. Have a great weekend and a fabulous Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Happiness is essentially a state of going somewhere wholeheartedly, one-directionally, without regret or reservation.

-W.H. Sheldon

Thankful Friday has been deleted twice now. This tells me that I'm trying too hard to say too much about finding something in the week I'm grateful for. This makes it sound like I'm having a hard time being thankful this week, which I am not. This week has been great! Especially if you compare it to last week. I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for that idea that it will always be better tomorrow or eventually. And I'm thankful that I'm that type of girl who believes this way.

By the time many of you read this, I will be making my away across the plains to OKC to be cocooned by framily (friends who are family). I am so excited to see faces and squeeze necks. I'm looking forward to a weekend of crazy stupid laughter. I am so thankful for a long weekend that gives me time to enjoy and soak up every minute. I am once again thankful for a reliable vehicle. This is probably one of the best decisions I've made in a really long time. I can't believe the sense of ease it has given me. I didn't even realize how tense driving the old car made me until now. I seriously felt like it was a miracle that I had reached any destination. I don't worry like that any more. This makes me thankful.

I am so thankful for so much this week. I can almost see Fall coming. It's in the distance, but you can see it with the cool morning temps. I have things sprouting up again in the garden. Hooper and I have added a block to our evening walks. Life is good with some good changes on the horizon and some new things too. So here's to a long and wonderful weekend, but also a very Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Chris and I had this running joke between us. It centered around that Folger's Christmas commercial where the brother comes home from Africa or something. He and his little sister are the only ones up and he hands her a gift. The sister asks him "what is it?". The first time we were sitting on the couch watching this, Chris answered "crystal skull" before the brother could reply. I answered "monkey's paw". It's not often that I made Chris laugh. Usually it was the other way around, but for some reason my answer of monkey's paw was the funniest thing any one could give a person for Christmas. Actually, I'm pretty sure he was devising a way to give monkey's paws out at Christmas. The other night I dreamed I was at a craft fair and I came across one booth selling monkey's paw necklaces. I started laughing and I bought one for everyone. When I told Talaura about this dream, she said "that was a nice visit". I laughed at this because it's true. I have yet to see Chris's face in any of my dreams, but his jokes and humor are always there. What a gift to leave behind. Laughter. There's lots of research out there on the power of laughter. Laughter can relieve pain, lower blood pressure, boost the immune system and release endorphins. Laughter is powerful juju and I'm more then thankful that this is what Chris left me.

Other things I'm thankful for? I've created a walking monster. Hooper still can't go very far, but man oh man is ever so excited to go. We haven't skipped an evening. There's no taking off on weekends. We walk every night and every evening we are greeted by someone new to us in the neighborhood. Everyone loves Hooper. They think he's the cutest dog and they all want to know what kind of dog he is. His particular breed is spoiled with a mix of rotten. I'm thankful these walks have been such a success. What else? I'm pretty thankful for the new Menu Group we all started on facebook. I love the interaction and the sharing of ideas. I'm thankful that it's turned into something so good.

Laugh. It's the weekend. Happy Thankful Friday!

THANKFUL FRIDAY

When we lived in OKC, we had weekly "family" walk nights where Chris, Hooper and I would go walk a trail at the nearest park. It was a practice that never really took off once we moved up here. I guess we thought Hooper didn't really need the walks since he had a big back yard to run around in. Really what that ended up to mean was that Hooper has a big back yard to lay in different spots in. Turns out that the most exercise he gets his moving from one spot to the next. He'd be a great time lapse study. So, in order to do something about my very slightly overweight and out of shape old dog, we've started going on (very) short walks in the neighborhood. When we moved into that neighborhood, I was lead to believe that it was a safe place to live, but not a safe place to walk around. I think I was letting others influence my perceptions. No, I'm sure I was and this makes me feel a little bit angry and a lot ashamed of myself. My neighborhood is not a fancy gated community or an area that has neighborhood associations that measures the length of everyone's lawns. The houses in my area are a mix of run down and fixed up. The guy around the corner has chickens. The guy up the street grows buckets (literally, he uses buckets) and buckets of mums. The streets are quiet and the sidewalks are good and clear. I've never lived in a neighborhood with sidewalks. Ever. We had a side walk at Chris's mom's but it ended on our street. It's the reason we always got in the car and drove to the park to walk. Drove. To a park. To walk. I'm thankful that I live somewhere that is pedestrian friendly. We may not be going too far right now. Eventually, I'd like to walk to the library and back. Right now we're sticking close to the house. Hooper starts out with gusto, but seems to start dragging half way in and I'm not good a judging how far I can push him just yet. We need to work up to a library trek, but we'll get there.

I'm thankful for Hooper's enthusiasm. He really wants to be excited about walking, but he sounds so wheezy by the time we've made it up the street. But the walks really are helping and making a difference for both of us. Usually there will be some moment in the middle of the night where I wake up because I can feel Hooper staring at me. Hooper doesn't bark when he's inside. He lets you know when he needs to go out by sitting and staring intently at you. It's disturbing, but we work with it. Since we've started the walks, Hooper sleeps straight through the night. We both have been sleeping straight through the night. This may be something both of us are thankful for.

So much! So much to be thankful for this week. The weather has turned into something lovely and I'm reminded every day how much I am loved. Here's to a great weekend and a very, very Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

On Tuesday, somebody at the lunch table said "Tomorrow's August 1st!" and I felt my every-thing-is-alright mask slip for a second. I don't remember the date we buried J, but I will never forget the date he died or the sound of Mom's voice on the phone that day or the yoga pose I was in when she called. It's been seven years. I wondered if this year Aug 1st would be unbearable because I'm already a little bit broken from earlier events of the year. Wednesday came and I over slept because I'd forgotten to turn on my alarm. I played around with the idea of calling in sick. Then I couldn't figure out what I'd do all day at home, so I jumped up, did the minimal amount required to be presentable for work, swallowed a bowl of cereal and made it to work five minutes late. And I didn't think to much about the date. I knew the real test would come when it was time for yoga. Again, I toyed with the idea of calling in sick. I had left my yoga mat in the car. I could just get in the car and go home, but I chose to get the yoga mat out of the car. I went to class and when I stepped onto my mat, I relished in the warmth radiating off it and into the souls of my feet. Then, as I lifted my chest in upward facing dog, I felt my heart lift and I felt true joy. And I thought "Yes. Yes, I can do this". It is that moment right there that I am most thankful for this week. I get the impression that it has been a difficult week for many of us. Disappointments, struggles, stresses are just swirling in the air. I just want to remind you that Yes, yes you can do this.

The heat wave that's raging through the mid-west is not helping matters, but I believe that relief is just around the corner. Yesterday, I woke up to thunder and rain. My weather widget on my desktop is boasting 80 with an expected high of 89 on Sunday. Yes...yes, we can do this. As always and particularly today, I am always always thankful for you.

Here's to a blessed weekend and truly Thankful Friday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Wednesday evening, I heard rumbles of thunder as I parked the scooter in the garage. I had just let Hooper out, who'd been cooped up inside all day, so I hurried and closed the garage door and opened the door to the backyard just as it started to rain. I called for Hooper to hurry and get inside and we both made it to the living room just in time for the rain to stop. It had rained for a whole 10 seconds. When I took Hooper out for his front yard patrol it was still 103 outside and that brief rainfall was just enough to make it feel like a sauna. Still, I was determined to not water the garden. I was holding on to faith that it would rain. More then a small buckets worth. That faith paid off, because the real rain came to my house around 1 AM. Right now, the weather widget on my desktop shows scattered rain and a high of 78. Even though the weathermen have told us that this is a temporary cool down, I'm thankful for it. I know it's been ages since I've done a Garden Diary entry, but there hasn't been much happening with it. I did get four potatoes and some carrots and onions. Something ate all the beans off my one bean plant and I have four green tomatoes. The drought has wreaked some havoc. Last weekend, out of shear desperation to get something more from the garden, I tilled up the soil and sprinkled in a bunch of seeds. Lettuce, spinach, cabbage, even a few more beans. Sprinkled for luck. I am thankful for the rain to help that luck grow.

I am thankful for this week for a number of reasons. I finally seemed to have gained control of my usual routine and I'm thankful to be acclimating back to life after vacation. I'm also thankful for the massage I've booked for myself on Saturday. Here's to a wonderful weekend for all and a very Thankful Friday!

THANKFUL FRIDAY

The other day, Cathy made me notice all the spider webs on the window in our hallway at work and then we noticed this one spider. He was acting really weird and when we took a closer look we realized that this spider was in the process of shedding it's skin. We both stood there, horrified as we watched the spider tug and tug until its legs were free. We both squealed and squirmed as it happened. It was the most disgusting thing I've seen in a really long time, but Cathy and I watched it with a mix of fascination and disgust. As I watched the spider's legs turn from see-through clear to brown, I thought this is what my observation is for Chad. I had no idea that spiders did this, but then thinking about it I realize that I knew tarantulas did. All this time, I thought those little dried up spiders where dead ones. Turns out they were just spider shells, shed by a growing spider. It's calming and scary to think about. I am thankful for Chad's assignment because it was something I knew I had to complete. It forced me to notice even when I didn't feel like it. I even found a moment of joy on my yoga mat. I am growing and changing just like that spider. And again, it's calming and scary to think about it.

This is an odd Thankful Friday, but I'll take it. I have said grace before every evening meal this week as my constant reminder that I have things to be grateful for. It included fresh meals, scooter rides, silly dog, the two drops of rain we had this week and you. Here's to a great weekend and a very Thankful Friday.