GratiTuesday

Back to your regularly scheduled brand of mediocrity and it happens to be Tuesday!

You know what that means, it's time to give a little shout out to the Lord for something in life for which I am truly grateful.

Today I am thankful for my hobby as a creative outlet for my stress. Sometimes when life seems overwhelming and absurd beyond comprehension I open my little scrapbooking closet and there I feel comforted by the colors and trinkets. I can sit and doddle for hours gluing and stamping without a care in the world.

I only discovered this hobby one short year ago and thought I'd never understand but thanks to my wonderful friend Janelle (who moved away and I miss so much) I have become a regular scrappin addict. This girl has wicked talent, my friends. If you ever need scrappin advice, visit her blog and send her an email. She is all over it.

GratiTuesday

It's Tuesday so you know it must be time for me to give that Lord and his crazy sense of humor a Big 'Ole Shout Out~ Holla if you hear me!

So lately I've been trying to find good even in the things that don't seem so fun. Like, I don't know, my job. If you know me at all you know I've been overwhelmed and struggling with everything that's happened at work lately.

I tried to find the many blessings in the fact that I have employment while others struggle to find a job. I just couldn't do it anymore; I was about to admit defeat.

I pulled up the driveway after a terrible day, with tears in my eyes, I saw these little heads peaking through a specially carved window in the fence. Their tails must have been wagging so furiously because their heads were moving! I could almost see their smiles!

Bruiser

Divita

The blessingright now isn't my job after all. It is the "something" I come home to.

I'm still praying for this other job that I really want. Feel free to join in. In my mind's eye it would be a much better fit for me. If God see's fit, I sure would like to have it.

I'll keep you posted.

GratiTuesday

I've been having some trouble with GratiTuesday lately. Not because I have trouble being grateful, but because as I write, I feel almost as if I'm bragging.

Today I was going to write about how grateful I was that my mom could afford to visit us each month because I love her company but the more I thought about it, the more it sounded braggy. Does that sound braggy? Like, "haha my mom has enough money to visit"? I never meant for it to come off that way. Agh. Carl said it did.

So I'm going to write about something else but would y'all weigh in on my gratefulness delivery? Does it come off that way? Should I ditch the GratiTuesday idea in lieu of something else? No good deed goes unpunished, does it?

DELETE and REWRITE.

I'm grateful for the Internet!

For example, just last night I wanted to tell my mom a story but it was late and I thought she might already be in bed so I typed up my notes and hit send. Instantly the story was waiting for her in her Inbox for a morning read!

Another reason I love the Internet is that I live in a small town that is practically worthless when it comes to shopping. What do I do when I need, yes I said need, something? I go online!

What about blogging? How would you ever know that I'm a grateful bragger if I didn't get on the 'ole Internet and start typing away?!?

My friend E lives in Nova Scotia. Yah, that's right, Canada. Not easy to make the connection without a quick email. Blessings of the Internet? I talk to her almost everyday!

And finally, Google. How would I instantly know the answer to EVERYTHING if it weren't for Google (and Wikipedia)?

My love for the Internet is endless and a little braggy.

GratiTuesday

It's Tuesday so you know it's time for me to give a little shout out to the Lord for something which I am wickedly grateful.

Today's post is going to be all about my Grammy.  Remember how I told you I had the coolest mama in the entire rockin' world?  You know where you get a cool mama?  Well from the coolest Grammy in the entire world, of course.

Yesterday was Grammy's 80th Birthday.    I missed her fancy NY birthday celebration because my new boss is one of the biggest jerks in the entire world, but writing about how much I hate him wouldn't make my grammy's loving heart sing so we're going to skip that and I'm going to tell you some of the wonderful things about my g-ma.  

I can't tell you all of them cause they just won't fit in one post, but I do swear that after I tell you just a few things about her you'll wish she was your own.  She's THAT wonderful.  

Seriously.

For starters, my g-ma is the most selfless person I have ever met in my entire life.

For example:

If you buy g-ma chocolate cake for her birthday she will declare that chocolate is her favorite cake in the entire world and she will love on the cake, and the buyer of said cake, for hours to show her appreciation.

If you are out to eat with the very same g-ma and a chocolate cake is delivered to your table and only one piece remains with two empty plates, that very same g-ma will declare that she never really did care for chocolate cake all that much anyway.

Secondly, G-ma is hilarious.  A few months back I called her to see how g-pa was feeling after a little bout with the flu.  Of course, she's 79 at the time so I wouldn't catch her sitting on the couch when I called.  Oh, no.  I had to leave a message because she might be at the gym teaching calisthenics or at the church cleaning.  G-ma never sits still.  One time I asked her why and she told me people who sit still sometimes don't get up.  Anyway, I called to see how g-pa was feeling and when she finally called me back her answer was, old.  That's right.  She said, he's old.  She wondered why I was surprised by that.

My favorite memories of grammy involve her cooking.  That woman makes amazing home made gravy and even better squash.  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.  Whenever I'm sick and feeling dumpy I want gravy and squash.  Not chicken noodle soup or  tea.  Just gravy, squash and grammy.

So today I am so thankful that I not only got the coolest mom in the entire world, but I bonused when she did too!

Love you Grammy!

GratiTuesday

It's Tuesday so you know it must be GratiTuesday, time for me to give a little shout out to the Lord for something which I am eternally grateful.

Today I'm grateful for my JOB!

Yesterday my boss quit. When you work directly for someone and they quit, well you start to wonder what you'll be doing.

I started to panic that I might be let go. I'm not sure why I worried, but I did. I received a call later in the afternoon that my job was secure and that the SVP would like me to stay on the project.

I need to remember that I chose this. I don't have to work, I WANT to work. I could walk away at any moment and stay home. We would be okay. Maybe not as many dinners out. Maybe not as many Coach Bags or Naughty Monkey shoes. Maybe not as much Stampin!, but we'd make it.

I'm sure in days to come I'll be overwhelmed by the work left behind. I'll be frustrated and angry. I'll cry and stomp my feet (yes, I still do that).

Today I will find grace and peace in my work (before it kicks my ar$e), but I am grateful that I am able to work and that I have a job in this economy and okay, okay you caught me...I'm grateful that I have....no boss!

GratiTuesday - *UPDATED*

It's Tuesday so you know it must be time for GratiTuesday where I give a little shout out to the Lord for something which I am wicked grateful.

Today I'm going to post about my "mama".

Mama and I haven't always been close. We had the ups and downs that normal girls and their moms have.

When I was a teenager I moved out and decided I could do it on my own.

I can, but I don't wanna.

I'm grown now and I still like to "need" my mama.

Actually, she raised me to do it all on my own. I'm a smart girl and I know I can do it.

But I love my mama and I want her around.

I like her to visit. She's smart. And funny.

And when I'm hurt or sick. I still call her.

When I'm sad. I want my mom.

When I'm alone or confused. I call my mom.

I'm grateful God made moms and I'm especially grateful He made mine.

Now call your mama and tell her you love her.

Do it.

And if you don't have a mama. Call mine. She'll love to hear from you.

You know why?

Cause she's a mama, silly.

I love you mama. You're my best friend.

GratiTuesday

It's GratiTuesday so you know it must be time for me to give a little shout out to the Lord for something in my life for which I am wicked grateful.

I am grateful that God trusts me to care for such medically fragile pets.

At first, when Rajah became paralyzed and the bills started to mount into the tens of thousands I said to the Lord, "Why me?"  I didn't understand why God was punishing me.  I was angry with God.

Then, when Divita was diagnosed with Addison's Disease (among other things) and I faced years of very expensive medical treatments all over again I asked God again, "Why are you punishing me?"

It was only a few months ago that I realized this isn't punishment at all.  This is a gift.  God knows that I can be trusted to care for Rajah, Divita and now Bruiser like no one else can.  He knows that my love for animals far exceeds what most humans can comprehend and I know He plans for these animals to wind up in my care.  

For that I am so grateful.  Not to mention the love I receive in return makes my heart sing.

Amen.

GratiTuesday

It's time for a little shout out to the Lord, so you know it must be GratiTuesday, where I can be vocally thankful for something in my life.

I was all primed and ready to write about my recent cold and sing praises to my new drainage tubes that prevented a painful ear infection.

Well, that post isn't going to happen.

I have an ear infection.

A doozy.

I thought about calling this post "Janessa and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" but that doesn't invoke feelings of thankfulness and praise, now does it? (But it's a fun title so don't be surprised if you see it later)

Therefore, I'm about to put an incredible amount of spin on this day and try to show you that I can find something to be grateful about if I try hard enough.

I'm also going to try and do it without creating a marathon blog post.

I'm not sure I mentioned it here, but I have talked about my tubes many times. I guess I was a little misinformed about the purpose of my "tubes" because I thought I got them to PREVENT ear infections.

Isn't that your impression of drainage tubes? To drain the infection?

My bad.

Of course my ear infection started on Friday night, you know, because the ENT office was closed and my ears are very aware of my ENT's office hours.

Monday morning, before I even sat down at my office I called my Dr's office and got the LAST appointment they have available for the day. THE LAST APPOINTMENT.

Two O'Clock.

Did I mention it was the LAST APPOINTMENT they had that day?

Feeling very grateful for the last appointment I got everything done at work left my office at 1:45, making sure I'd make it to the Dr's office in plenty of time. I certainly didn't want to miss my opportunity to let Dr. ENT know how displeased I was that I have an ear infection with drainage tubes, for Jebus sake.

Well guess what? The military was playing war and the base was locked down.

For an hour.

One ENTIRE hour.

No one comes in.

No one goes out.

Did I mention that two o'clock was Dr. ENT's only opening for the day?

Did I mention my ears hurt?

Guess who showed up an hour late to her appointment begging for forgiveness and antiobiotics?

Tail tucked between my legs. Me.

Turns out I had a malfunctioning tube that only one person in the entire office could fix and guess what day she works.

That's right.

Monday.

And today is?

Monday.

So I am eternally grateful to Dr. ENT for allowing me to be late for my appointment and then for Ms. Garfinkel and her "Monday only schedule" (whatever that's about) for fixing my clogged up, malfunctioning, brand new drainage tube and preventing me from another week of pain while I wait for her to return on her regularly scheduled Monday.

Oh, and while I was in the waiting room I saw this.

I've had plenty of ear infections in my day but I'm pretty sure I've never looked this dead.

Is that not the scariest looking sick kid you have EVER seen?

GratiTuesday

I typically remember that it’s Tuesday after I post, which means that I forget that I can do a GratiTuesday post, a post where I can give a big old shout out to God about something going on in my life.

For some reason, I'm having a hard time being grateful today. I have a wicked migraine (again) and the "new guy" at work is making me crazy. I feel helpless and overwhelmed as well as full of anxiety and frustration. I'm trying hard not to lose it.

So today it’s for mercy and grace that I’m extremely thankful, not to mention God’s excellent sense of humor. When God says that He’s got it, I'm sure He does, even if I can’t see it.

GratiTuesday

This poem was written by a teenager with terminal cancer. She will never see her prom, her wedding day, or hold her own child.

I am grateful she shared her feelings in this poem. It's beautiful.

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask
How are you?
Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?

You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow
And in your haste,
Not seen his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time To call and say,'Hi'?

You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift.....Thrown away.

Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
------------ --------

Gratitude - on Thursday

After a year of normal 65-70 degree Central Coast days, last night the marine layer came in very heavy and damp. I thought we were finally going to get some rain over here!

The increasingly dark clouds that rolled by my window reminded me of how much I loved rainy days. Just like with cold winter weather, there's something about threatening weather outside that makes me feel warm and peaceful inside.

Oh how I miss weather.

I was pondering why I was so delighted by the dark dampness rolling in as I cleaned the dinner dishes and I think I finally figured out what it is: bad weather days are rare opportunities to fully appreciate the simple gift of shelter.

Here in wealthy America it's easy to take for granted how easily and lavishly our basic needs of food, water and shelter are met. With the first two, I find that there are more frequent reminders: every now and then when I walk into my grocery store I'm able to take a step back and see the almost unimaginable abundance that is available to us, and when I return home after walking the furkids to the park on a summer day I occasionally remember to be grateful that I have such easy access to clean water. But how often do I really appreciate simply having a sturdy roof over my head?

It usually takes a power outage to remind me. Here on base I occasionally feel a pang of envy at the McMansions in the neighborhoods of Santa Barbara or even Santa Maria enjoying their daily power . We live in the oldest houses in our immediate area with the power lines stretched all over base, and sometimes as I drive home I think about how nice it would be to have a newer house with some grand layout that included a spiral staircase, lavish deck, designer kitchen and most importantly underground infrastructure! But then, when I see a lawn chair tossed across the yard by the wind, I instantly feel thrilled that I just have a stable, sturdy house that keeps my family safe. Even when the fog gets so thick that I can't see the back fence and the power goes out for the zillionth time this month, not a single drop of rain touches the heads of my furkids; and even as the screens rattle loudly as the wind gusts get more powerful, we don't feel so much as a single puff of air. Here in our semi-carpeted, temperature-controlled little fortress, even in the midst of a raging winds we are not only safe, but we are comfortable.

Anyone else love a good rainy day?

GratiTuesday

It's time for a little shout out to the Lord, so you know it must be GratiTuesday, where I can be vocally thankful for something in my life.

Over the weekend Carl & I went to the private beach on base.

We went with our friends Don & Laura. Turns out Don is a LOT like Jeff Corwin, minus the silly shorts. Even though Carl & I had been to this beach many times before, we never found the things we saw with Don.

We saw a starfish, a sea urchin and an anenome (I will call him squishy and he will be mine).

I didn't really want to touch it, you know, in case it bit me.

Look what else I found. It's my hubs.
So today I am thankful for good friends - all of them. They are hard to find and harder to keep.

I'm also thankful to have these pictures. Laura took them and sent them to me. See, I fell in the sand and broke the camera (who does that?) so these are my only photographic memories of that day, courtesy of good friends.

GratiTuesday

It's time for a little shout out to the Lord, so you know it must be GratiTuesday, where I can be vocally thankful for something in my life.

In light of my recent post, I think today I'm going to be grateful for Modern Medicine.

Not only did I go to the ER for my migraine. The same day I suffered from third degree sunburns. Morphine helped ease the pain of both.

(By the way - when I told my husband that my sunburn still hurt, he told me the Morphine was busy working on my migraine.  When I asked him if he was serious, he had a blank look on his face.  Hilarious!  He thought the Morphine had instruction to work on my head only.  Duh!)

Thanks to modern medicine, many of us can expect to live long and relatively healthy lives. But imagine living before the age of modern medicine and clean drinking water.

Did you know that there was a reason women used to wear black wedding dresses? They also doubled as funeral attire! Only a century ago, the average life expectancy was 50 years old. People died in great numbers of disease that today, we rarely hear of like smallpox, diptheria, typhoid. We now have vaccines for all three. I'm thankful for that.

After my weekend ER visit, I'd have to say I'm most thankful for Morphine. It makes those of us with migraines (or lack of common sense to use sunscreen in the California sun) more comfortable.

GratiTuesday

It's time for a little shout out to the Lord, so you know it must be GratiTuesday, where I can be vocally thankful for something in my life.

Today my gratefulness is the joy of having employment that I actually enjoy (most of the time). I can’t be a stay at home Mom to our dogs; my anxiety is such that I must work if we’re going to do fun things… like eat. I know. We’re wild here.

I am constantly amazed that God has given me a wonderful place to work, with two coworkers that I really like, and for a boss who is kind, fun and understanding, especially when it comes to the my personal life. Where else could I have lots of time to read books, blog and still feel as if I’ve accomplished something good in a day, like presenting information to the base command without flubbing it up? Having a job as such takes the sting out of not being at home. Thank you God for this wonderful way to make a living.

Now what about you? Do you have something for which you can be grateful? If you feel like sharing, leave me a comment.

It’s so much easier to be happy when you remember that you have reasons to be!

GratiTuesday

It's time for a little shout out to the Lord, so you know it must be GratiTuesday, where I can be vocally thankful for something in my life.

I am so grateful that I live in a world that accepts believers.

I will not be crucified for my beliefs no matter how similar to or different than yours they may be.

I don't have to know someone to be a member of the believers. I don't have to look the same or even speak the same language to belong. I am accepted as I am.

All I have to do is have a belief in our Lord, Jesus Christ, and He will take care of the rest.

I find that utterly amazing.

GratiTuesday

It's time for a little shout out to the Lord, so you know it must be GratuiTuesday, where I can be vocally thankful for something in my life.

Currently there are 800 square miles of California burning.  There are 330 fires being furiously fought.  35 minutes from the place I call home burns day and night with no signs of letting up.

Today I am grateful for the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect my home, my family and my safety.

Thank you.  

And even though you aren't fighting California fires, your job is no less important.  So to my favorite cousin, Dink - Thank you too.  For volunteering your life for all of us.

GratuiTuesday

It's time for a little shout out to the Lord, so you know it must be GratuiTuesday, where I can be vocally thankful for something in my life.

Almost exactly one year ago, my sweet baby Divita was diagnosed with Addison's disease. It is a disease that causes the Adrenal Glands to atrophy and can be fatal. It's a tough disease to get under control, in part because very few Veterinarians understand it and because of the massive financial commitment required to treat it. All too often the beloved family pet dies before the diagnosis can be made. We were lucky.

Now we are in California and we haven't had much luck finding a Vet that understands the disease. We have cycled through 7 Vets and one serious crash that landed us in the Santa Barbara ER. I have a hard time getting my fears about this disease under control but there is one person that really helps me.

So today I am thankful for my friend Elizabeth. She has a dog, Raider, that also has Addison's Disease. She is an amazing canine lover that understands the disease like no one else I've met. She lets me email her all of the crazy questions I come up with and I can call her in the middle of the night from the ER with all my worries. She understands my undying love for Divita (and Bruiser) and doesn't think I'm crazy for it. We talk about our dogs and have built a wonderful friendship. She might be in California this year and I'm going to drive 7 hours each way to meet her. She's worth it!

She is my angel and today I am thankful for her knowledge and friendship. I hope that someday I can repay her for all that she has done for me.