At the end of the day...

...you're excited because it's finally Friday.

One of these months the days won't be so hectic and the weeks won't seem nearly so long.

Maybe.

Local brews.

Just keep swimming...
~ Finding Nemo

Here's one for you

So, I was on my way to the gym, and I had to stop and get gas.  So, there I was, sneakers, stretchy pants, sweatshirt, and hand-made tshirt hat (its cold here!), at the gas station.  I've been accused before of looking like a hobo with that type of outfit on, but whatever.  Anyways, I've been having problems with my debit card recently, namely that the strip is bad and card readers take several swipes to read it.  I had already locked myself out of the pay-at-the-pump once, and it was threatening to do it again.  I had just gotten finished making idle threats to the card-reader (which finally worked!) when I heard someone ask, "Where did you get your hat?"

After looking around and determining that the man across the way was talking to me, I answered, "I made it."

He made a face, somewhere between "it looks homemade", and "huh".  He only nodded.

I asked him, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"  I was curious.  Sue me.

He made another face, kinda like ehhhh.  He replied, "it could be a good thing".

I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

But then he added, "If you're a little eccentric."

I stared at him, Mr. everything-I'm-wearing-is-coordinated-and-looks-like-I-just-got-done-hitting-18-holes-of-golf, driving a late model Acura which probably cost more than my college education, and thought, "Eccentric, indeed."

Thanks to my niece, I will have a Christmas tree this year!!!

Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of a witness.
~ Margaret Millar

Feast

Today, I literally spent all day food shopping and cooking.

I don't have a lot of pictures of my feast, but here's a few...

The start of a tasty treat...raw almonds, hemp seed, flax seed, & chia seed...

...into a completely delicious nut butter.  A little thick for butter (I don't have a vitamix), but still yum.

Pulled BBQ chicken on homemade pretzel rolls.  The rolls are nowhere near what they should be, but still pretty good.  

I also made bacon & bean dip and butternut squash gnocchi.  The dip is super good, but the gnocchi is only so-so.  Very bland.  I might end up serving it to Atticus, as he has not had a problem eating it.

If you want the recipes, or to know what the above things SHOULD look like, click on the links!  

Ran out of time, so I'll have to hold off on my zucchini brownies til tomorrow.

Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.
~ Pema Chodron

Thankful 12

You know someone is very short when she takes one look at you and tells you you're plenty tall enough to change a light bulb for her.  Thus starts the first encounter with my elderly across the street diagonally neighbor.  The middle of the story has me reaching through a year's worth of dead bugs, spiders, and cobwebs and changing an outdoor security light for her in full darkness.  The story ends with her stuffing $10 down the front of my sweatshirt like I'm a Vegas showgirl after I refused it from her several times.

I had a pretty good day today.  After working 4 hours of overtime this morning at 2am, and my 5 hour nap when I came home, I hung around the house, cleaning, doing laundry, and decorating a little for the holidays.

So, between the good day, the hilarious encounter with my neighbor, and the cozy feel of my living room right now, I'm pretty stinking content.

So right now?  I'm thankful for the spirit of the holidays, the spirit of being thankful, and the spirit of home.

I hope you all feel as happy and content as I feel at this moment in time.

You have to go wholeheartedly into anything in order to achieve anything worth having.
~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Thankful 11

Tonight, I am thankful for my job.  Even though its stressful, I complain, I work too many hours (called in to work 4 hours on my day off tomorrow morning - starting at 2am!), I am very very lucky.

To celebrate all this overtime, I bought a shirt to assist a child with autism.

Believe in yourself and all that you are.  Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.
~ Christian D. Larson

Thankful 10

So today was the first of a string of winter storms the PNW is supposed to experience.  I had to drive to the Academy today - an hour south before dawn, and drive back home, an hour right at dusk, in the worst rain I've ever experienced here.  Imagine me, hunched over the steering wheel, my face as close as possible to the windshield, desperately trying to find the fog line (the white line to the right side of the road), and silently imploring the person in front of me to slow down so I could keep up with them and use their taillights as a beacon.  It was horrendous.  By the time I got home tonight, I had a stress headache *this big*.  Oi!!!

If you don't believe me, look at this article (I passed those news trucks on the way home!).

But I have much to be thankful for.

Number one:  I'm thankful my boy is okay.

Number two:  I'm thankful for food:

Lazy overnight cheesy bread....fresh out of the oven.  Can't wait to cut into it!!!

Number three:  I'm thankful the rain has stopped (for now!)

Number four:  I'm thankful I can support good causes.  (This week's purchases go towards the National Autism Association).

Number five:  I'm thankful that my work day is finally over, and I'm home, relaxing with my dog, and able to take some silly pictures.  Enjoy!

P.s.  An update on the selflessness project.  I'm glad I was able to contribute!

Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
~ Dr Seuss

Thankful 9

Today I'm thankful that I could give a little back to the community while supporting local businesses.  And that I could spend some time with a friend.

Pennies do not fall from heaven, they have to be earned here on earth.
~ Margaret Thatcher

Thankful 8

Today I am thankful that work weeks do have an ending.  And for the love of this silly dog.  

Forget how much it hurts and try again.
~ Morley

Thankful 7

Today I am thankful for good friends.

Enjoy the little things in life...for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things.
~ Robert Brault

Thankful 6

Today, in the absence of my mom's chicken soup, I'm thankful for comfort food....straight from the diner...

Nothing is permanent in this wicked world.  Not even our troubles.
~ Charlie Chaplin

Thankful 5

Every day, a million times over, I am thankful for this guy....

"All I can do is be me.  Whoever that is."
~ Bob Dylan

Thankful 4

I think every year finding things I'm thankful for is a challenge in November.  Not that I'm an ungrateful person, but I just think November is the time that life dumps its unfairness down.  Plus, 40 degree weather and constant rain doesn't do much for the soul either.

I had perfect intentions of writing one blog post a day during this month.  I did it for my happy post month (minus 2 days because I was too busy), why not thankful?

Oi!

Maybe I'll just cover the last 5 days with one post.

Today, I'm thankful for:

weekends

coffee

east coast plane tickets

catching up with a friend

the amazing ability the human body has of harboring a cold but allowing me to continue on with my gym schedule

oh, and...

Fried pickles!!!

One small crack does not mean that you are broken, it means you were put to the test and you didn't fall apart.
~ Linda Poindexter

Thankful 3

I'm not gonna lie.  I've had a miserable couple of days.  Full of ridiculous drama, the realization and disappointment stemming from the fact that I couldn't count on someone I thought I could, very little sleep, multiple overtime shifts, rain that doesn't seem to stop, work stress, moodiness, etc.  Being my normal self was a chore, and being nice to people required an unusual amount of effort.  Nothing went right, nothing was right.

I sat last night for 30 minutes and couldn't think of a single thing that day I was thankful for. Nothing.  I couldn't even make something up, like pizza.

Like I said, miserable.

To be honest...today?  Overall, not much better.  But coming home from the gym tonight I started tabulating a specific list of all the extra things in my life I could be thankful for in the past several days, no matter how small...

An old man told me I looked beautiful with my hair down.

I made plans for next weekend.

I made a new friend at the gym.

I realized someone I know wasn't as ridiculous as I once thought and could actually be a pretty cool person.

I made myself a decent-tasting dinner last night using the bare remnants of stuff found in my refrigerator: kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, cabbage, and left over chicken.  Not something Alicia-365 days ago could have done.

I was offered a pretty cool extra-duty today at work, and if it all goes as planned I will be teaching everyone in my district (about a hundred workers in 7 counties) how to use a new computer system.  I really do love what I do, but I wish I could expand and do more every once in awhile.  I miss teaching special ed kids.  Teaching these guys won't be a far cry from that.  Don't tell anyone I said that.

One of the directors at the YMCA asked if I would be interested in getting certified in Pilates and teaching it at the Y.  She said I'd be good at it.  No, that's not really something I'd be into right now, but I'm keeping it in mind.  Plus, to be completely honest, it was a huge ego boost.

I got to catch up with one of my friends I haven't talked to for awhile.  She always makes me laugh.

The realization that no matter what time of the day, for example, this morning just after midnight, I have a friend who is awake and is willing to chat with me while I sit and drink coffee and try to wake up.  No matter how silly and inane the conversation is.

I just randomly got a text to go meet new-gym-friend and some people out and about.  Too bad I'm in PJs and basically ready for bed.

I ordered a shirt 2 days ago from sevenly.org - check them out if you're interested.  They support a different charity every 7 days.  The shirt I bought supported handsforafrica.org

And right now, most specifically, I am glad I have a bed I can curl up in (momentarily!), to sleep away and start repairing my attitude from the last couple of days.

Something a coworker made for me one day.

The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.
~ Helen Keller

Thankful 2

Today, I am thankful for my dad.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPA!!!

Ride the energy of your own unique spirit.
~ Gabrielle Roth

Thankful 1

Today I am thankful we were able to show my boss what 66 lit candles look like.

Ask yourself this question:  Will this matter one year from now?
~ Richard Carlson