Thankful Friday

Isn't he cute?? Today I am most thankful for Jacob. He offered to finish the last of the painting today on his day off. While I went shopping and visited my friend... not that he would have wanted to go anyways. Thanks Jacob! It looks great!

I was just looking through my pictures earlier today and realized I am also very thankful that we do not still live here.



And right now I'm grateful for my warm, comfy bed. And that is where I'm going.

Goodnight!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a great day! I got to spend the day with my family- both my side and Jacob's side.

My grandmother has always been a special person to me. She's always been a great friend and I've been honored to call her my grandmother. She recently has moved into a nursing home and it has truly broken my heart to see her there. Today we all got to spend a few hours together. I am reminded yet again of the great example she is to me.

She has worked harder than anyone I know. Life dealt her some tough blows, but she isn't a complainer. She did what she had to do to live a happy, righteous life. She is an amazing seamstress, a great cook, and a tough, tough lady. She is a 2 time cancer survivor, a cerebral hemorrhage survivor (who actually survives that??) and was a widow at a young age.

When I was younger I used to love to go spend the night at her house. She would pop me popcorn and we'd watch TV together on her little black and white TV. Then the next day we'd go for long walks together. When I was older and in college, we'd go on lunch dates to KFC about once a month. These days she's not so strong, not so stable. I try to visit her when I can. When I leave her room I feel sadder than the time before. She just isn't the way I remember her.

But today I am thankful for her example and her legacy.
When I think of hard work, I think of her.
When I think of kindness, I think of her.
When I think of integrity, I think of her.

Thank you Grammie! I am thankful for you!

Today I'm thankful for my job

I really am. Where else can you go and get paid for doing so little? And considering how many people are getting laid off all over the country, I am even more grateful.

Subsequently, I am thankful for the internet and all the distractions the internet provides.

On a regular basis I plan fancy vacations I will never go on, shop for clothes, jewelry and furniture I could never afford, plan gourmet meals I'll never make, and look up homes that I can only dream of living in some day. 

And I really really love keeping in touch with my friends and family online. I stalk many many blogs that I don't have listed on here. Email and Facebook provide me with hours of distraction, and I frequent a few message boards and forums where I have made some good friends.

People survived for years without the internet, but I don't know how they did it. They probably were much more efficient and productive in their jobs, but did they realize they were missing out on some great friendships?

Time to be thankful

I tend to spend too much time dwelling on what I don't have rather than what I DO have. So every day for the rest of the week I will spend a few minutes counting my blessings, and I'll name them one by one.

Today I'm thankful that I wasn't born before electricity was invented. Or cars. Or running water. And I'm grateful that I live in a country where this stuff is readily available. I'm grateful for the pilgrims, and I'm so very glad I wasn't one of them.

Just look at this picture. 

It makes me feel cold, seasick, smelly, hungry, tired, scared and I imagine I would have been cranky to have to wear those dresses and cook over an open fire. ugh. no thanks. I don't even want to go camping without the luxuries L.L.Bean provides. I never would have made it!

Don't worry, we made it out in time

I'm not too bright. This is how my morning went.

Turn on burner to heat up water for my hot chocolate to take to work with me. (It's wicked cold in here)

Go back in bathroom to put on my make-up.

Ask Jacob if his toast is burning.

He says he didn't put any in.

Hear the sudden screech of the smoke alarm.

Go out and see the kitchen looking something like this:

Realize I turned on the wrong burner, and melted the spatula in the pan. 

Threw them both outside.

Opened the windows and turned on the fans.

Said a little prayer and thanked God that I had *for the first time in my life* remembered to change the batteries in the smoke detectors when we changed the clocks.

Smell like melted plastic and smoke all day.

The smoke detector saved our lives! Or at least our kitchen, just before it went up in flames!

Moral of the story-

CHANGE THE BATTERIES IN YOUR SMOKE DETECTOR! Please.

Edited to add- it could be worse. My co-worker's husband just called to tell her that he caught a dump truck on fire. I'm grateful for my blessings.