Menu of the Day:
In my glass: Fresca & cranberry juice (but earlier it was a glass of cabernet)
iTunes: Needtobreathe's "Outsiders" (I really love these guys! I think eque that you first turned me on to them.)
Book: I put the Follett book down for a bit and have torn through two survival books and i am now on my third.
A couple of weeks ago i couldn't sleep and came across the History channel's show on the Andes Mountain survivors. I had read the story back in the 1970's. But the History show was so compelling i stayed up watching until 3:00 am and decided i wanted to read the book again. So i bought Alive and then went back and bought the book written by the Nando hero, Miracle in the Andes. (Nando is the one who led the long trek to get them rescued off those mountains.) After i read those two books, i went back to Barnes and Noble a third time and bought the Shackleton's Endurance book which was written in the 1950's about the Antarctica ship trapped in the ice from the early 1900's. The books are all about leadership and are amazing stories. And today I read the Vanity Fair story in the current Cher issue by the Seabiscuit author about WW2 survivors in the Pacific in a life raft. It is also a riveting read, much like what i've been reading. These books affect me much like Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild and Into Thin Air. I LOVE survival stories. (Maybe because never doing anything that seems dangerous. )
Stupid Commercial: OMG, have y'all seen the Snuggies commercial with the whole family wearing these stupid blankets with armholes? The family is around the piano singing. The teen girl is wearing one with peace signs on it. I tried to find the YouTube but i think it's too new to put up. I'll look later. It looks like an SNL parody.
Best Commercial: The little baby in the walker tearing down the roads at 60 miles per hour and alongside the train. What is that commercial? It's hysterical but i forget what it advertises. I've only seen it twice.
What i'm thinking about: The North/South Korea happenings and what might happen in the future. Scary.
On that note, let's get on with with the Thanksgivings.
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1. I am thankful that i never had children. I think there is no way to do the job well of parenting and i hate not doing a job well. I would not have been a good parent and i am thankful that i knew that ahead of time.
2. I am thankful that my siblings had children. I love those connections i have with Kylee (and at times her sister Ashley) and my nephew Brian. I learn from them as much as i hope they learn from me.
3. I am thankful for my husband. He is my Nando. I read that book Alive and thought, this is how Brian would behave in a catastrophic event. He would know what to do. And i love that i am married to a man who makes me feel safe.
4. I am thankful for my job. A year ago i thought i needed to quit. Instead i tried to find ways to help change what seemed wrong and that helped. And some things just happened because of some good people who are working with me now. I feel very lucky to be working where i am in such a good job with good benefits. If i ever complain again i want someone to slap me.
5. I am thankful for my health. I know i complain about getting old and the truth is this is the first year i have been reminded i would get old. I feel more tired than i used to at night. I can't read print as well, and driving at night is more difficult, i have terrible night sweats and high blood pressure and have to take pills, but yet i am pretty fit and can still run four miles without stopping and i don't have any aches or pains, even in my knees. And i feel great. I never want to take it for granted.
6. I am thankful for iTunes and all the good music out there for me to explore!
7. I am thankful that i never seem to be out of books to read.
8. I am thankful for snow days! It was great to be off today. I took a two hour nap. Watched a couple of episodes of DVRd Glee and Parenthood, packed for our trip and can't really remember what else. But i was never bored.
9. I am thankful for a warm home and power during this record breaking temperatures which are supposed to be in single digits tonight! It's not even Thanksgiving and we already have three snow days to make up. There is no school tomorrow either!
10. I am thankful for many people. But right now I am most appreciative and in awe of my brother Troy, and his son Brian, and my niece Kylee, who have been working hard to get through some very tough times. My brother with the loss of his son Josh and Kylee with her lupus and being the first in our family to get a bacherlor's degree in between her flares that have put her in the hospital. I don't believe i would have as much grace and perseverance and the same kind of positive forward thinking to keep doing what they are doing to work through it.
So what are y'all thankful for?
And if anyone finds that horrible Snuggies commercial, let me know. I will put it up here.
14 comments:
I am thankful for – in no particular order:
Health insurance, and the ability to pay the deductible
Narcotics: sorry, my recent surgery made me really appreciate this option
Bad TV: what else would I watch while on these narcotics?
Cars that run, a house with heat, food in the cupboard: all those things we take for granted on a regular basis but many folks don’t have.
My income: right now, the ability to afford gifts, for my family, friends and favorite non-profits
Family: from my kids, through my siblings (and their spouses) all the way up through my mom; a husband who is there for me
Past decisions: Yesterday would have been my 36th wedding anniversary - if I had stayed married. I don’t regret the marriage, and not just because of my fantastic son, but because those years helped shape who I am
Public Radio: Got to have my NPR and This American Life
Snow days: although I work on non-school days, it’s not a 7:00 to 6:00 gig like it usually is, right now I'm trying to decide if I take a vacation day today or stay home and start my pies. Also, the new streamlined way they announce school closures these days is great
The Internet: from email to Amazon, to this blog
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can't believe i didn't give my kids a shout out of their own.
My daughter was great during my recent recovery - my sister noted Em is the best thing I've ever done.
Looking forward to seeing my son in early December - had a great conversation with him last night.
We arrived on Vashon Island before noon today to freezing cold temperatures. The mile lone hill down to the beach was a bit treacherous on the ice because it is pretty steep. Louie and eque know that hill. But we made it.
The we get inside and realize there is no power and the neighbor (with a generator) told us it had been out for two whole day. ( This happened to us last year when we were here on Thanksgiving. )
Brian fired up the wood stove and it took awhile but with layers of fleece and hats and glove it started to get warm.
but i wasn't too worried. We brought our lantern which runs on batteries, our iPod hookup which also runs on batteries, and you know a corkscrew doesn't need electricity to run. So we were set. Plus i brought my fondue set and started to set it up because it also doesn't need electricity. And just as we were settling in to the camping feeling the power came back on!
The only problem is there is no water because the pipes froze. But i'm sure that will fix itself soon too.
I love these inclement weather days though in the Pacific Northwest. And a power outage just adds to the fun. (Though i was worried that it might last our whole four nights out here. That might get old.)
louie, i can't believe that like me, you still remember your first wedding anniversary too. I always remember when July 15 and April 7 come around and not for sentimental reasons. Just because i think omg, i could have been married ___ years by now and how sad that would be.
speaking of.... eque!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you're officially single????
also louie, i can't be sure that we can ever say what is the BEST thing we've ever done, but with Emma, i would say that if i knew i could raise a kid like Emma, i would have had kids.
Thankful for my health as well. I had a minor problem with taking Levaquin this year. It caused pain in all my joints...nothing helped and then one day the pain just stopped. I believe it was the universe telling me to quit whining..I could have it so much worse.
Thankful for a great daughter. She came home for the week and we have had a great time. I miss her very much but am so proud how independent she is.
Thankful for team at work. I was out this week but stayed connected since all of senior management and most middle management was out. They had record sales (we sell medical equipment..this week should have been deadly quiet), hardware and software issues but they dealt with it like champs. Finally the printer that spits out the orders conked out at 2 today. I told them it was a sign to hang it up and we would deal on Monday. The staff I had just a few years ago would not have dealt with any of it well.
Thankful that my company is still selling way above projected figures in this economy. We sell a very good product...I sleep at night with no worries of being laid off.
Finally - I'm thankful for four more days off. We had T-Day dinner tonight..Amanda has to feed the cows tomorrow.
That is so cool about how successful your company is, Susie!
Louie, way to go raising that girl. I think I'm getting there with mine. Hope so anyway!
Jo - YES. It is the weirdest feeling, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I am so glad to be on my own.
Things I am thankful for:
1. A good job in an organization that I deeply care about.
2. Great friends that have held me up through a really tough year.
3. MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC
4. A roof over my head
5. Family sticking by me
6. Good health and fitness
7. Exercise - so good for body, mind and soul
8. Good books, good movies, LOST (which I'm watching again all over)
9. WINE
10. A new beginning. :)
. . . and you all should be thankful your not on my Christmas lists. I'm in the mood to give all my gift budget to charities and not buy anybody anything. . .
louie, are you mad at your family?
Random thoughts from Vashon Island. I'm done with the thanks stuff.
1. This place is like magic for us. Last May for my birthday we came here and the sun finally came out after months of gray rain. The weather was so nice we could wear shorts and tank tops. After that it wasn't nice for another 6 weeks.
2. We arrived here in the snow on Wed. am. The power was out and we found out that it had been out for two whole days already. After one and a half hours it came back on.
3. Last year we were here for T-Day and the power went out just as we were putting the turkey in. We used the gas BBQ and finished our dinner. The power came on just as we were done with dinner and we were sorry because it was a fun adventure cooking Thanksgiving dinner on the BBQ.
4. Brian and i walked for an hour today, including up that big steep hill. I will pay for it tomorrow with shin splints.
5. We watched Annie Liebovitz "Through the lens" last night. It's inspiring. But when i put my photos up of our trip they will be a crack up, because they are inside the cabin.
6. I've been playing electronic Scrabble. It's cool. I love playing with words. But you have to be fast. I feel good if i get more than 50% of the possible words.
7. eque, i'm so glad you got a camera like you've been wanting! You deserve to buy a present like that for yourself. I still don't know lots of what my camera does, so i'm hoping you really get to know yours and then you can teach me stuff! I do have a DVD that Brian bought me about the D90, but my friend Bob has it because i loaned it to him after he bought his. I haven't seen it myself yet.
8. I think i have pimped out that D90 Nikon more than Ashton Kucher! LOL. Don't you just love the feel of it when you are holding it?
susieatl, i posted on your blog. I hope your computer issues is solved soon!
it was 48 degrees here today. That is so weird, 20 degrees higher in one day, just like that. All the snow is gone.
I got a call this morning. Our office at work has busted sprinkler pipes and thankfully the Sonitrol could tell something was going on. The fire department (has a key to our office) and went in and shut the water off. but i guess it's a real mess. Not sure what we have to look forward to on Monday, but the landlord is already on it he tells me. Yikes.
I hope nothing bad happened at our house.
OKay, time to go put some of jojo's spaghetti sauce! Pour some wine. It's Friday night!
oh, jojo's spaghetti sauce and wine sound wonderful. i'm going to make pearl's poached salmon tonight.
i'm also looking forward to seeing my friend michele's son's band play later tonight.
i do love the heft of the camera. i'm a bit frustrated right now because i want to take a million photos, and no one in my home Iincluding pets) is cooperating with me. maybe i'll take it on a walk later and find something interesting.
i did take an hour-plus walk yesterday. i haven't gone that route in a long time because the dog was getting lame, but i have been adding aloe juice to her food for a month or so to help with her digestion, but i think it's really helping with her joints and arthritis, too. i'm going to look into a condriotin supplement for her as well.
anyway it was a great walk with some challenging hills. mel and i did a 3 mile route around the farm this morning before riding that i felt in the backs of my legs. she goes back to college tomorrow. :(
JoJo's spaghetti was FANTASTIC and in fact so is she! :)
Equeyaya, that's so cool you bought the D-90. You already had a great eye with your pictures so now you're going to have all that much more fun.
JoJo has a great eye too, and Kylee has been showing the passion too! Once the photo bug bites I don't think it ever lets go!!
Aloe juice? Tell me more..Lucy seems to have a very sensitive digestive system where the slightest change can cause upset.
Our horse trainer has been using it for herself and her horses for years. She uses it for ulcers, anxiety, digestion issues. I just pour a little on Callie's dry dog food, and she gobbles it down. Her appetite is much better, too. I mentioned it to the vet tech and she said she never heard of using it but "it can't hurt." You get it at the drug store where they sell antacids and such.
Thanks, Brian! I want to go visit my crime scene photographer neighbor and get a proper lesson for him. When he was looking at it yesterday, he was pushing all kinds of buttons and winding dials, and I want to know what all that is about, lol!
My short goal for tomorrow is to get a good christmas card shot of the girls before Mel goes back to college.
I'm heading out to meet friends in a few minutes, and looking forward to it!
Jo, glad your trip went well. I was worried about what might happen when the water came back on.
Not mad at my family, but nobody really needs anything. I don’t want to buy or receive stuff.
My little brother is now unemployed; he’s an electrician and construction is way down, but he had stayed working mostly full time until now. Not sure how to handle this.
Can’t believe it’s back to work tomorrow. I have been home since last Wednesday. Actually I worked last Monday and Tuesday, but before then had been off since Veterans’ Day. I have barely worked at all in November. Have to figure out what to wear tomorrow. Need to pick out something stylin’ to go with my boot.
It was a shock to do my hair and put on make up for church this morning, I was tired before I got there.
It’s the first Sunday in Advent though so I’m glad I went.
Can’t believe it’s only four weeks until Christmas I am so not ready with gifts or sewing or even ideas. I may just wait until I’m off work on the 16th to start worrying about it. I used to always wait until Christmas break to bake. Wonder if there will be any baking this year?
louie, i'm sorry to hear about Doug being unemployed. What's scary is it seems like anyone in that field may be out for a long time.
I am not ready for Christmas either. I'm glad we don't buy as many presents as we used to especially since i hate shopping anyway. I am decorating the house with Kylee this weekend.
I think the best thing about being four days on Vashon Island for the holiday was also not washing my hair and putting on makeup. We never went out to dinner, we stayed in and cooked the whole time. But then i like doing that.
I don't have any ideas for a new blog post. Does anyone else? It may have to wait for after decorating. Then i can at least put up some photos, which always look exactly the same as last year's Christmas photos!
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