Gratitude - Day 9

I am so grateful for so many things today!

~I had a wonderful time at the Tarot Geeks meeting. It is so fun to talk to people who share interests, and there is such a feeling of good energy there.

~I am enjoying the spring weather so much, the cloud as well as the lemony sunshine.

~Little Big Man and I had a great time eating bagels and swilling lattes, well he was swilling hot chocolate, this morning, just the two of us.

~I am able to preorder a cute, cute, cute 8 Bit Tarot now!

~I am enjoying my reread of A Song of Fire and Ice by George R.R. martin so much!

Gratitude - Day 8

Today I am grateful:

~For having a good night at work and making a good amount of money.

~For getting to work safe and sound.

~To be scheduled enough shifts this week.

~For getting paid.

~For that delicious exhaustion that comes from working hard.

See a theme here tonight? I'm tired, too tired to really stretch, plus no kidlettes and I didn't do anything before I went to work but read and write a bit.

Gratitude - Day 7

I am grateful today!

~It snowed literally all day, big, fat, wet, heavy flakes, but I stayed home all day, but for an aborted attempt to get munchkins from school. It was snowing too hard to see anything, so I had to call their dad and ask him to do it. He wasn't happy, but he did. I was so grateful to just not have to try to be anywhere in the mess the weather was.

~I made a huge pot of black beans in the Crock Pot this morning, so it was all ready to eat whenever we were. Just made some rice and salad, and we were set. So easy!

~I ordered a tarot deck that has been on my wish list since I began to love tarot, at a very reduced price. The Haindl will be mine soon!

~I began reading a fantasy novel that I have somehow missed before, The Dragonbone Chair, by Tad Williams. I also read on Patrick Rothfuss' blog that he has finished his second in the series I became so attached to last year, The Wise Man's Fear. I love books. I love the way words string together to make something new.

~I had a dream that I broke my glasses. I can ill afford to replace my glasses, so I was VERY glad that it did not actually happen!

Gratitude - Day 6

Today I am grateful for:

~Having the energy to go to work, AND make dinner, both. It doesn't happen all that often, lately, though I may have turned a bend. We had fettuccine alfredo, steamed broccoli, and Italian salad, not the most exciting meal, but it was yummy! NicNoodle made the sauce (according to her) and the spring greens were really welcome. We had a good conversation around the dinner table, which always makes for a nice evening.

~This one may sound kind of morbid, but listening to Floppy Hair cry as he played the guitar last night. He tries so hard to be tough, to not let his emotions show, but all humans need to have a balance of tough and sweet. Also, I love listening to him play. He is so creative and so passionate about his creativities. He was talking to me tonight about the thrill he gets when he is writing something and can just feel it is good, and how right it feels to put the words on the paper. That is a feeling I know well, and hope to know better.

~It felt so delicious to slip into yoga pants and a sweater in the evening.

~Two of Floppy Hair's birthday presents arrived in the mail yesterday, so I was glad to have picked them up and stowed them away before he got home.

~I also got the kitchen completely clean, and it felt good to fall asleep knowing it wasn't waiting for me in the morning. Little Big Man, as usual, helped immensely, and NicNoodle vacuumed without being asked. Not well, haha, but she vacuumed.

Gratitude - Day 5

I have so many things to be grateful for today!

~I had no nightmares last night! I know for some people, that is not unusual, but for me it is. I usually spend at least part of the night terrified and scared, inside my own head, and that is just not right, so I am so relieved and blessed on those days, err, nights, when I don't. I also woke up this morning without the alarm clock, which I usually take as a sign that I have had enough rest, and I always feel better when I waken naturally, instead of to the shrill of the alarm.

~I received my third copy of the Paulina Tarot today. The first one I gave to my aunt, the second one I traded with a fellow tarotista, but almost as soon as it was gone I was wishing for it back, so I nabbed it up on Amazon while it was inexpensive. I may not ever use it as a reading deck, but for now I am content to leaf through the cards.

~Work was short -n- sweet, just the way I like it!

~NicNoodle took a nap, so she was pleasant all evening. Usually, she gets tired and her inner diva becomes an outer spoiled little brat. She really can't help it. Little Big Man was, as usual, a fantastic helper, today with the kitchen. Floppy Hair got his braces off, and his teeth are perfect, straight, and gleaming. he looks so handsome, which of course he always did, but it is so strange to see his smile without the bling.

~Despite ravenous hunger and incessant cravings, I still fit into my smallest clothes. I am in the process of getting rid of all my too big ones, so as not to invite the weight back, since i have clothes to fit, haha.

Gratitude - Day 4

Today I am grateful for:

~The bright sunshine that slices through the bluest Colorado skies. It's uplifting to walk out into it.

~Little Big Man so graciously helped me with the laundry today. I did not ask him to, and did not intend to. He just started hanging things up and trying to be so helpful. I love him so. I love all three of them so.

~Some mornings, a Cinnamon Dolce latte just hits the spot in a special way that nothing else would.

~Seeing C, with his good hearted, sweet nature. I wished he didn't have to go so fast, but I was glad to see him. Also, a friend from my old work called me to tell me she is having a boy, something a tarot reading I did for her predicted a few months ago (with The Sun). I have to remind myself of these two things today when I feel sad, and like no one likes me, or that I don' have any friends. Yes, inside I am still a seven year old, too, sometimes, like my NicNoodle.

~I am grateful for the soft tears on my cheek as I read some old letters from S. They weren't the torrent I had feared, just tender acknowledgment that it was there, and for that time, it was good. It's so hard to hurt, but it was so good to love.

Gratitude - Day 3

I am grateful for these things today:

~Walking to school with the little ones this morning, watching them dodge puddles. Little Big Man exclaimed in delight at the frost on the wooden fences. "It's magical, Mommy! So cool!" Their delight causes mine to grow, too, and I am truly blessed with these children. When I had to be at work at 6am, working, by the way, for ungrateful and unscrupulous people, I missed this three of the five school days. That alone will be worth changing jobs!

~Zoe, the gorgeous Australian Shepherd - Welsh Corgi mix we rescued from the shelter, is becoming brighter by the day. She has been in our home nearly a month, and for the first couple weeks she would only sleep in my closet. Even getting her to go outside for walks and necessities was painful, for her. She would hide her eyes under her paws, and I could literally feel her praying for us to just go away and leave her alone. She was terrified, poor thing. She would reluctantly get up, and she would never ask to go out, not because she didn't know the deal, but because honestly I think she didn't want to be a bother. As we love on her, she is blooming, and that is worth so much more than the messes to clean up, or the worry chewing she does at times. Now she at least stands by the door, still silent, and she joins the family occasionally. She walks with her head up, and she is becoming ever more loving towards us. This is a wonderful lesson for the moppets in love and compassion, grace and healing.

~Singing My Girl with Princess NicNoodle in the car, but changing "my girl" to "my Nic". I hope that she remembers all of her life riding in the car, with the windows rolled down, the fresh spring breeze washing over us, and the giggles we shared as Motown music bounced around the car.

~We had a wonderful dinner at the table, spaghetti with mushrooms, and crisp green salad, laughing all together, the three little weirdos, brother, and me.

~I get to head to bed early and sleep as late as I want to, as long as that isn't past 7 am, haha!

Gratitude - Day 2

Brightest Easter blessings!

Today I am grateful for so many things!

~It was so much fun to watch kidkins searching for brightly colored eggs. We had to stay indoors, for although there are three hundred days a year of sunshine in Colorado, this Easter morning was not one of them!

~A friend at the tarot forum I frequent had a set available I have much wanted for a long while. Now I have a little treat to look forward to in the mail, which must be a favorite past time of mine!

~The children ate with their other family, so a bowl of Cookie Crisp sufficed for me while I read The Witching Hour by Anne Rice, two of my favorite things. I have always loved that book by her. It may be my favorite of hers, though I did not much care for the rest of the series. I am like a little kid with cereal, too, the more sugary the better, although you can't really make it too unhealthy.

~I no longer have to get up at 4am for work. My new work schedule will actually allow me so much more free time, and I am eager to fill that up with studying, playing with kidlettes, cooking, and baking.

~I am so awed and amazed to live in a world that has such a Savior as the man who died on the cross, then defeated death. I don't have the words to adequately describe what this miracle means to me, but I am grateful.

Gratitude - Day 1

Part of what I plan to do with this little offshoot blog is keep my Gratitude Journal. The idea comes from Simple Abundance by Sarah ban Breathnach, a beautiful soul who has worked very hard to help everyone in the world recognize their own beautiful soul, as well. I have been doing this in a handmade, offline journal for years, but I thought since I can type so much faster than I can write, and because gratitude and gifts of beauty should be shared, I could do that here as well.

She writes,"As the months pass and you fill your journal with blessings, an inner shift in your reality will occur. Soon you will be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. As you focus on the abundance rather than on the lack in your life, you will be designing a wonderful new blueprint for the future. This sense of fulfillment is gratitude at work, transforming your dreams into reality.

A French proverb reminds us that 'Gratitude is the heart's memory.' Begin this day to explore and integrate this beautiful, life-affirming principle into your life, and the miracle you have been seeking will unfold to your wonder and amazement."

Today I am grateful for:

~Sleeping in on a Saturday morning while the rest of the house was quiet as well. There is something so delicious about being fast asleep and lost in pleasant dreams even after the sun has risen. I do not need this as a daily treat, but every now and again it is sweet.

~I had no place to go and nowhere to be. There were restrictions on my time, and I was able to while the day away as I pleased. Which, as per usual, was reading and writing, and shuffling of tarot cards.

~Dying Easter eggs with the moppets was supreme pleasure today. Even the big one with the floppy hair was not too cool to take part in it. I know these days are getting numbered, so they are especially sweet.

~We made scrambled egg sandwiches with cheese on grilled whole grain and ate fresh fruit slices with it, and it was simple, but it was goooood. So yummy! We are entering those perfect few weeks when strawberries taste like Heaven all shrunk down to fit in ones' mouth. Enjoy it!

~My dog loves me. She really, truly does. And that is so valuable, and it feels so good. The rest of my life might be a mess, and it is possible no man ever will, but Zoe loves me.