365 reasons to be grateful

#237 - this funny font name

#236 - the light on this fake flower that we keep next to our tv and the eye that my husband has or seeing beauty in the little things.

#235 - my stage name: chunky spicy. i may be chunky, but i'm spicy! my husband figured out this guacamole wrapper fit over a pic of me perfectly, lol

#234 - this beautiful pot my sister-in-law got me for my birthday. don't htese succulents look perfect in it? hopefully they will survive. they were cuttings from a larger succulent. fingers crossed!

#233 - that even though we live in a tiny 1-bedroom apartment, we still have a little backyard. i am in the process of moving things around and fixing it up again. i'll post another pic once it's done.

#232 - this bracelet my co-worker gave me for no reason. how sweet of her!

#231 - subway's buffalo chicken sandwich. i hated buffalo wings until about 6 months ago and now i can't get enough of that sauce! i put it on everything, so i was stoked to see this sandwich.

#230 - trader joe's peanut butter cup trail mix (wait, what's trax mix?) my 3:00 in the afternoon snack to get me through the rest of the day.

#229 - that my coffee didn't spill over. i couldn't believe it! except that right after i took this pic, i spilled it 3 times trying to stir it, lol

#228 - i'm grateful that this is the extent of my ocd. this and having to have all my del taco packets smoothed out and lined up before i take a bite of my taco.
 
#227 - cars with personality and pride in craftsmanship. this is the dome light in a 1940 woody. beautiful!
 
#226 - i get migraines and scent is one of my main triggers. the new building management put up these air fresheners in the bathroom and my head immediately went crazy. i politely expressed my intolerance and they had them changed out by the end of the day. thank you management!!

#225 - when people have a sense of humor about their work.
 
#224 - the beautiful surprise flowers my husband bought me for my desk at work. to look at and remember how much he loves me when i'm having a bad day. swoon.
 
#223 - my husband being a greasemonkey and checking my transmission fluid. that's hot!

#222 - coffee. this is pretty much what i look like before i have any.

#221 - markers!

#220 - cute duck magnet clips that my mom got me

#219 - pretty colors/patterns in the bark of trees

#218 - railroad tracks at sunset. so pretty.

#217 - putting coins on railroad tracks. it's cool how it leaves an impression on the rail as well

#216 - rex brandt and his love of southern california.

#215 - the seal rookery in carpinteria.

#214 - laguna beach

#213 - this cool cave in santa cruz island. the captain of the boat we were on put the bow right up in there. it was so pretty.

#212 - macarons. my first taste and i'm hooked! i love things that are beautiful and delicious!

#211 - santa cruz island. she doesn't look like much from this photo, but she is beautiful!

#210 - art galleries

#209 - calming treats. if you have cats, you should have these on hand. they really work!

#208 - my husband put his wedding ring on our cat's head and it stayed there for a good 5 minutes. guess i'm married to the cat now

#207 - my super fun in-laws and the anaheim angels!

#206 - a lovely plant to liven up my desk

#205 - cue cat. he's a technological relic with memories of the failed roll-out at the newspaper i used to work for. really, i think he was ahead of his time.

#204 - i'm a fan of this fan.

#203 - trader joe's meringues. and the fact that i got one with the little curly bit on top still in tact!

#202 - plumerias. they always make me think of our honeymoon in oahu. i hope to get back over there someday.

#201 - making some extra money cat sitting this little cutie.

#200 - cornstarch and water. if you haven't ever played with the stuff, you need to. it acts like both a solid and a liquid. it's fascinating.

#199 - pelvis. that's all i need to say.

#198 - these adorable gender reveal cupcakes and the fact that my husband's co-worker sent one home especially for me. it's a girl, btw!

#197 - homemade avocado and cucumber cold soup. my husband actually found the recipe. i was surprised it even sounded good to him. it was delicious!

#196 - the go bayside podcast, especially this one with paul f tompkins. i pretty much want to be bffs with april richardson.

#195 - beach day with my hubby

#194 - cool chair designs. my husband and i are big fans of the eames and this chair is obviously influenced by their style. i love the pattern the shadow casts on the floor as well. who needs comfort in a chair when you have great design! lol

#193 - glow stuff. we found these at target and i almost bought them for next year's 4th of july, but i wasn't sure they's last (or that i'd remember where i put them) fingers crossed we can find them next year!

#192 - super mario bros. my hubby hooked up the wii and we gave the old games a spin. they are much harder than i remembered, lol. i spent hours and hours playing these games in high school, good times.

#191 - i accidentally stole my dad's beef jerky (it was in our cooler and i forgot to take it out before we left their house) so i sent him this picture with a ransom note that said, send me 1 million dollars in unmarked bills or the native american gets it. he said, it's gross, i should have bought better beef jerky for you to steal. lol. he's right, it's not good.

#190 - cherries. red cherries, rainier cherries, any kind of cherries. these were particularly lucky as a trio!

#189 - the iconic happy face. i found this sticker in my drawer at work and i thought, what better place to put it then on my monitor so i always have someone smiling at me.

#188 - hydrangeas. these ones are in my mom's garden. they are so beautiful and the fact that they will grow different colors depending on teh soil is like magic.

#187 - that our client at work loved my design. i have a hard time because my boss doesn't let much that i do actually get to the client without her changing almost all of it, so when they approved my design while she was on vacation, it felt good. it's hard going day in and day out feeling like you never do anything right at work. this helped me remember, i do good work, it's her need to control everything that's the problem, not that i'm a bad designer.

#186 - i did not take this photo, but i'm grateful to have been able to listen to these 2 on air 1 radio every afternoon. they have decided to move on and i wish them the best, but i will miss their radio shenanigans that helped get me through the afternoons at work.

#185 - the 4th of july, my family's favorite holiday. the town i grew up in has the best 4th of july festivities. there are vendors, a band and games at the park all day and then everyone walks across the street to the university stadium to watch not only a spectacular fireworks display, but parachuters and jet flyovers and we all sit on blankets on the grass and eat fried chicken and junk food and blow bubbles and wear glow-necklaces. it's the best. this year, my brother and sister-in-law were able to come to town which made it that much better. already looking forward to next year.

#184 - these bad-ass skateboards! not only are thy star wars, but they are packaged like the action figures are in blister-type packs. great marketing!

#183 - this bumper sticker i saw on a car at work proving that not everyone that works in the building is a fuddy duddy. after all, if you're gong to party, party hard!

#182 - the author khaled hosseini. his books are magnificent! they make you laugh and cry and feel for each character so much. this book was great in the way that we got to know everyone's back story and how they all fit into each other's lives. phenomenal.

#181 - my dad's truck and the cute little burger display he shows with it. he lost the patty for his plastic hamburger, so he made one out of wood. it looks real, i kid you not. he's so clever.

#180 - my dad. he loves slurpees as much as we kids do. i couldn't resist getting him this mustache straw to go with his and he loved it. he's so much fun.


#179 - silly george, my parents' adopted cat. he belonged to the neighbors, but has decided to make my parents his new family. i love how he walks around the fountain like this. 

#178 - rickie tickie stickies! i had these all over everything i owned when i was in high school and decided i needed them back in my life. thank you, ebay

#177 - beautiful leaves. i hadn't even noticed how rich and beautiful these were until i sat down in the grass and started looking around at all the beauty and their different features and all.

#176 - that we have a carwash facility at our apartments and that my husband looks so cute washing a car.

#175 - that we were finally able to get out cat shaved for the summer. some of you may be thinking, how cruel. nope, he loves it! his attitude is so much better when he's shaved. he's all lovely and wants petted all the time.
 
#174 - sutro baths in san francisco. my grandma used to go there when it was a real thing. we got to visit it now as ruins, but it's so cool. i love seeing these hanging on our wall to remind us of the trip.

#173 - patterns. this building was probably built in the 60s when they still made cool architecture with awesome patterns on them.

#172 - that we found another place to get ramen! this isn't your 25 cent pack of ramen, this stuff makes you never want to eat that kind again. so good!

#171 - orange packing houses and the fact that anaheim has turned one of theirs into a really cool fancy food court. i grew up going to church in an old orange packing house in a town with tons of orange groves so they hold a special place in my heart.

#170 - this super cute julius command hook to hold my flat iron to cool so it's not siting on the counter where a kitty could get burned.

#169 - this awesome thrift store find. even though she looks like she is double flipping you off, she's still cool, lol.
 
#168 - tiny red velvet bundt cakes and the vendors that bring them in.

#167 - i'm grateful that these weren't my glasses. poor guy.

#166 - for these awesome lamps that my husband's grandmother gave us. aren't they groovy?

#165 - the crazy things people do to their hot rods. this one was way overdone, but these eyes made me laugh. we had a great day at the la roadster father's day hot rod show for the second year with my pops. already looking forward to next year's.

#164 - our cat, saturn. he can be a real dickens, but i just love him and the goofy looks he gets on his face.

#163 - that i don't ever have to do this again, hopefully. i had a sleep study for apnea. one of the worst night's of sleep ever. at least the lady conducting the study was nice. she was a kick, we were laughing like crazy while she was hooking up all my electrodes.


#162 - i love seeing this little guy peaking out from under the spider plant. the more he disappears, the happier i get because that means the plant is thriving, yay!

#161 - the audubon society. i was lucky enough to volunteer with the organization in portland. i helped rehab injured and orphaned birds and my hubby and i got to help make a life-sized andean condor out of carboard and construction paper. we met some great people and had some really good times. it was goo for the soul. love this organization.

#160 - internet inspiration. the internet can get a bad wrap, but i love coming across things like this. it's good to keep it all in perspective.

#159 - happy painted piggies in the sand.

#158 - i won angels tickets from work and they were killer field level 3rd row seats! by the middle of the 8th we were down 0-5 so we decided to leave. as soon as we were out, the stands erupted with cheering. turns out we missed a grand slam and the angels coming back to win the game 6-5 in the last inning. i couldn't believe it! i don't recall ever seeing a grand slam. i would have loved to see it. oh well. at least we got out of the parking lot in a safe ant timely matter. i hate waiting until it's over and getting stuck in traffic for over an hour trying to get out of the parking lot with all the drunks.

#157 - i'm grateful to past karen for leaving an unopened coke zero in the fridge at work for me. i was draggin' today and seeing this in the fridge was just what i needed!

#156 - mr. poopins. he's made it onto the grateful list before, but can you blame me? look at that face! :p

#155 - summer fruit! admittedly this picture doesn't do the fruit justice, but i just love summer fruits. nectarines, apricots, watermelon, peaches, pineapple... all of it!

#154 - the beautiful bougainvillea that grows in our apartment complex. i love the colors in this photo. so vibrant and summery. what's a ghost's favorite flower? boooooogainvilla!

#153 - i totally nerd out when i see printer's marks on packages. i hit the jackpot with this one, they even listed their pms colors! 6 colors - pretty fancy for generic butter.

#152 - in-n-out. that's it. it speaks for itself.

#151 - we got to go to the great wine fest for free! quite different from a portland beer fest, starting with the $100 price tag, but we had fun! we got to try some wines and beers and sparkling tequila (not good) and i even ate a lobster seafood sandwich and didn't throw up, it was quite yummy. this was also the first time i had been to oc great park. what a beautiful place! they have a little farm and tons of green grass and sidewalks and of course, the hot air balloon. we'll definitely have to go back to ride that.

#150 - i am grateful for this new sandwich shop and the kind, generous, friendly man that runs it. he came up to us to ask us how everything was, he gave us free cookies for stopping in and he insisted that when we come back we ask for the RAoK discount because it makes them happy to give discounts to people out there making a difference. what a great business model, and delicious food to boot!

#149 - we found this fountain in our local trader joe's shopping center. we go there almost weekly, but we had never noticed this until recently as it's on the other end of the plaza. i love the tributes to ocean life around town. this one is particularly cool.

#148 - we were recently given a beautiful piece of mid-century artwork that hung in an office since the 50s. that means it was hanging there in a time when you could smoke at your desk. this is what 25 or so years of smoking looks like when you wipe it off of the glass of a frame. i'm grateful i quit smoking 10+ years ago so my lungs hopefully no longer look like this.

#147 - i was hired full time at my job, under the condition that if it's slow, they don't have to bring me in or they can send me home early. yes, it sucks. i'm grateful that we've had a large campaign to work on and it's kept me working full time. for now.

#146 - our letterman artwork. we were driving past a garage sale years ago when we lived in oregon and my husband said, stop, i want to check out that painting. we bought it for 5 bucks and we've loved it ever since. it's strange though, there is like no information on who this letterman person is. whoever they are, we love their graphic style and colors.

#145 - that we all get along so well and have such great times together. my dad bought a hot rod and got the back seat installed, so we got to try it out with a cruise through town. i think it's obvious, we loved it!


#144 - that people continue to drive, appreciate and keep classic cars so beautiful. i grew up around classics and have owned a couple myself. i will always love and respect them.

#143 - that when i stepped out of the house this morning, i accidentally spilled my coffee a little causing me to look at it and notice there was a tiny spider on his way to the mouth hole to climb in. i'm not afraid of spiders, but i'm glad i didn't drink one! (didn't get a pic with the spider cause i had to shoo him away too quickly)

#142 - that i get to do fun things at work sometimes. like design a campaign around a space theme complete with super cute robots!

#141 - for the cute monster pouchy thing my mom gave me for christmas years back. he lives in my car and holds my small trash items: gum wrappers, straw wrappers, etc. he makes me smile every time i use him.

#140 - that we don't suck! i was searching for a prize ribbon online and this came up. i think it's awesome. it's from www.heartsandlaserbeams.com

#139 - that the vet visit was not worse. i was afraid he had a bowel blockage, but he's ok. he got a shot and some bloodwork, so i'm praying the blood work comes back good. update: his bloodwork came back good! he's a healthy old beast.

#138 - i am so grateful that this is not my job. i'm becoming more afraid of heights as i get older, so there is absolutely no way i could do this. thank you to those who do!

#137 - baptism. we were baptized almost 2 years ago, but just got these certificates in the mail. it was a nice reminder and it was nice of them to go back in their files and send them out. we got to be baptized in the ocean, how cool is that? thank you God for your promises of hope and love.

#136 - i am so grateful for being in such a loving relationship with my best friend in the whole world. we definitely have something special that i hope inspires others to hold out for true love. i am so blessed to have him in my life. i thank God for him every single day.


#135 - seaglass! i keep it in a jar at home. the blue and green are the rare pieces, but it's neat to find different shades of brown, too.

 #134 - the awesome octopus pillows my mom got me for my birthday (and the cute owl that my sister-in-law got me a couple of christmases ago)

#133 - seashells! and the cool olloclip macro lens to take close ups.

#132 - there is an art movement going on called the free arts movement. you can follow them on instagram where people post hints and pictures of where they drop their free art and you can go look for it. well, i found one! i was so super excited. i love this succulent and have been wanting one for quite some time and the fact that it's in a doll head makes it fantastic! it perfectly illustrates my love of nature and the strange and unusual.

#131 - for being surrounded by love and support on my 40th birthday weekend. i was taking it kinda hard, but my family and my husband gave me the best weekend i ever could have dreamed for and took my mind right off the fact that i'm 40 and still don't know what the hell i want to do with my life. i am so blessed to have them all in my life.

#130 - disneyland! my brother and sister-in-law came down from san fran to visit me for my 40th b-day and my husband's co-worker got us into disneyland for free! what a fantastic birthday gift.

#129 - the found footage festival. we've seen these guys 6 times now in 2 different states. we always have a blast. they're hilarious.


#128 - for face cut-outs. we can't resist them.

#127 - our little poopie jupie (his name is actually jupiter, but he has a million nicknames) he was so excited to get new cat food, he was eating it right out of the bucket. you'd think he hadn't seen food in a week.


#126 - for the beautiful purple trees that are blooming all over town.


#125 - my silly parents. we went to a restaurant in the park and they gave us a syringe pen to sign the receipt. my dad then proceeded to pretend like he was giving my mom a shot, even drawing on her arm a little bit, hahaha! i love my parents. they're so much fun.


#124 - for matisse, my favorite artist. i love his simplicity and bold colors. this is from a series he did after he got ill and was stuck in the hospital. he would have his assistant paint paper different colors so he could rip and cut it apart to make collages. i love them.
 
#123 - that my mom and i got to help put some tiles on this bear that will be displayed in mission viejo. there will be 6 total of all difrerent nationalities. this is the mexico bear. he had some cool dia de los muertos figures on him in mosaic.

#122 - i'm grateful that this is a rarity in huntington beach. i grew up in weather like this, but here it only happens a handful of times a summer.

#121 - that i can listen to music at work with headphones.

#120 - that i have ice packs to keep my lunch cool and then for me to sit on while i'm in my hot car at lunch, lol. hey, it helps! i take my socks off and cool them down, too.

#119 - that the wind is gone. at least for now.

#118 - i got to see a hummingbird moth. i thought it was a regular hummingbird at first, but then realized it had different patterns than i had ever seen before, so i concluded it was a moth. got home and my husband said, "google hummingbird moth" and sure enough, that's what it was. the photos is poor, but those buggers are fast!


#117 - beautiful sunsets. thank you God for the beauty all around us. and for giving me eyes and a heart to see it.

#116 - the sunshine family. i had the mom, dad and baby when i was a kid. i think i also had a treehouse or something. i loved them and would make them little hippie clothes and things from anything i could find around the house. then one day i got a rubber band impossibly stuck in poor mama sunshine's hair. sorry, mama sunshine. i found this and another set in an antique store over the weekend. it was hard to resist buying them. mine are actually probably still in my folks' attic anyway.

#115 - these ducks in my in-laws' yard. they were so cute and rather tame. they must have a nest near.


#114 - this pen holder that my mom gave me. i use it on my desk at work and it makes me smile and think of my mom. love you, momma!

#113 - free lunch! thanks to the vendor that brought us panera bagels this morning

#112 - the sweet smell of honeysuckle

#111 - 1/2 price easter candy! really, 1/2 price any holiday candy. it's just so much sweeter than full price candy. can this really be my first candy post? day 111 and first mention, wow. that's amazing because i am definitely a candy-holic. i make no apologies. candy rules!

#110 - growing food from scraps. this was the butt end of a celery stalk that grew to be gigantic! (it's actually the big green bush behind saturn in the pic below this one.) i ended up tearing it out because i'm re-working my garden, but it's so cool that you can make food from what is essentially trash. i've grown green onions, potatoes, romaine lettuce and i have a pineapple plant and an avocado tree growing from scraps as well. i love nature.

#109 - my saturn cat. he's a stinker sometimes, but i love the piss and vinegar out of him. here he is making out with our garden flamingo.

#108 - gazpacho! i usually make it from scratch (one of the very few things i make from scratch) but i found this pre-made kind at trader joe's and it is yummy!

#107 - gigantic, beautiful, sweet strawberries. nature's candy. you know, when real candy isn't available. i kid, i kid. kinda.

#106 - my lil reminder. remember that commercial? anyway, i'm grateful for the reminder feature on my cell phone since i can't call and leave myself answering machine messages to check when i get home anymore. this one was reminding me to bring gum to work the next day.

#105 - pickled veggies! my dad got my hooked on these as a kid. i can't see them or talk about them or apparently even blog about them without my mouth watering. this jar is particularly awesome because it is mostly cauliflower. and yes, i am grateful for a lot of food items. i love food, what can i say!

#104 - for trader joe's already hard-boiled and peeled eggs. they are an easy snack at the end of a work day.

#103 - for people putting silly things on their cars. i love cars with personality and i'm especially partial to volkswagens.

#102 - for finally finding lampshades for our awesome vintage lamps. these were my husband's grandmother's and the shades were huge so we threw them away and then didn't have shades on them for about 2 years. we finally found shades we liked and they were at the outlet store, so they were only 10 bucks each! can't beat that.

#101 - for getting to walk this tree-lined path on the way out to my car at work

#100 - for this creepy, foggy scene on the way to work.

#99 - that my dad was able to get himself a hot rod after wanting one for ever and ever. he's always been such a hard worker and put everyone else's needs/wants in front of his own. it makes us all so happy he actually bought this for himself. yes, my dad is cooler than i am, but i'm ok with that.

#98 - pretty flowers sprouting on one of our succulents. they always surprise me. when i buy them i don't even know that they'll get flowers and then boom, they bloom!

#97 - for this crow that visited me at lunch.

#96 - for plastic pink flamingos! i love these silly things.

#95 - and that when i have a little too much fun at the bar, i can count on my ol' reliable hangover breakfast. cheez-its and coke, we've had some times over the years. your greasy and sugary goodness are what a queazy tummy needs. thanks for always being there, but i really hope to not see you for a breakfast for a long, long time. not until next week anyway... (and another shout out, this one to my soft cell fan friends)

#94 - that i don't smoke anymore. but, i have to admit it was fun seeing a cigarette machine in a bar. i hadn't seen one in years. i think the last time i used one, cigarettes were about $2.80 a pack. now? $6.25! wow.

#93 - blue sky. it's just so beautiful. i never really appreciated it until i went months and months at a time without seeing it while living in oregon. i love and miss oregon terribly, but grey skies are not my friend. i definitely learned that i am solar powered.

#92 - that they put up a new sign at the wetlands talking about the raptors that live there, particularly the burrow owl. did you know that burrow owls live in a hole, in the ground? why the hell do you think they call it a burrow owl anyway? (a little shout out to anyone who loves the dead milkmen as much as i do)

#91 - trader joe's chicken salad on sourdough bread with a leaf of romaine lettuce. man, that's good! i love chicken salad, but i hate making it. this is perfect.

#90 - that our neighbor moved out! we've had much better luck with neighbors here than we have had at many of our other places, but the lady that lived next to us was exceptionally obnoxious. i feel bad because she was obviously miserable and had to let everyone know it, but i was so tired of hearing her cuss out her dog in the backyard and hear her super loud, inappropriate speaker phone conversations. we have our little back patio set up as a peaceful sanctuary and she had taken the peace away from it. i'm so glad she moved out just in time for us to enjoy our pack patio in the summer! i wish her happiness, i really do.

#89 - another awesome dumpster find! people get rid of such great stuff. apartment dumpsters (or the area next to the dumpster where people are nice enough to leave their good stuff) makes apartment living fun

#88 - sunset at the wetlands and this beautiful trumpet vine

#87 - shadows. particularly of things that are transparent. this is a lamppost. i really like colored balloon shadows, it's so cool how the color transfers to the shadow.

#86 - spring! even though we don't really have seasons here in southern california, it's still nice. and it means summer is just around the corner, yay summer!

#85 - our beautiful blooming cactus. we've had her for probably 5 or 6 years and every year she has more blossoms. such a pretty pink crown.

#84 - that we can allow the cats to go out on the back patio without fear that they will get out or that other creatures will come in. also grateful that it can be closed when it's raining!

#83 - for our community bbq. it's hooked up to a direct propane line and they clean it, what more could you want? and yes, we live in an old western town, lol.

#82 - that my parents and brother and sister-in-law are able to get away to beautiful maui. of course, i wish we were there with them, but i'm so happy for them, they all work so hard, they deserve a break

#81 - for classic cars, especially volkswagens

#80 - for this old pantone swatch book i got to rescue from the trash during our office spring cleaning. those graphics!

#79 - our poopy jupey in his monkey bad

#78 - this pause of neil degrasse tyson from cosmos

#77 - that i could see the moon from the bathroom window when i was getting ready in the morning. if you have to wake up in the dark, it's nice to have a friendly moon watching over you

#76 - for free online classes. i just finished this one and i absolutely loved the instructor. what a nice man, i would definitely take more classes from him.

#75 - for our neighbors. after having terrible neighbors for so many years, we feel so blessed to live in a quiet community with friendly neighbors.

#74 - for my dad. he's kind, caring, would give you shirt off his back and loves animals as much as i do

#73 - for getting to work a full 80 hour work week

#72 - podcasts! today was my first time listening to dlm, i liked it. doug benson cracks me up.

#71 - angry birds! yeah that's right, i still play it. every day on my lunch break and any other time i have to wait for anything. i've completed all the levels, but i replay them over and over to get 3 stars.

#70 - for being invited to go walk with some disney folks. they are having a healthy contest and employees get extra points if they can get friends and family to come along. it was fun and the sunset was beautiful!

#69 - that my hubby's name is stamped in the concrete along the route i walk at lunch. not that i need a reminder to think of him, but it just makes me smile. it's stamped about 4 or 5 times along the way.

#68 - this beautiful view of pointillist clouds from our backyard

#67 - wing stop. i never liked buffalo wings until a lady at work got some boneless ones for lunch and then didn't like them after all. she was going to throw them away so i took them home to my husband and i decided to try one at which point i fell in love with them, dangit.

#66 - 5:00 on a friday! woohoo, freedom!

#65 - toe socks!

#64 - for the park-like setting of our apartment complex and all the birds that reside here. there are a couple of mourning doves in the photo. do you see them?

#63 - for the street performers at our lovely farmers market. this guy was great. he was funny, personable and rode around on a 12 foot unicycle while juggling a knife, a flaming torch and a juggling pin. great show.

#62 - grapes. giagantic, sweet, delicious grapes. seriously, these things are huge. i should have had something for scale.

#61 - for avocados! i hated them when i was a kid, but i can't get enough of them as an adult

#60 - for the authentic new hawaiian place that opened up the street and their delicious loco moco

#59 - that when the wind took the door out of the hand of the person parked next to me and threw it into the side of my car that there wasn't more damage 'cause it sure sounded like there should have been. she felt terrible. i told her no worries.

#58 - dandelions in the grass

#57 - that i'm a pretty good speller and that my mom taught me if i didn't know how to spell something to look it up, not just spell it differently in each line.

#56 - chocolate! and my lovely co-worker who keeps a bowl full of it for us in the break room, chocolate can make an afternoon better, it really can.

#55 - the view from my bathroom window in the morning. admittedly, it doesn't look like much in the photo, but that tree peeking up over the wall is so beautiful with the early morning sun on it. it's reminds me of something from the lion king. i will cherish it for the next couple of weeks until we change the clocks and i go back to getting ready in the dark. gross.


#54 - that my parents taught me to claim zero on my withholding so that we can get a check back each tax year. no, i don't care that "the government is using our money interest free." i like getting a check back regardless. it's fun money and i'm grateful to have it.

#53 - camera filters

#52 - 5:00 on friday! you like that antiquated time clock don't you?

#51 - i'm grateful that he didn't puke IN my shoes

#50 - that the sun is out when i get off work now.

#49 - warm fuzzies from my co-workers. i never think i fit in anywhere, so this made me feel good

#48 - new tires for my car. i'm grateful that i have a brother that could tell me i needed them, that my hubby saw a killer deal for them and that we have the means to buy them

#47 - the olympics. this is the first year i've really been into it.

#46 - my silly momma

#45 - that my hubby is romantic on valentine's day

#44 - toilet paper

#43 - pretty water features

#42 - air

#41 - for the sweet notes my husband put in my lunch when i started my new job and that i can re-read them anytime i'm having a bad day because they live in my car

#40 - for my husband's understanding ways and how he can help bring me out of a cruddy mood

#39 - that i'm not actually getting sued. many thanks to my father-in-law for calling a friend to find out they sent this letter to the wrong person. thanks for the mini heart attack, alberts firm. glad it's taken care of.

#38 - finding weird stuff like a random orange on a chair. what a crazy day. went to a memorial for a friend and had a family reunion of sorts with old co-workers. some of the best people i will ever know. i was a lucky kid getting to start my career out with them all. i'll never find a job or a work environment to match it. rip charlie. don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. - dr suess

#37 - julius to keep me company on my desk

#36 - snooze

#35 - coffee! even though i obviously don't enjoy the taste of the coffee so much as the vanilla creamer in it. but, yay caffeine!

#34 - for finding a fish that i enjoy eating

#33 - that i didn't hurt myself too badly when i fell off my skateboard yesterday. just a little bruised and sore, no biggie

#32 - not having to wear make-up on the weekends

january - so, that's my first month. i'm proud of myself for keeping up with it. they're not all great, but i have to remind myself that's kinda the point. we should be grateful for the little mundane stuff of life. noticing it as something to be grateful for gives it life. there's a radio station i listen to in the morning sometimes and they have a deal where you can call in and mention something you did during the week and they will have a little celebration for you. and why not? we take the not so good stuff so seriously and give it so much of our energy, why don't we give that same effort to the good things, no matter how small? this exercise has made me more conscience of making it a point to find something to be grateful for in every single day. 

#31 - clouds

#30 - that my car started even though when i went to get in this morning i realized i left the door partially open yesterday. i was afraid the dome light would have drained the battery, but nope. all was good.

#29 - that i got to go to work today and walk around "the block" on my lunchbreak

#28 - longboard drop-down skateboards stable enough for us old timers who still want to skate the beach boardwalk.

#27 - the press-enterprise and all the wonderful people i met while working there. it was back in a time when the people you worked with were your family. we loved and cared for each other and i don't think i'll ever have a work experience quite like i did there. this post is dedicated to one of the good ones we lost today. RIP charlie. thank you for all that you taught me. i hope you know how much i appreciated it even though i was a know-it-all 20-something at the time.

#26 - cupcakes!

#25 - this

#24 - youtube and all its crafty tips. today i was researching photo transfers

#23 - lunch with my mother-in-law. we like to go to wendy's for a salad (and maybe a frosty) and then to hobby lobby for some crafty shopping

#22 - the genius bar. they may not be actual geniuses, but hey, they're smarter than i am

#21 - creative messes. this one was for a collage

#20 - walks on my lunch break

#19 - our garden

#18 - beach sunsets

#17 - lunch with my hubby on a gorgeous, clear blue, sunshiney day

#16 - shave ice and the fact that i live in a place where i can eat it in the middle of winter

#15 - dumpster finds... a row of mailboxes

#14 - my car

#13 - green grass

#12 - food in our fridge. all our lunches prepared for the week.

#11 - the wetlands trailhead right down the street


#10 - flowers

#9 - water. whenever i want it

#8 - a place to call home

#7 - our boys. i am more grateful for them than say, crunchy leaves, but they are so hard to get a picture of! you can probably tell i barely got this one, lol

#6 - crunchy leaves

#5 - finding a church based on love where we feel comfortable and welcomed

#4 - sleeping in, even though this used to be considered getting up early

#3 - having two working legs in case of "whoop whoop whoop" on the 6th floor

#2 - flip flops

#1 - my adoring, kind, handsome, loving husband


No comments:

Post a Comment