Thankfuls From Ten To One

I think I'm more thankful and hopeful this week than I have been in, oh, close to a year. Let me tell you in this week's Ten Things of Thankful:

10. The weather vastly improved over last week. We were able to play outside every day. We even took a walk and rolled down a hill in the (dead) grass. It was delightful!

9. According to my blog buddy Clark at The Wakefield Doctrine, it has been suggested that I bear a resemblance to either Ginger from Gilligan's Island, Ginger from Casino, or Ginger Spice. There is a poll being taken at The Wakefield Doctrine. I am intrigued.

8. I cut about an inch FROM THE BACK OF MY HAIR and didn't totally screw it up. Thank God curly hair is very forgiving!

7. My husband and I watched the movie "Nomadland," and I can't recommend it enough. 

6. I bought two pairs of Allbirds shoes this week from Poshmark, and I still paid less than I would have for only one brand new pair. 

5. A sticker I ordered from Etsy finally arrived this week and is now affixed to my Ozark Trail insulated cup (Yeti knock-off from Walmart) that is with me 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time, I am looking for my cup. While the sticker won't help me locate it, it WILL keep me from thinking I have found my cup when, instead, I have found my co-worker's cup that is just like mine.

4. Before I stickered the cup, I gave it thorough cleaning. Ick. I even took the rubber gasket off the lid and cleaned that. Quite thankful all I found was Diet Dr Pepper residue and no black mold or cholera.

3. We got a new Dyson stick vacuum at school, and it's a little embarrassing to admit how much I love it (thank you, Modoc Nation, for providing it to us!). I have one rug in my classroom, and it collects alllllll the dirt. 

2. Taco salad. I really like taco salad.

1. I got my first Covid vaccine this week. I cannot begin to convey to you what a relief this has been. People are stupid, and I did not want to be a victim of their stupidity as far as Covid is concerned. And I will be fully vaccinated before my son's wedding in April, so that's an additional relief to me. Arm slightly sore at the site of the injection, but my husband said that was just because of the microchip they inserted....

Please join us, if not this week, then next, at the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop! We are live until Monday night!

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Score Another One For That Stupid Groundhog

Quite a week, huh? Y'all don't need me to elaborate on the details. Most of you were there, at one level or another.

Relax, it's fake

Today, I am taking down all the snowman decor in my house. Well, almost all of it. Leaving one item out; you know, like you keep one maternity outfit, so you don't tempt the muses to make you get pregnant.

Ten things of thankful:

1. School was canceled Monday through Thursday. Snow days are always tremendously welcome!

2. We did not lose power.

3. Our downstairs furnace continues to chug along. It's not completely well, but it's still doing its job. We will get it serviced when the cold weather subsides and the repair people aren't dealing with true heat emergencies OR when it conks out. Let's hope for the former.

4. My in-laws recommended a plumber to us when we found the pipes under the downstairs bathroom froze, in spite of leaving water running. It was limited to the toilet fill line and an outside spigot, both of which the plumber was able to thaw (toilet fill line) and thaw and repair break (spigot).

5. We now have a plumber. You're really a grown up when you have a plumber.

6. Our sewer line was also frozen. It is open(ish) now. You don't want to know the ugly details of why it is open, but suffice it to say our plumber will be coming back to work under the house when he is done with the emergencies of this week....

7. On Thursday, my husband and I knocked the snow off the car (for the second time this week - we got about 10" total) and shoveled the end of the driveway out to the street, then I also chipped a little bit of snow away down to the pavement, as THE SUN WAS SHINING and I needed a clear place if I had any hope of pulling out the next morning and making it up our hill. Half an hour later, our neighbor came out with his little tractor and scoop and SCOOPED THE ENTIRE HILL TO THE PAVEMENT! It was especially kind, since our driveway is the only one that comes out halfway up the hill; the other drives are either at the top of the hill where it is flat or at the bottom of the hill where it is flat, He was rewarded with a big bag of caramel popcorn.

8. The car battery was dead, but my MIL gave us a battery charger a couple of years ago that is able to start a car, and start it, it did! Figuring a battery replacement was inevitable, my husband and I decided to make our way to the nearest place we could get a new battery while getting a sense of how bad the streets in the neighborhood were (answer: nearly impassable). We drove a few blocks, very slowly, sliding and nearly getting stuck, and came right back home.

9. Since the test run was a failure, which in turn prevented us from getting a new battery, and since the university made us go back to work on Friday when all the other area schools remained closed, my boss offered to pick me up Friday morning. She had to use her 4 wheel drive to get through my neighborhood, but once we got to the main roads, they were clear.

10. Saturday, the temperature reached 45 degrees. The sun was bright and shiny, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We jumped the car, headed to Sam's Club for a new battery that starts the car like a champ, and are now hoping that one snowman tchotchke on a shelf will ward off any future winter weather. 

A fine ending to a week that was not always so fine. You can link YOUR thankfuls below, and I'm sure hoping you will.

Oh, hey, a little PSA: The American Red Cross is in desperate need for blood donations, as the extreme winter weather has impacted blood collections, which in turn has impacted the amount of blood available for patients who need it. Please consider donating! I am a Power Red donor and will be making my donation tomorrow afternoon. You can download the American Red Cross blood donor app to easily find a donation center or event near you! Thanks!

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T-t-t-t-ten Th-th-th-things of Th-th-th-th-thankful

It's wearing long underwear, fuzzy socks, two shirts, sweatpants, and a scarf in the house cold here. How 'bout where you are?

Currently, it is 1 degree F outside. Wind chill is -18. It's snowing. We have a Winter Storm Warning until Monday evening and a Wind Chill Warning (which I didn't even know EXISTED) until Tuesday morning. THIS IS NOT NORMAL. Oh, and the local utility company has issued a peak advisory due to the extreme cold and high demand. We don't have working fireplaces, so if the power should go out, I guess we'll just set fire to the house....

Lest I sound too whiny and ungrateful, believe me when I say I am extremely thankful for a roof over my head, even if it leaks a little and cold air seeps (and rushes, in places) into the house around the windows and doors and, interestingly enough, when you open a cabinet door in the kitchen. We have plenty of food, plenty of Diet Dr Pepper and Propel packets and cat food. These things that we may take for granted on any given day are all the more important to recognize as blessings when others are not so lucky, and they are the first item on this week's Ten Things of Thankful list.

Last week, it was cold. Not THIS cold, but definitely below freezing. We had freezing fog and a little freezing drizzle, and that, along with the cold, closed schools for four days. Do you have any idea how exciting that is for teachers? What a thankful!

We went back to school on Friday. It was Valentine Party day, so it was a chaotic day, but I do miss my little nugs when I haven't seen them for more than a weekend, and I'm glad we had a fun day together.

I'm also thankful for the many sweet valentine gifts and cards I received from my little humans. I love my job!

Yesterday, Saturday, we had a veritable heat wave. It got up to (wait for it) 15 degrees, and THE SUN WAS SHINING. It's been over a week since we've seen a peep of sunshine, and it made the day feel so much warmer than the temperature would lead you to believe. My husband and I got out and visited a couple of thrift stores (kind of our Saturday thing) and picked up a few groceries in preparation for this week's snow forecast. Let it snow, man, because we now have 10 pounds of potatoes! Soup, anyone?

I often list my heated mattress pad on my TToT list, and it deserves the recognition, because it is sooooo nice to slide my cold feet into a warm bed, and I remain grateful for it, but now I can add that I am thankful for fleece (yes, FLEECE) sheets AND that my husband was willing to put them on the bed. See, I always wanted flannel sheets, but he put the kibosh on it, saying it would make him too hot (he who tries to slide his cold feet onto my heated side of the bed before I kick him back to his own side). Turning over doesn't go as smoothly with fleece sheets, but being between them is like being cuddled in a fluffy cloud. I've been looking forward to bedtime ever since I got up today!

Here's a non- weather related thankful: my daughter was selected as one of 71 Seniors of Significance at University of Arkansas. These seniors were selected from more than 600 nominations based on academic achievement, leadership skills, and extracurricular activities (the number 71 is commemorates the university's founding date of 1871). We're sure proud of her!

No school tomorrow, which I'm super grateful for, because I'm honestly not sure my car will start right now. It was sluggish to turn over yesterday, and it was a big 15 degrees. And if I COULD get it to start, then it's unlikely to make it up the hill I live on, and even more unlikely to stop on the downhill side of said hill, let alone make it over the low water bridge unscathed. 

I don't know how many thankfuls that makes, but I think it's pretty close to ten, so I'm calling it good. Our link is live until Monday at midnight CST, so join us if you haven't already done so. It will make you warmer!

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My Baby Girl Is All Grown Up!

Hard to top a week that begins with Groundhog Day (you can read some fun facts on this week's official* Ten Things of Thankful blog post), but top it, I will, because this is a week that begins with Groundhog Day, ends with the KC Chiefs playing in (and, hopefully, winning) the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, and, sandwiched in the middle, is my baby girl's birthday. 

This week's TToT post could be called a sandwich post, then, as my list is dedicated to ten (of many more) thankfuls for my birthday girl, Emma Kate:

I have to begin this list with the story of her birth, which you can read here. That's my first thankful.

She has a wicked sense of humor.

She makes up her own mind, but not without researching the facts.

Camp counselor Emma, praying with a camper.

If you ask for her opinion, she will give it. Be prepared!

She is compassionate about helping the underserved.

She is brave.

First dance solo, age 9

She is fiercely protective of those she loves.

When she decides to do something, there is no stopping her.

Running for (and winning) the position
of student body secretary at the 
University of Arkansas

She is terrific fun on a road trip.

She is my very best friend, and spending the afternoon with her on her 22nd birthday was a gift to myself. Happy birthday, baby girl! Your future is bright!

Happy 22nd!

*who in their right mind put me in charge of something official?!

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A Little Snow, A Lot Of Thankfuls

If you live around the outside edges of the US and have predictable weather you won't get this, but for those of you in the middle, here's what the last three days have been like. Wednesday, it snowed. Not a lot - only a couple of inches, which equals not enough to cancel school but enough to make the drive to work a little slippery. It started melting away on Thursday, on Friday, there was only a bit of snow in shady places, and on Saturday, we had thunderstorms and a tornado warning. January has sure been a jackass.

On with the show! It's time for this week's Ten Things of Thankful. I'm thankful for the following:

1. I took my class outside in the snow. I'm pretty sure it took us longer to get the coats, hats, and mittens on everyone than the amount of time we stayed outside, but it was totally worth it! They stomped in the snow, ate the snow, threw the snow, fell down in the snow, ate more snow, and we sang the Barney "if all the snowflakes were candy bars and milk shakes" song. It was delightful!

2. I'm thankful for an unattractive but very functional pair of snow boots I bought on clearance at Walmart probably 5 or 6 years ago.

3. And for ibuprofen PM formula, which I can only take on the weekend because it knocks me out, but ohhhh, do I sleep when I take it!

4. When tater tot casserole is on the menu at school.

5. And that tater tot casserole is only on the menu once a month, or I'd turn into a giant tater tot.

6. That I can eat ice cream any time I want, because I'm an adult. I DON'T eat ice cream any time I want, but knowing I can is empowering.

7. I'm thankful that my person, who lives 500 miles away in Nashville, and I made a joking pact that we would talk or text every single day, and we are on it!

8. On last week's TToT list, I noted that I had found an outfit to wear to my son's wedding. I had found it at Dillard's, but the only one they had was several sizes too big, so I was going to have to order it. In the store, the outfit was $108. On their website, the outfit was $66. WHAAAA??? For that price, I ordered it in two different sizes, since I wasn't positive what size would fit best. They arrived yesterday, I tried them on, chose one, and will return the other one to Dillard's later this week. Bam! Done!

9. I have had a recurrence of plantar fasciitis that started around Christmas and has been very painful (but only when I walk....). One day this week, after watching me hobble down the hallway, my boss said she could fix it for me by taping my foot. She pulled some athletic tape out of her drawer and taped my foot (it's on YouTube if you are afflicted as well). When I stood up and put weight on it, I found I was pain free! Hoping this leads to the end of the plantar fasciitis!

10. I am particularly thankful for a boss who will tape my big ol' bare foot. If you don't have that kind of boss, you're working in the wrong place! Mine is the BEST.

Some of the most mundane, daily activities can remind you of how full your life really is. Look at your week and find the thankfuls, then join us at the Ten Things of Thankful, this week and every week. And check out my friend Denise's blog hop Six Sentence Stories. I don't make it to that hop every week, although I try, but I do have an entry this week, and you can read it here. Check out SSS and the many other entries, write one of your own next week, add it to your TToT list, link it up with Denise, add it to a thankful post that you link up with us, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Because Bernie Sanders memes never get old.

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Ocean: A Six Sentence Story

The little cottage was mostly quiet, save for the ticking of a clock, the slow creak of a rocking chair, and an occasional sleepy sigh from one of the little ones as they slept, curled up in their bed. The rocking chair stopped abruptly as the sound of caterwauling began to drift into the cottage from outside, distant at first, then growing louder and more raucous until the front door banged open and a figure staggered inside, standing precariously in the doorway before dropping to the floor onto all fours.

"Hush that racket," came a hissing from the rocking chair, "the babies are asleep, and I don't want them to see you this way. I assume you were out tomcatting again?" 

"Ahhh, Princess, you know you and the kits are my world, but it was Ocean Night at the Pussycat Club, and I couldn't resist clawing into the buffet; I didn't go anywhere near the scratching pole room, I swear," and he nuzzled her face with his, their whiskers entwining.

"Oh, Tom," she purred back, "I know that no matter what, you will always wander back home to your family," and the two of them jumped onto the bed with their three babies, and all five of them curled up together in a furry, purry jumble.

Family Portrait

Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge's Blog for Six Sentence Stories with the prompt "ocean"

Happy Days Are Here Again!

This week has been like a breath of fresh air, especially after feeling as if I had been holding my breath for the past four years. How could you not find thankfuls when you feel that way? Here are my Ten Things of Thankful:

1. Joe Biden is in da house!

2. We have the first woman vice president in over 240 years as a nation. That she is also a woman of color is icing on the cake. Or even a whole, new, beautiful cake.

3. The women at the inauguration were so classy! The clothes! The coats! They were lovely!

4. Bernie Sanders. On a personal level, he's a little intense for my liking, but the mittens! The memes! The levity on social media!

5. Still no covid vaccines available in the state, BUT the university where I work is trying to get it and when they do, we will be vaccinated. Hooray!

6. Diet Dr. Thunder will do when Diet Dr Pepper is ridiculously expensive. That it starts to taste like cough syrup after awhile is a small price to pay when it's only 87 cents for a 2 liter bottle and the stores want to charge nearly $2 for the real McCoy.

7. It was a short work week. Didn't seem like it at the time, but I will appreciate it more this week when it's back to five days IN A ROW of work (cruel and unusual punishment, that five day week).

8. I found an outfit to wear to my son's wedding! It wasn't easy, since I didn't want my arms, shoulders, legs, or feet to show, but I finally found something, and no, it's not a tarp. My only real worry about it is it matches my hair, and I'm afraid I'm going to look like a welding rod being silver literally from head to toe....

9. My daughter is five for five on law school applications and acceptances. Praying for the financial aid offers to roll in now.

10. THE CHIEFS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL AGAINNNNNN!!! My mama would be so pleased! I hope she has a good seat for the game in Heaven, along with a Pepsi and plenty of Rotel dip and chips!

What are your thankfuls this week? Link them up, below! We'd love to have you join us!

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