There's A BIG Thankful In Here, Folks!

Know what? When news of a possible pandemic is on everyone's mind, one barky, rattly cough in a movie theater can sure make heads turn, or so I imagine.... 

It's time for Ten Things of Thankful, y'all:

1. I am almost, ALMOST, completely among the living after my bronchitis/sinus infection/plague. Finished the steroids today and good riddance to them! I felt cranky and foggy while taking them (sorry, all I came in contact with). Antibiotic will be done tomorrow.

2. Upside to being sick? I've lost a few pounds. A hole in my belt's worth, which isn't bad.

3. Haven't mentioned that gel mattress pad in awhile, but now that I can sleep and breathe simultaneously, I am sleeping like the dead, and in spite of hardly moving a muscle all night, no back or hip pain. Thank you, gel mattress pad!

4. I participated in Six Sentence Stories for the first time in for-FREAKING-ever. Want to read it? Sure you do - it's only 6 sentence long. Click here and do it now...

5. The weather warmed up just enough that we got to play outside at school. Finally! I put mittens on all of them, and OF COURSE, they managed to find water to dip their mittened hands into, but no fingers froze and fell off because of it.

6. I put away all the snowman decorations today. The forecast for the next week is for mild, spring-like weather, and I have certainly jinxed THAT with my actions today, but worth it to decorate with spring flowers and bunnies and know that warm weather will be here to stay SOOOOOOOON.

Test driving some new greenery....

7. I bought a three pound bag of cuties yesterday, and they are sweet and delicious. Always a crap shoot to buy a big bag, but it paid off this time!

8. Straightened my hair this morning to see how the silver is growing in, and I'm pleased.

Not bad....

9. The next one is a big one.

10. My son and his girlfriend are engaged! We are so excited for them! They've been talking about it, but he did the actual ask today while they were on a hike. Tentative plans are for a wedding in just over a year, after Match Day and before graduation. I have to lose 25 pounds and 15 years by then. Can I do it?

Link up your thankfuls with us every week! It will make you feel even thankfuller if you do!

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Slice: A Six Sentence Story

He stood on the sidewalk outside the diner, watching the beautiful woman through the window as the waitress slid a slice of hot apple pie in front of her, wisps of steam rising from the cold, creamy ice cream atop it, and as she immediately brought a forkful to her mouth, closing her eyes as she savored the first heavenly bite, he heard an involuntary moan come from somewhere deep in his throat.

He watched as she took a second bite, then a third before setting the fork down and dabbing daintily at her lips with a napkin, and as she raised her head from her pie, her green eyes finally lighted on his. Her left eyebrow went up almost imperceptibly, and his answering nod was hardly more than a quiver. The hint of a smile crossed her face, and she dreamily picked up her fork and continued to eat, pausing to lick a drop of ice cream from her wrist, and when she looked out the window again, he was gone. 

As the enormity of the situation sunk in, she smiled. Life was about to get interesting, she thought, and she contentedly finished her pie.

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

At Least It Wasn't The Flu And Other Thankfuls

**tenderly taking my little blog into my arms, dusting it gently, giving it a little kiss on its bloggy forehead, cooing softly to it that I will never ignore it like this again as little blog smiles up at me and whispers "i'm always here for you"**

I'M BAAAACK!!! 'SUP, BITCHES?!

No excuses, just a combination of laziness, writer's block, winter blahs, and sickness, but I'm back and it's Ten Things of Thankful aaaaand, go:

1. I'm a lead teacher at a university child development center. My little nugs are one year olds, and they are more precious than gold.

They are also walking (most of them), talking (some of them) petri dishes. I'm pretty good about washing my hands frequently and using hand sanitizer (unless you work for the health department, in which case I never touch the stuff), but I done got got by a toddler cold, and that turned into bronchitis and a roaring sinus infection, I am on Day #3 of steroids and antibiotics, and I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's dim, but it's there.

2. I've lost at least 5 pounds, probably more, since I've only nibbled occasionally on crackers and pretzels for a solid week.

3. I popped what has turned out to be a toxic combination of ibuprofen, excederin, and aleve, coupled with not enough fluids to get them down, and then went straight to bed (not taking them all at one time, by the way, but over the course of probably 2-3 days, when I was desperate to relieve the sinus pressure in my head without being driven to stabbing myself through the sinuses with a knitting needle). In doing so, I gave myself some kind of gut rot right around the diaphragm area, but through the miracle of Google, a consult with my SIL the nurse, and a flashback to the time I took a couple of aleve followed by a box of Hot Tamales and all washed down with a Diet Coke, I'm pretty sure I now have a small ulcer, or ulcer wannabe. It is better so far this morning, but I will be treating it with Zantac or something like it.

4. I have the best co-workers! I kept soldiering on at work, because by God, I'm no sissy, but also because I have only worked there since September and I didn't know what the procedure was for calling in sick. So, Thursday, I practically crawled into the building and to my classroom. My A-1 college student assistants stepped up, as usual, and I sat in a rocking chair and read books and rocked any nugget who climbed in my lap and tried not to fall over dead. An hour later, when the director and the administrative assistant happened to come down our way and got one look at me, they found warm bodies to cover for me and sent me home. I slept all day, then finally caved to going to Urgent Care, where my sinus infection and bronchitis were confirmed.

I. Am. CLAUSTROPHOBIC.

5. My antibiotics are ginormous, but so far, I have been able to get them down without one getting stuck in my gullet. 

Are you seeing this?!

6. I had to get better quickly, because this weekend has been Mom's Weekend at my daughter's sorority, and we made plans A YEAR AGO to spend the weekend with my SIL and her husband (yes, the nurse one - handy, huh?) in Fayetteville (their son is a student at UArk as well). At one moment in my delirium on Thursday, I thought I was just going to have to stay home and lie in bed all weekend, surrounded by snotty kleenexes and cats, while my husband got to go have all the fun, but I rallied and I made it!

7. We're staying in an Airbnb together, and it's been so much fun! My brother in law said that he wanted us to get together like this (with or without kids) once a year, and he got no arguments from any of us. 

8. Saturday morning, my SIL, daughter and I went to a lovely brunch at the sorority house. We spent the afternoon doing girly shopping. I tuckered out by the time we got to Ulta, but I was revived by a delicious dinner with all of us, including nephew's girlfriend and daughter's boyfriend. 

Some items found but not purchased, and I may have some regrets about a few of them:

Peas in a pod. About 12" long.

A real statement piece and a
bargain at $47.50

Another statement piece, although
I don't know what statement this is
trying to make other than I am
feeling quite ill and it shows

Original art. Oils. It's an owl.
It says so on the back.

9. We played games when we got back to the Airbnb. My SIL is maybe a little competitive. So is her brother, my husband. And my daughter. Hmmm. We had a raucous good time with both Catch Phrase and Think 'N Sync.

10. I'm sitting in the living room of the Airbnb now, the house quiet, and over the muffled sounds of snoring from either end of the house, I can hear birds singing as the sun comes up. Spring can't be too far away when you hear that beautiful sound in the early morning hours (the birds, not the snoring). I'm thankful for this family time. It's been a marvelous weekend.

Don't be a deadbeat like me. Write it and link it up.

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Did Someone Say SUPER BOWL?

I'm trying to write a Ten Things of Thankful post AND watch the Chiefs v. Titans game, and I seem to be having a little trouble concentrating on the writing, but here goes:

1. I'm trying to be thankful that I did not win tickets to the Chiefs game today, even though I really wanted to go (the price of tickets was prohibitive on our budget), because the temperature at kick off was 18 degrees and felt like 5 degrees. My comfy chair, warm house, and tv are serving me pretty darn well.

2. I got two new students this week at school after three of mine moved up to the next age group. (There is a wait list of children wanting to come to our school, and that equals job security!) They are both sweeties and very cuddly.

3. First half of the week: unseasonably warm and we played outside. Second half of the week: stinkin' cold and we were trapped inside when it rained buckets of icy cold water. Guess which half of the week I am thankful for?

We colored on Friday, which is a risky thing
to do with one year olds, as they tend
to eat the crayons.

4. I ran into a very beloved friend yesterday at the grocery store. It was meant to be for us to see each other, because we were both at a store that neither of us usually go to. Did my heart good to get a quick visit in with her. She's pretty special.

5. Ran into yet another friend when my husband and I went to the movie theater to see "1917". Our kids are the same age and grew up together, and it was good to catch up.

6. My daughter came home from school this weekend because she was diagnosed with strep throat. I'm thankful that she finally went to urgent care after texting me a dozen times to tell me her throat was sore. I'm also thankful we live close enough to her school that she can get home easily if she needs to. That counts as two thankfuls.

8. Have I mentioned my new memory foam mattress pad?

9. Patrick Mahomes.

He might not have played the same
if I weren't wearing this shirt.

My future son-in-law....

10. THE CHIEFS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL! I remember well when they went 50 years ago. My mom was a huge Chiefs fan, and she would be so happy for this moment! She would also want someone to take me to Miami to the Super Bowl, I'm just positive, so..... who's up for it?

Monday is the day we observe the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., and in closing, let's remember these words from him, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Stand up for those who can't. Have a beautiful week!

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It's Always A Good Week When You Don't Blow Away And Other Thankfuls

I survived the week! At my new job at the child development center at our local university, we rely on college students for nearly all the support positions, and when they have Christmas break for four weeks and we have it for two, then you can see where there might be a problem. But you know there are thankfuls everywhere, even when you're short-handed at work, so here are mine for the week:

1. Some of our student workers live locally, and they worked their fannies off this week, filling in for others so we would remain within our ratio of children to adults (kind of a big deal that we do that). Still others came back from their Christmas break early just to work, and between all of them, we made it through the week and stayed within ratio!

2. Ohhh, that new memory foam mattress pad! It was heaven on earth this past week when I was so exhausted from work!

3. We had a tornado drill this week at work. We made it down a pretty steep staircase to the basement of our building with over 60 children ranging from 1-5 years old and there were no casualties on said staircase.

4. One of the reasons we had a tornado drill (besides the fact that they are required by law) is because we were expecting unseasonably warm temperatures and severe thunderstorms which would be followed by below freezing temperatures accompanied by freezing rain, sleet and snow (welcome to Missouri). The thunderstorms began while my little nugs were napping, and one big ol' clap of thunder woke all but one of them up, but we did not get anything worse than that and did not have to put our tornado drill skills to work. 

5. We didn't get the ice or snow that was forecast for our area. I'm thankful for that because ice is bad stuff and makes the power go out if you get too much of it. We lost our power for a week back in 2007 because of a nasty ice storm. 

6. The forecast called for up to 6" of snow, and I don't think we got a single snowflake. We got some sleet, but that's it. And I'm thankful for THAT because I hate to waste snow on a perfectly good weekend, when if it would wait a couple of days, it would mean we would have a snow day from work!

7. Lewis says he's thankful for the essential oil diffuser my husband got me for Christmas. It looks a little like the cooling tower for a nuclear reactor and changes colors (hopefully something the nuclear reactor towers do NOT do) and puffs out cool mist laced with essential oils. Lewis is utterly fascinated by it and so far, has not knocked it off the table.

Lewis trying unsuccessfully to catch
the stream of cool mist.

8. My daughter bought an automatic cat fountain for our three kitties, and they are all scared of it. I decided to plug it in again and see if any of them would drink out of it. Finn and Nora prefer to drink their water from the bathroom faucet anyway, so wouldn't you think they'd be all in for this? They are not. Lewis is scared of it as well, but he had enough bravado to approach it and smack the water with his foot. I'm thankful for his incredible bravery in the face of a little tiny spout of running water and hope it will lead to the other two drinking from it, because I get very weary of turning the faucet on in the sink for them every time I'm in the bathroom.

9. My dad fell yesterday, and since he has a medical alert necklace, he can't hide it from me that it happened, because I get a phone call from the company when he sets it off. Mind you, he has set it off more than once by accident, like the day he was eating leftover cheesy potatoes and rested the bowl on the button, causing it to go off three different times, but this time, he really fell and it really worked. I am NOT thankful that he fell, but I believe he learned his lesson about walking outside in the dark to get the mail when there was ice, sleet and snow on the ground, because he took a pretty good tumble into the yard.

10. CHIEFFFFFFSSSSS!!!

My future son-in-law 😂

Did you avoid the nasty weather this weekend? Do you have a nuclear reactor cooling tower on your bedside table? Think about your thankfuls every day. If you are a blogger, link up with us. 

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Because Some Weeks, Finding Thankfuls Is More Crucial Than In Other Weeks

There's some bad shit going down right now in the world, so bad that I can't even wrap my head around it. I believe it's more important than ever to remember to be thankful, starting right now. Here is my Ten Things of Thankful:

I'm thankful for friends who feel comfortable and safe coming to me when they need to talk (you know who you are). I hope I was helpful in some small way, and remember, don't borrow trouble.

It was a two-day work week. It's a good thing, too, because they were two exhausting days!

I'm thankful for the sweet little nuggets I spend my days with. 

I'm thankful for sweet little nuggets who nap well.

That 3" memory foam mattress pad deserves a second mention this week.

My son actually let me take a picture of him before he headed back to school after Christmas break.

2-1/2 years of being a med student
down, 1-1/2 to go!

I'm thankful for a quiet, uneventful New Year's Eve. I'd rather pull out my fingernails than go out anyway.

I discovered Aussie Miracle Curls leave-in detangling milk and it was life changing. The tight little curls I have all along the nape of my neck tangle like crazy, and unless it's happened to you, let me tell you that's one sensitive area! Truth be told, I was originally turned off by the word "milk" in the name, but it isn't and it's wonderful.

I'm thankful that I forgot to take my detangling milk home with me after last weekend at the lake house, because it's here for me THIS weekend at the lake house, and if I had put it in my pink polka-dotted toiletry bag, it would still be sitting in my bedroom WITH ALL THE REST OF MY TOILETRIES, MAKE UP, ETC., where my husband LEFT IT when he packed the car while I was at work. 

When, shortly after arriving at the lake house, I discovered that I had no pink polka-dotted bag or its contents, I went to Sally Beauty Supply, Ulta and Walmart to replace some of the things that were left behind (in all honesty, I could have lived all weekend without most of it, since we have no plans other than to be lazy, but where's the fun in that?). I got (mostly) over my mad when I was able to take a picture at Walmart to add to my collection of butt crack photos (hey, you have your hobbies, I have mine). 

I can't even begin to tell you how much
is actually going on in this picture....

Find the thankfuls in your life. It's crucial, especially during rough times. Hey, it's crucial ALL the time, right?

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It Was Great And I'm Glad It's Over!

Christmas is a beautiful time of the year, with food and friends and family. There's the celebration of the birth of Christ, the anticipation of Christmas morning and the excitement of Santa Claus visiting (and let's face it, you NEVER outgrow that!).

Thank GOD it's over, or nearly so! I love it, don't get me wrong, but I am exhausted.

I guess that's my number one on my Ten Things of Thankful.

I put all the Christmas decorations away today, except for the tree. Yay, me!

Global warming is real. Not thankful about that, but I am thankful the tornado warning that was issued about half an hour ago for where my dad lives was canceled without a tornado making an appearance. There should not be tornadoes in December, even if we DO live in Tornado Alley.

I called my dad as soon as I got the notification that there was a tornado warning where he lives to make sure he was aware of the situation, and he said his Red Cross tornado app had notified him. I told him to gather up a few necessities and head down to the basement now rather than wait until he had to hurry down (to which he pointed out that he could always get DOWN to the basement in a hurry; however, it might not be by going down on his feet). I told him to call me if the roof blew off the house or the warning was canceled., and when he called me a few minutes ago, he said he had gathered up his pills, a bottle of water, and the sack of caramel popcorn I made for him and was heading to the basement when the warning was canceled. Glad to see he has his priorities straight.

Both of my kids are home this week and haven't killed each other. I'm hoping they outgrow this before I die.

Last year, my husband got me the Tile tracker and it's paid for itself over and over, as I lose my phone and keys all the time (not REALLY lose, more like misplace, but still). One morning last week, I got in the driver's seat of my car after putting some items in the backseat and realized I didn't have my phone. I pushed the button on the Tile tracker on my car keys and faintly heard the merry little song that the lost item plays, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. After thoroughly checking my purse, my pockets, and getting out of the car to check the backseat, I noticed I could still hear the tune outside the car. That's when I got down on my hands and knees and looked under the car, aaaaaaand there was my phone, lying on the driveway under the car. Pretty thankful I looked for the phone before I pulled out of the driveway, because it would have been one squishied phone!

We got a 3" memory foam mattress topper for our bed for Christmas, and it is heaven on earth! 

I ate the last of the peanut brittle for breakfast this morning, so it will no longer be around to tempt me.

Lewis ate a Christmas light TWICE from my front door decoration, and he also ate a hole through the plastic about halfway down a 40lb bag of kitty litter, which caused kitty litter to pour out onto the basement floor, and I didn't kill him. 

He is wrist deep in about ten pounds of litter.

I love my job, and I miss my little nugs, but having this week and most of next week off is niiiiiiiiice!

Whether you were naughty or nice this Christmas, I sure hope you were thankful in some way!

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