I've Got A Blue Gratitude

Even if I don't use 'em

1) I have choices.

2) I can make plans.

3)I have the right to say no.

Sounds

1) I'm grateful for the soothing sound of rain on my roof when I wake in the morning.

2) I'm grateful for the sound of young teen girls laughing as they develop friendships and just have fun.  I often think of Ann Frank and how blessed we are as a society that we can grow and learn with joy and abandon and laughter and how important those sounds really are to the process.  Hootin' n hollerin' and squealin with your gal pals adds such depth to our lives.

3)I'm grateful for the sound of my furnace keeping us warm

Diggin

Havin to dig deep today.

1)I had a great taco salad for lunch today - leftovers from last night - yum.

2) Thank. God.  It's.  Friday.  Really.

3) Although I'm sad today, I have learned that it will pass.  I will survive being sad.

This Moment

1) Right now - I am grateful for the smell of bread braking.

2) I am grateful for being kind to myself and appreciating accomplishments along the way.  I'm PROUD of my progress toward my 2009 objectives and choose to focus on what I HAVE done.  Go Me!

3) I was productive at work today and I am grateful that I can be satisfied with my chosen career.

It's OK

1) Today is ok.  It's not perfect, but it could be so very much worse. 

2) I am ok.  I've got a lot to learn and growing to do.  I'm thankful for willingness.

3) I'm thankful for my cozy bed in my safe house in my safe community - so I can rest without fear.

Nothin' New

1) Dinner with the kids.  No new recipe - chicken mashed taters & asparagus.  But I'm grateful for all the people who work so hard to get the food to my grocery.  It's safe, it's clean and nourishes my family's bodies.  We had plenty.  I have a refrigerator in which to store our leftovers.  It's really pretty amazing and something for which to be grateful.

2) Herbal teas - especially lemon verbena. 

3) My ol' friends.

Even more NEW!

1) I'm so grateful for NEW patterns!  Today, I tried the vintage vertical stripe afghan (crochet) - what fun! 

2) New friends.  Yesterday, I met an acquaintance and in conversation, we discovered we had many things in common.  I look forward to getting to know new people.

3) I'm grateful for my new "use it up" attitude.  It feel really good not to waste.  This VVS lapghan is a mix of ugly acrylics that I have been tempted to toss more than once.  Together - with the stitch - it is incredible!  I truly get a sense of satisfaction from making something useful and good looking from what some would consider waste. 

The Gift of NEW

1) I am grateful for a new year.  I always am so excited to have the opportunity to review last year and based on my review, be given a chance to make it different.  That chance... that potential... it brings me hope and the review... it brings me confidence.  And those are two incredible gifts!

2) I am grateful for a new day.  Every day I get another chance to LIVE - not to just dream - but to make those dreams a reality.  To get down into the muck and beauty of life and not just be a bystander.  It's the difference between seeing a picture of a beautiful forest and feeling the coolness of the air and the itchiness of poison ivy.  It's not always perfect, but it's REAL and it's mine.  And I got a brand spanking new one this morning - now how cool is that?

3) I am grateful for new ideas.  I get so many new ways of thinking of things from others - both in my "real" life and on the internet.  I've been exploring some of these new ideas and ways of living (in particular simplifying my life) and I am so enjoying that.  New ideas represent to me so much potential either to validate my current thinking or even better to offer me choices and options as I go through my new day and new year that I might not otherwise have considered.

Every day is a fresh beginning, Every morn is the world made new.~Sarah Chauncey

1. I am grateful for the gift of a new year, fresh beginnings and 365 new opportunities to be.
2. I am grateful for the determination that God gave me.
3. I am grateful for meals put together as a family and shared as a family.
4. I am grateful on this new year's day for family and friends and kind strangers and the camaraderie that can be felt with all of them.