Be Grateful #7 and #8?

I am sooo behind.  ;)  Big surprise there, huh?  Life has been busy, busy, busy!  I've already been at my new job for a whole month now, and this week, I was struck with a cold, so I am taking it slower.  This means I am a little behind on my day-to-day things like laundry and lesson planning, not to mention this!

on our non-snowy Snow Day

1)  I am thankful we got a "snow" day!  A week ago Thursday, we were hit with a little ice.  Originally, we were going to do a delayed opening, but about thirty minutes before we had to leave, the school closed!  Zach and I celebrated with French toast and the season three special of Downton Abbey.  (We SAW that coming from a mile away, but talk about heart-wrenching!)  We got snow on Tuesday, too, but it started to melt just about as soon as it piled up, so we were still open.  :(

Our bridge was covered in a solid sheet of ice by the time it quit sleeting. 

2)  I'm thankful for how well my new job is going.  I'm kickin' butt and takin' names!

French Toast--I served it with bananas and Nutella!

3)  I'm thankful my Thirty-One party turned out better than I expected.  My cousin is a consultant, and she talked me into having a party after I had a Scentsy catalog one for my niece last year.  As of Wednesday morning, when my orders were due, I had only sold $47.  By ten that night, I had made it to $209!  This meant that I got to take part in the hostess rewards AND helped my cousin out with a little cash from the commission.  My husband, who is a bit OCD about organizing, LOVED looking through the 31 catalog.  *lol*  He picked out some things for the car, but I am excited for my server set (casserole carry case)!

 Amy gives Zach bunny ears.

4)  I'm thankful for former students.

Scrabble:  This time, Amy own and Zach lost.  A reversal of fortunes from the last game.

5)  I'm thankful for freebies!  We have a Sam's Club membership and get awesome things from them.  Just this week, we got an Air Wick warmer and fragrance.  Our kitchen smells lovely.  :)

I made my photo look Instagrammy.  ;)

6)  I'm thankful for friends!  Last weekend, we had dinner and Scrabble with the Ganns and then joined the Jebarajs and others for our dinner and Theatre Squared night.  We were supposed to have gourmet grilled cheese night with our friend Amy last night, but I came down with a cold, so it is postponed a week.  :(  Still, last weekend we had enough fun to carry us to today!

snowy Non-Snow Day

7)  I'm thankful for the new Tempur-pedic mattress that is on its way to us.  Zach wanted a bar for his birthday, so we started looking last weekend at Hank's and Ashley's.  We ended up walking away with new mattress set and $300 worth of free pillows and sheets AND a bar!  Our furniture won't be in for at least another week, but I can't wait to have a comfy QUEEN-sized bed.  :)

I measure the snow using these two birdies.

8)  I'm thankful for the new niece or nephew we will welcome in the fall.  :)  Zach's sister Erin and brother-in-law Josh phoned us Wednesday to announce they are expecting.  Many prayers appreciated for a healthy pregnancy and baby.  They are moving next weekend, and I told Erin she doesn't get to lift anything.

9)  I'm thankful for my husband when I am sick.  He went to get me medicine and Dixie Cafe last night, and he is sleeping on the couch.  I volunteered to sleep on the couch to keep him safe and healthy, but he refused.  Such a sweetie.  :)  I'm also thankful he puts up with my grumbling on snowy non-Snow Day days and non-snowy Snow Days!

10)  I'm thankful to have discovered what St. David's Day is.  I love anything that acknowledges the beauty of a daffy.  :)

11)  I'm thankful for Kennedy Coffee and their chai tea lattes.  HEAVEN in my mouth!

12)  I'm thankful I found my eyeglasses.  I usually keep in them in the passenger side of the car; somehow, they made it to the driver's side, and I was panicked when I didn't find them in their usual spot.

13)  I'm thankful I got my permanent crown installed (?) without incident!

14)  I'm thankful for Ms. Juanita at work who gave me a Milky Way in honor of my granny.  She has switched to eating whole foods but was tempted to eat it.  When I mentioned on Facebook those were my granny's favorite (we even had them at her visitation!), she surprised me with it.  I thoroughly enjoyed it when I had to give up hope of a snow day this week.  I'm also thankful for my supervisor Lenora who shows that she appreciates our hard work and makes work fun!

Be Grateful #14

In my part of the nation--that is obviously Arkansas since this is "The Pharr Side of Arkansas" :)  --it is officially Thanksgiving!  So HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF YOU TURKEYS!  I hope you have a lovely day with your loved ones and eat and eat and eat...and eat and eat and eat...and eat and eat and eat some more.  ;)

This is the apple pie I made for our dinner.  I first made this recipe for Christmas in 2010, and it went over very well.  So I planned to make it for last Thanksgiving, but we know how that turned out.  I think it looks beautiful with the oak leaf, maple leaf, and acorn cutouts (along with three apple cutouts in the center).  Hopefully, it tastes as good as it looks!  (I'll let you know.)

This year, I feel especially thankful.  Last year at this time, I was hospitalized and battling the worst Crohn's Disease flare-up I've had yet, planning to beat it by starting Remicade.  Eventually, this flare caused perforations in my colon, which led to emergency surgery and a colostomy before starting Remicade about two weeks later.  I almost died last year, and I am so grateful that I am still here.  Things like that really put it all in perspective, don't they?  You can read more about those experiences life-altering experiences here.

1)  I am thankful for my Lord and Savior who loves me unconditionally and saves me moment by moment.  I really would be nothing without God.

2)  I am thankful to be alive and (pretty much) well.  :)

3)  I am thankful for my husband.  God really knew what He was doing when He made Zach and put him in my life.  Since we have been together, he has never ceased to amaze me with his love, kindness, intelligence, humor, thoughtfulness, quirkiness, etc. etc. etc.

4)  I am thankful for my mama and that she is doing better this year, getting back on track, having started some things over, becoming closer with my brother again.

5)  I am thankful for my family--whether by blood, law, or choice.  "No man is an island," John Donne once said.  Nor should he.  We need each other.  I am so glad I need them and they me.

6)  I am thankful for my friends and acquaintances who inspire me, like me, support me, and guide me.

7)  I am thankful for my kitties.  They are our babies, and it's hard to picture our life without them.

8)  I am thankful to have a home with food in our pantries, heat in our house, and running water in the showers.

9)  I am thankful for our Dyson vacuum, so Zach can continue to do a thing he loves (vacuuming--he is so weird, y'all!) and for my Scentsy warmer, so I can make our house smell like oranges, cloves, and cinnamon (Mandarin Moon).

10)  I am thankful for tomorrow, which is already today and will soon become a yesterday.

What are you thankful for this year??

Be Grateful #13

Well, I have been so behind that I missed my gratitude journal last Monday, but I planned to do a post on Thanksgiving, so I figured it would be fine to post it today.  :)

1)  I am thankful for weekends at home and away.

2)  I am thankful for my precious students and that I haven't scared some away so that they feel okay to take me again in the spring.

3)  I am thankful for movie dates and dinner at Denny's.

4)  I am thankful to have finished Christmas shopping for Zach.  (Well, almost.)

5)  I am thankful for the friends I have at work.  Last year, I was still in my shell, but after falling so ill and recovering, I had people pray for us that I had never talked to, and suddenly, I found myself talking to him.

6)  I am thankful to help out my family and friends in any way I can.  And I'm thankful for those that ordered Scentsy to help my niece build her business as well as give me reward points.  I can't wait to get it in and try it!

7)  I'm thankful for clean carpets!

8)  I'm thankful for the kindness of strangers.  Thanks to the Pay It Forward program in our area, an Arvest Bank branch paid for my prescription on Wednesday, which made possibly having an infected tooth and potential root canal in the future easier to deal with.

9)  I'm thankful for my new and old infusion nurses.

10)  I'm thankful for my Gilmore Girls DVDs.

11)  I'm thankful that it is acceptable to put up Christmas decorations and listen to Christmas music this week.

12)  I'm thankful that I work at a place that acknowledges the holidays with Thanksgiving potlucks and a huge Christmas tree in every building.

13)  I'm thankful we have a soda shoppe (but I'm not happy they got rid of our British candy to open it!).

14)  I'm thankful for healthy babies and smooth labors and happy pregnancy for my dear friends.  Introducing my newest best niece, Autumn, who was born on the 13th at 8 lb. 2 oz.  (Y'all.  Her weight is AMAZING.  Her mama, Monica, is TI-EENY.)