Thankful Thursday

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The last one of 2010! (Funny how I found the above image just in time; I can only use it today.)

Okay, quick and dirty today. I am thankful for:

having the day off tomorrow

the nurse at the pediatrician's office who was willing to wait for us even though we were late

not having to pay a copay

(very unusual)

finding out the boys already got the immunizations they needed last year

(apparently whooping cough's going around again)

the fact the boys are all strong and healthy

finally having a stock of good books to read again

(don't you hate it when you go through a dry spell?)

the movie Toy Story 3

(Did you cry during the garbage-incinerator scene, too?)

Ken just cracked me up

the eldest teen in residence (and friends) having good common sense and not driving home from any parties tomorrow night

(I don't even want to think about how dangerous the roads are going to be!)

heat!

(It's been "freezing" lately)

[A relative term; it's been in the 30s at night and upper 40s/50s during the day]

a fresh, new start in 2011!

(Tomorrow I'm jumping on the bandwagon and making a resolution. As in one. Oh, and I'll be joining an organizing challenge, too. Hopefully this will last longer than two days, which is my usual record for resolutions, etc. Wish me luck.)

Happy Thursday everyone.

Thankful Thursday

How cool is this?! It goes so well with my header this month!

Found here

1. I am very thankful that we took our car in to get a oil change when we did. Our mechanic informed us we needed new tires asap. Specifically, "You need to get new tires either today or tomorrow." He knows how far we have to drive each day. He looks out for us. That's why:


2. I am thankful for an awesome mechanic.


3. After a horrible train wreck of a homework session earlier this week, the rest of the week has gone, if not smoothly, at least tolerably. (I suspect that tolerably isn't really an adverb.)


4. Halloween candy! (But NOT candy corns. Not a fan.)


5. Animals in costume. (I'm sure the animals aren't that excited. I know ours aren't.)

(images found at costume dogs)

6. The weather is awesome right now. Drizzly. No one else likes it, as people in So Cal think they will melt if water from the sky touches them.


7. Albertson's clam chowder. Oh yum.


8. Jeggings. Just discovered them. Stupid name, awesome piece of clothing. So comfortable. And they look like real jeans, not leggings that are painted to look like real jeans.

(I bought mine at Forever 21)

9. Getting back in touch with my friend Molly. Among other amazing qualities, she loved to dress up as much as I did. I could always count on her to dress up for Halloween, crazy hair day, spirit days in high school, etc. I'm so thankful that I always had another person to be humiliated with.

(That's a dog bone in my hair. I can't remember what spirit day this was; sad that I can't tell by how we're dressed. I think it was something that wasn't very politically correct.)

10. The fact that tomorrow's Friday.

Thankful Thursday

(look what I found at A Charmed Life! I think it originally came from Shark Bait, but I'm not 100% sure.)

Yeah, I've been MIA for awhile. I'm deep in the trenches of "single" parenthood since someone is out of commission for the time being. To say it's been challenging is an understatement. Let me remind you that teenagers smell (step)parents' weaknesses and pull no punches, even when said (step)parents are at their lowest.

That's why these Ten on Tuesday and/or Thankful Thursday posts are so important. They are a reminder to me to lift my head out of the mud that I just fell in face down and be grateful. Because it's absolutely true: things can always get worse.

Okay, that last sentence wasn't very positive, so I'm just going to stop rambling and start my list.

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NO SURGERY!

While the doctor was on the fence last week, he didn't hesitate for a moment yesterday when he said, "Oh yeah, it's gonna be fine." The broken leg just has to stay in a cast for a few more weeks. Whew!

see more Funny Graphs

(Watch out, Paul.)

The WEATHER

has been awesome this week. It's been rainy and cold, which believe me, here in the desert is a Godsend. I love snuggling up under a pile of blankets after last week's triple-digit temperatures. (Although it's supposed to be 90° this weekend.)

DINNER

isn't my sole responsibility anymore, as Ralph can sit on a stool in front of the stove to cook. With crutches, he can't exactly pick up a scalding hot pot of pasta to drain it into sink, but he can stir a mean pasta sauce and cut up 5 pounds of chicken. I'm so thankful to have a sous chef now! (Even if he is a bit snarly.)

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FOOTBALL

It exhausts the boys and they're in bed by 8:30.

A refreshing change by getting POSITIVE NEWS from the football coach. Peez is the fastest sprinter on the team! (He probably got that way from all the laps he had to run before due to insubordination, eye-rolling, talking back, uh, extra training.)

Talking to a mom of twins on the football team and hearing that it's

NOT JUST ME.

[There are times, of course, that I realize what I'm dealing with is nothing compared with other moms out there. So I'll try to keep my whining to a minimum. Dooce had a great quote about it today when she was in the middle of a single-parent pity party:

My sister and the women like her would look at this situation and be all, honey, add seven more kids, a broken toilet, and a teenager who just walked in the door carrying a goat with foot and mouth disease. Average Friday night RIGHT THERE.]

The low tire pressure that someone we thought was due to running something over (and possibly ruining the tires) turned out to be just that: low tire pressure. A little air and we were good to go.

GREY'S ANATOMY

My one constant that never disappoints.

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Although I do miss George. He was my favorite.

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Actually, SURVIVOR is pretty darn good, too.

And MAD MEN.

And the fact that

EACH DAY

is a fresh new start.

What are you thankful for? Head over to Crayl's blog to see more wondrous things in this world to give thanks for each and every day.

Thankful Thursday 9.23.10

My days have been insanely hectic as of late, and it's easy during times like these to forget to be thankful. (I seem to forget to do that a lot.) So even though I'm feeling super crummy, this is really the best time to count my blessings.

Only one of the adults in the house has a broken leg. The other is still fully functioning.


The broken leg probably doesn't need surgery.


Only one of the boys has had homework so far this week, making it so much more pleasant than when both of them have it.


One of my favorite candies was on sale this week.

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There is an amazing singer (so I've heard) coming to church tonight.


I was able to rearrange my schedule yesterday so that I could actually make it to a class I thought I would have to miss.


Busy days and only a few hours to sleep seem to have cured my insomnia for the time being.


We missed a week of Mad Men, so we had two to watch this week. Awesome.

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Not your typical Mad Men picture. But this was quite a poignant scene.



The Great Sock War that threatened to have many casualties ended up fizzling out just before punches were thrown. (Seriously. They will physically fight over socks around here.)


Tomorrow is Friday, and we don't have any plans for the weekend. Which means I will be able to sleep like the dead.

Thankful Thursday ~ The Zany Z!

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I can't believe I made it to the end of the alphabet! I'm going to have to reuse some of my Zs from last year, but I am still thankful for them, so it's all good.

ZINC oxide
Since I'm paler than a full moon on a snowy evening, I depend on this sunscreen ingredient daily.

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Lemon ZEST
Yum!




ZIPPERS
I love some of the zipper jewelry I've seen around blogland, too.

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People with a lot of ZEAL!
They are very exciting to be around.




I'm also partial to ZANY people.
They make everything more interesting.




ZEBRAS

Even though they are often the victims, they make for lively Nat Geo shows.

Did you know that no two stripe patterns are alike? Amazing!

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ZIP codes
They make it so much easier to send mail.




ZOOT Suits
I love the style.

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Being in a ZONE
This doesn't happen to me often, but when it does, it's totally awesome.



Catching some ZZZZZZZs
Since I have horrible insomnia, when I do manage to sleep, it's absolutely precious.


Crayl always has amazing thankful lists. Check her out at Beyond Black and White.

The Wayward W

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I've been quite late, lax and lazy with my Ten on Tuesdays/Thankful Thursdays posts. I've been M.I.A. for a while, for reasons you'll see below. Therefore, without further ado:

10 Ws for which I'm thankful:

My Brothers WEDDING this past weekend in San Fran.

Everything from the delicious rehearsal dinner with the s'more tart to the incredible view to the five-minute ceremony to my uncle's crazy dancing to the five dessert choices at the reception, everything was simply amazing.*

This was the view from the 40th floor balcony where they held the ceremony!

My brother is usually a happy-go-lucky guy anyway, but to see him so actively pleased and beaming was a wonderful sight all around.

Ben and his gorgeous bride, Aline

WATER

Best thirst quencher ever.

WEEKENDS

No explanation necessary.

This very rare and short-lived WEATHER we are having right now. Low 90s with nice breezes. Gorgeous.

(Next week? Not-so-gorgeous triple digits.)

WRITTEN WORDS

Novels, nonfiction, instruction booklets, you name it.

Elastic WAISTBANDS

For the days when comfort trumps fashion.

Having WORK

Not that I enjoy it all the time, but I'm definitely thankful to have a job.

WIND

To blow all the smog away.

Dogs WAGGING their tails when they see me.

Every now and then being a little bit WILD.

Have a WILDLY fantastic rest of your week.

* I feel I should note that I actually really don't like weddings. I'm not big on large groups of people, and I'm not big on ceremony. I usually like the food, though.

Thankful Thursday ~ The Ubiquitous U

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Or should I write 'you' so people don't think I'm saying 'Uh?' Okay, I'm probably the only idiot who would think to get mixed up about that. Plus, I don't know how to make those umlauds or whatever they're called.

For some reason, I was having a tough time with U this week. I kept thinking of words like ungrateful, urine, underbelly, and udder. So I had to break out the family dictionary, which has seen better days:


I love it, even if it is over 30 years old. I know, I know, I could look online for 'you' stuff, but I like perusing an actual dictionary I can hold in my greedy little hands. Unfortunately, Webster wasn't all that helpful (I decided to peek at Crayl's list to get me started), but I managed to come up with these Us to be thankful for:

UNAMBIGUITY
I love people who aren't wishy-washy, directions that are clear, and ideas that are solid.

UNCANNY instances


The sense of accomplishment and relief that accompany UNTYING a difficult knot


UNDERWEAR
no explanation needed, I hope

being UNDERWATER


our great big UNIVERSE

UPROARIOUS situations

fancy UPDOS

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feeling USEFUL

UTENSILS

not that any of my cavemen use them

Hey, how 'bout that? Made it to ten. For more grateful lists, check out Crayl's blog, Beyond Black and White.

Thankful Thursday ~ The Stupendous S

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Yeah, yeah, I'm super late with my list this week. Or super early for next week. Either way, here's my list of scintillating Ss that I'm thankful for daily:

SHOES, especially SNEAKERS and SANDALS

It's not that I have hundreds of pairs, or feel the need to shop for them like other people shop for milk. I'm just happy that someone invented something that would protect my tootsies from rocks, hot asphalt, melted gum, scorpion stings....
My current favorite? Chucks, baby.

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tools such as SCISSORS, SCREWDRIVERS, and SAWS

I don't know where I'd be without these.

My INSANITY, however fleeting it may be


SCENTS such as those of fresh bread, blooming lilacs and roses, erasers (am I the only one?) and anything attached to a good memory. I also love perfume. My two favorites that I wear are

Issey Miyake



and Armani Code




SALT
Bad for you? Yeah. Makes food taste amazing? Oh yeah.


SHADE
especially here in the desert where it never dips below 100° on summer days


My eyeSIGHT
goes without saying


SCARVES
easy to wear, easy to carry, perfect way to add warmth without bulk to an outfit


SUPER-comfy SOFAS
or as my grandmother calls them, davenports


being a SOUTHPAW
I do not write with my arm curled around my pencil like some do, and writing is actually difficult at times. I hate it when I get pen all over my hand from dragging it across wet ink, and in college there were only about three left-handed desks in a hall holding 300. I had to learn to use scissors righthanded because the "left-handed scissors" never worked, and many knives are right handed as well. But I still love it, because as we all know,

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And I'm in good company.

Famous left handers:

Benjamin Franklin

Michelangelo

Leonardo da Vinci

M.C. Escher

Queen Victoria

Bill Clinton

Barack Obama

Jimi Hendrix

Lewis Carroll

Oprah Winfrey

Bart Simpson (hee hee)

Jerry Seinfeld

Robert Redford

Marilyn Monroe

Robert DeNiro

Angelina Jolie

and a TON of sports figures.


Just for fun, I'm adding an extra one, because this is one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes ever.


(The last line is my new favorite quote.)

Have a happy and serene Friday everyone.

Thankful Thursday ~ The Rambunctious R

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Where do the days go? I swear it was just Monday. Anyway, here are my ten Rs that I'm thankful for each day.

RALPH. Duh.

I'm also fond of Ralph 3.0 (in the middle) as well. (Why, O Why don't these men smile?! Ooh, this is the perfect place for an interrobang! Sorry, nerd humor.)

RUNNING
I used to run long distance and I loved it. But after 20 years, my knees decided to revolt. I'm down to a slow trot now.

REMOTE controls
'Cause I'm lazy my knees are bad. Yeah.

RELIABLE and RESOURCEFUL people

The REAL McCoy
Accept no substitutes.

RAGE Against the Machine




RESTAURANTS
Hey, I'm thankful for any time or place I don't have to cook.

REALLY RIPE fruit

ROOT beer
I had to go without during my time in Colombia. For some reason they didn't have it, only Coca Cola (and Coca Cola "Lite" :) and fruit-flavored sodas. I did like their apple soda though.

giving and getting RESPECT

the fact that the RAIDERS' colors are silver and black. I like those colors. I'd hate to have to have Bengals' periphenalia all over the place. Nothing against the Bengals or any other team, I just loathe the color orange. And considering the men in my life are rabid fans (see picture above) I'm glad I don't have to be assaulted by orange (or turquoise, or brown, or....) on a daily basis.

Which Rs are you thankful for? Crayl at Beyond Black and White also has lots of ideas.

Happy Friday Eve,

Thankful Thursday ~ The Opportunistic O

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In no particular order, here are some O's I'm 'specially thankful for:

OIL pastels
my favorite art medium
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OCTOBER
my favorite month


OLIVES
simply delicious!


OCARINAS!
like recorders, only better

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being an OMNIVORE
I was an herbivore for years, and let me tell you, coming back to the dark side was awesome.


OPEN-minded people
they're so much nicer to be around


my internal ORGANS
pretty self-explanatory


OXYGEN
again, self-explanatory


the OZONE layer
because I don't fancy being burnt to a crisp

ODDBALLS
life is just so much more fun with them around

Other O's that I fancy:

optometrists

onions

the color of off-white

oceans

my eighth-grade oceanography class

the oscar's we have in our fish tank

it's the first letter of my future last name:
Olmedo (pronounced "Ol' Meadow")
I'm seriously considering changing it to the second spelling so people will know how to pronounce it. Have had Douglas as a last name for 35 years has spoiled me. The only time it wasn't pronounced correctly was in Colombia. No matter how many times I wrote "Dug-less" on the board, the kids always called me Miss Doo-glaás.


To read about more OOOOOO's to be thankful for, head over to Crayl's blog, Beyond Black and White.

Happy Friday Eve, everyone.

Thankful Thursday ~ The Irrepressible I

I liked the sound of "the ignominious I" but when I looked it up it means disgraceful and despicable. Not quite what I was goin' for. Anywho...

I noticed that a lot of "i" words I like describe characteristics of people. So for today, I am listing traits I find admirable in people. Wish I had more of these:

intelligence
integrity
idealism
imagination
ingenuity
interesting
inspirational
innovative
imperturbable
independence




Other I's I'm infatuated with:

ice cream
ice
Italian food
ibuprofen
inventions
immune system
Internet

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