1. I am grateful that I have presumably cured my sore throat.
2. I am grateful for the rediscovery of chamomile tea with a splash of milk and a small spoonful of sugar.
3. I am grateful that some of the Best of 2009 prompts will have significant meaning to me.
4. I am grateful for hot showers.
5. I am grateful to have enough food to feed my family, a home to keep us safe, and enough leeway to grab a hot drink if I want one (and I bet you I’ll do so in the morning).
At first, I thought this would be hard to answer, but then I realized the answer was simple: Bacon Is My Enemy by Giyen Kim. I found her blog one morning in January while reading CNN’s news. The article wasabout her weight loss goal, but it washer writing aspirations and young mother status that roped me in. I admit that her writing style also happened to tickle me, which is what keeps me going back everyday.
What made her blog such a great find? She became a varitable nexus for me. Through her, I began reading The Brokins, who I believe actually found me first. I could be wrong, though. I heard about Dooce through Giyen’s Momversation postings, although it took a friend sharing a link to Dooce’s birth story for me to get hooked. Then she gave away an Acer laptop to Nicki from Suddenly Single Journey, and I just had to peek at her blog when Giyen raved about Nicki. I found a wonderful person who also loves writing — and the warm fuzzies I got from being welcomed as a “Bubble Buddy” really helped a bunch. Then there was Renee from Me, Myself, and Mommy who definitely found me through Giyen because I can still remember feeling awesome at the thought of building a readership. So if you’re keeping track, I got five blogs for the price of one. I suppose some of the credit goes to CNN for interviewing Giyen, too.
Again, this is actually Wednesday’s prompt, but I have a best restaurant moment that I’d like to share. At the end of September, a visiting professor from Ireland invited me to lunch. Dr. Matthews visits us often as she collaborates with several professors here at UF. She coordinated with me and IOM3 (the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining) for the career workshop last year, and she also coordinated travel arrangements for Dr. Jones to judge a competition in South Africa back in October. Dr. Matthews is overall very friendly and kind.
We went to Olive Garden, which is my favorite chain restaurant. I ordered the mushroom ravioli and water, and she ordered the Mussels di Napoli and a peach iced tea. Obviously, there were breadsticks and salad because I cannot have an Olive Garden experience without either. The breadsticks were a cardinal sin for me because I was still pregnant and trying to do the “no bad carb” thing to see if it would make a difference in the baby’s weight. (If you reference his birth story, you’ll find that it did make a difference after all. I have the consulting physician to thank for her suggestion.) We chatted about many things, including plans for the holidays and different traditions between the U.S. and Ireland. I was worried at first that I wouldn’t know what to talk about because she’s an engineer and I’m not, but it turned out just fine. For dessert, the waiter talked me into a slice of black tie mousse cake — another bad, naughty no-no, but no worries! Dr. Matthews had the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, and we brought my boss a piece of tiramisu. (It was a shame he didn’t make it, though I can’t remember why not — an appointment perhaps?) Overall, I had a fantastic time, and it was very heart-warming to have a professor take a lowly secretary out to lunch. Perhaps I’m not such a lowly secretary after all? 😉
Although this prompt was meant for Tuesday, I’m still going to follow it. In July, I went on a day trip to Winter Springs, Florida with my midwife and another client of hers to meet with a consulting obstetrician. Because I have had c-sections, I needed to consult with a physician in order to have a midwife attend my son’s birth at home. This is just how the laws work in Florida, and while it’s a pain I didn’t mind following the laws to ensure I could proceed with my plans. We were hosted by a very experienced and popular midwife, who so graciously opened her home to seven women and the consulting OB. Now, part of the consultation is going over the risks and benefits of a VBAC — basically, you receive informed consent for the “procedure.” This portion of the consultation is done in a group presentation format. Afterward, each woman meets with this doctor privately to review surgerical reports and patient history. Obviously, you have a lot of time waiting your turn.
So while we were waiting, we toured the outside of the hostess’ home. Her yard — and home — were absolutely lovely. She has a butterfly garden where she grows beautiful flowers that attract butterflies. She has a chicken coop where she houses egg laying chickens. She grows fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other plants as well. She also had a snail pond with literally hundreds of snails just hanging out, and they actually do eat the snails — escargot, anyone? (As an aside, I’m not brave enough to try eating them.) She has a screened in hot tub. It was just so much fun. I was incredibly disappointed that I didn’t bring my camera with me.
So aside from the function of the trip, I did get a bit of recreational value out of the day trip.
1. I am grateful that Nicki shared The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge on her blog today.
2. I am grateful that one of the students let me have one of the left-over bagels from his oral thesis proposal defense. (Yes, PhD students try to bribe treat their thesis advisers to food when they defend their proposals.)
3. I am grateful for the delicious hazelnut cappuccino I got this morning as a reward for making it all the way here despite the 48 degree drizzly weather.
4. I am grateful for blankets and hot chocolate.
5. I am grateful for colorful pens.
I either just can’t find a moment to write when I have the inspiration or can’t seem to recall my inspiration when I do finally have the time. So, I suppose I’ll just stick to what works these days — gratitude!
1. I am grateful for the silver-lining on my lunch break (I missed my bus and lost 15 minutes of time with my family, but I got to ride the bus with one of my favorite drivers. She’s such a sweetheart.)
2. I am grateful that it’s not raining today.
3. I am grateful for how smoothly things seemed at home during lunch time.
4. I am grateful that Publix has very good sales this week — as in their sales match up with needs, coupons, and wants.
5. I am grateful that next year’s calendar will feature lovely floral arrangements instead of obscure microscopic images.
1. I am grateful for a good batch of turkey soup.
2. I am grateful that I’m clearly producing the best food for my baby as he’s up to 11lbs, 2.7oz.
3. I am grateful that a very good friend will be coming to visit this weekend.
4. I am grateful for cookie season (I need to devise my plan of action and make a list soon).
5. I am grateful that I’ve clearly figured out what means what in baby language.
1. I am grateful for the big pot of turkey soup.
2. I am grateful that the afternoon sky looks so beautiful.
3. I am grateful for the sound of a snoring cat (something about it just amuses me — probably because it’s cuter when a cat snores than when a human snores).
4. I am grateful to have surpassed 500 hits for November (and I really must consult Nicki about her secret to keeping that glorious number).
5. I am grateful to have an outlet for my writing aspirations.
In my excitement, I haven’t a clue what to write about. You see, the baby’s napping happily in his swing, the two older kids are quietly playing, and I’ve been itching to write something much more substantial than five or so sentences about what I’m grateful for. We have the Christmas tree up and decorated, we have our fancy stockings put up (they were hand-made and aren’t going to be stuffed by Santa as he’d be too scared to break them), and our Christmas wreathe is now gracing the wall. We will need to get up the stuffing stockings and decorate our front door — we’re going to do the same thing that won us a prize last year.
Today is Tim Tebow’s last home game ever as a Florida Gators quarterback. Sure, he’s going to be a Gator for the rest of his life, but he won’t be playing for us at home anymore. It’s been an interesting four years with him playing on our team, and we’ve returned to the days of glory. He’s been an athelete that I feel sets a good example for children in this age of steroids, dog-fighting, and gun-toting. Seriously, most atheletes these days set a poor example for kids (and don’t even get me started on other types of celebrities). Today, we’re sending him out with one last victory against our rivals, Florida State. I do get quite competitive each year when we face them.
With only five weeks left in 2009 — and the 00s, for that matter — I feel compelled to reflect upon this year. Of course, I will save that for a later date because it’s still November. Hurricane season will be ending, cold fronts will be chilling, and cookies will be baking. I’m looking forward to our first Christmas as a completed family of five.
1. I am grateful that the baby is napping happily in his swing.
2. I am grateful that we’ve had cold weather that permits me to wear my flannel pants to bed and my knee-high socks (they are so comfy!).
3. I am grateful for the turkey carcass that will become soup today.
4. I am grateful to see the Christmas decorations put up.
5. I am grateful to be a Florida Gator — we will send Tim Tebow out with one last victory against FSU!
