It's Been A While. I'm Finding It A Tad More Challenging Than I Expected To Post Regularly - And Now I Have A Log Jam Of Gratitude. It Could Be Worse. I See That.

September 10, 2016 - Day 10 Grateful

I'm grateful J.D. is willing to hang with his mom. When it was just the two of us at home over the weekend, J.D. and I ventured to the Festival Italiano where we dined on sausages and cannoli. We strolled, we laughed, we listened to some jazzy Italian music, and took in the sunshine. He got some new cleats while we were out and I enjoyed a tasty white - so we both felt like winners.

September 11, 2016 - Day 11 Grateful

I'm grateful to not have to spend another evening alone. While Friday night was a glorious evening of self-indulgence, the following Saturday night was filled with uncomfortable moments of too much self-talk and mindless hours of web surfing. Dinner together on Sunday was much appreciated and welcomed.

September 12, 2016 - Day 12 Grateful

I'm grateful that sometimes the family is perfectly happy fending for themselves for dinner. It used to be I felt I needed to always have something ready to serve, but now, if life has been crazy busy, we will occasionally let dinner be every man for himself style. This takes a lot of pressure off of me and I think it fosters creativity and survival skills within our family group.

September 13, 2016 - Day 13 Grateful

I'm grateful I finally made the time to take the clothes we've all purged from our closets to Goodwill. I am a true believer in "thinning the herd" when it comes to our wardrobes - you have to let go of the old or the tired or just plain unfortunate things you've accumulated over the past months. The lightness I feel after releasing those things is palpable. Of course, the purge is not complete if I'm driving around for two weeks with a pile of clothes-filled trash bags in the back of my car so I was pretty darn happy as I pulled away from the drive-thru drop off area and looked in my rear-view mirror to watch the giant bin our our donations rolled into the warehouse and out of my hands.

September 14, 2016 - Day 14 Grateful

I'm grateful I had the day to start cleaning out Eliza's bedroom. After she left for college, I just wasn't emotionally ready to dive into her little space, but I'm over that now. I've broken it into sections because the job is too big for one person in one day - it took her years to achieve this particular level of messiness so I can't expect make things right in just a few hours. It took a while, but the entire floor is clear now. There aren't words for how this truly feels.

September 15, 2016 - Day 15 Grateful

I'm grateful for camo prints. I wore this top today and as I was driving to work, I dribbled coffee onto my chest after gesturing while I sang an Adele song on the radio. Thanks to the camo print, my faux pas went unnoticed. A fashion victory indeed.

Thanks and Love.

I'm Reading In A Quiet House, The Dogs Aren't Expecting Me To Wrestle A Chew Toy From Them, I've A Chardonnay In Hand, And We Have Clean Toilets Thanks To Some Good Old Fashioned Time Management By Yours Truly This Morning. I Think I'm Firing On All Cylinders. Or Something Like That.

September 8, Grateful Day 8

I'm grateful for big cups of tea. At the end of the day, whenever I feel like I need to slow down,  or when I'm just not feeling good, I like a cup of tea. There's something about the warmth that I love. Plus, I have a lot of the Yogi teas and they give you lovely little words of wisdom right there on the tea bag, so it's really almost like therapy. I have such an array of teas I think I could treat any number of symptoms or conditions just right there from the shelf of my pantry. I'm pretty sure it's not covered by your insurance, but if you're feeling a little 'off' and you find yourself in my kitchen, I'm here to help.

September 9, 2016

I'm grateful for a little 'me time'. I don't need or want much; being with my family is truly my greatest joy, but a little time alone, with sole control of the noise level and agenda, really refreshes. The washing machine is full of wet sheets and there are two full loads of unfolded laundry on the laundry holding device chair in our bedroom, but I'm putting little things like that on the back burner and enjoying just being home. I think we all need some time to wallow around in our living spaces by ourselves - even better if it's done in pajamas (which it is right now BTW).

Thanks and Love.

Noting Gratitude Every Day Is Easy. Posting About It Regularly And With Some Level Of Humor And/Or Related Memorable Anecdotes Makes It A Tad Challenging. Plus Sometimes There's Wine. And A Commader-In-Chief Forum To Enjoy, Or Whatever They Call It.

September 6, 2016  Day 6 Grateful

I'm so grateful for Snapchat, FaceTime, Instagram - really all social media. With a child newly deposited at a far away college campus, any and all forms of communication are appreciated to a level I never really could imagine before. Any glimpse into her world, any snippet of her day-to-day life, is such an joy - such a gift.  And to have it coupled with actual words, maybe even spoken live, is like poetry in motion. I cannot express how much I need love this.

September 7,  2016  Day 7 Grateful

I'm grateful for a slower day at the food bank. This means people are getting their food at other places and don't need the service. It picks up later in the month as food stamps run out. I'm grateful for this today, plus MSNBC, and restorative yoga. I'm a hippie.

Thanks and Love.

As If A National Holiday Weren't Enough To Celebrate - How About Some Minutiae? I Present You With The Gratitude Labor Day Edition. Please Keep Your Expectations Low. I'm Still Finding A Rhythm And Better Words.

September 3, 2016 - Day 3 Grateful

I'm grateful for mornings on the patio with a huge stack of books. And a laptop, because hello, it is the 21st century and I have a serious Google addiction. I like to read lots of things simultaneously. This is weird because I try to limit multi-tasking my activities as much as possible. I've heard that kind of behavior takes us out of the present moment and doesn't really lead to increased productivity - but I turn a deaf ear to those lessons when it comes to my reading time. Let me explain my stack as I'm sure you're dying to know.  From the top and working down we have Jacques Pépin's new and trés adorable cookbook, Poulet et Legumes. It's basically a bunch of chicken and veggie recipes but we eat a lot of those things and I need some new material. Plus, he's French so it's instantly more wonderful. Next up, A Course In Miracles Made Easy, by Alan Cohen. Because I always have to have something from the Spirituality/Self-Help category. And finally, Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom. The sequel to The Kitchen House - just fantastic. Read them both if you have not.

September 4, 2016 - Day 4 Grateful

I'm grateful for these chimes.  When we vacationed as a family this summer in Santa Barbara (one of my spiritual homes), chimes like these hung on the patio outside the door of the master bedroom in the little VRBO cottage we rented. It was such a fantastic time for the four of us, so we bought our very own set. The chimes serve as a constant auditory reminder of all that vacationy goodness. Of course, when I hear them I want to immediately drop whatever I'm doing, pour myself a glass of wine, and sit on the patio. I fight the urge constantly with varying degrees of success.

September 5, 2016 - Day 5 Grateful

I'm grateful for my morning coffee and taste of sweet. This is how I start every day. After a lemon water, I jump right into a cup of joe and a little nummie.  I love the routine of it and I find the little bit of sweet in the morning makes me feel like I've already treated myself to something special.  Today I had a chocolate chip cookie my mother-on-law brought us. But I've used a sliver of pumpkin pie as a taste of sweet, a Christmas cookie, a Reece's Peanut Butter Egg, and a spoonful of rhubarb crisp throughout the year with equal enjoyment. Because it's important to eat foods that are in season.

Happy Labor Day!!

Thanks and Love.

And Just When You Thought It Was Gone For Good. Minutiae Returns With A Roar. Well, Not Really With A Roar, More A Light Hum And Some Gratitude And Debatable Humor.

I decided it was time for a creative outlet. So my blog got the nod again. This time around Gratitude gets to ride shotgun. Humor is joining us, sitting on the hump in the middle of the backseat and talking over our shoulders. I've been inspired by the movement and website 365grateful and Dr. Christiane Northrup's Instagramming of her own 365 days of gratitude.

I like this 365 days of gratitude format because it gives me some structure. First of all, I always have something to write about and the 365 days guarantees gives me hope I'll be able to keep this up for an entire calendar year. Dear God, it's not a leap year is it?!

I hoped to start yesterday - I'd heard something about a new moon in Virgo - or some sort of cosmic portal opening, plus it was the 1st of the month, but I chickened out. Not today, my friends, not today. It's go time.

We begin with a two-fer - due to my aforementioned wimpy behavior.

September 1, 2016 - Day 1 Grateful

I was grateful I could do yoga in the morning with the door open and not have construction noise interrupt my vibe.  For whatever reason, all action on the house they're building up the street was halted yesterday so it was a truly peaceful morning. Later someone came to empty the two Port-O-Potties on-site and I was grateful that was not my job. That afternoon I cleaned our toilets and was grateful for Playtex gloves and long-handled scrub brushes.


September 2, 2016 - Day 2 Grateful

I am grateful for Fall colors and the upcoming, seasonal shift.  Because Fall is beautiful and I like eating pumpkin pie and wearing booties.

Thanks and Love.