Thankful Thursday

Okay, it's later.  Sorry for no posts all week and then two in one day. As I always say, I'm a work in progress! O:-) (At least I'm cute, right? Well, at least Mr. Man thinks so....)

5 Things I'm Grateful For

1) RAIN

(from: http://iplumbinc.ca/collect-rain-water-and-save/)

So, I don't ALWAYS feel grateful for rain. Especially on a cold afternoon walk in early March with Little Miss in tow in her snowsuit on our way to pick up another child from school to then trudge back home through the muddy puddles, slush, ice, and snow...because I spend MOST of the walk trying desperately to encourage Little Miss to stay out of the really really deep puddles, keep moving forward to we can get home out of the wet and increasingly cold, not get pneumonia.....

But I LIKE rain. I mean, sometimes it ruins my nicely-pin-straightened hair, gets my clothes all wet when I'm without rain coat and/or umbrella...

But I LIKE rain.

Rain means spring, and while I LOVE winter and the cold - can't get snuggly warm when it's already too hot outside - I'm ready for spring.  I'm ready for rainbows, rain puddles, rain storms, rain clouds.  I'm ready for rain to make things green, to melt what's left of the snow and ice. To was the crud off my car, my porch, my house.  Rain makes my garden grow without me having to remember to water it.  It gives stay-inside-and-snuggle-on-the-couch grey days.  It pit-pit-pats on the roof creating wonderful, lulling background noise....

Yup. I love rain.  Even if I have to walk in it for tomorrow morning's daycare dropoffs and pickups from school, it's great.

Thanks for raining! 

2) IMAGINATION

(from: http://imielvisser.com/2010/10/03/imagine-spirit-within-and-without-by-osho-a-guide-to-your-imagination/)

I think this was the predominant cause of my younger-self's bossiness towards my poor younger brother, as our play games always consisted of my imagining myself in a position of power over him i.e. the bossy teacher at school, or bossy parent, or bossy boss..... Anyway.  What was I talking about?

In the last couple of days I have watched imagination make toilet paper rolls into a sword, which then turned into a telescope, making my darling Little Miss a pirate sailing the open seas grunting "ARRRRRRRR!" and searching for treasure.  Today, she became a cat and spent an hour or so on hands and knees, picking her toys up in her mouth and making requests by meowing and pointing.  When she has similar toys the toys automatically become a family and she plays happily for ages imagining mom giving time outs - "no! Go to your room!" - to the babies.  Her naked cabbage patch doll regularly has a poopy bum to show off.  I'll call out "Little Miss! Don't do that, please!" and hear back, "I'm just pwetending, Mom. I'm just pwetending to draw on the table." "Don't draw on the table." "I'm not! I'm just pwetending!"

Pwetending rocks my socks and keeps us entertained for hours.

3) PONYTAILS

(from: http://beautyzap.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-jennifer-anistons-tacked-pony.html)

Is there a simpler, more fantastic, acceptable hairstyle out there?  I mean, I LOVE LOVE having short short short hair, but even then I have to at least wet my head down each morning, shake the water off, and place the odd stray before I get going in the morning.  With my hair a bit longer, as it is at the moment, I get up, I grab a hair elastic, pull the night's rat's nest behind me in the elastic... VOILA I'm fit to be seen in public.  BRILLIANT.

AND...I don't spend all day fiddling with my hair! Pushing it out of my eyes, behind my ears, holding it up off my neck in hopes of a passing cool breeze... it stays out of my face while running, playing sports, tickling Little Miss, doing housework.

Ponytails. Gotta' love 'em!

(And yes, I know I don't rock a ponytail as well as Ms. Anniston.  Who does? But LOOK at it! SO functional and TOTALLY hot. Yesssssssssss!)

4) SUPPORT

(from: http://www.raw-food-repair.com/raw-food-support-groups.html)

Ever try to do something (like exercise and eat right? For an on-blog-topic example) aaaaand NOT have anyone behind you, backing you up, helping you out, keeping you strong?  Yeah, how much harder is that??

Generally, I don't have that problem.

What a blessing.

Thanks, team! (You SHOULD know who you are, though your numbers and members have changed over the years, you're all amazing, and have played a remarkably humongous part in making me and my life who I am and what it is. YOU ROCK like a rock-solid supporter should.  BOOyah and MUAH!)

5) "NEW" FURNITURE

(from: http://www.myspace.com/57941151)

Sooooo... we're young(ish? I mean, Mr. Man DID just have the big 3-0 - OY!), in debt, impoverished, overly educated for our pittance paycheques, and we have a LOT of hand-me-down furniture.

Which, honestly, is amazing. Amazing. THANKS for handing things down so we could furnish our home 'cause it probably wouldn't have happened otherwise!

BUT, recently.... we bought some 'new' used furniture.

We went from old, crummy, ugly, literally falling-apart-at-the-seams and horribly "covered" up with slip-covers living room furniture (couch & loveseat) and we graduated to, beautiful, comfortable, squishy, slouchy-but-supportive-enough, inviting, easy-to-clean and even room-matching LEATHER couch & armchairs. WHAT a difference - slouchy, constantly-needs-to-be-straightened-there-that's-better-NO-DON'T-SIT-LIKE-THAT slip covers are A THING OF THE PAST and I can without a thought now plop myself down on my living room furniture with a good book, and get up without having ruined the decor of the entire room.

Say it with me now: WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Best house upgrade yet.

THANKS for selling us your used furniture and ending my HATE HATE relationship with my old couch.  Which I totally watched get thrown into the garbage truck and crushed by the garbage crusher.... there was cracking, splintering wood.... it was epic.

And THAT, my friends, is this week's Thankful Thursday post.