keep a gratitude journal

I’m always amazed at how quickly bad situations will turn around when you ask for help. I asked for help from my friends, family, and my 43T buddies here. And the support and good wishes were overwhelming, and made a huge difference for me.
I also had a good cry, cleaned myself up, and sat down to pray. And in just 2 short days, everything has started falling into place for me, the way you always hope it will, but rarely get to actually experience. :)

My aunt Sherry called today, she had remembered that someone gave her their business card, advertising a good price on auto glass repairs and replacement. My windshield will be fixed this week for less than HALF of what I expected to shell out!!!

Kelly and I will be able to take ReeseCake to GA to see Jackie and Co. at Christmas after all!!!

My apartment complex has been so good with maintenance requests lately. I can really see how hard they’re trying to keep their residents happy. My A/C is finally functioning properly again, and I LOVE it!

I’ve got my enthusiasm back for my goals, and I appreciate everybody here on 43T for being thoughtful and supportive, and never judgmental. There aren’t enough cheers in the world to show y’all how much I love you. :) Thanks everyone!

Ugh. In a rotten, depressed mood. Must get out. Now.
Gratitude.

Even though there’s a giant crack in my windshield, that is going to cost me 350 bucks, I’m grateful that the whole damn thing didn’t shatter in on me while I was driving. Instead of being broke, I could be horribly disfigured and in the hospital. (or WORSE!)

My A/C is on the fritz, but at least the ladies in the office were understanding and helpful when I had to go report it (again..). They promised to send someone to take care of it, even though I had to leave for work. Here’s hoping it’s fixed when I get in tonight.

This is lame, but My Name is Earl seasons were 13 bucks each at WalMart this past week. I got the 1st 3 seasons. I LOVE Earl. :) Jason Lee cracks me up.

I took care of those stupid traffic tickets I got last month (2 tickets for forgetting my registration and proof of insurance when I was rushing to pick up Reese.) Because I could prove that I was covered by insurance and registered at the time of the ticket, they each only ended up costing me $10 in dismissal fees. And there was no line at the Clerk of Court.

January will be better. I can already feel it. It’s my birthday month, so its gotta like me, right? :) haha

Have I mentioned that I love Jeff? He’s gay, older than me, and I’ve never met him in person, but he’s an absolute LIFESAVER at work, and I love knowing that he’s just a phone call away. :) Haha! He works for an agency we use to staff any CC cases we can’t fill, and he is funny when I need it, and completely dedicated to helping me iron out any problems with staffing. Love him. :)

After the crazy week I’ve had, forgetting to eat, too busy to sleep, working double shifts, trying to drive hime safely with my poor tired eyes half closed, I’m thankful that I’m still ALIVE, and that I’m able to fuunction now that I’ve gotten back on track.

Karen was sweet today, and picked up dinner for me on her way back to the office from the parade. It was very thoughtful of her, and I appreciated it.

Kelly has started making stockings for everyone for Christmas. ReeseCake picked out a black and green plaid that she swears I’ll LOVE. Haha. I like that she feels like she knows me enough to overrule her mother (my twin) on the pattern I’d want. :) Can’t wait to see it.

I always thought my aunt Sherry was a bit condescending, but as I get older and get to know her as a person (not just an aunt.), I realize she may have just been uncomfortable in such a big, close knit family. She wasn’t raised with quite as much humor and teasing as we were, and I’m not sure she knew how to handle it. But now I see thats she’s just as generous and thoughtful a person as you could hope to meet. I mentioned needing a desk for school (mentioned it to Bill, Sherry just happened to be in the room) and ever since then, she has been trying to find one for me!! She called me up and told me she found one and would pick it up and bring it to me! In POLK COUNTY! I was floored. She really is nothing like I thought.

Feels good to be grateful. :)

I lost my wallet on Thunder Mountain at Disney World on Thursday. I can’t get a new debit card or write a check until I get a new driver’s license to show. I can’t get a new driver’s license until I can get some money out of my account. Whats my plan? I’m not sure yet. Haha.

HOWEVER, Sherry was generous enough to replace the cash I lost out of my wallet, which allowed me to put gas in my car to get to Tampa for my weekend with Pete (and back), and to get a few groceries because I was a Slack Alice about shopping last week. Thank Goodness for Sherry!

I loved my weekend with Pete. It started out bumpy, but was ultimately very rewarding and fun. I hope Sherry feels rested and happy after her weekend with her sisters. She sounded fantastic when I talked to her this afternoon. I could hear her smile all the way from Orlando! Haha

I heard from the school today. They have received my tuition payment from the National Service Trust. I’m so in! :)

I found the perfect Christmas present for my little cousin Erik. Its a Tonka Tow-truck and he’s going to LOVE it. (He’s 3yrs old and truck CRAZY!)

My mother has agreed to help me with my money situation. Her account is in the same credit union as mine, so she’ll let me transfer some money into her account and she’ll drive it out to me (that’s an hour drive each way!) on Wednesday. Very kind of her, especially considering how much she HATES to drive!

I signed up for a couple double shifts this week, and I’m INCREDIBLY grateful that I didn’t sign up to work 16 hours tonight. I’m beat, and I can’t WAIT to get to bed!! Haha

Right now I’m grateful for 43Things. The motivation, support, and sometimes just the LAUGHS all feel so good. :)

And I’m specifically thankful for Axx. I was having a crummy day, and Axx gave me my 1,000th cheer AND a cheerbomb to celebrate. Thank you!!!

Fair warning: This is gonna be a long one..

I am thankful that my family was able to get together to celebrate our blessings this year. We spend too much time apart.

I’m thankful that before she died, Gran taught us all how to make her dressing. And that Mom made it this year, because she knows that it is hands-down my favorite food.

I am grateful that Pete was able to come to dinner today, and that he still has enough memory to enjoy being with the family.

I was thankful today to see the excitement in Sherry’s face when she told me all about the vacation she has planned with her sisters. And I’m thankful that I can be a blessing to her in my small way, staying with Pete so she can have this “sister time”.

I’m grateful for my Dad, and all the ways he shows me he cares.

I’m grateful for my Mom, because even when she’s driving us all nuts, I can always tell that she loves us.

I am grateful to come to work everyday to a job that I love, that pays my bills, and leaves me enough extra for luxuries and to help my family and friends when they need me.

I am grateful for all the security I’ve been blessed with. I know that when I leave work tonight, I’ll have a home to go to, a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and family and friends to call on if I need anything.

I am thankful that I’m able to use any difficult experiences in my life to be a blessing to others. I relate very strongly to patients and families who call me for help. And I’m always grateful when I can help.

I’m grateful to have a very supportive boss. She is firmly behind any employee who needs to put their family first, and is very generous with time off when you’re in a jam.

I am grateful that the family will be getting together again very soon (Next week.) to spend a few days together on vacation at Disney, taking Reese to see Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas, and for how excited we all are about it!!

There is so much more, and I’d love to list every single blessing I’ve received, but I’m at work, and people need me!! Hahaha!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

It rained today. Perfect, steady, no-thunder rain. Sleeping rain. I stayed in bed, read a book, took a nap. It was very relaxing.

I’ve really gotten used to my new haircolor. Right after i did it, I thought it looked a little too brown, but now that I’m not scrutinizing my head for missed spots, I realize I LOVE this color. (And I’m grateful that it didn’t turn out that “smashed-carrot” orange that some reds can turn into!)

CC seems to be picking up again. We only had 4 cases for awhile. That leaves a lot of nurses with no patient to see.. Not good. And I’m grateful that Jay and Karen are generally behind me when the crazy cases come through.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I’m going to my folks’ house early in the morning and we’re eating at noon so I have time to make it back to work at 4pm. :) PLUS I don’t have to cook anything. I’m in charge of keeping Reese out of the way of the cooking. (I secretly think they’re trying to keep ME out of the way of the cooking as well, and considering the fact that I gave MYSELF food-poisoning a few months ago, I have no complaints.) There will probably be a whopper of an entry tomorrow!!

Slept like the dead all day on Saturday. (Which was surprising considering my lack of A/C..) I threw open all the windows, set up the fan and was out like a light. When I couldn’t sleep anymore, I went for a drive to enjoy how cool and breezy it was out, came home and slept AGAIN! :)
I spent Sunday with Kelly and Reese. We ordered pizza and watched Muppet Treasure Island. (And I am NOT ashamed to admit that the movie was totally my idea, and that I LOVED it. haha) ReeseCake doesn’t share my love of Sweetums, but I got a kick out of seeing her laugh at the Muppets. She’s so psyched about going to The Center For Puppetry Arts in Jan. Kelly and I spent the entire day together without a single argument breaking out. Ever since this business with school started up, she’s been much less abrasive. And even Andy was pleasant and kind of talkative. Not a single negative comment directed toward our movie choice or anything else. I had a really good time. :)
I was feeling so good, I must have gotten a bit cocky, because I decided to dye my own hair Sunday night.. I always feel better about myself as a redhead. I can’t tell if I missed any spots, or if it actually looks terrible. I couldn’t even see much of a difference when I checked the mirror, but I’m chalking that up to being used to seeing myself this way. (In my mind, I’m always a redhead. A natural one, of course. Haha) Because the folks at work noticed. However, if it DOES look terrible, few people will look close enough to realize it, because Tara got a very dramatic cut over the weekend. (She hates it, and it doesn’t look quite like her, but it also does not look BAD by any stretch of the imagination..) So I’m safe from too much scrutiny until I can fix mine if I need to. :)
Also, I went down to the apartment office this morning to mention my air-conditioner problems, and I was barely back to my place before there was a knock on my door. The problem was fixed in minutes, and now my apartment is once again cool and comfortable.
And THEN, to top it all off, Kelli (from work, not my sister)has taken Emma’s shift on Thursday that I volunteered for, so now I don’t have to work a double on Thanksgiving!!! I only volunteered to help Tara out of a bind, since I’m already taking the Monday and Friday double shifts, so I’m very grateful not to have 3 in one week!
Our table is going to be overflowing with Thanks this year!!

:)

-I slept last night. Really slept. Stayed asleep all night, without even a hint of nightmare. It was fantastic..
-Woke up fresh and ready to be productive this morning. Checked out a few places this morning in my search for a better apartment. Didn’t find what I was looking for, but had a lovely long drive and got to see a bit more of my city. :)
-Had a great talk with ReeseCake today about going to the Center for Puppetry Arts in January. She was excited, which made me excited. Haha.
-CC was not such a pain today. We had fires, but I put them all out, and all my cases are covered. Nurses are STILL not calling me back, but the ones I do manage to get ahold of are ready and willing to fill these cases. Thank Heaven. :)
-Having problems with my A/C at home, so I’m very grateful that it has been cool enough to leave the windows open and not die of heat stroke. :) Will have to make another call about that in the morning.