1) Rain

2) Homemade chicken stock

3) The season’s last heirloom tomatoes

4) Revlon’s new glitter nail polish colors

5) Smart friends 20 months ago

1) I am so very, very grateful that my elderly parents were spared the flooding they feared from Irene. Water came into the yard, but not the house. I cannot express how relieved we all are that they do not have to deal with the aftermath that so many others are.

Everything else seems trivial compared to #1, but…

2) Candace Pert, an inspirational scientist

3) The “Letters of Note” blog – so interesting and amusing

4) My husband is not a picky eater

5) Benadryl topical gel, for helping relieve the itch from the zillion bug bites I got last night 21 months ago

1) Red thai chicken curry, made by me!

2) A new moisturizer which seems to have solved the flaky skin issue that has been plaguing me for several months

3) My wonderful supportive husband

4) The weather cooling down a bit

5) A working dishwasher 21 months ago

I am having a rough time right now – perhaps being more conscientious about this goal will improve matters.

1) My cats. Okay, I know, this is basic, but I really felt grateful today that we all adopted each other – they’re so wonderful, and they get me out of my head when I see them just being themselves.

2) Internet. Yes, our DSL cuts out intermittently, and sometimes too much information is a bad thing, but… I am old enough to remember looking things up in books! And hearing news only once or twice a day! So… you know. Internet = amazing.

3) Air conditioning.

4) Salmon for dinner.

5) The Percy Jackson series, which – horror of horrors! – I think is better than Harry Potter, in some important ways. 22 months ago

Wait, how did I miss Monday? sigh

1) Shooting range excursion – SO FUN!

2) Straightened out some uneasiness with a friend

3) Gareth David-Lloyd, and his lovely portrayal of Ianto, who really moves me

4) Rain last night

5) My iPod Nano, so I can listen to podcasts on long drives 22 months ago

It’s been a week! Ack.

1) Awesome Meetup today!

2) Ripe peaches

3) Heirloom cherry tomatoes

4) My reliable ancient (4 years old) dumbphone (crap, am I jinxing myself?)

5) Figuring out – I think – one of the factors that affects whether or not boy kitteh wants to eat his dinner 22 months ago

1) Being able to recover my husband’s laptop from its descent into madness. (Although I’m still working on it after 16 hours, so… no fun.)

2) Duck fat.

3) My sister, whom I love and like, both.

4) Swiffer WetJet – I would marry it if I could.

5) Steven Spielberg. 22 months ago

Having a rough day, but I’ll do my best, here…

1) Pandora’s comedy icons station

2) People willing to call Richard Dawkins on his privilege

3) My sunglasses, which are just the right level of dark

4) Successful paleo salmon patties

5) The part of me that knows things will get better 22 months ago

1) A free movie pass from the manager who sympathized with my issues with the noisy toddler in the theatre

2) My stepmother seems to be responding to the antibiotics – I’m hopeful she’ll finally kick this recurring sinus infection

3) A husband I can talk to about anything

4) Cory Maye’s release

5) Radley Balko’s activism 22 months ago

1) Living in the US of A. It ain’t perfect, but it’s an amazing place, with freedoms afforded few in the world.

2) Rain to cancel the fireworks, which I dislike and which disturb the cats (sorry to be a party pooper, folks)

3) The way girl kitteh uses her long legs as a pillow when she sleeps curled up

4) The love boy kitteh has developed for a particular large cardboard box, where he can drop his ball and hear it ricochet around – he’s quite innovative :)

5) Night Of The Comet, from 1984, which had some capable female protagonists the likes of which I wish we saw more of today, honestly 22 months ago

1) A successful conclusion to jury duty. Justice was done, and I also managed not to kill a fellow juror who was, in a word, HORRIBLE.

2) A lovely caprese salad for dinner, made with heirloom tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella all produced locally and purchased today

3) The first Harry Potter movie, because it is reliable at putting me to sleep

4) Netflix, for once again having amazing customer service and taking great care of me, even though the local post office apparently hates me

5) Being able to make the last payment on a doctor’s bill today 23 months ago

1) The opportunity to serve jury duty

2) A great Meetup last night

3) A really nice new Meetup member

4) Wireless at the courthouse – yes, I’m still on jury duty, no, I’m not listening to testimony right now ;) – there’s a lot of sitting outside the courtroom and waiting while the lawyers hash things out

5) cherry pie Larabars, which are a nice paleo treat (but not for regular eating!) 23 months ago

1) The power going out, because it enabled me to quiet my mind and sleep for a while

2) My husband’s obsession with having flashlights everywhere ;)

3) My dad, who gave me something to think about when I called him for advice today

4) Having good health insurance

5) The legalization of gay marriage in NY; I should have listed this one sooner! 23 months ago

1) George Cukor movies – tonight we watched Adam’s Rib

2) Lovely fresh mozzarella from the farmer’s market

3) Another postcard of mine was registered on Postsecret, so I could send a new one today! I love sending them, as it turns out, even more than I like getting them. :)

4) The cute way boy kitteh sleeps, so tight and compact and utterly soundly

5) Learning about Rowland Emett, the English artist/inventor behind the whimsical inventions of Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowland_Emett 23 months ago

1) Maybe(?) a solution to our ongoing internet service issues

2) A lovely roast leg of lamb

3) Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which just makes me smile and hum

4) A nice night watching a movie at home with my husband

5) More rain 23 months ago

1) The weekly farmer’s market close to my home – I’m getting to know the vendors now, and love visiting every week

2) The capture of Whitey Bulger, who deeply affected my life personally

3) A good start on a vision board

4) A good therapy session

5) Cute little summer shoes with gold bows 23 months ago

1) Meeting some new people tonight, maybe one with friend potential :)

2) More rain

3) A very, very funny movie from Netflix

4) Astonishing Nfu Oh #52 nail polish which makes me grin every time I see my hands (see pic from scrangie.com above)

5) The Two Towers on the big screen last night at AMC – so fun 23 months ago

1) A helpful lady at Sephora, who hooked me up with some meltproof makeup ideas for the OUTDOOR wedding this weekend (ugh)

2) The nice guy from the maintenance department who permanently fixed the thing that kept coming unfixed

3) Remembering that I already own suitable earrings for this wedding we’re attending, so I didn’t have to buy anything new

4) The fact that our good friend finally found someone whom he loves, and who loves him back the way he deserves

5) Two new postcards from Postcrossing! :D 23 months ago

1) Connie Willis’ award-winning books, Blackout and All Clear, which are giving me a vivid and inspiring picture of sacrifices made and heroism performed in England during WWII, all in the context of a rollicking time travel story

2) Goat butter – om nom nom

3) Sweet, sweet rain

4) Boy kitteh ate his dinner with gusto after skipping two meals – big sigh of relief

5) The smell of clean laundry 23 months ago

1) Finding a much better price than the one I was originally quoted for the two new tires I had to get today

2) The super-nice mechanic who handled the tires and was generally informative, friendly, and efficient, and didn’t make me feel like an idiot

3) My Dad slowly improving from the aftereffects of his winter pneumonia

4) Living somewhere I don’t have to fear for my life if I want to speak openly about democracy

5) NPR for exposing the impostor “Gay Girl in Damascus” blogger (who was a married white het male from US) – they really did a lot of work to ferret out that asshole 23 months ago

1) The nice owner of the local laundromat, who keeps the place clean and neat and generally pleasant, making a yucky chore a bit easier.

2) Red chard. Om nom nom.

3) Girl kitteh, smiling in her sleep.

4) The genuinely nice British librarian gentleman who has recently mysteriously appeared at my local library and actually has conversations with me about books

5) The Everyday Paleo blog and cookbook, which has great recipes, like the Thai Green Curry I will be making today 23 months ago

1) Yummy grass-fed burgers from a cow that had a happy life and an easy death

2) Picky kitteh ate all his dinner after skipping a couple meals (big sigh of relief)

3) My best friend, who lives far away, and with whom I actually have little in common, but whom I adore and respect

4) My husband found a therapist he seems to like

5) A little rain to break the heat for a short while 23 months ago

1) Broccolini, my new vegetable friend!

2) Life On Mars (UK), which has fantastic production design and is filling me with delight

3) A Kickstarter project I helped back got enough funding to go forward, and will now do something important that I value greatly

4) Finally, finally, finally found something to wear to an upcoming wedding, after weeks of looking, and this is a huge relief

5) Being able to fit into a top I haven’t worn in ages 23 months ago

1) My wonderful sister

2) Penzey’s spices

3) Homemade kale chips (om nom nom)

4) Freecycle.com

5) My perfectly normal blood potassium test results 23 months ago

1) Finding an amazing deal on some ordinarily expensive jeans, in a size I haven’t been able to fit into in a very long time :)

2) The yummy tobacco smell of the cigar shop where I bought a wedding gift – it stayed with me all day and I just loved it

3) The rep at the AT&T call center who calmed me down and didn’t enrage me further about our outstanding issues, and really tried to help solve our problem

4) Can I say air-conditioning again? I’m going to anyway.

5) Jill Scott’s new single (So In Love), and Jill Scott in general – her voice always lifts me up 23 months ago

1) Having a nice small post office nearby with helpful workers

2) Pretty stamps (Have you seen the lunar new year forever stamps? Gorgeous!)

3) An old set of water glasses that feel good and solid in my hand

4) My good old 4-year-old dumbphone, which does everything I need and nothing else

5) A friend with similar taste in books, willing to exchange recommendations 23 months ago

1) I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, and I’m grateful for it every day, practically, but especially today I appreciated my central air-conditioning!

2) John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, working together especially

3) Discovering another local farmer’s market

4) The fresh garlic obtained at that market, which I intend to roast (om nom nom)

5) Reading the homemade kefir adventures of a wonderful 43T writer, since I’d been wanting to try it myself soon 23 months ago

1) Getting to be EARLY to try and catch up and reset my sleep cycle

2) Having a husband who forgives me when I have a rough day and don’t get much done

3) Having a great therapist

4) Wellness brand cat food, which is both healthy and tasty

5) Glitter, just in general, because I love sparkles, even though I am really too old for that :) 23 months ago

1) Another great Meetup, with a couple new folks and a bunch of regulars – fun times and great food :)

2) Finally getting the Netflix disc I’ve been waiting for

3) Bouncy spongy cat toy balls that help keep girl kitteh fit and happy

4) Essie’s Absolutely Shore nail polish, which is peaceful and pretty

5) Wild caught Alaskan salmon sauteed in goat butter with smoked paprika 1 year ago

1) My dad’s 81st birthday. He never thought he’d live this long, but modern medicine has given him a lot of extra years. :)

2) Speaking of modern medicine, I am thankful for the antibiotics that are currently healing my stepmother, who has been feeling pretty crappy.

3) Having a husband who loves and cares for our cats as much as I do.

4) Disco. Yes, I’m grateful for disco. ;)

5) A pot roast that turned out fairly well, compared to my other more recent attempts. :) 1 year ago