January 30

It was a "what am I grateful for" no-brainer!   Randy totally surprised me by coming home from college for the weekend!  I mean, seriously surprised me.  I had no clue, not an inkling, zero knowledge, nada....nothing!  Boy, was it nice to see him standing at the door when I answered the knock this afternoon.  (Yes, he knocked...lol)

I have missed that guy...and since I didn't get to say "bye" to him when he left after Christmas, I was missing him a little bit more.

I don't know if he will ever know just how special this was, but this was a HUGE deal to me.  :)

I have said it before and I will say it again.  And probably again and again through out the course of this blog.  I am soooooo grateful for my kids.....all three of them!!  

Thank you, Randy!!   

Smile??  Yup...BIG.....through my tears.  ;)

January 29

When I started this whole working out thing, I dug out my iPod.  Yes...my little iPod Nano (I think that's what it is.)  I have an iPhone but I don't want my whole music library on it.  Takes up too much space.  SO I have my little iPod.  It's great because I can just stick it down my bra while I am working out.  lol I can't do that with my phone...heh  So today was a Bowflex day.  I get out my iPod and pick an old playlist....90's music I think.....and go to it.  Wow!  Heard some tunes I haven't heard in a long time!!  Nice music for exercising to.....got a good upper body workout!  :)

I was gonna give away my iPad when I got my iPhone.  But I think I'm gonna keep it.  Just because something is old, doesn't mean it's useless.  Right??  :)

I'm grateful I found a renewed use for this baby!

January 28

Today was kind of a big deal for me.  Well, maybe "big deal" is not the right term.  But today I accomplished something that I was scared to death about doing....for fear of failing.

I have been doing this Couch to 5K (C25K) thing and was to start the 3rd week.  The first 2 weeks were relatively easy.  Alternating 1 - 1.5 minutes running and walking.  The third week..BAM.....I have this full 3 minute thing in there!  What???  Three minutes??  Might as well ask me to run 3 MILES!  lol  But I did it.  I freaking DID IT!!!!  :)  I near had an asthma attack during the first 3 minute interval, but I took a hit of my inhaler and all was good.  

I DID IT.  I'm grateful....and I was a smiling fool!!!

I............DID............IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :)

January 27

I have been trying to get to Kalamazoo to see my son, Randy, for a couple of weeks now.  When he left to go back to school after Christmas, I wasn't  here to say goodbye because of some flight delays coming home from N.B & Maine.  Of course, being a Mom, I felt horrible about that.  And now there always seems to be some reason I can't make it to Kalamazoo.  :(  Today it was the weather.....again.  Ugh.  I spent yesterday stressing and worrying and thinking about it all day.  Got myself all in a dither.  Could hardly sleep.  This morning the weather sucked.  And the roads were bad.  I have been kinda joking with him that I am not gonna win any Mother of the Year awards at this rate.  This morning this was our conversation.  I love this boy.  He made me SMILE like one proud Momma today.  Like a Mother of the Year.  :)  Grateful for my kids??  Yup!  (I know to some this is a weird convo....but to us, it's normal.  lol  I mean the Mother Nature comment  :)

January 26

Short and sweet.  

I am grateful for my nice warm home and my nice warm blanket.  :)  This cold has been bone chilling!  My thoughts and prayers are with the homeless and anyone else who is out in these cold temperatures! 

I wish I had a bunch of these blankets to pass around!!  It's my favorite!  :)  So warm!!

January 25

We joined a bowling league this fall.  What?  lol  Since my son,  Pete, works at a bowling alley and is part of 3 different leagues, he kinda talked us into joining this "Odd Couples" league.  It's a "fun" league, and you don't have to be a great bowler to be on the team.  Thank goodness because my average is only 104 ish!  lol  But it IS fun.  We have a blast.  We signed up to be on a team with another couple that we didn't know at all.  Pete said, "I'll make sure you get on a team with someone fun."  Well he did!  We met our team mates and really do have a great time with them every other Saturday evening!  I am grateful to be a part of this league and to have met two awesome people as a result!!  :)  This is us.  

January 24

I had to cancel plans with my girlfriends because I was not feeling well.  It sucks, but stuff happens.  So, I sat home Friday night with my hubby.  And the cats.  :)  Of course I am grateful to sit home with my hubby even if we just vegged and watched tv, but these 2 fur babies sure do make me smile even if they are just "there".  lol  :)

January 23

This guy.

I'm grateful that I have a husband who is working out with me and motivating me.....and listening to me moan and complain about how hard this is and how sore I am.  LOL  Kidding about that last part....he's been great!  It's nice to go down to the dingy, dark, scary  workout area of the basement together and work towards a physical fitness goal together.  :)  Most times we both have ear buds in listening to music (because we have different musical tastes) so we don't talk to each other, but that's probably a good thing!  heh  Just being & working together in this endeavor is really kinda cool.  :)  

For him, I am grateful.  :)

January 22

Superficial gratefulness?  lol  Perhaps.  I don't care.  I am grateful for lipstick!!  It makes me smile.....er, perks up my smile!!  :)  As you can see I have many shades, and that's not all of them!!  I have a few more in my purse!  :)  I have been a lipstick hound since, well, forever!!  Ok, not when I was a kid...but I remember being that 16, 17 ish age and my favorite was "Fawn" by Covergirl.   I was always reapplying it.  :)  Not my fav is L'Oreal (as you can see) and I like a variety of colors.  And if I am not wearing lipstick, you can be darn tootin' I have chap stick somewhere handy.  lol  I think I have a lip thing.  Is it bad to be grateful for something like this?  lol  

January 21

Sometimes it's just the little things that bring a smile to my face.  Today, it was a mug.   As weird as it may be, I "collect" mugs.  My husband would call it  hoarding, but he's wrong. :)  heh  I just love different mugs.  Today I used the mug Sammi got me for Christmas.  Apparently, I am a "crazy cat lady" so she got me the mug with a cat on it.  I might be a bit of a cat lady, but crazy?  Well, that's relative, I suppose.  ;)   All craziness aside, my coffee tasted extra yummy this morning as I sipped it from my new mug.  

January 20

Conjunctivitis.  Pink eye.  Red, swollen, painful eye.  UGH.  Whatever you wanna call it, I call it a pain in my ass!  I seem to be susceptible to it lately.  Maybe my immune system is down or something.  I have no idea.  One minute I'm fine then then it's like "BAM...you have pink eye, Michelle!"  I don't get it.  I am however grateful that I have these wonderful eye drops left over from my last bout with pink eye.  They have helped but this time it does seem to be hanging on a little longer than I would like.  BUT, I have my drops and I don't have to make a trip to the doctor!   How could I not be grateful for that!?  :)

January 19

I ordered Thai food from a Chinese food restaurant tonight.  Wrap your head around that one! hehe  Maybe it's common, I don't know, but I'm not complaining.  I love Pad Thai and this place is a stone's throw away from our house.  We've only ever ordered Chinese food from there before.  Anyway, I got my yummy Pad Thai shrimp (and an egg roll because I love egg rolls!  heh) and they included a fortune cookie with the order. :)  (I also love fortune cookies.  Not for the fortunes, but because they taste good!)

This was my fortune.  :)  I don't live by what a fortune cookie says by any means, but it's nice to get one once in awhile that's not completely out in left field.  :)  I smiled!

January 18

My favorite restaurants to eat are sushi and Mexican.  I tend to go prefer to go out more for sushi than Mexican because if you set chips and salsa down in front of me, that's it....game over!  lol  Love...love...LOVE chips and salsa.....but the carbs and sodium don't like me.  Plus, pretty much everything on a Mexican menu is carb loaded.  Delicious, but carb high!!  Sushi, on the other hand, is relatively low in carbs AND sodium.  (I even ask for low sodium soy sauce.)  It's high in protein and low in calories.  AND...it tastes delicious!  Nom nom nom!!  :)  I know many people don't like the idea of eating raw fish, (it's not ALL raw btw!!) I used to be one of those people several years ago.  Then..BAM....I tried it and suddenly I am a sushi lovin' fool.....lol  Seriously, we have it at least once a week.  Peter loves it (and was the one to introduce it to me) and all three kids like it, so I pretty much always have a dining partner. :)  (I also have a couple of friends who are into it a bit, too...which is good!)  

I am grateful that I got to have sushi today with Pete and his friend, Jay, at our favorite sushi restaurant.  The best in Troy!!  

Sushi always makes me smile.....  :)  Just look at all this yummyness laid out in this Bento Box!  Yummy!!

January 17

I'm a day behind! lol  Oh well!

Having a husband in the auto industry, means that we get to go to some pretty cool functions and events.  Last night we got to go to the North America International Auto Show Charity Preview in Detroit.  It's a black tie event that raises millions of dollars for children's charities in the area.  Great cause!  And I am grateful to have been a part of that.  However, I do NOT like the whole black tie thing.  I don't like getting all fancy schmancy dressed up (and then ending up with sore feet.  And I mean SORE feet).  It's just not me.  BUT, I do it because it's a part of my husband's job.  And I do it because I love my husband. :)  It was a fun evening, I must say.  Sparkles and sequins were the trend of the night for the ladies at the show.  I played it smart this year and bought shoes with a moderate heel and they did me well.  My feet were not screaming at me at the end of the night.  LOL  All in all it was a successful event /evening.  

As much as I dislike getting all dressed up, I am grateful that I can be part of an event like this....and also get to enjoy a yummy dinner afterwards!!

January 16

I love this big ole fat cat who follows me around to just "be" where I am.  Well, where anyone is really.....but I think she likes me best. ;)  She made me smile when she just laid in the middle of the kitchen floor while I made dinner.  I am grateful for my kitties!!  This is BeCe  (Get it?..B.C?...as in Black Cat?   We are so original.  lol)

January 15

Well, it's day 2 of this C25K thing I have been working at.  I'm kinda excited about it.  I'm not a runner.  Not even close!  I never thought I would be doing anything ever in my life that would entail running!  Yet, here I am......working out, doing this Couch to 5K thingy.  I actually like it.  Alternating between walking and running.  They say in 8 weeks, if you follow the program, you should be able to run a 5k.  To that I say....HA!  lol  It's gonna take me a lot longer than 8 weeks to get this body up and running for 5 minutes let alone a 5 k!  (Well, I hope not.  I mean....I hope to be running more than 5 mins at the end of 8 weeks...lol)  But even if it takes me 18 weeks.....or 28 weeks...or even 38.  I....don't....care!!  Yanno why?  Because I am doing it.  I am off my butt and doing it and THAT I am happy about!  :)  Does it make me smile?  Well, yes and no....lol  (Hey, I'm out of shape....what can I say!?)  BUT, I am grateful that I am healthy enough to be able to do this program.  I am grateful that I have a treadmill to run/walk on since it's hella cold this time of year!  And I am also grateful that my husband has joined me in this effort.  :)

January 14

I missed posting yesterday!  Ack!  No particular reason other than I just forgot to do it.  LOL  See?  It's only January and I'm being a spaz about it already.  :)  Bear with me, k?  

I didn't take a picture of anything yesterday that I am grateful for or that made me smile.  I didn't take any pictures.  So, this is what I am doing.  January 14 marks 7 months since my sister passed away.  :(  I was looking through pictures on my phone and came across this one and I smiled.  A photo of all four of us sisters together!!  These such pictures were rare!  So this one is pretty special to me....as candid and as goofy as it is.  Sadly, there will never be another such picture.  I smiled when I saw it again.  I am so grateful for the time I got to spend out east with my family, being together, before Nikki passed away.  

I know this isn't a "today" kinda thing.....but this is something that I will ALWAYS be grateful for.  Every.....single.....day.   :)

January 13

Most people dislike going to the dentist.  I LOVE going to the dentist!!  lol  Well, let me clarify that.  I'm not fond of going to fillings, root canals, etc....but I do love me a good tooth cleaning twice a year!  The scraping of the enamel....hearing that scraping sound and knowing they are getting all the junk off my teeth....flossing them good and then polishing them all nice and shiny!  I mean, WHO would not like that??  Whoo hoo....it made my day!!!  heh  I think I am in the minority when I say I love going for dental cleanings, but I'm ok with that!  lol  I'm grateful that we have insurance that covers these cleanings and allows the required 2 visits per year.  I'm grateful for the hygienists who don't talk to me TOO much while my mouth is wide open and they have those little picks in my mouth (Except today...she was a talker....a new gal.  I really liked her.  She kept asking me questions and I had to keep closing my mouth to answer.  lol  The cleaning took a little longer.  I assume no one else was waiting.) And I am thankful for my smile....(partly thanks to the dentist!  :) )

January 12

Celebrating Sam's birthday today with pizza, cake and presents.  Always grateful to have my kids around!  I missed Randy, though.  :( We had some good laughs.  I am grateful that my kids all have a good sense of humor.  I love that sometimes all it takes is one word to set Sam and I off.  I think we have the same kind of weird humor.  Maybe it's a goofy girl thing.  :)  My day was full of ups and downs.....more downs than ups.  Dinner/birthday time was definitely an "up" and something I was grateful for!  And, thankfully, made me smile.  :)

January 11

Today was horrible.  I felt lonely and alone all day.  I know I am never alone....but when you struggle with depression, things trigger feelings and moods and you just can't shake them or that lonely feeling.  I should probably post a picture of my Prozac because I am pretty grateful for them, but I'm not going to.  Instead, I am posting this picture of my baby sister, Nikki.  I found it the other day while going through some old photos.  I taped it to my computer tower so I can glace to my right and see her.  I am grateful that we had some quality years before she passed away.  I miss her.  This picture, through my many, many tears today....made me smile.  :)

January 10

Today, I am grateful for daughters and birthdays!  More specifically, my oldest's birthday!!  My beautiful daughter, Sam, turned 26 today.  Twenty six! That's close to 30....ack!  heh  I should probably feel old, but oddly, I don't.   Since she took a pto day from work today, we had a Mom/daughter breakfast this morning....and then we did a little shopping.  :)  It was fun hanging with her and being part of her day....before she had to go off to get ready to go hang out with her boyfriend and friends!  :)  Gone are the days when she would look forward to her Funfetti birthday cake with funfetti icing and presents ON her birthday.  lol  We will celebrate with family, cake and BD gifts on Sunday evening.   I'll take it!  :)   I am so very lucky to have such a good relationship with my little girl.  (Yes, she will forever be my little girl!)  :)  I can't imagine it any other way.  :) 

January 9

Chocolate!  I am grateful for chocolate in pretty much any form and in this case....chocolate muffins!!!  Yummmmmmylicious!  I am both grateful and smiley because of these babies.  :)

I need them like I need a hole in the head....but I just couldn't walk by them at Nino's.  :)

January 8

So, it snows like 6 feet!!  Ok, not really.....but it might as well have been 6 feet!  hehe  (I like to exaggerate in case you haven't noticed.  Exaggeration and sarcasm are 2 wonderful services I offer. ;) )  Anyway...it snowed.  A lot.

Peter left for Vegas (awww, that's so rough!) on business while it's still coming down on Monday.  Pete works.  (Though, he did do some of the driveway and clear my car off so I could use it today.)  I got to snow blow the sidewalks!  (Before our neighbors call the city on us.  And they WOULD!)  I'm not complaining (much) because usually I get to sit in the warm house while my hubby or son(s) face the snow/cold!  But, let me tell ya.....today, I am SO grateful for our snow blower!  :)  

Because....THIS is a pain in the butt to shovel.  :)

January 7

Short and sweet.  I am grateful just being me.  :)  That's not all I am grateful for today...not by a long shot.  But it's what I got right at this very moment.  I like me. :)

January 6

Today, I am grateful that I had some Mom/son time with one of my boys.  Pete and I went for our favorite meal....sushi!!  Nom, nom!!  It was so good!!  I am grateful that he drove his pickup truck since my car was (is!) buried in the snow.  :)  I am grateful that I have a good relationship with each one of my kids.  I am grateful whenever I have the opportunity to spend one on one time with them.  Mostly, though, I am grateful that they actually WANT to spend time with me.  
This picture Pete holding the eyes from the shrimp head he ate.  Yes....cooked shrimp head.  Hey, he likes them.  And this made me smile.  :)

January 5

Today there were a lot of things to be grateful for.  I finally arrived home from Maine safe and sound.  I have a warm house on this cold, snowy day/night.  You know....all that stuff.  :)  BUT....the thing today that made me smile the most came from someone in my life who I am very grateful for.  The youngest of my kids...Randy. :)  He went back to college on Saturday (we didn't make it home in time to see him off....*tear*) and he left my birthday card on the counter for me.  It was so cute.....so perfect for me, the crazy cat lady.  He knows his mom!!  Thanks Ran Man!!  I love it....and you!  :)

I forgot to mention that when you pull down it's chin it plays Happy Birthday.....in meow.  :)  Way cute!!!

January 4

I missed a day already!  lol  Well, not really.  Yesterday was a whirlwind day of busyness....(and mood swings for me! heh)  Still stuck in Maine yesterday, we decided to hit the L.L Bean outlet and other stores in Freeport.  Hey, when in Rome, right?  :) So, we rented a car and away we went.  Lots of looking, but no buying.  (I think mostly because we knew we had limited space in our luggage to take stuff back with us.  Yeah, I'll go with that.  : ))  Anyway, after a nice lunch of lobster-something-or-other (YUM!) and a bit more walking around, we were ready to head back to the hotel, return the car and chill, and wouldn't you know it, Delta calls with an automated message that our flight out of Bangor in the morning was cancelled!!!  What?!  Yes.....cancelled.  Again.  Grrrrrr!  Finally after, oh, about an hour and a half  (give or take) on the phone with the airline, Peter FINALLY got them to confirm us on a flight for Sunday morning....but out of Manchester, New Hampshire!  That means we had to drive 1.5 hours back to the hotel at Bangor airport, pack our stuff and drive 1.5 hours BACK that direction and then an additional 1.5 hours to get to Manchester.  Whew!  But we did it.  And I was pretty pissy and grumpy all day. (My husband can attest to that!)  I just wanted to be home.  

So, as this day progressed, I kept thinking to myself...WHAT in the world could I be grateful about TODAY!?  Then I came across this picture that I snapped at the Mangy Moose Gift Shop in Freeport.  My son, Pete, likes Batman and this particular picture made me laugh when I saw it.  (We wanted to get him the t-shirt, but unfortunately they didn't have his size.  Boo!)  So I took the picture.  It has nothing to do with my day and the airline/trying to catch a flight/Bangor airport fisaco.  But in all the crazyness....it made me smile.  And for that.....I am grateful!  :)

January 3

We left Fredericton Thursday afternoon to drive to Bangor as we had an early morning flight to Detroit Friday morning.  As soon as we checked into the hotel at the airport, we got a notification from Delta that our flight was cancelled.  (Bad weather caused many flights to be cancelled!)  Peter called to make alternate arrangements for us on another flight, but sadly, we could not get anything until Sunday morning.  :(  So, here we sit in Bangor, Maine.  It's freezing cold and snowy outside and we returned the rental car.  It could be worse, right?  We could be sitting in the airport for the next 2 days!  But here we are, hanging in our hotel room and aside from wanting to go home and see my kiddos (Randy leaves to go back to school Saturday and I wont get to hug him before he goes. :( ) we are snug and warm!  And thanks to technology, we have (mostly) enough to keep us occupied!  Like I said, it could be worse.  

I'm Grateful...

As I was surfing Facebook the other day, I came across a post by my friend, Tammy, where she mentioned that in addition to the "Grateful Jar" she has, she was going to start taking a picture a day, for the year, of something she is grateful for or just something that makes her smile.  That inspired me to want to do the same.  So, I decided to make this blog for that little project.  

Now, I will do my best to take, and post, a picture a day of something I am grateful for (or one that just makes me smile and/or happy).   I am already a couple of days behind.  But better late than never, right?  :)

I was inspired to do this project by Tammy.  Tammy was inspired by this:  http://www.upworthy.com/you-take-zillions-of-photos-with-your-cellphone-why-not-try-something-new-with-them 

I want to do this because I feel like I take a lot of things (and even people) in my life for granted.  I don't like that.  I need to make myself aware of the good around me.  Of what makes me smile.  Of things I am grateful for.  Life is short.  I am tired of the constant negativity that surrounds me and I realize that if I want to do away with that then I need to change that.  This might be just a tiny way to do it, but hey, it's a start, right?  :)

I hope you will follow me through this year of documenting my gratefulness (and kick me in the butt to continue if you see me slacking!)  Perhaps maybe I can inspire you to do it along with me.  :)

January 1 and 2 - Catch Up Gratefullness

I am playing catch up here!  I am posting my "grateful" pics for January 1st and 2nd.  

January 1

It's a new year!  2014!  Last year, 2013 brought a lot of sadness to me and my family.  Personally, I am glad it's done and over with!  A new year was rung in and I was happy that I got to spend this New Year's in Fredericton with Peter, my Mom, my sister and many loved ones!  :)  What a great way to ring in 2014!!  

Also, for the first day of January, I HAD to add the picture of the yummy ham dinner my Momma prepared!!  It's been a LONG time since I have been home for New Year's Day and this delicious dinner certainly is one that not only am I grateful for, but made me smile big!!  :)  Yummy!

January 2

I got to go "home" to Fredericton for a few days after Christmas.  It was an awesome trip!  But there was a TON of snow!  I have lived in Michigan for 24 years now and I don't recall ever seeing this much snow.  So, as cold as it was in good old Freddie, I was grateful for the opportunity to be there and to enjoy the feet and feet of beautiful snow!  (Knowing I was leaving kinda helped my appreciation of it to be honest..hehe)  But it is beautiful!!  Look at it!!  :)