Keeping it short and sweet today — I’m grateful for all of you who make the time to read my posts, whether you comment or not. I’m grateful that you’re here, that you find me interesting, that you listen. Thank you.
Category: Gratitude
Paying bills
Bills might seem like an odd thing to be grateful for. I’m not always good at it, but this daily stress tip that I subscribe to online suggested looking at paying bills in a positive light. Mind you, this was last year, and I’m still working on it, but what they said makes sense: bills represent things that we have that we are grateful for — power, food, Internet, a roof over our heads. These are good things.
So Saturday I paid bills, and I was happy that I finally paid them, although I’d been procrastinating all week. One bill, I didn’t think I’d be able to pay until this week — and then a check came in sooner than expected for work, so I got to pay that, too! It was such a huge relief to get that done. I felt immensely grateful both for having it done and for the company that was so timely.
What are you grateful for today?
Finished!
Sent off the latest index just before 1 this afternoon. Now I have a break before the next proofreading job comes in next week. I’m grateful for the break and grateful for the work. Later this week, I’ll send off some more marketing e-mails to try to line up work heading into the fall.
I’m also grateful that I’m figuring out a schedule that seems to be working to get writing, editing, and paying work done. Is the writing as fast as I would like? Well, no, but I still remember starting out and thinking silly things like, “If I type 50 words a minute, an hour of writing should net me 3,000 words, so on days when I don’t have work to do, I should be able to get 15 to 20,000 words written.” . . . I said it was silly, but that’s pretty much my benchmark for “as fast as I would like,” so I’ve come to terms with the knowledge it’s never really going to get there. Which means I’m grateful for the progress without actually having high expectations.
And I’m grateful for friends and maybe actually starting to create a real friendship after more than 7 years of living here. And for chocolate-covered coffee beans (which helped me finish that index!).
I’m also going to be really grateful for sleep tonight.
Lots to be grateful for. What about you? What are you grateful for this week?
My daughter thinks I’m magic
My dad used to make “designer pancakes” for us kids — cool pancakes that had circles or shapes embedded in them. I’ve taken to doing some of these for my own kids lately — shapes, initials, I ♥ U — and they love it. My daughter believes me when I tell her I can do it because I’m magic. My son doesn’t, but I told him that if he doesn’t know how I’m doing it, it might as well be magic. Continue reading
Drive-in movies
Meant to post this yesterday, but there was a lot going on — work, dental appointments, movies. The movies are, as the subject says, the point. Continue reading
If it’s Tuesday, this still must be France
Or, I’m still proofreading. You may have noticed I didn’t get my weekly gratitude post up yesterday. That’s because my computer was busy crashing and corrupting files, so I had to do some disk maintenance, run a virus/malware scan (just in case), and repair disk permissions. That didn’t leave a lot of time for things like blogs. Continue reading
Stretching the mind
Today, I’m grateful for work that I enjoy, that uses my abilities, and that stretches my brain. (It also fills my wallet, which I’m also very grateful for.) Yes, these describe my writing, but I’m applying them today to my freelance business. Continue reading
A picanic basket
Okay, not a basket, per se, at least today; I’m spending the day with my son’s class for their end-of-year picnic — swimming, games, food, and good times with familiar faces. Continue reading
Happy Memorial Day
This Memorial Day, I have a lot to be grateful for: my mom, time with my family, those who’ve served our country whether or not they died in her service (including my dad, my older brother, my dad’s brothers, my mother’s father — Civil Service, cousins, and friends), and being here to appreciate all of them.
On a Memorial Day holiday 15 years ago, I was on a boat with my fiancé (now husband), his brother, the brother’s roommate, and the roommate’s girlfriend. That was the day I learned how sharp motorboat propellers are. (Oddly enough, my husband and I don’t go boating for Memorial Day.) That’s 15 years to appreciate.
What are you grateful for today?
Time to recharge
I have workaholic tendencies. When I have a job to do and a deadline, I’m perfectly willing to work through the weekends to make sure I beat the deadline. I want to be doing something.
(This is also evidenced by the fact that when watching a movie on DVD or watching my husband or son play on the XBox, I want my hands to be busy doing something — knitting, crocheting, mending, something. That’s not as antisocial, however, as ignoring my family and staring at the computer or a stack of proofs or galleys all weekend long.)
However, I know I actually work better and am in a better mood if I’m not trying to work all the time. So when my friend Nicki arranged a get-together for local WriMos this weekend, I knew I should go, even though it always feels like work to go somewhere.
And I went. And I had a great time and laughed and talked and remembered that I enjoy spending time with people. Oh, and got a fun idea for a NaNo novel — NaNoWriMo fanfic.
Which means that this Monday, I’m grateful for friends, for time to relax, and especially for Nicki, who has done a wonderful job as Municipal Liaison.
What are you grateful for today?
