Another silly and shallow one but it takes the small and the big things, the silly and the sacred, things, and the in-betweens to compose a grateful life.  So Netflix it is for today!  :) I am grateful for Netflix.  I've gotten to see some great documentaries, movies, and shows because of it. We've used it for school projects (documentaries), for family movie nights, and yes - for getting hooked on TV shows. :) And I'm grateful for it, as silly and shallow and first world as it may be. What about you?  What are you grateful for that is silly and shallow and yet it prompts Gratitude Attitude in your day?

There is nothing like a baby sleeping/snuggling in your arms. It makes the world slow down and everything, for a brief time, is right and good in the world.  Today I got to hold a sweet baby girl and put her to sleep and let her rest in my arms.  It's rare that I get to do this anymore so when I have the chance I feel so grateful. To breathe in that baby smell and to be reminded of peaceful rest, it's such a gift!

I'm so grateful for invitations.  Invitations to events that celebrate someone or something, invitations to participate in a ceremony/a cause/a program, invitations to walk alongside of someone in their joy/sorrow/confusion, invitations to be a part of someone's life and not just on the fringes.  I'm sure there are more ways invitations happen but those are the ones that came to mind immediately.  Tonight I received an invitation from my youngest brother and soon to be sister-in-love, they asked me to participate in their wedding ceremony by adding my voice in with a reading of their choice. How special, how honored I feel to be a part of their day in this way.  I'm always honored when people invite me into their lives and I try to make sure I express my gratefulness for their belief that I would add to their life in some way.

I really like our DVR.  I really like that we can record a bunch of things and I can take my time watching them.  I like that the DVR gives me the opportunity to record something I like to watch but also affords me to opportunity to do other things - like spend time with family/friends, read books, well pretty much anything else!  It sounds a little silly and shallow to say that I am grateful for our DVR but you know what? I am.  :)

This is one of those Gratitude Attitudes that in theory I am grateful for, that with my words I say I am grateful for, and sometimes with my actions I also show that I am grateful for.  But I don't always succeed.  I say I want diversity, I say that I am grateful for it but when I get pissy because other people won't fall in line and see my point of view on something then I prove I don't really want diversity. Diversity, according to Webster's, means this: the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc. Today I read a lot of different view points on a particular subject.  I would say that a diverse range of opinions were verbalized. And while approximately half of the diverse opinions broke my heart and made me mad I am sitting here tonight grateful for the diversity we have and the freedom to have those opinions.  And I'll be grateful for each situation that pops up that helps me to practice accepting diversity.

So silly but I'm grateful for headbands. They can help redeem a bad hair day. Need I say more?  I don't think so.  *wink*

I've mentioned eyes before, but it was in a totally different context.  Today I'm sticking with the literal.  :)  I'm grateful for the sense of sight.  What our eyes take in every day is miraculous if you think about it. The eye and its functions are absolutely incredible, super intricate, very delicate, and yet very resilient.  I try to not take my eyesight for granted, what I get to see everyday is a gift.  From creation to words to faces, even those pesky stoplights.  :)  And all the things in between.  Tonight I saw the prettiest dusk laced sky. It was gorgeous.  What did you see today that makes you grateful for the gift of sight?

Nothing makes one grateful for instant hot water for a shower more than discovering there is only ice cold water that isn't warming up.  It's a luxury I am grateful to have the opportunity to have on a near daily basis. And when the water is ice cold, because the luxury of the hot water heater we have isn't working correctly, I try very hard to keep it all in perspective - cold water isn't the end of the world, many people in this world only have cold water if they have any at all, and when I do have warm/hot water to not take it for granted.

No, not *those* Village People - haha! I'm talking about the people in our lives that help us out when we are in a bind or when we have a need and they have the knowledge to fix it, etc and we don't.  For example, the hub has a group of guys at work that are certified mechanics so we know we can go to them first with car issues and potentially save ourselves a lot of money.  The hub isn't a handyman so we have had "village people" help us hang a microwave, fix fences, work on our hot water heater, etc.  I'm grateful for all the people in our lives that we know and are willing to come alongside of us in the places where we have weaknesses and help us out.  The saying it takes a village doesn't apply to just raising kids I'm thinking.  

Today I am thinking about comfort foods and even though food on the whole is a double-edged sword for me I am feeling grateful for comfort foods today.  I've alluded to one of my staple comfort foods before, on day 81 .  But since that was a specific comfort food and this is generalizing them I figure it counts for another day.  Besides, it's my blog and my rules so I can do it if I wanna!  *wink* But back to today's Gratitude Attitude.  Tomorrow I am making Cracker Barrel like hash-brown casserole. C'mon,  That is comfort food like no other.  Falling into that category, for me, would also be day 81 (see link above), chicken pot pie, jasmine green tea (sweetened), warm breads, my Mama's lasagna , mashed potatoes, cookies (homemade, none of this store bought crap). Food shouldn't be my comfort, I get that. But sometimes it is, that's the reality. I reiterate what I said on day 81 - sometimes you just need the comfort of something that tastes good and can se

Today is the first day of spring. I'm grateful for seasons. Colorado admittedly has 2 real seasons and 2 mini ones but there is still a distinction.  And I'm grateful for them because they help mark the passing of time. They give me a measure of time to go by so that if I am looking forward to an event that happens in a certain season I can judge the time correctly.  I'm grateful for the newness that each season change introduces. Some people respond strongly to one season while others to another.  I respond more strongly to the season of fall and then spring, I could honestly do without summer and winter.  But I'm grateful for all of them because they provide some change. I have known people who live in places where there really aren't seasons at all.  It's the same year round.  No changes, no new leaves, no flowering blooms that differ because of seasons. Ugh. How boring! I wouldn't like that at all so today, as it is the first official day of spring (what

The tastes, the scents, the colors of citrus.  All of those make me incredibly cheerful and grateful. I feel grateful that I have the ability to see, smell, and taste those citrus things I love so much.  Their bright colors and upbeat scents cheer me, which isn't a coincidence btw.  It's actually a scent that aromatherapy incorporates on purpose for its elements of stress relief among other benefits. (Click here for more on that.) Citrus makes me so cheerful that I lean toward it in lotions, candles, baking.

Challenge. Conflict. Change. I'm grateful for the 3 C's of personal growth and development.  They all work together, if you allow them, to carry on the process of becoming who you were designed to be, to coming into the full potential you were created for. It works like this.  A challenge is issued.  A conflict usually arises from it because the challenge is personal, probably pierces your pride so therefore a conflict between our pride and others or our soul ensues.  If we practice good conflict resolution then change is birthed from the challenge and the conflict.  This is the abridged version of the 3 C's but I trust that you are smart enough to figure out the unabridged version or find someone who can help you figure it out! I'm grateful for the 3 C's even though they often sting because in the end I know if I can get my pride set aside and take on the challenge and resolve the conflict well then change, for the better, is happening in my life. What about yo

I'm grateful for the fragility of life, which would encompass relationships and that is specifically where my thoughts have been centered as of late.  I'm grateful for the reminders that my relationships are fragile because that means I need to "handle with care." I'm not always great at handling my fragile relationships with care. Sometimes I think I probably treat them this way: I forget more often than I remember that my relationships are something to handle with care and if I don't I will break the fragile bond that connects my heart to others. So while I am challenged and frustrated with myself for not respecting the fragility of the people in my life, I am also grateful for the reminder to be more mindful of the practice to "handle with care." 

I'm grateful for soul words.  Words that help us explain what we are really feeling rather than giving a broad, generalized name to the feeling.  For example, happy.  "I feel happy."  That doesn't tell me much about why you feel happy or how you feel happy.  But if you say to me, "I feel delighted" I will probably be able to hone it a little more on your true feeling.  We use such a limited vocabulary when it comes to feelings.  I believe that this is due in part to the discomfort talking about feelings brings up.  Even talking about positive feelings seems to make us uncomfortable. A couple of years ago a counselor gave my hub and I a long list of words to use in place of the broad, general word.  It did make me think, but not enough to change the way I speak. And then in September (2013) I read a GREAT book called How We Love by Milan and Kay Yerkovich and in it they discuss soul words.  This time it stuck a little more.  (I'm a slow learner, *wink*)

I could have just said movies that were made because of books.  But I like the idea of "visual books" better. ;)  Tonight I watched for the first time Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone after having read the book last month for the first time.  And while I liked the book better than the movie I still appreciate having the movie to give me some visual of the what I read.  I loved seeing The Help after reading the book.  I have loved watching Agatha Christie books come to be in movie form, etc.  You get the idea.  I'm a very visual person and to see an interpretation of the characters and the story line come to to life (even if I don't exactly agree with the interpretation) is fun and something I am actually grateful for.

Today is PI day.  You know,  3.14* (March 14)   *grin*  And to celebrate PI day it makes perfect sense to have PIE!  Savory pies and sweet pies - pie is good.  I'm grateful for silly "holidays" that give us a reason or an excuse to be silly and have something like pie!  So tonight the hub and I, abandoned by our redheaded teens, had a pizza and apple and cherry pie!   *3.14 15926535897932384626433832 795028841971693993751058209749 44592307816406286 208998628034825342117067982148 086513282306647093844609550582 231725359408128481 117450284102701938521105559644 622948954930381964428810975665 933446128475648233 786783165271201909145648566923 460348610454326648213393607260 249141273724587006 606315588174881520920962829254 091715364367892590360011330530 548820466521384146 951941 511609433057270365759591953092 186117381932611793105118548074 462379962749 567351885752724891227938183011 949129833673362440656643086021 394946395224737190 702179860943702770539217176293 176752384674

It seems silly to be grateful for such a silly thing. But yet I am grateful for it and I believe I have theorized before that sometimes it's the little things and the silly things more than anything else that increase our gratitude. So today, while it seems silly, I am grateful for Sonic Happy Hour. If you aren't familiar with it let me explain. Sonic Drive-In does Happy Hour on their drink menu (50% off) from 2-4 pm every single day! And some days *you* just need a Cherry Limeade with the best ice E.V.E.R.  I didn't necessarily need one today but some of my co-workers did so I was happy to treat them...and me. I think we all feel grateful today for that pick-me-up treat. ;)

Today I felt grateful for the sense of accomplishment that happens when something gets done - whether it be "small" or "large" or in between.  And sometimes it's a subtle thing that gets accomplished that nobody else can see but my spirit knows.  Do you know what I mean?  Maybe it's why I like a "to do" list.  As I mark things off, no matter how intensive or laborious the task was I grow in feeling like I have accomplished something that day! And days that I don't feel like a thing has been accomplished are frustrating for me. I like to know that I was awake and participating in at least one productive thing each day. How about you? Have you ever thought about being grateful for something obscure like accomplishment?

Sometimes you just need a girls night you know?  (Okay not if you are a guy but you know what I'm saying.) And sometimes you need it without even knowing that you do!  I had girls night with a couple of friends tonight and it was low key and just good to sit at a table, eat some amazing chocolate silk pie, and drink some really delicious Lambic beers (fruit beer - the dangerous kind of beer because it doesn't taste like beer so you forget you are drinking it!  You have to be pretty careful with consumption. *grin*).  Lambic was new to me just tonight as I'm not a beer drinker, but then again Lambic isn't your normal beer.  Anywho, back on track - girls night.  I'm grateful for the girls nights I get, or the girls afternoons I get (which I prefer as I'm more alert and engaged usually).  Us girls need each other.  We were created for connection and relationship and so I'm grateful when an opportunity arises to do so.

Balloons are so cheerful.  And sometimes we just need a reminder to be cheerful. Sometimes we just need the rainbow of color they provide. Balloons make me smile, feel lighter, probably even act a little younger. I'm grateful for the celebration balloons prompt, be it big or small. After all, everyday holds a celebration of some sort so maybe everyday should have a balloon!

I live in a pretty dry state.  I don't really notice it very often but at certain times, like in winter, I notice it most on my hands.  My oldest daughter calls them my "old lady hands" and they do look rather bad.  In fact I believe "old ladies" probably have better skin than I do! So I'm grateful for lotion because I need it!

I am grateful for people who have the gift of hospitality and I'm grateful for the opportunities to experience that gift in others.  I used to think hospitality meant a perfectly clean house, sublime snacks/food, myself and my family groomed and spotless.  I was making life miserable for myself and my family.  Hospitality is really an extension of yourself in warmth, companionship, generosity, and most importantly availability.  I'm so grateful for the people I am privileged to know who extend this gift to me.  I think I have seasons of hospitality and this current season (going on a few years now) doesn't allow space for me to be available. I can be warm, extend companionship, and be generous but I am fairly unavailable these days and that is, in my opinion, one of the most important things about being hospitable.  Today I had the opportunity to spend time in the company of a very hospitable woman and it was a refreshment even though we were working to make a meal for 160

I am grateful for fruit.  The variety of fruits available provide natural sources of fiber, sugar, vitamins, among several other benefits. (Day 165 was devoted to bananas , check out the link I included on that post to the health benefits.) I am a huge fan of fruit in a lot of different forms.  Today I had an orange, apple, and banana. :)

I'm grateful for persistence, especially when I utilize it without meaning to.  This whole week I practiced persistence in taking care of a cold that wanted to knock me down.  Let me tell you, I kicked that cold's ass! I did!  And I did it through persistence with a Neti Pot , Umcka, Emergen-C, and gallons of water.  I didn't let up, I kept on with it because I don't have the time, energy, or patience to get sick. So today, this week, I am grateful for persistence.

Today my hub brought me my favorite flower, the Gerber daisy.  I love them.  I love their bright, cheerful colors.  Their thick stems, their multiple petals.  I just love everything about Gerber daisies!  I'm grateful for them because they never fail to bring cheer to my day and a smile.  They are such a happy flower and I'm grateful for the reminder of happiness.

The thing about gratefulness is that it doesn't discriminate between significant and insignificant, small and large, grandiose and mediocre.  It is all encompassing and I'm grateful for that aspect of gratefulness.  The reason I bring this up is because today I felt grateful for my jasmine green tea which I happen to also love. (Sometimes we don't love the things/people/etc that we are grateful for, we can be grateful for something but not love it.)  When I sip a hot cup of jasmine green tea (sweetened with raw sugar) I feel like my soul is taking a deep breath.  No matter where I am or what I am doing when I sip it.  And I'm grateful that something so insignificant like jasmine green tea can prompt something so necessary, like taking a deep soul breath, in my days.  

Happy Monday!  If you've just grimaced and muttered, "What's so great or happy about Mondays?" then do me a favor and click here .  :) Okay, back with me now? I'm grateful for Mondays and here's one of the reasons why.  (Other reasons are outlined here .) For me Mondays are the start of a fresh work week - a clean slate if the work week before wasn't so great. I use Mondays as a chance to regroup, if necessary, and look at how I can do things differently so my work week is better. Also I am grateful for Mondays because I have a fresh dose of grace for the "sandpaper" people in my life that I work with*. Just bein' honest. By Friday I need a couple days off from certain people so I can regroup and be good to go for another week with them by Monday. :) * I've mentioned the sandpaper people I work with before. Here and here . 

Today I did my nails and I covered them in sparkly fingernail polish. And I felt sassy and fun when I looked at my nails and for that I am grateful.  I am grateful that something simple like sparkly fingernail polish can bring a smile to my face.  Just goes to prove that it can be the most simple of things that bring a Gratitude Attitude to mind.

I am grateful for my hearing.  I try not to take it for granted because I know there are people who have never had the pleasure of hearing, who have lost their hearing as they have aged or had a traumatic experience, or who have hearing that is not 100% for a variety of reasons.  And while I try not to take it for granted I know that I do without realizing it.  With my hearing I get to know the sound of my children's voices and laughs, the sound of my husband, the horns of vehicles, the tweets of birds, the soundtracks that accompany movies, etc. I even get to hear the sound of my own voice - which in my head sounds WAY different than it actually does - that I don't particularly like but it's still I privilege I don't want to take lightly.  When I see videos like the one I have included below I remember how grateful I am for my hearing.

I really, really, really dislike (okay, I hate) washing dishes by hand.  I actually can't find the adequate words to describe my dislike of washing dishes by hand.  So I am incredibly grateful for my dishwasher.  I love my dishwasher, I treat it kindly so that it stays with us for a long, long time! Every time I have to wash dishes by hand (we have a few that aren't safe to wash in the dishwasher) I am grateful all over again for my dishwasher.  How about you?  What appliance do you have that makes you grateful?