30 images in 30 days: A gratitude challenge

me and my dahlin' Dude

Independence Day 2008

From 14 July through 14 August, I am making it my mission to capture at least one image per day of something that touched my life that day and for which I am thankful. This post will be dated ahead, so each day's image should appear below it. If you want to join me, please do. If you simply want to enjoy the view, welcome! I can't promise photographic greatness, but maybe we will all spend this month counting our blessings instead of our challenges.

Namaste,

Heathadahlin'

Day 26: Growth

I am thankful today that the school year is about to start, and with it, new opportunities for personal growth. Yesterday, Monkeyboy was approved to start training at a local Kuk Sool Won school. I was reading the student handbook, and it's really inspiring. I'm glad this school moved in around the corner.

Day 25: Vacation's Over

So, Dude took a few days off this week, and today was the last one. Tomorrow, he's back to work. As you can see, he's wiped out! I'm so thankful we had these few days of endless movies and sleepovers and various fun stuff.

Day 24: Wow!

Today, we went to "the dinosaur museum" Ladybug has been after us to visit. It's really the Museum of Natural Science, and in this part of the world, that means oil & gas & some items related to the aerospace industry, as well as the evolutionary look at animals and other such things. It was pretty impressive, though I really wish we'd sprung for the butterflies, too. Getting in anywhere is painful, so we were trying to be frugal. Still, everyone had a great (and suprisingly exhausting) time!

On a related note, it occurred to me that my maternal grandmother and her elder sister would be furious at me for waiting so long to take the kids to this place. I went here so often that I could give the tour for the docent by the age of 7.

Day 23: No Ark Necessary

I'm thankful that the only hurrican supplies we needed came from Blockbuster. God bless George Lucas.

And, yes, I've failed to bust out the camera. Everytime I think, "oh, I wish I had a picture of that," taking one would wake someone up. Oh well.

Day 22: Edouard

Today, I'm thankful for the promise of rain. I'm also thankful for the technology that allows us enough information to stay safe.

Day 21: Foundations & Fancy Food

Today I am thankful that we attend a UU church. Our congregation met in our newly-refurbished sanctuary for the first time in 12 weeks and said a collective "NO!" to the evil that visited our sister congregation last week - an evil that is present anytime people choose to hate each other because they differ in opinion and act on that hatred. Our covenants were renewed, our building rededicated. We had a beautiful service today, filled with spirit and love and sorrow and hope, all at once.





On a much lighter note, going to church this morning also made me happy because I was reminded that one perk of our church's location is that it's around the corner from Einstein Bros. There is not one closer to my home than this, and it's a rare treat that we get fresh bagels. Today, though, was such a day for rare treats.

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This is for my friend, Mrs. The King:

The Three Southern Belles (a quickly-typed version I posted five years ago)

Once upon a time there were three Southern women sitting on the front porch of an old plantation home, sippin jueleps and sloppin sugar and swappin darling husband stories.

The first lady said to her *friends*, "Ma deahs, for our fuhst anniversary my husband got me this gorgeous 5 carat diamond ring. See how it spahhhkles and shiiiines? He said it was a reflection of the many facets of his nevah-endin luv for me."

The second belle said, "Oh, honey! What a precious man you married!!! That is a truly wonderful ring!"

The third smiled sweetly and said, "that's niiiice."

The second lady then said to the others, "Well, for our fuhst anniversary, my sweet John took me on a trip around the globe! He said that all the treasures of the world were his in me, and he wanted to show me beauty like I'd brought to his life."

The first woman said, "Oh, my! How extravagant and romantic! You are a lucky lady to have such a dahlin' man!"

The third smiled sweetly and said, "Oh, that IS niiiice."

This went on for some time, going through the major life moments and the gifts that accompanied them. To all of these, the third belle smiled her slow smile and said, "that's niiiiice."

At long last, the first two belles, realizing that their friend had yet to offer up any stories of her husband said, "well, dahlin, what did YOUR husband give you for your fuhst anniversary?"

"For our fuhst anniversary," she began, "my husband sent me to ettiqutte school."

The other women were horrified! "But whatever for? You're just the sweetest, dearest little ol' thing! Why on Earth would that cad send you to ettiquette school?!?!?!"

"Well," said she, "I used to say 'F*** you, B!tch!' Now, I simply smile and say, "That's niiiiiiice."

I hope this helps, Mrs. The King. I'm praying for ya!

Day 20: Foxworthy

If you use your Black and Decker leaf blower to dust your Christmas tree (which you leave up all year long), you might be a Redneck.

Day 19: Family, Friends, Food

Today was a special treat. My friend, The Beaded Biker came to see me and we went to lunch. My mom took the kids to lunch so C and I could have a peaceful time at the restaurant. It was great to see her and visit. She's so funny!

Then, I took my pseudo-sister to dinner at our favorite place to celebrate her birthday (which was last week). Yummmm.

Above are some pics of my kids waiting for their Gi-Gi, my pseudo-nephew, and my pseudo-sister (who would have shot me for using the camera on her if she had a gun - fer reeeeeal).

Day 18: Retail Therapy

Today, I'm grateful James watched the kids so I could go to Target alone. The best thing about Target trips when your down is the food side. Once upon a time, they carried the merengue cookies. Now, though, my crack has a different manifestation.

Day 17: Relief

It's been a rough week, so today I was thankful to a) only spend $5 on the part to fix Dude's car and b) to get this and enjoy what I made with it.

Never fear, it was more

than it was

Day 16: Fins

Today, I am thankful for my children's ability to swim and to the man (last year) and woman (currently) who have brought them to this gift. Princess get really discouraged when learning something new - she wants to be perfect the first time. Wonder where she got that trait?

It was a wonderful thing to watch them learn and grow in their swimming this summer. Heck, I've learned more than a few things watching them! We have seven more lessons before school starts, and I know these kids and I will learn something at each and every one of them.

Day 15: Relief

These are Dude's keys. Dude lost his keys on Saturday. Dude found his key tonight. Dude woke me up with his screaming about the lost keys this morning, only to take my key to his car and find it with a radiator issue. So, today I am grateful for little things, like these keys he finally found tonight (and the knowledge that he won't be waking me up having a fit over them tomorrow).

Day 14: Peace

Today, I am thankful for the peace Dude and I had. It set in the moment the door closed behind my children and mother, leaving us alone for several wonderful hours. Ahhhh. I am very grateful for those hours, and I'm equally thankful for the chaos that ensued when they got home, pictured here.

Day 13: The Love We Make

Yesterday, these darlings entered the world. Today, I got to see them. I am grateful for them, for their parents - two people whom I love very much - and for all the medical teams and interventions and technologies that allowed them to be born in a far better way and condition than they would have been otherwise.

Love was planted, grew, and was born. Thank Heaven.

Top baby is Baby B, 5 lbs 5 oz, 19"

Bottom baby is Baby A, 7 lbs 7 oz, 20.5"

Day 12: Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

I had a great time at Moms' Night Out! The food was okay, but the company was superb as always! It was a much needed recharge session! Thanks, Ladies!

Day 11: Brother and Sisters

Babies don't stay babies forever. These are my sleeping angel girls in their newly shared room, and my little man is in his new boyland. Clearly, the rooms are works in progress. Also in progress is the separation of the twins.

Notice in Monkey's room that there is a pink sleeping bag and elephant on the floor and he's on the very edge of the bed. He asked his ladybug sister to come to his room to sleep tonight and fell asleep talking to her and holding her hand.

Tonight, I am thankful that my children love each other always (and show it at least when it really counts). They are the most precious gifts to us and to each other, and they know it.

Day 10: Me, Myself, & My Beliefs

This smiling, fat, flawed woman is yours truly. I don't always like myself: how I look, what I say, how I react, what I do. I do, however, always love myself, even in those moments of criticism and doubt. My life is good and people love me, to boot, and I'm grateful for that. Sometimes they say stupid things, but they can't take away who I am, where I come from, or what I stand for. I am grateful for that every single day. Do I need to be a better person? Sure, don't we all in some way? Am I pretty damn great as is? Abso-freakin'-lutely!

This is a great day. Rejoice and be thankful you are who and what and where you are.

Day 9: Love

This is Dude. He hates the camera. Like everyone here, he loves the foam swords. We were lucky to get a pic of him that had more face than John Gotti-like armpit.

Dude is my husband and my best friend. He is all things good and lots of things frustrating all wrapped up in one. I adore him. Amazingly enough, he adores me right back.

Today, I am especially thankful for him. I have felt like crap the last few days, and he has stepped up big to help me. Because of his help, I am on the mend.

Thanks, Dude, for loving me with that Sunday kind of love every day of the week.

Day 8: Creature Comforts

I have a mean ear infection being treated with enough abx to give anthrax a run for its money. Today, therefore, I was thankful for the things that made being miserably sick bearable: Grumpy Old Men, Stephanie's adventures, and The Birdcage - all in the comfort of my ratty-ass rocker recliner (the only place to comfortably sleep when one whole side of one's head is throbbing and swollen).

A couple of clips for your enjoyment (one had embedding disabled, sorry)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CITa_pmox4

Show me your tattoo...

This is the faerie on my shoulder :)

Day 7: My Motley Crew digs Motley Crue

Dancin' and Wailin' to The Crue!
I am thankful that I, like my parents did with me, am passing along the love of wonderful music to my children.

I am also thankful to have wonderful friends, like my jeweler friend, The Beaded Biker, who created this piece with me in mind. She has a phenomenal heart, and she put it into this piece for me.

Day 6: True Patriotism in the U S of A

I received a jury summons today. It got me thinking about how grateful I am that we live in a country with a pretty good legal system. I'm thrilled I don't have anyone telling me what I may and may not wear in public, choosing for me where I may pray (and to what), or invading my home as they please. We are blessed to have civil rights and duties.



Naturally, seeing this summons dated prior to my return to work also got my deepest pro-American sentiments bubbling up. I realized, on that particular date and through my duties as a stay-home summer mom, I qualify for an exemption from my civil duty.

I love America!

Day 5: Fellowship

Today, I am thankful for the fellowship of like minds, loving hearts, and creative spirits. We met up for Creativity Covenant Group for the first time in a while, and we had outdoor playtime. We do this periodically (rather than writing or learning watercolor technique or quilting, etc) because our lives get so busy, we forget to play. We forget how important it is to re-energize our spirits. So, tonight we did just that in Cool Mama's pool. Mother Hen was there, and she's always great fun. We created new rituals and revered the old. It was a wonderous night, and I am grateful.

Day 4: Freedom

Today, I am thankful that we had the freedom to be totally worthless. My sunburn is killing me, and my arches are falling from walking the Lazy River (or whatever they call it) around the whole waterpark. So, we did nothing but watch TV until swim lessons - Dude was nice enough to do those with out me, so I got to do some rereading. I didn't take a single photograph, but here are images of things that made me laugh out loud on this do-nothing day, courtesy of The Internets.



Princess and Ladybug have caught the love of Dharma & Greg. Thanks to Blockbuster Total Access, we get to see it on DVD! Yay!


Edited to add: I did finally end up taking a few pictures of my "Butt Kickin' Boots." The Monkey Boy was being Mr. Sassy Attitude on the way home yesterday. I jokingly said, "when we get home, I'm gonna put on my butt kickin' boots!" So, all day he's call me, "Hey! Butt Kickin' Boots!" instead of Mama. Tonight, his twin sister asked Dude, "where are Mama's butt kickin' boots? I wanna see 'em!" He told her they weren't real. Hah! I showed him ;-)

Day 3: Fun!

We spent 8 hours at the water park today. This is a pic of Dude and the Kidlettes going on a tube ride. What a hoot!

I cannot tell you how much fun we had! I saw more people I know at this place than I do in a week or more of outings, half the people working there are from back in the USSR, and they sell absurdly expensive Icees in 12 flavors that you can mix to your liking (OMFG How come no one told me this before?!?!?!?!) The company calls it what they call it, but I call it a muy fabulosa flotilla of fun!

Fun is one of the great blessings in life.

Day 2: Friendship

Okay, I didn't take the first photo. Obviously, as I was forced to be in it.

I am blessed to have wonderful friendships with amazing people.

These ladies are my English Department tribe. There are others, but two couldn't make it, the dudes never show, and two left before I remembered I brought the camn damera. But I digress...

We said goodbye to JL today. She's moving to a school nearer her new home-to-be. She was my protege and pretty aggrevating at times in those early months, but she grew into her vocation and became my friend along the way.

As the Colonel, the Goddess, and I listened to JL's wedding planning stories, it hit me like a ton of bricks (or maybe like a ton of tequila and green sauce) that my tribe is down one. My days will be altered in small ways I never thought I'd miss: no more "Happy Monday" no more "Will I get fired if.....?" no more upbeat attitude on deadbeat kids at lunch.

See ya, JL. Thanks for being my friend.

Oh, and this second one I took. It looks like friendship, too. Drunken and spent and coated with good Tex-Mex. That's how we roll around here.

You can never have too many friends nor too much green sauce. I think I have proved you can have too many margaritas, though. Hehehe.

Day 1: Tradition

My Funky Monkey is extinguishing our chalice at the end of supper tonight.

I don't think I do really well with creating/passing on ritual and tradition with my young family - at least not beyond daily routines and Christmas. The kids sometimes prove me wrong, like at suppertime.

I am very thankful for the sense of meaning we all find in this ritual, but mostly I'm thrilled that it means so very much to my little boy that he counts the days until it's his turn to do this duty. This is our daily familial act of communion with the Divine.

**At UU churches, we light a chalice at the start of each service or meeting of groups, etc. It's our thing. The kids do it with us in service, and one child each week called "the keeper of the flame" leads the kids to religious ed. My kids love the chalice and want one every night because it's their ritual - it helps define what they learn about the Divine (though they conjecture a lot about God). So, we have a chalice.

The child who's in line first for bath each night gets to blow out the chalice that night (we have a calendar and everything). Tonight was Monkey's night.