30 Days of Gratitude - Day 17

Today, I am grateful for old photographs. I spent some time today going through some old pictures that I have scanned from the boxes and boxes of ones at my parents' house. Looking at them made me laugh and remember the simple times of when I was a kid. I had a great life growing up....

Looking at these pictures makes me think of the song "Photograph" by Nickleback:


Oh, and just as a warning, my family may come and pinch my head off my body when I post some of these photographs....

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 16

This is NOT a picture of me and I do NOT have manly feet!!

Today, I am grateful that I have a job that allows me to work from home a couple of days a week. I could probably work from home every day of the week, as long as I actually get my work done, but I know that if I don't go into the office and see other human beings that I will lose all ability to maintain my personal hygiene and will never put on pants that aren't stretchy again.

The benefits of working from home are too numerous to really go into, but the primary ones are that it gives me the chance to do things like laundry and dishes in between meetings and reports, thereby freeing up my weekends to do the stuff that I REALLY love to do like watching marathons of America's Next Top Model (Freudian slip that I first typed "marathongs"?). It also will alleviate some of the stress that my poor puppy has when I leave him (more on that in a separate posting).

Thank you technology gods who have created the ability to get my work done even when I'm not at the office....as long as I do not turn into Homer Simpson when he worked from home....

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 15

Today I want to pronounce my gratitude for my church, Horizon Unitarian Universalist church.

I've only recently started attending, well this past summer, and it has been a great experience. I had looked into the church about 10 years ago, but only in a cursory way. It wasn't until this summer that I decided that I really wanted to find out what the church was all about and I went to investigate. I was happily surprised at how open and welcoming the members were.

The services open with the following Affirmation:
Love is the doctrine of our church;
The quest for truth is its sacrament,
And service is its prayer.
To dwell together in peace,
To seek knowledge in freedom,
To serve humanity in harmony with the earth,
Thus do we covenant together. 

They also pronounce the importance of the "Free Pulpit and Free Pew" which states that we come together with the freedom that the Minister may say what he wants without fear and that we as congregants are free to accept what is being spoken or not accept it. It is a very open church and that is what I really enjoy about it.

I chose today to be grateful for my church because I am part of a small group that meets every other Thursday, this being one such day, where we are exploring Spirituality and what it is and how it impacts us. It is allowing me the opportunity to discuss my ideas in a safe environment and learn from others. In the end, I hope to gain a new perspective on myself and to improve who I am....make me a better me.

If you are unfamiliar with the Unitarian Universalists (UUs), here is a list of what the UU Association promotes:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person,
• Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations, 
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations, 
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning, 
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large, 
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all, 
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are a part. 

Okay, to be totally, 100% honest I am not "officially" a member yet, I have only been considered a visitor. However, on Sunday, I will be "signing the book" as they call it and becoming an official member of the church. This is a little exciting for me as I have never been a member of a church as an adult.

I Got Flowers

First the guard at the gate called me and asked which lobby I was closest to so that the delivery person would know where to bring my flowers. When I got this call, I hung up thinking they probably had the wrong person, but whatever. Then, the guard at the front desk called and said that I had flowers, so I was convinced that it was really for me and had to walk down there to get them.

As I'm walking down, I was thinking "what could these be for? who would have sent me flowers? do I FINALLY have a secret admirer or stalker?"

When I get to the front desk and read the card, it says "Thank you for all your wonderful hospitality!! Melissa"....Being the lack of short term memory person that I am, I'm thinking "what?!?" Then it dawns on me....Melissa.... My friend who came down and stayed with me and went to Texas Renaissance Faire with me.....duh!!

Now I have lovely fall flowers in my office with a big reminder: ADD WATER NOW!! I'm lucky to have folks who remember me with such kindnesses.