Ramblings of a Thirty-Something

Last day of November...only 31 days left in 2013. Only 25 days until Christmas. Only 12 days until The Desolation of Smaug premieres (come on, don't pretend you didn't see that one coming). And it is the last post of my thankfulness series. Perhaps if I had done this daily on, say, Facebook or Twitter, the topics might have come easier for me, but trying to do groups of five hasn't always been easy. However, I shall give this final grouping of five a valiant effort. 26. My body I take having a healthy, complete body for granted some times. I am thankful that I have two feet attached to two legs that can get me from A to B in whatever manner I see fit. I am thankful I have ten fingers attached to two hands attached to two arms that allow me to do everything from lift a car over my head (hahaha) to type this blog post. I am thankful I have two eyes, two ears, and working vocal chords. I am thankful for my crazy gingerish hair that covers my scrawny giraffe neck. I'm m

So much for posting sometime in the past five days...oh well, what are you going to do? You can't fire me, as this is my blog, owned and operated by me. I suppose you could stop reading it. Please don't stop reading my blog. That will make me incredibly sad. Time for five more things on my list! 21. Pain relievers I'm so thankful for Advil. I'm not a pill popper, but when you get headaches like mine or cramps like I do, Advil is a necessary lifeline. I'm serious--today I spent the better part of an hour huddled in my desk chair while the kids worked on maps, wondering if would be able to talk without throwing up or stand without fainting, thanks to cramps. And thanks to Advil, they eventually went away. 22. Clean slates Literally and figuratively! I love a clean, never-been-used chalkboard and a long piece of chalk, but I also love second chances. I love changing my entire mood by cleaning my room down to the bone and sweeping out my car and straighteni

This should be the last consecutive thankfulness post. There will be two more, as there are still ten days in November, but there should be another post in between this and the next thankfulness post. Anyway, here we go: 16. Television  This one makes me sound lazy, but I am such a television junkie, so yes, I'm owning this one. Comedies, dramas, cop shows, sci-fi shows, thrillers, history programs...I don't care, as long as I can get into the show and enjoy the characters, I'll watch it. 17. Popcorn The official snack food of Illinois! And the staple of the American cinema. And something the Eastern Woodland Native American tribes used to eat, as well (that's the Social Studies teacher coming out, right there!) 18.  Target Seriously, can you go into Target and leave empty handed? That store has everything I could possibly ever need--books, movies, clothes, school supplies, decorations, food, essential life items...what would I do without Target? 19. Techno

I had every intention of posting on Friday the 15th, which would have then caught me up. Unfortunately, my life did not cooperate. I spent very little time at home near my computer between Wednesday and Sunday. And then when I was home on Sunday, we lost power and our internet connection. Hence, this next grouping of five things for which I am thankful is coming to you today. 11. Chocolate I know, it's cliché. But really, some days I just need it. I keep a filing cabinet drawer stocked with chocolate in various forms (with and without nuts, caramel, nougat, wafer). If you teach with me and don't know about this drawer, it is the top one in the left hand cabinet. I completely understand if you ever need to come into my room and tell me you "need to get a file." Trust me, I probably "need a file" too. 12. My health I'm thankful I have always been a fairly healthy person (though I wasn't a healthy child). I usually get sick once or twice a year,

Schedules...I love schedules. And I love being back on a schedule, at least where my blog is concerned. I'm even cooking up some ideas for future posts and a possible series of posts (I may need to ask for feedback before I actually go through with it!) Anyway, as I said, I need to catch myself back up to the number of days in November, and so here will be five more things for which I am thankful (don't end a sentence in a preposition...even though my title totally is...grrr!) 6. My Schatzi dog Growing up, I never got to have a dog. We lived in a very small house and had two working parents plus three kids in school, so my parents did not want a dog to be cramped in that tiny house all the live-long day, which now I can understand. And so we got our first puppy when I was the ripe-old-age of 20 and about to head off to college, and I was ecstatic. Our Schatzi is the best dog I could ask for. Does she randomly bark at things that are over a mile away? Yes. Does she stink? Y

Balance is important in one's life. And you know your life is out of balance when your violin teacher chooses your lesson to make a "random" spiel about balance. Now that conferences, the music club program, and the 175th church anniversary are all over, my life is somewhat back in balance. Now, I've never been that dedicated person who can post every day on Facebook throughout the month of November of things for which I am thankful. But, now that I am a (fairly) dedicated blogger, I thought this might be the perfect outlet for my thankfulness. Because I am a grateful person, I promise! Since the month is eleven days in, I think I shall just do this in five day chunks until I get myself caught up (by the 15th...here's hoping!) 1. My family I have an amazing family...I'm not entirely sure I can say it enough. My support system is endless, from siblings and parents who tolerate my crazy and love me anyway to grandparents who cheer me on, to cousins who take