Sneak Preview...

Evil Stepmother, Dress 1! Not the best picture but I think you get the picture! :)

Almost time for Relief!

I'm going to have to post some thankfulness posts in December to make up for the ones I've missed this week... but that's okay. The show is almost ready to open! Opening night is Friday. However, I leave tomorrow afternoon for Denver. On Friday I will be watching approximately 150 high school thespians audition at the Colorado Thespian Conference. As we are a liberal arts program, students don't have to audition to get into our school. However, last year they scouted and recruited four perspective students at this event. It's a good way to get our name and program out there. If there are students we like we will invite them to come down in February for our on campus scholarship auditions. It should be a tiring day but fun too. And I will get to meet some of my colleagues from around the state as several other colleges participate.

What that does mean is that all of the costumes needed to be DONE by today... and they are! I am back at school to watch one more run through and take notes on anything else that needs to be tidied, fixed, changed, etc. Then I will leave that list with my work study students and I will be done (until they break something have way through the show and then it's back to square one).

Highlights from last nights run include:
-One of the evil stepsister's wigs coming off and him gripping his head and yelling "I'm so ugly" in a very funny falsetto
-A short time letter when the Cinderella double "transformed" from rags to ballgown, only to pull off her wig with her mop cap! The look on her face was priceless!
-Paul (the director)'s reaction when the evil stepfamily came on stage in their rag dresses, which he didn't know I had made! He loved them and turned saying, "I didn't know we had those!" I told him that we had made them that day and he was amazed! Big beaming from me...
-The overall beauty of the show with lights, sets and now costumes

I promise I will post pictures. I have asked the young lady who takes the archive photos for a list of photos of the costumes I made (as well as the other archive photos for the overall look of costumes, built or rented). When I got those, I'll post some of them. Until then, imagine a 6'2" man in leopard print platform shoes, blue and yellow dress with a white and animal print stand up collar (ala Elizabeth) and a foot and a half tall wig... Fabulous!

So I missed yesterday...

So sue me! :) I was at the theatre until 8pm last night working costumes. Reid came in with Tater and my dinner and helped for a little while. When we got home I plopped down on the sofa for a little bit of handsewing (yey snaps!) and Reid played on the computer. I didn't even think of blogging land.

Today I am thankful that school will be done in two weeks from today (for me)! Classes are over December 7. My only day of finals in Tuesday, Dec. 11. Can you believe December starts on Saturday? Crazy... I didn't think it was possible but school actually moves faster as a professor!

Tonight is our first dress rehearsal. So I probably will not be posting again this evening... Wish me luck!

Day 15

Today I am thankful for having the day off... this is the first day in over three weeks that I have not been in the theatre building! I felt a little weird driving past it without stopping... but I didn't :) I really needed today off. I cared for the kitties in the morning, went to Walmart for a few minutes this afternoon and then came home and set up the Christmas tree with Reid this evening! It is just a four foot little guy but it looks pretty sitting up on a table in our front window.

I am also thankful for Amazing Race! What can I say? It's a guilty pleasure... and it comes on in twenty-five minutes! Hooray!

Day 14... or my kitty cats

Today, as I sit here and write this, Clementine is sitting on my lap. She has been sleeping in Tater's basket next to the computer all day, waiting for someone to sit down at the computer so that she could jump on a lap! And I was the first one to come along.

My kitty girls often get overlooked when it comes to my pets. I think that happens mainly because I take Tater with me so many places that everyone knows him (it is much harder to type when Clementine is trying to lick my fingers and lay her chin between my typing hands!). But I really value the love and sweetness that my cats give me. Isabel is always there to get a scritch when I sit down on the toilet (and don't try to closer her out of the bathroom unless you want to spend your entire time in there listening her to scratch at the bottom of the door!). She loves giving ankle rubs in the morning. I love watching her excitement when she sits in the window and chitters at the birds that fly by.

(This is Isabel right after we moved in to our house here in Alamosa... checking out the window!)



Clementine has always been Reid's cat. When she has the choice she will go to him every time. That being said, I am still frequently graced with her presence. I love that she will sit on my lap while I'm watching tv or curl up with me on the sofa with a good book. I love the little meow noise that she makes, that isn't really a meow. I love that she doesn't mind wearing her collar and in fact seems to wear it with a bit of pride. And I love that she is here with us, since there was a time earlier this year when she was losing weight and refusing to eat and we thought we might lose her. But whatever it was, she pulled through. And is the same cuddler she has always been.

(Clemmie sleeping in her kitty basket... with her tongue stuck out!)


Working in the cat shelter really brings home how many cats are out there that need someone to hold them and cuddle them, talk to them and pet them. Cats are not the obedient clingers that dogs are... but they are warm and wonderful in their own way. And I am thankful for the two who live in my house (as well as anyone who adopts an adult cat from a shelter... there are so many of them!).

Mother Nature Hears All!

I woke up this morning a little bummed that I was not partaking in the "Black Friday" festivities. I was not joining in the fun for three reasons. First and most importantly I had no one to go with... and hitting crazy sales just isn't as much fun alone. Second, Reid and I are trying to save money in order to hopefully buy a house in the spring. And third... the closest stores (minus the tiny store-front JC Penny and Walmart) are over 100 miles away. And if you figure just how long it is going to take to cover one hundred miles... and the fact that the best sales started at 4am... I would have had to leave last night!.

As if the natural world can read blogs or hear Matt Lauer say that Thanksgiving is the prelude to Christmas, I rolled over and cursed myself for talking so much yesterday about how I love all the sunshine here because it was white outside (usually meaning it is cloudy). Then I sat up and realized that no, that white wasn't clouds... it was snow! And lots of it! On the fence posts there is easily four inches.

In fact, there is a step up into our house and I had to push the door open through the snow. Tater's first step out into it was pretty funny. Then he bounced through it with a great deal of joy.

(This is Tater enjoying the snow in the backyard after enjoying the snow in the park!)

And it tells you something about where we live that our street (2nd Street) was not yet plowed... but the path in the park was!

(A picture from our front door towards the park)

And so today I am thankful for snow! Mother nature knew that I needed a pick-me-up this morning and gave it to me in beautiful white powder. Of course now I get to go scrape off my car so I can go to school and sew... but scraping will be worth it for the magnificent white views!

(And this is my gratuitous pretty snow picture!)

Thanksgiving!

Today I am thankful for Thanksgiving! Reid and I had Thanksgiving dinner with Paul Newman (no, not that Paul Newman), the head of my department and his family. And of course it was hard to be so far away from our family and our friends. But they invited us in with open arms, fed us very good food and even encouraged us to bring Tater over for a walk and then to just hang out with them for dessert and conversation.

Thanksgiving is in many ways the "kicking off" of the Christmas season. But I think that it deserves to stand on its own right. How glorious to have a holiday where the point is to commune with other people in thankfulness for the bounty that earth has provided us. There are no presents, no gimmicks and nothing to buy. There is only good food and good company. And though I long to spend that time with my family, I am very appreciative tonight of the family that welcomed Reid and I into their home. One more sign (as if I needed anymore) that Alamosa is a good place and that we are surrounded by good people here. I hope that your Thanksgiving was a time of love, good food, and reflection upon the blessings that have been bestowed on each of us. Happy Gobble-Day!

And now Day 11... on Day 11

As I was signing on I thought that I would write a post being thankful for other people's creativity... but it is far too late at night to begin something like that. The truth is I owe my life, my art, my income and most of my happiness to other people's imaginative creativity. So though I am thankful for it, I think I'll have to wait for another post to elaborate on it.

So, this evening I am thankful for health insurance. Sometimes it's a pain (like this evening when I called in my prescription for birth control 'cause I knew I would have time today to pick it up... only to get to the pharmacy and have them tell me that the insurance company won't pay for it until November 27th... So, I'll go back on the 27th I guess).

But I am thankful for both understanding how necessary health insurance is and the safety net that it provides Reid and I. As we were prepping the cheesy potatoes that we are taking tomorrow to Thanksgiving dinner Reid cut his thumb. He cut it pretty badly I thought (through part of the nail) and there was a moment before we washed it throughly where I thought we might be taking a trip to the emergency room for stitches. And though the ER is the last place I want to be (just about) on Thanksgiving eve, the cost was gloriously one thing that did not cross my mind... I just wanted Reid's thumb to be better.

I know that there are all sorts of views out there about universal health care and I don't begin to pretend that I understand them. But I can't imagine being a spouse or someday a parent and not having that confidence going to bed every night knowing that if something were to happen to the ones I love there would be medical treatment without financial ruin... This lack of health care is a huge problem... and I don't know how we fix it. I am thankful that I have health insurance and I pray that those who are smarter than I am and are more inclined to find a solution do. Because everyone deserves to know that the ER is there for them when they cut their finger... without worrying that they then won't be able to pay the rent.

Day 10 (on day 11... oops!)

Okay, so I missed a day. Last night was one of those chill on the sofa kind of nights and Reid and I watched a movie and I completely forgot about the blog world. So today I'll just have to post twice!


So, this morning I am thankful for Tater, our beagle. This morning Reid took him out and fed him breakfast for me since it was my first day off. Then Tater came back to bed with me and slept until it was time for mommy to get up (9am, not too bad). We went for a walk in the park where he was cautious but forward moving both times we crossed the bridge (which is a huge bridge... but he has always done this thing when we cross a bridge where he spreads out his toes really wide and then crouches really low to the ground as he sort of marine-style crawls... very funny).


We got back and he has been desperate for my attention (and for me to leave the computer) since! When I wouldn't give him my attention, he started playing with his toys which is usually a good sign. However, I looked out the door a few minutes after I started and found this:

(This is a disemboweled moose (I had to take the squeeker away from him, much to his chagrins)

and a blue bunny minus one leg!)

I thought that distraction might be the best course of action. So I gave him a kong (or as we call them at our house passies, since it takes the place of a pacifier). He always loves those. His reaction to my taking his picture while he was eating it:

(I'll leave it up to whether he is licking his lips or sticking his tongue out at me)

Sometimes he is a little bit of a pill (after finishing his kong we went back to tearing up the moose some more... did I mention that was supposed to be a present for his fur cousin, my parent's dog Albie, until he found it in the closet?). But he is ours and we wouldn't change a thing about him. I know that he had another family in Virginia before us but I do fully believe they were just time holders until we came along for him. And as I type this, he has jumped in his laundry basket which he has used as a bed since we got him which is sitting right next to me and is falling asleep.

(A cute picture of a lazy Saturday morning with two of my babies and me... I think Tater looks forward to the weekends as much as we do because it means cuddle time!)

Thankful, Day 9

Today I am thankful for heat! I love our nice warm home and I appreciate that everyone is not as blessed as we are. Last night Reid forgot that he had turned down the heat during the day (he opened the windows to air out the place and just never turned it back up). Luckily I had him on one side and Tater on the other or I would have been a popsicle by this morning! It was hard to get out of bed and in fact I made Reid get up first and turn back up the heat!

I was next reminded of how much I love our warm home when I saw the unfortunate news on the local news that two families near Denver have just lost their homes (last night actually, to a fire that they all barely escaped from). They are thankful that no one in their families were killed (though one man is still in the ICU). But what a difficult road for all of them that they now have to begin the process of building their lives over.

And one more reminder... the cold is coming to the Valley! Snow is coming to Colorado but we shouldn't be getting too much of that (according to weather.com). But Saturday's high is supposed to be 37, with a low of 4! I am so thankful for our nice cocoon of warmth in our home, our clothes and our jobs!

Day 8

Today I am thankful for everything I have been thankful for up to this point... and holiday drinks! I love warm apple cider! I love hot chocolate! I love the coffee creamers that only come out around the holidays (you know, pumpkin spice and chocolate mint truffle, peppermint mocha, etc). Yum! And until I met my husband I wasn't a big fan of egg nog... what can I say? He's a bad influence because I now love the stuff (huge number of calories and all!). I still prefer mine straight rather than with rum though (same thing with my sweetened coffee... no need for Bailey's, thanks... If I'm going to drink alcohol I prefer it in the daquiri/margarita variety!).

Anyway, one of the things I look forward to every fall is the myriad of cold weather drink options available to me. In fact, I think I'll go enjoy some now!

Day of Thanks 6... and 7!

So I didn't post yesterday... oops. It was a long day and I just didn't have time between work and going out. And as I had been stressed all week (and threatening to sleep in the costume shop) I really needed to go out.

So... for Day 6 I am thankful for Christmas lights and Christmas decorations. Last night was the official "lighting" of Alamosa. All of the street lights have lit ornaments on them. They light up the train engine that is in the park and the courthouse. Last night Santa came to Alamosa, in the same courtyard where the farmer's market is in the summer. Tater went with us. A little boy asked if he could pet and I said of course you can. Tater's tail started wagging really hard. The little boy turned to his mother and said "look! His tail is shaking back and forth." And his mother replied, "Yes, he's happy because he saw Santa," and the little boy nodded in agreement... I nodded my head in agreement though I'm pretty sure Tater was happy about the petting and the possibility of food being dropped on his head!

I love driving past the lights... you just can't be too angry when you see Christmas trees and lit lamp-posts... somehow in Christmas lights problems melt away.

For Day 7, I am thankful for my husband and one of my work study student's help!! I was stressed going into the costume shop today. But I got the last costume cut out (Cinderella's double's rag dress) and then Reid and Tater showed up. I have trained him well in the art of sewing, if I do say so myself! He put a waistband on to a skirt, made a bum roll and encased two arm holes with bias tape for me.
But the biggest surprise of the day was when Jessica opened the door and said, "Hi. I'm here to help. I was just sitting at home and I thought I'd be more productive here than at home watching tv." You bet!! She sewed together an entire bodice for the evil stepmother's ballgown. And with all that help it allowed me to get the first steps done on the rag dress (I need more bias tape to finish it tomorrow), sew trim onto one Cinderella skirt, sew velcro on to a Cinderella bodice and begin to put the skirt on to the Evil Stepmother ballgown. I know most of you don't care about the costumes in such step by step detail... but it helps me to write it out and for you to see just how much I need these people's help! How much further behind would I be if it weren't for them?? So, I am thankful for help (especially since Jessica gave me her telephone number and said to call her tomorrow while I'm there and she'll come over and do some more work)!

And now... I'm going to go eat some dinner and watch a movie with my husband!

Day of Thanks 5

Wow! I can't believe it's already day of thanks 5... or that it is already November 15! Where has the time gone...

Today I am thankful for rest. I haven't gotten a whole lot lately and I would like nothing more this evening than to cuddle under the covers with a good book and go to sleep early. But I am going to see the first full run-through of Cinderella so that I have some idea of what is happening in the scenes and how long people have to change.

I am thankful that when the time comes, and Cinderella has finally been finished and the semester is done there will be time to rest and recooperate. Hooray!

Day of Thanks 4

Today is going to be short and sweet because it is already nine o'clock in the evening and I had wanted to tackle the beginnings of a Christmas present this evening!

Today, I am thankful for the job that I do. Despite it being incredibly stressful at moments (I really felt like crying several times today... it was just one of THOSE days) I really love it. And it was all brought home when I received an e-mail around lunch time today that actually did make me cry. But first, let me set it up for you.

You see, I have a student who is in two of my classes. She is somewhat soft-spoken and you can tell a little shy. She was home-schooled, graduated at 16 and has spent the last two years living at home and going to community college. She transferred in to Adams this fall. About two weeks ago she asked if she could come work for me in the costume shop. She told me that she could sew a bit and so I, of course, jumped at the offer of another set of hands. Well... this student has been a GREAT help. She can sew well and she is in almost every day... she has even come in the last two Saturdays to help.

Then today, I got an e-mail from her mother. As I am opening it, of course I am thinking "Oh no... what does this mother want? Doesn't she know I can't share information about her daughter?" But no... she instead wrote a very sweet note to me, saying how when you let your children go you hope that there are people out there to take them under their wings and thanking me for giving her daughter the opportunity to blossom in the shop. She said she has never heard her daughter so excited about anything before! Wow... if that didn't blow me away. I am so thankful for her taking a moment to send an e-mail telling me that I am indeed on the right path and in the right place. Thank you to this student's mom!

Day of Thanks 3 (or 13)

Today I am thankful for the changing seasons. I love the way the air feels crisp in the fall (though here it has been getting up into the sixties during the days... but nights are in the teens and twenties). I love the colors of the leaves and the knowledge that with October comes the best three months of the year in terms of holidays! I love going back to school (and the relief that one feels when you reach Thanksgiving break).

I love the snow and how it makes everything look clean and a little magical. I LOVE CHRISTMAS, all of the decorating and the baking and the knowledge that families come together to give one another presents but more importantly their time. I love things with snowflakes on them (I own two sweaters with snowflakes and am seriously considering putting one on the side of the dog coat I'm making Tater... Reid is against it). I love coming inside when it is really cold outside and having something warm to drink. And I love our flannel sheets.

I love when the buds begin to push through the ground. I love little girls in ruffly pastel dresses at Easter (especially when they would rather be playing in the grass rather than standing and looking pretty). I love that my birthday comes in April! I love that my new neice is due in March. I love Spring Break and the anticipation of shool being out for the summer.

I love those (all too few) lazy days of summer, where you can sit around in shorts and a tank top drinking a cold drink and reading a cheesy romance novel. I love the feel of slipping in to a cool pool when it's hot outside. I love summer barbecues and picnics. I love taking my dog for long walks and sitting in a shady spot with him while watching people play in the park. I love anticipating going back to school in the fall.

I am so grateful for the ever changing, ever forward progressing seasons.

Thankful: Day 2 (or Day 12)

I know that yesterday was Veteran's Day but I thought that I would write about it today. I am so grateful to the men and women who serve this country in uniform. I don't agree with the politicians who send them into harms way all the time, but I shed many tears of gratitude when I hear what individuals and families are sacrificing under the banner of American Freedom. We have made a huge mess in Iraq (a sort of hornet's nest that was just waiting to be agitated if you ask me... and now we just have to keep holding up the net around the nest until the hornets settle down... if they settle down). But we have men and women who are working very hard to make the situation there (and by ripple effect elsewhere in the world) better. And for that I am thankful.

As I was driving home from work today (all of a five minute commute, something else I am thankful for!) I heard a story on NPR about Somalia. I don't know how much you know about what is going on over there, but from what I have gathered it is bad. The Somalian government, along with the help of the Ethiopian Army, are fighting a group called the Union of Islamic Courts, who used to completely control the capital Mogadishu and who are now hulled up in certain spots. A few days ago they captured, killed and drug through the streets an Ethiopian soldier (Black Hawk Down all over again). 130,000 people have fled their homes in the capital in the last week... 130,000! And they are heading to the country to stay with family and other clansmen who are already undernourished and overstretched. As I listened to the story my heart went out to those poor displaced people. You know that most of them are honest, hardworking people. They are parents, grandparents, and children who have been driven out of their homes by something that has nothing to do with them. And they now have no idea when or if they will be able to go home and how they are going to provide for their families until they can.

How lucky am I to be living in a land where I know that I am safe when I go to bed at night and when I awake in the morning? To live in a country where I do not have to fear speaking my mind or criticizing my own government? I am so thankful to live in this country, which was fought for and defended by so many miraculous men and women throughout history.

Sorry for my soap-box... I promise tomorrow's thankfulness will be less preachy.

30 Days of Thanksgiving... Umhmm... Try 19!

So, I'm a little late getting started on this but I figure it's better late than never. And I have no idea if I'll be able to post every day from now until the end of November but I'm going to try.

Boogie Mom has challenged her readers to the following:

"Why not take a few minutes everyday in the month of November and post a short blurb on something that you are thankful for? Let’s make Thanksgiving not just a one day celebration, but a whole month!”

Of course, I didn't find it until this morning when I was poking around on one someone else's blog. But I figured nineteen days is better than nothing (and I have one post a few days ago that started on this theme!).

Day 1 (or day 11, depending on how you look at it): The Twist and Turns that Brought Us to Colorado

There have been many times along this road when I have been frustrated with how long it has taken. I have cried tears of frustration in the past for how slow things seemed to be moving (Reid has heard them, my family has heard them, my college room-mates heard them). But let's reflect on the things (and people) I would have missed if my path had been more smooth and straight.

1. Julie- I have never connected and had so much in common with another woman in my life. She and I can and did talk for HOURS without stopping... and then came back together and did it again the next day.

2. Adams State- If I had finished a year or two earlier, this job would not have been open. And I am loving my job.

3. Juvenile Probation- As much pain as working as a juvenile probation officer brought me, I am thankful for that experience because it gave me a great perspective on the world and how much I really do have to be thankful for.

4. Tater- If we hadn't been in Virginia (and friends with Mike and Julie when they got a dog) I might still be living in the belief that I "don't live a dog lifestyle." Instead, we have Tater who is one of the greatest joys in my life.

Okay... think that's enough for today! What are you thankful for?

Cinderella Update... and I'm grown up

First to the part of being grown up. I went to bed last night at my usual time (10:30). I was excited because today is Saturday and that meant that I would get to sleep in (the only time really all week, since I now volunteer with the cats at the shelter on Sunday mornings)! Hooray for sleeping in! There was a time when I could easily sleep until 10 or 10:30... easily. Well, at exactly 6:55am (the time the alarm clock usually goes off) Tater jumped off the bed. At 7:00am he began to whine at the baby gate in our bedroom doorway. At 7:05 I gave in, put my clothes on, took him out, fed him and have been e-mailing and blogging ever since. So much for my sleeping in (of course he is now fast asleep in the basket next to me and Reid is still peacefully sleeping in our bed). Ahh well...

And now for Cinderella (and yes Sarah you will have read this twice because I copied and pasted from the e-mail I sent you this morning!)...

The costumes are finally starting to come together. Don't get me wrong. There is still a lot to do (evil Stepmom currently has one dress cut out, and nothing sewn together!). But there is definite progress. Both of the evil step sister's day dresses are sewn completely (except for their full action sleeves... I figured I would tackle all the sleeves together once I have the dresses done (once I get on a role with them and figure out how best to do it I can't imagine that will take very long). Cinderella's rags are done (the breakway rags haven't been started yet) and the fairy godmother's dancing outfit and cape are done (except for her shawl which should take very little time). Both of the Cinderella ballgown bodices are done except for putting in zippers (and one needs a little more trim added). The ballgown skirts are cut out and sewn into huge tubes so we should be able to get those mostly finished this weekend (I have two students volunteering to come in to work today... isn't that sweet?). So, there is definite progress being made. It's just slow and steady!

One more Contest

I promise, I will post something real soon... but I just love these contests! Here is one that is going to continue to grow through the holiday season!

Earrings at Laura Williams' Musings

This is a plug for another person's website, Laura Williams, because she is giving away a pair of BEAUTIFUL earrings from Twisted Silver, which I would love to win. Take a look if you like :)

Join in the Fun!

Check out the Holiday Scavenger Blog Hunt Party in my side bar (I'm learning... I'm sure there is some way to make the picture the link but I don't know how!).

For those who won prizes I set them out yesterday morning!

Meme?

My sister tagged me last weekend for a meme... now bare with me people, because I have not been in the blogging world for very long.

So... these are the "rules":
Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you (check!). Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged (I don't think I know eight other bloggers... but I'll tag as many as I know!).

1. I have scratches all over the back of my neck... cat scratches, from my Sunday morning romps with the kitties at the local shelter. One of the kittens thinks she is a parrot (likes to sit on your shoulder and holds on with her claws! Very endearing...)

2. I am in the midst of the largest costuming project I have ever undertaken. I'm sure it will all get done. I just hope I'm not sleeping there in a week.

3. I was born before, graduated before and got married before my best friend but did not manage to have babies before her! (though I had fur children first!)

4. There are very few things that I hate in this world... but slasher/killer/torture movies fit into that category. I honestly don't understand how that is entertainment.

5. I love many things... including my red flannel sheets, my dog Tater and my kitty cats Isabel and Clementine.

6. I have worked as a historic interpreter, a juvenile probation officer, a human resources specialist, an adjunct college instructor, a dog bather and finally a theatre professor (I think I'll stay awhile if they let me)!

7. I turn in a retention binder January 15 and will then have a committee of people determine if I get to keep my job for another year (which I won't find out until March 15)! This will happen every year for the next five years, until I go up for tenure.

8. When I was little, I endowed everything with human emotion (our cars, my stuffed animals, everything)... I now worry about children who have that leaning AND have movies like Cars, and The Bee Movie to further their beliefs in anthropomorphism.


And now I will tag Jamie (Sarah did it too... now you have to!), Amy, Alaina, Rebecca, Angela, and Becky (that's all I've got... I guess I need more blogging friends!).

Bloggy Give-away Winners!

I had no idea that I would have the kind of turn-out that I did for my home-made ornaments. And since I had so many entries I decided to give-away each of the ornaments individually. Those who won were:
Rebecca
Chele
Angela
Mom
Laura
Acorn Designs
WindyCindy

Congrats to the winners and thanks to everyone who entered! What a fun time this give-away has been. I will certainly be involved next time!

Thankful For...

There are so many things I'm thankful for, and as we start into the month of Thanksgiving I think this is a grea time to reflect on them.

I am so thankful for my families (the one I was born into and the one I married into). Though Reid and I are far away from them, I am constantly aware of how much they love us and how often they think about us. I know that I am lucky to have parents who still love one another and the same goes for my in-laws. I'm lucky to have a grandfather who is still in good health and proud of my accomplishments.

I am thankful for my job. Though at times it is frustrating and overwhelming, all in all I think I am in the perfect place for me and can see myself staying here for a long time. We went to the one-acts last night (Grand Guignol, turn of the century French horror theatre) and saw students who were excited to be there and working their butts off to entertain us. What a great job I have!

I am thankful for my warm home, my constant income and my loving pets (Tater is lying in his laundry basket right next to me as I write this... can't be too far away from Mommy on her day off!).

And of course, most of all I am thankful for my husband who will probably never read this post. I was just reading a portion of Rebecca's blog whose army husband is deployed for another 273 days and my heart just goes out to her and the other men, women and children who are separated from their loved ones for such prolonged periods. It made me feel thankful and blessed that my husband is here with me, leaving seconds on the microwave rather than clearing it for the time to be seen again (which drives me crazy but which I would miss desperately if he was not here to do it!). So, thank you to Rebecca for reminding me of the blessings I have in my life!