Days 3 & 4 Mega-post

Actually, I don't know how mega this is. Basically, I got caught up in rewriting my dossier yesterday and then we hung out with some friends in the evening. Yeah, I dropped the ball.

• dinner with friends and their cute kids
• cool evening weather
• progress made with the kids we're tutoring
• morning walks
• a nice new gynecologist with a pleasant-feeling patient room and a great sense of humor
• looking forward to a housewarming party tonight
• Mass in the Grass tomorrow (our church sets up Sunday service in a local park)
• freshly-mowed lawn...even though it's both tiny and dry
• giant Costco tub of fresh blueberries, which I will eat until my poop turns green and I have a stomach-ache, because this is what I do EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. 
• clean laundry and cleanish home and the big one is...
• Tomorrow my sister visits all the way from Knoxville!!! 

Day 3

Okay, I'll get right down to it today, rather than beat around the bush a whole bunch. (I'll be honest though, it wasn't quite as easy to be optimistic today.)

Things I am thankful for:

• Playing with Dottie in the park
• A good conversation with our priest
• Finding the perfect housewarming gift for some friends
• A conversation with a dear friend
• Lunch with my husband and his parents
• A really cool (temperature wise) morning
• Craft time (made felted bird barrettes) 
• Fun on the horizon: My sister's visit, group camping trip, dinner with friends, hopeful of a raise...

Day 2

I am proud to say, that in the past 24 hours, of the 14 times I succumbed to negativity, I never allowed it out of my head!

(Unless, of course, I don't know that I let it out. Which is entirely possible, as it might just be so natural to be pessimistic that I don't realize I'm even doing it! Like right now. Is it pessimistic to ponder possible failure at optimism? I suppose it is. What if I am just writing them and not voicing them? And what if no one ever reads it? Then it's really just a tree-falling-in-the-forest situation, and no one knows the answer to that one. Argh.)

Well, here's to moving on. I decided I am just going to post the specific things for which I am thankful for the past 24 hours. I will not be including the items from my previous list (like God, or my husband, or my home, or any of the others) because I am always thankful for those. Plus, since those are the most significant items in my life, I could easily just see myself posting them over and over again for the next several decades and that would be boring for all of us. Er, I mean, me. (Why do I always feel the need to explain in detail little caveats like this?)

Today's List:

• Building a brick path in the garden with Nick
• Math tutoring with our friends' kids who are super fun people
• Having a productive morning (This is a big deal for me in the summer, as I can easily waste my entire vacation time on Facebook.)
• The anticipation of some craft time--in the form of felting--tonight
• Eating one too many cookies
• Fresh, sweet, yellow tomatoes and basil from our garden
• A sunrise walk to the park to play with Dottie 

Purpose and Base List

I'll be honest. I am a pessimist. For years I've joked, "I'd consider being an optimist  but I don't think it will work out." Lately though, it's become a real drag; I decided I'd rather be a cheerful person. The people I look up to most in life are the ones that seem to see the world through rose-colored glasses.

After reading a bit about positive thinking on WEBMD (which, stay away from that site if you're a worrier, by the way), I learned that you actually can train your brain. One suggestion given was to track all of the things, large and small, that you are grateful for each day. Also, to track your dreams for the future. So, that is the premise of this blog. (Note: I would do this in a journal, but I am afraid that it will be neglected like all other journals I have ever started. Perhaps the semi-public feel (though hopefully no-one finds this because it's a bit embarrassing -and let's be honest, who knows exactly what I will be posting), will help. Yes, I realize that last bit was a total contradiction. I also hear that this process is supposed to be uncomfortable at first. Like too-small undies that result in a perpetual wedgie. Well, on with it.

What I am always thankful for:

• God, who, in my belief, loves everyone immensely. 
• My husband, who also in my belief, is a tangible sign of God's love for me. (How else could he be so perfect?)
• My parents and the way they raised me, setting an example for the type of parent I want to be someday.
• My sister (who is my dearest friend. I know that's cheesy.) 
• Family and friends
• Our health

Lesser things that I am always thankful for:

• Our house. I feel lucky (and really guilty, but certainly not blessed, because I believe God loves everyone, especially the poor) to be in the top few percentages of the world financially, even though we're both teachers and will barely afford to be able to adopt a child. Oops. Be positive.
• My job (middle-school American history teacher--it is SO MUCH FUN!) 
• The fact that my husband is also a middle-school teacher at the same school. Again, lucky. 
• Our dog, Dottie. (I'm sure pictures will be posted at some point.) 
• My creativity and empathy
• Rain
• Our church which welcomes everyone
• Living in America (again, luck of my birth, not a blessing. Seriously, why wouldn't this God of Love want to bless everyone in every country?) 
• Summers
• Good food 
• The outdoors

Today's Minutia: (and huge things too, I suppose)

• A morning run with Dottie and Nick that accidentally turned longer than I planned. And I survived!
• French toast breakfast with homemade bread--eaten on the patio
• Yardwork 
• A likely solution for monthly female strife
• An upcoming    l  o  n  g   visit from my sister

Future goals: (in no particular order)

• play piano
• adopt a child
• make our backyard beautiful and environmentally friendly
• play guitar
• read
• pick up the dirty clothes in the bedroom
• write
• talk positively to myelf, or at least pretend
• be loving and kind to others
• make the world a better place
• go grocery shopping
• be more humble
• be more patient