30 Days of Gratitude: Day 25

I am grateful for,

1.) Being a confident person and believing in myself. I have my insecurities like everyone else but overall, I am secure in who I am!

2.) Being relatively engaged and informed on how our government really works and key public policies.

3.) Opportunities I have been fortunate enough to receive 

Watching the clock...

Only 98 days...what is even better is that I think it is only 50 or so business days with holiday and vacation time. Then I will be free to take a long vacation :-)

On to the next one

B Walker

While in Orlando on a family vacation, we had to cross a street primarily used by Disney buses and shuttles to get from our hotel to downtown Disney. There were not any crosswalks near by but we decided to take our chances and cross anyway. Bailey declared, "take my hand because this B walker don't like jay walking!" Bailey, Age 10

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 24

Today I once again find myself grateful for:

1.) My super cute niece who played the piano and sang for me over FaceTime. Love her!!

2.) My garden soaking tub

3.) My hilarious friends :-)

Easily the title of my autobiography

Well said!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 23

When I decided to embark in this 30 days of gratitude thing, I thought it would be easy to come up with 3 things I am grateful for daily. I also figured it would a be a good way to get into the habit of blogging. It was not as easy as I thought...there were definitely days I had to really just state the obvious things one should be grateful for but today I really DO feel sincerely grateful for the people in my life in general and for the little things they do that let me know they care. I am really lucky and blessed by so many great people in my life!

One of my favorite bosses and just one of my favorite people in general moved on to a new role and has moved out of the US. I will definitely miss interacting with him. He has such a great energy that not everyone appreciates or understands and he was far from perfect but a great fit for me during this time in my life. I've got a pretty stressful job and besides the day to day business stuff, there is a TON of politics and frankly...a TON of bullshit. I was lucky to have a boss I respected, trusted and who never let me down. It was just what I needed to weather the storm over the last 18 months. 

He gave me this key chain with "keep calm and carry on" logo on a British flag (He is British). A bit of an inside joke so a perfect parting gift:

I was sad to hug him goodbye. I am not normally a weepy person but I had a hard time fighting back the tears today. I was unchararistically speechless and not able to even say "goodbye" outloud so I just waved as I couldn't find the words to properly express how grateful I was to have him in my life during a very difficult time but I am pretty sure he knows how I feel :-)

Cue #2 awesome person in my life: my intern. I just love her! She is smart, thoughtful and has a pretty rad sense of humor as well. She wanted to cheer me up so she brought me this delicious cupcake: 

There were even more announcements today of people moving on so lots of changes! Change is good. 

Even the Zodiac knows about Gratitude!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 22 - Bits and Pieces

One of my favorite managers I have ever had is moving on to a new role. I am so sad he is leaving but so happy he came into my life. I learned a lot from him and am a better person and professional for having known him. He was supportive of me during a very difficult time both personally and professionally. I will miss him a great deal but am thankful to have known him and glad we will be able to keep in touch. Today, I am grateful for him, his support and for all that he has taught me. He once joked with me that his biggest fear for me in my career was that I was too much like him. That was the greatest compliment he could have ever paid me :-)

Even though I am still exploring which higher power I subscribe to, I do believe there is something in the universe moving people and circumstances in and out of your life and that all things happen for a reason. The below poem is special to me and I felt was perfect for how I feel now: 

Bits and pieces

Bits and Pieces ~

People ~

People important to you ~

People unimportant to you ~ cross your life

Touch it with love and carelessness and move on~

There are people who leave you and you breathe a sigh of relief

And you wonder why you ever came into contact with them.

There are people who leave you and you sigh with remorse

And wonder why they had to go away and leave such a gaping hole. 

Children leave parents ~

Friends leave Friends ~

Acquaints move on ~

People change homes ~

People grow apart ~

Enemies hate and move on ~

You think on the many who have moved into your hazy memory

You look on those present and wonder ...

I believe in God's master plan in lives ~

He moves people in and out of each other's lives,

and each leaves his markon the other.

You find you are made up of bits and pieces

Of all who ever touched your life,

And you are more because of it

And you would be less if they had not touched you.

Pray God that you accept the bits and pieces

With humility and wonder

And never question ... and never regret

Bits and pieces

Bits and pieces

---

This was written by Lois Chaney in the book of poems "God is No Fool".

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 21

Today, I am grateful for:
1.) My cousin being safe and sound. He works at the facility where there was a mass shooting today and 13 people died (including the shooter). He was in the Navy for 20 years (mostly during peace time so he saw very little combat). He probably saw more violence today in his civilian job at the Navy Yard than he did his entire time in combat. Dr. Janis Orlowski, Chief Medical officer at MedStar Washington Hospital spoke out against the senseless trauma caused by guns. She makes some really great points that we must change. View her statement here. Even though this was all over the news today, it seems like social media (at least my FB friends...gun control advocates and pro gun rights folks alike were relatively silent about the shooting...way less interest vs the trayvon martin case or Newton shooting or shootings from last year in that movie theater in colorado). Maybe we are just used to it by now...another day, another mass shooting, 13 more dead. That is the way things are in the US I suppose....very sad. Anyhoo...I'm just very grateful my cousin is safe and is home tonight with his family. Very sad for the victims who lost their lives today. May they rest in peace.

2.) On a more positive note....Pilates! Love my new studio so far :)

3.) For my friends and family for their acceptance, support and love for me and for each other. Seems cheesy I suppose but I am so grateful for all the true friends and supporters in my life.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 20

Today, I am grateful for:
1.) Ability to save money
2.) Financial Freedom (at least for now)
3.) Books & my Kindle

Working for the weekend

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 19

Today I am grateful:

1.) that I live in a free country 

2.) for the people who protect us, keep us safe and enable our freedom. Military, government employees, police, fire fighters, diplomats and everyone who sacrifices to keep our country safe deserve our gratitude 

3.) to remember where I was and how I felt on 9/11/01. I will never forget. 

Truth

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 18

Today I am grateful for:

1.) First Pilates session! Going to be sore tomorrow but I like this new place :-)

2.) Meeting several new people today with great energy and excited to be getting to work with them for the next few months.

3.) Eating healthier today...not perfect but gotta start somewhere.

Word

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 17

Today I am grateful for:

1.) Finding a new Pilates studio I really like!

2.) Swimming pools and sunblock

3.) Frozen custard with Reese's peanut butter cups. So Yum!

Do Something!

I have the best niece in the world! She is smart and has a great sense of humor. I am starting a new series in honor of her so that I can archive her awesomeness! I may have to go back in time and capture some of my favorite quotes and stories. Today she said something hilarious so I had to share:

After being told it was time to leave the school garage sale fundraiser so she could have some downtime before her cousins came over to spend the night tonight, she defiantly said:

"I don't need downtime! I don't take naps. I'm not a 'do nothing' Bailey. I'm a 'do something' Bailey!" - Age 11

BOOM!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 16

Today I am grateful for:

1.) Delicious and surprisingly fresh sushi right down the street from my house and right smack in the middle of the country. The closest ocean is thousands of miles away yet their sushi is somehow the most consistently fresh sushi I have ever had and this is coming from someone who loved 5 blocks from the Pacific Ocean for several years. This sushi restaurant shares a wall with a gas station so it has been nicknamed "gas station sushi" of course! Charming right? Not only is the sushi fresh and super yummy, it is a creative and they are constantly introducing new menu items. The owners  are so nice and they know the vast majority of the customers who walk thru the door. I love coming in and as soon as they see me, they get my regular order going. "You wanna go where everybody knows your name!"

2.) Very mild summer we have had this year. The weather has been awesome and I'm loving it!

3.) New possibilities...more to come on this ;-)

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 15

Today I am grateful for:

1.) Healthy breakfast choice I made today

2.) Power Naps

3.) My Mom's support and willingness to listen 

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 14

Today I am grateful for:

1.) I've said it once already but I am so grateful I have awesome dental care. Went to see a periodontist today and tooth #30 (one of my molars on the bottom right in layman's terms) has been examined, X-rayed, 3D imaged and the latest today was a pulp viability testing or some test where they tapped, had me bite down and then tested sensitive to hot and cold. The pulp is viable so that is good news. 3 dentist and 3 assistants have now reviewed it and they are all fascinated but have no idea why this tooth is unique and are not yet sure of a course of treatment or no treatment at all. The dentist today suggested maybe a tooth within a tooth or even excess growth of this bone like material in my tooth. He seemed intrigued by the film of my tooth and wants the oral surgeon to send over his 3D images so he can take a look at those. Anyhoo...I'm just glad I have great coverage because this would be expensive! 

2.) Being in a better mood and feeling lighter today

3.) My new meditation app. I am only on Day 2 but I really like meditation so far! Check out the web page:

http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/

You know what they say about a man with big feet....

So the latest far right wing fundraising effort...err...outrage is that President Obama is disrespecting the Presidency and the Resolute Desk itself by putting his feet up while conducting his POTUS business. It was started by the Blaze and now the Tea Party is pulling out all the stops to collect donations on this phony controversy. The Tea Party fundraising page failed to show President George W. Bush and President Johnson striking a similar pose in the Oval office. I still don't understand why people are duped  and baited by these phony controversies but that's 'merica I suppose....

On a much more serious and important note. You wanna know what really caught my attention with these Presidential feet on the desk pics?? Check out the size discrepancy between President Obama and President Bush shoes:

 

I wondered if there is a correlation between shoe size and intelligence or shoe size and presidential performance but first I had to find some basic shoe size info for previous Presidents.

I know what you are thinking. Is there really a website that compares presidential shoe sizes?? And sure enough, there is! Check this out: http://www.shoesofthepresidents.com/footwearfacts.htm

• President Teddy Roosevelt: Size 9.5D
• President Hoover: Size 11.5AA
• President Truman: Size 9
• President Kennedy: Size 10
• President Reagan: Size 10.5
• President George H.W. Bush: Size 11
• President Clinton: Size 13D
• President George W. Bush: Size 10.5E
• President Obama: Size 12

Now..someone with more brains and more time and more statistical know-how will have to figure out if there is any real correlations between shoe size and presidential performance or shoe size and intelligence but in my very unscientific and unresearched opinion, I think there may actually be some truth to this hypothesis based soley on the President who wore the largest shoe.

The President with the largest shoe size is....President Lincoln who wore a size 14 shoe!! Incredible! He used those size 14 shoes to stamp out slavery, pass the 13th Amendment and to hold the country together during the Civil War. He wore size 14 shoes, big socks and ran this country Like a BOSS!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 13

(un) Lucky #13!!! A bit fitting today is unlucky #13 because I am incredibly grumpy and not feeling grateful at all today. In fact...I have been having a bit of a pity party so today I am going to be grateful for just one thing...for keeping it real...I'm not in the mood for a full gratitude list and I'm not going to fake it for the interwebs. Hoping tomorrow is a better day :-)

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 12

Today I am grateful for:

1.) Ibuprofen...sore muscles and sore head today. Still not feeling so great today.

2.) Much needed downtime 

3.) Cody