Bought Air

...It's just a fancy Southern term for air conditioning.  But I think it's hilarious.

Yeah, I know I was grateful for a/c in the van the other day.  And then I was thankful for Melanie and Bob who lent us a portable air conditioning unit. 

But today, we needed that bought air.  And it was worth every penny.  And so I'm grateful for it.  Times three.

And, as far as The Nilla is concerned, one can never show too much gratitude for air conditioning on a hot day.  It's just that awesome.

What are you grateful for today?

Barrettes for Little Girl Hair

So my munchkin was born with a lot of hair.  I got comments on it all the time.  For the first 3 months or so, it was poof.  It just stuck up all over her head.  It was pretty stinkin' cute, if you ask me.

In hind-sight, I realize I probably should have put more stuff on her head back then -- when she couldn't remove it.  But I didn't.  I gave myself a gold star for just making it through the day some days, so I didn't expect myself to do hair.  Haha.  But, as a result, she doesn't like anything on her head.  At all.

And I learned today that she doesn't sit still for me to put little piggies in it -- or anything else requiring an elastic band.  

So, barrettes it is!  

It's the only way -- at least for now -- I can help her not look quite so raggamuffin while her hair is growing out ;).  And also make her a little more girlie.  Because, though I am not exactly the epitome of all things fru-fru (quite the opposite, honestly), I do want my baby girl to be able to choose to be and to be introduced to it all.  I want her to embrace girly things and be able to be girly -- even if sometimes she wants to hike through the jungle with her daddy. 

And I suppose I can hold out hope that one day, she'll ask me to do cute hair.  (And hopefully I'll be able to deliver!)  Until then, I'll be grateful for barrettes!

What are you grateful for today?

That I Live a 5-Minute Walk From My Mom

Having my mom live very nearby has been a great blessing.

For one thing, that's where we have our garden.  And we are already harvesting zucchini -- green and yellow.  To date, I think we've picked 4 yellows and 6 green.  I'm excited.

But it has also been a boon, because I often get in the middle of making a meal and discover I am lacking one ingredient.  Don't you hate that?

About a month ago, that ingredient was sour cream.  Today, it was soy sauce.  (Too bad THRIVE doesn't have a soy sauce...  I'd definitely be investing in that!  But they do have sour cream.  So guess what I won't be lacking in the future...). 

I was prepped to make my stir fry veggies.  I'd already finished chopping all the vegetables up -- and they were sitting on the cutting board, waiting for some pan action.  And then I remembered I hadn't been to WinCo yet.  Which was where I was planning to purchase that soy sauce (since I used up the rest of what we had for Monday Meals this past Monday). 

So I pondered going to the store...  But I hadn't even put in my contacts today, since I wasn't planning to go anywhere (driving... I prefer to drive with contacts instead of glasses).  And, frankly, I didn't feel like packing the baby into the van (Hubby's on swings again this weekend) and driving to the store -- just for some soy sauce. 

And then I thought of my mommy...  Who lives down the lane :).  And I texted her.  And yes, she had soy sauce.  And yes, I could use it.  And so, for the second time today, Munchkin got a stroller ride to Grandma's (the first time was this morning when we all went to work in the garden and pick more raspberries :)).  And she's pretty okay with that.  She loves going to Grandma's.  And I loved that I didn't have to go to the store -- or find a different vegetable plan. 

What are you grateful for today?

Liberty

It was probably easy to guess that I would be grateful for liberty -- freedom -- today.  But it's a beautiful thing.  An important thing.  One I've never had to do without.  And for that, I am grateful.

I don't claim to be a history buff.  But I have watched (multiple times, as I love it) the musical 1776.  I'll be borrowing it from my mom tomorrow to watch it -- as per my annual tradition.  (Eventually I'll buy a copy for myself so I can watch it on Independence Day...)  I know some of the movie may not be entirely accurate (except all those guys singing in the Continental Congress... I'm absolutely positive that really happened ;)).  But I feel like a lot of it probably is.  Like the description of the "soldiers" fighting under the direction of General George Washington.  They were a rag-tag band of young men -- many of them merely boys -- who fought against the world's greatest military force (at the time).  The odds were against them.  And though the words had not yet been penned, surely they felt in their hearts the words of The Star Spangled Banner that "conquer [they] must, [for their] cause it [was] just."  And though the odds were against them, I truly believe the Lord was with them.  This "heav'n rescued land" was "preserved and made [a] nation" by Him.  He intended it to be a blessed land -- a land of liberty.  And He helped those fighting for that cause to succeed.  I believe in a God who desires that all men be free.

I think it is miraculous.  And a great blessing.

I will admit to not realizing as much as I should, possibly, that it truly is a blessing to live in this land of liberty.  This land where I have the right to choose so many things.  And the freedom to enjoy them.  I take for granted that others are not afforded that same opportunity. 

I will never forget the moment it really hit me that that is true.  I was sitting in church, listening to a talk by the man who is currently called to serve as the Bishop of our congregation.  He wasn't our Bishop at the time.  But I'll never forget part of what his message was (though some of the details may be inaccurate).  He spoke of an opportunity he had to live abroad for a short time while in school.  I think he went to China on this particular occasion.  During a meal-time, the students would sit together and visit and talk.  And a young Chinese woman asked him some questions about his family.  Asked him if he had siblings.  As they spoke, it came out that she was an only child, and I guess she longed to know what it was like to have siblings.  She was an only child, not by the choice of her parents, but by the law of the land.  Her parents were denied the blessing of other children.  She was denied the blessing of siblings.  As their conversation continued, I guess they discussed some of the things he enjoyed doing back home (in the States).  He talked of mountain climbing (I think it was) and how he and some friends had decided one time to go a few cities over and climb this mountain on the spur of the moment.  Listening to this story, the woman was shocked.  Shocked that he could pick up and leave the city in which he was living at the drop of a hat to go climb a mountain in another city.  She told him that, if she wanted to leave her city, she had to apply well in advance for permission to travel to another city. 

Like I said, my memory of the stories details may be a little hazy, but I'll never forget the realization that hit me as I listened to him that day:  I am blessed to live in a free land. 

I am so grateful that I do.  I am so grateful that I've always been free.  Free to choose my faith, my job, the number of children I want to have.  Free to share my opinions, to travel across the entire country in a plane in one day, if I so desire -- without having to ask anyone (I've done it).  I am grateful for those young men who fought to make this nation free.  And I'm grateful for those who still do.

I am also grateful to my Heavenly Father that He also gives me liberty.  Agency.  The freedom and right to choose for myself.

I am blessed.

What are you grateful for today?

Our Dining Table

Please excuse the clutter...  That's what happens when you have a table like this one ;). 

Because not only is this our dining table, it's also my project table.  And those boxes are full of 200 leetle jelly jars that will be filled with apple jelly for wedding favors.  Eventually.  Until then...  They'll probably be sitting on my table ;).  (Not really... every 4 weeks we have Monday Meals here, so I will have to clear them off before then if they aren't already gone.)

Anyway... yeah.  Also my project table.  For things like quilting.  And creating cookbooks.  It's definitely multi-useful. 

I love it for all the practical uses it offers me.  Like the ability to get even bigger than this.  (I think it pulls out to a total of 8 feet.)  Great for dinner parties (not that we have many, but still...). 

But I also love it for the history it carries with it.  This table belonged to my husband's great-grandmother.  And he tells me he can remember his mom making bread on it on many occasions.  It may not be a fancy table...  But it holds so many memories.  And that, I think, is awesome.  (But I do love my memories...) 

I will confess, though...  There is one area I'm not so fond of this table:  it's a behemoth.  So when we move from here...  We'll need some man-power for this baby!  Because I don't think I want to help lift it next time ;).  (Sturdy, we'll call it sturdy :).)  But even so...  I'm grateful for this table -- and I'm glad we have it in our family to pass it down in the years ahead.  And to have it carry new memories we will make with it... 

What are you grateful for today?

Melanie R. (and Bob Too!)

Ridiculous sideways picture...  But whatever.  It still makes me do the happy dance.

So what does that have to do with Melanie and Bob?  Well, they have loaned us their portable a/c for the summer (they are some happy campers with a new heat pump, so this was just hanging around and she offered to let us use it...  And how can a Nilla resist?).

The truth is, there are a lot of reasons I am grateful for Bob and Melanie.  And today, I added two new ones to the list:  the air conditioner -- which will keep me smiling big all summer; and a now-long-arm-quilted quilt.  Melanie knows a lady who is very reasonable in price (like I was beyond shocked at the cost -- in a really good way).  And does amazing work.  And Melanie got me the hook up.  And my quilt is amazing.  Absolutely amazing.  I am so excited.  (I have to do the binding, but I promise I'll post a picture soon...  once it's all done). 

So I met Melanie through her husband Bob.  And I met Bob through working at the funeral home.  Bob has two nicknames:  Crossword puzzle Bob and Alligator Bob.  And here's why:  at the time, there was another Bob working at the funeral home as well.  And so, when I would tell my friends about funeral home stories, I'd have to specify which Bob.  He got the nickname Crossword Puzzle Bob because he and I would work on the crossword puzzle every day at work.  He'd keep it in his office, which I passed by frequently on my way to the music box; so I'd stop in and fill in a few words or letters... then he'd stop in and fill in some, etc. (He isn't often in his office, because it's not that kind of job.)  We completed many puzzles that way.  And sometimes even the hard one!  As for how he got the Alligator Bob name...  Well, one time I went to Florida to visit Julie.  Bob requested that I bring back an alligator for him.  More specifically, an alligator that was missing a toe.  That way, when he was taking it for a walk down the street, the missing toe would be a conversation starter.  Hahaha.  Oh Bob.  He cracks me up.  Anyway, so I started calling him Alligator Bob because of that.  In case you were wondering, I didn't manage to bring back an alligator with a missing toe...  But I did manage to bring back an alligator-shaped chocolate.  He said it was an acceptable substitution ;).

So that's Bob.  He's awesome.  He has a great sense of humor and he made working at the funeral home even more fun than it already was.  He understands conversations about kegels.  And he was always up for taking me on a "field trip" out on the grounds when I wanted to do a visual check on information in a file I was working on. (I called them field trips because I was getting out of the office.)   Ahhh... some days I really miss that job.

Anyway, we'd have lots of functions.  Christmas parties, a decades party, an 80s party...  And Bob would bring Melanie.  And so I met his awesome wife.  And she is definitely amazing.  Very talented with quilting.  Very fun.  I used to house-sit for them often, before I moved out of my grandmother's house and got married.  I don't know if they realize or not how much I appreciated those opportunities.  I was glad to help them out, of course.  But even more... I was so grateful for little pockets of time where I was "on my own."  And it was always nice to keep company with their cats.  Especially Max.  He is one cool cat.  And there were also times when just Bob would be out of town, and Melanie would invite me to stay to keep her company.  Those were awesome times too.  We'd hang out until late at night watching TV together and visiting.  Those are more really good memories.

So, though today, Melanie has given me two more reasons to be incredibly grateful to know her and Bob...  The truth is, that list was pretty extensive already.  They have both blessed my life immensely.  And I know I'll never forget them and all they've done for me.  Including keeping me from melting this summer :).

What are you grateful for today?

A/C in the Van

Today was a record-breaking day in this area of Washington.  And not in a good way.  Apparently the temperature climbed to 90.  As far as the Nilla is concerned:  no bueno.

But fortunately, our van has a working air conditioning unit.  And I used it today.  A lot.  I turned that dial as far to "cold" as it would go.  Which, it turns out, is 60 degrees. 

Trust me:  I wilt in anything above 75.

So today, I was beyond grateful for a/c in the van.  I'm still bummed that we don't have it in our house.  But I'm glad we can always escape to the van.  And burn up some gas, but who cares ;) -- at least I'm not burning up... ;).

Cold air... it's a beautiful thing.

What are you grateful for today?