1. Getting to go to last night's meeting.
2. Feeling so connected last night.
3. 5 baby hats for Nov. 8.
4. Hearing everyone's shares.
5. My parents are home safe from Korea.
6. Night/low light photography.
7. My family.
8. My husband's job.
9. Being able to stay home with my kids right now.
10. Naps.
11. Cloth diapers.
12. A rack to dry some laundry so it doesn't all have to go into the dryer and use more energy.
13. Creativity.
14. Hugs.
15. Laughter.
16. Doing H's hair every morning.
17. Time with my mentor.
18. Graduate school.
19. My professors and the classes I have taken.
20. Learning.

1. My library card.
2. Sea breeze (paint color).
3. Getting more painting done while C was napping.
4. Independence.
5. That my ex-father-in-law taught me how to paint a room.
6. Finishing the blue in H's room.
7. A cool evening last night.
8. 1/2 off for a month at Hollywood Video.
9. Seeing little miracles.
10. A good phone call today.
11. Every time I am a better mother for H.
12. Forgiving myself when I make mistakes.
13. Learning from mistakes.
14. I'm not perfect.
15. It's ok that I'm not perfect.
16. Letting my HP into more of my life.
17. Registering H for soccer.
18. I get to vote and get Brad Paisley's new album all in the same day! I can't wait!
19. I get to vote!
20. That I learned more about the women's suffrage movement last year and I am even more grateful to cast my ballot.

On reading...

And applies to many things in life, I think:

So the one final reason for reading is to confront this problem of roses versus weeds in the company of geniuses, and with the pleasure of looking at the roses that have actually been produced, against all odds. If want to write, it makes sense to read - and to read like a writer. If we wanted to grow roses, we would want to visit rose gardens and try to see them the way that a rose gardener would. --Francine Prose

1. Taking H to see High School Musical 3. She LOVED it. :)
2. Riding bikes with H when C was napping.
3. Attending a dinner party at Sean's boss's house.
4. Renting movies.
   
5. Parking far away and walking.
6. Waking up to Sean and C giggling the morning.
7. C smacking me in the head and blowing bubbles.
8. When I'm not sure I can pray harder instead of worry more.
9. Sean turned on the outside lights so the house wouldn't be dark when we got home.
10. Sean grilled chicken for dinner so I wouldn't have to cook after the meeting
11. Such good meetings tonight. I got a lot out of both of them.
12. Doing the soda and water sales with W.
13. The book: Reading Like a Writer (Francine Prose) - especially her chapter on paragraphs.
14. My tummy feels better this morning.
15. I always have something to learn from others.
16. Hearing my HP in the words of others (I think... It was almost creepy but very cool).
17. Reading.
18. Carving pumpkins with H.
19. Letting H be selfish sometimes - it's ok.
    
20. HGTV and TLC.

1. Friday.
2. Sean working from home today.
   
3. New yarn
4. The baby is sleeping.
5. Quiet time for myself.
   
6. My parents will be home from Korea soon.
7. My best friend's voice on the line. I hope she feels better soon!
8. My sister.
9. Turning the ringer on my phone off.
10. Progress.
11. Exchanging e-mails with an old co-worker.
    
12. Inspiration.
13. Finishing things - the dishes, assignments, books, projects, laundry. I have left too much unfinished in the past.
14. Creativity.
15. New ideas with a better sense of which to act on and which to wait on.
16. Pumpkins for carving.
17. Halloween decorations.
18. Order.
19. Patience.
20. 20 things to be grateful for.

1. Sitting next to Sean on the couch.
2. Listening to him play video games with his sister and brother-in-law - they play online, again, today technology is our friend. They live in D.C. but we get to "hang out" more nights than many families with that kind of distance.
3. Finishing another hat - I hope this one will keep a very new head warm someday.
4. Cooking with H tonight.
   
5. Apple iced tea.
6. Switching to 1/2 caff.
   
7. Finally wearing a pair of pants that haven't fit into since I got pregnant.
8. I can use my Fresh & Easy $5 off coupons at Fry's.
9. Parking far away and walking.
   
10. Chicken soup for dinner.
11. The kitchen is not clean tonight and I am ok with it.
12. H's lunch for tomorrow is made.
13. Gretchen's resolutions.
14. Developing my own resolutions.
15. Taking care of myself and my family without consuming so much.
16. Recycling plastic grocery bags.
17. Saying no to boxes and bags when I really don't need them (now to remember to keep my reusable ones in the car).
18. Volunteering to make "Get out the vote" calls for MomsRising.org.
19. Waking up with laughter so many mornings this week.
20. Talking voting, politics and joking around with Sean this morning.

I asked Thoreau for some guidance today.

Here are 3 things he told me:

1. Cultivate the habit of early rising. It is unwise to keep the head long on a level with the feet.
2. A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.
3. However mean your life is, meet it and live it: do not shun it and call it hard names. Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Things do not change, we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.

1. Trying something new today.
2. Seeing Becca.
3. Seeing Nephew C.
   
4. A great sale on chicken.
   
5. Bean + Grain = Complete Protein (and more meat free meals for my family).
6. Reusable shopping bags.
7. Leaving C in babysitting for the first time. I'm not sure she even noticed I was gone!
8. Wild rice.
9. Cold water.
10. H and C in the bath together.
11. My favorite blogs.
12. Both the kids are in bed.
13. I'm going to bed once this list is done.
14. A good, full, fun day. Nothing special, just *normal*.
15. Getting closer to the root of another resentment.
16. Prayer.
17. Meditation.
18. Good karma.
19. My favorite, kinda ratty but SOOO comfortable, pink sleep pants.
    
20. Sean.

Stuck right in the middle of 20 and 40

Between the ages of twenty and forty we are engaged in the process of discovering who we are, which involves learning the difference between accidental limitations which it is our duty to outgrow and the necessary limitations of our nature beyond which we cannot trespass with impunity. -- W. H. Auden

My house is clean...

So I'll live longer... My husband pointed this MSNBC bit on 14 Signs You'll Live Longer than You Think when we were talking about cleaning the house yesterday.

Sign #14: You don't have a housekeeper
Just by vacuuming, mopping floors, or washing windows for a little more than an hour, the average person can burn about 285 calories, lowering risk of death by 30%, according to a study of 302 adults in their 70s and 80s.

I have a theory: the author is not the one at home cleaning the house. Probably sexist and stereotypical of me, I know. But, right now the people in my house fill stereotypically conventional roles. I'm not making excuses it's just the box I'm thinking in at the moment.

But, I didn't let my resentment stop me from cleaning a bit. Just in case...

1. I may have my bad moments but in general I like myself.
2. Our health.
3. My Mac laptop.
4. Leftovers for lunch.
5. Both Sean and H forgot to take their lunches so I don't have to make lunches tonight for tomorrow.
6. Being able to access ASU's library and databases online so I can research from home. Today technology is my friend!
   
7. Heidegger's essay "The Question Concerning Technology". Every time I read it I learn something new.
8. My weekly call with C.
9. H can ride her bike without training wheels!
   
10. Taping her ride up and down the street with Sean. It was just us 3 cause the baby was still napping. The big one needs more focused parenting time like that.
    
11. Who-hash for dinner. :)
    
12. Another friend made it to Facebook - yay!
13. Realizing I am no longer chained to a tree.
    
14. My family.
    
15. Good friends.
16. My best friend.
17. Being excited to try something new tomorrow.
18. The farmer's market.
19. Peach tea.
20. Peppermint tea (or, 'pepper minty' as we call it around here).
    

Meditation to start the week...

Order is Heaven's first law. - Alexander Pope

1. Every minute is a gift.
2. Every hour is a gift.
3. My sister can call me and I can be there for her in a better way than before.
4. Another person's reality doesn't have to be my reality.
5. My program.
6. I can see things to be grateful for today.
7. Sean.
8. My ex-husband.
9. Barricading the bedroom door and setting a boundary with my family - Mom has to get some homework done.
10. Sticking to it and getting some homework done - it's too easy for me to let myself off the hook!
11. A clean kitchen.
12. Our home.
13. Someone thinking enough of me to offer me work I can do from home.
14. Choices.
15. A good day.
16. Texts from my parents in Korea.
    
17. A bad dream is just a dream.
18. People in my family who have found sustained sobriety.
19. Lunches made the night before for Sean and H.
20. Making our house a home.

1. Being of service in my grad program.
2. Supporting other non-traditional/adult re-entry college students.
3. Catching up with people at school.
   
4. Making E's 20+10. She's such a sweet person and I am blessed to know her.
   
5. Tonight's meeting.
6. My mentor.
7. Hearing everyone share in our group tonight.
8. K's newcomer welcome and sharing.
   
9. The Traditions.
10. Everyone's 20+10. I learn so much from each person's lists and lives. Thank you for sharing.
11. My family.
12. Dinner tonight at our kitchen island on our new chairs.
    
13. Sean offering to cook on Sundays.
14. Trusting a Higher Power.
15. Learning about myself.
16. Reusing things instead of recycling or throwing away.
17. Vegging out and catching up on my favorite TV shows.
18. Trying harder to give.
19. Someone else's reality doesn't have to be mine.
20. I can see 20 things to be grateful for.

1. Joe's Farm Grill.
2. Lunch with Sean.
   
3. Buying local!
4. H's gratitude journal.
5. A free vanilla shake - SURPRISE! :)
   
6. Vegetarian dinner.
7. The baby took good naps today.
8. Bedtime for the kids.
9. Bedtime for me!
10. Not getting much done on my to-do list but being ok with it.
    
11. Crossing a few things off my to-do list and making a new one for tomorrow.
12. Playing Lego Batman (Xbox 360)with Sean for a little bit tonight.
13. Texts from my dad in Korea.
14. Less sniffles today for me and C.
15. Laughter.
16. Being silly.
17. flickr.
18. Washing my face before bed.
19. Recycling.
20. Reading the acceptance prayer.

What I'm thinking about today...

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. --Carl Jung

1. Extra rest.
2. A long conversation with my sister on the phone - about nothing and everything. Just an easy conversation like we haven't had in a while.
3. Prayer and meditation.
4. The ability to give it up.
5. Taking H to her violin lesson.
6. Valley of Hope and Paula.
7. Discovering the Happiness Project - http://www.happinessproject.typepad.com/
8. Sean working from home on Fridays.
9. Sean asking me to go to lunch and making a point to mention he wants to take me out cause we haven't had a chance to do that in while.
10. Chicago hot dogs for dinner.
11. Putting away our clothes and suitcases from the trip.
    
12. Setting goals for the weekend.
13. Getting back to my to-do list.
14. Reading my best friend's gratitude list - gratitude is contagious!
    
15. Friday!
16. Coffee.
17. Using carpet tape to keep couch cushions in place (experiment - we'll see if it works).
18. C's bunny rabbit look since she got her top teeth in.
19. A 10% off coupon from a stranger while I was standing in line at Fly Creek.
20. Paying it forward.
    

1. Being home.
2. Napping.
3. My happy little baby's smiles.
4. Sean.
5. H.
6. Always challenging myself to be a better mother. Every day I can be better than the day before.
7. Not needing to be a perfect anything. Just being a good me.
   
8. Being sick but remembering I am in good health and that is something to be grateful for.
9. Clean water.
10. Being a non-smoker.
11. Being married to a non-smoker.
12. Our house.
13. Sean's job.
14. Paying bills.
15. Grocery money.
16. Working together and providing for our family.
17. Teaching H fiscal responsibility.
18. Her being 8 and not really caring yet.
19. Catching up on our favorite recorded TV shows.
20. Cold medicine that is safe for a nursing mother.

While we were on vacation I didn't do a formal gratitude list except for right before we were going to fly home. It was a great vacation - we both keep talking about how it went better than expected and we are really glad we sucked it up and took the kids out there.
---
Good things for Oct. 14, 2008

1. A good family vacation.
2. Being the only Democrat in a house full of Republicans and being OK with it.
3. Knowing that now *I* can pray for them!
4. Acceptance and tolerance.
5. Watching H play with her new cousins and them hitting it off.
6. Flying with a well behaved baby.
7. C cutting her top teeth and being done before the trip home.
8. C getting to meet the rest of her family.
9. C's Baptism for my in-laws and knowing how much that means to them.
10. Finding acceptance and tolerance in myself instead of thinking it needs to come from anyone else.
11. Preparing a Korean meal for my husband's family and getting to share my culture with them.
12. Time to really reconnect with my husband after such a busy summer.
13. Time to enjoy our kids together.
14. Beautiful upstate NY fall weather. The leaves are breathtaking!
15. Visiting a cider mill.
16. Brooks BBQ.
17. Traveling home after a good vacation. I miss my bed and pillow!
18. My Amy Butler craft bag.
19. Finishing another hat while we were here.
20. Catching a cold but still being able to enjoy myself and get some extra rest.

1. Making hats for H and C to keep their heads warm in NY.
2. Inspiration.
3. Phone calls with people I love.
4. Gratitude.
5. Crochet needles and yarn.
6. H's week off from school for fall break.
7. Teaching H to knit.
   
8. My weekly call with my mentor.
9. My mentor.
10. Learning about myself.
11. Operation Nice (www.operationnice.com)
12. Texting my best friend.
13. Lemon cilantro hummus. OMG YUM
14. Making a packing list.
15. Banana chips.
16. 20 sit ups and 10 push ups
17. Watching Goosebumps with H.
18. C went down relatively easy tonight.
19. Sean.
20. A family vacation.

Finished this morning!

I made a hat for H too. Now both my girls will be warm in the cold weather.

Tonight's project

I made this to keep C's head warm on our trip next week.

1. Growing as a person.
2. C.
3. H.
4. Sean.
5. School.
6. My mentor.
7. My support group.
8. Making mistakes and learning from them.
9. Watching C. while she's napping.
10. H. coming home from school excited about her spelling test.
11. Advocacy with.
12. Parent-teacher conference.
13. TGIF.
14. H's song when she was playing with C - "Your momma loves you and she ROCKS!" I was cracking up.
15. Getting to stay home with my kids while they are young. ESP after one of them keeps me awake all night.
16. Walking to and home from H's school for parent/teacher conference.
17. Walking around the block w/Sean and the kids when he got home from work.
18. Renting movies from Blockbuster.
19. Popcorn.
20. Laughter.

Inspiration for Today

If the only prayer you say in your whole life is "Thank You," that would suffice.
-- Meister Eckhart

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

1. Making our first mortgage payment.
2. Paying bills early.
3. Asking for guidance.
4. Prayer and meditation.
5. Text messaging!
6. Catching up with friends.
7. A call from my mom.
8. H's second violin lesson.
9. Taking H for her Halloween costume.
10. C is so vocal and funny.
11. Wanting what I have.
12. The opportunity to participate in a panel for Adult/Reentry/Nontraditional college students.
13. Chicken for dinner.
14. The Thriller video.
15. Sleeping children.
16. Getting active as a family.
17. My Name is Earl (a show all about making amends!). :)
18. Time at the end of the day just for Sean and me to reconnect.
19. Vegging out.
20. Everyone sharing their gratitude with me.

1. Catching up with my professor.
2. Setting my teaching dates.
3. Planning for next semester.
4. Planning for our trip to NY next week.
5. Realizing my life is manageable (today, and it usually is when I quiet myself and focus on the right things).
6. Tonight's meeting.
7. The speaker at tonight's meeting. She is fabulous!
   
8. C.
9. H.
10. Funny stories about the drive through zoo.
11. Hanging out with Sean when I got home.
12. Driving through Tempe so I could see the lights and the lake.
    
13. Cooler weather.
14. Coffee and steamed milk.
15. Sean putting the baby to bed tonight.
16. Talking to my best friend.
17. The Fringe.
18. Criminal Minds.
19. Cold water.
20. Living my own life and pretty much enjoying it.