Gratefulness
Every year I do a post near Thanksgiving about things I'm grateful for. So, let's do this!
1. Family. Without my family, I wouldn't be the person I am or doing the things I do. To me, family is forever and everything to me. They make life worth living. They are a comfort in tough times, and those I celebrate good things with. I have the most amazing family, and every year, I give thanks for them and all they are to me.
2. My job. Those of you who know me and what I do for a living are probably giggling. My job is at best, stressful; at worst, insanity. And this isn't an exaggeration. It is by far the most demanding, difficult, insane job I've ever had. I've had people threaten to sue me, cuss me out, treat me like a moron, and threaten to kill me. (For reals). I've been at this particular place of employment for almost 15 years.
But.
Stuck Forever in a Too Small World
When we were lucky enough to go to DisneyWorld, my family and I had an agreement. We weren’t going on the It’s a Small World ride. We didn’t care that it was quintessential Disney. We’d heard stories of it getting stuck, and if there’s one ride where you wouldn’t want to chance that… So we didn’t do it.
A few years ago, budget cuts threatened to take my job from forty hours a week to thirty. It was decided in April—when I came back to work in July, I’d be at 30 hours a week. I was terrified. I loved my job, needed the schedule that gave me the same days off as the kid—I didn’t know how we’d survive.
Life, though, went on. I had to do stuff, not hide under my bed. Music helped with that, but at my most terrified, all my songs but one stressed me out more. So I listened to that one song over and over. For weeks, I listened to Adam Lambert sing “Time for Miracles.” People would stand at my desk for one reason or another, realize they’d heard that song three times, give me a funny look and move away…
Eventually I was able to expand a little bit. I made a “HALP!” playlist ten songs long—seven other songs and “Time for Miracles” three times over.
Dieting: Third Time's the Charm?
Oh man, sweets. I am a certifiable chocolate-holic and baked goods addict: donuts, cake, pie, brownies -- if it's baked and it tastes good, I'm there. And naturally, working in foodservice has a bit of a crappy side effect. You see, we sample stuff. Mostly pizza-related stuff like dough and pepperoni, but sometimes sweets, too. We once had a cannoli line. And once we taste tasted pies. And cakes. And...well, being that I sit all day at the office and I lead a pretty sedentary life, I've put on some weight.
Okay. Quite a lot of weight. (In fact, the joke when I started working for this company was, "Heh, you'll gain 25 pounds your first year here." I thought it was a joke. Nope. It was the truth. I've been there for almost 15 years now....)
5 Books That Blew My Mind
Thought I'd talk about books. I am a voracious reader. I've been known to read 3-4 books at one time, and devour 700+ page books in a few days. I read fast. (And, yes, I retain it all). I figure it this way: I don't think I'll ever be able to read my entire TBR pile in a lifetime, so I will read as many as I can as often as I can and see what happens. (Yeah, we'll see how that goes. I've got bookcases and shelves filled with actual paperbacks and hardcovers, at least half that I haven't read yet, and at least 2,000 ebooks on my Kindle. And that is growing daily).
