2014

I can't keep up with my Thankful Thursdays, for the love, but I will review 2014!

Some highlights I remember fondly, and a few lowlights that are, in many ways, just as important:

favorite fiction book 

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

best and priciest meal

Family style sharing at The Spence in Atlanta

most memorable celebration

Hosting my Italy travel buddies to reunite and reminisce

favorite new mode of cooking

The crock pot. (I'm always late to the party.)

the other party I was super-late to
Netflix

favorite binge TV series
Broadchurch

food obsession
Quinoa

new tech item
Amazon FireTV

favorite movie

Unbroken

new travel destination

All the glorious spots in Italy

biggest loss
Twenty unnecessary pounds

biggest disappointment

Feeling betrayed by someone close

hardest lesson 
Remembering that people will always disappoint. And it's okay. We live and learn.

proudest craft moment (that pales in comparison to last year)

The creative pumpkin stack on my front porch in October

spent my birthday

In Atlanta with these fun folks for a very fine meal.

most awesome mode of transportation

This gondola

most pleasant surprise

Enjoying a roommate

moment that made my heart the fullest

This one was up there, too.

moment that made my heart break
Bidding a premature farewell to a dear friend who was called home too soon

biggest purchase

Other than Italy travel, my living room chairs

favorite new iPhone apps

Uber

best quick friend trip
Twenty-four hours in Nashville with Lori

performing arts high
Seeing Wicked at the Orpheum in Memphis with Mom

marked off the bucket list
Zip lined. (So it was in Birmingham. Who cares.)



not on the bucket list, but did it anyway
Took a calligraphy class

song I couldn't stop listening to
"Let it Fall" by Over the Rhine

favorite album
Mortar and Stone by Jill Phillips

Three hours and some change, and we greet 2015, ready or not. Here's to more highlights than lowlights in 2015.

Happy New Year!

thankful thursday #210

December has buried me. I am not winning.

However! Here are the little things making me so very grateful of late:

The pink rose I received in my office today from a coworker.

My Christmas tree lights that, mercifully, all worked out of the box and remain lit.

The impromptu lunch last weekend with a friend I haven't seen in forever.

Twenty-four glorious hours in Nashville.

A chance to host friends in my home this weekend.

The Dave Barnes Holiday station on Pandora.

Watching friends taste sweet joy in their lives.

The wrapped box in our office filled with food for those in need.

A text message that says, "I miss you. When are we talking?"

A Saturday coming up with no conference calls.

Three miles on the trails of Oak Mountain, in perfect, 40-degree running weather.

Are you finding time to be thankful in this season's hustle and bustle? Go on, be grateful!

the indy iphone purge

When we go to Indianapolis to work, it's always at the time of year when we're tired and weary from the grind of football season.

But it's also the time of year when I'm most grateful for my work people. They really are like family in these days, when we are with each other for every minute of every day. Working, sleeping, eating.

This is us at Steak 'n Shake at about 1:00 a.m. A patty melt, fries and a milk shake are good pick-me-ups after an eighteen-hour day.

We even dress alike.

 

(We were kind of in love with our new vests with the company logo on the hip.)

Love this one. We look so pleased with ourselves, don't we?
 

This one. I don't know. Maybe I was sad that we still had ten hours to go that day?

Here're a couple of us in happier times.

 

I think we'd just been giving out free pizza to some hungry little ones. Always a job perk.

Here's the whole crew on the morning after, ready to fly south.

Indy, you're always good to us, but it's also really nice to be home. 'Til next year.

thankful thursday #209

After last week's post of gratitude-nonsense, I owe this series some realness this week:

A few weeks ago, I had a bout of hurt feelings. That means these kinds of questions swirl incessantly in my brain:

I don't understand why that happened?
What could/should I have done better?
Why did they say that?
What did they mean when they said that?

On and on.

As it goes with hurt feelings, it just takes some time to get over 'em. I have to remind myself of that, because I'm not a great feeler. I want to mentally process what happened, and then just be okay.

But those hurt feelings. Sometimes they just linger.

A few days ago, in one of the moments when the hurt bubbled to the surface, I caught myself thinking, I wish I didn't feel this anymore.

And in that very instant, it's like the Lord grabbed my shoulders, looked me straight in the eyes, and shook me silly.

Never say that. I never, ever want your heart to be hardened or de-sensitized.

And then this is when I think exercising gratitude paid off, because I was thankful in that moment when tears were flowing. When I would have preferred to detach and be bitter, I was grateful that I did feel.

Next time you feel a hint of sad, or blue, or hurt, appreciate that tender heart you've received. Go on, be grateful!