November Gratitudes - Day 30 (my faith)

Today I am glad that I believe in a Lord who is so good to me. When things are bad, and when things are good, God is here with me, and I am grateful for that. I remember my life before Jesus and how I hated feeling so isolated in moments of extreme stress and sorrow. I still feel sadness, but I don't feel alone anymore. I have a Lord who loves me, and who I can lean into when I just can't stand on my own. Amazing.

November Gratitudes - Day 29 (animal transports)

Today I am ETERNALLY GRATEFUL that I have the opportunity to participate in animal transporting. I have struggled for quite some time to figure out a way to save homeless animals. Let's face it, at 4 cats in an apartment for 2, I am maxed out. But, animal transporting has allowed me the opportunity to help sweet homeless animals as they make their way to their furr-ever home. I just love it, and I love these sweet animals!

November Gratitudes - Day 28 (private swim lessons)

Today I am grateful for the folks to whom I have the honor and joy of teaching private swim lessons. I am grateful becuase it gives me the chance to earn some extra money, which I can always use, but also because I really enjoy watching my clients learn how to swim. What a joy and pleasure!

November Gratitudes - Day 27 (hot sauce)

Today I am grateful for hot sauce. I just love spicy foods, and I like to "spice up" most foods that I eat. I order my Thai food "Thai spicy," and I go in to the Taco Bell store when I order so that I can raid their hot sauce bucket, thus ensuring that I get enough for my burritos. Louisiana hot sauce is my friend, and I run through bottles of the stuff far faster than any normal person should. I always laugh that I should have been born in Louisiana where everything is spicier, and I mean it! Thank goodness for hot sauce!

November Gratitudes - Day 26 (Comedy TV)

Today I am grateful for really good comedy tv shows. Honestly, they are my favorite shows, and I can watch re-runs over and over. A few of my favorite characters include:

- Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute on The Office
- Courtney Cox as Monica Gellar on Friends
- Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker on Modern Family
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family

November Gratitudes - Day 25 (Hacienda)

Today I am grateful for the chance to enjoy Hacienda whenever I am home. Hacienda has the most amazing salsa (made yummier with ranch dressing stirred in), awesome margaritas, and super fresh guacamole. I certainly love getting to see my parents when I am home, but gosh, I look forward to making at least one visit (or more) to Hacienda every time I am in town. Just a month till Christmas - yummy!

November Gratitudes - Day 24 (Thanksgiving)

Today I am grateful for the chance to spend Thanksgiving with family. Because Stephanie and Roman were spending the holiday with Roman's family, my parents and I decided to accept an invitation to spend the day with my dad's nephew and his wife. Interestingly, because my dad was the baby and a surprise, he is actually very close in age to his nephew and they have remained friends over the years. While my parents have socialized with Pam and Bill over the years, it has been more than a decade since I seen them. It was a great day, full of good food, lots of laughter, and duck hunt video games. I hope that there will be many more family get-togethers.

Photos forthcoming.

November Gratitudes - Day 23 (Feral Cat Family)

Today I am grateful for the sweet feral cat family that live in the parking lot of my apartment complex. Momma cat is a calico and her two boys are solid orange and solid black. At first, they were really stand-offish, but with time, kind words, and regular meals, they now trust me. I was able to capture Momma in June and get her fixed, and my goal is to fix her sons next summer. They are amazing cats and I hope that with time they will become calm enough for me to find them permanent homes.

November Gratitudes - Day 22 (Roman)

Today I am grateful for my brother-in-law.

Honestly, I am pretty darn lucky in the brother-in-law department. Roman is a great partner to my sister, and an all-around great guy. He goes with the flow, which is super important given our nutty extended family, he is always willing to help out, and he overlooks my occasional moments of crazy. Yep, I got very lucky when Stephanie married Roman.

Photo taken at the Kentucky Derby in 2008.

Photo taken New Year's Eve 2008-2009.

Booty bumping on Valentine's Day - 2009.

My 30th birthday - 2010 . We just heard the song lyric "save a horse, ride a cowboy" and we are riding a horse!

Photo taken at a UK basketball game in December of 2010.

Photo taken on New Year's Eve 2008-2009.

November Gratitudes - Day 21 (short work week)

Today I am grateful that this is a two-day work week. I am exhausted, and am delighted to know that after Tuesday I am free for five days!

November Gratitudes - Day 20 (Stephanie)

So, I probably should have done this one earlier, but I just didn't have the time to sort through photos to find a couple of really good ones to post. It's a bad excuse, but it's the only one I got, and it's the truth.

Today, I am grateful for my sister.

She is my best friend, my confidant, and an all around good person. We have definitely gotten closer as we got older, and would do just about anything for each other. We both excel in different areas, so that balances our relationship out, and we learn a lot from each other. There are tons of photos I could have posted, but here are a few of our most recent photos.

Photo taken on Stephanie and Roman's wedding day, May 8, 2010.

Photo taken outside the Michigan Stadium, The Big House, right before we watched Michigan defeat Illinois, 2010.

Photo taken at the Snoop Dogg and 311 concert in 2009. While we loved Snoop Dogg, we did not understand the craziness associated with 311 - haha!

Photo taken at the Needtobreathe concert in Newport in 2010.

Photo taken at Hall's on the River in 2009.

Photo taken outside Applebees in 2008 as we were getting ready to watch the Preakness.

Photo taken at Keeneland in 2008.

November Gratitudes - Day 19 (new washer/dryer)

Today I am grateful for my new washer and dryer. Earlier this month my apartment complex management decided to switch the way they billed us for our water usage. As a result, those people without washers and dryers would have been disadvantaged. So, the management of my cmplex decided to buy a washer/dryer set for everyone who did not own one. I was the lucky recipient of one of these sets!

P.S. The cats love the dryer too!

Katie prayer requests...

Katie and her parents are flying home today, keep praying for this sweet girl. Keep her safe, calm, and stable as she flies home.

November Gratitudes - Day 18 (power of prayer)

Today I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in a prayer chain to pray a sweet orphan home. Sweet Katie is medically fragile and needs to make it to the U.S. as quickly as possible so that she can receive medical treatment. I am grateful for the chance to join with believers worldwide and pray Katie home. My slot is Saturday morning from 530am to 6am.

Katie Update

Katie checked out of the hospital today. She is stable at the moment, but keep praying for her, she flies home tomorrow!