Hmmm, the last thing I posted said “we haven’t killed each other yet” and then I disappear for a few days.  Gee, that’s just a little ominous!  But truthfully, I’ve just been busy, trying to get an early start on things each day so I’ve kind of forgotten to make a post here.  So once again, we’ll play a little catch-up.

(If you’re not sure what this is all about, please read the first post)

I’m grateful for:

1. Getting my car all taken care of, and paying less than I thought I would.  Have I mentioned how awesome my mechanic is?  Seriously, if you are anywhere near Antrim, New Hampshire, go to Chuck’s Auto Repair.  They do maintenance work too, I got my oil changed and my state inspection done this week.  A few months ago, they also managed to replace a headlight bulb without taking the whole front end apart, which everything I read online about my car said would need to be done.  What would have taken several hours and cost me hundreds of dollars anywhere else was just a $12 part at Chuck’s.
2. $2 grab bags of Valentine’s clearance items at Michaels.  Sure, there was some unusable (to me) junk in there, but just the one tray I found in there originally retailed for around $10 so I think I got an amazing deal.
3. Getting template spreadsheets made up so doing my taxes next year won’t be nearly the hassle it’s been this year, as I realized I wasn’t doing my accounting in a way that would make figuring out my taxes easy.  Live and learn!
4. Getting some answers to my questions about what classes I will need to complete in order to get my Bachelor’s degree.  At this point, it looks like I have ten or eleven classes left to take.  More than I wanted, but at least I have things mapped out a bit better now.
5. Several answers to the question “Any brilliant ideas for using the cherry rum?”  My housemate is a professional bartender, so asking him these kinds of questions generally ends up with yummy results.  This week we’ve had a variation of a Mai Tai, Cherry Kool-aid (this one is dangerous… you don’t realize there’s any alcohol in it), and Fruit Punch.
6. Fast deliveries of oil, even during a snowstorm.
7. This week’s snowstorm was mixed with rain, so we didn’t have too much of an added layer of snow.  Things were very goopy, though, and I’m glad I didn’t have to go out in it.  My husband did, and it took him about two hours to make the usual one hour and fifteen minute commute.
8. My husband made it through the audit at work, and now his stress level will be greatly reduced.  Until the next one, at least.
9. Not having burst into tears myself as my own stress levels have been pushed to the limits.  I hate feeling like I’m letting people down because I can’t get everything done as fast as I would like.  I’m trying to learn how to better estimate how long things will take me to get done but I haven’t had a lot of success at that yet.
10. An afternoon nap when insomnia has me up at 3am.
11. Always being able to find things I’m grateful for, even on my worst days.
12. Anyone who actually reads what I write.  And if any of this helps remind anyone to look at the things in their life that they are grateful for, and to live more positively, so much the better!

(If you’re not sure what this is all about, please read the first post)

I’m grateful for:

1. Making it through TWO phone calls!  I had a telephone conference with one of my professors (which is nerve wracking enough in and of itself) and I had to call and cancel my old bank account because they’re changing everything over to new types of accounts and it was no longer going to be free for me, since I can’t do minimum balances or direct deposits.  Mini-rant: banks that require direct deposits discriminate against self-employed people!  I need to make another call today to make an appointment to get my car inspected, but at least that’s someone I’ve talked to before.  Plus my mechanics are awesome, if you live anywhere near Antrim, NH, I highly recommend Chuck’s Auto Repair.
2. Everyone who responded to my interview questions.  You are all awesome and I’ve enjoyed reading your answers!  I can now finish that assignment, plus I will be starting my Featured Friend Friday series with the answers I’ve received in the order I received them (seems the most fair that way).  Please keep them coming!
3. Six months of wedded bliss.   We’ve made it through half a year as a married couple, and we haven’t killed each other yet!

Missed a few days, so time to play catch up again!

(If you’re not sure what this is all about, please read the first post)

I’m grateful for:

1. Getting my errands done before the snowballs began raining from the sky.
2. The power only flickered, we never actually lost power.
3. Margaritas.  Because the movies were bad enough WITH the booze, I don’t think I could have watched them completely sober.
4. Homemade hummus and guacamole.  Have I mentioned how much I enjoy living with a professional cook?
5. Finding nifty apps for my Droid that will help me with my business.
6. Finding fascinating articles and research on consumer behavior and online shopping, which will help me with my own research project.  That’s right, I’m trying to get into your brain!  Mwahahaha!    (It’s for school, but it will beneficial to the business as well.)
7. Sellers who give prompt refunds for items that never arrived.  I ordered two items from one seller but only one of the items was in the package when it arrived.  The second item was out of stock, so they refunded my money.  Unfortunately, I am still dealing with another seller who has told me twice they are processing my refund for the missing package (my order got split into two packages but only one arrived) but I still have not got my money back.
8. Sellers who don’t hassle me about an item not being as described, and go out of their way to make it right.  I bought something from one seller who had one size in their item title and another in their description, which I didn’t notice until the item arrived.  I pointed out that the I was expecting the size in the title, but I also realized my mistake in not clarifying the discrepancy in the description.  The seller offered to refund half my money and let me keep the item, which is more than fair.  Unfortunately, I’m dealing with another seller who sent me plastic instead of glass beads and informs me it’s impossible that they made a mistake.
9. Sellers who understand that “combined shipping” means a discount on shipping everything together, not just adding up all the individual shipping charges.
10. Not buying the fabric marker that had “Do Not Allow To Freeze” on the label, since I left it in my car overnight.  Oops.  This one should be okay though.
11. Classes that don’t require textbooks.  Because $250 for a book is ridiculous.
12. Getting things done, slowly but surely.  I will eventually get caught up!

(If you’re not sure what this is all about, please read the first post)

I’m grateful for:

1. Having someone who is “more important” and being that someone for him.
2. Our daily phone calls.  We’re both rather stressed right now, but having that connection helps to keep us grounded.
3. Hearing him laugh.

Yeah, yeah, I know.  It’s another “grateful for my husband” post.  Deal with it.

(If you’re not sure what this is all about, please read the first post)

I’m grateful for:

1. Hugs.
2. The 14 listeners who sat through the 31 minute Rick Astley medley without complaint.
3. Age really is just a number.

(If you’re not sure what this is all about, please read the first post)

I’m grateful for:

1. President’s Day sales.  Both JoAnn’s and Michael’s had % off total purchase coupons, including sale prices, so I got some really excellent deals.
2. Finding a TON of discontinued patterns at a local fabric store for $1-$3 each.  I know I spent way too much in total, but these will be a wonderful foundation for my future costume designs.  I view patterns like recipes: a great starting point that you can substitute and spice up to your own tastes.  I often will incorporate three or four patterns into one finished design to get the look I’m trying to achieve.  So one pattern may end up being used for several different designs.
3. My husband’s understanding that a supply run is going to take me all day.  Part of that is I live in a small town that’s at least a 40 minute drive from anywhere I can go shopping, so I always try and hit several stores in the area I’m going to, to make the trip more cost effective gas-wise.  Add in that I can easily spend an hour or two in each store looking around and trying to decide what I can really afford to get… so yeah, he rarely expects me to get home before 10pm.  And that’s only because most of the stores close at 9pm.

(If you’re not sure what this is all about, please read the first post)

I’m grateful for:

1. Getting all caught up in one of my classes.  Two related assignments left for the other one.  Almost there!
2. Going to the grocery store by way of the diner.  My husband has brilliant ideas!  Breakfast was delicious, and we definitely didn’t go to the store when we were hungry.
3. My brilliant idea: if we’re having fajitas for dinner, we should also have margaritas.

(If you’re not sure what this is all about, please read the first post)

I’m grateful for:

1. Getting all my research articles sorted out and whittled down to a much more manageable number than 500ish.  Remember me complaining about not finding anything for that assignment last term?  Yeah, totally not having that problem now.
2. My red-framed glasses.  My prescription is such that it’s impossible to make bifocals for me, so I have a special pair for when I’m doing a lot of close-up looking, like reading and staring at the computer screen.  I can’t see past about 3 feet with them, but they keep me from getting a headache like I would doing this much reading with my regular glasses.
3. Leftovers.  Because when you look at the clock and realize it’s almost 9pm and you haven’t eaten since breakfast, it’s really nice to be able to just heat something up in the microwave and be eating in a manner of minutes.