grateful

grate·ful:  \ˈgrāt-fəl\ 

~adjective:  warmly or deeply appreciative of gifts received; thankful.  synonyms:  appreciative, glad, thankful.~

today, i am grateful for:

* the unseasonably warm weather, complete with a fall breeze.

* iced green tea.

* a saturday sitting around the fire with my husband, solving all the world's problems.

* french braiding my niece's hair and the fact that she thought it was "so cool."

* a warm home, both physically and emotionally.

* dinner simmering in the crock pot.

* a date on the calendar this week to catch up with one of my friends that i met during yoga teacher training.  we've got so much to chat about.


what are you grateful for today?

everyday's a holiday (with a little gratefulness) - 

asparagus

 as·par·a·gus:  \ə-ˈsper-ə-gəs\

~noun:  any plant of the genus Asparagus of the lily family, cultivated for its edible shoots~

 my husband and i got married a little over a year ago.

i'm pretty sure moving in with a girl was a shock to his system...

...and not just because my couches happen to be a lovely shade of eggplant...

...although, i'm that didn't helped the transition.

i think it may have been more of a culinary shock to the system.  my husband's diet consisted of stereotypical bachelor food.  pizza.  wings.  pasta.  grilled cheese.

then, he moved in with me.

his wife who belongs to a csa and really, really loves her veggies.

one evening, i was whipping up dinner and had some delicious asparagus, which had been grown locally.  it was beautiful.

as i was getting ready to pop it in the oven, my husband looked over my shoulder and crinkled up his nose.

oh boy.  here we go.

him:  "i don't like asparagus."

me:  "have you ever had asparagus?"

{this was obviously not my first rodeo.}

him:  "i don't know, but i'm pretty sure i don't like it."

me:  {eye roll}  "okay.  well, there is a can of peas in the pantry, so i can heat that up for you instead."

him:  "that works."

fast forward 20 or so minutes later as we are sitting down to dinner.

him:  "that looks pretty good."

me:  {smug grin) "it is good."

him:  {stammering, glancing at the peas, glancing back at my asparagus}  "can i try some?"

me:  {big ol' smug grin}  "sure."

my husband's love for asparagus was born.

i think about that evening often.  not just because i was right, {which i was} but because of how many things we don't try and why? because we could've sworn we had tried it before and didn't like it, if we could only remember.

really, what's life without trying something new, even if it scares us?  no life at all.

and life without asparagus?  that's just silly.

image via

the recipe that won my skeptic's heart?  here ya go:

ingredients:

- one bunch of fresh asparagus
- 1 lemon, zested and juice reserved
- olive oil
- fresh cracked black pepper

instructions:

1.  preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2.  zest lemon.
3.  toss asparagus in olive oil, just until lightly coated.
4.  sprinkle lemon zest and cracked black pepper.
5.  roast for 5-10 minutes, depending on your style.
6.  serve with lemon juice on the side.

everyday's a holiday (when you've got fresh asparagus) -

sunrise

sun·rise:  \ˈsən-ˌrīz\ 

~ noun:  1) the rise or ascent of the sun above the horizon in the morning; 2) the opening or beginning stage of any period.  synonyms:  dawn, daybreak ~

 my husband and i have the luxury of being mobile employees for our respective companies.  so, we trade off mornings getting up with little bogue, who usually gets up around 7:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m.

one day last week, he decided to get up at 6:45 a.m.

on my day.

of course.

i slithered out of bed.  brushed my teeth.  threw on a sweatshirt and my fuzzy slippers.  splashed some cold water on my face.  tried desperately to make sense of what was going on.

then i looked outside.

still dark.

after a large sigh and a wistful glance at the bed, i headed to spring the little brown dog from his crate.

i grabbed a cup of coffee (hooray for programmable coffee makers).  i flipped on the deck light and out we went for a potty trip.  as a blaze of brown fur came darting by me, i sat down on the top of the stairs which head down into our back yard.

a flight of stairs which just so happens to face east.

i don't remember the last time i saw the sunrise....

...and it was beautiful.

the colors were soft and muted.  almost as if they didn't want to jolt you into your day.  instead, they wanted to whisper of the possibilities that the new day holds.

bogue came bounding up the stairs and jumped in my lap with a tennis ball.

here is where i would usually pat his head, then rush in the house to check my blackberry or my email.

not today.

all the so-called-important stuff could wait.

today, we were watching the sunrise together.   

because, this?  this moment right here?  i can't get this moment back.

and in 6 months?  4 years?  15 years?

i'll want it back.

i tossed the tennis ball.  he looked at me inquistively for about 10 seconds, looking at me like, "really mom?  you mean it??"

then, he leapt off the top step, clearing the remaining four.

he ran, grabbed the tennis ball, and came running back up the stairs at full speed and jumped into my lap, tail wagging.

the first thing i thought was how this was the cutest puppy ever.

then, i looked at the sun peaking over the horizon.

i realized how quiet it was.

when i tossed the tennis ball again and saw bogue leap into the dawn of a new day, that's when i knew for sure.

this is the important stuff.

every day's a holiday (with a sunrise),

grateful

grate·ful:  \ˈgrāt-fəl\ 

~adjective:  warmly or deeply appreciative of gifts received; thankful.  synonyms:  appreciative, glad, thankful.~

each day, i try to find at least one thing to be grateful for in my life.

sound simple?

it is.

in theory.

however, i found that in the midst of everyday life, i can sometimes forget to be grateful.

i lose sight of the blessings in my life....

....of the simple things that really bring me joy and contentment.

i can get so caught up in what isn't going right or what i didn't get done that day, that i start to focus on the negative instead of the positive.

no good.

so, i have made a conscious decision to be grateful and decided to share those little (or big) things here on mondays.

because, let's face it.

mondays can be hard.

i'm hoping a little gratefulness on mondays can get my week started off on the right foot.

and maybe it will yours too.

here's what i'm grateful for this monday:

* i attended the wedding of a dear friend this weekend.  it was cozy, intimate, and a perfect reflection of the bride and groom.  the energy in the room was palpable.  love.  happiness.  positivity.  hope.  so glad i got to be a part of it.

* the easy walk harness.  it is now a pleasure to walk an energetic 4-month old puppy instead of a chore.

* spiced pumpkin candles.

* the magnificent explosion of autumn colors in our neighborhood.

* sweet italian creme creamer.

every day's a holiday (with a little gratefulness),

heart

heart:   \ˈhärt\

~ noun:  the emotional or moral disposition as distinguished from the intellectual nature as:  1.) a generous disposition, compassion; 2.) love, affection; 3.) courage, ardor ~

early this year, i lost my first canine love, my greater swiss mountain dog, ranger, to spleen cancer.  he was just shy of 7 years old.  we had been partners-in-crime since he was 4 months old.  he had seen me through the worst heartbreak i have ever experienced.  he watched me struggle, change, grow.  he watched me fall in love again.  we had a closeness that defies all explanation.

it was springtime.  we were at the beach.  like his mommy, it was his most favorite place on the planet.  everything was status quo.  then, my buddy wasn't acting like himself.  ranger had been sick before.  however, my maternal instinct kicked in.

this was different. 

i knew ranger.

he had never acted like this.

sick or well.

by the grace of god, we found an amazing vet who agreed to take him.  we may have to wait, as they had a full calendar, but she agreed to see him.

we went. 

his last jeep ride.

somehow, in my heart, i knew this would be his last one.

in a 4 hour stretch of time, i found out that my best friend had cancer.  a cancer that is asymptomatic in dogs  and that spreads rapidly. 

it had spread to his liver. 

he was bleeding out into his abdomen.  the specialist this dear, sweet woman consulted with, said that if...and that was a big if...he didn't die on the three hour ride home... he had a 10% chance of  surviving if...another big if...he survived the surgery.

i didn't want him to suffer.

he didn't deserve that.  he deserved better. 

he'd saved me.  time and time again.

in his last hours, i wanted to save him too.

i made the easiest and most painful decision i've ever had to make in my life.

under a blooming mimosa tree in morehead city, nc, we said goodbye.

we should all be so lucky.  to experience a mere four hours of pain before we leave this life.

however, the story doesn't end there....

when my husband, troy, and i were dating, i boldly declared that i would always have a dog.  (it was part of my short list on criteria for dating...:))

but...

...now...i had lost one.  my little furball.  my ranger roo.  my love....

did i really want to do this again?

could i love again?

did i want to risk the pain of losing another one?

yeah.

yeah, i could.

i took a risk.  i opened up my heart.  a very scared, trembling heart, but it opened up none the less.

to hope.

to love.

to possibility....

....to a little brown chesapeake bay retriever.... 

his name is bogue.  he is named after the body of water off the coast of north carolina where troy and i got engaged, where we got married, and where his big brother went to heaven.

i am grateful everyday that i opened my heart.

how empty life would be if we didn't take that risk every once and awhile.

every day is a holiday (especially with a little brown dog) -

holiday

hol·i·day: ˈhä-lə-ˌdā

~ noun:  a period of exemption or relief.  synonyms:  breather, relaxation, recess ~

~ adjective:  of or pertaining to a festival; festive; joyous ~ 

confession:  i've written a blog before.  in fact, maybe some of you are here because of that little corner of the internet (waving and smiling).  there was a period of time when i adored writing that blog.  it was my little corner in the vastness of the internet.

then, all of a sudden, my life was changing at a rapid pace and i was struggling to keep up.  i felt like i was drowning in an ever-growing to-do list, losing myself somewhere in the hustle and bustle of it all.

blogging wasn't fun to me anymore.  it was another item on my to-do list.

so i stopped. 

i took a holiday.

you know what is pretty amazing when you stop and take a moment? 

you learn a lot. 

at least i did.

so, here i am, 6 months later.

i went back to my first little blog to compose a post and it didn't feel right.


it is like when you find the absolutely perfect dress for, let's say, a holiday party, while you are in college.  it is just the right color, neckline, length, and sparkle.  when you slip into that dress, you feel like a million bucks.  you are working it.

then, it is 5 years later. 

that dress is hanging in the back of the closet of your new home (amazing that it made it out of the dorm room, huh?).  the company holiday party is in a few weeks.  so, you slip it on for old times sake.  you glance at yourself in the mirror and something is different.  it isn't that there is anything wrong with the dress.  it is lovely, but it just doesn't quite fit.  your style has changed. 

you've changed.

so, you go find something that is a better fit. 

this is my new holiday dress.

a place where i can take a breather in the midst of my crazy, beautiful life.

share my inspirations (which take all sorts of forms) and maybe you'll be inspired too.

remembering to breathe, smile, and be grateful every single day.

after all, every day is a holiday.  :)