Thankful Two For Tuesday

Because I missed yesterday, here's a two-fer.

I am thankful for NPR.

I love NPR. I especially love listening to NPR podcasts at work. Some days, I literally spend hours with my face pressed up against a microscope. Listening to This American Life or Fresh Air makes that time infinitely more enjoyable and I feel like I'm enriching my brain (all while getting my work done which kind of makes me feel like I'm getting away with something...)

I also listen to Car Talk on occasion which comes in handy when you have a mechanically inclined husband like mine. The other day I told Rob that the wear indicators on my breaks were making noise. He was totally impressed that I even knew what wear indicators were.

I actually don't.

I just know that when someone calls into Car Talk and tells them that their breaks are squeeling, the guys usually say something about wear indicators.

So, thank you to NPR for making me smarter. Or at least making me sound smarter.

I am also thankful for scientific innovation.

My dad forwarded this video to me. It's from a story National Geographic did about a new way to deliver stem cells to burn victims. Doctors retrieve a patient's own stem cells and then spray paint them onto the burned area. The results are jaw-droppingly dramatic. Watch the video. You will be amazed. There are so many ways this technology could be used but something that comes to mind right away is what a blessing this will be for soldiers who are burned in combat.

I am thankful that there are smart people out there working hard to find new ways to heal people.

Thankful For Choices

Today, I am thankful for choices.

Today was kind of a blah day for me. From the time I woke up, I realized that I was teetering on the edge of a bad mood. There was really no reason for me to be in a bad mood. It was a beautiful day and I didn't have anything particularly pressing to accomplish. But nonetheless, I felt like I was in a funk.

As soon as I realized this, I had a choice to make. I could choose to indulge my bad mood or I could choose to turn things around. I could choose to be grumpy (for no reason) or I could choose to be joyful.

I'd like to be able to tell you that right then and there, I chose joy and turned myself around.

But, the truth is that I had to keep reminding myself all day that I had no reason to be in a bad mood. I had to keep choosing to be positive. Every time I felt myself slipping into grumpiness, I had to choose to snap out of it.

In the past, I probably would have failed at days like today. I would have given into the bad mood. I would have been miserable and infected those around me with negativity.

But today, I made progress.

So tonight, as I reflect back on the day, I am thankful that at any given moment, I have the chance to choose what kind of person I am going to be. I have the chance to choose what the script of my internal dialogue is saying. I have a chance to choose how I perceive myself and the world around me. I have the chance to chose to be joyful. I have the chance to chose to be thankful.




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Thankful For Fall Colors

Today I am thankful for the beautiful fall we are having. Many times over the last few weeks, I've been blown away by how pretty the tress are this year. This picture was taken on Vanderbilt's campus. It's a beautiful place to work on any given day, but it's particularly nice this time of year.

The combination of bright sunny days and cool nights has really done the trick this year. If you want to learn more about why and how leaves change colors, click here.



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24 Days of Thankfulness

I'm back!

Did you miss me?

Holy moly have I been busy these last couple weeks!

Extra Work Stuff + Halloween + Normal Stuff = No Time To Blog

But now I'm back and I have a wonderful way (that I totally ripped off from lots of other bloggers) to get my blogging back on track.

Every day from now until Thanksgiving, I am going to mention one thing that I am thankful for. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that people who cultivate a grateful mindset are happier and healthier. Although I try to be mindful of this, I have found that I tend to be sporadically grateful rather that continuously grateful. I'll feel a wave of gratitude for a beautiful day or a good result at work, but at times I forget that every day brings things to be thankful for. This is going to be a good exercise for me to really appreciate the gifts of everyday life.

So to start things off, here are my first four things (I intended to start this on November 1st, but that just didn't happen. So, I'm playing catch-up already!).

1.  I am thankful for my stroke.

I know that sounds funny, but it's true. I would never want to have another one, but I'm really glad that it happened to me. I know that I can only say that because don't have any residual effects. I am incredibly thankful for the healing that I experienced as well as the attitude adjustment that followed.

2. I am thankful for my kid.

I know that's kind of an easy and obvious thing to be thankful for, but it's true. The other day, we were having a conversation about what happens to food after you eat it. I told her that after you swallow it, it goes down into your tummy where it is broken up into really small pieces. Then it moves into your intestines where all of the nutrients are absorbed so that your body can have energy. Then once all of the good things are absorbed, the leftover stuff is waste and it leaves your body when you go potty. Later that night, we were watching tv and she said, "Mom, I am going to wast some energy." She then got up and went to the bathroom. When she cam back I said, "Harper, did you use the potty". She said "Yes. I wasted my energy!" Not exactly, but it's a start.

3. I am thankful for awesome friends who take beautiful pictures of my kid.

This is my friend Erin. She is a great photographer. She's also a great singer, a great cook, and a great mom to THREE boys with another little boy on the way! A couple weeks ago, she took some pictures of Harper. Last night she posted them on her blog. You can check them out here. She totally captured Harper's personality. I already have visions of our Christmas card dancing in my head! If you live in the greater Cincinnati area, make an appointment with her. You will not be disappointed.


4. I am thankful for Pumpkin Pie-flavored coffee creamer.

Take that Starbucks! I no longer need your overpriced (but oh so good) Pumpkin Spice Latte. I can make my own at home!

Ok, I'm all caught up now. I hope you will play along with me for the next few weeks. I will be posting these blogs on facebook so leave comments here or on there to tell me what you are thankful for. I think it will be great to encourage each other in this and I'm looking forward to hearing about all of the blessings in your life!



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Party Tricks

Harper and I have a 45 minute commute to school/work in the morning. While some people might hate a long commute, I actually rather enjoy this time. Sometimes we listen to music or kid books on tape. Other times, we talk about the things that we see as we drive.

Lately, I've been trying to make our morning car time more purposeful by using it to teach her something specific. At the beginning of the week, I set a goal for what I want her to learn. For instance, one week I taught her the order of colors in the rainbow. Another week, I taught her how to spell her first and last name.

While my goal is to have her master these things in the span of a week, it really only takes her a day or two.

I've found that the trick to getting her to remember things is to put it in the form of a song. This kid will instantly absorb any bit of information if it's set to music. I just make up a song that contains the "lesson" for the week, sing it to her a couple times, and by the time we get to school she pretty much knows it.

Last week, I taught her how to name all of the planets in order of their proximity to the sun. Below are the lyrics to the little song that I made up.

Try it with your kids. It makes for a fun party trick.

And that whole learning thing is probably good too.




To the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Pluto used to be a planet
But the scientists said it was too small
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Knock It Off Already.

2008

2009

2010

 2011

I have repeatedly asked her to stop growing up.

I think she's doing it to spite me.


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The Sanctity of Pumpkins

A couple weeks ago, we went to Walden Farm to pick out our pumpkins. I look forward to our pumpkin pickin' outing every year. I don't know about you, but for us Fall doesn't officially begin until we have pumpkins on our front porch.

Did you ever wonder why pumpkins are associated with Halloween? Well, I did so I looked it up. 

The tradition of carving vegetables seems to have originated in the British Isles. Particularly in Ireland, turnips, potatoes, and beets were carved and illuminated with pieces of burning coal and set on porches or in windows to represent the souls of departed loved ones in celebration of All Saints Day and All Souls Day (celebrated on November 1st and 2nd respectively to remember departed loved ones in heaven and those who may be in Purgatory) . 

In the mid-1800s, over a million Irish citizens immigrated to North America to escape the Potato Famine. They brought with them their rich traditions including the carving of vegetables. Turnips, potatoes, and beets were not as readily available in their new homeland, but pumpkins were in abundance. Hence, pumpkins were carved and illuminated instead. 

I'm not big on carving pumpkins. I put so much effort into picking just the right ones that I can't bear the thought of cutting them up.

However, Rob and Harper are not of the same opinion when it comes to the sanctity of pumpkins and I may get out voted this year...

Oh well. I do enjoy roasted pumpkin seeds, so all is not lost.



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