Friday, December 26, 2008

A kind of Thanksgiving...

It is the day after Christmas and all through the house, our doggy is stirring and I’m eating a chocolate orange (you know, whack and unwrap)? I never made the time around Thanksgiving to do my "Things I am Thankful" List, so would anyone mind if I do it now? Thanks for the approval.
Right now I am grateful for socks and blankets because my dog ate my slippers and it is cold in my house today.
I am grateful for my dog Mahoney because he makes me laugh, despite the fact that he likes to eat my shoes. Not Charlie's, not Mark's, just mine. He is up to 4 pairs now...
I am grateful for my house because we have worked hard on making it pretty. I am grateful to live in STG because I can't drive in snow anymore and I don't have any excuse to not be the outdoorsy girl I once myself as anymore. (That was a poorly written sentence, sorry.)
I am grateful for work because I get restless and bored and ill-content if I have too much time to myself. I am grateful for my students who laugh at my dumb jokes, who ask me for books recommendations, who do crazy things like this for their projects, and who remind me why I chose to be a teacher in the first place. (The video is a band called With Fear We Fall made up of 5 of my sophomore students and someday they might be famous and I will have the Before They Were Stars video to blackmail them with...)

I am grateful for the freedom to work the way I want, to eat the way I want, to dress the way I want, to sing the way I want, to play the way I want, and to vote the way I want.
I am grateful for my parents who taught me to clean my house, to take walks, to check the oil in my car (or at least to pay someone to do it for me on a regular basis), to believe in myself and to vote for myself, to dance in the kitchen (or was that Louise Plummer?...), to keep it simple stupid, and to forgive.
I am grateful for brothers and sisters who show me how to be good parents, friends, neighbors, saints, and people. Will they never let me forget the "going to the bathroom to avoid doing the dishes" story so I remember that I really was a brat and they put up with me anyway.
I am grateful for my friends because they come visit me, give me good recipes (funny) and reading material, make me join silly sites like facebook that actually helps us keep in touch better, go the spa with me, give me treats, send me endless tags to write about, let me play with their kids, go on roadtrips with me, teach me to text on my cell phone, and put a smile on my face everyday.
I am grateful for good books, movies, tv shows, and music that inspire me and make me want to create something memorable one day.
I am grateful for scizzors. Really, can you imagine life without them?
I am grateful for hair dye because it allows to me change myself and try new things and to say "it's just hair, right? It will grow out".
I am grateful for my Primary kids, even though I have to bribe them to be reverent. They remind me why I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ-- It is simple and right and true.
What am I forgetting? Oh yeah... I am grateful for Charlie. For so many reasons, not least of which is because he cooks for me, fixs the computer when I break it, and generally makes my life better. What more can a girl ask for?

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Reading Time...

It’s Christmas Eve Eve and Charlie and I just spent the day together, reading on the couch and occasionally talking and petting our dog. It was lovely.

I wonder if other couples have “reading time” like we do. There are established rules—like no asking annoying questions, no tickling, no TV or music (except for my Zune with earphones because I like reading to music..) Food is allowed and occasional bathroom breaks. Pretty much, it is quiet time, with us just lounging in bed or on the couch, our legs intertwining, until one or the both of us finish our book, falls asleep, or gets a huge surge of ADD. My favorite rule is the kissing rule. While we are reading, if one of the readers would like a kiss, all one has to say is “reading rule” and lean over. The other participant is obligated to then, stop wherever paragraph they are reading, and give the other person a kiss.

This doesn’t work so well with the puppy, but he is getting used to the reading rules too. He will sometimes jump on our laps and shove a toy in our faces like, “Um, hello, play with me!” But like I said, he is learning. He is finally content to sit on our laps, and have us absent-mindedly pet his fur while we are engrossed in the Sci-Fi (Jude Fisher's Sorcery Rising for Charlie) and YA (The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart for Jazzy) novels we are holding.

In case our nerdiness was not clearly established already, I think this little glimpse into our lives has sealed that up for us.

Just curious, what are some of the funny, little traditions (or whatever you want to call them) that you and significant others do when you spend the day together? And no, I don't want to know about that...