Five things to be thankful for

It's been one of those weeks. You know, when you work really hard, but get nowhere, when you always say the wrong thing, when life is just blah. Its been hard for me to get the motivation to blog (thank-goodness for scheduled posts!), to work on my thesis (but there's progress with IRB! yes!), to write letters (sorry people expecting letters!). All I really wanted all week is to curl up on my couch (futon) and read a book. I hate these weeks, especially because I really, really hate being in a funk. I like to be happy, and care-free, and when I'm cranky, I'm bummed.  ::sigh::

In an attempt to be happier and to not be such a sour puss, here's a list of 5 things I'm thankful for/looking forward to:

1. New friends: I'm not much of a friend maker. I have friends, but I'm such a loner that I tend to have many acquaintances that I keep up with and a few really good friends. So, it's kind of cool when I meet people that turn into friends so fast. And it makes me remember that, really, nothing is wrong with me, I just am not one of those instant friend people. And that's OK.

2. A mostly clean apartment: That's kind of rare. And it's been that way for a few weeks (which is much rarer).


3. Texas winter: I'm sure many of you were laughing at everyone's wonder/panic at the snow we got in Texas (and I'm in Central Texas, so I didn't even get that much snow). That's because my winter is 70 degrees. I'm wearing sundresses and sandals right now, and probably will be until next October (maybe...I might have other plans: more on that in a future post).  Hallelujah.

4. Nanny's dinners: I've mentioned before that my grandmother is awesome. We trade food (not just recipes, we trade frozen leftovers!) and when I'm home, she cooks.  So, I always have some of her food handy for rainy days.  This weekend I'm going home to visit and we're having one of my favorite Crock-Pot meals, Chicken Parisienne (I'll post the recipe later!). It's one of those 50's recipes that uses lots of Campbell's soup and came from the recipe book in the crock pot box.

5. Future Travel: I've been pretty vague about this, but in the near (very near) future I'm taking a 15 day trip. I'll post details, and pictures after I've gone (can't be too careful!), but I will say that I'm going to be seeing some people that I really miss, some people that I hardly get to see, and will be going to a country that I've always wanted to go to.  It's so close I can taste it! BTW, I'm looking for some guest bloggers while I'm gone. E-mail me if you're interested and we'll get you hooked up!

Well, I feel much better now! Thanks for helping everyone!