Gratitude

2013 is FINALLY over.  That's one thing to be thankful for.

In all seriousness, I have had a LOT to be thankful for this year.

• God...because He's made all this possible.
• Love...because it makes my world go 'round.
• My family...because they make it all worth it.
• My friends...because they know I'm crazy and love me anyway.
• My brother...because we're anomalies together.
• My cat, Timber...because she's my snuggle bug.
• My home...it's where magic happens.
• My freedom...without it, everything else wouldn't be so amazing.
• Coffee...because without it, I couldn't appreciate anything else.
• My vocabulary...because it's sexy and I worked hard for it.
• My computer...I'd honestly be lost without it.
• My Kindle...because my house is too small for all the books I love.
• Pinterest...because I love to be inspired.
• Google...because I love checking my facts.
• The Dollar Tree...because saving money is awesome.
• Amazon...because spending money is awesome too.
• Hastings...because Chai Lattes don't make themselves.
• Sushi...it's THAT important.
• Indian Food...Lamb Curry & Garlic Naan.  Yes please.
• The Olive Bar at Fred Meyer...makes my tastebuds happy.
• Tea...because it's wonderful.
• John Williams & Hans Zimmer...I love you guys.
• Pandora...because I love my music my way.
• Audible...because sometimes I want to read while I'm working on something (or driving).
• Snow...because hot flashes suck.
• Heat tape...because frozen pipes suck even more.
• Hot showers...no explanation needed.
• Pajama pants...because comfort is one of my favorite things.
• Slippers...because shoes and cold feet suck.
• Red Tail Sangria...because it's delightful.
• Hard Ciders...because adults need juice too.
• Apple Ice Wine...because it's amazing.
• My tastebuds...because I thought I had lost them forever.
• Dr. Perez & his team...for saving my life.
• The nurses on the 4th floor at St. Luke...for taking such good care of me.
• My neighbor...because he's like a grandpa to me.
• Electric pencil sharpeners...I can get back to writing just that much faster.
• Crayons...for making me feel like a kid.
• My church...for reminding me I have a lot to be thankful for, to slow down, and give thanks.

I know some of it might seem silly, but it's all true.  This year, I'm going to do my best to remember to be more thankful and present...to appreciate to the little moments that make it all worth it.

Happy New Year.

Curly Girl Confessional

I have a confession to make.  I am a curly girl.  I always have been...and I always will be.  But now I'm out and proud about it.  

I haven't touched my straightening or curling irons in over a month.  

Or wore a shower cap on days I just need to scrub my butt.  

Or used a brush.

I no longer worry about what's happening to my hair on humid days (not that there's many of those in the dead of winter in Idaho), or how I look when I'm done at the gym (vain, I know).  Instead of crushing and frying those curls into submission, or bemoaning the weather, I just go with it now.

All through my life, I've had straight girl envy (being jealous of girls with straight hair).  I still do to a certain extent.  I still catch myself coveting that head of beautiful, glossy, easy-swinging, stick-straight hair I see when I'm out and about...but I'm learning to love my head of schizophrenic hair.

I was thinking back to growing up and spending summers in Ventura and how, after a day of surfing or just being a kid at the beach, I would wash my hair with whatever product my grandmother had gotten me, vigorously rub my hair with a towel, and then proceed to blow-dry AND straighten my hair...a process that maybe lasted a few hours.  If the fog rolled in, I was screwed.  All that time spent fighting nature, thinking I just had crazy frizzy hair when I could have been out just being a teenaged beach bum.

I still remember the one time I had my hair chemically relaxed.  I was about 15, and as if life wasn't already difficult enough before I sat down in that chair...sweet Jesus.  I ended up having to lop my almost waist length (straightened) hair off to my shoulder blades because it was fried beyond recognition.  Not that I learned my lesson.  When I got out of the military, I seriously considered doing it again.  Thank God I didn't.

Back in November, I went to get my hair trimmed and colored.  When I walked into the salon, I had just let my hair do whatever I wanted and it was a crazy mane of kinks and curls.  That was the smartest hair move I ever made.  The stylist recognized the potential and then worked with it.  She then turned me onto a book that changed the way I view and deal with my hair:

My hair has a mind of its own...I'm learning daily how to accept and work with that.  Finding products that enable me to achieve something other than a mess has been handy.  Do yourselves a favor, curly girls...treat your hair right.  May those straight girls get curly girl envy.