Things for which I am grateful (a substantial, but not all-inclusive list)...

1) My grandma who lives in Florida is better. She was released from the hospital exactly one hour before her 90th birthday party, but she made it, and so did my mother and her two brothers, and about 55 other people! : )

2) The lovely red rug which I found on clearance for no apparent reason. (see picture below)

3) The new throw pillows for the couch, which I made myself for less than $3.82 each! More pics/story to come on those...as soon as I finish stuffing the 2nd one.

4) My new apartment, which (after removing 2.5 million stacked boxes) feels luxuriously spacious for a single girl like me. : )

5) The friends in my church Lifegroup (who will hopefully come to my new apartment this Sunday).

6) Yummy candles and coupons for free Pumpkin Pie Lotion at one of my favorite stores!

7) Department store Bonus Time exactly the week I run out of both moisturizer and makeup! I know it sounds silly, but I feel I can't afford to pay that much for such non-necessities...unless it comes with twice as much make up for free!

8) Online scrabble. Should have a surgeon general's warning about addiction.

9) Lunch with my roomie's fiance, and a couple hours spent reminiscing about the past, and discussing plans for the future. There's nothing like catching up with good friends.

10) A long phone call with another good friend, who sends me lovely samplers of tea and stationery, and catches me up on all the newest marriages, books, and other fun stuff from A-town. ; )

11) My adorable niece. I've been sorting though pictures to frame today, and I am constantly amazed at how she can continue to get steadily cuter by the day. (see pic below)

12) My dependable, Texas-plated car Anabelle. Last night I accidentally left my purse in my car and didn't realize it until it was late enough I was afraid to go out and get it. Then, I had two separate nightmares about someone seeing the purse in plain sight, and breaking the back window glass of my car to get in and steal it (along with my credit cards, ipod, and identity inside). My first thought when I woke up was, "Oh drat, that was a dream! I'll have to call and cancel those stolen credit cards all over again!" Then I remembered that it might or might not have actually happened, so I threw on some clothes, ran outside with my keys, and... Anabelle was sitting happily in the shade, all windows intact, and my purse still on the seat.

And I am thankful. : )

Exciting Things About Which I Haven't Had Time to Blog

1) My dear car broke down on me--a first in my life. I've decided that it's not because she's a bad car, it's just that she's young and still a little on the silly/irresponsible side. Turns out there was really nothing wrong except the battery died and so the rest of the car freaked out. So I've decided to name her Anabelle, after a 2-yr old horse I once knew with a similar disposition. : )

2) I finally got my eyes checked. Turns out, I have 20-50 nearsightedness, and astigmatism in both eyes. So I got contacts on Friday, and I am AMAZED at what (apparently) everyone else can see! It's incredible--I can see shadows of blades of grass while driving down the road! I can see individual stitches on the wall hanging that's across the hall from my office from my desk! However, the carpet in my office makes me dizzy b/c I can now see the pattern in it, rather than just a blur, and it's millions of tiny brown squares, and it makes my stomach feel queasy if I look at it while I walk. But the rest is all good.

3) I put my name on an apartment--number 2007 (which seems appropriate this year). It doesn't have a fireplace : (...but, it will have vaulted ceilings (read: no being awakened at 4:30 each morning by the ppl above me), and more windows, and a place for my washer and dryer, and a big balcony that does NOT face the parking lot. : ) I'm getting excited already! Now, to choose what to paint, and what colors...

4) Last week, from Sunday to Wednesday, I helped out at my church's Vacation Bible School. VBS has been one of my favorite parts of summer since I was 3 (really!), and I was SO excited about it! I got to work in "The Marketplace," which means I dressed in a biblical-times-type costume, and ran a craft booth for the kids. I helped kids from 4-years old to 5th grade make fish windsocks out of colored 6x9 envelopes and crepe-paper streamers. It was SO much fun! It was also fun to get to hang out w/ the other workers (many from my lifegroup/singles class) and to get to know some new friends better.

5) I got an email this morning from an old friend of mine, whom I haven't talked to (until this morning) in about 3 years! He is a Canadian, who has recently married an American, and is going to be living in the states for a while. He was a grad student when I knew him in college, and he persuaded me to take the Beginner's Biblical Greek class that he was teaching. Three years later, I graduated with 12 hours of Koine (Biblical) Greek, and 6 hours of Classical Greek. And I am SO grateful that he got me started on it! I am also grateful to find that, even after 3 years of not communicating, a good friend/hero/intellectual crush can still make me feel all happy inside!

6) Friday night I went with my friend Dana to an AWESOME American Artisan Festival! It was in a park downtown, and there were rows and rows of booths, brimming with handmade crafts. While a few were homemade-looking, the vast majority were simply beautiful! I saw every type of craft: from leather-works, to wooden inlay, to pottery, to glass blowing/etching, to hand-painted silk, to photography, to painting, to sculpture, to these fun purses and other sewing creations by Beth Howard (see also pic below, stolen from her blog)...

Beth Howard's booth at the festival

...and even these lovely paper-decoupage tables by Lara Moore.

I am seriously IN LOVE with these tables!!! I have decided that if I ever finally own my independent coffee-shop/bookstore, I will definitely be calling Lara and her people to provide the decor! These two were my favorite artisans, along with a wonderful potter who had no website but made beautiful bowls and vases.

7) Finally, I have to admit that I love hearing about adolescent dramas (as long as they're not mine). We have a recent high school grad (a boy) working in our office this summer, who is the son of one of our office staff, and who used to be almost-sorta-not-quite-dating a girl who worked here last summer. (Are you still with me?) Well, as it happens, this girl is doing an internship elsewhere (out of state) this summer, but...she has a twin! The girl also got a new boyfriend, with which--we think--she hoped to force the boy into some sort of jealous declaration of his love. However, instead, the boy has started spending suspicious quantities of his time w/ her twin!!! Today, the boy, his mother, and both twins (the one is in town just for the weekend) went to lunch together. Upon returning, the mother has confided to me that she can only conclude that the 3 of them should all move to Utah together and practice polygamy! The whole situation is way more entertaining than your average sitcom!

8) I finally got my invitation to join Ravelry!!! I have now done so, so please befriend me if you're on there. My Ravelry name is WordThreader (as my blog name won't fit, and all other names that I thought of (or that friends thought of) were already taken). I have already located (and friended) Betty and Jen, but I'm not sure who else is on there so far. I am SO excited about it, and I cannot wait to get home and start cataloging my stash! : ) I have always loved organizing, so Ravelry will be the perfect site for me!

goodbyes...and other friends...

Last night at church, I said goodbye to one of my new Nashville friends. Lori is moving for happy reasons: because she's getting married in December, and her fiance has already started a youth ministry job in Knoxville, and she's gonna live in their apartment and get it all fixed up so he can move in in December. But she's leaving a large, Lori-shaped hole in our singles group that will be kinda hard to fill.

On Sunday afternoon, we had an official goodbye party for her (click on the picture above to see the rest of them), at a house w/ a pool in Murfreesboro. It was good to be able to see Lori and say goodbye, but it was equally good because it reminded me that I also have many friends here who are staying...at least for the moment.

And one more pic, just for fun!