Texas Lou

Welcome to today’s Thankful Monday Wednesday post!  Monday was my birthday and yesterday was Christmas and my mom was in town so there was little time for blog posting.  Here’s what I’m thankful for this week:

1. I’m thankful for the BEST most wonderful mom who loves me so much.  She knew I was down in the dumps about not being able to fly to Texas for my birthday and Christmas this year (the first time ever) so she flew to Virginia and surprised me!  I love her so much it makes my heart hurt!
2. I’m thankful for my wonderful husband and friends who helped facilitate my mom’s trip by picking her up from the airport and delivering her to me at the ugly Christmas sweater party I was attending.
3. I’m thankful for my Virginia family who not only helped my mom plan the surprise but were generous hosts while she was here, making us dinner and desserts on several occasions.  I’m also thankful for them welcoming us into their home on Christmas Eve and Christmas.
4. I’m thankful for airports, pilots, airplanes, and everything else that allows us to travel far and wide these days.  Mom was able to travel to Virginia Friday night and then back to Houston on Christmas morning in order to spend time with my sister on Christmas after she got off work.
5. I’m thankful for my husband for being caring, considerate, and understanding, and giving me a shoulder to cry on when it was finally time for my mom to leave.  I miss her so much, but I’m so thankful for the people who I love who live close by to get me through the times when I find myself missing my family unbearably!

Merry belated Christmas to everyone and mom, if you are reading, I love you so much and am grateful for you everyday!

I found this story on facebook and have seen it before.  I’m not sure of the original source or author of the story, but I wanted to post it here so that I could always return to it and be reminded of its great message:

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles roll
ed into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—-your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—-and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else—-the small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first—-the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

This is the last week of my twenties.  Next Monday, December 24th at approximately 1:38 PM central time, I will enter a new decade.  I’m looking forward to making my thirties infinitely better than my twenties.  As many people have pointed out to me, I have the following advantages going for me at the start of this new era:

• I’m more confident
• I’m more financially stable
• My relationships are more stable and of an adult quality (this does not mean that they aren’t super fun)
• I’m more educated
• I have more experience

Just a few goals I have for the next decade are:

• Become a mother
• Become a homeowner
• Discover my passion and my dream job and excel at it
• Continue to strengthen the bonds of my relationships with family and friends
• Have a blast!

And as a great ending to this post, I leave you with Tim McGraw’s “My Next Thirty Years”:

This Monday, I’m thankful for the following:

1. I’m thankful for my wonderful AMAZING friends who threw me a surprise birthday party this weekend!  I’m a lucky gal to have so many great people in my life!
2. I’m thankful for the opportunity to get to know some of my coworkers better on Friday at an unofficial work Christmas party.  I had a blast!
3. I’m thankful for a cooperative and wonderful husband who not only attended my work party on Friday and spent all day Christmas shopping with me on Saturday, but he also helped my friends with surprise party planning!
4. I’m thankful for a good job that pays well and has allowed me to buy my loved ones Christmas gifts this year.
5. I’m thankful for the long phone conversation I had with my cousin Megan yesterday.  It was so great to finally catch up with her!

I hope everyone is having a lovely and grateful Monday!

I found another new and interesting beer at the one and only Beer Run.

Dogfish Head Chicory Stout  from the amazing Dogfish Head Craft Brewery is a seasonal beer made with chicory, the same ingredient used to make the famous coffee at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans.  This is one of the first seasonal beers that Dogfish Head brewed when they first started operations in the mid 1990’s.  It’s a dark, thick stout filled with many unique flavors like chicory and licorice that you won’t find in many other craft brews out there.  Give it a try!

P.S.  Revolver Ocelot approves!

This is a cool photo of a photo that my sister sent me showing my parents together in the 1970’s.  My brother looks just like my dad in this picture.

Mom and Dad

I’m thinking about submitting it to My Parents Were Awesome.

This is just a little something I saw posted on facebook and wanted to save it here so I can return to it and remind myself of its great advice from time to time.

Terrapin Side Project Liquid Bliss

Friday, I was picking up Christmas presents at one of my favorite restaurants/watering holes, Beer Run, when I stumbled upon this intriguing brew!  Terrapin Side Project Liquid Bliss, from Terrapin Beer Co. is an experimental dark beer made with peanuts.  It was smooth and delicious with a hint of peanut butter.  This beer is probably one of the top ten best beers I’ve ever had.  Even the smell of the empty pint class when I was finished, left me salivating and wanting more.

Alot of people have commented that the idea of peanut butter beer sounds disgusting and if you aren’t a fan of dark beers, you probably won’t like it.  But for the experienced beer snob like myself, this is definitely worth the $8.99 for a 22 ounce bottle to try and fall in love with.  I can’t wait to get my hands on some more of it!

We were helping my mother-in-law out at her late mother’s house a few weeks ago installing light fixtures and such and I spotted one of these:

It’s a Supermax hairdryer by Gillette from the 1970’s and the second I saw it, it brought back vivid memories of my parents’ master bathroom!  The bright orange color instantly reminded me of my mom blowing drying her hair and putting on makeup.  I then remembered the smell of my mom’s perfume that she would wear whenever her and my dad would go out for the evening.  I would inhale the scent when she would hug and kiss me goodbye before leaving us with the babysitter.  The smell of it always seemed so comforting.

It’s amazing the memories that can be triggered by the sight, smell, or sound of something.  Our senses are so powerful and I think we take them for granted since they are constantly in use.  This makes me wonder what other memories and feelings are locked inside the intricate vastness of my brain and what could possibly trigger them to come to the forefront of my mind.

Yesterday, I watched the documentary, Happy, which explores what makes people happy in all different walks of life.  The movie was very enlightening and definitely worth the hour and a half it took to watch.

Lately, I’ve been doing quite a bit of research: reading (books, blogs, and articles), watching (online and TV), and exploring of myself to try to become a happier and healthier (mentally and physically) person.  I know that true happiness does not come from a pill, or other people, or money, but from inside myself.  So I’ve been trying to figure out how to access this happiness that I know is hidden somewhere inside of me.

One of the methods for finding happiness within that the documentary suggested was listing 5 things you are thankful and grateful for on a regular basis.  I’ve heard that this is a great way to bring about feelings of happiness and well-being from many other sources, so I thought that this blog could server as a great medium for listing what I’m thankful for on a regular basis.  I’m going to try and remember to post 5 things that I’m thankful for every Monday here on the blog.  I like to think of it as a good experiment.  If it works and succeeds at making me a happier person, then I’m better off.  And even if it doesn’t make me happier, it will serve as a good reminder as to why I should keep my chin-up and count my blessings.

So here it goes, 5 things I am grateful for on this Monday morning:

1. I’m thankful for my cat’s health.  We found a large lump on Revolver Ocelot’s chest Friday evening and I’m so grateful that not only was the vet able to get us in for an appointment at the last minute on Saturday morning, but also that the vet seems to think that the lump is not a tumor, but only an infection that is being treated with antibiotics.
2. I’m thankful for cell phones and wireless networks.  It is because of these, that I was able to call my twin brothers, Christian and Bradley, last night and wish them a happy 7th birthday.  I would have liked to be there to celebrate with them, but I’m very happy that I could call them and talk to them on their birthday.
3. I’m thankful for my husband’s family and that we live close to them.  I am often whining and feeling sorry for myself about the fact that I live so far away from my family.  However, I realize that many people have no family or friends close to them.  When my dad moved to America, his entire family was half way around the world (and a much longer and more expensive plane ride than the one from Virginia to Texas).  So I am very thankful to live close to my Virginia family and have lovely traditions to share with them during the holidays.
4. I’m thankful for strong legs and a healthy body that allows me to run on a regular basis.
5. I’m thankful to have the ambition, desire, and knowledge to seek out a happier and healthier me.

A couple other things that the documentary mentioned that I’m hoping to try are compassion meditation and committing regular random acts of kindness.