Tickets, Buttermilk pancakes and Chocolate cupcakes

Today I'm thankful that I have my return tickets back home. Well, not all the way home, but close enough I can get the rest of the way home.

I'm thankful for Alton Brown who has one of the best buttermilk pancake recipes available.

I'm thankful for chocolate cupcakes. Not only do they taste yummy, while I'm baking them the apartment is toasty warm from using the oven.

Thankgiving

I'm so thankful that next year I will not spend Thanksgiving a lone.

I'm thankful that I don't completely hate snow...only mildly hate it.

I'm so thankful that I don't do Black Friday.

I'm so thankful that my family still puts up with me.

I'm so thankful that I have a job.

Beauty

Untitled, a photo by Jody Pryor on Flickr.

Today I'm thankful for the natural beauty all around us. No matter where you're at there is at least one thing in your life that is breathtaking.

Find it and embrace it today.

Attitude

Today I'm thankful for understanding that my attitude is what determines if my life is good, happy, bad, sad, etc.

Each day we have a choice when waking...will we make the most of the day, just float along or dwell on every bad thing that will happen, is happening, or has ever happened to us?

I'm thankful that I've learned that bad things happen to all of us, but it's up to me to decide if I'll let the bad rule my life or embrace the good. Because there's good in all our lives, too.

Embrace the good. Be thankful for the good. It's easy. It's only a minor adjustment of our attitudes. I'm thankful that I've learned this lesson and have done my best to embrace it this past year.

Weekends

Today I'm thankful for snow that comes on the weekend when I don't have to get out in it. I'm also grateful for delivery so I can still eat when it snows instead of attempting to drive my toy rental car to the grocery store.

Pizza, breadsticks and chicken wings. Food for tonight, tomorrow and lunch at least twice next week. Not bad. Not bad at all.

A trio of thanks

I'm thankful for Fridays. After a long week, it's nice to reach Friday.

I'm thankful for paydays. They make the long week worth it.

Mostly I'm thankful that Rob, my son-in-law, made it safely home today.

Coast Guard

Today I'm thankful for having the Coast Guard.

Having been born and raised in Kansas I didn't give these courageous men and women much thought. After spending 12 years along the coast of Alaska I became aware of them and extremely appreciative of them.

Skype, Studded Tires and My Home

Skype isn't the same as being there, but it's the next best thing when each computer has a webcam with it. I'm so thankful that I have a webcam on my computer and Roger has one on one of the computers at the house. I get to see all the work he's done to the house. Yay.

It's looking good. And I'm so thankful for our home. One of these days it will be very hard for him to get me out on an assignment.

I'm also thankful for studded tires. I wish I had some on the little car I'm driving in snowy Sitka. Alas, I don't, but I do love studded tires when I'm in a snowy location and I have my own vehicle to drive.

The Gift of Sight

 Today I'm thankful for the gift of sight. Sight allows me to see the faces of my family and friends. It also makes it possible to view all the amazing scenery in my area of the world. From a wheat field in Kansas to the shore in northern California to mountains in Alaska.

For all the veterans

I am thankful for all the veterans who have served so that we may have the freedoms we enjoy today.

Thank you for giving so much for all of us.

The Gift of Sound

I can't imagine life without sound. There are times when life is too noisy, but it's the little sounds that are simply amazing. The dove's cooing in the early morning and evening. The eagles tweetering from their perch in a Sitka spruce. 

Music. I'm so thankful for the sound of music. 

The wind blowing through the trees. 

The sound of my husband's voice.

The sound of my children's voice.

The sound of my grandchildren's voice.

The sound of laughter. 

The list is endless. 

Two days

I missed posting yesterday. Never fear, I have two things to be thankful about.

One: I have this great hope that in less than a year the American people will fire President Obama. To date we've voted out those who aren't doing a good job and instated others whom we feel can do a much better job. And we've done it peacefully other than the mud the politicians sling at each other.

Two: I'm thankful for each sunny day that I get to enjoy while in southeast Alaska. Today was one of those days. As gorgeous as this area is while cloudy and rainy, it's another world when the skies clear and the sun shines.

Three: An extra bonus. I'm thankful that I'm in southeast Alaska right now and not western Alaska. I do hope all those in the path of the storm stay safe.

My job

Today I am thankful for my job. With so many either unemployed or underemployed I am grateful that I have a job. I'm even more thankful that I have a job that allows me to work as I do. I work very hard for 13 weeks then I take a month or two or three off to spend with family and friends.

It's not the life for everyone, but it works very well for me and my family. Which makes me extremely thankful.

Three days

I missed a few days of posting because I was on my way from Kansas to Alaska with a stop over in Texas to see two of my grandchildren.

Obviously, I have much to be thankful about that is summed up in the last three days.

Since I've missed a few days, I'm going to do a few things I'm thankful for in one post.

First, I'm thankful for my home in Kansas where part of my family lives. Thomas Wolfe said you can't go home. He was wrong. I proved that when I moved back to the town where I grew up after a few decades of being gone. It was home then and it's still home.

Going back to my first post of November...family. I'm thankful for all my family. Without them life would be dull, bleak and not fun at all. With them I have people to love, spoil, complain to, complain about, love, share memories with, make memories with, love. Well, you get the idea.

I'm so very thankful that I was able to spend part of Friday with my son and his family while I was on my way north. It was wonderful seeing all of them again. It was heartbreaking saying good-bye to my family still in Kansas, though.

And to disprove Thomas Wolfe again, I went home yet again on Saturday when I arrived in Alaska. I am so thankful that I have two fabulous states that are home to me. Kansas and Alaska. Since leaving Alaska in 2008 a part of me has remained in Alaska. Yesterday was the first time I ever saw Sitka, but if it looks like Alaska, if it smells like Alaska, it's probably Alaska. And the Alaskan in me recognized it and embraced it.

Yet the Kansan in me wishes the rest of my family were here with me. But I'm so very thankful they're with me wherever I am, even if we're not in the same location.

My Education

I might miss posting tomorrow since I'll be in the air and once I land I'll be enjoying two of my darling grandkids.

I'm very thankful for my education. It allows me to have the life I'm enjoying now. I'm in the medical field and I get to travel all over the country helping out at various hospitals. Monday I start a new assignment. This assignment allows me to go to Dallas to see Chris and his family for a night before getting on yet another plane headed for Alaska.

There were times when I wasn't happy with my education. Those years when we were struggling to make ends meet and I wasn't working in the medical field.

Today I am back in the medical field and I am so happy that I get to help people. I'm also so happy that I get to stop and see my grandkids. And I'm not crying over the fact that I'll spend the next thirteen weeks in Southeast Alaska.

I'm am very thankful that I stuck with my education. I'm extremely thankful that my mother saw to it that even as she was leaving this world she had the wisdom to know how to keep me in school to finish my education.

My Friends

Yesterday, in honor of November and Thanksgiving, I gave thanks for my family.

Today, I am so thankful for my friends. They are that group of people who chose to allow me to be a major part of their lives. They didn't do it out of a blood tie, but they did it out of an honest mutual respect, like and love between us.

I've lost some of these special people in the last few years. I'm so thankful that I still have so many of them left.

Today, I want to honor a few of those who have passed on that held a special place in my heart.

John Flick. Without John this blog would not exist. Without John I wouldn't be the person I am today. John always knew when I needed to talk. He'd let me say what I needed to say. When I was done, he'd respond with something that would make me laugh.

I never had the honor of meeting John in person. We were internet buddies. But the void he left in my life when he left us was huge and to this day has never been filled. Damn kids.

Barbara Gunzinger was one of my dearest friends in Alaska. We didn't share any blood ties, but when I think of Barbara I will always think of her as family. We celebrated all the big and small events together. When she passed away Alaska became a little colder and a little darker. The holidays a little dimmer. But oh the fun we had while she lived. And Barbara knew how to live.

Harley Waldrop is another person who came into our lives in Alaska. Well, that's where he came into my life. Roger knew him decades ago when they both lived in Texas. Harley was to Roger what Barbara was to me. That person who was there when it was important and when it was just nice to share life events with.

The last one that has stood out in my life who has passed on is Leeann Cowhig. Leeann and I had several decades of history together. She was one of those rare people that no matter how long it had been since we talked or seen each other we could pick up like we'd only been gone from each other for a day.

I don't want this to be sad though. Yes, I miss each one of these people. I miss them terribly. Some days much worse than others. Even so, I am so thankful they were in my life. I'm so thankful they chose to share their lives with me.

When I think of them, and I do often, I think of their laughter. I smile as I remember the time they lived and the joy they brought into my life.

And for those of you who are my friends now, I'm not mentioning you only because I value your privacy and I know if I started a list I'd leave someone off and I don't want to do that. I adore all of you and I am so very thankful that you've chosen me to be a part of your life.

My Family

November 24th is Thanksgiving this year. For the rest of the month I will post something that I'm thankful for in my life.

Today I'm thankful for my family. My husband, kids, grandkids, parents (may they rest in peace), siblings, nieces and nephews. Without all these people in my life who I'm related to, one way or the other, my life wouldn't be near as complete.

Yes, there are times when we bicker. There are times when we get mad at each other. There are times when we have to agree to avoid each other for a period of time. But overall, each of you makes my life a little more interesting and enjoyable by having you in it.