Thankful type things

The equivalent of my "I voted" sticker, thank
you, Starbucks. I do question the sentiment,
however. 

For the first week of November, I noticed that nestled between political links and lamentations on Facebook were little glimpses of gratitude. Several of my friends committed to sharing one thing they are thankful for every day this month. I'm late to the game, so I will do this in batches I think. In addition to the givens (health, hubby, family, friends, freedom, etc.), here are nine specific things I am thankful for lately (in no particular order):

1. Russell "The Muscle" Dovich's amazing recovery. Baby Russell not only survived heart surgery at just two weeks old, he's been making excellent progress thanks to a number of remarkable people including his parents (my friends Holly and Adam), his grandparents, aunties and uncles, and a team of fantastic caregivers. HOORAY!

2. The end of another election cycle. I'm frankly very nervous about the country's financial future but I'm at least glad that the disgusting ads will go away. For awhile.

3. Dr. Geeta Nemmer's spectacular dissertation defense. Geeta kicked ass this week discussing her book about South Asian American daughters' privacy management with their parents. So proud of my sensationally smart friend!

Celebrating Geeta's victory at our happy place, Bosa Donuts in Tempe.

4. A brilliant dentist. Although he made me get braces (truly, he teased me about my "crooked" teeth for years), Tim Mickiewicz is a TMJ-fixer extraordinaire. Thanks to a really bad flare up, I've been dealing with headaches and jaw pain for the last month (indeed, I bit through a retainer last month!). But with Dr. Mick's help, I seem to be on the mend.

5. NaNoWriMo. All hail National Novel Writing Month! Thanks in part to this wonderful group, I'm actually writing my dissertation! Miracles, I tell you. (See here for details.)

The stand-up desk requires good footwear
and a squishy mat to stand on.

6. DIY ergonomics. Have you met my stand-up desk? I feel like the dumbest smart person in the world. I've been wanting a stand-up desk for eons since I can't seem to sit for very long without back strain or my buns falling asleep. (Not to mention, sitting all day will kill you.) So I looked into this $22 DIY Ikea solution that Mr. T found. And then I turned around. Literally, one day a couple weeks ago, I swiveled in my chair and noticed that the cabinet three feet behind me was pretty well the perfect height for stand-up typing. Doh! Better late than never, I suppose.

7. Creative recipes. In the last few weeks, I've made lemon-thyme green bean pasta salad with golden balsamic vinaigrette, surprisingly fabulous lemon garlic brussels sprouts (this coming from a devout sprout hater), and brown butter vanilla bean rice krispy treats. Stay tuned for recipes. The yumminess may very well overwhelm you.

I've been prettifying the front porch. T thinks I'm obsessed with ceramic
pots. He may very well be correct.

8. My sister surviving Sandy unscathed. Thinking about my baby sis hanging out in Brooklyn during a super storm gave me heartburn. Thankfully, she stayed safe and her apartment was not damaged. Here's hoping that the subway gets back up and running soon so she doesn't have to ride her bike in the snow anymore! (Remind me not to bitch about the weather ever again, okay?)

9. Flower power. In addition to eating (see number 7 above), apparently I garden to manage stress. Lately that means pansies and azaleas. And snapdragons. And mums. And an asparagus fern. And, and, and. I'm grateful for such a pretty outlet.

xoxo,
shawna