blessings....I'm counting 'em

I realize that counting one's blessings is usually reserved for the Thanksgiving holiday of which we just celebrated. However, I am a little bit of a rebel and don't like to do things just because I am "supposed to." (want to add an "amen" in there, mom?) I am thankful for a lot of things, but I will express it in my own time, thank you very much, and not because the calendar is making me. So, I thought that since the holiday of thanks has safely passed, I would take a page out of my friend's blogging repertoire and make a list.

I am full of thanks for...

1. a rockin' brother-in-law and sister that let me live with them for free just because they can. this still amazes me. especially since they thought it was only going to be about 2.5 years that has since bloated into a minimum of 3.5 to possibly 5 years. and they still haven't mentioned kicking me out or kicking me over to mom and dad's.

2. a job that allows me to change my hours every other month, work nights/evenings/weekends or whatever combination that I need to in order to fit everything in; gives me scholarship money every semester; provides affordable insurance; and even gives me vacation time (which takes forever and a day to build up....but my sister reminds me that I should be grateful that I get any vacation time at all since I work part-time. humph.).

3. classmates that I have come to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate. (and I was pretty sure that I was going to have to kill most of them before we ever got close to graduating.) thank goodness most of them think my cynicism is witty.

4. a niece and nephew that I get to see almost every day. (ok....sometimes I don't think this is a blessing when it's play date morning and I am trying to sleep right below a game of "let's-see-how-many-times-in-a-row-we-can-jump-off-the-bed-and-scream-at-each-other-cause-it-will-be-so-much-fun." but, 98% of the time it's kind of an awesome deal. i mean, who can resist two stinkin' adorable kids that cheer and clap and run to meet you nearly every time that you walk up the stairs? yeah, it's that awesome. no aunt could ask for more.

5. new friends and old friends. so, no, I don't have very many friends. I probably wouldn't even need to use my toes to count them all, but I think that's okay. I can keep track of these friends and make time for them and make a friendship that is actually worth something. quality over quantity...and even that takes a lot of effort and work sometimes. so, I am thankful for friends that still want to be a part of my life even when we haven't had a night to hang out since sometime last summer.

6. bad dates. yes, that's what I said. because....even though this kind of blows for me and the relationship side of my life....it provides a good amount of fodder for story telling (see previous posts). and any one that knows me at all, knows that I appreciate a good story, especially if it's mine, and in spite of the fact that it's usually at my own expense. entertainment value is worth a lot in my book. so....I should also be grateful that God gave me a pretty solid sense of humor...

7. going back to school. this has been as much of a curse as a blessing at times. I should have been done and working as of this past May. However, that isn't the way my life works most of the time. so, I will be seeing two more Mays come before that BSN is in my hand. I am okay with that now (took me a while to get here, for sure) because the more I learn and progress in this program, the more I realize that not only am I in the exact profession that I should be in, but I am in the exact program, with fantastic professors, great classmates, and a huge support system. I am precisely where I am supposed to be at this time, and that feels pretty good when I have my "thinking clearly hat" on (it does get lost from time to time though).

there are more, but those are the biggies in my life at the moment. I will get back to posting the usual fare of general wittiness (ha! yeah, I know...) in the near future. I've been busy!!!