XV | 10 THINGS OF THANKFUL | XV"/>

Okay, two hours before Sunday ends, and I’m just getting started on my list and I’ve only been able to visit two or three blogs (and catching up on past TToTs on top of it). Where did I go wrong? I used to be so up and prompt with all this Thankful stuff!* I haven’t really been online much all week. I have been productive and figuring out some shakiness on the workfront, but I hope it’s just a minor hiccup.

Lots of girlfriend time, though, and I’m certain that is what most of my list will revolve around. So let’s get to what I’m thankful for this week…


  1. Random conversations with strangers (admittedly not always categorized in the “Thankful” department). This occurred last week, but as I was picking up the grounds around my apartments an older lady walking her dog struck up a conversation as she was passing by. She asked if I owned the place, and I explained I only maintained the grounds and lived on site. She expressed how great the property always looked, and that some people in the neighborhood never seem to care. It was a great compliment (and maybe I was already Thankful for this, but it never hurts to re-remember! After talking about family heritage, work anecdotes, and her dog attempting to bite me when I went to pet it, they were on their merry.
  2. As I said above, I’ve spent a lot of time this week with my ladyfolk** and without divulging any sort of sexy-time schedule***, which grandmotherly sorts tend to find distasteful, I just wanted to say that I’m very Thankful for the time we’ve been able to spend together****.
  3. My girlfriend being able to handle my smartassery (most of the time…). I’m a smartass. There is no ifs, ands or buts about it (well maybe a few butts). Sarcasm isn’t generally a liked quality for some, but I do feel it has it’s place and is an art that can be crafted and honed over time. Sometimes this backfires, and my only hope is it’s known I am not being serious. Though, I admit there is a fine line between joking with sarcasm and slipping into the negative realm of being a prick. Hopefully I don’t fall into that category too often…
  4. My girlfriend being okay with my completely random singing about pretty much anything and everything. I’m uncertain if you’ve ever watched How I Met Your Mother, but I feel that I share a singing quirk of one of the major characters (Marshall) of the show. The singing/songs are usually made up and nonsensical. In the past, this has likely been pretty annoying for some of those frequenting any prolonged amount of presence with me, but Kate seems to be completely okay with this. That’s awesome!
  5. This weekend my girlfriend not only cooked dinner (curry) Saturday evening, but also cooked breakfast (apple cinnamon pannenkoeken, turkey bacon, eggs, english muffins and orange juice!) on Sunday morning. Okay well, dinner was at like… 11:00pm and breakfast was at about 2:30pm. We are really bad at timing meals! Either way, they were both very delicious, especially the hearty breakfast!
  6. Before eating breakfast, Kate brought me to the Farmer’s Market. It was the first time being to one, and I was a bit nervous, but it was awesome. So many fresh fruits (though seasonally not much variety) and vegetables! I’d definitely like to go back (maybe even buy a thing or three) once I know I will be able to actually consume the produce in a timely fashion before it spoils.
  7. Overall, I am extremely thankful for a lazy weekend. We passed up attending Renn Fest, going to a movie, and she turned down attending a baseball game. It was nice to just keep it low key and relax together.
  8. Standing up for myself. Some major events this week — oddly, come to think of it, this was a stressful week...— included some work issues. They contacted me out of the blue saying I owed them a pretty big chunk of change. This was based on rent and bills I supposedly hadn’t paid (some over 8 months old). Well, I have always paid my rent (and the one phone bill they asked I pay) on time, and had documentation of such, though bank statements shows they never cashed the checks. That is an incredible annoyance, because I do technically owe some of that money, but why was this brought up months down the road? Then there were the charges on the ledger they sent me that seemed to come out of thin air. So when breaking everything down about what I owed, and that the mistake wasn’t on my end, and questioning the phantom charges, they agreed with my records and (I think…) we came to an understanding/agreement. Monday will tell...
  9. I’m Thankful I figured and hashed out all my medical insurance problems. I may have already been Thankful for this, but it also deserves repeating. That shit can be a real nightmare and I dislike any problematic circumstances dealing with such!
  10. Finally, I’m Thankful for the cooler weather. Fall is my favorite season and it is fast approaching! This weekend, especially, has been much cooler and it makes for lovely evening walks. I’m excited and hope to find a day, when the leaves are changing color, to go on a roadtrip for some nature photography.

*11:59pm cst Saturday evenings…
**Girlfriend
***Which is ALL the time
****You’re welcome Christine…*****
*****Don't fucken bust my kneecaps!

Feel free to leave your Thankful List in the comments below, if you aren’t participating directly with the blog hop!