I Choose to Be Thankful

I'm going to be honest. 

I actually started writing this blog entry to complain. I'm tired and cranky and just want a nap. (And to be able to breathe through my nose again). But, really, there is already too much negativity and vitriol on the internet. 

So, instead, I'm going to use this to gain some perspective.

Why, yes, that's a hole in my basement floor.
My Monday morning started with plumbers jack-hammering through concrete. How was yours?

I'm exhausted. It feels like my husband and I have been sick off and on since the beginning of winter. ...But I'm thankful that it's nothing more serious than colds and the flu.


I am still in the process of unpacking and setting up house, and I feel like I am perpetually unable to find things. ...But I'm thankful for a house to unpack into, and wonderful things waiting for me inside my boxes.


I am having continued technology problems. My phone is dying, and I'm still without my main computer--which has decided that it will only turn on every other week. ...But I'm thankful that I have an older laptop that I can use, and that my phone isn't dead yet... and that I have a technologically inclined husband who is helping me work out solutions.


We've been having serious plumbing issues since February, in a house that we've only owned for four months. Not only that, but it took four different plumber visits (and four different plumbers) to diagnose what was wrong, and the home warranty only covered 1/4 of the cost. ...But I'm thankful that on Monday, they were (finally) able to fix it--and we were able to get the financing to do so. 

The root of the problem!
...Seriously, this is part of the root that was in our main sewer line.
The plumbers estimated that it had been growing there for over 20 years.

And because of being sick and unpacking and uncooperative technology and plumbing issues, I'm super behind on everything that I'm trying to accomplish--from working on my store to cleaning to answering emails. 

...But I'm thankful that I have a store to work on, and that I have a house of my own, and that people care enough to email me. 

I'm thankful that it's now fixed and all patched up.

So, yes, I'm tired. I want a nap. I would love for my computer to work again. But I'm thankful.

I'm thankful that I have laundry to wash, and my very own washer and dryer to do so in. I'm thankful that my upstairs bathroom works now. I'm thankful for the opportunity to work with beads and shiny things and create beauty. I'm thankful for the people in my life--my patient husband, my friends who let me rant, my supportive family.

...And I'm thankful for my life, plumbing problems and all.