Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone.
G.B. Stern

Sunday gratitude:

• being professionally appreciated for my hard work.
  
• the my V-Dub has still been starting and running like a dream.
  
• two St. Louis babies are almost here!
  
• the Thursday night guilty delight of The Real Housewives of New York City.
• weekend breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese and potatoes.
  

Most of life is routine - dull and grubby, but routine is the momentum that keeps a man going. If you wait for inspiration you'll be standing on the corner after the parade is a mile down the street.
Ben Nicholas

Today I'm participating in Kelly's Korner with "Show Us Your Life." This week's topic is your typical day.


Well, I don't know if you'll be able to stand the excitement of my usual day. Kidding. Kidding. It's boring but that's okay, my routine is productive and good.

6:45 a.m.
Up and at 'em! Eat breakfast while watching a little of Today in St. Louis and then the Today Show. Bella on my lap, coffee in my hand.

7:15 a.m.
Get in the shower and get ready for work. Lately, because winter is the slow season for golf, I've had to share our one bathroom with Nick. So it's in and out, your turn then my turn, switching places, sharing the mirror. Super fun.

8:10 a.m.
Leave for work, 20 minute drive.

8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Work. Um, yeah. That's about it.

12:30 p.m.
Take my "lunch." I bring lunch from home but I take my given hour to just take a break, run some errands (bank, dry cleaning, a lap around TJMaxx, etc.) and then go back and eat at my desk.

1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Work.

5:00 p.m.
Home. Dinner with Nick, laptopping it on the couch with the selected show of the night.

10:00 p.m.
Head to bed. Read for about a half hour, lights out by 10:30 p.m.

Rinse and repeat five days a week. Add in selected Junior League or Tri Delta alum meeting as needed in the evenings. The end.

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone.
G.B. Stern

Sunday gratitude:

• our first "sticking" St. Louis snow.
• two days until Florida!
• Christmas bonuses.
• yummy corporate holiday gifts at the office (the brownies were the best!).
• The Coronado ballroom.

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.
Edward Sandford Martin

On this Thanksgiving I think we all take a moment to think about all of the things in our life we are thankful for. Of course, nothing is perfect (who's life is?) but just stopping to take a look around and realize the points of gratitude in my life is very therapeutic. I try to do it daily and do it weekly, on Sundays, here.

So on this Thanksgiving 2009 here's a list of the thing in my life I am so grateful for:

• My darling Nick. He compliments my personality to a tee. Calms me down when I get all riled up, helps me realize not everyone does laundry weekly and how to grocery shop without a list. He is kind, smart, ambitious and really, really funny.
• My wonderful mother. She's my only momma and I'm her only daughter or child for that matter. Life two peas in a pod. No one else will shop Macy's with me in less than 7 minutes, be the best travel buddy or makes pink mashed potatoes on Valentine's Day. I'm so thankful for our strong relationship even though we're thousands of miles away from each other.
• And in no particular order: my good health, Bella, my education, the fact that Nick and I have stable jobs in careers we enjoy, two paid off cars that are still running, loyal and caring friends, a safe and warm (and really cute) home and wonderful in-laws.

I know there is so much more but for me these are the things that constantly come to mind when I think of gratitude. I hope you all take a moment to reflect on that today. Nick and I are doing Thanksgiving here alone which makes me a little sad (however I'd rather save the airfare for Christmas in Florida!) but I have a pumpkin pie baking and I'm ready to make us a big yummy, traditional dinner to enjoy together.

And then we'll watch football all night long. So that means I'm also thankful for the good book I'll be enjoying on the couch!

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone.
G.B. Stern

Sunday gratitude:

• eating sugary cereals for a late night snack.
• the upcoming three-day week at work!
• warm sunshine after a week of rain and clouds.
  
• a successful first-time selling of my Aunt Agnes' Harvest Cakes.
  
• my new appreciation for hot tea.
  

The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.
Pierre Corneille

I just love inpromtu gifts. Nothing fancy, just a "hey, I saw this and thought of you" kind of thing. At Nick's club yesterday was the closing lunch for the ladies 18-hole golfing group and one of their little gifts was this snazzy lunch box.


Now that I'm working a few shifts a week in the evening again at my part time job from this spring I really want to start bringing my dinner (instead of the tempting Chick-fil-a in the food court!). So I was just talking about how I wanted to get a lunch box at Target or something this weekend.

So Nick snagged one of these from the event yesterday. Isn't it cute? Hopefully to will entice me to full it with yummy food so I don't have to purchase anything while working.

You don't save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it may rain.
Leo Durocher

Last night Nick and I headed to Busch Stadium to see the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The tickets were courtesy of my boss (again!) and were great seats in the third base field box.

There was about an hour rain delay (thank goodness our seats were under the upper deck) but they got started quickly and played a great game!  The Dodgers are great this year so it was a good match up. I've never heard a stadium erupt in "BOOOO" so loudly as when Manny Ramirez stepped up to bat. Goodness, they really don't like him!

Even with the rain it was a fun time!

View from our seats - rain, rain go away!

Wet, covered field

Hooray - get that thing off of there!

It was neat to watch them fold and roll it up - almost done!

The actor who will be playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray at The Muny threw the first pitch - he skipped all around the field and was so funny!

Turned into a beautiful night for a game

On our way out, first base entrance of Busch Stadium

At every party there are two kinds of people - those who want to go home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other.
Ann Landers

Yesterday afternoon Nick and I attended a pool party and BBQ for my office. It was held at one of the partner's homes in the Central West End which was beyond gorgeous. For you locals, it is right off of Lindell across the street from Forest Park. It was one of those houses. The home was built in the late 1800s, was three stories and so neat inside with all of the old light switches, built-ins and antique fixtures.

It really was a lovely time, the weather wasn't too hot so we were able to sit outside and enjoy each other's company. It was also nice to meet co-worker's families that I had seen pictures of and heard so much about.  A great way to end a busy weekend!

Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling.
Margaret Lee Runbeck

Things I am happy about today on a Tuesday:

• warm Einstein Bagels in the office from one of our sales reps.
• Melissa arrives in three days.
• Nick took all the left over moving boxes and cardboard from the garage to the recycling center. FINALLY.
• my mom booked her ticket for her August visit.
• freshly highlighted hair - no more gray for now!
• my coffee mug matches my outfit.
• Bunco tomorrow night at Sarah's house.

Always strive to excel, but only on weekends.

Richard Rorty

Lots of busy things this weekend:

• Going to see the St. Louis Ballet production of Cinderella. More than concerts or art exhibits I love to see dance performances. It's what I know so I think I can appreciate more than any other art. I can't wait!
• Nick's country club is hosting their member-guest tournament this weekend so he's just working, working, working. On Thursday night he got home at 12:30 a.m. and was up at 4:30 a.m. to go back to work. Poor guy. But it's all over soon and I get him back at noon tomorrow!
• I'm back on track with Weight Watchers and have some great meals planned for next week. Looking forward to the farmer's market this morning to get all my goodies.
• My street is throwing a goodbye BBQ on Sunday for my next door neighbor who is moving this week. I'm making a new pasta salad recipe. Just another reason I love our area!
• I'm finally getting some stuff on our walls at home. For months I just didn't know what I wanted to do but now I have a section up in the living room and ordered two large prints for our bedroom. No more white walls!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

If you want to be happy, be.

Leo Tolstoy

It really is a terrific Thursday!

I got a pay raise at work and my mom arrives at 7:30 p.m. this evening for a long weekend visit.

I'm also wearing a very cute sky blue argyle sweater that makes me happy.

Hooray!

Good things come to those who wait

Proverb

Remember my poor tire that couldn't be repaired?

Well, we thought we should have someone take a second look to make sure that it really couldn't be fixed before we bought new tires. I took it to Sam's Club, where the tires were originally purchased, and the technician took one look at it, pulled out the screw with pliers and patched it immediately.

He laughed when I told him the other tire place said it couldn't be repaired. They lied. Jerks! The Sam's Club tire staff didn't even charge me. So we didn't have to buy two new tires for my car after all.

Do you know what that means? Rocking chairs!

We did some shopping around and the best price for what we want is at Lowe's.

...and the story gets better.

Nick was named employee of the month at work and received a $50 gift card to the store of his choice. He picked Lowe's so we added that to the balance.

Then at my staff meeting yesterday afternoon one the partners thanked us all for working so hard, pulled out his wallet and handed each account executive a $100 bill. Sweet!

So my rocking chairs that I thought I'd have to put off until later this summer are actually only going to cost us about $30 out of pocket.

I can't wait to put them on the back porch and enjoy the summer!

Random: lacking any definite plan or order or purpose

• If you are a blogger in St. Louis and would like to join in on a get together (maybe dinner somewhere central) please e-mail me at happyforthismoment@gmail.com. Once I get the e-mails of those interested we'll get something planned.
• The Weight Watchers Cheddar Twists are delish if you're looking for a crunchy snack.
• Everything is in bloom so it's like a surprise to see the colors of the trees that have been bare since I arrived in St. Louis in November. There are some bulbs sprouting in our backyard that have yet to reveal what they are - I hope they are tulips!
• I bought willow branches for the large vase in the living room and all of a sudden we have a very Pottery Barn-looking abode. Pretty!
• I have new issues of House Beautiful, Oprah and Country Living waiting for me on the coffee table - delightful!
• Have you heard of Unbeatable? The agency where I work is handling the publicity for its St. Louis debut and last night we were able to see a sneak preview. It's just wonderful so check it out if you can!

A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at The Ritz.

Humphrey Bogart

At about 12:30 p.m. yesterday one of the partners in my company asked, "do you and your husband like baseball?"

I responded, "Of course!"

"Well, here are two tickets to the Cardinals home opener today, you can leave at 1:30 p.m. to get there in time. Have fun!"

I called my husband who was so excited he came just short of squeeling!

We headed down to the game in the cold and cloudy weather and took our seats in the warm and toasty suite!

Heading into the game

Even the tulips were in Cardinals' colors

View from our seats

Inside the suite

On our way back to the car - it was snowing!

It was such a great time - until they lost. But still a wonderful way to spend a Monday afternoon and be able to enjoy the first Cardinals game of the season as new St. Louis residents!

Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.

Henri Matisse

I can finally, once again, appreciate the joy of FRIDAY! Everything went well at work this week and I'm enjoying getting in the groove of my new daily schedule. I was invited to attend an off-site client meeting yesterday and have taken on some new projects that have allowed me to show my overall capabilities.

I'm looking forward to a nice weekend!

When Irish eyes are smiling,

sure 'tis like the morn in Spring.

In the lilt of Irish laughter,

You can hear the angels sing.

Chauncey Olcott and George Graff, Jr.

The luck of the Irish was with me at my first day at my new job!

My mom sent me beautiful flowers too! They are bright and cheery on my new desk and it was a great new beginning!

I hope you all wore green (whether Irish by blood or just in your heart) and enjoyed St. Patrick's Day.

Clovers from Nick that he brought to me at the airport when I arrived home from Vegas - pictures to come!

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone.

G.B. Stern

Sunday gratitude:

• Finally having a full time job!
• My mom booked her ticket to come visit in April!
• The lovely warm weather we've had recently - I've never lived in St. Lous when it wasn't cold.
• The Sopranos re-runs on A & E.
• My wonderful Junior League new member advisor, Jennifer, treating me to Starbucks.

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.

Thomas Jefferson

Remember that problem I mentioned the other day about possibly going from having no employment to two jobs?

Well, I'm going to be a busy girl with my new job! YIPPEE!

This one is even more exciting than the part time job because this is full time and in my field. It is just such a relief to finally have a new position that continues along my career path. I was worried I'd eventually have to find some random, non-related position that I hated. Instead I was literally handed this position and start in a week and a half.

It just felt right. I like the partners, their strong client list and atmosphere of the office.

I'm going to work this new job for a few weeks and then go back to my part time job maybe a night or two during the week or Sunday afternoons. It will be nice to have the extra money and not be sitting home alone when Nick's hours continue to increase as we enter the warmer months.

Thanks for all of your kind words and hooray for my new job!

Polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold.

Lord Chesterfield

With my work in public relatons and marketing I've done my share of (minimal) "photoshopping" images or seen photographers handle it. Remove a few leaves on the ground here, make the sky more blue there... all with great results.


But this site, Photoshop Disasters, just makes me giggle.


A few of my recent favorites include:

A series of photos with Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes "together." Too bad only one of his arms has a jacket sleeve.




Crazy Nordstrom model with an extremely long neck:

A drawn-in belly button in a Victoria's Secret catalog:

With all the computer mastery that can happen these days keep your eyes out for some bad Photoshop examples - I'll submit some to the site too!

Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
Aristotle

Just an update on the job front:

Everything with my new part time gig is going well. I've worked two days over the weekend and then work again tomorrow and I really like it. It's a specialty toystore so I get to be around happy children playing with the train table and parents buying birthday gifts. Easy-peasy and just overall a nice way to spend the day and make some money.

I also have an interview with a company tomorrow that came from a networking contact. At first it was just informational but I found out today that they now have an opening so I'm betting that will go well too!

I hope I have the problem of too many jobs to handle!