Fashionista?...Not so much!

I'd like to start off today's post by reminding everyone that today is the last day that you can enter the GiveAway for the hat. http://poetesswug-thewugsbackyardblogspot.blogspot.com/2010/06/its-decided.html I'll draw the name of the winner tomorrow, and post the name on my BlogSpot on Tuesday!

As a quick update, I haven't gotten the phone call from my friend's daughter yet. If I don't hear from her this morning, I'm going to call her! I'm really starting to worry now...But this waiting, at the very least, has focused my creativity...
   Oh Yeah, I had so much to post yesterday, with the bird, my necklaces, and my friend's info, that I forgot to show you the beautiful brass insignia that my friend, the jewelry artisan, made for me...while I watched in amazement! It started out with a long, straight,  piece of brass wire. Her arms and fingers were moving so fast!

  Next thing I knew...I was looking at this beautiful creation! She still wasn't happy with the way the 'ee's came out, but I think it's just beautiful!!! Now I have to decide whether to put it on one of my necklaces, make a brooch out of it, or write a poem about it...and keep it!
   She's been sharing so much of what she's good at with me that I'm feeling like I want to share something with her. . She already has a necklace, and a key chain I made for her, but I'm going to have to share something else with her that I'm good at. I think one day I'll cook her something! I'm known by my family and friends for my cheesecakes. Also my cornbread stuffing. My hubby loves my 'throw together' shepherd's pie...Maybe I'll make that for her! I think she likes casseroles. She's made me some tasty dishes!
  This is my "Wug Ugly Shepherd's Pie" recipe! Brown a pound of hamburger with a whole diced onion and some garlic to taste, add a can of cream of mushroom soup (Campbell's) {if you're in a hurry}, and let it cook all together for a few minutes till well done and the onions caramelize a little [you can make this with some mushrooms and onions, chicken broth, and shredded cheese sauteed down]. In another pot, boil about 4 large potatoes {Southerners, or adventurous people, can make one of the potatoes a sweet potato}. While the potoes are hot, mash them, add milk, butter, salt, pepper, and some shredded cheese {I like mozzarella and sharp cheddar, mixed}. In a casserole dish, layer the meat mixture, then a can of whole kernel corn (without the juice), The potatoes, and a few bread crumbs on top. Put the casserole in the oven on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. (I do a quick high heat after that, for a few short minutes, to make it a little crispy)...When you dip it up, it may not look that good, but Yum, yum!!!
   Yeah, I think she might like that!...We can sit around, her eating casserole, me wearing my Wuglyees pin...yeah! a pin! :-)) A fashionista and a Eat-anista!!!
  Speaking of which, here are the finished necklaces...

These lobster claw clasps were a PAIN to put on!

Hubby laughed at my black wood bead attachment! The nerve! He says the person that wears this is going to look like she has a mole on her shoulder! LOL What does he know? He's not a fashionista like me!!........I may have to re-think the design, huh?!...Eh! I'll keep and wear it myself if nobody else likes it!!! It IS my very first finished wire necklace!...Perfect time for a repeat of this poem...

 Dress And Feel Better

When I am feeling bad,
and I'm about to drop a tear,
I make myself feel better
putting pearls upon my ears.

When your hair just won't act right,
and you're  feeling kinda fat,
put some perfume on your wrist,
and wear a fancy, frilly hat.

There's nothing better than some frill,
and high heels down off the shelf
to make you stand a little straighter,
and feel good about yourself.

Wear some bold and brighter colors,
and some jewelry everywhere,
and you'll  look so good to others
that you'll  feel like what you wear!
Change your mood-and sport some flare!

Good News, Bad News

For a day that started out with rain and fog, it certainly turned out to be eventful. Some good, some not so good. I'll start with good news...I'm getting really good at crocheting wire flowers! I'm not getting really good at photographing wire flowers though, so you'll have to take my word for it that I'm starting to get good at it! I'll try to show you though...Remember this red wire flower? I finally decided to crochet the backing for it...to give it more substance. It doesn't photograph well though.

  As you can see, I've been tweaking it here and there. It now has 3 heart lockets on it. One in the center, a larger one hanging below it, and...

a little one hanging from the beaded necklace I made for it. Yes! I strung and designed the necklace too!

  It still has some tweaking left to be done though. Stay tuned for that. It's still being worked out....Okay...I didn't string it correctly! LOL I wanted it to be A-Symmetrical, but I ended up with my necklace too short! I added some more beads and crystals to one side, trying to make it longer, but I forgot that it had to hang on a neck!!! Necks are not lop-sided! LOL

  Give me time...I'll figure it out! My body is persnickety, but my mind is sharp! :-)) ...My other Good News included the other 2 necklaces I made! This one, made with wire and thread together...

...and this one, with a sterling silver flower, seed and larger glass beads.

  My friend is doing a great job teaching me the ins and outs of jewelry making, isn't she?! She came over yesterday and gave me another "lesson". She doesn't call it that, but I know she could charge me for what I'm being taught. Good friends are great that way. They just love you and want the best for you.
   When her husband came to pick her up though, look at what he found in the road...

 a baby bird! Why he was in the road...we don't know. I started having the same feeling I had about the blue robin egg. Remember?!...He sat so peacefully in her hand.

  Looks like another mommy hunt is going to be underway!!
   Lastly today...BAD news. My friend that had the surgery the other day had an allergic reaction to some medication after her surgery. It resulted in another surgery having to be performed. Her daughter says she's very weak, not keeping food down, and her hospital stay has been extended. I was waiting for an update all day yesterday, as to how this new surgery turned out. I didn't get that call yet. She said that if it was too late she'd wait til today though, so it's gonna be another day trying to occupy my mind. Yesterday's occupied mind was pretty creative. What will today bring?!...Wish I was a little girl again and didn't have to think about friends being sick, or little birds being separated from their mothers, but...! Life "is what it is"! We have to take it as it comes and be thankful for all of the little things...especially when the big things are NOT things you can be thankful for!!

Girlhood Left Behind

Little girls always grow up,
and leave behind their fantasies;
They leave behind their mama's heels
and their skinned and scabby knees.

They leave behind their baby dolls,
and all their childhood toys;
They leave behind their cute, pink room,
and forget their fear of boys.

Remember the Easy-Bake oven?
I'm sure your little girls do!
(That was one thing they left behind-
along with their patent leather shoes.)

They also left behind 'Slinkees',
pacifiers, and breast milk;
They traded it in for make-up,
perfume, and shirts made of silk.

They also left behind tantrums,
and whining all day for their cup.
(Well, maybe a little of the whining
was left behind when they grew up!)

The further away from their childhood
that little girls continue to be,
the more they forget how it was
to be silly and just fancy-free.

To play outdoors for hours;
To have an imaginary friend;
To host their own tea party,
indoors, in their family's den.

They've grown up and had their babies
and left behind their innocence;
Their own little girls they've powdered,
with no thought to their childhood since!

New Designs...and Rain!

  Oooo! Fun! I'm working on a few new things. One of them may be my blog design. I just saw how I can modify the colors...You know how much I love color!!! I'll be 'fiddling' around with that within the next couple of days, so don't be surprised when you show up in my backyard and things look a little different. :-))
  Some things stay the same though...like the New England rain! In fact, my backyard is almost looking like the foothills of Georgia in the early morning fog. Of course, I can't capture it...not with my photography skills...BECAUSE I don't have any photography skills!! LOL This is the best I can do.

I was trying my best to get a picture of the rain dipping off of the leaves. Guess you'll have to see it with your mind's eye!
   I did get some fairly good pictures of my new necklace creation though! I got some fun and colorful beads from a very good friend of mine, and hubby bought me the gold tone necklaces that I blogged about before. I crocheted some 100% cotton turquoise thread into one of my flowers...what else besides a flower?! Then I did something that I've never done. I sewed 3 of my friend's glass beads into the center. See!

    The bead dangle at the bottom,...I made it myself! I put 2 spacer beads on either side of another one of the glass beads. I thought it came out pretty good! At least...I like it! :-)) I'll be putting it in the shop before the weekend is over. Then we'll see if anybody besides me likes it!

     Who wouldn't love this little baby?!...I want to stay in my delusional stage, so don't tell me if you don't! LOL ... I must admit, though,  I CAN create some things that are not that...well...palatable. I cooked this dessert for my hubby one time, a cherry tube mess (that's what I called it when it was done!)! Oooo Whee! That thing was terrible! It was suppose to be cream and cherries filling a home baked 'like' bunt cake tube. It would have looked something like "The Pioneer Woman" Perfect Pound Cake. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/perfect-pound-cake/  Needless to say.....it didn't!!! I had cream in a milk consistency, and flat cherries, and the hollow baked tube didn't come out tubelike...or hollow! UGH! As usual with my creative endeavors though, hubby was right there with his encouraging words! :-)) Poor 'almost many times food poisoned' man! LOL
  After years of trial and oh so many errors, I'm a pretty good cook now! I do my Georgia upbringing proud!...Now, if I can get good at jewelry making...before I hurt somebody...I'll be really good!!! :-))

Cooking

Flipping, Frying,
Flambeing, Filleting,
Burning, Browning,
Paring, Pureeing.

Boiling, Baking,
Mixing, Making,
Simmering, Scaling,
Sifting, Shaking.

Cooking, Crackling,
Cutting, Coring,
Sprinkling, Spattering,
Patting, Pouring,

Broiling, Battering,
Steeping, Steaming,
Timing, Tossing,
Cubing, Creaming,

Slicing, Scrambling,
Turning, Toasting,
Melting, Measuring,
Rinsing, Roasting.

Dipping, Dicing,
Skimming, Sauteing,
Poaching, Peeling,
Mincing, Microwaving.

Gathering, Grilling
Basting, Barbecuing,
Hacking, Heating,
Scoring, Skewering.

Standing, Stirring,
Rough, Tough,
Kitchen, Ditching,
Had Enough!

Happy is kind of scary

I know it's kind of a strange picture to start with this morning, but I thought the backyard, with a shadow hanging over it, was the perfect picture for today's post. And it's funny too...not in a Ha! Ha! kind of way, but in a Hmmmm kind of way...because I felt great yesterday. Kind of like the calm before the storm. But we already had the storm!
  The reason I'm feeling this way has to do with a very good friend of mine, a friend of mine who is like a daughter to me (not the same one that yesterday's post was about, by the way) had an operation yesterday. We suspected going in that it was not going to be good news. Something had already shown up on her scans and xrays. We were very scared of what the news would be.
   Happy is kind of scary for hubby and I. We've gone through a LOT over the years. There's no physical validity to it, but mentally...every time things seemed like they were going really good we would get this feeling like a shadow was hanging overhead. Today's poem will say more about that. It's more the things lurking in our mind from our past, than anything having to do with reality...but this situation with my friend was REAL! Real scary!!!
  But last night, late last night, we got a phone call from her daughter......the surgery went well. She was kind of groggy still, and in some pain, but she wanted her daughter to call us to let us know the results. She had more fibroid tumors there than expected, but NONE OF THEM WERE CANCEROUS!!! I should have jumped for joy at this news, but I started sobbing uncontrollably for about 10 minutes. Guess I was more nervous than I had allowed myself to feel. She's going to have a long recovery period because of a lot of complications during this ordeal, but it's not the deep shadow we thought it would be. Don't you love when it's good news and not what you expected?!!!
   What's next?! Bring it on!.......Not so fast. It's calm again!! :-}

 Happy Is Kind Of Scary

Happy is kind of scary-
based on where we've  both come from;
Frequent chaos is comfortable-
the expected breakage of 'Hum-Drum'.

When things are going well
we almost don't  know what to do;
Do we enjoy the peace-or wait
for the fall of the other shoe?!

Because, in our experience ,
happy moments don't  last long;
Of course, those moments do exist-
But still, it feels like something's  wrong!

We've  lived with sorrow, fear and pain;
Emergencies-we have survived;
And, in between, we would reflect
on how a calm always arrived.

Right now, we're  living in a time,
when all our bills are being paid,
our aches and pains are durable;
and apprehension starts to fade.

We're  fighting mild uneasiness,
thoughts of a sure impending doom.
We know its only just because
of how our past was filled with gloom.

Yes-Happy is kind of scary,
because we haven't  known just how
to put bad feelings out of mind
and just enjoy the here and now.

But its a fight we'll  do each day,
'cause happiness is worth the price
of the anxious moments spent-
and spent with him, they're kind of nice!

My 'Baby Girl'

Photographs sometime tell the whole story. But other times, you have to see the picture in your mind's eye... For instance, the wind was whipping up 'something awful' in the backyard yesterday!

  Can you see it?!...Probably not. Showing briskly moving wind in a still photograph is tough....You can have the same problem trying to convey feelings, and situations, when you're trying to do it in writing. But, I'll try to show you what I mean. Picture this...I woke up from one of my famous naps. It was now about 1:30 in the afternoon. As I was yawning and stretching I heard the faint sound of music. Then I remembered...I wasn't alone. My baby girl was in the house! Oh No! It was past lunchtime. We always ate together around 12:00. Why hadn't she woke me up?
   As I followed the sound of the music that was getting louder with each step...out of my bedroom, past the 2nd bedroom, down the hallway and around the corner, I noticed that the sound of strings began to be accompanied by two voices, in unison almost.
  As I peeped my head around the corner, I saw my 7 year old 'baby girl' with the plastic runner that we usually kept in front of the living room door (for people to walk on and remove their shoes in the rainy, snowy weather) now repositioned to look like an aisle right up the middle of the living room floor. She had my lace table doily on her head like a veil, and held with both hands right in front of her was a bunch of my fake plastic flowers that used to be in a vase on the table, now tied together in a lop sided bow with the sash from her house coat.
  She didn't see me. She just kept standing attentively, staring into the T.V., and reciting right along with the man: "Do you take ('Blah Blah Blah') to be your lawful wedded wife....." I must have moved or something, because she whipped around really fast and the doily went cock-eyed on her head, one of the fake flowers fell on the floor next to her bare feet, and she said, very embarrassingly: "You're up!!"
  We both started laughing hysterically because we had had many little conversations, over the 2 years I had been baby sitting her, about boys and how she was never gonna get married to no 'yucky boy'. When I found her all decked out in this scene, practicing her wedding along with "A Wedding Story" (a T.V. show that came on 'The Learning Channel'), I asked her what had happened to her resolve not to ever marry. She said: "Well, that was before. But now I'm marrying 'Mr, Right'. He's a brother!"
   Her statement about him being a 'brother' was in reference to our beliefs that you should marry 'only in the Lord', or someone with the same faith. I reveled at the fact that she had apparently been paying attention, and that her standards were elevated! The conversation over lunch that day was very animated.
   Could you see this picture in your mind's eye? It remains in mine. I love her very much...My hubby and I always said that if we ever had a child we'd want it to be a little girl. We never had that little girl. My girlfriend, a single mom, shared her daughter with us. I called her 'Baby Girl' because she was the daughter we never had. We have shared her life for many years now.
   She did marry a 'brother'. And she has a baby girl of her own now. I hope her baby girl gives her as much joy as she has given us over the years...This is a poem I have shared on my blog before, but now you have some more of the back story. Tell me what you think!


Daughter Of My Heart

She's the daughter of my heart,
Not my womb, like most kids are;
And to say she's loved by all
would not be taking it too far.

She was raised well, by her mom.
(Her other mother-besides me!)
SHE was there to wipe her runny nose,
and bounce her on her knee.

I came along much later;
and I'm thankful for the chance
to share her life a little,
and to see her spirit dance.

She's the daughter of my heart,
the daughter that we never had;
The child I wanted to give Jeff
so that, one day, he'd be a dad.

I didn't get to burp her,
or to read a bedtime story.
I didn't see her sick
with chicken pox, and have to worry.

We love her timely visits,
and her pictures everywhere;
And when her and Jeff play cards,
how fun  to hear her yell "No Fair"!

For me, I love our little talks,
our spiritual time-our joking too.
She's the daughter of my heart,
because no womb would really do!












 

It's Decided.....!

First thing's first this morning...I decided that the Giveaway, on Monday, June 14, 2010,  will be for ...

  the hat! http://www.etsy.com/listing/20728096/green-multicolored-ribbon-hat ...It was a hard decision though. I wanted to make it an International Giveaway so that no one was left out, like I did for my first Giveaway. But I would only have been able to Giveaway something small! Believe it or not, this little 8 ounce hat would cost me $7.12 to send to Australia, which is where a lot of my followers are from!
   Therefore, the Giveaway is for U.S. ONLY this time. (I have a bead dangle necklace that I'll be giving away soon. That will be an International giveaway.) These are the rules:
  1.) You must "follow" this blog
  2.) Go to my shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/wuglyees , Pick an item, and post a comment on THIS blog about the item you've chosen, with a link to the item.
That's it!!...I'll be choosing the winner the same as I did the first time. It worked very well...I'll put each name on a post-it note paper, fold it in half, and drop it in my box that I've specially deemed my "GiveAway Box". Then on the particular day, I have my hubby shake up the names and pick one...No Looking! LOL
  FOR EXTRA CHANCES: Tweet about the GiveAway and bring it to the attention of @Poetesswug2 (that's my twitter name), or post a message to my Facebook page specifically about this GiveAway. http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001040284468 .
___________________________________________________________________________________
  For today's post I wanted to share some photos hubby took in the front yard,...rain photos. He just couldn't believe it was raining this much! You no doubt saw this...

Later in the day he took these photos......and this is how I knew the rain was REALLY getting to him!

   Yes! It's rain puddles!!!...But that was just the front yard! The backyard photos were just...well...sad.

The rain pounded his poor little potted pansies and left behind some water for mosquitoes to grow in...Well, that's what it would have done. He took care of that!!!
  Thankfully, our backyard just rolls with the flow though. Shortly after all of this saturation and downpour...

The sun came out, dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider.......Wait! That's a poem for another day! :-))
  Here is today's poem!

Entertain Me?

This is a time of 'Reality ' shows,
of T.V. and music, and internet 'chat',
of slogans, commercials and F.Y.I.,
of news and politics and stuff like that.

There are 'Self-Help' shows, like 'Dr. Phil',
and 'Trading Spaces' (Where you don't  have to pay);
There are 'Wake-Up' shows, like 'Good Morning America',
'The View' and 'Today'.

There are game shows, like 'Pyramid',
'Millionaire', and 'The Price is Right',
'The Family Feud', 'Win, Lose or Draw';
You could play from morning til night!

There are shows that are made, half for fun,
and half to look at your life,
like 'Oprah', 'Regis and Kelly',
and 'Judge Hatchett' (the judge who's  a wife).

There are shows that make you laugh;
and others that make you say "Yeah!"
Those like 'Frasier', and 'Ed', and ;Friends',
and 'Who's Line is it Anyway?'

Then there's  'E.R.' and 'Survivor',
'Jeopardy' and 'The Weakest Link';
Why are we so fascinated?
('cause when watching, we don't  have to think).

There are some from which you learn
how the world is starting to flow,
like 'Boston Public' and 'Seinfeld',
and, of course, 'The Antiques Roadshow'.

So, with so many things to watch,
(not to mention-to listen to)
We need to 'Buy Out' our time well,
'cause there's  so, so much else to do!

Etsy Special!

  One of the things that has been bugging me lately...besides the rain...is looking around at so many wonderful and special shops on ETSY http://www.etsy.com/ that are not getting much traffic! I'm going to share four of them today.
   The first shop is "jguilddesigns" http://www.etsy.com/shop/jguilddesigns
She has always absolutely loved how jewelry can transform a look, from dressy to stylish to edgy, and she has made it for years to fit her own mood. She loves to work with Agate because it comes in so many amazing colors and transparencies.  This is her "Fiery Red Love Agate With Red Orange Sapphires". http://www.etsy.com/listing/37941245/fiery-red-love-agate-with-red-orange

 And "Deep Blue Druzy Crystal AgateWith Fresh Water Pearls" http://www.etsy.com/listing/37941793/deep-blue-druzy-crystal-agate-with-fresh

She works with other stones as well. Like this "Rose Amethyst Slice Necklace On Gold" http://www.etsy.com/listing/47235386/rose-amethyst-slice-necklace-on-gold

Something special that you should know is that all of her necklaces are completely hand wrapped and crafted by her. She uses quality sterling silver and gold filled or plated chain and gold filled wire in her jewelry. Her sterling silver wire is Argentium sterling, which is 92.5% silver alloyed with copper and germanium. The germanium gives it improved tarnish resistance, so it doesn't have to be polished as often as regular sterling silver. She'd love to create something custom for you. You can also follow her for discounts and updates at       http://twitter.com/jguilddesigns See her profile in her ETSY shop for other details.

The Next shop is "DomusModern" http://www.etsy.com/shop/DomusModern They are a shop that specializes in vintage modern, or anything that makes a statement. You can tell that in this first piece I chose from their shop. This is a "Vintage Paperweight-Art Glass Apple" http://www.etsy.com/listing/44129660/vintage-paperweight-art-glass-apple

  They also have this "Eames Era Grape Swag Lamp in Yellow Amber" http://www.etsy.com/listing/48213123/eames-era-grape-swag-lamp-in-yellow

and this "1970s Kitsch Owl Vase Pot-Large" http://www.etsy.com/listing/47882001/1970s-kitsch-owl-vase-pot-large-by-domus

They also carry some antiques, and are always on the look out for anything interesting, original, or well-designed. From furniture to retro fabrics, to ephemera and vintage electronics, whatever adds beauty to life you will find in their selections. They are always on the look out for one of a kind furniture and housewares that you may never see again...

  Next is "lbilbs14" http://www.etsy.com/shop/lbilbs14 The shop of LKB Photography is Capturing Life in a Natural World. This "Rain Droplets on Leaf 8x10 Nature Photography Print" is currently being exhibited at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, N.C. http://naturalsciences.org/

   Most of her photographs were taken in the southern Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. This is "Fog and Trees 10x15 Nature Photography Print" http://www.etsy.com/listing/33593118/fog-and-trees-10x15-nature-photography

Because she is a biologist by day, she's tried to include a brief description for each photo regarding the subject of the photo. If you know me, you know that this photograph doesn't even need a description! I love a flower!!!...But she calls it "Unique Poppy 8x10 Nature Photography Print" http://www.etsy.com/listing/48535702/unique-poppy-8x12-nature-photography

 One of her photos recently placed 2nd in the Wild Plants category in the NC Wildlife Magazine Photo Competition...She would be more than happy to custom mat your photo (for an additional fee). Prints are available in a variety of sizes, typically up to 11x14. Not all photos can be printed that large and others can be printed larger. See the details on the announcement page of her shop...Also she is currently running a thread killer for a free 8x10 print: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6538092  Make sure you get in on it!

Now, last, but by no means least, is "SallyAnnesSupplies" http://www.etsy.com/shop/SallyAnnesSupplies 
She enjoys using many mediums of paint and fabric art , working on an eclectic mix of Mohair Bears, Artist Cloth Dolls, and Painting of various kinds. The soft and lustrous nature of silk is particularly pleasing for her to work with, as can be seen by this "Rainbow Fabric, Silk Gauze, Hand dyed, Silk Fabric,2" http://www.etsy.com/listing/41522906/rainbow-fabric-silk-gauze-hand-dyed-silk

It was this fabric that was the first thing that caught my eye in her shop! But she also has other goodies, like this "Jewelry Tool Wrap,  Tool Organizer" http://www.etsy.com/listing/40618077/jewellery-tool-wrap-jewelry-tool-wrap

And this "Glasses Case, Hand dyed Silk" http://www.etsy.com/listing/42005387/spectacle-case-glasses-case-hand-dyed

She is a self taught artist. She has an amazing husband who has encouraged her to experiment and learn over the years. Their four children have grown up thinking it normal to be surrounded by fabric and paint. Also particularly pleasing for her to work with is the beautiful Australian Bush, with its diverse colours of flora and fauna. This has inspired much of her work. Check out her shop and see for yourself!

I hope, like me, you can appreciate what special people and artists these are. Let them know, will ya! I'll share more shops with you at a later time. For now....a little poetry!

I Am Thankful

I am thankful I can breathe
when I wake up every day;
I am thankful I have time
in which I can spend to pray.

I am thankful that my husband
is a good, hard-working man;
I am thankful I can write
with a steady flowing hand.

I am thankful for good friends,
who are always there for me;
I am thankful for my ears,
and the sunsets I can see.

I am thankful for the Bible,
`cause from it I learned the truth;
I am thankful for the rain,
and my layered rain-proof roof.

I am thankful for my life,
because without it I'd be dead-
and the dead can't serve Jehovah,
or even practice what he's said.

I am thankful for this poem,
writing it was not a chore,
`cause it made me stop and think
of all the things I'm thankful for.