Was angry, now Christmas-y

I woke up today feeling very angry. Just in an all out pissy mood. I wish I liked to run because this morning was one of those times that it would have been nice to run just to blow off some steam. By the time I got to work, I was over it, which is probably a good thing!

Tonight is Christmas decorating night! Growing up, my family never made a big deal about Christmas. My mom wanted to, but my dad was never really into it. This being my first year officially out on my own without a 3 week Christmas break, I have decided to have my own Christmas tree and to decorate my apartment for the first time. Time for me to start my own traditions. So, my tree is up with just the lights on and my ornaments from Jenn that her mom gave me after she passed away last year. Tonight though, my YoungLife kids are coming over for some serious Christmas craziness. Tree decorating, chicken stew and biscuits, and lots of corny Christmas songs. I have all of my ornaments that have been on my parents' tree for the past 21 years and it is time for me to do it on my own. This tree seems very symbolic right now. New tree with a mix of old and new ornaments feels like me; a new independent person out on my own with a mixture of values, goals and ideas that are part brand new and part rooted in the past.

Merry Christmas! As I figure out this blogging thing, I will post a picture of my tree!

Grateful for today:
1) That the sun came back out after a gross morning
2) Amy and Carla
3) my shiny, clean apartment
4) that I will be done with grad school tomorrow!
5) a funny phone conversation last night

Gratitude Journal

I read this quote in a column in the newspaper and it was mildly inspirational:

"To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch heaven."-Johannes A. Gaertner

Couple that quotation with this other one from the same columnist about keeping a journal of gratitude: "If you give thanks for five gifts every day, in two months you may not look at your life in the same way as you might now." -Sarah Ban Breathnach

So I like that idea, so for the next two months I am going to try giving thanks for five gifts everyday. Maybe that will cheer this winter slump that I am in.

Gifts that I am thankful for today:
1. Coren (the mother of a deceased friend who in the wake of Jenn's death I have gotten to know and love)
2. Quirky coworkers
3. Flannel sheets and down comforter for chilly weather
4. My daddy for picking me fresh oranges before I left Florida
5. Mr. Jackson, the security guard that holds an elevator for me every morning

Starting a blog!

So I am going to try starting a blog! I have never done this before and it is going to be primarily for my own amusement and to chronicle what life is like post college. I will try to give some thought to being violently thrown out into the real world.

A few reasons for writing a blog:

a) I get bored at work sometimes.
b) I get bored at home sometimes.
c) being post-college is a boring existence.
d) I am trying to figure out where my life is going next. I figure it might be fun to track the journey.
e) I am going to try to make some changes in my life and I need a way to keep track of them.
f) I get to put my random thoughts out into cyberspace where probably no one will read them. (This is oddly satisfying)
g) everybody has that itch to try writing. I don't really have that itch b/c I am not good at writing. With a blog it just doesn't matter.

So I am off into the world of blogging. Here we go.