Friday night grateful moment

o way! I had my list all ready to post and then it disappeared. That hasn't happened in a long time, if ever. My hope is that not only will I remember all that I'm grateful for (through somewhat gritted teeth right now, to be honest!), but that it will all come together even more quickly the second time around. Let's see how it goes!

As always, the week moved by so quickly. With lots to be grateful for:

* Skype. Love it. Great way to stay in touch when separated from the loved one(s).

* Husband. For all he does for our little family, every day. From his hugs and smiles and those sideways looks at me like I'm little bit nuts. He's usually right!

* Son. What a blessing he is--from his sense of humor to his hugs and his thoughtful questions and great conversations.

* Rain. Loving the extra precipitation today; if we're going to have wind, let's bring on the rain too! Only adds to the greenery all around.

* Color. Though the only real color other than green in the yard so far comes from the daffodils, I'll take it. More to come, soon, with a little sunshine. Between now and then, I look for my color in other places, like in these cupcakes:

Don't those look yummy? I think those will be on the Easter menu, maybe in a bit more Easter-ish hues...

And these colored pencils!

How about this fabulous cake? I've never been a big celebrant of St. Patrick's Day, but this color would be welcome in my kitchen any day of the year!

* Organizational joy. It doesn't strike THAT often, the cleaning bug. But when it does, I've learned to pay attention and hop to it! So I'm in the midst of some real spring cleaning around here, and I'm especially grateful that I have the energy to keep up with my desires, and the deadline of needing things to be at least a little bit presentable when the parents show up this coming week! Yeah for sorting. Yeah for Goodwill piles. Yeah for file folders and recycling and garbage bags and Lysol wipes.

* Words and art together. Again. This is a constant in my world of gratefulness. I found a great web site, Truffle Girls, this week where one artist brings the words and one brings the images, and together they create inspiration and thoughtfulness and humor. Just lovely.

And I found this sweet piece too. I just love these sentiments.

* Fresh flavor. I am in love with basil, as usual. I made myself a bowl of tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella with gnocchi for lunch today and halfway through, I realized I'd already snarfed most of the basil, so I went back to my Aerogarden and snip-snip, I replenished! Basil has to be, hands-down, one of my favorite flavors ever. Can't wait for my rows and rows of basil in the garden.

* The folks over at Good List Daily, for their inspirational gratitude ideas and supportive comments. It's a fun group to have discovered!

* Love. I'm grateful for love, in all its many forms.Take a look at this preview for a movie I'm looking forward to, Paper Heart. Michael Cera is a favorite of mine, such a sweet boy. And I love the documentary-style format of this film.



* Getting older. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have appreciated the quote below in my twenties. Some places really do just take time to arrive at. And how fabulous to be content when you get there too!

"It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts." -K.T. Jong

 Happy weekend. May yours hold a little love, joy and even a bit of tenderness!