High Five.

Five things I'm thankful for today are:

1. My job. Not only do I realize how fortunate I am to even have a job in this economy, I'm also aware that enjoying that job puts me in a unique and beautiful category. I prayed for this for so long, and now I am here. Blessed am I.
2. My foot. My stupid, sore, ugly-shoe-clad, plantar fasciitis-ridden foot. Were it not for this foot, I wouldn't appreciate the 8,456,293 neglected pairs of shoes in my closet that I WILL wear one day when this foot finally heals. I also wouldn't look forward to things like running, walking distances, adding variety to my exercise routine, or doing anything that puts weight on my foot. So, you know, good reminder. Every dang day. 
3. Upcoming getaways. Switzerland, you ask? The West Coast, perhaps? Maybe a little jaunt to the Pacific Northwest? Not quite. But from my anticipation of a road trip that'll include visits with friends and family, you'd think I'd won an Oprah dream vacation. It's really nice to have things to look forward to.
4. Stress. Yeah, I know. This one's a little Pollyanna-ish, even for me. But still. Feeling stress reminds me that I don't always feel that way, and that there is a difference between good stress and bad stress. (Maybe I'll blog more on this later. It's a topic that interests me.) So I am grateful to recognize the difference between the two, to realize this isn't my norm anymore, and to find ways to relieve it!
5. LOL. A teacher I had in high school was great about laughing at her own mistakes. I saw this at the time, and thought I caught on, but I think I'm aware that with each new mistake -- minor or major -- that I maybe don't have that down quite so much. So God bless Mrs. Farris for sharing her stories and demonstrating the value of laughing out loud as often as possible. Since she was attacked by cancer a few years back and I didn't get to say these specific words to her, I really hope she knows just how valuable those lessons were to me. (Also, the typing skills are coming in handy, too.) Knowing Mrs. Farris, I have no doubt she's still cracking herself and everyone around her up, even in Heaven. I'm striving daily to ace that test myself. 

Bye Week, Part Two.

I almost included this in my last post, but decided to wait.

In many ways, this was a bye week for me aside from football.

I am changing jobs -- and could not be more excited! -- but to get to point B from point A took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. (Well, maybe not blood. Unless you count paper cuts and scrapes from hauling coolers across Lafayette Square in New Orleans.)

Today was my last day at my current job. I was excited to go there three years ago, and to tackle Community Relations, and to have the opportunity to work with communications there. But the latter never happened, and it didn't look like it was going to, and I was starting to shrivel from lack of creativity (and from too much non-creativity, which I'm very, very bad at, anyway).

So this was a bye week for me with my current job, and my current coworkers, and the physical location I've worked at since I moved to Baton Rouge.

Kind of odd. But exciting.

And I've been realizing I have not been living up to my potential in a lot of ways -- not just with work.

So that's something I'm going to work on.  And to blog about another day.

Five Things I'm Thankful For.

Five things I'm thankful for are:

1. A job that keeps me busy and pays me.

2. Cousins who crack me up.

3. A mother who reminds me of the things that matter most.

4. Spring!

5. A sunroof.

Full Heart.

Five things I've been thankful for this week are:

1. Having a job. That pays me. Especially in this economy, but period.

2. Getting to see my family last weekend. My heart is ridonculously full from my time with my parents, grandparents, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew -- not to mention the million other relatives I received hugs and happiness from, plus a few friends, too.

3. Where I'm from. I don't care where we rank on national scores for every last thing ever; I'm so proud to be a Mississippi girl. (Ok, I DO care, but I'm just sayin'. That doesn't diminish my pride at all.) Where I'm from is amazing, colorful, full of life, and the absolute heart and soul of kindness. Without home, I obviously would and could not be me. Going back there is just like taking a long, hot shower after a month of sponge baths.

4. My puppy, and how sweet she is, and what she means to my family. I could -- and surely will -- write a whole blog on precious Tractor, but for now, I'll just say that especially for an outside, stray, mutt-of-origin, squirrel-chasing, happened upon our family little runt, that Tractor sure has made the Johnsons' lives sweeter, more protected, and more loved all these years.

5. LSU FOOTBALL. Welcome back, my friend. Sure has been lonely here without ya.

Cinco de Julio.

Five things I'm grateful for today are:

1. A job that allows me to work hard, play hard (on my off time), and enjoy both...even on some Mondays. :-)

2. Peanut butter.

3. Boot camp. I know I have griped about it incessantly for the past 8 weeks, but I think I'm gonna miss the stinkin' class, after all.

4. Living in part of the world, country and region that is relatively unaffected by the recession. The more I talk to friends in other (and literally higher, more northern) places, the more I realize how fortunate I am to be in BR, where some prices have gone up and some jobs are in jeopardy, but at least peeps are able to get out and about with smiles on their faces and plans on their agendas.

5. Nephews, their loose and lost teeth, and their plans to whip their aunts into shape via the Wii (and boundless, 5-year-old energy) during upcoming visits. :-)