30 questions. 30+ answers.

1. what smell are you grateful for today?
autumn candles commingling with the fresh air of our barely cracked windows. (it's chilly today!)

2. what technology are you grateful for?
oh wow. all of it! the ability to hold thousands of books in the palm of my hand. the ability to do my job from home, and to see and talk to my family, even though they're far away. the ability to find my way to and from anywhere with google maps. i'm hopeless otherwise. especially in the labyrinth of roads on bainbridge island. i looped past blakely harbor and pritchard park three times today before i gave in to my electronic superior.

3. what color are you grateful for?
the cerulean blue of a clear sky.

4. what food are you most grateful for?
i overheard a woman in hammy's recently explaining to someone how her mom would always take her for a milkshake after dental appointments that required drilling, and i totally understood why that memory was so happy and comforting. ice cream in any form can fix a multitude of sins. as can coffee. and hot chocolate. and martinis. i'm grateful for all of them.

5. what sound are you grateful for today?
our puppy's snorty snuffling around our home. we call her the snorthog.

6. what in nature are you grateful for?
the brilliance of sunny days, the greatness of mountains, the vastness of the ocean, and the changing colors of autumn leaves.

7. what memory are you grateful for?
this is a really hard one to narrow - christmas mornings as a kid. (all holiday traditions for that matter.) hanging out with j well before we knew we were going to be a forever thing. my first florida-georgia game. childhood vacations to sanibel island, hilton head, asheville, tennessee, and colorado. swim meets. our wedding day. sailing as a family on my 30th birthday. our times in texas. and on and on.

8. what book are you most grateful for?
this list is lengthy. most of them have the common theme of life going pear shaped, but things working out anyway.

9. what place are you most grateful for?
home. the beach. bainbridge island. our visit to napa and sonoma last year felt like an exceptional gift to witness, especially in light of the recent wildfires in that region.

10. what taste are you grateful for today?
a lovely chestnut praline latte.

11. what holiday are you grateful for?
thanksgiving and christmas - i have such happy memories associated with these celebrations and i love the idea of everyone across the country and world stopping at approximately the same time to relax and celebrate with the people they love.

12. what texture are you grateful for?
cozy woven blankets and my warm fuzzy slippers on my feet. our puppy's bristly adult fur she's getting.

13. what abilities are you grateful for?
the ability to keep my mouth shut when needed. the ability to bake and share that joy with other people. the ability to capture my favorite moments on film [err pixels.] the ability to stay calm in the face of chaos. the ability to walk, talk, and see. the ability to be organized. the ability to enjoy the little things.

14. what sight are you grateful for today?
our puppy, all wiggly and ready for another day. j, home and safe with us. and the view from our window - the mountain thing has yet to get old.

15. what season are you grateful for?
this one. autumn, and this new chapter of our lives.

16. what about your body are you grateful for?
i've always liked the color of my eyes and my fingers/the shape of my nails. no matter how much of an ugly day i'm having, my hands usually look nice enough.

17. what knowledge are you grateful for?
this too shall pass. and it always gets better.

18. what piece of art are you grateful for?
i love photographs - particularly of everyday moments, and food. i love seeing those real life moments past and present, from myself and others.

19. what touch are you grateful for today?
hugs and kisses from the hubs. (and puppy kisses from tavi-roo!)

20. who in your life are you grateful for?
my hubs. he loves me unconditionally, even on my worst days. and the rest of my family, there's a lot to be said for a shared past.

21. what song are you most grateful for?
here comes the sun by the beatles.
i walked down the aisle to this on my wedding day alongside my dad, and i do think we were heralding in a lifetime of sunshine.

22. what story are you grateful for?
our life/[love] story. we're working everyday to make it a good read.

23. what tradition are you grateful for?
we buy at least one new christmas ornament each year. i love seeing our collection grow, and pulling them all out each year. i especially love the ornaments we were gifted in the years we graduated from college, were married, etc. i purchased two photo holding ornaments this year - one for tavi-roo and another for morgie-moo.

24. what challenge are you grateful for?
i'm grateful we were challenged to find a new job opportunity for j. there were a lot of "almosts" that didn't pan out, which was devastating at the time. but we landed in a better place than i could have hoped for, and we wouldn't have pursued it had it not been for all of the failures we experienced.

25. what moment this week are you most grateful for?
j's days off. not only do i love having him home, but he can play with miss octavia and i don't feel so guilty about palming her off with a puzzle toy or teether dipped in peanut butter so i can get some work done.

26. what form of expression are you most grateful for?
photography. color me obsessed with capturing everything ever.
also writing. reading other people's works both fiction and not has made me far and away a better person.

27. what small thing that you use daily are you grateful for?
my marshmallow pumpkin latte body butter - it's a small luxury, but it smells so lovely, keeps my skin from getting all scaly in this dry air, and j always notices when i transfer the scent to tavi by petting her. she's our pumpkin puppa.

28. what small thing that happened today are you grateful for?
i was in a store purchasing materials for a class i'm teaching this week. the cashier asked me what all the duplicate items were for, so i explained and we chatted a bit while she rang everything up. when she was done she said, "hold on, let me go grab a coupon for you." i figured it was for next time i came in, but instead she came back and scanned a coupon for about 30% off my total. i thought it was so nice she did that completely unprompted, as i was prepared to pay full price for everything. that little gesture totally made my day.

29. what friend/family member are you grateful for today?
my mom. she's usually around to chat whenever i feel like it!

30. what talent or skill do you have that you are grateful for?
the skill to read quickly. and a talent for baking!