I kind of feel like I’m slacking off a little what with missing my usual Friday entry and knowing that the “things that Make me happy” list will be a short one for tomorrow. I’m just not sure how to put the Holiday break into words.

OK. Imagine a black hole and it’s full. Full of things and clutter and negativity and bitchy tones and drama. That pretty much sums up Thanksgiving. Food was good. Spending an evening with my brother, sister-in-law, and friends over drinks was good. The rest was tolerable. Chris and I talked about this on the way home. I think the biggest problem is that it’s in my nature to make sure every one is happy. But when it comes to my family it’s impossible to please them all, all the time. Particularly my mother.

My mother is just unhappy. Maybe one day she won’t be so miserable, but it’s not my job to fix her. And it’s taken me a long time to be able to say that out loud.

Last year Chris and I were on our own for Thanksgiving. This was early on in my vegetarian days and I was excited about preparing our meal. And even though I wasn’t eating turkey, I cooked the most beautiful (and, according to Chris, tasty) turkey breast that it could have been put on the cover of a food magazine.

I think one of the best benefits of becoming a vegetarian has been it’s affects on my cooking skills. I’ve had to learn to be really creative with our meals. I try out new recipes on a daily basis. Our meals are more colorful and varied and even Chris (still an omnivore) is satisfied. It’s actually become a joy to cook.

This year we are having Thanksgiving at my parents house. I am bringing two things to the meal: baked squash casserole and a vegetarian field roast that Chris and I like to cal Froast (thanks to Tiffany and Tom). I love that I can share new things with my family and that the turkey doesn’t have to be the end and be all of the meal.

Thanksgiving isn’t about the food on the table as much as it is about being grateful. Being grateful not just for the food, but for the people who we share that meal with. Happy Love Thursday and a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday!

• Finding money in my Karma can for the classes I teach at work (makes me feel appreciated)
• Sneaking in my own savasana in the Be Well of Stairwells
• Having one of the maintenance guys walk in on me while I’m all propped up in my savasana and thinking that I was wrapped up in a sleeping bag
• Hearing a song come up on my Pandora playlist that I haven’t heard in a really long time
• Introducing my family to Costco
• Eating lunch at IKEA
• Oysters on the half shell for $3.95/dozen
• Texting Chris about all the things we were up to while in Dallas
• All of the elephant things at the World Market
• Whole Foods
• Surprising my boss with those cookies she likes from IKEA
• Organic pineapples for $3
• Greek yogurt
• Having the house to ourselves
• Katrina’s new tattoo

I spent the weekend in Dallas with my mom, sister and sister-in-law. And as of right now, I’ve been staring at that last sentence for about twenty minutes trying to figure out what else to say about this, or what else I can say about this. First of all, the shear act of just trying to get all of us together to go on this trip had been like herding cats.

Again…I’m at a blank as to what to write. Maybe I should say Mom, if you are sick with something like, I don’t know, SHINGLES, you should probably call and cancel. It’s OK. Really. There will be (maybe) other trips to IKEA. In fact, the next time I’m there, I will personally bring you back a pack of scissors (she buys a pack of these every time she goes to IKEA – don’t ask). But seriously. Nothing is more important then your health (I’m typing this like she’s actually going to read this).

You know? I think I’m going to just wrap this up with I bought some stuff this weekend. Mostly food (Whole Foods…I love you!). I’m really exited about the stainless steel kettle I purchased from IKEA so I can make cheese. We ate well, too well and we laughed lots. And that about sums things up.

This week really zoomed by for me. It was like I blinked and it was over and I don’t even remember what happened what day. I need things to slow down just a tiny bit and I am thankful for those few minutes where I can breath.

Rolling right along with this roller coaster week. I’m headed out tomorrow with Mom, my sister, niece, sister-in-law and niece-in-law for a quick girls’ trip to Dallas before the Holidays really make things crazy. I am thankful for this time we will have together. We will be able to browse the IKEA isles with out the sounds of male grumbling and whining “can we go now” (mine never does this, but my brother…hoo boy…whiney with a capitol W). Most of all I’m thankful to be away, even if that’s with out Chris.

I am thankful for what I have in this moment at this time. Have a wonderful weekend!

I call this place the Be Well of Stairwells and once a week I teach (more like lead really) a yoga class in here for people here at work.

We used to have a legitimate room with carpet, lighting that I could turn off, and a thermostat. But that room also contained about twenty heavy tables and a bazillion chairs that had to be stacked away before class and moved backed to exactly the right place after the class. Often, we’d get bumped from the room some times with warning, but mostly with out. The other room became more of a hassle then I was willing to deal with. So, when I was offered the stairwell, I smiled and politely said Thank you.

OK. It’s small. I can get five or six of us in there with out causing too many injuries. The place is drafty in the cold months and steamy during the summer months. I have no control over the lighting. But…it’s ours. We never have to move tables and chairs. We never have to worry about being bumped from the room. And as long as I remember to hang our sign on the door, no one ever bothers us.

I think this is my favorite class that I teach. I feel like I do less teaching and more sharing of my practice here. I think that the space forces us to drop certain personal space boundaries and the class is more at ease and relaxed. We laugh more and our final relaxation is more restful.

That room may look like a small dungeon cell to most, but to me it’s a beautiful studio with hard wood floors and windows that let in the sunlight. It’s the energy we choose to fill the space that truly matters. Happy Love Thursday!

I’ve noticed that this last week I’d forget to add to the list. So…it may seem short today.

• Finishing the Y’s employee wellness challenge and not having to wear a pedometer all the time
• Making breakfast for dinner with Chris
• Finishing Animal, Vegetable, Mineral (that book took me forever to read!)
• Teaching my Wednesday night class
• Biker guy on a scooter
• The weather
• Knowing that all I have to do on Thursday night is to put a pizza in the oven
• Finishing the fifth book of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (these books are darling)
• Hearing the bell ring that opens the Farmer’s Market
• Eating a cinnamon roll from the Farmer’s Market that tastes just like my Mom’s
• The baby carrots and mushrooms I bought at the Farmer’s Market
• Running into my boss at the Farmer’s Market
• Getting a call from Thomas because he needs to “talk to a scientist” for a class project
• Seeing Chris make even more progress on the office
• Making a pot-pie with biscuit top in the crock pot
• My fuzzy Angora socks
• Finishing good books

That fifth book to the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency is called The Full Cupboard of Life. It couldn’t have come into my hands at any better of times. May all of our cupboards be as full.

Things are about to get crazy on the home front. I’m pretty sure the kitchen gets demolished this weekend (one can never tell when dealing with these people). I’ve been pretty winey about the inconvenience of it all and this is a very poor attitude, something I’ve had towards a lot of changes coming my way in the next few weeks.

My meditation mantra for the last week has been “I will accept and embrace change”. I’ve found change a bit easier to accept when I can find the silver lining behind the change. So…kitchen remodel equals inconvenience, but I am thankful that by the end there will be a brand new kitchen to work in. One of the biggest things I had against moving in with Chris’s mom was her kitchen. I found it terrifying and there were cabinets that I just didn’t open. Every thing was sticky and cluttered and (in my opinion) unclean. A new kitchen, brand new from the floor up, is a clean slate. I am so thankful for this, I might even feel comfortable enough to have people over for dinner.

I am also thankful for my new job. My new boss caught me in the hall after an evening yoga class this week and we started talking about projects that she wants me to work on. I’ll be doing a lot of new things, but still be doing microscopy and I’m very excited about getting to learn some new microscopy techniques. I feel better about the job (even though I still have the old insecurities floating around). Plus, in today’s economy, I am very blessed to have a job at all.

I will accept and embrace change. Have a wonderful weekend and thankful Friday!

Some times I really have no idea what my Love Thursday entry is going to be. Lately, the day before, I’ve been going out for walks with my camera hoping something will inspire me. My walking buddies and I put off our daily walk until the afternoon. By then the sun was out and it was warm enough to walk with just short sleeves. I took the camera because you just never know.

And then I saw this guy. On a scooter! With biker boots. But the best was when I caught a look at the back of his jacket. This dude is my hero.

This weeks Love Thursday can’t be neatly tied up into one little box. It’s in the unexpected and the unplanned. And the love that is being sent my way these past few days and weeks by friends is too big to even try to put into words. So I’m going to leave it with something totally silly stupid.

I love this Old Skool Biker on a scooter.

I start in a new lab on December first. And when I look at the calendar, my chest gets tight and I feel that little hard pit in my stomach. I’m nervous about the new job and worried about all the things that come with a new job. The truth is, I’d stay in my current lab forever if it was possible. It’s hard leaving a really great job for one your not so sure about.

Today I started the task of cleaning off my desk. I’ve mostly thrown out old food and candy (I obviously was preparing for a nuclear holocaust). I threw out little plastic toys that had served their purpose and packed away the Ugly Dolls. But it was when I got to my pictures that I had to take a break.

The pictures I have taped to my wall are not special. They are copies of prints, spare wallet sized photos, and even a few photos just printed off onto paper. Some of them came with me from my last job and still had the tape from that time. But most of them are pictures I added over the time I’ve been here. On my wall, you can see my best friend’s little girl grow from baby to five year-old princess. Then there are the other pictures that remind of the things that happened like my Pepaw’s picture. He passed away shortly after I started here. And J’s picture. There’s the picture I took of Chris on our Honeymoon of him sticking his finger in a Storm Trooper’s gun and the one of him and Todd dressed as Ghostbusters. There’s even one of Lio taken the day he was born. As I carefully peel each photo from the wall, I remember it all. And I can’t believe all the things that can happen over just eight years or even one year.

I have no idea what’s ahead and this scares me more than anything really. And in Zelda’s words “goodbyes are the stupidest thing since unsliced bread”. Ugh. They really are.