This week, I am thankful:
that my internet is all fixed, for free
I’d been having issues with it, and I thought I’d gotten it back up and running, but then it went down again.
A call to Verizon showed that my equipment was not even showing up virtually on their end, so they sent a tech out to look at it.
Apparently, my outside box was on the fritz, so he replaced the entire thing and now I am good to go!
And it cost me exactly $0. This is my favorite kind of repair. 😉
that my last exam went way better
You know how I got an 80% on the first med-surg exam?
Wellllllll, I studied so, so hard this time around, and I got a 100% on the second exam this week. Woohoo! My confidence is restored. 😉
(And my class grade is back up in the 90s again.)
Guys, I’m gonna make it through med-surg!
that the sun came out
I was so, so happy to see the sun streaming in my windows when I woke up yesterday.
And after a depressing string of cloudy, rainy days, I now see a bunch of sunshine in my upcoming forecast.
In other cheerful news, by this coming Saturday, the sun won’t go down until 5:45 pm. Ohhhhh yesssss.
that we’ll see green bits in less than a month
I know (from pictures I’ve taken in previous years) that in the first week or two of March, I will start to see tiny green leaves on some of the brush on the trails where I walk.
That’s so soon! Like…in just a couple of weeks.
I love my trails year-round because even in the winter, there are interesting things to see.
But spring is an especially fun time to be on the trails because things change so quickly in March, April, and May.
Sooo, I’m looking forward to that.
that my PEO scholarship hit my account
Scholarships always require some slightly fussy paperwork, but this one is all done and the dollars are in my account. Yay!!
Incidentally, when I am working on scholarships and I hit that, “Oh man, I wanna quit this paperwork!” feeling, I remind myself that most other people probably feel like that too, and that’s a very good reason to NOT quit.
I can be one of the few that hangs in there and gets to the end, and that increases my odds of receiving a scholarship. Lots of people apply to the easy ones; I figure that few people make it through the hard applications.
that Miss Shelley is in very good health
I took her in for a routine checkup this past week and the vet was surprised at how good she looks for being a 12.5-year-old cat. Yay!
I didn’t ever own a cat before we adopted her, so I am never quite sure what to expect as the years go by. I do know the health of older cats can turn quickly, but I am happy that she’s still in good health for the moment.
Hopefully, her good health will continue for a while, and she will turn out to be a long-lived cat.
that the math exam will be over after today
This morning, I have the every-semester medical math exam that we have to get 18/20 on to proceed in the semester.
The little calculator we are allowed to have, as long as we don’t bring the little blue cover, in case someone writes stuff on the cover in order to cheat.
This is not particularly challenging math for me, but still, since the stakes are so high, I will feel relieved when it’s behind me.
prep work!
And then after today, we don’t have another exam until February 29th! That means a whole two weeks between exams.
That’s good news, because a unit on cardiac care is coming up, and I hear that’s a lot of hard material. So, I’m gonna get a head start on it.
that my furnace finally got cleaned
I had it scheduled for a cleaning, but somehow that appointment got cancelled and no one seemed to know why! But yesterday, the guy came out and got it all tidied up.
Soooo, hopefully that means there will be no more furnace drama for a nice, long while.
for good health
I’m thankful for a baseline of good health, but also I’m grateful that I haven’t been sick with a cold, the flu, or Covid (which I did catch the previous two Januaries!)
Here’s hoping my streak of good health will continue.
Amanda in VA
Monday 19th of February 2024
Here I am again, being thankful on a Monday. ;)
Today I am thankful . . .
-That it has been a whole week since I had a double mastectomy. I felt like I rounded the corner of the pain on Thursday. Since then I've been getting a little better every day. Chemo was the worst. Surgery was the second worst. Praise God I am past the worst parts of this journey and on the road to recovery.
-That I have so many things to look forward to in the near future. We're about to close on a commercial space, I'm going to my favorite conference next month, we are getting back to really traveling this summer, and I am sure my new boobs will look better than my old boobs. I just can't wait!
-That spring seems to be on the point of springing! When I was younger I really hated the cold, short days of winter. Somehow over the last few years I have started to experience those days as cozy and calm, which is a blessing in itself. But I have also become more in tune with the change of seasons. Something about the trees with their early buds and the angle of the sun. I just know one day soon I am going to look out and see the first flowers! The arrival of spring is a truly wonderful experience every year.
-For deodorant. It is a small thing, but one I have not been allowed since my surgery last week. I had no idea how sticky and uncomfortable armpits could get. Yuck.
-For my profession. I love being a historian. Being laid up for the last week has reminded me how much I itch to read and write and explore the past when I can't. I would never choose to have breast cancer, but I admit I did need a break from my work this year. Now I can't wait to get back to it.
Linda Phillips
Saturday 17th of February 2024
I'm thankful that the head cold I picked up on a recent out of town trip has run its course and though I'm not 100% yet I'm not as under the weather as I was last week. I'm thankful my friend and I finally coordinated schedules so we could spend the afternoon together today. PNW winter is nothing compared to Mid-Atlantic winter, still I'm thankful that my walks through the woods are already showing signs of spring. More daylight hours always make me thankful.
Good job on your exams Kristen.
JNL
Friday 16th of February 2024
Thankfuls this week:
Flower bulbs showing their heads in the garden; Good colleagues and work I like; An unexpected phone call from a friend I had not spoke to for a year; The prospect of the weekend ahead, with no plans. I will read all the thankfuls. I have no time today and I always find them inspiring. Even when I do not have time to list my thankfuls, I always feel them!
Lisa K.
Thursday 15th of February 2024
I'm thankful ... 1. Student-led conferences have wrapped up and were a positive experience. 2. For choir music to listen to 3. For several days of bright sunshine and cloudless blue skies 4. For wonderful volunteers who have made it possible for some of my students to enjoy extra opportunities 5. For an on-line learning opportunity tomorrow 6. For lengthening days 7. For simple art project that my students have really enjoyed 8. Quietness 9. For my bed 10. Good books
WilliamB
Thursday 15th of February 2024
That's a lot of tests! I - and I'm sure all your other readers - are happy for your results success.
I am thankful for a big thing: I feel like my whole head and maybe even some of my shoulders are above water right now. It's been a long time since I could say that and I'm enjoying the feeling.
I am thankful for a medium thing: that PT exercises have such a fast effect. If I do them in the morning, my back and shoulders feel better in that afternoon. It's also a powerful incentive to do them every day since, appropos of a quick response, my back feels it if I skip a day. For the record I am a moderator so my goal is to do PT 5 days/week rather than 7.
I am thankful for a slew of smaller things: - figuring out how to put a plant on my desk without risking knocking it over; - roughly arranging another room in the house, which took a chunk of box/furniture moving and yet was less work than I thought; PS: my stuff is fully arranged, my roommate's stuff is in about the right place but not yet unpacked; - turning a $5 plant purchase into 2 for $7; I'm digging getting free and cheap plants; - Whole Foods taking back the herbs that weren't thriving despite my not having a receipt and paying in cash so we couldn't look up the transaction; - for the outdoor manager at the nursery helping me get healthier herbs and also agreeing that the herbs looked a little worse for wear, for which he offered me half off; - for free eggs and butter from Vital Farms, who far overcompensated me for moldy eggs and insisted on doing so despite my pointing this out; - that I have a local yarn store and that the first stitch-and-bitch I went to was fun; - for being able to see the top of my desk - all of it!