Category: Gratitude

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
Life is so hard in my house if you have fur and four legs.
Life is so hard in my house if you have fur and four legs.

It’s Friday and you know what that means! Other than TGIF, that is….

  1. I have a cold. Now, you’re probably wondering why in the hell that would make me thankful. Well, my brother posted on facebook yesterday that he has the flu. I’m so thankful I don’t have that.  It’s all relative, folks.
  2. Because I have a cold, I’ve got that sexy raspy voice thing going on… oh…yeah…..
  3. I’ve been able to catch up on some of my feedly feeds this week and they have really inspired me to keep going on this downsizing/getting out of debt path. They really remind me that “yes, it REALLY is ok if you don’t decide to live along the lines of the status quo. Who cares if someone will think your new living situation might be kind of strange in a few years? As long as you’re happy, then do it!” (I mean, hell, people already think I’m weird for having 5 cats.)
  4. I’ve come across a few new blogs this week that I really, really like. They’ll be added to my blogroll very soon!
  5. I am making my first “extra principal” payment on my private student loans today for the first time IN YEARS!! YES, YEARS!!!! With each extra payment, I just want to yell out “suck it, AES!” 🙂
  6. Going along with number 3 above, when my next monthly payment hits that account, it will bring my loan down to under 20K. WOW.
  7. Today was the first time I could make a transfer into my savings account instead of paying off a car loan or personal loan. My tiny house fund has almost $1K in it. I can’t wait to have it hit 4 digits. Then it gets REAL!
  8. As always, I am thankful for my furry ones. You have no idea how happy they make me when I see them looking all contented and sleepy. Like my Max, above.

What are you thankful for this week? Please drop me a line below or subscribe or hit like if you liked this post!

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri

First post of the new year!!! Grateful to have spent good time with friends on New Year’s Eve – I had plans for once! I started writing this post on Thursday, when we were experiencing the beginnings of a ‘Noreaster, but got sick on Friday, so I’m sorry this is being posted a day later than normal.  Read more →

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
Osito in her pink jacket and her pink scarf, a Christmas present from my nephew!
Osito in her pink jacket and her pink scarf, a Christmas present from my nephew!

I hope everyone either had a good Christmas this week or a good day off! I celebrated Christmas Eve with my brother and his family and then spent Christmas Day with my best friend, her husband, and her grandma, watching 4 of the 6 Fast and Furious Movies. Then we had the “traditional” Christmas Day meal for a Jewish household: Chinese food!

To the left is my little Osito on a (finally) sunny day. You might not be able to see it but she is nice and warm in this photo thanks to her bright pinks scarf which my nephew made for her. It fits perfectly underneath her pink jacket! ❤

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Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
Three of my babies: Max, HoneyBun and Sebastian
Three of my babies: Max, HoneyBun and Sebastian

I woke up this morning to find four of my cats sleeping on the bed with me – guess they all like it to be cozy in the winter! My list below is a combination of both silly and not-so-important things, as well as more serious subjects. I feel fortunate to be leading a full life right now. Read more →

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
My baby girls, Callie and HoneyBun. So cute and snuggly (HoneyBun is kneading her bed in bliss.)
My baby girls, Callie and HoneyBun. So cute and snuggly (HoneyBun is kneading her bed in bliss.)

I wish I could say I was thankful for the extremely cold weather we are having in the Northeast, but I can’t. I hate the cold. That’s why I want to move someplace a lot milder!  However, there are many things I am thankful for this week.

  1. I was officially offered a part-time front desk job at the gym where I work out – yay! I’m hoping this means that my monthly membership is going to be free, as that would be a savings of $59/month. I’m also really hoping to gain a lot of knowledge about the inner workings of the health and fitness industry. Not to mention that I will be taking all the money I earn from it and put it in my tiny house fund, or to pay off debt! (I’m thinking the tiny house is the place I would most like for it to go.)
  2. Though it’s been frigid all week, it has made for some incredible sunrises. As I walk into the gym from the bus, I have a great view of the Boston skyline. Some mornings, the sky is a fiery red. The other day, the grayish clouds hanging over the skyline were so solid and opaque looking that they looked like mountains behind the buildings.
  3. Really frigid mornings make for extremely short “pee and poop” trips outside with baby Osito! If time permits, when we come back in, I hold her on my chest like a baby to help her warm up. Doing that, she gives me lots and lots of doggie kisses!
  4. I was also contacted by someone to do some freelance research on a book – yay again! This lady is super awesome and so down to earth. And, right now, I’m very focused on doing the best I can do at whatever project I set out to do.
  5. I’ll be gaining more space in my studio tomorrow when I give my old bike to someone off of Freecycle. It feels good to be giving it to someone who can really use it, and I can already tell by our phone call and our emails, that she is going to REALLY appreciate it.
  6. The heat broke in my apartment last night, but the guys who take care of the building are so awesome, they had it working again within a half hour! Warm and toasty!
  7. After the payment I just made today on my personal loan clears, the balance will be about $633!!
  8. Memories. Yes, memories. They remind me of what life used to be like, and while sometimes they can make you sad, or nostalgic, you can learn from them, time and time again. Literally.

What are you thankful for this week?

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
So blessed to have caught this moment in time!
So blessed to have caught this moment in time!

It’s Friday, so time for my weekly Friday post which reminds me of how lucky I am to be alive in this world. I hope it encourages you to feel the same way, even if you’ve had a tough week.

Also, thank you to all of you who read my blog, even if you don’t comment. I just checked the subscriptions to it, and I just can’t believe there are people out there reading! Thank you!  And thank you so much to the gentleman from Time for Action, who re-posted my post about animal rights. (Please check out his page if you are interested in animal rights too!)
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Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
Family :-)
Family 🙂

Apologies for the lateness in posting this but I was home with my mom in upstate NY. That’s just one of the things I am thankful for this week.

  1. In addition to seeing my mom, I was able to spend some good quality time with my younger brother. We are on the same page on a lot of things.
  2. I met my mom’s boyfriend and my brother was right. He makes our mom smile a lot, which was good to see.
  3. My mom ordered a specially made wreath for me and it’s hanging inside my apartment now, making it smell all Christmasy. 🙂 It’s decorated in a lot of purple which is one of my favorite colors.
  4. I asked my guardian angels and my grandmother (I always feel like she is with me in spirit) to keep us safe while traveling and they came through for us.
  5. Compared to the big things in life, this is a small thing, but I am thankful for not having been stick in any traffic on Wednesday and today. It may not sound like much but if you have ever sat in traffic for miles and miles in the past, you know what I am talking about.
  6. My journal. Yep, I’m happy for it. I realized tonight I have written in at least half of its pages since the beginning of October, and it has definitely made me feel more grateful for the small things in life.

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
My babies, Max and Osito. <3<3<3<3<3
My babies, Max and Osito. <3<3<3<3<3

Every week, in some way or another, I am reminded how fortunate I am. That’s a good thing.

  1. I met with a former student yesterday who is from a country that is pretty much run by a dictator. It made me realize how much we take technology for granted here, as well as our individual freedoms. I’m able to see my family whenever I want. He cannot.
  2. I met with my financial advisor yesterday and she told me my goals are definitely doable. That makes me feel so empowered. Just need to keep on staying the course.
  3. The other night, my cat Bonkers was making some strange noises and making these weird squatting stances. It seems to have cleared up, though, thank God. I really didn’t want to have to make an emergency trip to the vet where walking through the door costs you $150 and that’s before he even sees the vet. If it’s an emergency though, have no doubt about it, though. I will do it without question for my animals because they are everything to me.
  4. I have gone VEGAN this week, diet-wise. Threw out my dairy products or took them to work for others to enjoy if I knew the time lag between my place and work wouldn’t make them go bad. Now working on replacing my personal care products to be vegan friendly. (Oh, I also went through my clothes and filled up another trash bag with clothes that contain wool. I’m a tiny bit allergic to them anyway, so it’s the right choice in my mind.)
  5. My brother just ran his best marathon time EVER in Philly this past weekend. He smashed his PR by ten minutes. Oh, did I mention his old PR was already UnDER three hours?? That’s right. He is 39, and came in 9th in his division of men aged 35-39, as well as 90th OVERALL and 89th in his gender. (Yep, there was a female in that top 90. Wahoo!) His new PR is ….. Wait for it….. 2:45:31!!!! That is an average mile pace of 6:18. I’m so super proud of him! (And he has agreed to let me interview him for the blog….yay!)
I feel like every week, I am getting closer and closer to knowing my true purpose in this life. It energizes me to get up every day and to continue enriching my mind and learning from others.
What things are you most thankful for this week?

Little Things for Which I am Thankful

Terri
He knows how good he has it.
I am so grateful for this big ball of love, Sebastian.
  1. Every day and every week, I am reminded of how lucky I am to have a roof over my head and a job to pay for it. When I go to the animal shelter on the weekend, I get off of the T at the Copley station. Most people probably now think of the Copley area as the site of the Boston Marathon bombings but before that, it might have been known for the Boston Public Library. Apartments and condos in that area are SO expensive. Parking spaces alone can cost more than $100k. Yet, on a Sunday morning, you will always see homeless people wrapped in blankets, sleeping on the library’s steps. When I go to work, at an extremely rich university, I pass by a church that usually has teenagers or young adults sleeping on its steps.  I find it ironic that these kids are sleeping just steps away from a school who projects students’ annual living expenses of upwards of $65k. A school that trains the elite of the elite. It blows my mind, quite honestly.
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LittleThings for which I am Thankful

Terri

happiness

Many things to be thankful for this past week. So, let’s get started with the list!

  1. My birthday was this week. I felt a lot of love from folks and it was also very nice to hear from some how I don’t look my age. Exercise pays off, people! Read more →