Valentine's and Thankfulness

Happy Valentine's Day! How was your day? Mine was very nice, with sunshine and treats and hot pink nail polish.

Also, belated happy Ash Wednesday and season of Lent. I was looking at some old journal entries and remembered that a couple of years ago I did 40DOT (40 Days of Thankfulness - I try to limit my gratefulness to small portions), so I decided to do it again this year. The fun thing about having a designated set of days to point out happy things is that sometimes some really cool events take place, or maybe I just notice them better. It's fun to wake up wondering what will be my items of the day. I remember doing an 8DOT before Christmas of 2008, and all kinds of great stuff happened. It was the year of our big snow/ice storm, which was awesome, and I got to miss work and some other events I didn't care to attend anyway. It was an introvert's dream, and maybe even anyone's dream--who doesn't like getting snow days?

Day 1 was yesterday (obvi), and I came home to a fun package mailed to me from my friend Dania! It was fashionably late Christmas presents, actually, but she also included some Valentine gifts. I'm particularly excited about the puzzle, which I had come across online a couple of months ago. Maybe a friend tweeted it or something, but it has pieces in the shapes of the countries, so it's not just a puzzle, but a learning extravaganza! My geography knowledge outside the US is pretty horrid, so I welcome fun ways to get to know this sphere we call home (I made that extra-corny on purpose, though I do feel a little queasy now).

I also had a good evening in general. The eves before holidays tend to be kind of sparkly for me, and I did a few special things to ring in this day.

Dinner wasn't special, per se, but it was pretty delicious. I made One-Pot Spaghetti based on this recipe. I used different pasta, added a can of cream of mushroom soup (I like to do that with spaghetti sometimes), added olives, and probably used more broth than the recipe calls for. It made a lot, of course, but now I have some meals in the freezer in addition to a couple in my fridge. I suppose I should've taken a photo of it in the pot, but that wasn't very pretty.

So those are my Day 1 items, though I might not always mention more than one or even have visual aids. Today, aka Day 2, I have come across many things to be thankful for, but my little rule is not to decide on my thankful item(s) until the day is done. You never know what's around the corner.


Except that I actually do know what's around the corner from my office: flowers! Every year the little hillside gets covered in crocuses, and every year I take pictures.


Have a great evening, and I'll be back with more thankfuls when the mood strikes.

PS My friend Danielle is a great writer and I appreciated her Valentine's posts. Start here to read them.