07/03/201507/10/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 317

What? Another beautiful day with sunny skies and perfect temperatures? Mmhmm. Yes. Just the thing for a nice walk to the coffee shop with Katie! Oh, and pretty flowers along the way, that’s a bonus. 🙂

Weirdo Toby, putting himself in some kind of kitty time out between the shower curtains. Hahahaha!

A day with so many hours there was plenty of time for everything: work, socializing, household tasks (and miraculously smooth and fast errands – three stops and back home in under and hour!!) Awesome!

06/30/201506/30/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 314

My “fidget ring” that Kari gave me years ago. I like that it fits on both thumbs and middle fingers – so many options for moving it from hand to hand. It has helped me sit through lots of meetings and other sit-still events! 😉

Perfect timing that meant the dog did NOT run all the way out into the street and in front of my car and the car behind me was far enough back that it did NOT hit me. How nice to just continue driving around the lake with nothing to report!

Guess what?! More beautiful weather. What a wonderful summer we are having! 😀

Short, but sweet walk with Katie….ahahaha – the other short, but sweet girl in my house. 😛

Nice evening out with the musical improv group, comparing notes on musical improv we saw at TCIF and just socializing for a change.

Sitting by the open window, finishing up some work and looking out at the big, beautiful moon.

06/27/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 311

Beautiful, beautiful weather. This gorgeous spell of weather is rocking my world!

Getting to see another completely amazing TCIF show. The Girls, Girls, Girls improvised musical was truly phenomenal. So much of what I love about improv all in one 3-person show! Thanks for inviting me, Alison!!

Doing late night errands with my kids. It amazes me how much fun we can have going buying groceries and going to the laundromat. And how fun to shop in ghost-town late night places. 😉

Pride rainbow on the admin page of my WP site. I love it!

06/25/201506/25/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 309

Another stunningly beautiful day, weather-wise. All these hours of sunshine are bliss to me!

Looking forward to more Ruby time today. Spending time with her fills my little heart right up!

The sweet interplay between Pam and me as we continue our appreciating in our daily, public way. I know there are days that I’ve been in a “mood” and have felt at loss for what I might appreciate… and so often on those days, re-reading Pam’s choices remind me of all the good things in my life that I’m just not (at that moment) noticing. How thrilling and wonderful to have such a bright, articulate, funny, dedicated friend going along for this ride! ❤

Taking a page from one of Pam’s recent entries, here’s a recap and commentary on this process: I’ve now written over 1,000 of these appreciations. There have been a lot of intense and challenging experiences along the way and I can’t even describe how grateful I am that I already had this practice in place when they came up. (Bwahahaha – I’m so grateful for my gratitude practice. So meta!)

Teaching my brain to go and look for what is pleasing about every day has helped me notice friendly, funny nurses, sweet and compassionate traffic cops, truly caring vets, and the deeply supportive, generous, patient, beautiful people I am lucky to call my friends. These people made all the hospital stays and recoveries, the grief from losing pets, the challenges of bill-paying and the days of not having enough energy to get out of bed SO. MUCH. BETTER. And though I do still have anxious days and frustrated days, mostly I am just aware that my life is an incredible gift filled with brilliant people and experiences. YOU are one of the people for whom I am profoundly, utterly, deeply appreciate and whom I dearly love. ❤ (No, don’t look around, I do mean YOU!)

What’s even more fun is that this practice has made the tough times seem not so bad, but it has also made the good times unbelievably fun! I laugh more, smile more, and truly savor those blissful moments — and then relive them in these posts and in retelling the stories — so I get double (or triple or quadruple…) the joy from each of those delightful experiences. What a gift! 😀

And finally, this practice has helped me to truly understand how deeply and completely I love coffee. 😉

06/24/201506/24/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 308

First co-working session with Amy and Alison. It was so nice to get work done — and to see actual people during work hours! 😀

Amazing first night of TCIF. People made such great choices, and there was so much good yes and-ing, supporting, playing. Wonderful! If you don’t have your tickets for the remaining nights yet, you’ll want to get them before they sell out! twincitiesimprovfestival.wordpress.com.

Hanging out after the show for a bit and catching up with lovely people. I haven’t been able to be around the HUGE much lately, so it was delicious to have the chance to see everyone. ❤ ❤ ❤

06/23/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 307

Getting more clarity about things that have been confusing.

Friends who are the best, the brightest, the beautiful-est people in the world. ❤

Making up words when it suits me to do so. 😛

Fun and games, shenanigans, hijinks, silliness, buffoonery, monkey business, tomfoolery, Dianafoolery?

06/23/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 306

Feeling well enough to have a productive work day. Hooray!

Getting to spend the afternoon and evening with Ruby. Oh what a fabulous treat! We hadn’t had one-on-one time like that in a long time. So sweet! ❤

Ending the day with a wonderful and uninterrupted conversation with Terri. We hadn’t had one-on-one time like that in a long time, either. What bliss! Two Delaneys in one day. Wowsers! ❤ ❤ Can’t wait to find time like that with Ellis, too, to complete the trifecta. ❤ ❤ ❤

06/19/201506/19/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 303

Wonderful lunch and chat with Pam today! Oh how we laugh, oh how we love, oh how we love to laugh! ❤

Her completely awesome needlework bag – so great!

A little spa treatment treat gift from Pam. How wonderful to get pretty toes together — and have the place to ourselves, so we could giggle and guffaw together with our tickly feet. 🙂 Thank you, sweet friend!

The Muppets, especially Animal and Beaker, The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, learning to manage my energetic resources, comfy pillows, clovers, cloves, owls, slow lorises, irises.

06/18/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 302

The incredibly sweet and thoughtful people in my life who made last night’s ER adventure much easier. Thanks, Pat, Mckenzie, Debb, and Alison! (I’m fine – we still don’t know what it was, but not kidney stones and no other serious complications).

Blanket warmers at the ER – oh what a difference those warm blankets make when you’re waiting!

Heating pads and hot water bottles. So comforting!

Nice visit with my dad this morning. He looks pretty badass with that do-rag on his head!

Nice little visit with Alison, who in her unending thoughtfulness, dropped off some food. ❤

Fast and easy trip to the vet with the Tobymeister. No more dagger-like claws!

Sunlight filtering through the trees and making the couch a truly cozy place to hang out today.

06/17/201506/18/2015 DianaK

Appreciations Year Three: Day 301

Wonderful breakfast & walk at the Rose Gardens with Robby. It’s the week for catching up with friends! How great that the rain started after our walk.

The nice guy who caught up with us to return Rob’s credit card which she hadn’t even realized had fallen out of her pocket.

More planning of plans. I love looking forward to things!

Giggles, guffaws, chortles, chuckles, smirks, smiles.