thankful things

So I said I would be copying other people's blogs and posting things I am thankful for so this will be number one on that list. However first I'd like to say a few things. For starters, this list is in no particular order, just what happens to make me happy at that moment. Secondly, I reserve the right to re-visit any and all topics as I feel so inclined. Thirdly, I would like to mention the four big F's in my life just for the record. They of course are Faith, Family, Freedom, and Friends. These are the things I hold nearest and dearest to my heart and value them above all others. If many of my other thankful posts hit on shallow and/or materialistic matters, I'd just like to have that out there.

That said, today I am thankful for my walkman. I'm not talking about the kind of walkman that went everywhere with me 15 years ago, which had both a tuner and a tape player (oo-la-la) this is a swanky new walkman. It's my cell phone and mp3 player. It's also a camera, but I got another (better) one of those. So I don't really use it that much, but I know how to use that function just in case. John got it for me over a year ago at Christmas time and it probably took me almost a whole year to figure out how to do more than just use it as a phone, but now it is my baby. I love it because it keeps me motivated. While the weather here in Phoenix is nice, it's lovely to go for walks and listen to Les Mis or Harry (Connick, jr.-)or whatever else strikes my fancy. Did I mention John also got me a bigger memory stick so I have tons of songs on it? Just for the record however, you won't find any country, rap, R&B, or Disco on it. And certain other bands and genres I have an insane dislike for. In high school and college I worked at a music store and it was my most favorite job ever, even though the pay was lousy. But I have been missing it, not the job, but the music. Being a young mom, I have given up alot of things just because when you become a mom you have to stop being selfish. (Mostly anyway- don't ask me to share the good chocolate with my kids, as long as they are happy with Hershey's they can have that.) For instance my CD's got replaced with kid CD's, and it would just give me a headache to have my music competing with the cartoons and other kid shows that seem to be on 24/7. However after 11 years of this, I miss me. I need to figure out how to strike a balance, and this is one of my solutions. Also I take it to the gym and I can listen to stuff to keep my butt moving rather than some of that garbage they play there. If I had to listen to Justin Timberlake one more time I was going to quit the gym and accept the fact that this butt is here forever. Last but not least, I made a deal with myself that for every 5 pounds I lose I could download 10 songs or an album from the internet. I hit my first 5 today! yay! go me! This is important because a- I have a reward system, b- it continues to motivate me because I get something new and fresh to keep me going. One of my new years resolutions is to lose 60 pounds. (that will most likely be a whole other post) I'm thinking this year will be my year for two reasons- 1) I'm done having kids. Finished. The End. Surgical Proceedures have been done. So I don't have that hanging over me in the back of my head. Once, before Zach came along, I decided that I wanted to lose 20 before I got pregnant, so the gain wouldn't be so bad, only I think I dreaded the thought of being pregnant so much I sabotaged myself and actually gained 16! and 2) I have my walkman, a secondary motivation (you'd think buying cute clothes would be enough, but oddly it isn't)I look forward to popping those headphones in. The only real problem with this system is that there are times when I am sorely tempted to sing out loud like I'm alone in my car or something. Alone in your car is fine, but in public is just not very cool. Nobody needs (or wants) to hear that.

On conformity and faking it...

Well I am finally on the web. I was told I am the only one who wasn't and well, nobody wants to be "the only one". So here I am. I've spent the last week or so actively checking out other people's blogs for ideas and inspiration. Two of my very favorite things I have seen are when people put music on their blog, and the "Thankful " posts. I'll most likely be stealing these ideas in the near future. For me the hardest part so far was coming up a name. Well that and actually logging on, I nearly quit before I started. With a computer wizard for a husband you'd think I was pretty computer literate, but sadly the opposite is true. Anyway, John gets credit for the name "the Berrett Bunch". He made some comment about not having a live-in maid, (as in the Brady Bunch) which I took offense to since I am the one that does most of the cleaning around here, until I took a look around and decided that if I was an actual maid I'd have to fire myself. Some of the other names I came up with were Kirsten's blog -so boring it was dismissed immediately, Didders' Diary- would require too much explanation, (however still not entirely dismissible for future use) and Grownup Impersonators Anonymous. I came up with that one because most days I feel like I'm only actually playing house and some government officials in sunglasses are going to show up on my doorstep and take me away. I'm still trying to figure out whose bright idea it was to let me raise 4 kids- a task I feel woefully inadequate for 95% of the time.