Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

It seems appropriate that we have a gratitude thread this month. I'll start.

I am grateful for a teacher who, knowing the stress that hits at the end of the semester, made our big project initially due for a small amount of credit before Thanksgiving. We can't turn in the final product unless we turn in the rough draft on Friday, but the points we get for it are so small that it hardly matters if we blow the whole thing. This allows us the chance to do the relatively less stressful revision process in the weeks leading up to finals, as opposed to doing it ALL before finals. It was amazing foresight, and I'm very grateful for it.

I am grateful for learning and how it doesn't stop just because you leave school. I am learning so much lately. Everything from how my body reacts to various foods (sadly, it reacts poorly to sugar) to charity and how to apply it in my life, to crochet and other craftiness. It's amazing the thrill I get when I learn something new that is somehow applicable in my life. I love to learn!

I have kind of a strange one, but it's something I've been thinking about a lot since I've been doing a ton of eBay sales for the past month or so.

I've learned to really appreciate good customers. When they contact us, the good ones are kind and friendly. They've taken the time to do their homework. They don't ask questions that we've already answered. When they buy from us, the good ones pay promptly, and they don't ask for outlandish favors. If there's a problem, they give us the benefit of the doubt. They express appreciation for our service. And some come back and buy again! Thank goodness for good customers. After all, they help us pay the bills each month.

(Oh, and thanks to my brother-in-law for giving us this opportunity to make some extra cash! We sure needed it!)

Oo, I'm thankful for good customers too. And for sales in general.

I'm thankful when my son likes what I made for dinner. I'm thankful my daughter sleeps like a rockstar. I'm thankful that we have good doctors to take care of my kids. I'm thankful for my relationship with my husband. And...I hope this doesn't sound prideful...but I'm thankful for my talents, and unexpected opportunities to use them.

I'm also thankful for the nice Iranian woman who had us over for dinner on Sunday.

I'm thankful that malaria is curable.

So, Emiliana...I take it that you're sick?

Yep... I thought it was malaria at first, but it turns out it's typhoid. I'm thankful that that's curable, too. I'm still thankful that malaria is curable, though, because two of my students and one of my coworkers have it.

I'm thankful for time to goof off! (I finally beat this DS game I had been working on)

I'm thankful for that trip to Disneyland that I just came home from!

I'm thankful for friends with families that don't mind me staying when weather and car trouble leave me at their house.

I'm thankful for my roommates, Introvert and Extrovert. Extrovert has been taking orders from me in the kitchen all morning, and Introvert has been cleaning up after me!

How long does typhoid last? "Typhoid" sounds so exotic and old-fashioned to me, and I know nothing about it. What hurts? How are you doing?

I had an upset stomach, no energy, and a fever ... I pretty much didn't get out of bed for three days. Once I got a blood test, found out what was wrong, and started taking medicine, I started feeling a bit better within 24 hours. I still get tired really quickly and can't eat all that much at a time, but other than that I'm substantially better now.

Typhoid has been pretty much eradicated in the developed world -- it's technically a form of salmonella, but it's spread by poor sanitation conditions. I intend to write a blog post sometime about why words like "typhoid" and "malaria" sound so scary. If I do I'll repost it here.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

I'm thankful for my life. Exactly how it is right now. Yeah, there are things that I would change in an ideal world, but recently, I don't even care. I'm so grateful to be in the position I am. That Yellow has a good job and can support us so I can stay home with Dragon Baby (who probably should be rechristened Dragon Toddler, but that just doesn't have the same ring.) I'm grateful for the experiences in my past (and present) that have taught me how I want to raise my children—what I want for them and what I want far away from them. I'm grateful that we have been smart enough with our money to buy a condo and to be working to pay it off ridiculously fast. And that I grew up poor so I would know how to live frugally. (Who ever thought I'd ever be grateful that I grew up poor?) And most of all, I'm grateful for Yellow who puts up with my crazy ideas, my far-out opinions, and still loves me despite me (and especially despite my emotions). He is truly the best match for me. Better than I ever dreamed of when we first got married.

And I feel like I just bore my thank-imony.

"Marry, I cannot show it in rhyme. I have tried. I can find out no rhyme to “lady” but “baby”—an innocent rhyme" -Benedick, "Much Ado About Nothing."
You'd better leave it as Dragon Baby.

But what happens when Dragon Baby 2.0 comes along?

DB2.0? Dragonett? Hatchling the second?

Dragon Lady wrote:But what happens when Dragon Baby 2.0 comes along?

[Being nosy] So, is this Dragon Baby 2.0 hypothetical at this point, or is there a new little monster on the way ... ?

Emiliana wrote:

Dragon Lady wrote:But what happens when Dragon Baby 2.0 comes along?

[Being nosy] So, is this Dragon Baby 2.0 hypothetical at this point, or is there a new little monster on the way ... ?

Hypothetical. Sorry.