The Secret Workings of Being Thankful

I've always considered myself to be a pretty grateful person. Throughout the rolling tape in my head each day, I consider how lucky I am to be healthy, to have people around me who care about me, to delight in small things, to notice and enjoy nature, to have a person in a dog's body for a pet, to have something upstairs in the good 'ole brain, etc., etc.

However, I have my fair share of sarcasm. It's there as a coping mechanism to entertain myself when things aren't exactly as I'd like them to be. I'd like to transform that into more active and unwavering appreciation for whatever I may encounter each day.

Julia Osovskaya took thankfulness to a whole new level with her blogging project last year. She vowed to write each day about one thing for which she was grateful--whether it was expression of a fat element of life or a situational reflection that one might not normally consider in a positive light. She succeeded and took me along in her journey.

I found her thankfulness refreshing and contagious. She's found that it changed her life. A couple days ago, Julia shared what daily thankfulness--deeply considered and expressed in writing--did for her. In her own words, here are 5 ways it's changed her. I think the first is most meaningful for me.

1. I don’t really get upset that much any more.
2. I feel much more comfortable when it comes to making distant future plans.
3. I’ve became a much more cheerful person and this is something other people actually now notice about me. Just recently someone told me the first thing they noticed about me and would never forget was my broad smile upon saying hello to them... I would never forget them saying it either, because this might as well be the first time someone told me something like that. And I honestly believe such thing would have never be applied to me if it wasn’t for my year of gratitude that did this magic to me.
4. I get up in the morning and I look forward to every day. This hadn't quite happened since I was a child, so it definitely feels positively new. I think it’s because I now know that no matter what the day ahead holds for me, I will be able to remain positive through whatever.
5. Not only my year of gratitude showed me what my true passions were, it totally showed me all the ways I could try to pursue my hopes and dreams. How is that not good?

Thanks, Julia, for your example of living in gratitude. It's a mindset, and once you get the hang of it, it's just part of who you are. I'm hoping to be more conscious about living in that space.

Check out Julia's blog here. Sending wishes to you for calmness, health and all good things as this year draws to a close.

I'm Doing it Again

I'm participating in National Blog Posting Month, NaBloPoMo, once again. This means I'll be posting everyday in the month of November. There's no theme for this month, you just have to be diligent and consistent in getting something up for 30 days in a row.

Why? I guess I have been slacking lately on the blog, mostly because too much is going in my brain that might get me into some trouble if I chronicled it online. (You never know about the distinguished reader who knows who you are and is waiting to get some shite' on you.)

I figure that a challenge is always good as a motivator for me. I don't like to cave in, so this should get me moving again.

If you're thinking, "Hmm...I'll check you later...like in December," that's okay. But I'd love for you to come along. I'll try to make most posts short enough to take no more than a couple of minutes. (Suuure Gropius, short?) And I'll try to make the posts interesting enough so that it doesn't appear I'm trying to suck your time away only so I can fulfill the NaBloPoMo demands.

I'm not expecting to move any thought-mountains with the November posts, though I do have some heavy concerns that I'd love to get your perspective on. And of course, you can be sure to find a few--just a few-- Posts of the Pointless Kind so I can make it. 

Hey--thanks for reading.  Hope your Halloween is safe, wild in any way you'd like it to be, and full of those 2-3 types of candies of which you're most fond.

Cynthia Davis Rocks

I've met the coolest people through the Gropius blog. Some of them came here first and I started following them; others I found online in the twisted mazes of navigation and exploration.

I can't remember how I landed on the Running with Letters blog, but Cynthia Davis is such an entertaining writer, equipping each post with just enough details to make every "story from the ordinary" intriguing. I lover her use of metaphor. 

When I discovered her beautiful tiled seahorses, I knew one of them would make the perfect housewarming gift for Brother and Sister-In-Law and for my Goddess friend who left me here and moved out to Arizona.  I was able to select the colors, which she carefully glazed, designed and assembled into these lovely reminders of tropical seas:

Thank you, Cynthia, for putting so much love and care into their creation.  They're beautiful and the receivers couldn't be more delighted!

Bloggers everywhere: it's not only nice to support your fellow social media partners but you end up with unique booty you cannot get anywhere else. Visit Running with Letters and share the love.

A Big, Giant Thank You & A $20 Donation to Your Nonprofit

You have been the biggest, baddest troopers and I thank you for that. I love it that you--a thoughtful, witty reader--come to Gropius and visit me here. And with everything going on in your life, I'm even more grateful for your time and your comments.

For whatever reason, I decided to take up the NaPoBloMo challenge of blogging everyday in April on the "Big" prompt. The fact that anyone is still reading Gropius at this point is amazing.  And so, on the 30th day of the month, here's a promise:

I, Gropius, solomnly swear to never ever EVER use the word "big" again.

I thank you for putting up with the boring posts, the fat stretches made to keep within the theme, and the irritated rants about puppy mills and sign defying boaters.  You took the time to give me your well-considered perspectives on photos; tough decisions; commercials, movies and singers I like that you thought sucked; and anything I could cram into another day of survival.

I appreciate you in a big way. Oops...

Really, you guys rock.

Using a random number generator, I'm giving a $20 donation to the nonprofit of one commenter's choice. Just leave a comment including the nonprofit you choose, why you're passionate about its mission and the website of the nonprofit. I'll let you know who the winner is on Monday.
Enjoy your weekend and thanks for reading Gropius.

A Tale of Two Bloggers

So about a year after I started blogging, I met Pines Lake Redhead via blog. Like many of us do, I started following her after I saw a comment she left on another blog, Uncommon Blonde. I had no idea who she was, where she lived. Turns out, she worked with a friend of mine I knew through a professional association.  After a bit of guessing, the friend in the middle helped each of us figure out we shared this commonality.

We met on a blogger's first date of sorts, thinking we we could be friends. We have boys of a similar age and husbands who love fishing. We both work in PR. We love to take pictures. And, most importantly, we both have red hair. (You HAVE to stick together.)

So after our sushi/ shopping gig one Saturday night, our families went out to a Rays baseball game together. We've both been crazy busy with work and other things, but tomorrow, Pine Lakes Redhead and Gropius are enjoying a girls' weekend of our own.

We're driving over to the center of Florida to explore Bok Tower Gardens on the Lake Wales Ridge, an area that sports some unusual vegetation for Florida, since it's located on slightly elevated ridge right through the middle of the peninsula. Tomorrow night, there's a full moon concert out on the lawn there. Please pray for us--it's supposed to be cold and rainy. Chalet Suzanne, the little Restaurant & Inn, looks like a trip.

I'm sure we'll both have stories and photos for you this weekend. Let's hope we won't have pneumonia too.

We're coming equipped with Cheetos, lots to share about work, books, blogging, family, etc.  And for the record, yes, I met her on a blog.

An Ode to Paul Wynn and an Ode to Grocery Stores on Superbowl Weekend

I have doubled my reading pleasure lately visiting Paul Wynn’s blog and started thinking “why not invent your own freaking Blog Award, Gropius?” So here we go, the Double Your Reading Pleasure award goes to…Adventures of A Grocery Store Clerk.

Of course it’s framed after a product you can find in every check out aisle. Be sure to stop on by his blog. It’s funny, always something you can relate to and many times helps you look at a common situation in a totally different way—from the clerk’s point of view.


What blog has doubled your pleasure? Give them this award and in your post, write about a subject that appears often on his/her blog.

To play, I’m sharing some grocery store tales of my own. Here’s what annoys me that other shoppers do in the grocery store, and yes, if these things haven’t happened to me at least once, they happen all the time. It drives me nuts when people…

• Reach in front of you to open the freezer and grab something out of it when you’ve been standing there for 5 seconds or less.
• Secure their place in line and then abandon the cart 14 times to go back and get things they forgot.
• Ram a shopping cart into your ankles—hard—because they just aren’t paying attention.
• Take advantage of a deli attendant with his back turned to secure an unearned advantage in line.
• Get all up on you and in your space when you’re paying for your groceries. You will have your turn at the podium, people.
• Come flying out of an aisle like a bat out of hell and look at you like you’re stopping an angel from landing when you’re just standing there, surprised…and frightened.
• Are mean or impatient with senior customers. Give them a hand for Pete’s sake!
• Walk around eating stuff that hasn’t yet been paid for…like packages they opened up or grapes from the produce section. Every now and then, Husband will do this with a bottled drink. At least when you pay for that, it doesn’t cost less because you have already consumed half of it.

Did I leave anything off the list?  THANK YOU to all the checkers in the world who put up with terrible customer behavior. What would we do without you?

Spread the Double Your Pleasure blog award liberally. I'm counting on you, Suzicate, Pines Lake Redhead, Picture Imperfect & others…

Roots

Three hundred. This is the 300th post on Gropius vs. Eddie. We've come a long way. I thought I'd go back to the roots of good 'ole Gropius, for those of you who think "What the hell kind of name is that?" or "Is this a man or a woman writing this blog?" or "Gropey? Sounds like something not so rated G."

So sit back while I share the fairy tale of Gropius with you.

Once upon a time, a little homeless kitty found its way to a friend of mine who seems to be a perpetual bachelor. I believe he has a fear of commitment, though he might argue on this point. It was so pronounced, this fear of commitment, that after having the kitty for three weeks, knowing he would keep it, he still hadn't named it. Because, you know, once you name a pet, it's yours baby.

The two of us were enjoying an architecture exhibit at a local museum, where we were introduced to the work of Walter Gropius. A German architect who taught at Harvard and founded the Bauhaus school and style of modern architecture, he was an interesting character.

• Me: "Aha! Gropius. It's the perfect name for your cat. It's different. No one can accuse you of being run of the mill. It will spark conversation for sure. And it will force you to do what you know you are doing anyway-keeping him!"
• Fear-Of-Commitment-Man: "Hmm."

This idea, this "Gropius" idea, went on for another few weeks. All the while a set of mutual friends went about trying to convince him that Eddie would be a better name. "You don't want to be calling this cat Gropey when some chick is over at your house," they argued. "They will think you're perverted."

But for me, it's a real question about whether you want to be unique and exciting or regular and boring. You know? Gropius vs. Eddie. So this blog was birthed partly as a joke. The whole idea was that if I could put this much time and effort trying to convince him to name the cat Gropius, I should win for sure.

It's been a while. The cat is now a man (minus the parts that neutering took care of). His name is Gropius. He's odd, but not too odd. He's not your average gentleman. And here we are at post 300.

I've always been more of a dog person so find it odd that, of my own creation, I refer to myself with the same name as Fear-Of-Commitment-Man's cat. Yes, strange indeed. And there you have it.

A Partial Scoop

Honestly this week’s measly two days have felt like an eternity. Phew…is tomorrow the hump day for real? Someone commented that you could fit the entire year into the last couple of weeks and I wholeheartedly agree.

The Russian Queen of Gratitude, the Thanksgiving Girl whose blog I enjoy greatly, tagged me in a “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Me” sort of thing. Here’s a short scoop on some random tidbits about Gropius:

1. I wish I had Patsy Cline’s voice. (Pre- mortem)

2. I’ve always been fascinated with snakes and have had Corn Snakes, Eastern King Snakes, Florida Kings Snakes & others for pets…along with a pet tarantula.

3. I love to buy clothes. And jewelry. But not typical jewelry. Diamonds and gold mean little to me.

4. My favorite day was my wedding day: all of my friends and family in one place at the same time, all with the same sentiments of joy, festivity and happiness. That’s a great feeling.

5. Nature is what holds me together: I am forever fascinated and in love with the beauty of leaves, insects, breezes, bark and cloud formations.

6. I think a lot about reincarnation and past lives.

7. I moved to Florida when I was a senior in high school and the departure from life as I knew it at such a sensitive time broke my heart. But here I am. Still. It grows on you.

8. My fingernails have always sucked and I could care less.

9. I still don't understand what's so exotic about red hair and freckles but they've plagued me all my life.

10. Making a difference in the lives of others is really important to me. I am constantly trying to weigh the impact I’ve had—or could have had—or didn’t have on people who are in the sphere of my life.


So here’s the fun part. I’m going to tag a few of you and hope you’ll play. If you don’t, you’re still on my good list. So how about it, Pines Lakes Redhead, Water Witches’ Daughter, Nurse Myra, Ken Brennen, Picture Imperfect, Jessica, Diane, Uncommon Blonde, Maureen and Blue Violet? I'd love to hear a few factual finds about your inner workings, gleaful glitches or otherwise interesting "you" trivia.

Thanks for the shout out, Julia!  Your posts have been an excellent reminder to me that gratitude should rule my daily world.

Pancakes and Lemonade

Eating pancakes for dinner is a good thing, if you ask any self-respecting carbohydraterian. Especially when it's bitterly cold outside. And especially if you're feeling sorry for yourself that work and life-as-you-know-it is back in session after a comfy set of holidays. The cakes are comin' soon. Husb is in the kitchen.

Until that moment comes, I'm thinking about a reminder from a Gropius commenter that planning an extra special outing in February or March can help break up the post-New Year blues. That's a good idea. Here are some close to home options I'm weighing:

• Amelia Island.
• Bok Tower Gardens over in Lake Wales.
• The Everglades adventure. It's about that time again.

Meanwhile, can I tell you with the utmost sincerity how much I enjoy reading about each of your lives?  I always look forward to what's happened since your last post.

And many thanks to Suzicate, one of my daily faves for sure who I discovered on Pines Lake Redhead (another fave-of-long-blogging-time) for a most unexpected and deeply appreciated recognition: the Lemonade Stand Award. 

Now I hope I'm not breaking the rules here, passing it on to another blogger who's got attitude and gratitude. You're clearly all Goddesses of the written word.  But for a slightly belated birthday gift, I'd love to share it with Mitzi Burger over at Bloggin Boots.

This spirited Aussie lady, recently turned dirty-30, can write like there's no tomorrow. I enjoy her musings on life, her loquacious flirtaciousness, and her gracious gifts of perspective and metaphor. She's learned on many subjects but not afraid to be hopelessly silly. And she'll probably laugh at the Lemonade Stand Award. Love her blog. Check it out.

As for Suzicate, when you can combine humor with love, great characterization of life's best quirks and people, and the occasional reflective moment with spicey writing, you'll get the Water Witch's Daughter. She's a great storyteller. Thanks for the lemonade. I enjoyed it with my pancakes.

Need a Laugh? I'm Becoming Fond of these Sources...

If laughter seems like a noun of the past, don't give up before you look at these winners.

• Cake Wrecks. Good grief there is some funny shiter on this site. Winner, 2008, for the best Food Blog.
• Awkward Family Photos. You have to read the captions to chuckle. Funny stuff.
• GoFugYourself. An all time classic.
• BurnThis.Com Pure, pure comedy. ....Although, the thing about her kids being a pain in the rump is a bit harsh.

So word to the wise, if you are offended by the content in these fine web logs, don't blame Gropius, just change the channel. Any others to add?