My “Gratitude Attitude” list (originally written on Thursday, September 19 enroute to Lake Powell)

OK, so I figured I better “count my many blessings” because I think I was sounding like an ungrateful prat about not having accomplished anything by 30.

And just for the record, this is not being broadcast in real time format . . . I am writing this on Danny’s Mac Book on Thursday as we are en route to Powell (has anyone noticed how much cuter of a city Kanab is than its name leads on?) . . . But all things equal, this post will probably not be posted until Sunday night or something . . .

But that is two blogs in a week! And normally, I am operating on a once a week schedule. Although, when I am a stay at home mom, I fully plan on blogging everyday. . . not so much because I see myself having more time as mother, but mostly because at my home office “blogspot” will not be blocked by “The Man.” (the man of course being SkyWest Airlines Information Technology Department.”

OK, back to my list of things that make me cooler than the average 30-year-old 150 pound mormon smug married:

1. I get paid to write. . . where as most of my life, people have been telling me to shut up . . . or in my father’s case “think before you speak,” for the past few years, people actually PAY me for my words. Although I no longer have my “Oh so Sweet” column for St. George Magazine, and I haven’t written anything for “Sports Guide” in over a year (although they still give me a byline in their publication under “contributing writers” or something); I have been doing the SkyWest Magazine bit for years. . . my current piece in the Delta Connection edition is about Sage’s café in SLC. . . so thank you “Suite Spots” the printed version . . . the perks have been great
2. I’ve done some SERIOUS traveling. Prior to age 30, I had been to NYNY, Chicago numerous times, lived in Chicago and “the OC” . . . and vacationed to Hawaii a couple of times, Tokyo, Paris, Geneva, Rome, Mexico (eeew, I don’t really love that place though), Jamaica and parts of the Carribean. . . and done a very brief (very brief) stint studying in London and DC. That’s friggin awesome. . . . oh, and Canada was nice too, eh?
3. I played in a friggin rock band . . . so what if we never officially recorded an album, and our parents were our biggest fans (which isn’t saying much, because my Dad still kind of makes fun of us for it). . . but how many people can say they played in a band. . . and it wasn’t JUST a garage band. “Oblio” the greatest band that never made it big, played the main stage at the St. George Arts Fest (although admittedly, it took us longer to set up our instruments than to actually play our set). Cicely, I LOVED that time of our lives. . . it was like that theme song from Dirty Dancing . . . "Now I've . . . had . . . the time of . . "
4. I ran the Media Relations office for a multi-billion dollar airline for five years. . . . that’s weird. . . sometimes I forget about what my job used to entail
5. I create advertising campaigns for a multi-billion dollar airline now . . .
6. I was a flight attendant . . . that’s funny. . . I mean for so many reasons. . . I traveled the world on someone else’s dime; and half the time I was getting paid to lay out at hotel in Monterey or Pam Springs, CA. Totally worth it . . . although I don’t think I could ever go back to doing it again.
7. I played college sports . . . granted, it was ONLY NAIA and it was at Indiana Wesleyan University . . . but I was an NCCAA All-American (not to be confused with the National College Athletic Association, this is the National Christian College Athletic Association). . . proving that Mormons ARE Christians because would they have given me a national honor if I wasn’t actually one of God’s chosen? I don’t think so . . . 10 million-plus protestants can’t be wrong.
8. I lost like 30-plus pounds this past year (I also gained back like 35), but hey . . . let’s celebrate the positive.
9. Oh, and the Marriage and Sex thing . . . in that order . . . still very very thrilled about that whole arrangement.


So here’s what I think, I’ll say it in lyrical format because I kind of think I have a natural knack for poetry:

When upon life’s billows you re tempest tossed,
If you are discouraged thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings . . . name them one by one
And it will seriously surprise you what you’ve freakin’ done . . . with your life.

(I feel like those lyrics are a little familiar, so I may have gotten my inspiration form a Van Halen song or something . . . but you get the idea. . . )
;)