30 Days of Gratefulness: Day Five.

Well hello there dear readers! We are nearing the end of the first week of this challenge. What does everyone think thus far? Are you enjoying what I have to say? Are you inspired to write about what you are grateful for? Have the prompts been thought provoking for you? I didn't have any lofty goals of inspiring others with this. But if you are feeling the urge to write, DO IT! Share it with me! I would love to see what you've got to say! 

I want to take minute to say thank you for all the views and feedback I've gotten. I am always surprised at the amount of people who take time out of their busy day to read a piddly little blog that I put together. And not to brag, but it really is a lot of people. So yeah, thanks for reading, sharing, and liking!

Day five is about sounds. Like what specific sound you are grateful for. Can I just say music and use that as a blanket term for the vibrations that our ears sense? Is that cool with everyone? Yes? Okay, good.

So, music. Everyone I have ever met in my short little lifetime has been closely tethered to music in one way or another, whether they realize it or not. For me, music has always played a large part in my creative process. When I started writing I was an angst filled 13 year old who was fueled by tunes by bands like Good Charlotte and Evanescene. While I have since grown up and lost the majority of my moody sadness, I am still continually inspired by lyrics and melodies. Specifically a group called Purity Ring. If I want to write I just hop on YouTube and listen to a mix of their work and the words almost visably flow out of my fingers. It's like magic. Music has that power over pretty much everyone. It is as if music is the audible version of emotions and thoughts intensified by like a million. I'm sure there is some scientific mumbo jumbo behind why songs have such a great impact on humans, but I don't know it so I'm not going to cite it here. 

Moving right along, let's delve deeper into why I am so grateful for melodic noise. It brings people together, much like food. Little known fact: I love to sing and when I was in high school, I desperately wanted to be on Broadway. I was a talented dancer and my singing voice was pretty damn good. Now that I've grown up some and realized the stage would have eaten me alive, I belt out show tunes and twangy country songs at people for enjoyment. I do this so frequently that my two year old has started joining in the fun. Cameron has even been known to sing along on occasion. But he mostly waits for a Disney song to pop up. Who would have thought that the act of sliding my voice up and down the scales while speaking words has caused my little family to become closer knit? It's something we can all do and have fun at. And who doesn't love it when your family is getting along and not fighting over the Roku remote because half of you can't stand to watch another episode of Yu Gi O while the other half thinks it's the greatest show ever written?

I know you all have the same problem. Damn that Yu Gi O.

Music is also a decent sized chunk of my memory. Cameron used to call me a walking jukebox. But I'm not mentioning that here because I hold some knowledge about billboard topping hits. Instead, I am talking about my childhood and adolescence. I seem to have hazy memories of standing in my grandmother's kitchen while she cooked. She would be humming one song and then would start singing something else, probably from Elvis Presley, to herself. I always thought Grandma had a wonderful voice and looking back on those days gives me great joy now that she is gone. My mother also likes to sing. And she does it often. She used to spend countless hours in FYE combing over CDs with me. She's taken and sent me to loads of concerts. And she's given me one of her vintage tour shirts. But my favorite musical memory has less to do with music itself, and more to do with the atmosphere and the person I was with. But if it wasn't for the actual music, we would have never had this experience. My very best friend and I go to concerts together as often as life will allow, and this started sometime around our senior year of high school. One specific time she heard that Jeffree Star was playing a small local venue and that there were still tickets available. So we went and had the time of our lives. We danced, sang, touched J Star's leg, took pictures with him and another band. It was AMAZING. Since then, my friend and I have been to numerous shows together and we both cherish those memories deeply. 

I'm sure that I could continue writing about why I am so grateful for music but I'm going to leave it at this; music is at the heart of all of the important parts of my life. And without it I just wouldn't be the same Alex.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day Four.

Day four! I'm not going to lie, now that I've started this challenge and am about wrist deep, I find myself thinking "what the hell was I thinking?" Then I remember I was thinking that I am changing my major and will be doing something with creative writing so I need practice in any way that I can get it. Thank goodness I am also in comp 2 this month while I do this challenge, so I will get all the practice. If I could instert an eye roll/laughing emoji here, I so would.

Anyway. Today is all about what food I am grateful for. How is a person supposed to just pick one food? Shouldn't you be grateful for any food you get? Lord knows I am. In my adult life there have been plenty of times that I didn't have enough money to pay my bills and buy groceries so I went without food. It was rough, but I made it through to have a better understanding of what it is really like to go without. Now there is always food on my table, even if it is just fried bologna sandwiches.

I don't know that I could pick just one food that I am grateful for. Italian and Mexican are my favorite styles of food. But I wouldn't say I am thankful for either of them, because they give me horrible heartburn. I also love seafood and some fish. But again, not really something I'd say I am most thankful for. I guess I would have to say that any meal that I can make for my family is the food I am most grateful for.

Since Robbie was born, I have really come into my own in the kitchen. I've always been able to cook well, I just didn't like it. But having family meals everyday seem to make the chore of cooking a little more enjoyable. Especially when Robbie actually eats what I make, and Cameron goes back for seconds. All that hard work slaving over a hot stove and scalding my hands in boiling dishwater suddenly become one of the most important parts of my day. Funny how that works isn't it?

So there you have it. I'm most grateful for the food that I prepare for my little family. What food are you most grateful for? 

30 Days of Gratitude: Day Three.

Happy Independence Day! It's finally the 4th! This is my favorite holiday for many reasons; like celebrating our freedom, getting to yell "'MERICA", wearing American flag shirts, shooting off fireworks, and drinking beer. So it's fitting that today's question is "what color are you grateful for?" I'm changing this to fit the patriotic theme and I'm going to use three colors, red, white, and blue.

So what makes me grateful for these colors? Well, I have many trivial reasons. Red looks good on me. White looks good on me when I'm tan. Blue always looks good on Cameron and is one of his favorite colors. 

I'm not really that shallow, but our closets really do have loads of red, white, and blue clothing. Anyway, back to why these are important to me!

Red is probably my favorite color. It is the color of Oklahoma sunrises and sunsets. It reminds me that I am beyond blessed to live in a fly over state. Red is the color of the blood of Christ. Red is the color of the blood of the soldiers who have fought for our nation. It keeps me humble and kind. It reminds me of what has been sacrificed to save me from sin and protect my freedoms. 

White is what my walls are painted in my house. I am lucky to live in a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, with my beautiful family. The receiving blankets Robbie was wrapped in when she was born are white. Not everyone is given the chance to be a parent, and not everyone gets the chance to raise a healthy child. White keeps me grounded. It reminds me to hold my baby tight and love her dearly.

My brother wore dress blues in the Navy. He put his life on the line for a country full of people he didn't even know. Blue represents pride. It is thankfulness beyond measure or words for those who are willing to give the ultimate sacrifice.

These aren't just colors in a flag, or on a shirt. They represent everything we believe in and stand for in this country. They hold the blood, sweat, and tears poured in to everything we have here. Today, I hope you celebrate and hug your loved ones. I hope you think about what colors you are grateful for. And I hope three of them are the red, white, and blue.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day Two.

Today's prompt is "what technology are you grateful for?" While I would really like to answer this with "cellphone and tablet technology", I will try to come up with something else. I started typing out the post and it just seemed trivial and a little dull. We are all thankful for our devices. They keep us connected to the world and our loved ones, and they let us access Pinterest which is almost as important as keeping up with your family. 

Okay, maybe Pinterest is only that big of a deal in my house. Cam and I both have a horrible addiction. Robbie has benefitted from it though.

Anywho, back to the topic at hand. I truly don't know what to pick other than devices. I mean, I'm grateful for coffee makers and stand/hand mixers. I also thoroughly enjoy the Internet and my Roku player. YouTube has brought my little family hours of entertainment in the form of toy unboxing videos (another serious addiction that all three of us will never be able to kick.) Beachbody On Demand is whipping my tail end into shape. Amazon and my Kindle app have allowed me to go broke and read countless books. Blog platforms give me access to the Pioneer Woman's posts which in turn feeds my family and gives me a good laugh (Ree Drummond is my spirit animal).

I guess I am just thankful for all of the above mentioned items. We are a first world family for sure. That being said, there is a lot that has impacted my life and allowed me to live as I do. You know, running water, electricity, indoor plumbing, heat and air units, automobiles, anything medical. All of those things that we in developed countries take for granted. I should really just say I am grateful for just about any and all technology and its advancements; because without it I'd still be living in a cave somewhere.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day One.

So I found a 30 day writing challenge on Pinterest, and I'm going to make you, dear readers, suffer through it. The challenge is supposed to be about letting gratitude into your life, which is something I try to practice daily already. So this is really just going to be about me getting in some much needed wordsmith practice. I really do hope you enjoy it though. I think it will be interesting to go down the list and talk about what I am truly grateful for. Being satisfied and thankful is a choice we have to make daily and some times the little things can slip through the cracks. I am certain this challenge will be eye and heart opening.

Day number one's prompt is "what smell are you grateful for today?" I'm not going to lie, this is going to be one of the more difficult ones for me to narrow down. I have a list of scents that are near and dear to my heart and I could go on for hours about them. Seriously, I really could. But for the sake of this challenge, I'll just write about one. The obvious choice here would be my Grandfather's cologne. If you've read just one of my posts, you know Pa was my very best friend. So I keep his cologne sitting on my vanity and I smell it when I feel sad. But that is not the one I'm going to pick!!

You didn't see that coming did ya? I'm sneaky like that.

Instead I'm going to write about what I have often thought of as the scent of my life. It is the combination of sweat, dirt, lake water, and off-road diesel. I know you're probably like where the heck did that come from? Well, I'll tell you. My absolute, hands down, all time favorite past time is riding four wheelers, specifically below the dam at Grand Lake. I spent all of my teenage years there, and a good chunk of my adult years as well, and this smell is everywhere. It is all-consuming. It is present in summer and in winter. It is almost like lifeblood for the area. If the dry side of the dam had a vein you could split, this smell would pour out.

So why am I thankful for it? Because it was the scent of my first real relationship, which taught me to love. It is the smell of heartbreak and bad tattoos. It is the smell of warm bud light and Marlboro menthols. It is the smell of money and time spent. It is the smell that helped shape who I am now. It is forever in my memory and heart. If I had never smelled it, been bathed in it, all but worshipped it, I would have never had the hell of a journey I've had in my 25 years. I would have never met Cameron. I wouldn't have Robbie Jo. I would have never learned to live loud and bold.

So you can see, this dirty, gritty, scent means so much to me. It is me. Because of it, my life is what it is and I would never trade that or go back and change it.