All we ask for is thank you

The holidays are upon us.

Thanksgiving has passed, Christmas is fast approaching, and through the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, a short young woman who works as a cashier wants just one thing to shine this year.

Gratitude.

It’s two little words that make all the difference. Two little words and a sincere tone.

“Thank you!”

Whether I packaged twelve pastries, six bagels and four loaves of bread, or pulled out one paper take-out cup for your coffee, taking the time to appreciate it does a world of good. It’s amazing how rude people can be during this season, and I blame the ugly monster of Ingratitude.

Thanksgiving shouldn’t be confined to one day of the year. It should be a consistent state of mind. God didn’t just protect a handful of Pilgrims nearly four-hundred years ago and then leave the rest of us to rot. We’ve been in His thoughts since before the invention of time and He’s been looking after His people all the while. Knowing how rude I find it when a customer fails to say thanks for the effort I put into their order makes me realize how disappointed God must be when we don’t take the time to thank Him for the overflow of blessings granted by His hand.

And even if you don’t believe in God, being unthankful just makes you a jerk.

That’s why I’m making another thankful post right now. It’s been far too long for one thing, and I think this transition period for the holiday season is the perfect time to start back up.

1. Sight
   Believe it or not, I am not talking about a sixth-sense or magic perception. I mean quite literal eyesight. How many of us wear corrective lenses of some sort or another? How many have had or plan on having laser surgery? How often do we stop and not take for granted the fact that we can see? When I was a little girl and first heard about blindness I used to walk around the house with my eyes closed to test how well I could cope. I didn’t do very well. I cry sometimes when my glasses go missing. I can’t be thankful enough for modern inventions in the way of lenses, without which I could barely function.
2. Panera Trainees
   I know I mention work a lot but there is so much to love about my job, I must persist. The fact that we are still growing enough to start new Paneras is a reason to be thankful in itself. The new trainees are another. I always wanted to be a teacher, and with all the new hires, I am. I love passing on knowledge, seeing someone’s face light up when they grasp a new concept; to have a tired, but happy face at the end of a shift say, “Thanks so much! I learned a lot with you!” That is why I wanted to teach, and God put me in the absolute best place for it. And it doesn’t hurt that I get to call them minions and padawans.
3. Europe Plans
   Making it to Europe the first time was surreal. I’m unfathomably blessed to have the opportunity to go again with my best friend and to have the job and therefore the funds to do so, even in this wretched economy.
4. Write or Die
   The Site That Scares You Into Writing
   This thing is pure evil genius. I’ve written (collectively) 800 words in 20 minutes so far where normally I’d take a whole week to do as much. Of course the stuff I plunked out needs heavy editing assistance, but those are some drastic number differences. I’ve found that setting a goal of 200 words for 5 minutes at a time works best for me, but you can mess around for a while to see what time limit and word goal combination works for your own self. Read the “About” section right under the web app. It’s fantastic.
5. Finding $20 I Thought Might Be Lost
   Thank God for safe pockets. Twenty dollars is a lot to lose, even temporarily.
6. The New Intern on Bones
   Totally in love with the new squint, Finn, and his oh so Southern accent. <3 He looks like Dr. Chase with a baseball cap, but talks like Jasper Hale incarnate. And yeah, I always did love Jasper. There’s something about that homemade-snickerdoodle-haystack-frolic-and-fresh-lemonade-after-church-service drawl.
7. Babies
   There’s nothing like a toothless grin or outright laughter from an amused infant. Or fat, rosy cheeks, soft to the touch. Or a little one falling asleep on your chest while their tiny hand curls up and their mouth makes the perfect ‘o’ shape. And baby pj’s are darling! Especially the feetie ones! *sigh* I miss babies. I haven’t got to hold a baby in so long!
8. Sleep
   Do I need to explain this one?
9. Hats
   Aren’t they beautiful!?! Mara’s Mama made the three hat-hats, and then the ear warmer/headband in gray and purple was knitted by my darling friend “Mosie” as a birthday present! I love them so much! Eventually I’m sure you’ll see some of these on me, but for now you’ll have to enjoy them unmodeled.
10. Monsters
    But only the Rehab! Yes, yes, I need “Rehab,” I know. There, now I made that joke and you can’t. If you’re in the workforce, you understand!

10 More Thanks Things

Trying to make up for another last post. Gonna be short and sweet.

• 1. Sunsets

• 2. Clean bathrooms

Panera’s Restrooms > That Other Store. Despite the awkwardly placed stall that always looks closed.

• 3. Pizza

Pizza is the answer. Except when pizza is the question. Then yes is the answer.

• 4. Amazon.com

A blessing and a curse. But mostly a blessing. Today I bought an “Ultimate Visual Dictionary” because a writing blog said I needed it. And I concur.

• 5. Sound theology

Without which I might have been out with the Camping followers waiting for The Rapture.

• 6. Iced tea

Because you can’t miss tea time, even in the summer weather.

• 7. Hair ties

They go missing like nobody’s business, but that’s part of what makes them…rare? Special? With my hair getting longer… slowly but steadily, these elastic ties are crucial to my work and sanity.

• 8. Story inspiration

Even if it makes me write a bunch of filler that isn’t due chronologically for another two chapters at least! I wrote something without agonizing over every dash, dot, and simile!

• 9. Friends growing up

It’s sad, but inevitable, but it’s also exciting. Like two good friends getting married, and another friend about to intern in New York! Do I feel left behind? Maybe. Am I ecstatic, overjoyed, and over the moon for them? HECK YES!

• 10. The Victorian Trading Co

*drools all over* So… much… beautiful…. I need a million dollars so I can buy everything in their magazines and still afford the England/Scotland trip next summer. I don’t ask much!

10 Things of Thanks

• 1. The online library system.

It used to be that whenever I took a book back to my library, automatically they’d ship it to Central where it would either travel back to the library it hailed from, or my own location if I put it on hold again. A process that took at least two weeks. But they seem to have wizened up, because I took two books back (I exceeded renewal times) and got them put right on the hold shelf for me the same night.

• 2. Travel packs of ibuprofen.

There are times in a girl’s life when she needs pills and she needs them bad and she blesses her mum for reminding her to keep her purse stocked well.

• 3. Starbuck’s happy hour.

Half off frappuccinos! Need I say more?

• 4. Finishing things.

Like blog posts about last year’s Europe trip. And one-shots. And fan fiction chapters. And regular story chapters.

• 5. People who make me finish things

Like Betas. My best friend. And Kit.

• 6. Romance.

Because despite it being ridiculous and annoying and completely inconvenient at times, without it I probably wouldn’t be a writer.

• 7. Trees.

They make the sunlight bearable, and dapple things. Also, they give Sacramento and Paris something to have in common with each other. Maybe that last thing wasn’t such a great reason. I still like trees.

• 8. Horizon chocolate milk.

It’s my drug. I’m obsessive about getting the last drops out of the bottom of the container. I take the straw out and squeeze it and slurp it like a piggy.

• 9. Nail polish.

To hide my dreadfully chipped nails, and to keep my toes pretty.

• 10. Boys.

Even the ones–okay, especially the ones–who order their food really politely by urgings from their mother and then at the end pipe up with, “Now shut your mouth!” to test a new phrase. I shouldn’t have laughed… but it was just. so. funny!

10 More Reasons to Give Thanks

• 1. 90′s kid’s gospel tapes

I grew up on these things. They not only gave me a love for cheesy music and dancing, but also ingrained some pretty good morals in me as a child. Yeah, so I didn’t always follow the morals, but they were taught to me through these colorful tapes, nonetheless.

A few of my favorite gospel kid’s praise tapes:

The Donut Man

Life without Jesus is like a dooonut! Like a dooonut! Like a dooonut! ‘Cause there’s a hole in the middle of your heart!

Mother Goose Gospel

I have not just all the songs on these tapes memorized, but all the dialogue too. When my little siblings watch them they get irritated because I say what the kids are going to say before they say it.

So that curly haired pushy girl is the Mother Goose Gospel version of Hermione Granger. She was my hero. I always wanted to be just like her. (Bossy. ) Hehehe. I wonder what all those kids are up to now…

Skip to about 2:00 if you want to see… Oh my goodness! I remember Rodney! HAHAHA! Wow. This is too wonderful. I’ll be watching these clips for a while… Man, I gotta buy all of these!!!

Kid’s Sing Praise

Okay, if you watch nothing else here, you HAVE TO go to 1:18 of this clip and watch through to the end of the next song. It’s the most quoted praise clip and song EVER in our house.

When I was a kid, it was my dream to feature in one of these. Never quite worked out, but y’know… I had them dreams.

• 2. The best managers in the world

Managers who give motivational notes on the bakery scores that say “You’re last! Yes!!”, bang on office doors to frighten me out of my wits, have everyone calling me “Little One,” play country music in the BOH, tell me they can see my bakery display job from their house so bewaaare, share their lincoln rolls with me… the list goes on. I never want to not work for these managers. They need to not leave.

• 3. Order “dates.”

When a customer’s order is a significant date. 18.70 and 14.92 are the most prominent ones that make me excited. Can you tell whyyy?

• 4. Cover songs

I’m all for tradition, but there are some songs that are just better when a new artist comes along and does it.

Just a Dream – Original artist; Nelly – Redone; Sam Tsui and Christina Grimmie

I don’t even like the original, but this version I can’t stop listening to!!

Forget You – Original artist; C Lo Green – Redo; Gwyneth Paltrow and Glee Cast

The original isn’t even clean, it’s called something else entirely, and it’s sung from the guy’s point of view, so I like how Glee took the edited version and made it more relatable to… well, me. And it’s weird that my favorite Emma is singing this, but again, I can’t stop listening.

Let’s go get some tacos!!

• 5. Weekends

I love going away from people and places so I can come back and feel like they’re new.

• 6. The right kind of attention

When a friendly Sam’s Club store associate strikes up a conversation in order to make you linger in the food court as opposed to a poorly articulated smoker getting really close to your face to say they’re upset with the menu you had to offer.

• 7. British accents.

I watched 5 movies yesterday. 5 whole movies!! All of which I had never seen before except A Knight’s Tale, which seemed new because of the person I watched it with. But I saw The Holiday for the first time! Jude Law as Graham talking about how he’s a “weeper” and explaining how he studied “literature” in the loveliest accent… *sigh* And little children with British accents… oh my. So adorable! The plan is now to marry a British man and never speak around our children until HIS accent is firmly established with them.

• 8. Minis

My best friend and her family have a new car! Meet Mini!

Isn’t she the cutest little roundish car? Seeing it reminds me of Europe all over again; how the streets were all strewn with Minis. I’m so excited that they have one now!! I WANT ONE!!!

• 9. Awards!!

Mara has awarded me out of the sweetness of her heart.

• 10. Lemonade

I ran out a little while ago to get dinner. After four BBQ chicken wings and a plat of broccoli, I needed a drink. What should I find on the shelf, but a pre-iced glass full of delicious lemonade! So whoever left your lemonade on the shelf and hasn’t come to yell at me yet… thank you. Hehehe.

10 Things Challenge

I know I start a lot of weekly posts that end up becoming bi-monthly and then seem to fade into never-posts, but this one I’m not holding to a certain day. It’ll be each week (hopefully) whenever I have ten things ready to plop down as what I’m thankful for.

Yeah, this is a thankfulness challenge! Because thanksgiving isn’t just a holiday. And sometimes a week gets crazy and it’s good to sit back and appreciate what God’s given you–you, meaning me. I know, I turned this to myself. I’m so selfish. SELFISH BETH!

Top 10 Things I’m Thankful For
(this week)

1. Plaid tops
   I can’t exactly explain why. I find feminine plaid tops wonderful. Maybe that seems like a contradiction; feminine plaid, but when the cut and color is appealing to me, I’m so very happy in plaid. Cut and color… I make them sound like diamonds.
2. Thrift stores
   The place in which plaid shirts of my liking can be found! As well as many other treasures, like the little yellow purse I bought this week for $13 though the brand new tag on it said $34. WOOHOO!
3. Strawberries
   We had some on the 4 berry sundae I had this afternoon, and then more fresh ones for dinner. I love strawberries. <3
4. Soft serve
   Self explanatory. Ice cream in its simplest, most delightful form.
5. Empty laundry baskets
   A rare thing indeed in this house. I really need to empty some… and I don’t mean onto the floor.
6. Toasted asiago cheese bagels
   With onion and chive cream cheese! Soooo delicious! When the edges are golden brown, there’s a magic that happens. And they are consumed quickly. I may be drooling…
7. The Panera bingo game
   At work, we’re currently undergoing a friendly competition with our sister stores, and each other. (Last I heard our location was winning! YAY!) The cashiers all get bingo cards at the beginning of the lunch hour and for each unique bakery item we persuade a guest to add on to their drink and meal, we mark one down on the card. Each bingo gets you a prize, and three bingos gets you a free meal! I’ve had several free meals this way. It’s a wonderful system that I am most thankful for. I have no idea what I’ll do when I have to actually pay for lunch again. Heehee.
8. Asian eyebrows
   I used to hate my eyebrows. Seriously. It seems like all the prettier actresses, the makeup models, the hair color poster women, and even my friends have those nice arching eyebrows that show more expression than my… straight dashed… whatever you call ‘em.

   
   Then I started watching a Korean drama, and I discovered something amazing! I’m not the only one with eyebrows like mine! I guess it makes sense, being that I have the almond eyes. Might as well have the eyebrows to match, right? And that’s not to say I didn’t find a lot of Asian eyebrows that were more arched and model-like as well, but it was a Korean actress who first opened my eyes (hah!) to the fact that my eyebrows aren’t freakish.

   

9. 7 year old humor.
   My little sister is hilarious. I don’t think she means to be. Well, sometimes she does, but whether intentional or not, she says the funniest things! Sadly, no examples come to mind at the moment, but she’s been making me laugh all week.
10. Parents who are all about staying up past 4am to watch a royal wedding.
    I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who don’t care about such things, (uncultured swine, the lot of them!) but I’m quite proud to be able to say that I stayed up past 4 in the morning to watch the beautiful ceremony live. Then I took a nap and set my alarm so I could get up to see the kiss from the Buckingham Palace balcony. I’m returning to England next summer! I was obligated to do it! And I feel no regret.