Hi, pals. There have been 1000 hits on my blog, and I am celebrating it. Yay!!!!!

It feels good that when you do something and it is being appreciated by the people. I started to pen down the random thoughts that comes to my mind and those random thoughts led to the birth of this blog. Slowly and steadily I posted some posts along with songs and people read it, and I am THANKFUL to every single individual who landed on my blog and who read even a single alphabet of it.

The people who have been blogging for years know how good it feels when you achieve this position as a novice blogger. Believe me it is amazing! Achievement like this gives you an encouragement to work harder and to make the best out of your efforts for the people who read your posts.

For all of my blogging friends I am grateful on this  special day.

For my family…my husband, my children, my grandchildren, our extended families and ALL of our friends, we are grateful.    We are grateful to be alive and well right now and happy.  And we are grateful for our times of trial and illness which help us to see our days in a different light.  I am even grateful for the job I sometimes wish I did not have, as so many people today have no job and desperately need one.  I am grateful for the men and women who are serving in foreign countries to try to keep our world a safe place for all of us.

But most of all, I am grateful to God for the gifts of love and friendship he has given to each one of us.

In Gratitude….Thank you my friends, Averyclaire

Things I’m thankful for (in no particular order)…

-The distant sound of train horns echoing up the arroyo at night from the tracks down by the Los Angeles River.

-The new native street trees planted this spring on Figueroa.

-The Highland Theater sign (last bulb theater sign in Los Angeles.)

-Bicycles in the streets.

-Unrestricted parking on my Avenue.

-The Gold Line

-The 81 Bus, the 83 Bus, the 256, and DASH as well.

-The Garvanza Skate Park

-Eastern Group Publications on Avenue 59.

-The restoration of the house at 150 North Avenue 61.

-MorYork Studio and Gallery.

-Milagro Allegro Community Garden’s 1st year.

-Chicken Boy who watches over us all.

-The gift shop at Future Studio.

-Chico’s and their tortilla chips.

-The Eagle Rock Music Festival

-Rock-N-Roll 7-11 with all the Belgian ales and all the Broguiere’s eggnog that I could ever need.

-The way the streets and avenues criss-cross each other making no one path shorter than the other. And how Aldama Street connects it all.

-La Estrella Tacos #3.

-Bats Ale at The Little Cave.

-Craftsman Cask Ale at The York.

-Folliero’s Pizza getting better and better.

-Avenue 50 Gallery

-The twitter banter between studio-mates Tina Rodas @ HiTree Studio and Sonia Romero @ She Rides the Lion Studio.

-The artists and gallerists that stake their dreams here.

-Good Girl Dinette not just being the only place that serves Pho in Highland Park, but having the best Pho I ever had.

-Intelligentsia Coffee at Cafe de Leche. (the non-corporate cafe on York Blvd. that opened one year ago this week by mom & pop, Anja & Matt.)

-No train accidents this year along Marmion Way.

-Family.

-Friends that have been there for decades, and friends that I only met yesterday.

-Galco’s.

-The Hot Knives @ Verdugo Bar.

-Studio Root 66 and Gammer Doc (another Mom & Pop) staking their dreams in their own community.

-The addition of pancakes to the menu at Antigua Bread.

-Antigua Coffee returning.

-Wall-E being the first movie I took my daughter to at the Highland Theater.

-Movies at our dank and sticky Highland Theater are still only $3 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for first run films.

-The veggieburgers at Penny’s.

-Good food and good music at Juanitas.

-Wednesday Night BBQ’s.

-NELA Critical Mass.

-NELA Art Night.

-Buying plants at the farmer’s market.

-Buying fruit at the farmer’s market.

-Buying art at the farmer’s market.

-The bounce house at the farmer’s market.

-Fresh chips and Ozzy’s Salsa at Figueroa Produce. (Being able to buy a week’s worth of groceries for $30 makes me grateful too.)

-Mardy’s Munchies

-Being able to take the Gold Line to Wurstküche with the opening of the Eastside Extension.

-The homicide rate being lower this year.

-The two murderers being captured and convicted this past month for the deaths of two innocent people.

-The soft-serve ice cream man that rolls through the avenues around 8 almost every night.

-Each day I get here.

-The rose garden at the Senior Center.

-The players on the basketball courts at the Rec Center.

-The Highland Park Plunge.

-The Arroyo Seco Library and all its services.

-Charlie Lummis and his walk to Los Angeles from Ohio and his founding of LA’s first museum overlooking Highland Park dedicated to the cultures of Native Americans (The Southwest Museum.)

-Radio Radio Radio!

-Public Radio especially.

-Free Wifi

-The poppies along York Blvd. every year.

-The saving of the Marina-style architecture at the Safeway Supermarket Building on York & 56.

-The T-ball and softball players that use the ball field on Piedmont every day.

-The masses of Futbol (Soccer) players that don’t let a weekend pass without using the fields at Luther Burbank.

-The restoration of The Wall That Talks mural on Avenue 61.

-John Densmore (of The Doors) for funding that restoration.

-Kite flying at Los Angeles State Historic Park.

-The bike path in the Arroyo Seco.

-The Arroyo Seco never giving up.

-Deb’s Park being so close and yet so removed.

-Hermon perseverance, despite Art Snyder’s effort to wipe it from the map 30 years ago.

-The Audubon Center at Debs Park.

-Pedestrian bridges.

-Walkways Stairways and Crosswalks.

-The newer landscaped traffic circle at Hayes and 59.

-Highland Park’s rich transportation history.

-The organizing of The Highland Park Co-op this year.

-Rain. Whenever it happens.

-The raccoons, hawks, squirrels, humming birds, bees, and butterflies that I see around my house (Sorry opossums, not thankful for you.)

-The clandestine cleaners of Highland Park.

-LAOCB

-NELAPD

-LADWP

-LAFD #12

-LADOT (for “Keeping LA moving…”)

-Unpaved sidewalks.

-ADA compliant sidewalks.

-Tall trees. Old trees.

-Jonathan Gold.

-Gary Leonard.

-The lack of Ugg Boots in 90042.

-Mr. T’s Bowl (for the memories).

-American Legion Hall.

-Being able to fly the flag again.

-Our nation and the government we deserve.

-Josef Bray-Ali for moving away from the beach and the Westside and opening his apartment’s garage in Highland Park to cyclists who wanted to work on their bikes at night. And subsequently opening Bike Oven and Flying Pigeon bike shop on Figueroa.

-Heritage Square.

-Highland Park HPOZ.

-The Mills Act.

-The fresh tortillas at Tacos El Pariente.

-Spoke (n) Art Rides.

-Trader Joes.

-The lions and the missing “G ” and “L” on the “Custom Glass” sign on Devon Glass & Mirror.

-The smell of the wood burning oven from La Grande Orange at Del Mar Station.

-Highland Park scotch tasting exceptional.

-The Mystic Dharma Buddhists that painted the 4th Church of Christ Scientist by Elmer Grey bright orange.

-La Tropicana Market’s efforts

-The Scientific Method.

-Growth.

-Comments and Blog Readers.

-El Sereno open-space activist and the city of Los Angeles that saved Elephant Hill from development.

-The worst of the Great Recession may be over.

-The mortgage being paid.

Got no checkbooks, got no banks,
Still I’d like to express my thanks
I got the sun in the morning
and the moon at night…

–Irving Berlin, from I Got the Sun in the Morning 1946

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love this time of year. The leaves have all turned colors. The air is crisp. And pies are baking in the oven. In my family, Thanksgiving means pie season! My mom hates to make pies, so she only does it at Thanksgiving. But she makes everyone’s favorite, so we end up with about a dozen pies. What’s not to love about a dozen pies? (I think Joscelyne Cutchens agrees.)

"Homemade Pie" by Joscelyne Cutchens. Creating Keepsakes, Nov. 2009

I also love this time of year because there’s a built-in reason to be more consciously grateful for all I have in my life. I’ve made it a tradition to write down each of the things I’m grateful for as I think of them throughout this month. The list gets pretty long, and I realize how truly blessed I am and how great my year has been.

A few years ago, I decided to add to that tradition by letting the people in my life know how grateful I am that they are the people in my life. To that end, I’ve been making thank you cards and sending them to arrive the week of Thanksgiving. Inside the cards I write a little note about why I’m grateful the person is in my life. Each year the list for cards gets longer too, and I’m grateful for that. You can never have too many great people in your life.

"Thankful" card by Mandy Douglass. Creating Keepsakes, Nov. 2009

This year, I’m grateful to be at Creating Keepsakes with all the wonderful, creative and caring women who work here. They’ve made my new job a joy, and I’m grateful they are in my life. (In fact, I may even create a card for each of them based on the Mandy Douglass design above or this Becky Higgins design below.)

"So Thankful for You" card by Becky Higgins. Creating Keepsakes, Nov. 2009

And all of us at Creating Keepsakes are grateful for you. We love that we get to share your creativity and passion. We’re grateful for your support. We’re grateful you are open and honest in sharing with us what will make Creating Keepsakes a better magazine for you. Thank you for being the people in our lives who give us a reason to come to work, to create and to share our passion for scrapbooking!

Don’t forget to photograph the fabulous feast you enjoy today, like Christi Spadoni did for the layout below!

"Aunt Sheila's China" by Christi Spadoni. Creating Keepsakes, Nov. 2009

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

—Lara Penrod, Senior Editor

P.S. In the spirit of Black Friday tomorrow, we’re offering an incredible sale at our shop. The sale consists of discounts of over 60% off select products PLUS free standard shipping and handling (on U.S. orders only) on purchases of $25 or more. You’ll even find books and CDs as low as $5. The sale ends at midnight on Monday, November 30. Check out ShopScrapandPaperCorner.com for these great deals.

I am thankful for how much easier my life is this year compared to last year. After 13 months at this apartment, things are settling down. Last year at this time I was scrambling to have food to eat. Now that is not a worry I am very, very thankful for my garden, the food shelf and food stamps.

I am sooooo thankful to be up off the floor! Sleeping on the single mattress on the floor was better than being ON the floor, but was tough on this old body. My life improved greatly with a donated mattress and box springs and then improved even more this summer when I finally got a bed frame. Now getting into and out of bed is something I do not even think about

My sister gave me 2 long sleeved shirts last year and Beth and Luc gave me one this year. I bought winter boots in the middle of last year’s deep snow in October. I bought a pair of sweat pants and was gifted with 2 others I can dress warmly.

I LOVE my new little ceramic heater! It has not been as cold this fall as last fall. Mostly it’s my feet that are freezing. I turn the little heater on for a few minutes and I am happy

I still do not own real shoes. I either wear sandals or heavy boots. Maybe some day I will give in and get some shoes. I’ve been thinking more about footwear since snow is predicted in a few days and I watched Doug and the maintenance man put the plow on the truck today. I am VERY grateful for maintenance men!

I have furniture! I love garage sales and am very thankful for garage sales and Freecycle. YIPPPPPEEEEEE!!!!! I love my freezer full of garden produce

This is my post about THINGS. I now have enough things to live much more comfortably. For that I am very grateful

]]> http://gretchenmiller.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/8-internet-related-things-im-thankful-for/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:52:19 +0000 Creativity in Motion http://gretchenmiller.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/8-internet-related-things-im-thankful-for/

This list was inspired by Josh S. Peters’ blog post, 10 Internet Related Things I’m Thankful For.  I thought it was a great idea for a geek like me and wanted to spread the e-gratitude love on this Thanksgiving Eve.  Here’s my top 8 for what I’m thankful for related to my Internet life this year:

1. Facebook- Despite my reluctance to join the world of Facebook, I am really thankful for all the connection it has brought me throughout this year. Through Facebook I have been able to stay in touch with many people I haven’t seen in years and its been a great opportunity to meet new individuals as well.  A lot of my Facebook activity is devoted to sharing art therapy news and resources  for the Art Therapy Alliance Fan Page.  Another favorite group and what inspired me to join Facebook in the first place was Cathy Malchiodi’s International Art Therapy Organization [IATO]  launched earlier this year (Something I am *very* thankful for!).

2. LinkedIn- I am thankful for the professional contacts and connections I’ve made through this professional networking site.  It is also the main hub for the Art Therapy Alliance, where art therapists, art therapy students, and interested professionals can discuss and exchange ideas related to art therapy.  This year the Art Therapy Alliance on LinkedIn grew to several subgroups of different art therapy topics.  I am very thankful for our subgroup’s moderators: Ginger Poole, Amanda Alders, Aimee Rozum, Rachel Schreibman, Cathy Malchiodi, and Don Cutcher for their ideas, energy, and help in making the Art Therapy Alliance a great resource!

3. Twitter- This year I started tweeting and following many interesting and inspiring people and sources related to art therapy, social media, art, and technology. I have much appreciation for the news links, twit pics, quotes, and spontaneous commentary that educate and inspire the geek, artist, and art therapist me.  Thanks to all who have RT’d my content and help spread my tweeting!  Like Josh Peters, I am also thankful for TweetDeck for helping to make my Twitter life a little easier!

4.  WordPress-  I also started using WordPress for blogging this year and love this platform!  Thank you WordPress!  And to everyone who has visited Creativity in Motion, read a post, made a comment or recommended it to others throughout the year…. I am thankful for everyone’s input, encouragement and support!

5. Polyvore- I LOVE POLYVORE!  This site has been an addicting digital art making obsession since I stumbled upon it a few months ago. Something that’s more fun than creating your own sets is seeing what sets have been made by others!  Inspired by this platform was the Art. Peace. Sustainability Interactive Event and where images connected to these concepts have been created and shared within the Art Therapy Alliance and International Art Therapy Organization communities. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far to this collection!

6. Homestead-  My web management and design life would probably not be as easy without Homestead.  I’ve used this hosting site for over a decade and use it for several websites I have created and update weekly, sometimes daily.  Homestead has always had everything I need, makes web design a no-brainer, and super dependable.

7. Animoto- Another great find I discovered this year through a LinkedIn connection was the video making site Animoto.  It’s been a favorite place for me to go to make quick, cool videos and share via Facebook or export to YouTube.  I think in 2010 I’ll finally be upgrading to the $30 unlimited pass for making all the full feature films I want!

8. Artsonia- I’m really thankful for this cool gallery that features children’s art from all around the world. Artsonia allows me to check out my niece’s art  she’s made in school, which is always a delight and makes me smile!

There are other internet things that I could also include such as SlideShare, Skype, Flickr, Youtube, imeem, and YouTube as honorable mentions.  It’s been a good year for my social media life on the grid- personally and professionally.  I appreciate all the wonderful, creative, and meaningful connection and collaboration that I have experienced and look forward to more!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I woke up this morning and went straight to my usual routine in preparation for work. As I was about to take a bath, I noticed that a new bar of soap was conviniently placed for me in the soap dish. I do believe that I have to thank my wife for this simple convinience.

We sometimes forget to acknowledge our spouses for the simple things that they do for us. And since we get too used to these, we even tend to forget to thank them altogether. For this I thank you my love.

Last week my fellow blogUT writer, Julia, wrote a great piece dispelling the alleged evils of social media. This week, I’m continuing that thought.

As Julia mentioned, social media has given us all the opportunity to keep in touch with our friends, reconnect with lost ones, and even share relevant (and well, sometimes not so relevant) information with each other with a simple 140 character tweet. More than anything else, Twitter and other social media tools lets us “learn about and interact with the world in real time, and in a way we never imagined”.

I’d like to take this one step further. Not only has social media given us this chance to connect with each other on a one-on-one basis, but it has also opened the way for a much more far-reaching and collective purpose. Case in point? Tweetsgiving. Never heard of it? Let me give you the low down.

Read more on blogUT.

I hope by now you have begun doing the daily Planned Act of Kindness (PAK) Challenge that we are encouraging through the 40 Days of Service campaign on wiiserve.org. If not you are missing a blessing. It is true what the Bible says that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Today’s challenge was to write a thank you note to your mail carrier. We expanded it to writing a thank you note to someone who typically serves you. That includes mail carriers, cafeteria workers, cashiers at the local store or restaurant servers.

I had written a note for the mail carrier who delivers to my house while at work. While sitting there I heard the mail man at the office. I quickly went and wrote him a thank you note. It was a pleasure to deliver this envelope without a stamp to him simply to say thanks.

Now do we really have to thank these people? Really they are getting paid to do it. It’s their job. And the truth is we don’t. But I think it helps us to recognize that they are more than what they do…they are real people with families and lives and instead of treating them like objects, saying thank you affirms them as people.

So this thanksgiving season, beyond saying thanks to God, thank someone who you usually take for granted because of what they do. I challenge you to do it in a written format instead of just verbally. Thank them for what they do and more importantly for who they are.

I just want to say to all of you who consistently, inconsistently, or even sparingly check out this blog…THANK YOU! In a little over a year I have gone from 1 hit to almost 500,000 hits. There is literally no way we could have done it without you and I want to just personally say THANK YOU! Thank you for your support, belief, and encouragement.

Thanksgiving to me is about reflecting on the people put in your life who helped you through your obstacles, your struggles, and your difficulties. Take a moment and say thank you to them. Also, if you have a minute, help someone who is less fortunate. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Each and every Saturday of the year the volunteers with the Ministry of Hope at Cross and Crown Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois, serve a feast for the homeless and low-income of the area. Approximately 50 to 70 people enjoy the hot breakfast and lunch each week. Many partake in the opportunity to attend a worship service.

The volunteers and pastors of Cross and Crown are a gift from God to the homeless. They live from their hearts, offering smiles, joy, friendship, hope and support to all who need. They serve delicious meals, give clothing, bikes, and more. They give transportation to and from the church in a church member’s van. The Ministry of Hope is NOT even part of the church budget–all costs come out of their own pockets!

The Ministry of Hope volunteers are absolutely amazing! I honestly don’t know how such a small church can do so much for so many! Some may remember that it was this same church that was vandalized around Christmastime. There was an outpouring of support from communities all around, including an awesome new Christmas tree to replace the one that was damaged by the vandalism.

I felt glad that this church was able to celebrate Christmas and feel the warmth of the community help that we homeless feel when we go to the Ministry of Hope on Saturdays. I hope to return the love and kindness someday by finding a way to help them myself, perhaps by finding them a new or used van of their own to give us rides in to and from the church. It would even grant the church the ability to give us rides to the church on Sundays so that we may attend the regular worship service–something many of us wish to do but can’t get to the church on our own.

View a pdf file about the Ministry of Hope.

Thanks you for taking care of me when I was young.
Thank you for teaching me compassion.
Thank you for showing me how to keep a house clean.
Thank you for taking me to thousands of doctor’s appointments.
Thank you for hemming my pants.
Thank you for braiding my hair.
Thank you for letting me stay with you when things got bad.
Thank you for taking care of me always.

I love you grandma. Happy birthday.

See my blog at RED ROOM:

www.redroom.com/blog/divajc/gratitude-vs-appreciation

I Appreciate Life to learn lessons
My soul yearns to experience
I Appreciate Love that leads me in Divine Spirit
I Appreciate Joy of a new day
I Appreciate eyes to see beauty
I Appreciate ears to hear birds
I Appreciate Others who follow and lead
I Appreciate Work and Strength
I Appreciate Knowledge
I Appreciate a seeking Heart
I Appreciate Rage. It makes me think
It makes me act, react and ponder
I Appreciate technology that lets me say
I AM the Appreciative Goddess!

24 is a symbolic number.

It’s an age. My age this year. But it’s also the number of hours in a day. It’s Kobe Bryant’s jersey number. And the former one for Willie Mays. It’s the number of carats in pure gold and the number of points on a backgammon board. It’s Keifer Sutherland’s TV show and an interstate that runs through my home state. In Cantonese, it’s unlucky (like the number 13 here). And in Christian literature, it’s the ‘complete’ number, a number of faith.

24 is a lot of things. In the same way, I feel like this year has been a lot of things for me as well, and Thanksgiving offers some reflection time for me. Here’s what I am thankful for in my 24th year.

I am thankful for those fighting to end homelessness. But I am just as thankful for the homeless and their will to fight circumstance.

I am thankful for my inability to sing or hear any type of melody. And I’m more thankful for those that make feel the melody when they sing it.

I am thankful to be able to travel to new places often. I am thankful to have a hometown in Nashville.

I am thankful for new friends and new connections with the old.

I am thankful for the perishables which I often forget will soon perish.

I am thankful for my paycut that makes me realize that it’s not really about the money.

I am thankful to be rejected so that I can appreciate others that have been rejected.

Most of all, I am thankful for this journey and for each person by my side along the way. It’s really them that my life belongs to.

In honor of Thanksgiving I wanted to thank these people so here it goes..

Thank you :

Mom & Dad

Nena

Cathy

Jenna

Jenny

Angie

Emily

Kevin

Cynthia

Rony

Marvin

Hiz Kidz Worship Team (Family!)

Mrs.Norma

Mrs. Virginia

Mrs.Sonya

Mrs.Jenninfer

Mrs.Denise

Brennan

Bethany

Rachel

Caleb

Mrs.Julie

Mrs.Kathy

Lizzy (lizard)

Hannah

AND MANY MORE!!!!!!!!!

This Video is Dedicated to all the people who have helped me in my walk with God (the people listed above).

It’s our favorite time of year, a time for family, succulent turkey, delicious pies, stuffing… well, we could get carried away about the food… more importantly, though, it’s a time to give thanks.

To our subscribers, we want to thank you for:

- Cooperation. The network of more than 12,000 real estate professionals that subscribe to RMLS™ have assisted 31,122 people in Oregon and Washington with a real estate transaction in 2009.

- Your feedback. You’ve provided lots of feedback about our services this year. We received more than 2,100 responses alone in our first ever customer satisfaction survey. While we evaluate the survey results, we encourage you to continue to provide feedback and suggestions on RMLSweb – just scroll over Toolkit and click on Questions/Comments. We serve a diverse group of customers, each with unique business needs. While it might not always be possible to meet each need, we’re doing our best to listen to all of your ideas and work toward making them a reality.

- Your patience. We’re proud to say that, aside from planned outages, RMLSweb has officially been available 99.9% of the time this year. But sometimes we have to close up shop to make changes or additions and, on rare occasions, something goes wrong. Thanks for understanding when we aren’t available for you.

- Our subscribers who serve. RMLS™ Realtor®-subscribers comprise our Board of Directors, Service Advisory Committee, Technology Committee, Forms Committee and Rules & Regulations Committee and also serve on other task forces as needed. Thank you to all who generously contribute their time and efforts to helping guide our decisions.

- Reading this blog. We’ve had over 10,000 visits since we launched this blog in June and we’re starting to have some great conversation about RMLS™, market trends and other industry news. Thanks also to the hundreds of followers and fans of our Twitter & Facebook accounts. We hope you’ll continue to make these a part of your online activities and that you’ll join in the conversation.

- Attending our classes and events. Approximately 4,000 of you have chosen to take an RMLS™ class or have attended an RMLS™ Trade Fair this year. We hope that you’ll continue to take advantage of these free educational opportunities.

We’re thankful for being able to work with such a great community of Realtors® and real estate professionals and we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season!

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Dickert, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Have you Thanked God for not giving you the job you wanted, or that man/woman you love so much? ..or that car, home,and Success that you’ve been dreaming about, or that cheque you didnt get in the mail?
Bless Him in ALL things.. love him UNCONDITIONALLY.., and seek to know him personally; so that he may reveal the unique purpose for your life.
His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways are higher than our ways, and His plans are higher than our plans. In fact, our best plans are less than His least for us!

Today I want to take time to thank my Lord, for those broken roads i crossed along my way.
It made me stronger, wiser and gave me a brand new perspective of life.
My scars, my failures, my unfortunate days, define Me today.. not as a victim but as a Conquerer!
It helped me identify the true hearts who still stood by me at my hour of need, while the rest of the world decided to leave. I learnt,true love could be recognized at the worst crisis; as a hand which holds on to you when everything else falls apart.