totallyjeneric

Went shopping with my parents today (poor Eric had to work!), which basically means we waited in lines for the fitting room, lines at the checkout, lines at the restroom, lines at the restaurant, and more lines every which way we went.  On our third or fourth trip to the fitting room, my mom commented that today was a lot of wasting time… to which I suggested that it wasn’t, we were bonding… to which she replied, then we’re bonding over wasting time! That pretty much sums up our Black Friday experience. : )

Aside from a few photo frames and a couple pieces of clothing, I was mostly window shopping and people watching.  At one point I popped into Williams-Sonoma because a few days earlier, I had flipped through their catalog and seen the most mouth-watering, heart-warming photos of holiday sweetness… and I was curious to see their handmade marshmallows and goodies in person.  Lemme tell you, not only is the store as pretty as the catalog, it even smells delicious in there!  That, plus the Christmas melodies in the background… ahhh I love this time of year!

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just 2 days away.  Ever since Eric and I woke up one Sunday morning without running water (due to a water main break down the road), I’ve been thinking about how many things in life we take for granted… which I know is an overused phrase… but if you stop to let it sink in, it’s quite startling!  Can you imagine a day without running water, or without electricity?  Without your computer or phone, refrigerator, a microwave, washer/dryer?… and little things like your pillow, or music, leftovers, liquid soap, paper towels… then beyond material comforts are intangibles like the capacity to love and feel and smell and taste, that the sun faithfully rises and sets each day, the ability to grow and learn and make mistakes, fresh air to breathe, the chance to live another day, freedom.  I thank God often for my spouse and family and health, but am realizing there are so many things I take for granted, that if only I could remember, constantly, the millions upon millions of blessings I have, then maybe I wouldn’t grumble so much or covet the things I don’t have!

Along similar lines, it occurred to me that in Hawaii, I rarely hear anyone say “it’s such a nice day!” or “it’s beautiful outside!” because the weather here is consistently pleasant.  Not trying to rub it in for those who are facing increasingly cold temperatures (stay warm!!)… but honestly I miss the sense of appreciation that East Coasters have in this regard.  Back in Philly, I heard these phrases often, and we said it often, because nice weather was a real treat to be savored.  Here people take it for granted!

Anyway, our pastor preached last Sunday that there are only 2 instances in the Bible which explicitly say “this is God’s will for you”, and one of them is in 1 Thessalonians 5:18.  It reads: “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  So I guess the bottom line of all my rambling is… give thanks!

In other news, I got my H1N1 vaccine today… been reading a lot of physics… finally got dumbbells and an exercise mat… will surely start my diet after Thanksgiving… had our first photo session since moving here… and was playing around with Photo Booth when I found this picture:

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Have a blessed holiday weekend!!