Black Friday.

SO this lovely black Friday morning, I had the..."opportunity" to go into work at Four am....thats really early. Just so you know.
SO i clock in at 3:50 and start helping with last minute stuff. My manager asked me to go tray the cookies, and we had probably 16-24 cookies i put on the tray, as I walk back up front to put them away someone had just mopped the floor and I completely biffed it, dropping every single cookie. I did however manage to save the glass tray they were one.

As soon as we turned on our headsets and were "open" we had customers. And we would have customers for the next seven hours without stopping. However one loving co-worker brought in a whole bunch of krisp kreme donuts. Which was AWESOME!!!

People were surprisngly nice and apparently we were really slow for Black Friday. Around 11 we slowed way way down and so Julie started sending people home. Originally they asked me to stay until two because a co-worker had gotten in an accident and couldn't come in. But Julie ended up sending me home about ten to noon.

At which point i cam home and slept until four. Which was wonderful.

Giving Thanks

So naturally, as i'm sure half the planet does, i want to make a blog post about all the things i am thankful for.

I am thankful for a University and a Music Program that are making me a better person, student and musician. I am grateful for the professors, especially the ones with high expectations. I am grateful for the other music majors who are becoming good friends. I am grateful for the ability to influence others with my voice, and learning how to on the piano.

I am thankful for my family. A mom and dad who help me out, even when they don't have the means sometimes. An older sister who teaches me perspective. A younger sister and brother that i get to protect and learn from. A grandma who takes very good care of me. Cousins who do the same. Aunts who decide i need to go see a movie. And all the rest of them that i can't describe everything they do for me.

I am thankful for the incredible friends the Lord has seen fit to put into my life. Mike and Justin who take far to good of care of me. Who will try to take me grocery shopping, or tell me i'm staying for dinner or just make me smile when i'm having a bad day. Amber who gives me so much perspective and knowledge and just a hug when i need it most. Megan who will let me borrow hair styling devices in my feeble attempt to become a girl. Cyri who will always give me a hug, a smile, and an invitation to run away for the weekend to her families if i ever need it. Dani who has been one of my best friends since ninth grade and we still talk. Kelsie who was suppose to be my roommate but then went on got married on me. But will still listen whenever i'm having a bad day and continues to do so much for me. And all the others that i can't possibly name off.

I am thankful for institute. I learn so much, feel the spirit and always have incredible teachers. Classes are full of laughter and learning and I never regret going.

I am thankful for the Gosple, it has given me so much in life, and i can't even express how grateful I am to have it in my life.

I am thankful for the opportunity to serve, it helps me remember that its not all about me. There are other people with other problems and mine all the sudden don't seem so unmanageable anymore. Plus i love to see people smile, and I like to be able to put that smile there.

I am thankful for thank-you notes. They are what make things worth it sometimes. Because who really needs big recognition? I always like it when something is between two or few people.

I am thankful for indoor plumbing...nough said.

I am thankful for blankets and warm clothes.

I am thankful for my car, however much it tries to die on me.

I am thankful for alarm clocks.

I am thankful for leftovers.

I am thankful for sleep.

I am thankful for being able to be productive.

I am thankful for the customers that are friendly.

I am thankful for co-workers.

I am thankful for heaters.

I am thankful for hot chocolate.

I am thankful for cheap entertainment.

I am thankful for naps.

I am thankful for shoes.

I am thankful for the little tender mercies in life, a smile, a laugh, a joke. The light in a childs eyes.

I am thankful for the opportunity to witness and sometimes be a part of miracles.

I am thankful for the angels the Lord puts in my life and that he trusts me enough to be an angel for someone else sometimes.

I can't possibly put everything i am grateful for, but here is some of it. Sometimes its nice just to write it all out.

this is me, writing my research paper...

So yeah, i have this research paper due on Monday...am I working on it right now? ...Not really... DO i need to be...yes. But life decided to get crazy on me these last three weeks when i was suppose to be writing it. The only hard part is the research, i just need to find reliable sources, after that i can write the paper in an hour or so. I'll get it figured out.
These last few weeks have been a blur, i didn't even realize how long it's been since I've written in my blog since my dad told me i haven't written anything new in two weeks. ( i didn't know that anyone was even reading it.)
Although one reason i haven't written is i haven't really had anything much to say. Its been stressful and chaotic the last few weeks with me almost breaking down into melt downs on an almost daily basis, but only actually having a few.
Maybe i should tell you what I've learned about tender mercies. I can't believe how many of them I've had in my life and I'm so glad I've been blessed to recognize them.
Because even amongst all the melt downs and stress there is always someone or something there to make me smile. One day i was having a particularly bad morning, it was a Friday morning. And i was honestly just having a bad day. The night before had been hard the morning had been hard (i had gotten up early to finish homework i hadn't done the night before.) I walked out and was sure that i had a parking ticket on my car (and the root of my bad day was financially based.) i almost broke down on the walk to school, instead i turned my headphones up really loud and let music be the only thing in my head. (was it the most happy or uplifting of music? of course not, i was in a bad mood. So it was songs like "face down" by jumpsuit apparatus or "pretty girl" by sugarcult) And then I got to class, and i realized that friday night i had no work, and no plans and no one i knew that i could really go do anything with. But i ran into some old roommates and decided "hey, they are going a multi-stake dance, maybe i'll tag along with them. So i had something to do, and who knows maybe it would be my lucky night and i could meet a guy." (not likely, but still slightly possible) then i was in music theory and we were getting mid-terms back. I was like "awesome, because my day isn't bad enough." (you can tell that i thought i did well on it) And then i got it back with an A on it. which made me happier. then i went to classes. And my phone starts ringing in keyboard harmony. I take it out long enough to see who it is, and its McDonalds calling me. Well, i can't answer it cause i'm in class. So i put it back in my pocket a minute later it buzzes in my pocket telling me I have a voice mail. So between classes i check it and they want to know if i can come in and work (it was the first Friday night i'd had off without requesting it off in I don't know how long. (plus i had to work the next morning) But i decided i needed the money more than i needed my sanity. So i surrender my Friday night to six hours of work. So i call work and tell them i can take the shift, and then my manager tells me that they are going to pay for my dinner for taking the shift. Which was very nice of them, i got a real dinner for once.
When i got to work Mike was also working that night, and Cheryl was on shift and had to put people back in the hole, but she felt bad so she put me and Mike back there together. I think everyone knew i was having a bad day (i wasn't really trying to hide it) and so while we're back in the hole Mike kept doing things that made me smile and laugh, so i couldn't really stay in a completely bad mood. i like that people at work were doing things that made me smile and laugh. Although it all caught up to me before i even made it out to my car, for those six hours people were making life bearable.
And this is what i've learned. There are always things that will make life good, a little better. Sometimes they are major, but usually they are quite small. Especially when everything in life is going wrong. You have to learn how to see them. I decided i started learning to see them when i actually kept my happy thoughts notebook.
That was a notebook i would keep and i would write down little things that made me smile during the day. When i started making it i never realized that i was teaching myself to look and see and realize the little things that make life easier. But i stopped keeping it, mostly because i got behind and i knew there was no way i could go back and write them all in and i didn't really know where to start to get back on But i've learned that i notice them now without really looking for them. I just see them, and all those really very minor things make life so much easier when everything is Majorly going wrong.
The same thing happened on Thursday, I was once again having a terrible day (stress tends to do this to me) and i ran into an old friend on campus that i never see and we were just chatting and registration came up and i mentioned how i couldn't register yet and it was just hard right now. But its ok, trying to write it off as less than it really was, but she really didn't by it and so mid sentance she just pulled me into a hug. And it was what i needed.
long story short, there are always small tender mercies, sometimes its watching the light in a child's eyes as they laugh. Or having half a tank of gas. Maybe just a smile that some gives you.
and sometimes its just knowing that you have people that care about you.