NOT a Thanksgiving Day Post

Today I am grateful. As I was yesterday, and the day before. And the day before that. As I will be tomorrow...and, with practiced intention, the day after that. Yes, I will spend a few hours with family for our traditional feast tomorrow. And I will watch football from my first sip of coffee til my eyes are ready for rest. In short, the only difference between tomorrow and any other of my days is that there will be a food fest...and some time with family. You see, I make it a practice to begin each day in Gratitude. I also have no illusions about the "holiday" we call Thanksgiving. Mostly, it makes me sad; it is not what we have been taught. The Native Americans I've met in my lifetime don't see it as a day to celebrate. Can you blame them?

But that's another story for another day. (or NOT).

Today, I am grateful. And this beautiful little Being is one of the reasons why I can begin each day with Gratitude.

You don't have to be The Dog Whisperer to see that she is not thrilled with that thang on her head. But she tolerates me when I ask, and she always gets a treat for allowing me to use her as my model. I don't do it often, but sometimes I simply cannot resist. She's just so darned cute.

This Dawg, whom I call Sophie (among many other names) is the Joy of my world. She rescued me shortly after my Bruzer crossed The Rainbow Bridge. Had she not come to live with me, I'm not sure I'd have survived that passing. Honest. I begin each day in a state of Gratitude because she begins each day with me. She jumps up on my bed (if she isn't on it already) and gives me lots of puppy kisses and tail wags and a general smothering of Love. How can I not begin my days gratefully?

I'm going to share these few photos, and leave it at that. I've no doubt there will be at least a bazillion other postings about Thanksgiving Day. So, rather than adding to that long list, I'll simply share my numero uno reason for the Gratitude that I practice each and every day of my immensely blessed Life. 

Oh...and I shall wish you ALL a wonderful celebration of Gratitude, Family, and Endurance (because we all know that a day of family is something we endure as much as we enjoy. Such is the nature of "family", yes?) I pray your day will be tasty, happy, full of laughter, and at least one good football game. 

Now then...the rest of Sophie's poses....

Cheers, my Lovelies! Gobble, gobble, gobble.

Chuck Lorre Productions, #505

I am a HUGE Chuck Lorre fan. The Big Bang Theory is my numero uno favorite comedy on TV. It's one of the few shows that make me laugh, rowdy and raucous, when I watch. Even the reruns still crack me up. But perhaps one of the best things about Mr. Lorre is his wickedly snarky "Vanity Cards" at the end of each show. They're only visible for ONE second (literally!) but, thanks to DVR technology, we can now pause and read. I LOVE them. Really I do. This particular one, after Monday night's BBT show, is a terrific example of why I think Mister Chuck Lorre is the most brilliant SitCom writer of our time. He is also my writing hero. I'm sharing this today because...well...it just seems to suit the vibe going on 'round here.

{Did I mention that more often than not the things he writes about are things I've often thought?...except that I don't have his brilliant way with words. Or his command of Snark. Alas! There's always tomorrow....}

"It seems to me that the biggest, most momentous choice of our lives is the one that none of us gets to make. I'm talking about the decision to be here, to be alive. Now before I digress into the choice of leaving this life, a subject best suited for notes left on the bed stand, let's investigate the initial premise. Simply put, we all arrive here screaming, crying, and covered in goo, without prior consultation. Or so it appears. If in fact we were part of the decision to become cognizant, the memory of that process has been completely wiped from our consciousness. But what if it were retrievable? What if we could become aware of the primary decision to live, the fateful choice to participate in the world of time, energy, and form? Wouldn't that improve our daily condition? No matter how difficult and confusing life was, we would always be clear on one thing, "I asked to be here. This is my choice." Of course, there's another option to consider. We are here against our will. The unending cycle of birth, life and death is a sentence. We are souls in prison. But that grim, Matrix-like scenario falls apart the minute you ask how hell on earth could possibly include gelato."

Chuck Lorre, will you marry me?

P.S. I'm pretty sure there are copyright laws about reproducing this stuff. I'm hoping though, that Mr. Lorre and his production company will forgo the lawsuit in exchange for a little ego stroking. Not that I don't mean it when I say I love him. I do. But the whole lawsuit thang is a bit daunting, doncha think?

everybody needs a hero

Okay. Before you get your shorts in a twist...let me remind you that humor is an essential element of Joy (in my world, anyway). So the title here might be off a bit, but it was the first thing that popped into my silly head. So there.

Moving on.

I found this new site about a week ago. It is a writer's venue with very high marks (and a super high rating on Alexa). As I am always looking for new ways to get my stuff out there, when I stumbled across this one I just had to investigate.

The name of the place is HubPages. What makes it so fun is the user-friendliness, the many options and the potential for income. Of course, the income part is based on clicks (ads and such) but isn't that how they all work? No matter. I like the feel of the place. I like that the staff is so accessible. Most of all, there are some pretty terrific writers there...and they seem to be as friendly and helpful a group as I've ever run across. Good peeps all around.

As is my norm, when I get excited about a thing, I tend to go full throttle. Nothing different with this new find. I'm getting lots of feedback from folks who've been there a while; stuff like how to maximize my reads, how to promote without "spamming", how to meet other people, and even how to use the capsules to get people over to Amazon and buy my book. (You remember, right? That sweet little book I wrote a couple years back? Remember??? If not, go see ....HERE!)

Another cool thing about HubPages is that they make it easy to post photos and videos in your Hubs. They encourage this practice, as they have found that the more of this kind of stuff you have, the more the pieces are likely to be found and read. What this equates to is more thoughtful writing. More research. More honing. And ya'll know how I love to hone.

So while I was working on a piece yesterday, I found this. I am a great fan of Calvin and Hobbes...(Oh. Big surprise there, huh?) and when I saw this strip I just had to include it in the piece. And then...this morning while I sat sipping my coffee, I took another look at it and just had to share it with you too.

Calvin is my hero. He's just so danged incorrigible...and irreverent. Plus, he has Hobbes. Who, by the way, is the coolest cat around. How can ya not love those two? Kooky little imps.

That is all.