I saw this on Etsy the other day and fell in love:

I think it’s fair to say that it’s hard for most people to step outside of their comfort zone. I also think it’s fair to say that a lot of people are searching for something they will never find unless they take that first step. You know that whole, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” thing? Yeah, that.

Take the shot.

Whatever it is that you want to be, or do…just try. I promise that no one will laugh at you or call you foolish. Even if you fail, they will say, “Wow. How great that she tried!” or “He never shirks away from a challenge”.

If you want to learn to tango, wear a red dress, get a new job, go back to school, attend trapeze lessons, start going to church, run a marathon, clean out your garage, or write a blog post every day for a month (or even…let’s say…28 days out of 30), then go for it!

Maybe, just maybe, you will succeed.

And, that will feel spectacular.

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This is the second of my thankful lists. Keep in mind, these are the things for which I was thankful for today.

1. Tums

2. Stretchy pants

3. A walk in the park (literally!)

4. My Mom

5. Police Officers (don’t ask)

6. Under-eye concealer

7. A garbage disposal

8. Slippers

9. Snuggling dogs

10. My family

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

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To make it easier on myself (and, oh my, for anyone who is actually reading this blog on Thanksgiving) I will be listing items for which I am thankful…with a twist. These items won’t be generalizations, but rather, specific to today.

Today, I was thankful for:

1. Ibuprofen

2. Blue Sky

3. The WaterPik SinuSense (This is a battery-operated sinus rinse that I got for free at the BlogHer ’11 conference and you would not believe what it got out of my son’s head today. They’re not paying me to talk about them, but I SAW the sinus infection come out of his nostril, onto a tissue and it was kind of amazing. I’m not kidding. After days of yellow globs, during multiple sinus rinses a day, tonight a thick green PLUG came out. You’re welcome.)

4. Caffeine

5. The mailman (Is there anything better than having Christmas presents delivered to your door?)

6. My iPhone

7. The ability to walk, without pain or disability

8. Our church

9. Sleepytime tea (counteracts #4)

10. A gas stove

11. My readers! Happy Thanksgiving!

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And, so it begins.

A few days ago, the weather turned colder. This is the time of year when I dread walking outside because the wind bites, the sky is gray and we have two enormous trees that make one, big mess. You have never seen a run on lawn bags, until you’ve see us hit the hardware store.

Things inside the house aren’t much better. That biting wind? That’s the same thing that comes out of my husband’s mouth when he sees I’ve changed the thermostat again.

This morning, amid the sound of my son’s chattering teeth, I saw that my husband had set the heat at 65F. See how I put that “F” there? That’s for mah Canadian peeps. Holla! Oh, sorry. Holla, eh?

Now, if we lived in Canada, maybe 65F would be a heat wave, but here in Ohio I was just getting used to the 90F, August days, with humidity so high you could boil pasta, when September came along with her…fall weather. Shudder.

After I saw the thermostat setting, I did what any good wife would do; I turned up the heat behind my husband’s back and hoped he wouldn’t notice. That lasted…oh, about an hour, and 45 of those 60 minutes we weren’t even home.

Last night, after I protested, I got him to crank that baby to 67F. Then, I donned a short-sleeved shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, socks, pants, a heavy sweatshirt and a blanket.  I was finally comfortable.

That is, until my husband brought me a glass of his homemade wine. I took three sips and I started sweating. Clearly, I have found the solution to lower heating bills.

Drink more wine.

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