Thankful Thursday!

If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get.
Frank Howard Clark


My Friend, Bianca- or "B" as we like to call her.   I have a billion reasons why I am grateful for knowing her.  First off, the girl makes me laugh to a point where I am crying.  It's usually something like her saying "What are limbs?" or her loud, contagious laugh (which is usually at me and then with me) that gets everyone around her laughing.   Sometimes, that is really would makes an okay day a good day.  She also cooks me chicken nuggets because I am afraid of the oven (legit).  Also, because of her, I can say that I think J. Biebs has a minuscule of talent. You might think this is a bad thing but I do not because in all reality I turned an indifferent or negative feeling into a positive feeling. Positiveness is key people! Don't worry, I do not have Bieber Fever.

      However, the reason that I am most grateful for B coming into my life is because of her kindness towards everyone, but it is especially beneficial to me, especially this week.  Why, you ask. Well, since I arrived in the UK I have poured pound after pound into a pay as you go phone (aka drain).  I could not get a contract phone because I have not lived her long enough.  It didn't matter when I told Mr. Phone Man that bill I still pay at home is three times as much as the monthly plan I am interested in (phone plans are great here, btw).  They just didn't care about this angry American's phone drama. So anyway, the folks at Orange (phone company) told me that to bring in a bank statement from my UK account and they will sort it out.  Their sorting it out went like this, "You didn't pass the identity check."  After they told me that I didn't have enough proof that I do exist, they gave me the alternative of asking someone to put my phone in their name and do a switch-a-roo in three months.  I could never ask someone to do that! I am usually the person that people ask to do that.  I told B about the insanity of these people and she said, "Is that all you need to do?"  I said, "Yeah, but I wouldn't ask someone to do that."  She said, "I'll do that for you."  This girl who has known me for 30 days completely helped me out and got nothing in return except for a hug that was too strong because I still don't recognize my own strength.

     So, thanks to B, I have a UK working iPhone in my possession and I feel whole again.  I'd like to think that I  am not a materialistic person except for when it comes to iThings.  If you don't have an iThing then you simply wouldn't understand.  So this week I am extraordinarily grateful for B because she has saved me a fortune and gave me my sanity back for now I have the Map App.

iPhones - (you knew it was coming, right?) Laugh if you must but I am probably the most grateful person on the planet for the iPhone and its existence.  It is the one thing that I am pretty flipping sure that I would be pretty miserable without.  You can do fun stuff like play angry birds, listen to music, and catch up on Facebook. You can do serious things with it like check your bank account, Skype, and write your Thankful Thursday post on the Note App.  You can do more phoney things like talk on it (but really, who does that?) or text! How I have missed texting like the Jedi Master I was born to be! With the iPhone 4s that I will get soon enough, you have Artificial Intelligence! Which, let's face it, who doesn't need some A.I. laying around?  P.S.  Have any of you seen the bit about who was Steve Jobs' favorite band and band member?

Bed Comforters - I never thought that I would be so grateful to know that one day I will be in contact with a bed comforter again.  Who would have ever imagined I would be so indebted to the likes of a blanket! The kind of blanket that I would just give away when I no longer wanted the bed set it belonged to. Oh! How I long for a regular blanket! In the UK, all they seem to have are bloody duvets.  Well, I would like to tell the inventors of duvets where to go and how to get there! I spend more time wrestling said duvet back into it's cover than I do actually sleeping with it. The thought of a regular, simple one piece blanket is just marvelous to me. People, I am telling you, Linus was right!!  They are wonderful pieces of comfort. You cannot realize what they offer until you end up with your foot stuck inside a duvet cover with the duvet at the other end of the cover! To you, Comforters of Bed Sets Past, I miss and adore you. I hope that you are being treated justly wherever you are.

Airplanes with focus on Airmail - Being far away from home isn't always a picnic. Seriously, you can have a hard time finding food that you like.  Who has a picnic without any food?  Plus when you get to where you are moving to, you realize all of the things you've left behind, like your favorite hoodie or the scrapbook you made with tons of pictures inside safely hugging your memories tight! It took two weeks but that wonderful airplane brought a lovely package from Lolly herself with the above mentioned items and also peeps, Velveeta shells & cheese, Stove Top Stuffing and a bunch of other goodies!  I never thought I would have a reason to be grateful for airmail or airplanes, but golly gee look at me thanking the Universe for the Wright Brothers (I really hope those are the dudes responsible for airplanes!).

And I was lucky enough to get another package from my brother and his girlfriend today!  It was a pleasant surprise as I thought it was going to be another week for the package to come.  Included were many awesome things, but my favorite items in the box of goodness were Wise Chips and UTZ dip!   I love chippies and dip! Who knows, next week those might make an appearance for Thankful Thursday!

Freedom of Choice(?)- I am seriously grateful for this all of the time but especially right now.  I have thought of many things to be grateful for this week but I have lost my knack of teachery and no longer carry a notebook with me (and I didn't always have my US iPhone on me) so I could not write down the ideas I had.  Well, it is 4:30 a.m. and I am choosing to end my weekly post this way.  Why?  Because I can!!


What are you thankful for?