Thank you 
So the obvious - friends and family. If you haven't guessed already, I am not a sentimental, mushy type person. But I wouldn't be where I am, or even WHO I am today, without my tribe. But the not so obvious is the pseudo friends and acquaintances you meet along the way. They may not stay in your life for long, or they may be on the outskirts of your world but I am grateful for those people who have impacted my life without ever knowing it. And without me ever getting the chance to say thank you.
Next up is my health. I am forever grateful to my body for not totally rebelling against me. Of course, I do feel like I'm 60 already from too many years of torture in the name of gymnastics but I rarely get sick. I've had a few surgeries but by choice. For gymnastics, and for sweaty hands. Yeah, did you know that was a thing? Back when I had fancy insurance, I signed up for all the cool "free" services to make my life "better". Not healthier, just more comfortable. At that age I was super embarrassed to shake anyones hand or even touch paperwork because it would be wet by the time I was done with it. I found an article about hyperhidrosis and a new surgery that just happened to be performed in NYC - where I was living at the time. Called and got an appointment with the specialist and basically scheduled my surgery for the next month without any hassle or multiple follow up appointments. In hindsight, this was one of my first "real adult decisions". To go under the knife at my own choice, pick a doctor and schedule the surgery all without my mom. Funny how easy it was for me to set up a semi-cosmetic surgery with zero out of pocket expenses for me with a corporate backed insurance plan, but now I have to pay for dental work I actually need for my health because I am on medicare. Hm.
So now that brings me to my OCD about saving money. I am grateful I did not turn out like my parents - forever in debt and spending money before it ever hits the bank. My dad just told me he has $10k in credit card debt over some stupid online program about learning how to buy oil stocks or some wack shit I don't care to get into because it makes me furious. He had the nerve to tell me he couldn't afford a gym membership - $30 a month - but will spend thousands he doesn't have to play a simulation online. I am angry with my dad right now because I have been paying his gym membership despite my own lack of income and now I find out he's 1. Not even going! and 2. Has plenty of money (credit) to spend, he just doesn't want to spend it on his health. I think thats two things I am grateful for in one paragraph - I am good at saving money which has allowed me this opportunity in life, and I am grateful for Steemit for allowing me to share my feelings without them getting me in trouble.
Ok thats 4...or 5? Do Friends, Family and Acquaintances count as three separate? LOL jk.
I am grateful for this SoCal weather! It has allowed me to expand my knowledge of gardening and succulents, and indirectly has helped me grow my business. I never had the ability to work outside, or have enough space to work on multiple projects at once. Jury is still out on the whole multi-tasking with art thing, but at the end of the day, I love my yard and view and I honestly can't think of leaving this place anytime soon. Even if we are renting. And wasting money.
And let's be honest here - when you are successful at gardening, you feel invincible! Well, I do, anyways, because I used to have the blackest thumb ever. I killed hundreds of dollars worth of plants until I got out here. I hope I turn out to be like our tomato plants. They started out as sad, 4" pots of struggling leaves from the big box store and now look! Its literally a tomato jungle.
And this is how it looks after the major pruning we did to let some light in and stop the strangulation of some vines. Still a jungle. All they needed was a little patience and perfect California weather and they've turned into very fruitful plants. I'm soaking up all the sunshine I can, just need to work on my patience now.
Hey - side question - do you all write your posts in one go, or type some now and some later? I've come to the conclusion that I cannot walk away in the middle of a post while I am in the middle of a thought. Otherwise, I forget and now I have no idea what I wanted to finish my post off with.
So lastly, but certainly not leastly, I am most grateful for my boyfriend and our relationship. I put this one last because we have a running joke that I can't let him know he's doing a good job or treating me right so that he always has to keep working at it. He says if I tell him he's perfect, he'll start slacking. He sort of lost the motivation for steemit since going back to working a traditional job but there's always the small off chance he might decide today is the day he wants to read what I am writing about. Doubtful, but you never know! And when that day comes, I'm banking on him not making it through my entire post. If it wasn't for his support, I wouldn't be able to give this artist thing a try. Even though we have our disagreements over who should do the cooking and cleaning now that I am home all day long, I do recognize the fact that without his going back to work we would not be living the same lifestyle we are now. For the first time in my life, I actually feel like my money is his and his is mine. It doesn't matter at the end of the day who paid for what, because it's all the same in the end. And despite that, he is pulling out his wallet more often than I am now, I guess because he knows my anxiety about spending would just keep us at home more often than not.
We went to the San Diego fair on Friday, and I made him drive to O'Reily's Auto shop first so we could get a $6 off coupon for the tickets. Hey, $12 savings on the front end is an extra treat once you get in in my world. I had made a "budget" before hand - we could each pick two treats to have so that by the end of the day our total spend would probably come in just under $100 including the parking etc. There's free parking with shuttles that we found out about after the fact. Fuckers. That's another $15 we could have saved. But you know what? The fair isn't made to be enjoyed on a budget. It's like Vegas. If you're afraid to lose any money, you're going to have a miserable time. Games used to be my favorite part of any carnival or fair but my wanting to play over my not wanting to spend just kept a running conflict in my head and I ended up forking over $5 on a game I didn't really want to play or even win, just for the sake of saying I played a game. And then. One of the carnies called Alfredo cheap because we didn't play his game. And I realized at that exact moment that he does not enjoy me working from home. We are not equal. He is solely responsible for bringing in income so that we can continue to live the life we want. I am ok being broke for the time being, but he is not. So that makes me extra grateful that he hasn't started resenting me or pushing me to get a job. But don't tell him I said this, otherwise I'll have to start doing all the dishes.
There are rules to reposting this challenge, but I say fuck your rules and just take this time to reflect on what is important to you, what you are grateful for and what could do with a little more attention in your life! But, if you must:
The rules:
Write a post about something you have to be positive about today - this could be anything from being thankful for your current situation, someone being nice to you, being thankful for your friends and family, or even being thankful for the opportunity you have been given here on Steemit - just keep it positive :)
Do this for 7 days in a row if you get nominated
Mention three people who should do this on each day.
Tag it with #7daypositivitychallenge and include these rules at the bottom of your post
Include a picture of something positive (related to your story if possible.
XO
Christie
