grace in small things day number 190
today is a very special day and i have something very blog-oriented to be thankful for.

it is my very first blogoversary...EVER!

i am shocked that i began this blog exactly one year ago today.
i'm shocked that i've not only maintained this blog, but grew it to what it is and grew along with it.
i honestly think so much wonderful has come from this blog.
i have made so many amazing friends from 20SB or through other people's blogs or just coincidence.
i am truly a better person because of some of my blog friends.
and my 101 in 1001 project? i would have never done that if i hadn't gotten involved with the blogging community.
and i LOVE my 101 in 1001 project.
and grace in small things?
the fact that i am on day 191 of gratefulness is quite amazing to me.
(yes, i know i majorly need to update the blog with the missing days- i've had funky internet access)
i didn't trust myself and never thought this was possible.
but i am on day 191.

how cool is that?
so today...today i am uber grateful for my first ever blogoversary.
and i hope there will be many more to come.

so, right before my bday begins, this character comes and sits down at my table to hit on us girls. his name was nick, and he was in the navy. don't make me explain my history with nicks... or the navy. lets just say been there and done that... worst: his friend joined the table...and his name was nick...and he was from the navy.... i felt like if i didn't get these boys away, i would be bringing in my birthday with some kind of bad omen... but the guys were fun.. they really ended up being irritating. but it was humorous. i thought the above pic was funny. it kind of just said it all...

the girls i brought my birthday in with... miss amy and miss monica. wonderful company.

the guys boutonnieres

aww, i got a birthday cake! so excited.

i didn't get a picture last year of me blowing out my candles, so i was SURE to get one this year. and i made a great wish!

one of my favorite girls whom i miss terribly.

the traditional tequila shot with mic and nic, ha.

wow, i used to be able to drink when i lived in virginia. what happened? umm, good tequila is what happened i guess.

(really, i guess i just can't drink like i used to... it isn't the tequilas fault!)

captain jim

besties since we met in virginia. thank goodness we live in the same area still.

my wife and her fiance moved from RI to VA, but the opposite side of VA than norfolk. and they drove all the way to norfolk to celebrate my birthday with me. how much better can that be. amazing friends i have.

we brought the north to the south.

overall erin, how was your birthday? well, i give it a damn thumbs up...

is there any one who reads my blog in the norfolk/va beach area this weekend?

grace in small things # one hundred and seventy one
today i am glad i got to spend some time with one of my best friends and her other friends yesterday.
holly and ryan were having a little get together at their house and i just wasn't in the mood to go out. i felt more like laying in bed and reading than really going wild and crazy, but i did want to see her. so- conundrum. what to do? anyway, i figured i would just go, but leave early.
and i thought i would see another friend who haven't seen in forever. that friend didn't show up. and i'm slightly irritated that he didn't even respond to our texts. whatever. his loss.
anyway. i had a really good time. it was mostly me, holl and this girl (who was one of the boy's girlfriend.) and we ended up chatting the majority of the time. but then the girls ended up going to bed!!!
so i went downstairs to say goodbye to the guys and ended up actually hanging out with them for a while.
and we had a great time too.
i know i have already mentioned on here at some point about how i am so darn happy holly is engaged to ryan, but i feel the need to bring it up again. my best friend's fiance is a wonderful man. every single time he looks at her, i can see how much he loves her. and he is just an incredible person whom i really enjoy spending time with as well. i'm so glad they've found each other.

so, the reason i am grateful if i need to be a little more clear is that i went there. and stood the ENTIRE time. (even after my bestie went to sleep). and i had an absolutely wonderful time.
WONDERFUL.

so that is very good reason to be grateful.

today's gist #158

i'm just gonna copy and post my status for tonight on facebook.
im pretty darn grateful to be right where i am...

sitting by the fire, waves crashing 5ft away, eating lobster&drinking champagne. shooting stars. what a perfect sunday night. could this get any better?

grace in small things
130th edition
today instead of writing about a few of the things i am most grateful for, i'm just going to post some pictures.
these were taken at gene's 30th birthday party. the guys in the band are Rylo, some of my very closest friends who live in virginia, but came up to play at the party. what a damn great night. perfect.

grace # 129
today i am grateful for
genes bday (which is tomorrow) and his surprise party (which is today) shhhh....
rylo coming up from VA to play at gene's party
swimming- or at least hopefully being able to go in the pool.
seeing other friends- i miss nick and brian and steph, etc and they will all be there
it being a nice day for a party- the weather stinks lately, so i am SO GLAD it will be a nice day to celebrate!

gist # 121

i am so happy that it is friday and i am done with work for the week.
i usually work 7 days in a row.
this is the second weekend in a row i am not working on saturday and sunday.
how beautiful is that?
and i think i have got a damn good weekend planned too...
tomorrow i get to hang out with one of my best friends in the AM, then dress shopping with the soon to be sister in law and her family, then more wedding planning and hopefully i will have enough time to make it to aforementioned bestie's bar for a drink or two to end the evening.
then on sunday i have got a bunch of ideas, but not sure which to choose. i was thinking mystic aquarium in CT or boston museum of science because i have been dying to go to those two places.
so much to look forward to.

this post is majorly overdue. i probably should have written about it before i went on my cruise, or at least immediately upon returning, but...well, i suck at life sometimes.

i'd much rather admit to being an idiot than not mention my gratitude. so, miss tattooed dorothy, i just want you to know you made my day, then week, then month, because i am still thinking about how much your little gift meant to me.

before i left to go on vacation, i was fortunate enough to receive a present in the mail. yes, postal mail. and an actual, "someone took the time out to think about little old me" present.

i knew i had something coming to me. she and i had been talking about becoming real life pen pals (kind of like blood brothers, just a lot more sanitary, no blood involved. actually- just handwriting and a postage stamp required, maybe a little gossip, but definitely no blood or spit or gross boy nastiness...) and she said she would be putting something in the mail for me. i was having a crappy day when i got the letter, and at first, i was like who the hell is sending me something (that isn't a bill)?

then, i realized? holy shit... i have an amazing friend! i tore open the envelope in my excitement, which definitely got fenway's attention, because then she started jumping at me, sniffing and squealing at the envelope (i wish i had my camera THEN because she was so damn interested it was hysterical!) once fen and i were able to get the note out of the envelope, we realized there was a goody inside... a luggage tag! for my brand new suitcase! and its a red sox tag...which shows FENWAY park!!!!

how amazing is that? no, really. i know i am being all corny and stuff, but that meant so much to me. that is such a well thought out, observant gift. maybe little miss dorothy had no clue how cool i would think this was... maybe she barely paid any attention to the random gift. but here i am to clarify that for her and for you.

this gift meant so much to be (have i explained that well enough yet?) it was just a little thing, but it really made me feel special... and i love it! i need it too!

so miss tattooed dorothy aka soul sister aka pen pal (which is kind of like blood brothers, except not at all... where the heck do i come up with this stuff????) thank you.

thank you, thank you, thank you. it was the sweetest thing, and it still means a lot to me over a month later!

here are a few pics:
obviously once fenway found out the gift was for me, not her (its usually the other way around...) she tried to pretend that she wasn't interested....she acted like she was more interested in napping- but i knew otherwise. i caught her sniffing the paper when she thought i wasn't looking....umm, just not with my camera. ha!



and here is my pretty new suitcase with my super cool tag. oh, yeah... i am styling :)

gist #51
today i'm grateful for my friends (even though i am grateful for them everyday)

1. trish and amy for our monthly "wake up, wake up, wake up its the first of the month..."
2. elizabeth for our weekly telephone dates, even though we never ever call each other.
3. amy and sarah for tonight's upcoming movie date night. i'm going to put on a fashion show for them and try on all my clothes i bought for the cruise.
4. jill, technically she is a future family member, but i really love her and respect her as a mother and gf to my brother and i'm so glad she's in my life.
5. my blog friends. i honestly look forward to hearing from them and also look forward to hopefully meeting them someday. i have high hopes for meeting EP and tattooed dorothy one day in the next year or so. it seems plausible. y'all can come visit me any time you'd like. shoot, maybe i'll even head down to you're area soon ;)

g.i.s.t. number 44

brought to you by erin and friends, via Spats (the bar) at 11:07pm

(this is actually a copy of the email i sent to my blog- but it didn't post, because i actually sent it to the WRONG email address. so anyway, i just went into my sent mail, did a little copying and pasting and here we are folks!)

1. i am grateful for the gorgeous dark skinned, shaved head, twenty something, gorgeous man in the white shirt by the bar who keeps looking in my direction.
2. i am grateful that i have so much more clothes on than these skanky 21year olds* (*= yeah right, can i say fake ids?) who just walked into the bar.
3. i am grateful for the great sangria, which my friends are drinking, because it is much better than the boring beer i ordered. damn.
4. i am grateful for amy and sarah having the guts to go chat it up with mr. white shirt (for me) because i am too much of a sissy myself.
5. i am grateful that those skanky 21year olds* left, probably because everyone else in the bar looked older and less skanky then them. goodbye!

grace number 41
today i am most grateful for honest people

i grew into being an honest person. i remember being a child and learning that people lie. the idea was foreign to me. i remember having so many questions: what is a white lie? is there any difference between a fib and a lie? can someone tell i am lying just by looking at me?

like any person, i have told my share of lies throughout my life. i actually enjoy lying to people i will never see again. on a night on the town, i might tell a guy my name was marylin (in regards to monroe) and my friend's name is betty (in regards to page). oddly though, i feel as if i have a super morphed truth gene. i highly value the truth, i almost always tell the truth, and i have a hard time sugar coating the truth. if anything, i am sure my friends would consider me too honest.

i'm still upset by being lied to by jaqueline scott aka miss musing. i'm upset that i cared for someone who was a complete hoax, and introducing her on this blog so y'all could believe her hoax as well. but i am going to try to not dwell on this.

today i want to be grateful for those who are truthful, and celebrate my readers and blogging friends who have always been truthful to me. for you all, i am beyond grateful. thank you for being part of my life!

grace number 35
today i am most grateful for the kind random things that people do when you least expect it.

growing up my mother and father really instilled in me a deep love for helping others. we'd donate money to charities, walk in "walk-a-thons" to support causes, volunteer our time to those who needed it, or do something just as simple as play card games with the elderly lady across the street. (that was one of my favorites. she taught me how to play W-A-R)

anyway, i would like to think that i live my life constantly doing "little things" to make others days better. because i have always done this regularly, i kind of "forget" that i'm doing something nice, you know what i mean? when you put stuff into action, sometimes you forget how much it means to the person receiving your kindness. and most of the time, i don't expect kindness from others. i'm always SOOO grateful when someone does go out of their way an surprises me.

anyway, i need to hurry because the internet is going to be down for about an hour at work, and then i need to go home. i was just surprised by todd at http://www.toddgourley.blogspot.com/ with a header for my page. it is awesome! amazing! i love it! i wish i could post it now, but literally, my Internet is about to kick the bucket at work! i will try and change my layout tonight, but i doubt i will have time, so you will probably not see the changes until tomorrow.

thank you so much todd.

y'all better go check him out!

I really hope this posts right away, because i dont want to mess up my cycle of GISTs! I think this is the first time i used my phone to post to blogger, so i'm hoping that i am doing this right. Either way, it counts in my mind!

I believe this is grace #22

I'm most grateful for growing up with my best friend amy.

We've known each other since about first grade, so in a sense, we really did grow together. We went to the same elementary, middle, high school and college. We've shared all our experiences and walked side by side for so long that she is less like my friend, but more like my sister. My best friend. She's going through a tough time because she has lost someone important in her life and its tough for me to just be a "witness". I wish i could do more for her. I wish i could change things. But i cant. I do not know what i would do without her in my life. I guess i am just a little less an erin without an amy. I just hope she and her friends find some peace soon. Maybe i will write a little more on this tomorrow, maybe not. Regardless of what i choose to do though, one of the things i am most thankful for in the entire world is miss amy.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
(i did edit this post on 4.3.09, but just spelling and some bolding at the top! i am so excited that it posted! yahoo)

1. family night at funchal.
2. having the conference i planned go smoothly after all.
3. being able to watch my nephew turn into a toddler (even though i want to keep him a baby)
4. the tv show The Starter Wife
5. whatever i am about to eat for dinner. i'll eat anything right now...i'm so hungry!

ola, como esta?

one: shopping and eating with eliz last night. my heart will officially be broken when she, chris and baby nicholas have to go back to georgia on friday morning.

two: having my braces off. i have a good friend who is getting them put on friday, so it reminds me how lucky i am to have a great smile (with the help of my braces). its not that i didn't like braces... i was one of the few random people who actually kind of liked my braces. i guess i am just thankful it is something i have done and no longer need to do.

three: so excited because i saved so much money last night while shopping. i actually think i am going to blog about my shopping & saving experience sometime this weekend. i want to be able to go home and get some pictures of the stuff. basically, i bought some excellent things and saved a HUGE amount of money! super cool.

four: my brother just let me know my side mirror and door piece just came in for jude, my SUV. someone hit my car and didn't leave a note, so i am stuck with the bill- and it isn't cheap. because i have an electronic mirror, it would have cost me about $325 if i bought it retail, and i think the total cost of everything will only be about $150, so for that i am very grateful :)

five: my brand new desk and desk hutch :) (this was one of my purchases from last night) i really like it, and i cannot wait to put it together, but i don't know when i will have the time! i can't tonight because i need to get ready for the conference i planned which is tomorrow. then tomorrow i will be at the conference all day, then i have a nail appt. and then i have a dinner date with some friends. hopefully i will be able to put it together on saturday morning, because if not.... then i won't be able to even unload it until monday night!