1.  Training new WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) facilitators this week in Mansfield, Ohio

2.  my co-facilitator is my dear friend Jean

3.  meeting caring people from all over the state of Ohio

4.  finding out about their good works and ambitions for helping other people — hooray!

5.  we are all so tender, it is a miracle to get to know people as they reveal their personalities

6.  it was such a relief to find out that the food for lunch was delicious

7.  this was the first time that I have ever planned a training in advance — food, hotel, scholarships, etc.  Usually, I just show up and facilitate.

8.  it was such a treat to meet everyone after email and phone contact, and reading their applications

9.  when this training is over, there will be 20 new WRAP facilitators to help people in starting their own WRAPs

10.  it is such a privilege to be part of this community of amazing people — hallejuah!

1.  What if you woke up one morning, and you had nothing?

2.  And then someone told you that they would give you some clothes —

3.  Another person offered you some food to eat, and some extra food for later —

5.  Then someone gave you a ride to look for a place to live, and gave you an apartment, or a house

6.  Before you knew it, people had given you furniture for your house

7.  And food for your pantry

8.  Sheets, towels, potholders, pans, dishes, glasses, all arrived for your personal use

9.  Then you even got a TV and pillows, little decorative items — oh my!

10.  What if you had nothing, and someone gave you back everything you already have?

How grateful would you be?

1.  reading to g-son Andrew’s kindergarten class

2.  the book where the kids yell out on every page — how fun!

3.  Andrew sitting in the front row, holding all the books to his chest, and handing them to me proudly, one by one

4.  the little girl who raised her hand during the story to tell me I had skipped a page — oh no!

5.  after the story was all done, going back, finding that page and reading it to honor that little girl

6.  looking out into a sea of darling little faces — all shapes, sizes, colors — so beautiful!

7.  just being in a kindergarten classroom is a privilege

8.  the walls are filled with incredible artwork, better than the best art museums in the world!

9.  the energy level is high and it is exciting to think what they are learning every day

10.  thank you to all the kindergarten teachers in the world for expending the kind of care and expertise required to help, teach, and nurture our precious young children!  hooray!

1.  Sometimes I think that God (or angels, or the Universe, whichever you prefer) just gives me so many presents all the time it is almost embarrassing.

2.  Today at the organic market, I got to run into a dear friend and have a fun and happy chat.

3.  I bought nuts by the bulk for the office and for home — so nice to have them on hand.

4.  What a treat to get some taboule, hummus, and olive bruschetta — oh my!

5.  Tom cooked up a yummy meal of chili and biscuits for Maribeth and me.  (He ate, too!)  When I said the blessing, I was struck again by how many blessings we have, and not just food.

6.  Gas prices are up, but I have a fun and happy car.  I am just being more careful about how often I drive.

7.  Getting all organized for the WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) facilitator training next week.

8.  Wrote in the blog today about forsythias and how they are helping me get through a reluctant Spring.

9.  Cutting up squares of heavy paper for a Zentangle (see zentangle.com) demonstration tomorrow for foster parents.

10.  Get to spend time with my Papa tomorrow — at 94, every minute I spend with this charming, feisty, interesting guy is an enormous blessing.

1.  World Laughiter Day is Sunday, May 1

2.  The Laughing Clug of N.E. Ohio is celebrating at Hardesty Park in Akron, Ohio

3.  At 3 p.m. the public is invited to join us in a huge laughing circle!

4.  This annual event is celebrated all over the world in stadiums, fields, with parades, and more!

5.  It’s “Laughter for World Peace”

6.  see laughteryoga.com for more information

7.  The Laughing Club of N.E. Ohio meets every Saturday at Cuyahoga Falls Library (Ohio)

8.  at 10 a.m., we do laughng exercises (no jokes) for almost an hour!

9.  laughter is good for your heart, lungs, lowers your blood pressure, releases endorphins for good mood and more!

10.  Our Mary Ellen is the most enthusiastic laughing facilitator for the Laughing Club of N.E. Ohio

11.  We are doing a “giggle box” for an “Inventor’s School” for children tomorrow night — hooray1

1.  my bowl of fruit for breakfast

2.  a lovey email from Rose

3.  writing 750 words on 750words.com

4.  Tom rushing to kiss me goodbye as I left

5.  a crow flying to the very top of a tree

6.  reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU by Dr. Seuss to my g-son on his eighth birthday in his second grade classroom as a surprise

7.  a bright yellow goldfinch in front of my car in the parking lot

8.  Judy asking me to sponsor her for a walk for a children’s cause that is the same day I am walking to raise money for a cancer support place — so now we’re sponsoring each other (and it’s on the same day!)

9.  my Dad yelling at me because he got so many birthday cards for his 94th birthday — hooray!  he wants to send out thank you notes for the cards!  I told him he doesn’t have to do that!  He’s so amazing.

10.  my creativity crown that has flowers, pom poms, ribbons, and silliness all over it that I wear when I need to feel uplifted — thank you to whoever invented silliness and passed it along!

1.  Thanks to Unity Chapel of Light for a wonderful Sunday service!

2.  Thanks to Janis for sitting with me and her beautiful yellow jacket — she is always such a fun drresser!

3.  Thanks for all the compliments on my multi-colored pastel chenille jacket that I got at the fancy consignment store!

4.  Thanks to Maribeth for all the help getting ready for Easter dinner.

5.  Thanks to Maribeth for sharing hippity hopping fun with me this morning.

6.  We wore bunny ears and went through the drive through at McDonald’s and gave “Peeps” at both windows!  lololol

7.  Thanks to Tom for all the help with help getting ready for Easter dinner.

8.  No thanks to the skunk that sprayed right by Maribeth’s open window last night — our house was a stinky place until afternoon!  Pretty funny, though!  So, skunk, thanks for the funny story!

9,  Thanks for all the loved ones coming for dinner, and for the feelings of new beginnings that Easter brings.

10.  Thanks to my precious Paparoonio who is 94 years old today, and Nathan, my wonderful grandson, who is eight years old tomorrow!  How blessed we are at both ends of the age spectrum!

1.  U – thank you for UNDERWEAR!  It helps make the world a better place!

2.  V – thank you for VERBS!  They make language more lively!

3.  W – thank you for WONDERMENT!  Being grateful leaves us wide open for wonderment!  Hooray!

4.  X – thank you for X-RAYS that help Drs. find out what is happen inside our mysterious bodies!

5.  Z – thank you for ZENTANGLES!  What an awesome form of meditation an awareness!  (see zentangle.com)

6.  Thank you for all the letters of the alphabet!  Without them, we wouldn’t have words, and words are miraculous ways of thinking, writing, and communicating!  Yippee!

7.  Thank you for the ABC song, which has been sung by children for ages and ages.  What is sweeter that  a little child singing the ABC song so proudly?

8.  Thank you for ABC building blocks.  I saved some from my kids for my grandkids to play with.  They are universal!

9.  Thank you for the alphabet for filing purposes!  How in the world would we file without it?!

10.  Thank you to the letters of the alphabet as presented on Sesame Street!  I still watch that every once in a while for the fun, the music, and the good naturedness of it all!

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K–M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Take a bow!

1.  K – thank you for KINDNESS that shows up in my life every day from so many directions!

2.  L – thank you the very most of all for LOVE — friends, family, and universal love!  When I replace fear with love, I am always on the right track!

3.  M – thank you for my car, MOLLY MARIE McGEE – my red beetle with colorful daisies on the side and back, and a “love” sticker in the window, a true hippie car for a hippie from the sixties!

4.  N – thank you for NIGHT, a time to regroup, rest, and recharge for the next day.

5.  O – thank you for OHIO, my home state, the towns, cities, and the beautiful landscapes are all endearing to me.

6.  P – thank you for PEARS — what is better than a perfectly ripe pear, eaten over the kitchen sink?

7.  Q – thank you for QUAINTNESS — I just love things that are quaint, a little old-fashioned, charming,  and such a cute word!

8.  R – thank you for ROSE — both the flower and the person, both are exquisite in their beauty and grace!

9.  S – thank you for STAMINA to get the things done that make my world a better place, and to keep on going sometimes when I am tired and feeling impossible.

10. T – thank you for TIME — what an amazing gift we get every day when we wake up, a new beginning!

1.  A – thank you for these ARMS that have hands at the end that can type, hug, hold, lift, wave and more!

2.  B – thank you for BOOKS — oh how I love books!

3.  C – thank you for my name, CAROL — which means joyful song.  I was born on Christmas Eve.

4.  D – thank you for DELIGHT!  What a wonderful feeling — I feel delight when I see my grandsons, Nate and Andrew!

5.  E – thank you for EVERYTHING!  Even when I feel broke, I have everything I need and I appreciate that I am so blessed.

6.  F – thank you for FLOWERS!  Spring is always a celebration of flowers, and thank you to Amy, the amazing amaryillis who has just burst forth with her NINTH blossom!

7.  G – thank you for GOODNESS — the goodness of friends and family, and of this life.

8.  H – thank you for HAPPINESS!  I know everyone can’t be happy all the time, but most of us can make other people happy fairly easily — and that is the best happiness ever!

9.  I – thank you for INK!  Ink in my pens, so many colors and kinds!  Yippee!  Ink in the printer for copying and printing.  Ink everywhere that makes so many things possible.

10.  J – thank you for JUICE!  What could be better than fresh squeezed orange juice?  Hooray for all kinds of juices!