At the beginning of the year, Ali challenged her blog readers to come up with a word for the year. A word they want to focus on for the net year, incoporate into their life, strive to acheive, etc. I LOVE this idea, and although I'm a little behind the times, I'm going to go ahead and pick one:
THANKFUL
Sometimes I have issues seeing the blessings in my life for all the bumps in the road. But it's been hitting me more and more the last few weeks how lucky I am, and I want to be aware of that every day and focus on everything that makes my life so awesome.
So here's my thought: each day on my blog, I'm going to post what I'm thankful for that day. Now, I know myself, and it may not be every day, but before December 31, 2009, I will have listed 365 things I'm thankful for. Plus - wouldn't that be a great mini album?? I can insert pictures/stories where I have them, list the rest, and forever have an album of all the great things in my life!
So, I'm 29 days behind, which means you get a list of 29 before I start with my one-a-day.
1. Above all else, my faith in God. Enough said.
2. Mike. I'm sure Mike will show up on my list, time and time again, in different ways. There are so many things about him that I am thankful for, but what immediately came to mind to encompass it all was that he loves me. In his love, I get his friendship, his laughter, his sweetness and caring, his goofiness, his honeriness (is that a word??), and I get unconditional acceptance of all the crazy/goofy/ridiculous things I do in my life.
3. Our home. I'm sure many people know that I've moved around a lot since I left for college in 2000. In the last 9 years, I've moved 18 times. I am so exceptionally thankful to be in a place that is HOME and where I will not have to pack/move/unpack again forever!
4. Molly. I love that pooch. She brings so much laughter into our lives (along with many frustrations). It's impossible to be mad at her for long though, with the flat little face and the curly tail...even when she did somehow manange to get on the kitchen counter.
5. My friends. I really do have an amazing bunch of friends, some closer than others, but all very supportive of me and the things I do. And very tolerant of my goofiness :)
6. My family. I love them. Can't get enough. (For the most part!)
7. Memories. Without them, I'd be without my mommy.
8. New challenges. Last year, at the this time, I had NO IDEA I would be where I am today. Mike and I hadn't even started dating yet (our "anniversary" is Monday), so how the heck would I know that I'd be a (future) farmer's wife, doing chores with calves, chasing my puppy around the farm, driving 130+ miles to work round-trip each day, and so on. I also didn't know I would be a part of an amazing new family, make many new friends, and so on. Each day is a challenge, in a very good way.
9. My stamping/scrapbooking obsession. My grandma (dad's mom) is very crafty. My great grandma (mom's grandma) was an amazing painter. Mom was very crafty. I also wanted to be and never found anything I was really good at. Until now. I love stamping and scrapbooking - it's an amazing creative outlet, it makes me feel closer to my mom and grandmas (even though they didn't scrapbook or stamp), it helps me de-stress, and I think I'm okay at it :)
10. Cupcakes. Yup, I love 'em. And all things cupcake.
11. My nephew Michael John. That kid is awesome. He's smart, always happy, adorable. He has been such a good person to have around in the hard times - it doesn't matter how upset we all are, we look at him and feel this sense of calm and hope and happiness.
12. Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer.
13. The Internet. I know that sounds superficial, but it's really not - it has kept me in touch with so many friends, allowed me to meet so many people I wouldn't normally, it inspires me, connects me, educates me, amuses me. Love it.
14. Laughter. I love laughing. I love making people laugh.
15. Being in love. It's such an awesome feeling :)
16. The smell of hay after a long day. I had no idea that I one day would equate that smell with home
17. TV shows that I love. I know it's not very deep or meaningful, but watching something as simple as a reality show or Grey's Anatomy takes a lot of stresses away.
18. Naps. LOVE naps.
19. My education. I've been very lucky to learn so many things in so many different capacities. There are many times I miss being in college at ISU and knowing my focus was on learning. I think that's why I try to take in so much now on things I love.
20. The traveling I've been able to do. I was just talking with Mike last night about some of the things we've done and I realized how very fortunate I have been to see our country.
21. My love of reading. Thank you Book-It program!!
22. Radio. It gets me through the day at work. Love songs that evoke memories, make me giggle, make me chair dance, whatever!
23. Bright colors and awesome textures. Great inspiration!
24. School/office supplies. There's something so exciting about a new pen or post-it notes (I sound like Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail). I've always loved office supplies though.
25. Fall weather. I maintain that one of the happiest days in my life (of just being, not because of anything else that was happening that day) was when we first moved into the house, I took Molly down in the yard and watched her run while enjoying the awesome weather and watching the sunset.
26. Common sense. A comment in my work email just made me very thankful that I was blessed with common sense.
27. The color pink. It makes me happy. :)
28. My camera. Ties back into the memories thing. But I love taking pictures and sharing them with people.
29. Being done with this list? Just kidding. Sarcasm? Yeah, let's go with sarcasm. It's a great release for me, and I generally get some giggles.
That's really difficult to do. I will not be letting the list get this behind again!!
No comments:
Post a Comment