Thankful...

so if you read my blog then you know that i read Melissa's blog...

she's got a wonderful perspective on life and has started weekly recognition of things in her life that she's thankful...i think it's a fantastic way to remind yourself of all that you have...versus focusing on things that you dont have...

so Melissa...thank you for inspiring me...here goes!

these are in no particular order and some are intense and others are silly...

1. my husband is right now at a shwanky restaurant with his co-workers for a holiday lunch. i was teasing him last night that i'd like to have a nice company lunch at a shwanky restaurant with adults. but then i realized that while it's not shwanky, i get to spend almost every day with my brother having lunch here in my own kitchen. he only works about 15 minutes from where i live so he frequently zips over. so im thankful for lunch with my brother. which if you know me you know that he's as important to me as my children and husband are.

2. i'm lucky that every day i find the strength to work hard at being more patient with my children. some days it works...some days not as much. but every day i have new resolve to be better.

3. i'm lucky that i have 2 beautiful dogs. they make me INSANE most days because they are just constantly underfoot. so between the big one weighing in at 80lbs and the runt weighing in at 50 that's 130 lbs of canine constantly tripping me, bumping into me, blocking my way, stepping on my feet, and begging for food. but i love them...in all their furry, warm, fluffy, doggie breath, best smelling tops of heads glory.

4. i'm thankful for my dad. i love him so much. we've been through lifetimes together...in our past...he and i. and we're in a good place now. an open place with honest communication and sharing of feelings both good and bad.

5. i'm thankful that my mom isn't still suffering. i miss her and love her.

6. i'm thankful for my family...my husband and children...for without them i'd be nothing.

7. i'm thankful for my sister in law. i love her as if she were my own blood.

8. i'm thankful for really great in-laws. i wish they lived closer. someday they will!!

9. im thankful that while my Grandmother is really wildly insane and sometimes a stiff pain in the ass that she's here. and a part of my and my children's life. because she's lost her 3 so i hope that by spending time with my children she can find the real love and happiness that she couldn't give her girls or herself.

10. im thankful for my girlfriends. you know who you are...you're the elementary school friend who has been with me and stuck with me through everything...even after almost 4 years of not speaking for nothing but stupid reasons, you're the college friends who held me when i cried, laughed with me, drank with me, stood up with me on my wedding day, stuck by me when i went through a truck ton of shit and eventually came out on the other side, and then taught me how to be a wonderful mother, you're the friends i've made since becoming a mother...you...like my college friends have stuck with me when we all cried together, laughed together, shouted together talking about how sassy and snarky our kids are being, we've been through a lot in a short period of time yet i feel like it's been 20 years. i'm forever thankful...

11. im thankful for my cousin jodi. i love her beyond words and we've become so close in the last couple of years. we relate...on lots of levels and lots of different subjects. i'm thankful for her children and her husband...my actual cousin. they're a wonderful family and i love that i get to join them and see them grow up. and im thankful that my children love them as well.

12. im thankful for crafting. it keeps me sane, it inspires me, it fulfills that creative space that's been missing since i stopped working. i love it i love it i love it and im very thankful.

13. im thankful for liquid bandage. i just discovered it today. i have these HORRIBLE cracks on the tips and corners of my fingers making things like typing, dialing a phone, tying shoelaces, etc so painful. it works like a charm. i can function again!

14. im thankful for my house. while not large and not updated at all...its mine and i love it...flaws and all.

That's all the time I have for now. I'll certainly be posting more later!!

I hope that everyone is having a creative day!