One of my favorite things about Facebook? When November rolls around, people start posting 30 Days of Gratitude. Seeing the daily posts detailing what people are thankful for, from the big to the small, is awesome. It gives me warm fuzzies. And it is a nice change from some of the people that usually post their every move, the latest relationship drama, angry arguments, or woe is me updates. Facebook gets a little brighter, a little more uplifting, and a little more fun. Which is the perfect way for the holidays to kick off if you ask me.
Now, most people give thanks for their spouse, children, health, family, friends, etc. Some also include small things that might seem trivial, such as a favorite dessert or an extra hour of sleep. For me personally, I think I have a good mix. So I have been posting daily and this post will summarize my own personal 30 Days of Gratitude. And did I mention a December announcement at the end? See if you can guess what it is.
FYI, my posts are mostly verbatim from my Facebook posts, except I took the liberty to swap some names out and correct any spelling mistakes. :-)
1) I am thankful for my little goblins. (Trick or Treat was postponed due to Superstorm Sandy)
2) I am thankful for amber teething necklaces. Monkey cut 4 (canine) teeth in roughly 48 hrs this weekend. Never seemed to be in pain. Change in appetite, more tired than normal, drooling and nose running nonstop. But no screaming fits of pain, no sleep troubles, no crankiness. The worst of the runny nose and drooling was over in about 3 days. No Orajel, no Tylenol, no Motrin. And back to his normal self, minus the drool and runny nose, quickly. I'd say that is something to be thankful for. :-)
3) I am thankful for Monkey wanting me to rock him to sleep for the first time in ages.
4) I am thankful for Pinterest. That my be a trivial thing, but I find so many great ideas there. Yesterday I found the idea of Random Acts of Christmas Kindness on Pinterest. I discussed it with my girls and they love the idea. And I love the idea of RACKing to show the girls the spirit of the holiday season. Now, thanks again to Pinterest, I have tons of ideas for us to sort through and figure out what we will do daily from Dec 1-Dec 25. And I love the idea of 30 Days of Gratitude being followed by 25 Days of Giving. <3
5) I am thankful for wise words as we prepare for tomorrow (Election Day).
"I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them, 1) to vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy, 2) to speak no evil of the person they voted against; And 3) to take care their spirites were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side." - John Wesley, October 6, 17746) I am thankful that I live in a free nation that allows its citizens the right to vote, something that was kept from many of our citizens a century ago, including all women. I was actually so caught up in being with my family yesterday and observing the elections from around the country that I forgot to post my Gratitude post.
7) I am thankful for the historic milestones and barriers that were broken yesterday. No matter what your political leanings, religious beliefs, or personal opinions, there were MANY firsts and barriers broken yesterday. And given the heated nature and bullshittery I've seen from both sides regarding the presidential election, I think I prefer to be grateful for this today. Here is a list of many of yesterday's historical milestones:
- Tammy Duckworth was elected and will become the first disabled female veteran
- Tulsi Gabbard, a veteran of the Iraq War, was elected and will become the first Hindi-American in Congress.
- Mazie Hirono was elected and will become the first Asian-American woman in the Senate
- Tammy Baldwin was elected and will become the first openly gay Senator.
- Mary Gonzalez was elected and will be the first openly pansexual Senator.
- New Hampshire is the first state to have all female congressional and gubernational representatives.
- 20. That's the historic number of female Senators our nation will have when the newly elected women take office.
- Minnesota voted to *not ban* marriage equality.
- Maine, Maryland, and Washington join 6 other states and DC in recognizing marriage equality.
- Colorado and Washington both legalized marijuana.
- Akin, Mourdock, Rivard, Walsh, Tom Smith, and Koster were all defeated. They all made offensive comments regarding rape.
Again, I don't believe all of us to see eye to eye or agree on these milestones. You may believe they are all great, bad, whatever. I dont care. But they ARE milestones
And a big thank you to Ashley for bringing most if these to my attention yesterday.
8) I am thankful for quick thinking. Sassy informed me that she needs me to make or buy a scarecrow costume for her choir performance tonight at 8:30. And she needs it tomorrow. JOY.
But, thanks to a quick trip to the store, we now have a costume. Complete with a plaid shirt, straw hat, red bandana, and jeans with patches in the same bandana design.
SUPER MOM!!
9) I am thankful for the ability to be a member of such a great team! I joined the BC team this summer after falling in love with some of the products. It has been so rewarding and I have met such wonderful women. It has allowed me to pamper my girls by having spa nights at home, helped my own skin, and helped several others close to me. I love sharing the #1 brand of SPA products and helping people at the same time. And I get to go pamper some ladies for a brunch tomm, which I am super thankful and excited about. :-)
10) I am thankful for my bed. I think I'll be in bed by 7:30 tonight lol.
11) I am thankful for our nation's veterans, past, present, and future.
12) I am thankful for Starbuck's Pike Place Roast and International Delight Caramel Macchiato creamer.
13) I am grateful for being able to go to bed at 8:00 since I worked all night long, slept for 2hrs this morning, and then worked all day Tues. Sleep felt awesome last night.
14) I am thankful for Monkey losing his last pacifier because it has forced us to end that habit without any tears. Let's hope it stays that way. And the paci stays hidden. I still haven't found it. (Update: 2 days later, Sassy found it and gave it to him before I could stop her. Figures.)
15) I am thankful I have discovered that Anna Karenina is coming out as a film again! With Kiera Knightley and Jude Law. YES please! Now I need to find out when it is being released at a theater anywhere close to me. (Update: still haven't found out when it will be showing anywhere close to me. BOO!)
16) I am thankful for relaxation time. Long bath, chemical peel, microderm, and facial. Finishing the night off with my neck wrap, curled up in bed.
17) I am thankful for "lowww-oooooo", which is what Monkey said tonight when I said "I love you" before bedtime. ~melt~ ♥
18) I am thankful for my girls to have the opportunity to go on a movie date with their Daddy. I'm not sure who is more excited to see Wreck It Ralph, the girls or Hubby! In the meantime, I'm off to a lunch date and then back home for Monkey's nap time.
19) I am thankful for childhood throwbacks. Popcorn with the kidlets. Just finished watching Mulan, watching Space Jam now. Another mid-90s movie and the night will be complete.
20) I am thankful for a wonderful annual check-up with our pediatrician for the girls. The girls love seeing her and she was great about catching up, asking questions, and answering our questions.
21) I am thankful for everyone in bed early so I can make my pumpkin trifle, do some laundry, and get set for this weekend! Thanksgiving tomorrow, maybe doing a hike on Friday, then a holiday event on Saturday. (Update: The hike didn't happen for me. Some day I'll make it out on the Women's Hikes my friends do!)
22) I am thankful for the yummy food today, even though Jay is sick and my back is giving me fits. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have more mobility so I can be active and work off some of the food I stuffed myself with today. (Update: I had a few vertebrae out of alignment. It sucked and lasted almost a week before I was good to go again.)
23) I am thankful to not be out in the Black Friday craziness for the first time in 7 years. I am in the holiday mood. I am in the Christmas spirit. But the fact that Black Friday shopping is starting on Thanksgiving Day? That the over the top election ads were replaced by over the top Black Friday ads? I just can't get motivated to get out in the midst of all the crazy. I'm taking a laissez-faire approach to holiday shopping this year. Which means I'm shopping the entire holiday season as the mood strikes me, not going out in the panic and crowds. I will be going out today, but to pick up some normal supplies for my event tomorrow. And I'll likely score a few online deals this weekend. But 24 hr Black Friday in-store blitz? NO thanks.
24) I am thankful for Small Business Saturday. I spent my day in Pennsboro at the Rainbow Grange Holiday Bazaar and met some great small businesses! It was so fun talking to everyone and Diva had a blast helping everyone with instant manicures.
25) I am thankful for pumpkin muffins and caffeinated drinks.
26) I am thankful for ibuprofen, icy hot patches, and chiropractors. I woke up on Thanksgiving with some disc issues at the bottom of my neck and top of my back. After waiting through the weekend, I think I am finally getting more range of motion and less pain. Let's hope sleeping tonight doesn't tighten everything back up.
27) I am thankful for hearing Monkey say "Mama...mama? Maaaaaaama!" over and over again when he is slowly falling asleep. He wasn't looking for me or yelling for me, but he just kept saying my name.
28) I am thankful for beef nagamaki, Thai curry chicken, and 9 years of marriage. Happy Anniversary to my non-Facebooking Hubby!!
29) I am thankful for the wonderful relationship my girls have. They are best friends and sometimes quick enemies. They are kind to each other, go out of their way to help each other. And they are inconsolable and overly dramatic when one feels like she was offended or wounded by the other. They concoct schemes together, or concoct schemes to make the other take the blame. In conclusion, they are perfect sisters.
This status brought to you by the bedtime fight, which included screams of "you are the meanest person ever!", then was followed up by them cuddling and singing songs together as they fell asleep 10 mins later.
30) I am thankful for the ability to make plans to help others. We're going to the Allie B Photography 1st Annual Holiday Photo Bash! tomorrow, which is going to help fund Angel Tree donations. I'm doing prep work tonight to kick off my family's first year of RACKing. That is Random Acts of Christmas Kindness, so keep your eyes peeled for 25 Days of RACK!
So that's the big announcement for December! My family is going to have a goal of doing 1 Random Act of Christmas Kindness every day from Dec 1 through Christmas. Some of the ideas we have gathered can be found on my RACK Pinterest board.
We actually did our first RACK already. I may post some quick updates on the blog's Facebook page, but I think I'm going to do several blog posts to detail them instead of trying to do one daily. Let's be honest. I am a bit lax on updating the blog like I want to. But, a full time job, Hubby, 3 kids, family, friends, and my commitments to a local parenting organization mean that I often get sidetracked. :-p
So I think that it will likely be a 5 part series (5 days each) or maybe updated weekly. We'll see what I can muster.
Have a great weekend! Hope all of you out there feeling the holiday spirit move you to be kind, generous, and compassionate.
23) I am thankful to not be out in the Black Friday craziness for the first time in 7 years. I am in the holiday mood. I am in the Christmas spirit. But the fact that Black Friday shopping is starting on Thanksgiving Day? That the over the top election ads were replaced by over the top Black Friday ads? I just can't get motivated to get out in the midst of all the crazy. I'm taking a laissez-faire approach to holiday shopping this year. Which means I'm shopping the entire holiday season as the mood strikes me, not going out in the panic and crowds. I will be going out today, but to pick up some normal supplies for my event tomorrow. And I'll likely score a few online deals this weekend. But 24 hr Black Friday in-store blitz? NO thanks.
24) I am thankful for Small Business Saturday. I spent my day in Pennsboro at the Rainbow Grange Holiday Bazaar and met some great small businesses! It was so fun talking to everyone and Diva had a blast helping everyone with instant manicures.
25) I am thankful for pumpkin muffins and caffeinated drinks.
26) I am thankful for ibuprofen, icy hot patches, and chiropractors. I woke up on Thanksgiving with some disc issues at the bottom of my neck and top of my back. After waiting through the weekend, I think I am finally getting more range of motion and less pain. Let's hope sleeping tonight doesn't tighten everything back up.
27) I am thankful for hearing Monkey say "Mama...mama? Maaaaaaama!" over and over again when he is slowly falling asleep. He wasn't looking for me or yelling for me, but he just kept saying my name.
28) I am thankful for beef nagamaki, Thai curry chicken, and 9 years of marriage. Happy Anniversary to my non-Facebooking Hubby!!
29) I am thankful for the wonderful relationship my girls have. They are best friends and sometimes quick enemies. They are kind to each other, go out of their way to help each other. And they are inconsolable and overly dramatic when one feels like she was offended or wounded by the other. They concoct schemes together, or concoct schemes to make the other take the blame. In conclusion, they are perfect sisters.
This status brought to you by the bedtime fight, which included screams of "you are the meanest person ever!", then was followed up by them cuddling and singing songs together as they fell asleep 10 mins later.
30) I am thankful for the ability to make plans to help others. We're going to the Allie B Photography 1st Annual Holiday Photo Bash! tomorrow, which is going to help fund Angel Tree donations. I'm doing prep work tonight to kick off my family's first year of RACKing. That is Random Acts of Christmas Kindness, so keep your eyes peeled for 25 Days of RACK!
So that's the big announcement for December! My family is going to have a goal of doing 1 Random Act of Christmas Kindness every day from Dec 1 through Christmas. Some of the ideas we have gathered can be found on my RACK Pinterest board.
We actually did our first RACK already. I may post some quick updates on the blog's Facebook page, but I think I'm going to do several blog posts to detail them instead of trying to do one daily. Let's be honest. I am a bit lax on updating the blog like I want to. But, a full time job, Hubby, 3 kids, family, friends, and my commitments to a local parenting organization mean that I often get sidetracked. :-p
So I think that it will likely be a 5 part series (5 days each) or maybe updated weekly. We'll see what I can muster.
Have a great weekend! Hope all of you out there feeling the holiday spirit move you to be kind, generous, and compassionate.
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