Thursday, November 27, 2008

A Year's Worth of Gratitude


Here it is, 365 things to be thankful for, one for each day of the year. I realize it's a long list and you probably won't read every single item, but writing them all out sure was good for me! They are sorted into categories, but are in no particular order within those categories--nor are the categories in any particular order... (And if you did a list too, scroll to the bottom to link up! Be sure to put the link directly to your post, not just to your blog homepage.)
Incidentally, for a little more inspiration, visit this post on Cultivating Gratitude--it's awesome! (She's working on a list of 1000 things!)
Also check over at Internet Cafe Devotions for more thankfulness lists (it's this week's entry in the Christmas series...)

FAMILY (37)

  1. eternal families
  2. my husband
  3. being married
  4. being a mother
  5. Big Wolf
  6. Little Bear
  7. adoption
  8. my mother, who taught me how to raise children, keep a home, and ask questions about everything
  9. my dad, who taught me to get out and do things, and to believe in myself
  10. my sister K, my roommate/best enemy/friend for the last 25 years
  11. my brother B, who is basically me, as a guy
  12. my brother J, who is happy
  13. my sister A, forever a baby, and a reminder to cherish the little moments
  14. my brother C, the first baby who loved me
  15. my sister L, the one who is truly like me
  16. my sister N, who is willing to try anything
  17. my brother D, who is only 7, and younger than my own son
  18. My doggie, Koira, because yeah, she's part of my family.
  19. being part of a big family (and not just because it filled so many slots on this list!)
  20. grandma M for years of glorious pies and jam, and the worlds best recipe for homemade rolls (the food network has got nothin on grandma!)
  21. grandpa M for exciting nights of listening to him on his ham radio
  22. grandma B for remarkable homemade ice cream
  23. grandpa B for his weird stories and dry sense of humor (which I've inherited)
  24. being able to know all four of my grandparents
  25. having gotten to meet five of my great-grandparents
  26. my son got to meet the last of my great-grandparents (so his great-great-grandfather)
  27. I was able to be baptized for my great-grandma Betty after she died
  28. being raised with traditions from my Germanic and Scandinavian heritage
  29. great great great grandpa William Morley Black's journal (it is such an inspiration--the link goes to a short excerpt)
  30. my cousin K who has been my pen-pal (more or less) for 20 years
  31. my cousin T, who has been my pen-pal too, but not for as long
  32. my aunt C, who taught me how to french braid my hair when I was 8
  33. great accepting and generous parents in-law (even though I think I freak them out from time to time)
  34. for my sister-in-law S after my first miscarriage
  35. for my sister-in-law L after my second miscarriage
  36. my brother-in-law T who is a registered socialist. I just have so much respect for him actually making that official. ☺
  37. JH, my adopted grandma, for interesting conversations, late nights on the lakeshore, and a really awesome Challah recipe
FRIENDS/PEOPLE (39)
  1. TC who taught me a whole lot about knitting, and became my friend when I needed one (and whom I miss terribly)
  2. LA who taught me to spin
  3. AM (now AA) who was my one friend in the theatre department who had morals and a work ethic like mine (the one I always tried to do group projects with)
  4. KG who first got me to question my parenting habits
  5. SF who has always been inspiring to me in natural parenting
  6. CS who taught me how to wear my sling
  7. CC who taught me about babywearing with something besides a sling
  8. JZ for great conversations and someone to be accountable to for morning walks after Bear was born
  9. Heather, who taught my BFW class and helped me prepare for a wonderful birth
  10. AT who keeps me thinking
  11. MC, my friend since high school
  12. CF, with whom I carpooled in college, and with whom I had dozens of delightful conversations
  13. AH, one college roommate I'm still in regular contact with
  14. BA, the college roommate who was nothing like me, challenged almost everything I thought I knew about life, and was awesome in every way
  15. NH, the college roommate who taught me to be more genuine
  16. Paulette, who taught me the intricacies of theatrical costuming and makeup
  17. Dr Laila Abdalla, my college English professor of Shakespeare and early British Lit, a short Egyptian-Canadian woman with big hair and an attitude the size of Alaska
  18. Doug Johnson, my college writing professor "the grammar nazi" who taught me 3/4 of what I know about writing
  19. SK, who taught me to make authentic East Indian food
  20. KK, who taught me how to decorate cakes, do a rope braid, and a loose bun
  21. KS, who taught me to sing
  22. TB, who taught me to perform music
  23. all the boys I've loved before
  24. all the people in my mommy's group in Utah Valley
  25. all the ladies in the knitting circle here in Pelican--they probably have no idea how much I look forward to those nights
  26. all the people in my mommy's group in Utah Valley
  27. My online friends (via forums or blogs) who've shown up and become my friends/readers at a time when I needed to feel noticed or loved (I didn't put whole names just in case I forgot somebody...☺): B
  28. B
  29. C
  30. E
  31. H
  32. E
  33. T
  34. S
  35. J
  36. J
  37. A
  38. N
  39. M

FAITH (25)
  1. Father in Heaven
  2. my Savior
  3. the gift of having the Holy Spirit as a constant companion
  4. agency (the right to make my own choices)
  5. the temple
  6. eternal covenants
  7. vicarious ordinances
  8. having my own temple recommend
  9. priesthood
  10. priesthood blessings
  11. scripture
  12. hymns
  13. tithing (I couldn't afford to not pay tithing!)
  14. a living prophet
  15. living apostles
  16. General Conference
  17. prayer
  18. personal revelation
  19. my testimony
  20. baptism
  21. the Atonement
  22. repentance
  23. grace (for by grace we are saved, after all we can do...)
  24. missionaries
  25. understanding the plan of salvation
MOMMY STUFF (20)
  1. that my not-yet-2-year-old likes to pee in the potty
  2. that he does #1 quite often
  3. seeing my children play together
  4. hearing my children sing
  5. watching my child sleep
  6. seeing their faces when they see something I have made for them
  7. helping my children pray
  8. hearing the things my children say when they pray on their own
  9. pregnancy
  10. feeling a baby move inside me
  11. co-sleeping
  12. breastfeeding
  13. being able to nurse from either side without rolling over (oh yes, the perks of being well-endowed!)
  14. babywearing
  15. cloth diapers
  16. wool longies
  17. my wraps
  18. my slings
  19. my pouch
  20. my 'buckle-tai' structured carrier
WONDERS OF CREATION (22)
  1. Roses
  2. Lilacs
  3. snapdragons
  4. baby's breath (flower)
  5. fields of pink heather
  6. sweet william (aka dianthus)
  7. phlox
  8. moss
  9. thyme
  10. doggies
  11. wolves
  12. bears
  13. eagles
  14. penguins
  15. dolphins
  16. seals
  17. the tide
  18. mountains
  19. sunshine
  20. snow
  21. the full moon
  22. moonlight on snow
MEDIA(13)
  1. The Dark Crystal (my first favorite movie)
  2. Life is Beautiful (my most favorite movie)
  3. Swing Time (my favorite dancing movie, with the best dance I've ever seen on film)
  4. "Be Still My Soul" (my hymn of comfort)
  5. Pachelbel's "Canon in D"
  6. Rachmaninoff's "18th variation on a theme by Paganini"
  7. Rich Mullens' "Awesome God"
  8. Carol of the Bells, What Child is This, Oh Holy Night, and all the other Christmas songs I love (which you'll get to hear about all month, starting tomorrow!)
  9. Point of Grace Christmas album
  10. Celtic Women album (I love the whole thing, which is rare)
  11. Michael W Smith (one of my favorite musicians)
  12. Stephen Curtis Chapman (another favorite)
  13. Janice Kapp Perry (a prolific songwriter)

HOME (17)
  1. kneading bread dough
  2. warm homemade bread
  3. living in a place where I can see Bald Eagles every day
  4. hot showers
  5. bubble baths
  6. jetted tubs
  7. flannel sheets that are never cold!
  8. my cast iron skillets
  9. all my pyrex dishes...I so hate plastic
  10. blender (smoothies!!!)
  11. electric mixer
  12. my crockpot
  13. electricity
  14. the Lay-z-boy recliner
  15. hot cocoa on a cold day
  16. Christmas music
  17. living in a free country
FAR FROM HOME (places I'm glad I've been) (28)
  1. the city of London
  2. Westminster Abby
  3. The tower of London
  4. The Globe Theatre (even though it's a remake)
  5. The top of Saint Paul's Cathedral
  6. Canterbury & the cathedral
  7. Rome
  8. St Peter's Bascilica
  9. The Sistine Chapel
  10. Asissi (birthplace of St Francis)
  11. Pompeii
  12. Delphi
  13. Rhodes
  14. Mars Hill (Athens)
  15. Ephesus (yes, that's in Turkey)
  16. Hawaii--NaPali coast
  17. USS Arizona Monument
  18. Punchbowl Cemetery (Honolulu)
  19. The Sacred Grove
  20. Hill Cumorah (I rolled down the front with my siblings)
  21. Bryce Canyon
  22. The Blue Mountains
  23. Washington DC
  24. SouthEast Alaska
  25. Sunrise viewpoint (Mt Rainier National Park)
  26. Tongue Point, WA (the coolest tidepools ever)
  27. Plimoth Plantation (living history of the pilgrims at Plymouth)
  28. NYC

PERSONAL (38)
  1. that my husband has good job-security (they don't fire teachers!
  2. that my husband has a regular paycheck (even if it's not real big)
  3. that I'm able to stay home, and that hubby is supportive of that
  4. knowing how to sew
  5. knowing how to sew well enough to make money at it
  6. knowing how to knit
  7. knowing how to do stranded knitting (which is SO fun)
  8. being almost done with my first knitted sweater!
  9. knit picks options circular needles (they are SO cool)
  10. knit picks and their yarn prices
  11. free knitting patterns online
  12. lots of free knitting patterns at my library
  13. being able to use my talents to make gifts for the people I love
  14. being able to use my talents to bless those I don't even know
  15. learning how to spin
  16. having a talent with doing hair
  17. finger dexterity
  18. knowing how to cook (which is an art)
  19. knowing how to bake (which is a science)
  20. my eyes
  21. my ears
  22. that my mother made me learn hymns (so now I can sing them without needing the hymnal)
  23. being able to read music
  24. being able to sing well
  25. having a college degree
  26. having a college education (all the stuff that happens outside of class!)
  27. that the first 2 years of my college were free, and the rest were cheap (because of scholarships and grants)
  28. having given birth
  29. dancing--both jazz and ballroom
  30. my long hair (what can I say, I love it!)
  31. my curves
  32. my wedding ring
  33. my mother's ring
  34. writing
  35. my blog (I find it so cathartic)
  36. everyone who has ever commented on my blog
  37. having renters we can trust (since they are 2000 miles away)
  38. my etsy shops
ETSY STUFF (22)
  1. that my husband is supportive of me running my shops
  2. Mothering street team, who first showed me how great a team can be
  3. Cloth Diapering street team, who have become my friends
  4. EtsyBloggers street team, who have gotten me lots of traffic
  5. friendly people in the 'critiques' forum who always give helpful advice
  6. etsy live chat, because it's made me more than a few sales
  7. the US postal service
  8. everyone who has ever purchased from me
  9. everyone who has ever recommended me/my shops to someone else
  10. everyone who has ever made a good trade with me
  11. everyone who has ever made a deal for me
  12. all those lots of people who just make darn good handmade stuff!
  13. having two well-stocked shops right now
  14. having sisters who help me with mailing things (since I'm rural, I left a lot of my stock with my sister and she mails it from down there in the lower 48).
  15. specific people who have been especially encouraging or helpful to me on etsy: laminathegreat, who told me about etsy in the first place
  16. unioncenterknits, who helped me raise my prices to something more fair to myself
  17. weeones, who made me the cutest custom stitch markers ever
  18. bundlesofjoy, from whom I made my first etsy purchase, partner in multiple subsequent trades, and now a dear friend
  19. deebleddo, for giving me a whopper of a deal on a very special embroidery project (can't tell what it is yet, it's a gift!)
  20. georganne, for being just plain inspiring
  21. alisaterry, who makes awesome stuff and traded with me for a whole bunch of it
  22. curiousworkmanship for her gifts, help, and a massive custom order at a time when I really needed the money

FOOD (35)
  1. pasta alfredo
  2. apples
  3. applesauce
  4. chocolate bavarian pie
  5. dutch apple pie
  6. Marie Callander's sour cream blueberry pie
  7. harvest (pinto) bean pie (yes, I like it more than pumpkin)
  8. cinnamon rolls
  9. cream cheese frosting
  10. Ben & Jerry's "Half Baked" (chocolate chip cookie dough meets fudge brownie)
  11. vanilla soft serve
  12. frozen yogurt
  13. frozen custard
  14. butter
  15. whipping cream (the real stuff of course!)
  16. blueberries
  17. strawberries
  18. peaches
  19. plums
  20. root beer
  21. homemade ice cream
  22. homemade smoothies
  23. onions
  24. cardamom bread
  25. swiss chocolate
  26. italian ice cream
  27. italian cream sodas
  28. brownies
  29. chicken (it's my favorite meat)
  30. Indian food
  31. Chinese food
  32. halibut parmisan
  33. lemonade--actually i prefer the fake stuff. go figure!
  34. people who cook for me
  35. people who share nummy recipes with me
TECHNOLOGY (25)
  1. indoor plumbing
  2. hot running water
  3. my sewing machine
  4. my serger
  5. long-distance phone service
  6. satellite broadcasts (for things like General Conference...and Iron Chef ☺)
  7. email
  8. internet
  9. Instant messaging
  10. ldssingles.com (cuz it worked for me! ♥)
  11. NaturalLDSLiving forums
  12. MotheringDotCom forums
  13. LongHairCommunity forums
  14. blogs in general (since I already mentioned mine in specific)
  15. scheduled blog posting!
  16. google
  17. Mozilla Firefox
  18. Firefox's username/password rememberer (oh how I love that feature!)
  19. word processors (because really, editing before printing and spellchecker are AWESOME you know?!)
  20. digital cameras
  21. my laptop
  22. rechargeable batteries
  23. electric stove (I'm not a fan of cooking over a fire!)
  24. dishwashers!!!!! (I'm so sick of handwashing--it's not too bad in college, but for a whole family it's a real drag)
  25. reliable mail service
LITTLE THINGS (44)
  1. pockets
  2. pillows
  3. combs
  4. hugs
  5. cuddles
  6. the way a new baby smells
  7. the softness of baby's skin
  8. baby kisses
  9. baby fingers and toes
  10. kids with dimples
  11. smiling
  12. straight teeth
  13. nail clippers
  14. the smell of freshly cut grass
  15. knowing how to type
  16. beanbags
  17. dangly earrings
  18. licking the beaters
  19. hot cocoa on a cold night
  20. sitting in front of the fireplace with a big blankey
  21. snow angels
  22. wristwatches
  23. wristwatches that light up
  24. German cuckoo clocks
  25. soft wool sweaters
  26. a clean kitchen sink!
  27. the color pink
  28. wool socks
  29. claw clips for my hair
  30. learning how to make these ☺♥☻♠○♣
  31. watching movies or seasons of TV shows (on DVD) with my Hubby
  32. when my hair makes ringlets (which it does occasionally)
  33. the smell of henna in my hair
  34. stairs (hey, they're good for me!)
  35. a good set of kitchen knives
  36. fuzzy slippers
  37. fleece
  38. lambswool
  39. alpaca yarn
  40. bamboo velour
  41. the feel of seal fur (it's the softest thing I've ever touched!)
  42. fabric gift bags (I ♥ them in the biggest way!!)
  43. automatic bullets/numbers in blog posts!
  44. being done with this list (it wasn't easy, and I confess to getting a bit stressed over it!)
365!

(I hear that Mr Linkys have been having issues lately, so if it's not working for you, please leave your link in the comments!)

8 comments:

Erin said...

I only did 50 things, but I still wanted to participate. I love your list too! (Although The Dark Crystal scared me...)

Mallory said...

What a great list! As I was reading through it, I kept going, "Oh, I should have put that on my list!!!" Thanks for such a great Challege!

Amydeanne said...

very cool list!

Emily said...

This was such a fun and amazing blog challenge! I was happy to participate in it.

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for referencing me on your list!
I'm really thankful.
I'll have to get more organized for Thankful Thursdays.

Becky said...

You did it! You're amazing!!

And what a great list.

Emily said...

Yo Gabba Gabba is a kinda psychedelic kids' show that Bella loves to watch. It's hosted by a former club DJ, and it's mostly full of music and dancing. We love it!

Mallory said...

Oh, I had to comment again after I got your comment on my post. Thank you so much! You have inspired me, and you have lifted my spirits to know that I have inspired you! So many good feelings have come from this amazing challenge! A big pat of the back to you for that! Feeling good is so...good! :D

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