full of great.

well hello old friend, it's been a spell.

i haven't written in a while. i couldn't really tell you why because it's not like i'm so super busy i can't sit down for ten minutes to crank one of these out. maybe it's the lack of busy that caused the absence.

i had a great post twirling around in my head after thanksgiving. and then sandy hook happened. anything i had to say after that seemed insignificant. it still is, but here i go anyways.

my gratefulness post still hasn't left my head so let's start there. i'm proud to say i was one of the few who actually completed the 30 days of thankful on facebook. each day i posted something i was thankful for. thankfully, it was so easy.

i think others who started this trend didn't manage the 30 days because they started too big. "i'm thankful for my family who has always been there for me and i love them so much and yada yada yada..." well duh, of course you are thankful for your family/kids/husband/etc. it's the small stuff we forget to be thankful for! 

so in that spirit, i "kicked" it off with a bang: "i'm thankful for kickball because i've gained some awesome friends and taken some super flattering pictures. pure grace."

exhibit a.

see i believe the key is keeping it light. 

i was thankful on election day because it meant it was over. i was thankful for a mystery guy who subscribes to magazines with my address, i just wish they were better reads. i was thankful for veterans but even more so for their uniforms. i was thankful to put together a decent dinner even though all i bought at the grocery store was snapple, milk and five bags of chocolate chips. when i was babysitting two kids, two dogs and a bailey i was thankful to "work" for great families but glad i don't have that many beings to care for on the regular. 

dogs don't make great babysitters, unless there is food.

i was thankful my mop broke so i didn't have to wash the floors. i was thankful that i live close enough to work to be able to change my pants at lunch. i was thankful for this video, because it made me laugh so hard i cried. it was perfectly timed as i just was teaching a friend ballet positions and i'm sure i looked as graceful.

my birthday was november nineteenth, so i had lots to be thankful for then, like great friends who surprised me with a dinner at the disney resort. i was thankful for dessert and my new iphone. i was thankful for my parents anniversary which they celebrated with an early bird special. i was thankful for a friend who saved my life on a run and then super thankful i won free sneakers.

thanks, saucony!

me like cupcake!

i was thankful for a 5K because it came with a t-shirt and breakfast. each day i was thankful for 5pm, only wishing it came sooner. i was thankful that i'm a girl and therefore have common sense. i was thankful for my dad's service in the air force and especially his coined phrase "if you can't wipe it, you have to wear it."

most of all, i was thankful i had (at least) 30 things to be thankful for. 

yes, of course, i'm beyond grateful for my family. i hope actions speak louder than words on that one. what was so great about this project was it taught me to appreciate the small stuff and that every negative can come with a positive.

honestly, i got depressed when november was over and i could no longer harass facebook friends with my gratefulness. i forgot to stop and think each day what there was to be happy about. 

and there is so much! 

for example, the other day my dog rolled in tar and i now know all the different substances that help remove it should i ever fall into a bucket of tar. or more likely, when bailey goes back to the park.

its the little things, folks! be grateful.