Days 23-28

November 23
So thankful for my nieces.  My mom and I picked them up for dinner tonight, where they feasted on pizza sticks, grilled cheese, and french fries.  Of course, there was coloring, too.  So much fun and then they were off for a pre-thanksgiving sleepover at Grandma's house.

November 24
I'm so thankful for all of our families.  Brad and I split our time between his extended family, my immediate family, and some friends of his.  Three fantastic chances to be a glutton and laughs and smiles all day.

November 25
I'm thankful for my health.  You can never be too careful on Black Friday, but Mom and I did not venture out until 6:45 AM and we had a very relaxed air about us as we shopped.  We did not go for any doorbuster deals where we would have to throw elbows and dodge pepperspray, but we scored some fantastic deals and lived to tell about them.

November 26
I'm thankful for technology. Brad and I hitched a ride with his sister and her family as we went to visit Grandma.  Brad and I were squished in the backseat of a minivan with his 5 year old nephew and the two nieces (1 yr, 3 yrs) were in the middle row of seats.  We had two iphones among us and calm kids each way.  Not bad for a 3-4 hour roundtrip.

November 27
I'm thankful for tissues with lotion as I've been blowing my nose non-stop since Thanksgiving.  Dang sinuses.

November 28
Back at work and I'm thankful for my best friend, Kerry.  That wench is on her honeymoon in Punta Cana right now, but had me order tickets to see Les Miserables in May.  She's going to come visit and we're going to cram so much fun in that weekend.

Thanksgiving-Eve Fairies. 

 No clue why they're looking off-camera.  :)

Day 22

November 22
I may or may not have fallen UP the stairs this morning, throwing my neon green clipboard, and landing with quite the thud.  (hint--I did).

Today I'm thankful that I can laugh at myself, brush off my now-sore knees, and get on with my day.  After all, today is my Friday.

--Melanie

Days 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21

November 16
Today I'm thankful for my psychologist counterparts in my district.  They help keep me sane while we are in the beginning stages of our careers and trying to move our district forward.  It is nice to have a couple of someones to talk through problems and ideas with.

November 17
Today I'm thankful for all my other coworkers.  One of the secretaries and I get along famously and she helped me find a bag of potato chips today.  I know that sounds laughable, but my day was the worst, I had a huge headache, and it was close to 1 o'clock with no lunch in sight.  She found me some potato chips, sent me to my office, and promised me m&ms if needed.  She's kind of amazing.

November 18
Today I'm thankful for girlfriends.  One of my friends is getting married soon and had her bachelorette party tonight.  So much fun to help her celebrate and catch up with other friends I don't get to see a lot.

November 19
I'm thankful that I have to income to visit crafting stores today.  I had brunch with some friends and then hit up Hobby Lobby and Michael's.  So much cute stuff and such great company.  Now to set aside the time to actually craft...

November 20
I'm thankful for my brother.  He came over tonight to score some free dinner and help Brad and I assemble our new couch.  Then, he bought us a drink at one of his favorite bars.  I had a rough Saturday night/Sunday morning and this was the perfect way to wrap up the weekend.

November 21
I'm thankful today for rain boots.  There was torrential rain this morning that will apparently continue on through the day and I'm so thankful that my feet are dry and warm.

Days 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 (whew!)

November 11
I'm thankful for brooms.  Brad and I cleaned out and reorganized our storage area in the basement of our apartment building and that broom saved me from some multi-legged critters a time or two.  Cleaning and reorganizing is not something I really enjoy, but I enjoy doing things right and being able to sweep away the cobwebs and dust felt right.  :)

Also, I'm thankful for our veterans.  I'm thankful for them everyday.

November 12
I'm thankful for communication today and that Brad and I are always willing to work on it more.  We talked through some stuff today and then went out for a movie/dinner date.  It was a wonderful night and I just felt so much more connected to him.

November 13
I'm thankful for the youth in my church.  I help lead a Sunday school class for high-schoolers and I went to youth group with them Sunday evening.  We had dinner and went through discussions on how we had to work at physical health and increasing our physical energy in order to work up to increasing our spiritual health/energy.  Being with the youth just reenergizes me and helps me look forward to working with the high-schoolers I see on a daily basis.

November 14
I'm thankful for my friend, Samantha, today.  It is her birthday.  She is a strong, intelligent woman that I was thankful to have as a close friend in high school and to have her stand up with me at my wedding.  She's going through a rough patch right now, but I know she'll come out of it even stronger.

November 15
I'm thankful for my local library.  Tonight they are showing the original Footloose and giving away prizes.  I love reading and am thankful for the books my branch has, but I'm also thankful for Kevin Bacon.

--Melanie

Days 8, 9, and 10

November 8
I'm thankful for my church family.  I used to go to church every week as a child, but stopped going in high school.  I hadn't been to church in years when Brad asked me to go to church with him.  We had been dating for six or seven months and this was a big deal for him.  I went to Easter services in 2010 and never stopped going.  I now help with the high school Sunday School class, help out as a liturgist when needed, and participate in fun evening stuff with some of the ladies.  I found a church where I'm free to question and grow within my faith and we love everybody, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, whatever.  It's a pretty good feeling.  Well, that and we go to Wendy's after church on Sunday with Brad's parents.   I like Wendy's.

November 9
I'm thankful for my Momma.  I have had a hellacious week at work and she made me head out to meet her at Curves for some Zumba.  What fun!  The workout felt so good (probably since I haven't worked out since the wedding.  Oops!) and my mom and I have the same (very lacking) sense of rhythm.  We laughed and sweated and felt better at the end.  It made the week seem bearable and I actually felt like I had some me-time.  My mom is pretty awesome for making sure I got my butt kicked at least once this week.  :)

November 10
Today I'm thankful for microwaves and oatmeal.  It is a very chilly morning and a hot bowl of oatmeal is both healthy and warming.  Bring on the day!

Days 5, 6, and 7

November 5
I'm thankful for the little people in our lives and how much joy they bring us.  Brad and I babysat his sister's kids tonight and had a blast.  We wore those kiddos out! Well, us and two of their other aunts who took them for a photo shoot.

November 6
I'm thankful for Daylight Savings Time.  With adequate sleep, I bickered less with Brad.  I also was just generally happier.  Yay, sleep!

November 7
Today I'm thankful for food in our bellies.  Brad and I have food in our cupboards and and stocking the fridge.  We are blessed to eat as well as we do.

--Melanie

Day 3 and 4

November 3
I am super thankful for lunch meetings.  I got to touch base with the other school psych that I work with (we're at two different high schools) and talk about what's going on and do some problem solving.  Also, we caught up with each other and enjoyed some delicious food.

(I'm also doing a 10 by Christmas weight-loss challenge and I just wanted to give thanks that even after devouring almost all of my Chipotle lunch I'm still down from last week.  Not by much, but still down.)

Why do the delicious foods have to be so bad for you?

November 4

I'm thankful to have Brad as my husband.  I know that he's going to be there no matter what's going on and he's going to support me.  We've been talking about our future and babies and my doctor wants to send me to see a high-risk pregnancy specialist.  I've had some abnormal paps and had a LEEP procedure shortly after turning 22.  I also have been diagnosed with Protein S deficiency, which has been explained to me that I'm a higher risk for throwing clots.  I'm just a little nervous about what will happen when we do move forward with having babes, but I love that Brad is right there with me.  He keeps telling me that we'll be fine and throwing out suggestions for who could help me with daily shots that my Dr. is suggesting.  He's an excellent partner through the heavy stuff and the light stuff.

I'm also just thankful for the time I get with him.  Our time here isn't guaranteed, it doesn't care what's "fair," and it doesn't play by the rules.  I heard today that a woman lost her battle with cancer last night.  She was 31.  She left behind her husband of two years and a one-year-old little girl.  She was diagnosed with cancer only six months ago.  I never met her, but I feel like I have known her forever from the photographs and stories her sister shares.  I am so sad for their loss and am sending prayers their way.

Hold your loved ones a little longer during your hugs today and be thankful that they're available for hugs.

Read more about Ali here and here.

Rocking the benefit shirt for Ali today.

The shirt represents love for Ali radiating from our hearts.



--Melanie

Being Thankful

I've noticed that a trend in November is to post one thing you're thankful for each day and I'd like to do this.  So, if I keep organized, you should see at least one short post from me each day this month.  Here we go:

November 1
I'm thankful that I have wonderful friends who will cook dinner and share beer with Brad and me so that we can talk and laugh for an evening.

November 2
I'm thankful that I have a job.  My job may be slower one day and 500 things at once the next, but I have a job.  I have a career that I worked hard to get to.  I am in a great school district and in a high school (yay!). 

What are you thankful for? 

--Melanie