Thankful Thursday - FINALLY Finished Gratitude Photo Challenge!

I know this is a bit late in coming, but I really wanted to finish the Gratitude Photo Challenge I started in November. I got a bit sidetracked with all the Weverb11 posts, so this project took a back seat.

But without further ado...

Day 25: Artwork

 

Saw these at Crate and Barrel and really liked them. I'm not much into abstract art, but I really like these different patterns. Wish they were smaller so I could put them in the bathroom. Guess I could always try to DIY it!

Day 26: Transportation

I had to use The Hubs car for the last two weeks while mine was in the shop. While I was very grateful to have it, I'm happy that today I finally got to pick my car up!

Day 27: Daily Routine

My daily morning routine once consists of catching up on blogs from the day before with a bowl of dry cereal and either tea or coffee. Probably one of my favorite parts of the day.

Days 28 & 29: Nighttime and Light

I combined these two because I really wanted to share a picture of how cute our house looks at night with all of the holiday lights on it! The Hubs did an awesome job of decorating the outside! Love him

Day 30: Self Portrait

I'm cheating here.... This isn't really self portrait, but it was a spontaenous picture that The Hubs took of me at a friend's 30th birthday at Campo di Bocce. I was quite surprise with how good it came out and it has some artistic flare! :-)

Thankful Thursday - Photo Challenge Catch Up! :-)

Even more behind in the Gratitude Photo Challenge. I think I may have to finish up next week! :-)

Day 18: Something New

I know you already saw this in a previous post this week, but I still am in LOVE with it so you get to see it again! I'm thankful that we had the means and willpower to actually bite the bullet and buy it (not to mention the fact that both The Hubs and I agreed on it!)! :-)

Day 19: Best Friends

I have three best friends who I couldn't live without. The first two are best friends too, so we're a best friend trio! I don't see my bestie Sarah as much as I would like too. She's the mommy of an almost one year old (my how time flies...) and with another one on the way, she is more than busy! I do get to see my bestie Lisa every.single.day! She started work at my company in May and it is amazing how much better work is with her here. She's also expecting so I only have a few more months before I have to suffer through her maternity leave without her at work! I love them both lots!

My sister is also my best friend. Even though she is 8 years younger than me, we've gotten a lot closer as we've gotten older. It's amazing how that happens! She's the nicer of the two of us, but we both have our quirky anxiety ridden issues.

Day 20: Seasonal
 

The Tree! (fake, but still pretty!)

My new little snow village! The Hubs made "snow" (aka glitter on white paper!)

Improvising!

Again another creation of The Hubs! First time we've done this!

I LOVE Christmas and all the decorations that go with it. The Hubs and I got all of our decorations together over the weekend so the Christmas spirit is in full swing (for the most part - see tomorrow's post for more!). These are a couple of pictures of our fun holiday spread!

Day 21: Where you Sleep

This is a lie of a picture. I made the bed just to snap this shot, but on a regular basis I'm not good about keeping up with it. It was totally one of the things that I was going to try to get better about this year and I did really well for awhile, but then I got lazy... Maybe this will jump start my motivation again!

Day 22:Clothing

My favorite outfit of all time??? Yoga pants and a Cal or Cal Poly shirt (alma mater PRIDE!). In fact, I'm going to take a piece from Michelle's book at See Michelle Blog and sleep in this tonight as I plan on waking up early and doing my new Yoga for Fertility DVD that I borrowed from a friend.

Day 23: In Your Closet

Well, here's a picture of my closet. There in the middle are the four sweaters I wear MOST of the time. I'm thankful that I typically don't have to "dress up" for work much, so it is perfectly acceptable to rotate these sweaters and a couple of pairs of jeans throughout the week. It's no secret I hate shopping, so I'm also grateful for a small closet that is already full!

Day 24: Gratitude

Alas, I know I'm cheating here, but here are two pictures featuring most of The Hubs and I's close family and friends at our wedding. HAPPINESS! So grateful for all of them!

I'll finish up this photo challenge in next week's Thankful Thursday post! :-)

 

Are you participating in the Gratitude Photo Challenge? Are you all caught up??

Thankful Thursday - Gratitude Photo Challenge Edition Part Deux

Still behind in the Gratitude Photo Challenge, and still catching up!

Day 10: Nature

This is the avocado tree The Hubs bought a few months back. He thought it would be a great idea to have avocados at the ready since we go through them so fast. Well apparently, it takes a few months for the tree to mature, so for now, it's sitting in a pot on our porch. We haven't killed it yet! So far so good!

Day 11: Something Old

I have two something olds that I'm grateful for since both are sentimental items associated with The Hubs and I's courtship. On top, is a picture of the ticket stub from our first date (look how cheap! $7)! Kinda crazy, but I found it in a stack of old letters that I had stashed away in a box. Little did I know at the time, that the boy I went on my first real date with would be my husband 11 years later! On the bottom, is a picture of the garter The Hubs got me for Junior Prom. It ended up also being my "Something Old" at our wedding!

Day 12: Hands

This is a picture of my hands (or one hand) that I'm definitely grateful for, but I really wanted to take picture of The Hubs's hand. This week The Hubs had a Jeremy Affeldt moment (for those of you non-SF Giants fans, you can click the link to find out what he did!). While I was at the gym, he was trying to speed up the thawing of some ground beef by cutting the frozen meat into smaller pieces. In the process, he cut his thumb. Apparently, it was bad enough for him to feel the need to drive himself to the doctor to check it out. It ended up being minor, even though there was a lot of blood. I'm grateful though that all five of his fingers are still in tact and that I wasn't there when it happened (This girl would have freaked out!).

Day 13: Written Words

I LOVE written lists. I love physically checking each item off the list as I complete them. I don't get the same satisfaction from checking things off a digital list. Here is my latest list of things I need to remember to do now that the Internet is back on!

Day 14: Movement

I wasn't really sure how to take a picture of movement, but after a little bit of a downer evening, a nice warm shower was in order. The movement of the warm water from our NEW shower head was so relaxing and actually made me feel a little better.

Day 15: Technology

We've been without the internet at work all week and although I have my handy Smartphone, it still isn't the same as typing out an email on the computer or checking a coworkers schedule. I've never been SO HAPPY to see the Google page as when I took this picture!  Being without technology for a week made me appreciate it that much more. I don't know how people got any work done before the internet!

Day 16: Animals

We've only got one and he is very rambunctious! This is a picture of Rusty completing his latest trick - "Bang! Bang!". It's the more fun way of teaching him the old play dead trick!

Day 17: Memories

This is the scrapbook I kept of The Hubs and I pre-marriage days. I just looked through it for the first time in awhile and WOW what great memories! I was so good about keeping up with the scrapbook until the wedding, when wedding planning took over. I never really got back into it. I guess you could say this blog is a bit of a digital scrapbook, but it's not quite the same. Maybe sometimes I'll start up again. I still have a TON of supplies around!

 

Are you participating in the Gratitude Photo Challenge? Are you all caught up??

Thankful Thursday - Gratitude Photo Challenge Edition

I'm a bit behind in my Gratitude Photo Challenge, what with Anniversary Week in full swing, so I thought I would take this week's Thankful Thursday to catch up a bit!

Day 4: Leaves

In California, not all of the trees' leaves change to pretty fall reds, oranges and yellow, but I set out to find some anyways. Leaves changing color are one of my favorite parts of fall, so I definitely appreciate it when I see them.

Day 5: Morning Sky

Now that the days are lighter earlier, I was able to snap this dawn photo. If this had been last week, I would have been either driving or inside my cubical dungeon and wouldn't have been able to see this lovely sight. I try to take time to look at the sky every morning now as we're leaving the house (since I won't be able to appreciate the light in the evening when I get home!).

Day 6: Books

So I LOVE reading and I LOVE reading on my Kindle, but I also sometimes like to read actual books. I found the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barabara Kingsolver in our work library and read the first few pages while I was waiting for my food to warm. I was instantly drawn in. So starting last night, I'm trying to set aside 15-20 minutes of SSR (sustained silent reading - did anybody else have to do this in elementary school after recess to calm us down?? I LOVED SSR! :-) ) every night before bed.

Day 7: Something Funny

I think that The Hubs is pretty funny (most of the time...sometimes he means to be funny and I get annoyed!). I took a couple of these pictures and told him that it was because he was funny. He says he's not funny and proceeded to give me a few unintentional funny faces!

Day 8: Favorite Color

My favorite color has been and I think will always be purple. My dorm room was covered in it in college. I don't have it around the house as much anymore (The Hubs wouldn't appreciate it like I do!), but I do have a few pieces of purple clothing, including this fun scarf that has purple glitter thread running through it!

Day 9: Inspiring Person

This obviously isn't a photo that I took, but I think that Oprah's teachings are pretty inspiring. As I've said before, I've been enjoying her Life Class and think that a lot of what she is teaching based on her own experiences are important lessons to remember. I'm A LOT of episodes behind, but I want to make sure I make time to watch them and fully engage in what I'm watching, so I've been putting it off! I need to find some time to catch up on that too!

Thankful Thursday & Gratitude Photo Challenge Day 2

This week I'm thankful for,

1.) Being able to spend time with friends, enjoying delicious food and good conversation.

2.) That colder weather is a comin'. (I'm looking forward to sweaters and snuggling.)

3.) Exciting sports events that gets me excited! (Go Cardinals! Both St. Louis and Stanford! Even though Stanford is a mortal enemy, I still like them better than USC!)

4.) For a stable job that I've enjoyed more than normal (could be because I have a friend at work now!)

5.) My favorite little one's smile (even if it is a bit blurry). Can anyone resist it??

Day Two: Smile

Thankful Thursday

Image Source: We Heart It

Gratitude is the best attitude.  ~Author Unknown

This week I'm thankful for...

1.) Oprah's Lifeclass. I'm learning so much and need to work hard to apply what I am learning to my every day life.

2.) Friends who I can talk to about anything.

3.) Weekends with no official plans.

4.) A good book..

5.) Trying out and cooking new recipes with The Hubs. (Blog posts to come on Pork Loin and Apple Chutney and Shrimp and Asparagus Gremolata we tried!)

Thankful Thursday

Image Source: We Heart It

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

This week I'm thankful for...

1.) Having one of my best friends work with me. Makes the day SO much more tolerable!

2.) That my friend Teresa had a perfectly beautiful and healthy baby girl.

3.) My mom whose been so understanding during some fits of crying I've had lately.

4.) A wonderfully refreshing lunchtime work out.

5.) The Hubs.

What are you thankful for this week??

Thankful Thursday

 

“If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, that would suffice.” — Meister Eckhart

This week, I'm thankful for...

1.) Finding time to go to a yoga class (even if it was just at 24 Hour). Reminds me how much I enjoy it.

2.) A new shower head that provides a heavenly shower!

3.) A husband who forgives me when I throw temper tantrums.

4.) Being born into the life I have surrounded by awesome family and friends.

5.) A beautiful sunset over the Bay that I saw on the way home from the gym.

Thankful Thursday

Image Source: We Heart It

"The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now. And the more grateful you are, the more you get." — Oprah
 
I've decided to start a weekly ritual similar to the Five for Friday series that a few of my fellow bloggers participate in ( Ali @ His Birdies Nest and Monica @ C'set Law Vie to name a couple).

I'm calling it Thankful Thursday.

In the past, especially when I've been in a rut or feeling sorry for myself, I've tried to keep a daily gratitude journal. I always last for a couple of days and then sort of let the practice fall by the way side. Sometimes I would even have trouble coming up with a short list, even though I know I have TONS to be grateful for! With this weekly installment, I hope to make a habit of coming up with five things a week I'm thankful for and then just maybe, someday, I will be able to make it a daily practice.

So without further ado, the first installment of Thankful Thursday:

"I'm thankful for..

1.) A warm shower, warm PJ's, and a cuddle partner at the end of a cold, rainy day.

2.) The good health of me, my husband, family, and friends.

3.) The ability to buy The Hubs some great gifts for his birthday (hopefully one of those being a creation of Steve Jobs's, but shhhh, that's a secret!)

4.) A fun step class to go to every Tuesday and Thursday.

5.) The vision, person, and icon that was Steve Jobs. The technology we use everyday would not BE if it were not for him. RIP Steve Jobs.

And to further pay tribute to Steve Jobs... just few of his most memorable quotes:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ... Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

  All quotes from -- Stanford University commencement address, June 2005.

What are you thankful for today??