30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 14

Today was a great day!

Nate had the day off,

so we vegged,

I worked,

we went for a nice long drive

and found a beautiful orange field

(I'll post more about that later)!

We had wonderful dinner and dessert,

and a nice relaxing evening.

I love days like today.

The challenge prompt for today was:

M O V E M E N T

I admit it ...

my creativity in these photos are lacking BIG TIME,

but I'm still finding my niche here in Grants Pass,

so bear with me!

As mentioned above, we went for a lovely drive today.

Also today, I exercised before I showered.

Last night, when we were cooking dinner, we danced around the kitchen.

When my floor is messy, I vacuum it up.

Long story short, I move!

My body moves,

my car moves,

my life moves -

and for that movement, the ability to change,

and adapt, and to see new things, 

I am so grateful!

I am fortunate and blessed to live the life that I have

and to be able to take advantage of the abilities that I have been given!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 13

 Written Words

I've gotta tell you,

these prompts are starting to work my creativity!

Being grateful for my life and for the things in my life

is something that I feel that I've always been good at,

but this challenge has made me see my life in a new way!

My favorite words in the world come from

Nate, the love of my life!

When we were in High school, we passed notes back and forth

like crazy! When we got married, I put all the notes in a binder

and from time to time, we pull them out and laugh at how cheesy

we were and marvel at how much we were M.F.E.O.

(you know ... made for each other!! ;)

When we started to get serious, our code for 'I Love You' was 'brat.'

We thought we were fooling people when we said goodbye

in front of them and called each other a brat

(but I'm pretty sure we weren't fooling anyone!)

Our notes, however, were full of gushy love and great big

I LOVE YOU's

in CAPS and bolded!

Our notes were honest and open and we were able to write

what we wanted to write without others hearing the message we were trying to convey!

THAT is why I am grateful for written words!

Written, not typed - there is a difference!

Written words are thought out, they cannot be back spaced or deleted,

they are they are heart felt and deliberate!

I have got a binder full of love notes from the love of my life,

I have folders full of letters from my family,

and I even have some letters left over from my high school days

from my best friends - and I am so grateful for them!

I'm grateful for the memories that they bring back to me

and for the messages that are hidden within them!!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 12

The prompt for today was

h a n d s

When I think of hands, I think of people,

and when I think of people, I think of little people,

and when I think of little people, I think of little hands!

(I cheated again! I've posted this photo before, but it's

the only place that I have all of their faces together!!)

These little people, these 21 pairs of hands,

make me so, so grateful to be an auntie!!

I love these little hands because they give me hugs,

blow me kisses, send me drawings,

and give me love!

I love these kiddos so darn much

and words cannot express how grateful 

I am to have them in my life!!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 11

 Today was a lazy day ... for me ...

Nate worked ALL day,

and I snuggled up on the couch in my sweater

and leggings, with homemade mac n' cheese,

and my Rascal!  I played on the internet,

worked on some Christmas projects,

and vegged my day away! 

 It was lovely!

Today's gratitude/photo prompt is:

Something O L D

I stewed and stewed over what to photograph for my 'something old' prompt.

I considered a REALLY old book that I acquired from the law office,

a REALLY old sweatshirt that belonged to my grandma,

a photo of the scrapbooks that contain REALLY old photos of us ...

All of these things that I considered have two things in common:

1) They all contain wonderful memories

2) I am grateful for all of them

I opted to take this photo:

This is the 2nd 'patchwork' quilt that I made in my life.

The first was a denim quilt that I made for one of my Young Women's projects,

and this blanket I made for Nate as his graduation present!

There is something about old blankets and quilts that I just adore!

I love how the fabric breaks down and becomes soft,

I love that when I pull out a fresh, clean blanket I know exactly

where it came from, who made it, and what the occasion was,

I love that a blanket on the couch means snuggling with my little family,

and I love the days that are spent doing just that!

One of my assignments in my Intro to El Ed Class at USU

was to write a paper about my life experiences and how they 'lead' me

to where I am today - but the trick was that I had to come up with a metahpor.

The metaphor that I ended up using was a quilt,

and I likened all of my experiences to the squares on my quilt!

That paper was a wonderful way for me to look back over my life

and to see how my decisions have made me who I am today!

I am grateful for memories, and experiences, and quilts.

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 10

 Someone told me today that it is almost December,

and I heard that it is snowing in Logan ...

for some reason, time seems to have stopped since our move -

I fell so nice and cozy and sheltered in my super easy and relaxed life right now ...

Anyway ... the prompt for today is:

Mother Nature

I kind of cheated ... this picture was yesterday ...

We had a super rainy morning, and in the afternoon we went out 

to run a few little errands!

We were recycling our bottles and cans at the bottle return

and we heard some people exclaim excitedly!

We turned around, and saw this beautiful rainbow!

I'm not one of those who gets down by the rainy weather!

In fact, we were so excited to move to Oregon because of the

vast amounts of rainy weather we would be receiving!

(I'm not a fan of lightening, but that story has already been told)

That being said, I also love rainbows, and sunshine, and seasons!

I'm grateful that I understand how blessed I am to enjoy

the beauty that surrounds me throughout my days!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 9

Today's Prompt:

Dum .. dum ... da .. da .. 

Inspiring Person

 We've all heard the quote:

'I am a part of all that I have met'

For some reason, this topic seems silly to me - only because there are
so many people who inspire me and who have influenced me that
there is no way that I could single only one of them out ...
(or have room for a photo of every single one of them)

I'm taking the easy way out today ...

I feel so blessed to be associated with and to be loved by
so many wonderful people - both big and little!
My family inspires me,
my friends inspire me,
and my life truly has been inspired
by all that I have met!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 8

 I loved today's prompt, although, like some previous ones,

it was a little strange!!

Ready?

Here goes!

* f a v o r i t e * c o l o r *

When I was younger, I refused to love the color pink.

It was a girly color, and I was bound and determined that

I was going to break away from the masses and not conform!

For years, my favorite color was green - most shades of green, in fact!

And then, I became an adult!

Is there something ironic about the child refusing to like pink

growing into the woman who loves the color pink?

As I began to explore my world, to learn about myself

and to realize that I can love whatever I want,

my love for the color pink came blaring out!

I had a pink back pack for my first two years at USU,

and my current bike is hot pink and black (and absolutely adorable)!

There was something so liberating about declaring my love

for the color pink, because it was another step that I took in

finding myself! I am grateful for the things that have happened in my life

that have allowed me to become the woman that I am,

and that have allowed me to find the things that I truly love -

I love that I can be myself and that I am happy with who I have become!

So yes ... pink ... I am grateful for pink ...

and just to show you I am not the only one,

hit play on the video below ... it's short and sweet, 

but it sums up my feelings perfectly!

(Fast forward to about 1:21 - then you'll see what I'm talking about)

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 7

I totally failed today!

The prompt today was:

Something Funny

 

It has been a pretty somber week at our house!

Rascal hasn't felt good,

I haven't felt good,

we've been stressed and tired.

 

To offset this stress, we have been watching a lot of '30 Rock,'

which we find hilarious,

so that is my something funny that I am grateful for!

 

I am grateful for witty people who can write silly sitcoms

because some days, I just need a comic relief!!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 6

 I'm a little freaked out that it's already November 6th - Election Day!

But that's not the point of this post ...

Today's prompt was:

B O O K S

 

I was tempted to cheat and change the prompt - again, 

these photos (although they're not very ground breaking)

weren't hard to get, but I've been thinking about books

and why I am grateful for them all day today so that I could write this post!

I am grateful for books because:

- they are entertaining

- they impart wisdom

- kids snuggle up with you while being read to

- they contain personal thoughts and feelings

- they can be store bought or homemade

- you can write your thoughts in them

- the old ones feel and smell like history

I've been thinking about all of the books that I love

and I really can't imagine having a life without books!

I am grateful to have a husband who shares my love of books

and reading, and someday, when the wisdom that we have learned

from all of our books pays off, we will have an awesome library

in which to store all of our books - and when that happens,

we'll be sure to let you know!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 5

 Morning Sky

When I saw the prompt for today last night, I envisioned

a beautiful picture of a bright blue morning sky ...

but ...

when I woke up this morning and went outside,

there was fog and mist everywhere!

It made for a lovely picture, and it matched my mood today!

For some reason, today was a tough day for me.

I'm not feeling well, and I miss my people!

Nate hugged me throughout the morning, 

but then he had to go to work, and my mood dampened again.

I am thankful for promises of new mornings,

of new days, of new attitudes, and new opportunities!

Morning skies resemble a fresh start to a new day,

and after a day like I had today,

I am grateful for fresh starts and new days!!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 4

Today's prompt was interesting...

Are you ready for it?

It is ...

L E A V E S

  It seems appropriate given the time of year

and the photo was certainly easy to get ...

But gratitude ... leaves ... how do they fit together?

After thinking about this post all day, 

I think that I figured out what leaves and the fall mean to me.

You see, to me, they signify change.

I like change. I'm afraid of change. I'm grateful for change.

 I'm grateful for the opportunity to try new things,

to visit new places,

and to enjoy my life the way that I want to enjoy it!

I'm grateful for the changing of the seasons

(especially more so now that we live in a more mild region)

and for the reminder that they are to me of the things in my life

that have changed and that can be changed!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 3

Happiness

Happiness: state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.

He ...

is my happiness.

Words cannot express how grateful I am for him ...

but I'm sure going to try!

You know when you find that person who is your best friend,

your soul mate, your entertainment,

your cuddle buddy, your love,

your perfect other half?

Well, that's him.

I was looking through our wedding photos today

and I can't believe how young we look, and were, when we got married!

I remember blatant happiness that I felt on the day that I became his wife,

and I never imagined that I could love him more than I did that day ...
but I do, and it is amazing!

And that is where I find my happiness ...

In our love, our joys, our successes, our trials and our failures -

whatever we have experienced, my love for him has grown,

along with my happiness!

For him and my happiness,
I am so grateful.

... the wall ...

I did it! I finished my project

(with help from the sexy hubs, of course)

and now we have a new favorite wall!!

(original idea found here)

Here is the original frame (thank you Goodwill) 

that became much more attractive after a few coats of spray paint:

I prepped the photos in Photoshop:

And wah lah:

We love these little people so darn much and we look forward to

the many, many pictures that will appear on this wall throughout the next several years!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 2

Today's theme is:

S M I L E

I thought long and hard about how to approach today's theme.

I thought about trying to capture a shot that was all teeth,

I thought about giving you collage of all of my favorite smiles,

but I decided to settle on giving you a picture of something that makes me smile ...

every

single 

day

I'm not a crazy cat lady. I promise.

But there is something about this little kitty that brings me so much joy,

and I am so grateful that she toughed out the drugs and the long car ride

so that she could be with us at our new house!

Rascal is an old girl! According to the charts at the vet, she is geriatric.

We have to medicate her twice a day, and without fail, she wakes us up

EVERY DAY between 7 and 7:30 to be fed.

She crowds us on the couch, sleeps on my legs at night so I can't turn over,

and manages to grow and shed way too much fur for such a little thing ...

And I adore her! Not an unhealthy amount, but an appropriate amount

for a pet owner to love her pet and agree that she is a part of our family!

Today I'm grateful for my little Rascal! 

She makes me smile, 

she snuggles up on my lap and helps me stay warm,

and she loves me unconditionally -

which is more than anyone could ever ask for!!

30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge - Day 1

Let's be honest here ...

I've got A LOT to be grateful for!

I was browsing through Pinterest the other day

and I found this 30 Days of Gratitude Photo Challenge!

I decided that through the month of November in addition to our annual

list of things that we are grateful for, I would accept this challenge as well!

So, without further Adieu ...

Day 1

Favorite Food 

Bagels.

I believe that I've discussed my love of bagels with you before in this post ...

At the law office where I work/ed, every year for our birthday we picked a birthday treat,

and every year, I chose Einsteins Bagels!  Mmm ... Einsteins ...

(my mouth is watering and I JUST ate dinner)

It also was not an uncommon thing for me to bring bagels on

random Friday mornings to celebrate the beginning of the weekend!!

Since moving to Grants Pass, I realized that I definitely took Einsteins for granted -

aside from the store packaged bagels, we have NO bagelry (yes, in my world, it's a thing) ...

wait ... we do have the Grower's Market that is ending in 2 weeks -

the bagels there are okay, but they are definitely not Einsteins!

That being said, we did find that Fred Meyers bakes some bagels that are pretty good,

 and although they hit the spot for us most days, I still daydream about Einsteins!

Bagels.

If you live near an Einsteins, don't take them for granted.

Someday, when you're no longer live near them, you'll be grateful for that advice!!