Thanksgiving-eve.

91. hot chocolate.
92. memories.
93. hope.
94. the power of prayer.
95. sprinkles.
96. holiday cheer.
97. indoor plumbing.
98. kisses in the morning before work.
99. long weekends.
100. my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with all of these things and countless more!

the great thing about spending 25 days or so making these thankful lists  every year is that the grateful attitude tends to carry on well past Thanksgiving and Christmas and even into the new year! being extra aware of all the blessings in our lives, and then immediately giving thanks for them to the One who pours them out so freely on us, is something that i wish i could remember to do year-round, rather than just in November.

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ."                                                I Corinthians 15:57

for the Lord is good.

81. i do NOT actually have a stray cat living in my fridge.
82. giveaways.
83. pictures.
84. my adorable new apron.
85. a wonderful friend who made me my adorable new apron.
86. crock pots. (this may or may not remain on the list depending on how dinner tonight turns out)
87. that my weekly excercise is so much fun i look forward to it.
88. deadlines.
89. a mom who is cool enough to text.
90. sweaters, and warm enough days in November to not really need them.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks
to him and praise his name."                               Psalm 100:4

to the tune of 'The Death of the Son'.

71. finding a mechanic close to home.
72. my bad memory, which made watching the new Harry Potter movie way more exciting.
73. JK Rowling, who wrote a story that has captivated and entertained people of all ages for over a decade.
74. online shopping.
75. matinees.
76. nice people who do not get upset when you hit them in the back of the head with your straw wrapper because you missed your target.
77. Andes candies.
78. that i finally get to work on something other than the job from Hades.
79. 8 hour days.
80. leaving work while its still kind of light outside.


"I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; i will tell of all your
wonderful deeds."                                           Psalm 9:1

ten more.

61. Sophie
62. wednesday weeks.
63. sweatpants.
64. Sunday afternoon naps.
65. my best friend in the world.
66. successful grocery trips.
67. radio stations that are not playing Christmas music yet.
68. a new drivers license. (although i think i'm partial to my old pic)
69. recipes from Grandma.
70. phones.

"I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs i will
praise you"                                           Psalm 35:18

sending myself home for the holidays.

for the past few weeks, i have not exactly been on top of things. i oversleep my alarm in the mornings, at dinnertime i throw together an assortment of (hopefully) edible things to eat because i havent planned a meal in weeks and i let my husband do the grocery shopping this week, i still don't have all my thank you's written from my wedding (that was a month and a half ago), and Thanksgiving has snuck up on me this year. (i could have sworn i had another week!) but in an effort to regain my position of power over my own life, i have decided to put all of this behind me and i am moving on to make sure i am prepared for the next big thing: Christmas!

i have decided that i am going to use Shutterfly.com for our Christmas cards this year. after all, this will be the first year that i have EVER sent out my own cards, and since i just got married this past October and moved to a new state, i do not get to see enough of the people i love most, (and they definately do not get to see enough of me!) so i figure what better way to send a Christmas greeting than with my smiling face plastered all over it? AND if i use a wedding picture (which by the way is yet another un-done thing on my ever-growing to do list) then it might almost make up for the fact that i didnt get to make Shutterfly thank-you cards like i had originally been planning on.

i started looking through the many options of new holiday cards, and quickly found several that i liked. the colors are fun and bright, and they are full of messages of love and joy, which is exactly how i am feeling going into this holiday season - full of love for all the wonderful people in my life, and joyful that they are in my life.

i picked a couple designs that i like really well, and i have a few pictures in mind that i like a lot. so if this goes well, i might eventually get around to making a photo book of my favorite wedding memories (or maybe just as many as i can get to fit since all my memories are great!)

singing my thanks.

51. vacation hours automatically on my timesheet.
52. pillows.
53. alarm clocks.
54. hair dryers.
55. deodorant.
56. mornings that arent so cold yet that your hair freezes when its wet.
57. complete strangers who comment on how beautiful my ring is.
58. complete strangers who comment on how young i look.
59. pop tarts.
60. shoes.

"I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."
                                                              Psalm 69:30

thanks in no particular order.

41. Hamburger Helper.
42. sunrises.
43. that it is still light out when i leave for work.
44. Broadway.
45. baseball.
46. warm, sunny November afternoons.
47. cousins.
48. real mail in our mailbox.
49. someone in my life who will do the grocery shopping for me.
50. bandaids.

"Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name."
                                                                    I Chronicles 29:13