Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart

Good morning friends!  Since today will likely be my last chance to post before Thanksgiving (I'm only working for a few hours tomorrow morning, then taking the rest of the day off) - I thought I'd share some of the things I'm most thankful for right now in my life.

• I know it's a dumb thing, because it comes around every year, but I'm so thankful for fall!  I just love this time of year, and the colours are really starting to come out this week.  It's just gorgeous out.  And on top of it, it's been a beauty of a week - and I think it's supposed to be most of the weekend too.  Lovely!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I'm grateful for my family.  My mom, my siblings, my nieces and nephews, my extended family.  I've always valued and enjoyed spending time with family, and that hasn't changed.  They are my people, and they are the best.
  
  
  
  
• I'm very thankful for my good health.  Just having this nagging sore lower back this week has really annoyed me, but it also reminds me that I'm lucky to not have any huge health problems right now.  I had the weird zappy headache thing earlier in the summer, but aside from that, I've been pretty good.  Heart palps and blood pressure are under control, and I have hardly had a sniffle for months. Knock on wood, and thank you God!
• I feel very fortunate to have a contented life right now.  Aside from the on-going pigeon problem, life is pretty good at my house these days.  There are still a few things I'd like to spruce up the place - new blinds, an area rug for the living room, new knobs for the kitchen cupboards - but overall, I'm content.  I think about where I was even five or six years ago, and I've come a long way.  I don't want for much, and that is a blessing.
• I'm so grateful for good friends.  I have many, and I am lucky.  Most of my friends are on different pages from me - married with children, busy with a million things going on, and yet they haven't left me in the dust.  They haven't forgotten about me.  I will always be thankful for them, for sharing their kiddos with me, for being part of my life even though I may not "fit".
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I'm very thankful for hobbies that I love!  Currently, most especially, crocheting.  I have SO enjoyed learning and getting better at it over the past two years.  I can still remember the first few days when I was learning, how it made me want to cry in frustration.  How I threw the yarn and hook across the room and roared curse words.  I'm glad I persevered.  I get so much enjoyment from it now!
  
• I know this is another silly little petty thing, but I'm so glad I went through the hullaballoo of getting myself set up with a working satellite dish, high-speed internet, a new TV, and Netflix.  I mean, it's kind of crazy to think, it wasn't all that long ago that I didn't have a functioning TV OR Internet in my home.  Like, three or four years ago.  Crazy, right?  We've played the game before in the office where you ask if your house was on fire and you only have a few minutes to grab possessions, what's the one thing you take - and I chose my TV, which caused laughter and disbelief.  But hey... it wasn't so long ago that I didn't have that luxury, so... yeah.  I'm taking my TV! LOL!
• Right now, I'm thankful for how I feel about myself in general.  It's been a roller-coaster for the past six years - losing a bunch of weight, gaining it all back, going from feeling like I was on top of the world to feeling like a giant slug.  Last winter, I recognized that I wasn't feeling very good about myself, and I needed to make a change.  I haven't been in the right frame of mind to focus on food (I want all the bad foods, all the time) - but I have been able to get myself moving more, and that has helped immensely.  Getting to 10K steps regularly, four to five days a week, getting out of bed a half hour early each day to do a light workout, walking at lunch hour, and usually doing a little exercise in the evenings, has helped my state of mind
  immensely.  I may not be the size I wish I was, and I still often dislike what I see in the mirror, but overall, I'm happy with who I am right now.  I'm grateful I've been able to get myself there.
  
• Overall, I'm just grateful to feel this blessed.  I'm in a good place.  Maybe not where I thought I would be at this stage in my life, but I've accepted that.  I've embraced my path.  I am fortunate to be surrounded with good people, to have a good job, to have all I need to make a good life.  I have much to be thankful for this coming Thanksgiving weekend, and all the year through!

Wishing all of my Canadian pals a very Happy Thanksgiving!  Enjoy & count your blessings! :)