{Day 21-30} "I AM THANKFUL" 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge!

WOW....I think calling me a "slacker" would be an UNDERSTATEMENT!! LOL! Sorry I disappeared for a bit but I have been super busy with Thanksgiving and traveling. I'll really be back into my blogging after Sunday. But since I was a major slacker...here is the rest of my 30 Days of what I'm thankful for...

Since I don't have my regular computer with me....I have a different photo for my last entry...

Image: Courtesy of http://alimoongoddess.com/

Day #21

 

I am thankful...for DISHWASHERS!!!!

 

 

About a year ago we moved into our apartment...and it DOES NOT have a dishwasher :-( I've definitely learned to appreciate how far we've come in this life to have things that really do help A LOT. haha.

 

Day #22

 

I am thankful...for the one vehicle we do have left!

 

When I got my license, I was SO used to having my own car. When I got older, started living on my own, then our family came along, money became tight and we could only afford to have one. I'm just thankful we have one at all!! I had to ride the local transit here A LOT for about two years and it's nice to have your own vehicle sometimes :-)

 

Day #23

 

I am thankful...for mattresses, box springs and bed frames.

 

 

Because of a minor moving accident...we have no bed frame and our mattress/box spring sits on the floor. And as much as I HATE the bed set that we have, I will definitely say it's better than sleeping on the cold hard floor! ;-)

 

Day #24

 

I am thankful...for music.

 

 

You won't see me doing it often...but I LOVE to dance! When I was 18, I loved the club scene with the loud music and fun people. Now that I'm a Mom, I find myself dancing with my daughter when music comes on the TV or when characters in her shows/movies start dancing. I just love to move. Plus, music is just SO therapeutic. There are songs for EVERY kind of mood, or day you're having, or moment in you life.

 

Day #25

 

I am thankful...for my right to own a gun.

 

 

I was raised around a hunting lifestyle. At 10 years old I passed Hunter's Safety and owned my first gun. I was raised to go out and get something that put food on our table. To this day, I still love to hunt. I love the idea that I can provide for my family and that my loved ones can help me do that as well. I know that having a gun or talking about them can be a sensitive subject, for many but I feel that with the right education about guns and learning of the responsibilities that come with them, they CAN be safe. I firmly believe that there are MANY people out there that should NOT own a gun, simply because they aren't educated about them, or are just plain unsafe and, for a lack of a better word, STUPID with them. They are dangerous when not placed in the right hands and I'm very happy that there are really strict laws that are out there when it comes to guns, as well as punishments that come along with abusing the right to have a gun.

 

Day #26

 

I am thankful...for college degree!

I am the first and only one, on either side of my family, to get a college degree. Words can't even begin to describe how thankful I am to have it, and everything that my parents sacrificed to help me get it!!! I worked VERY hard to earn it, and I'm DAMN proud of myself for getting it! :-)

Day #27

 

I am thankful...for my Brother!

 

I'm thankful for the Sister that I am today because of the Brother I've had all my life ;-) For those of you that have siblings...you'll get that this is all I ever need to say about my Brother and how much it actually means ;-)

 

Day #28

 

I am thankful...for my Father!

 

For the next two, I could sit here and write an entire novel about them...but the few things that I will write about my Daddy (yes, I still call him that, PROUDLY) is...how extremely thankful I am that he raised me to know what a true gentleman is and how they should treat a woman (I'm lucky enough to say I've found one of my very own). I'm extremely thankful that he was always the man I could run to when I felt like the world was shattering around me. I'm so happy that he is now one of the BIGGEST male role models in my daughter's life and there is just nothing better than that! 

 

Day #29

 

I am thankful...for my Mother!

 

There aren't even enough words in this universe to begin to express how thankful I am about my Mother. She is my ROCK. My light at the end of the tunnel. She's the reason I am the woman that I am today, and I'll go ahead and say it, I'm pretty dang awesome ;-) I'm so thankful that she is my best friend. I have learned SO much from her and have WAY more to learn from her still. She has gotten me through some of the toughest points in my life, in my parenting journey, and MORE! She raised me to be a strong, independent woman. To stand up for myself and what's right. She provided me with the knowledge to successfully raise my own family. I owe her SO SO SO much! I continue to be EXTREMELY thankful for everything that she still does for me and my family!!

Day #30

 

I am thankful...for my Husband!

 

LOL! He's my bestest friend in the whole wide world, he's my compliment, my soul mate. He makes me strive to be my best every moment in my life. He inspires me and supports me. He's the most amazing father to our daughter, Miss K!!! He works 3 jobs, goes to school full time and still somehow finds the energy to come home and be the best daddy every and loving husband any girl could ask for. He's VERY active in the day to day care of our child and that in itself is more than any girl could ever ask for in a parenting team mate.

 

I can never thank this man enough for what he does and I always try to hold my end of it all...and I hope he thinks I do! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BABE!!

 

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I must say, I'm kinda sad that this blogging series is over, but at the same time, I'm pretty dang excited to start new things with my blogging!! Thank you all again for following me and my blogging journey! I truly love having my blogging family!!!!

{Day 17, 18, 19, 20} "I AM THANKFUL" 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge!

Wow, I definitely fell behind with my challenge, so I'll play catch up today!! I was a vendor in a craft sale this weekend so I pretty much had to put everything else on hold to prepare haha!

Day #17

I am thankful...for medical/dental insurance.

When our daughter was born...let's just say, we never saw A DIME of the $15,000 bill that it took just for her arrival!! YIKES, right?! I definitely don't take something like medical/dental insurance for granted...EVER. Just recently...well, over this past month, I've been in an out of doctor's offices (don't worry, I promise I'm fine) to figure some stuff out and once again...out of the 4 visits I had to make that I wasn't expecting to, I never saw a penny from those visits either. I have no clue what my husband and I would do if we didn't have medical and had to pay for all of Miss K's shots, well check exams, etc. It really frustrates me that there are people out there that try to cheat the system to try and get MORE out of something that is already a huge blessing. I'm VERY thankful for medical and dental insurance!

Day #18

I am thankful...for my husband's employment!!

My husband works so much to death, for me to be a stay at home Mom to our little munchkin and like I said in a previous post, I'm super thankful he does that for our us. As much as sometimes wish I had a job to help with the financial aspect of it all, I'm just super glad that my husband hasn't lost any of his jobs or has to struggle to find any during this tough time with our economy!

Day #19

I am thankful...for craft sales/bazaars/shows.

www.madewithlovebycaty.etsy.com AND www.madewithlovebycaty.blogspot.com

This was my cute little booth at the sale I participated in this weekend :-) This is only the 2nd one I've ever done and I JUST LOVE IT! I love the atmosphere, the people that come to shop...but I have to say, the one thing I think I love the most is...the other vendors!! Every year I get so excited about seeing what other vendors bring to the sale. This year was especially fun for me because we didn't' get much foot traffic this year, due to the snowfall (not the fun part) but at the end of the sale, all of us vendors just started trading with each other for goodies. I got some awesome handmade hair accessories, a handmade t-shirt scarf and an ADORABLE elephant pin cushion, plus a strawberry pin cushion. LOVE supporting local crafters and just buying local! Got some great Christmas presents there too...that I cannot mention...because the gifts are for a reader haha!
 

Day #20

I am thankful...for the National Football League!

During football season, it's a family "tradition" to make Sundays our family days and do nothing but cook, veg out and watch football together! I. LOVE. FAMILY. SUNDAYS. With our insanely busy lives, it's definitely nice to "force" ourselves to set aside one day where we do absolutely nothing but enjoy each others company. We don't do chores (which I sometimes pay for in the long run), we play non-stop with our daughter and just SNUGGLE...lots and lots of snuggling as a family! It's pretty much pure heaven! :-)
 

{Day 16} "I AM THANKFUL" 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge!

Image: Courtesy of Meghan at www.lifeofnashvegasmeg.blogspot.com

Day #16

I am thankful...for laughter!

I just had the GREATEST moment with my daughter that makes me so thankful for laughter!

I was sitting on the floor with her and we were throwing a ball back at forth at one another. We paused for a moment because she ran towards one of her pacifiers, I grabbed it before she could get it, put it in my mouth and launched it across the room. Miss K started laughing HYSTERICALLY! So, I grabbed the binkie again and before I could even launch it, she started laughing again really hard, which in turn, made me laugh hysterically. Before I knew it, the two of us were laughing so hard at the fact that the other was laughing, that we sat there for a quite a few minutes just....LAUGHING! 

It was just one of many of the greatest moments I've had with my daughter since she was born. I'm a total sap, so when I took a breath after laughing so hard, I started crying. It's all these little moments that make me proud to be her Mother. It's moments like these that make me forget about all the tough times that come with being a parent. I definitely can't wait to have more moments like this!! Bonding with my daughter ROCKS!

HAPPY HUMP DAY!!!!

{Day 15} "I AM THANKFUL" 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge!

Image: Courtesy of Meghan at www.lifeofnashvegasmeg.blogspot.com

  
Today's day of thanks is a short one because it's a very self explanatory one, whether you're a parent or not...but today's mostly refers to being a parent...

Day #15

I am thankful...for NAP TIME!

 

When my daughter goes to sleep for her middle of the day nap, I feel like I should party! But instead, it's MOMMY TIME! LOL! If I don't have a bunch of sewing to do for my business, I usually make myself a cup of coffee, grab the computer and watch my shows!

It's pure {quiet} bliss! :-)

{Day 14} "I AM THANKFUL" 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge!

Image: Courtesy of Meghan at www.lifeofnashvegasmeg.blogspot.com

Day #14

I am thankful...for the WIC Program!

In one on my previous "thankful" posts, I mentioned how I was extremely thankful to have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom and that it definitely came with financial struggles being an single income home. I anticipated that money would be tough to come by with a family of three but never did I anticipate that nursing was going to be as difficult as it was and that we were then going to have to come up with money that we didn't have for formula to nourish our child.

Since I wasn't familiar with formula and how much it cost, you can definitely guess that I wanted to cry when we had to figure out how to come up with $140+ extra a month for it. We didn't have $140+ extra a month. Just did NOT have it. 

My husband and I started to try to figure out if eating only Top Ramen in order to pay for formula was our only option of if we needed to start selling things to cover the cost. 

And then, a glimmer of hope! Someone mentioned something about the WIC program and I'd heard a little about it quite a few years before I was pregnant but had no idea what it was about. I started to look into it and it was the answer to our prayers! There was no question to

whether we qualified for it or not...we definitely did! LOL! 

ALL of the formula we needed for Miss K was covered by the program and on top of that we received rice cereal and milk. As she grows and gets older they cater to her nutritional needs so now that she's onto solid foods we get eggs, milk, cheese and MORE! It's just a HUGE blessing for us to know that no matter what, my hubby and I won't have to ever solely eat Top Ramen just to get by! What's even better is that as long as we qualify for the program, we get the benefits until Miss K is 5 years old!!

So, I'm BEYOND thankful for this program!!!

HAPPY MONDAY!!!! :-)

{Day 12} and {Day 13} "I AM THANKFUL" 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge!

Image: Courtesy of Meghan at www.lifeofnashvegasmeg.blogspot.com

Day #12

I am thankful...for warm and cozy blankets.

Day #13

I am thankful...for hot cocoa.

Not only was I a slacker and fell a day behind but it ended up working out perfectly because the two things I'm thankful for go perfectly together! 

Last night was a LONG LONG LONG day! I'm the Financial Adviser for my local sorority and yesterday they had "class caucus" to decide who they were going to slate for their upcoming elections today, and advisers had to be present. I was there from 9am until 6pm. I was mentally exhausted and had a massive headache.

Not to mention the fact that it was the first solid snow fall we've had for the season and we have to shovel it since we're apartment managers so we definitely needed some warming up! :-) 

The PERFECT way to end my a day like that was to relax with my hubby with a cup of hot cocoa and a warm snuggly blanket!!!

Hope you all had an amazing Veteran's Day weekend with your families!!!

{Day 11} " I AM THANKFUL" 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge!

Image: Courtesy of Meghan at www.lifeofnashvegasmeg.blogspot.com

Day #11

I am thankful...for our US Soldiers/Troops.

I want to start off by saying, it takes a special kind of person to willing sacrifice themselves to serve our country whether they'll ever see active battle or whether they are the tech guys or mechanics, it's a HUGE sacrifice to make for their entire country, and I am EXTREMELY thankful for these men and women. 

I've always been very supportive of our troops but it really hit home for our family on just HOW supportive we needed to be. What I mean by that...my 19 year old brother in law just enlisted into the United States Army, he signed a 5 year contract, just left for basic training in October and I'm terrified. Each person's experience serving our country is different, but my brother in law is going to do what my cousin almost just lost his life over (and is still struggling to this day, with what happened to him by undergoing multiple, painful surgeries). I may be scared out of my mind for him, but I've never been more proud of my brother in law. 

Sure, the thought of him possibly never seeing his first and only niece grow up kills me, but because of him, she will continue to have the freedom she does (we all will!).

So, to those of you out there that have served, are serving, or are planning to serve....from the bottom of my heart....THANK YOU! Know that I think you are all amazing individuals and I can never repay you for the sacrifices you have made/are making for us :-)

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!!!