Gratitude Day #...?

Okay, so I'll be honest.  After day #18, I got too busy to keep up with the days of gratitude.  I could catch up, but I'll just end my 18 days of gratitude with the fact that I am very blessed and I am very very grateful for everything that I have been blessed with.  There really is nothing for me to complain about and doing these days of gratitude really helped me to look at the bigger picture and to not complain about the little things.

This year for Thanksgiving, everybody in my family was doing something different and so my mom wanted to do a small dinner celebration with everyone.  I started out great in taking pictures, but then fell short of actually taking pictures of people.

 Mom made these cute turkeys which I then made for my Thanksgiving dinner.

Full table shot!

The Mashed Potato Matterhorn

 Delicious food!

 This was a test shot to check out the lighting, but then I forgot to take a picture of everyone. Oops.

Okay, so somebody posted a video on facebook of a quick way to get pomegranate seeds.  It usually takes Scott about an hour or so to peel it by hand, so when I saw a pomegranate at grandma's house, I knew I wanted Scott to try the method out.

First, you take the pomegranate and cut it in half.  Then you carefully stretch out the pomegranate.  Find a bowl and put the pomegranate in your hand upside down.  Take a wooden spoon in the other hand and then whack the pomegranate and watch the seeds come out!

It was amazing how quickly they all came out!  Scott told me later that he prefers his method of getting pomegranate seeds, but it's great for when you are in a rush.

Also, I had this post written for a few days, but while trying to upload photos I found out that I have used my 1 GB worth of free storage of photos with Google web albums (which is where the pictures I upload automatically go).  I really want to keep updating the blog and so I decided to purchase 25 GB worth of storage space.  I have to pay $2.50 a month for it, which isn't bad, but if I get tired of paying, I can cancel anytime and then maybe make a new blog or something.  Either way, knowing that I'm paying helps keep me motivated to keep updating this blog. :)

Seashell Wreath

Scott & I have our upstairs bathroom decorated with a beach theme.  For decorations on the wall, I found this picture here for inspiration:

I really wanted to do something like this, so I got a wreath at Michael's ($3) and a bag of seashells at Ross ($8).  The wreath I got was a straw one, so I used some leftover yarn to wrap around for a white background.  I still don't know where people find foam wreaths besides somewhere like Home Depot, so if you know, please share.

I just hot glued everything on and I think it turned out great!  It definitely makes our bathroom look more complete except I'd still like to paint the bathroom wall yellow, but for now, it looks good.

Gratitude Day #18

Today, I am grateful for my health (and Scott's health).  I have been pretty lucky thus far to not have any major medical issues and the issues I do have are easily taken care of.  Scott was saying that a week or so ago in his global nursing health class they talked about how many different diseases are out there.  It is amazing how quickly things with your health can deteriorate and what a trial it can take on your life dealing with it.

I am very grateful that health issues have not been a trial for Scott and I.  What a blessing having good health is.

It would have been difficult to run a marathon without being healthy.

Gratitude Day #17

I am grateful for movies and friends to watch those movies with.  Today, I went and saw Breaking Dawn Part 2 with my friends Amanda and Janora.  It is the last movie of the Twilight series and it was pretty good!  The Twilight movies are definitely geared more towards women so I knew that Scott wouldn't be the one to go see the movie with.  Despite that some of the scenes are ridiculous and some of the acting isn't top notch, it was still a joy to see.

The entertainment industry is outlandish in many ways, but it does bring me what I'm looking for: entertainment.  There's a radio station I listen to in the morning that does celebrity gossip and I read the gossip magazines while waiting in line to buy groceries.  It is in no way important information to know, but it puts a smile on my face and that's all I care about.

Friday High Five

1. There's only two more days of school until Thanksgiving break!  Some days I feel like I am more ready for a break than the kids are.

2. Thanksgiving is literally right around the corner!  Scott's family is coming in 4 days and there is still so much to do before they come.  I did some Thanksgiving dinner shopping today and I'm glad I did most of it now.  I can't imagine going to the store the day before Thanksgiving with how the crowds looked tonight.  I went to Wal-Mart and I love that they price match.  I had my newspapers all ready to show them, but the cashier didn't even care to look and see.  I could have made something up about every single item and she would have just typed it in (and no, I did not do that).  I think that is very nice that they do that.

3. I will post pictures soon, but I finally finished my sea shell wreath to hang in the upstairs bathroom!  I got inspiration from a picture on pinterest and I think it looks really nice. 

4. We just got some great news recently involving Scott and a job, but I don't want to say anything about it because nothing is official yet.  Hopefully, soon!

5. I'm watching Toy Story 2 on TV.  All three Toy Story movies are such classics.  Love them.

Gratitude Day #16

Today I am grateful that Scott & I are not struggling with finances.  We've been so lucky that things have gone so well since we got married.  Our first year of marriage was spent living in Scott's aunt and uncle's house rent free.  Now that is lucky.  The second place we lived was a basement apartment which was $700 per month plus utilities, which were only about $25 total per month.  We've been able to save enough money to be able to purchase a home (with some financial help from family). 

I am grateful that we balance out each other and don't really argue over finances.  I am better at saving and budgeting money than Scott is, but Scott helps me learn that it's okay to spoil yourself every once in a while.

Finances are something that so many families struggle with and I am grateful that this is something we don't struggle with.

I would love to go to the bathroom and find this!

Gratitude Day #15

Today, I am grateful for naps.  Yes, you heard me, I said naps.  I am one lucky person to be able to have time to take a nap almost every day.  This isn't something new though, I have been napping for quite some time.  For some people, naps just make them more groggy when they wake up, but I actually feel awake and good after taking a nap.  I'm glad that Scott thinks that naps are good for me or else I would feel bad about taking them.

I hope our kids will be good nappers because it would be way too hard to me to stop.  Anyways, I am grateful that I am able to take a nap each day so that I can feel rejuvenated for whatever activities the night brings me.  Here's a t-shirt I should get since it is so true.