21-30.

21. I am thankful for the fact that I have a job that pays the bills. Even when it has its ups and downs, it's a good job and I work with great people.

22. My incredibly generous parents. Enough said.

23. My things. I know that sounds incredibly materialistic, but I am blessed to have gotten some wonderful gifts from people I love and I have some really great things that remind me of people in my life or fun memories, and I don't take those things for granted. I know I have an abundance.

24. My car. Despite all the problems and headaches it has caused me these last few months (through no fault of its own), I am blessed to have a vehicle that is safe and will get me to and from work without any real problems.

25. The people at St. Anthony's. I worked there for 14 months, and I know many of them were disappointed, maybe even hurt, when I left, yet they are still excited to see me and share their love with me when I see them. I went out there for church on Sunday, and they were incredible! Everyone wanted to know how I'm doing, how my job's going, etc. So nice to see so many friendly faces, even though I've been gone now as long as I was there.

26. Answers to prayers...even when they're not the exact answers I was hoping for, they still help me know God is watching over me.

27. My mom's example in her enthusiasm for life and everything in it. We were teasing her this weekend because lately it seems everything she sees/hears about/mentions goes along with a very enthusiastic and expressive, "I LOVE _______!!!!" It's kind of overdramatic and silly, but I think my mom is in a good place and happier than she's been in awhile, and I'm glad for that.

28. My dad's gentle and generous nature. EVERY SINGLE TIME I hang up the phone with my dad, he says, "Take care of my buddy. Remember who loves you." Isn't that sweet? He is a peach.

29. My creative nature. I have so many ideas for things...I wish I had time (and money) to make them all happen! Someday.

30. Life. I know I'm very, very blessed to live in a time when we all have so much (even if it feels like many of us are struggling). I'm blessed to live in a situation where I never have to go hungry, I have people who love and support me, and if I need anything, I know all I have to do is say the word and people will come out of the woodwork to help me out. Most people are not this lucky. I have my life, I have my health, I have my freedom, and I have love. I am very blessed.

This year I am so thankful for all of you! I'm thankful I have people in my life who care enough about me that they actually want to read my ramblings (even when my camera is MIA and I don't have any exciting photos to share and haven't for awhile...sorry about that). You guys make my life rich. Thank you! Love you all!

Peppermint Deliciousness.

Yesterday two of my co-workers and I stopped by a donut shop to have a quick meeting (seriously...it really was a meeting...promise!) before we had to go different directions. They had a drink called "Peppermint Snow Tea" and it was sooooooooo yummy! :) They listed how to make it, so I'm going to pass it on for anyone who's looking for a delicious holiday treat. :) YUM!

Peppermint Snow Tea

Steam some milk. Take one peppermint tea bag and steep the tea in the milk (as opposed to water, like you would normally make tea). Add one pump/shot of peppermint syrup* and three pumps of white chocolate syrup* (their white chocolate syrup was sugar free, which was awesome, but I'm sure you could use regular if you wanted it sweeter--it was perfect and not too sweet the way they did it). That's it! SUPER DELICIOUS! :)

*Those syrups can usually be purchased at Starbucks or other coffee/tea shops, and can sometimes be found at your local grocery store. You could probably also get someone at your local coffee/tea shop to make this drink for you if you told them how! :)

I LOVE THIS!!!!

18, 19, 20.

So, this everyday posting thing isn't working out very well, but hey, I'm still doing better than I was before, right?! :)

18. I am thankful for my musical abilities. I looooooove, love, LOVE to sing and always have, and I'm thankful I actually have a halfway decent voice so no one else has to suffer by my incessant singing. :) (On that note...do you know about Myspace Karaoke? Seriously? Ridiculous fun if you're just chilling sometime and want to do karaoke with just your computer...although it doesn't work on a Mac, so that's a sad story.) I also love that I catch on to the guitar so quickly. I love, love, love playing my guitar...I just wish I had more discipline to practice more often!! :) And I wish my girls were all in the same place more often so we could actually sing and play more often, too.

19. I'm so thankful for the many mentors I've been blessed to have in my life. Here's a not-so-short list, in no particular order, of some of the amazing people who have generously given their time, energy, and talents to dramatically bless and impact my life and who I've become: Marie Smith, Coach Dickson, Taunia Wheeler, Fr. Jim Meehan, Reed and Julie Hansen, Marsha Forsgren, Mary Heitkemper, Jenifer Gudac, David Lindsay, John Downey, Sr. Mary Garvin, Fr. Al Morisette, Amy Hugh, Mindy Harmon, Terri Tenorio, Karen Plybon, Chuck Kornmann, Cynthia Dachtler, Diana Wuertz, Fr. Mike Winterer, Rob Kugler, Joe Albert, and so many more. I know most people aren't blessed to have a list that long. I am very lucky.

20. THE HOLIDAYS!!! I looooooooove the Holidays soooooooooo much!! Today around noonish they started playing non-stop Christmas music on the radio from now until Christmas and it made me so happy! I love Christmas music!! I love all the things leading up until Christmas--the preparations, the parties, family and friends, the music, the festivity, the way that people are thinking about each other instead of themselves for a change--I just love it so much! Don't get me wrong...I LOVE Thanksgiving. In fact, I go back and forth about whether it might actually be my favorite holiday, but I see nothing wrong with kicking off the holiday season, even with Christmas music, before Thanksgiving. The more the merrier. I'm thankful for all the traditions that make this dreary, gloomy time of year so merry and bright! :)

16 and 17

16. I am thankful for soft sheets and warm blankets on cold nights. I know that sounds silly, but seriously, when you're exhausted, is there anything better than snuggling down under your big heavy blankets and getting all warm and cozy? Love it.

17. Al. Over the last few years I have been blessed to make the acquaintance of an old man by the name of Alter Wiener. He happens to be one of the few remaining survivors of the Holocaust. He is sweet and funny and seriously, how lucky am I to personally know someone like that? (Like, he calls me on my cell phone...I'm not joking when I say we're friends.) I haven't actually seen him in awhile, just e-mailed or talked on the phone, but I saw him this morning and when I reminded him who I was, he said, "Oh my God. You've gotten younger!" What a flirt. So, yes, I am friends with a lively, flirtatious, and very wise survivor of the Holocaust. I am very thankful for that.

Thanks.

Random story: you know that song, "Windy"? It's from probably the 60s or 70s and part of it says, "Everyone knows it's Windy! And Windy has stormy eyes..." etc. Anyway, at camp we used to sing grace at every meal, and one of my favorites was the windy grace, sung to the same tune as that song. It goes like this:

Thanks be to God, the Father Almighty.

Thanks, be to God, who gives us this bread.

Thanks be to God, the Father Eternal.

Thanks be to God forever.

That song just ran through my head and I thought I should share, because I haven't heard or sung it in forever, but I think it's wonderful. So if you're looking for something new to teach your kiddos or a new way to say grace, there you go. :)

At church tonight, I was thinking about how God is so much bigger than our struggles. Over and over we're told not to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will take care of itself. We should just live in today. Two weeks ago they were talking about how we all have saints in our lives who step in when we most need them, who are there to lift us up when we're struggling. These are all just random thoughts, but it leads me to my next thankfulness piece.

15. Faith. For so many reasons I can't even put into words. Tonight we sang part of Psalm 139, which is a psalm we've been using at one of the retreats I run. The basic gist is that God knows us from the very beginning, knows us better than anyone ever will, and God has everything under control. If you haven't read it in awhile, check it out--it's quite beautiful, and very reassuring. So I know God has all this under control. Even when it's hard to see or understand what His reasons are.

And on that note, I have a little sidenote since I just realized that yesterday I sort of used one I had already used for my thankfulness posts. Here's my addendum (okay, just an extra one thrown in): I am thankful for Erik. Despite that fact that things are really tough right now, we have been best friends for 6 years and I know we both love each other a lot. I have learned so much from him, and he has definitely had a major influence on the person I have become today. He is a wonderful person, and I know this is hard on both of us. Please pray that we will both figure out what God wants from and for us, and that we can follow His will, whatever that might be.

Thankfulness, Round 2.

So, apparently I am no good with this writing every day thing...or my mom came to town Thursday night, and I literally haven't had a spare second to write. :) So here's a catch up:

12. Mi familia! My mom's in town for her little sister's fiftieth birthday surprise party, and it was lots of fun to see everyone and hang out today. Her other sister, my aunt Debbie, also came down with her husband, so it was fun for the three sisters to be together. I don't get to see my family very often, so it was fun to have a family get-together this weekend. (If you think of it, please send up a prayer for my cousin Heather who is recovering from surgery...and her cat died the day after her surgery, making everything harder. She's struggling and could surely use your prayers.) Anyway, my family rocks and I love them very much.

13. Opportunities. Things haven't been easy lately, but I've realized that I have opportunities knocking at my doors and windows if I just wish to decide which one to take. I'm trying not to make any big decisions right now, since I'm a pretty logical person and don't want to make emotional decisions, but eventually there will be some changes and I'm excited to see what those will be. One big opportunity I am super excited about that's coming up is the opportunity to be godmother to Janna and Ryan's little girl, Olivia Rose (most likely), who is due to be born in December. :) I'm so honored that they asked me, and I can't wait to have a little girl in my life to spoil in a special way. :)

14. My friends' kiddos. Seriously, I have the greatest friends, and you all know I love kiddos, so I'm so glad I can play with your kids, especially while I don't have any of my own. I love hearing your stories and seeing your photos and talking to the kids on the phone (April's oldest, Bryce, and I have a fun relationship because we've been talking on the phone since he was literally about a year old--love that kid!). I have a lot of vicarious nieces and nephews--thanks for sharing, everyone! :) You and your children all bring a lot of joy to my life. :)