Month of Thankfulness 2013

Last year I did the Month of Thankfulness posts where every day you write about something you are thankful for. Instead of doing it on The Facebook like everyone else, I did it as blog posts. A rebel, I am.

Being even more rebellious than last year, I decided that this year I would do one post the day after Thanksgiving, which is today. Woot woot. Today you all get to read all 30 items that I am thankful for, all at once.

Last year, about a month after writing my month of thankful posts, I was told I was thankful for the wrong things. I know what you're thinking. I still think what you're thinking. Who tells someone else what they should be thankful for? This was a person who knows me, not some stranger who emailed me to tell me how I should write my blog posts.

Apparently this person felt they are that important in the world that they could tell me exactly what I should have been thankful for. I'm pretty sure that until I speak the words, I'm the only one that actually knows that I'm thankful for.

Their reason? They were offended that I wrote about my in-laws. Is that jealousy I smell? 'Cause, dude, someone that is thankful for their in-laws, truly thankful, is a rare person to find. My first set of in-laws were crazy. Seriously crazy. The fact that I have normal people for in-laws this time around is a pretty darn fantastic plus. The fact that they love me, love my children as their own grandchildren, work out any issues instead of ignoring them, only makes me all that more thankful for them.

So to that person you know who you are who told me that by writing about my in-laws, I was implying that I wasn't thankful for others who could have been written about instead (no, I have no idea how that makes sense in their head, because I think rationally & that is clearly irrational), here is my 2013 Month of Thankfulness List.

I am thankful for....

1) The block function on my phone. There are a few people who are no longer in my life, due to my deciding to let go of those that bring nothing positive to my life, who still have my phone number. Last year I set their numbers so that I never receive their calls or texts. I never have to hear or read their stupidity or negativity. Heaven, I tell ya!

2) Meat. I love meat. Prime rib, ham, shrimp, bacon, clams, mussels, turkey, ribs...I love meat.

3) Friends who know how truly un-normal I am & still love me. I have some pretty cool friends who know how to support a person.

4) Flu shots. I have tons of friends who are going to recoil & hiss at their screens when they read this. I'm sorry, guys. I know where you're coming from. I understand how you feel about them. I was once you. But now I have this much immunity:   . You see that space before the period? You see what is in it? Nothing. Zero. Zilch. No immunity system. A healthy immune system has a chance to fight off influenza. But they can still be carrying the germs, even if their body is not actively sick. It's those germs that would land me in the hospital fighting for my life. I don't want to ever again see the pain on my kids' faces while they watch me go through that again. For those that get the flu shot, thank you for reducing the chance that my kids will have to fear losing their Mother.

5) My parents in-law. You knew I'd put them in here, didn't you? Take that, you-know-who. I'm still thankful for them. We fight & argue like any other normal family does & in the end it brings us closer because through it all we learn more about each other.

6) My sister in-law. It's awesome to have a sister, even if it was gained through marriage. I can call & say, "I'm on my way to your house. I need to talk," & she'll drop everything to sit & listen when I get there. If I hadn't married hubby for hubby, I just may have married him for his sister.

7) Ethel & Half Brain. My sisters from other misters. My Sinister Sisters. My Phoebe & Rachel.

Halloween/My Birthday
2011
Half Brain, Me, Ethel

Our Alter Egos
Half Brain, Me, Ethel

Halloween/My Birthday
2012
Me, Ethel, Half Brain

Our Other Alter Egos
Me, Ethel, Half Brain

8) Clothing. There are a lot of people that when I look at them, I'm very grateful that I am not seeing them naked. Also, I like wearing them. I mean I like wearing clothes, not that I like wearing those people.

9) My job. So I can pay for those clothes. And other things.

10) Coke. It keeps me sane.

11) Coffee. It keeps me awake. 

12) Sex. Is there really an explanation necessary here?

13) Teachers. I've home schooled my kids. I love teachers for being willing to do what I hated doing. Thankful isn't strong enough of a word for how I feel toward teachers for taking on that job.

14) Other people's babies. I can hold them, smell them, feed them, love them, coo at them, but when they're not fun anymore, I'm not the one that has to take them home. 

15) My bed. We got a brand-new bed this summer & it's absolute Heaven. It's so Heavenly that I've had friends try to steal it. Thankfully it weighs 6,000 lbs. so they just lay on it & tell me how much they wish they could steal it. I'm thankful for my bed and how much it weighs. 

16) My knitting needles. In times of stress, my knitting needles allow me a relaxing outlet. In times of boredom, my knitting needles allow me a creative outlet. In times of attack, my knitting needles allow me a violent outlet.

 

 17) Yarn. Without yarn, my knitting needles would be useless. Except in times of attack. The yarn is a completely separate arsenal. Together I could stab & strangle. Yarn is a wonderful invention.

18) Scrapbooking. It's another creative outlet & I'm gosh darn good at it. I'm thankful someone thought of it so that I can do it.

19) Makeup. I love makeup. It makes some people nicer to look at. It makes some people scarier to look at, but that's not the makeup's fault; that's the applicant's fault. I love the colors & the smell & the look & the feel of makeup. It's glorious. 

20) Cologne. Mmm I love the smell of cologne. It smells like sexy man. The night I met hubby I told him he smelled good after he walked past me. I smell men. But not in a creepy way. I don't walk up to every man & sniff them & then walk away. And I'm not obvious about it, panting after them with drool running down my face & shirt. I just like the way some men smell. 

21) My kids. The ones that actually came out of my body. They're the awesomest kids ever. And since I raised them, I couldn't have awesome kids without myself being awesome. 

22) My extra kids. The ones that did not ever inhabit any part of my body but that I love just the same. They're pretty darn cool too. 

23) Diamonds. They're sparkly. They're beautiful. They speak to me. They're wonderful. 

24) Hubby. He's not perfect, but he's perfect for me. He's got awesome taste in wives he's only ever had 1 & he's downright good at the fathering gig. I'm thankful for all that & that we have fun together.

25) TV. TV's allow me to watch shows like Once Upon a Time & American Horror Story, keep caught up on gossip about people like the Kardashians & children with goofy names like Apple & North, & wonderful  obsessions movies like Wizard of Oz & Alice in Wonderland. I love that. They also allow me to fall asleep & I am really thankful for that. 

26) My nose. I was going to say that I am thankful for smells because I love smells--all the candles you will smell in my house on a daily basis, my shower gels, my lotions, my perfume, how food smells, I love smells. But really, what it comes down to is that I'm thankful for my nose because without it, all the smells in the world wouldn't matter. Plus I'd look funny without a nose, so I'm glad it's there so I don't look funny. The piercing in it makes it look even better. Yeah, I'm thankful for my nose.

27) My red hair. With the color of my hair, there's no surprise about my personality or if I'm Irish. I like being Irish. I love my red hair.

28) My cats. Like my kids, they're the awesomest that ever lived. And they make me feel safe because they kill such real life nightmares as birds, mice, & crickets. They never let any of those nasties get me. I don't know if I'm more thankful for my cats or for my cats protecting me from scary monsters.  

Watson is never far from me.

Nemo the cranky princess.

29) Skittles, Mango juice, Butterfingers, Reese's, & Cherry 7-Up. Just because they're delicious & no one should ever be without them.

30) My nail tech. She's amazing at her job & her telling me that I'm hot & beautiful are always perks. I'm thankful for the great job she does and the compliments she gives.

P.S. The numbers do not represent any order of importance; the numbers are just there to remind me when I got to 30. Now that I think about it, I should have done 30 #1's just to prove they didn't matter.