First I wanna say that I have planned on NOT posting on Friday's till after my 2 surgeries. (I'm having 2 surgeries sometime before the end of the year, the dates isn't set yet) I figured if I'm cooking like normal now and build up recipes and maybe skip posting on Friday's then while I'm out recovering I can still keep posting! Ok enough about that...
So the reason in my post is I want to make a list of 40 things I'm thankful for. Alot of people on Facebook are posting a status everyday of something new they are thankful for but I wanted to write it on my blog so I can always have it to read. Sometimes I get down about my situation and I think it'd be a good idea to have a list where I can look back at it anytime I need cheering up and I can be reminded of good things in my life, if I posted it everyday as my status it'd be hard to look back at it. Also November is a hard month for me, for some reason it seems like November is the month that my life is always turned upside down...my parents split when I was 13 in November (which ended up being the best thing for all of us) and I was diagnosed with Pseudotumor Cerebri on November 29, 2008. I gotta say though I rarely ever think about my parents divorce anymore as a bad thing because it did turn out to be better for everyone but as a kid I would say that was the most traumatic event and as an adult my diagnosis was. Anyways enough about that I'm ready to list all the stuff I'm thankful for.
1. I'm thankful for God. I've never been much of a religious person but in 2007 my life was saved twice, one time I should've died in a car wreck and another time I should've been diagnosed with a horrific disease but I was saved. And then regardless of what anyone else thinks about mine and Lee's short engagement and dating time (married 7 weeks after our first date) I believe God brought Lee to me a little over a month after I was diagnosed with PTC because I needed someone to take care of me! And I feel like it was God's plan for us to marry so quick. But without God none of those things would've happened.
2. I am thankful for my husband, Lee. He drives me crazy sometimes but at the end of each day he is the one I want by my side. I love him so much it's unreal. We have our ups and downs be we have an AMAZING relationship and knowing that he'll always be by my side makes life so much easier!
3. I am thankful for my family! My family has been by my side through alot in my life, I have made quite a few mistakes but they have always been there. I would love to list all the wonderful things each of them have done for me in my life or tell you about each of them separately but you would be here forever reading. But from my Great grandparents to my Aunt's and Uncle's...they have all played an important role in my life.
4. I am thankful for my Sister and her family! Okay I know I just said I wasn't going to list them individually but I only have one sister so I can't hurt any one's feelings by listing her. But I am so thankful for our relationship, she is and always will be my best friend. And her husband is amazing as well! Bart, my brother in law has been there for me since I was in high school. He came into the family and saw me at my worst but I don't think he's ever really judged me. And his family is awesome, his parents have always treated me as one of their own when I am around and when I got married they treated Lee like part of the family as well! And then there is my nephews...I never cared much about having kids until Hayden was born. The first time I held him I knew I couldn't go through life without being a mother!
5. I am thankful for my in-laws. I am a little sad because I have not spent the amount of time I wish I could with them since getting married because of my illness but I love each and every one of them and look forward to getting to know them all better than I do now!
6. I am thankful for my friends. I have 2 really close friends, Michelle and Kourtney. Kourtney and I have been friends since we were little girls and we grew apart once I was in middle school and then reunited when I was 21. We picked up right where we left off and I am so thankful to have her back in my life. And Michelle and I have been running around in the same group of friends since 5th grade but didn't become best friends till 8th grade (I think, or 7th). We we're always together in high school, we even both worked at the same place, they just couldn't separate us! And I am so thankful to report we are still very close even though we rarely get to see each other. Though I'm sure that's changing because she did live in Austin and I lived in the DFW area and now she lives in Whitney again. Anyways so to these two wonderful ladies I am very thankful to call both of you my best friends, y'all both bring out the best in me and have always been there for me and I love both of y'all!
7. I am thankful for my doctors! I have a opthamologist, neurologist, pain management, neuro surgeon, PCP, gastroenterologist, and physical therapists; I am very thankful for this team of doctors that have gotten me to where I am today and are not giving up on getting me pain free.
8. I am thankful for my PTC family! I started off on a support group online in Jan. 09 and I have known some of these wonderful people since then. And now there's a circle of people on Facebook that I am friends with. I am lucky to have wonderful friends and family that understand my pain but I feel a special connection to all these wonderful people I have met, they truly know how I feel. I have 2-3 really special friends but I want to say I am very thankful for Kirbe coming into my life. She is a very close friend and I have so much in common with her, I couldn't decide to put her in this column or in my best friend column. She doesn't live too far from me so we have met and I hope to be able to hang out with her more!
9. I am thankful for my Health. I know my health is bad but it could always be worse. I never even thought about my health until I got sick. I pray that one day my health is better but for now I'm just going to be thankful it's not worse.
10. I am thankful for my disease. As oddly as this may seem that I am thankful for this, it's true, I am thankful because I was a different person before. I know I am not the greatest person now and I still have faults but I think I am a better person now! I see so many people on facebook complaining about working and this and that and it's like REALLY? Get over it! Or they complain about their kids...GET OVER IT! I wish I had a kid to cause me stress! Yes I know everyone handles problems differently but so many things I see people complain about are a result of something they did. Do something about it...change your life, get a different job, etc. It's your life, your in control...if you don't like something about it change it. You may be wondering why I'm writing all this in this spot but it's because I used to be one of those people that complained about stupid things that I could change. So in the end I am thankful for my disease because I am now thankful for life in a totally different way! And I know I still complain about stupid things like other people because this paragraph is proof I do cuz I'm complaining about the people that complain about stuff haha but I really do try not to and complaining about lil things that won't matter in a year really does push my buttons. And I'm glad to now be aware of it all.
11. I am thankful for my insurance! I am so happy to have insurance and to be able to go to my doctors without having to worry about how I'm going to pay for this and that.
12. I am thankful for my dog. If you don't have a dog or animal you might not understand this but there is a reason why hospitals have dog therapy, maybe the real reason is different than why I think it is but my dog cheers me up when I am down and makes me so happy! He actually doesn't like me crying...it doesn't matter what he is doing or where he is at but if he hears me crying he runs to me and licks my tears away and gives me a hug! Yes a HUG, he puts one paw on one shoulder and the other paw on the other side and puts his lil face right up next to mine! It's so sweet!
13. I am thankful for the internet. Oh my without the internet I would be so so bored! It passes so much time by for me and it has so much valuable information! :)
14. I am thankful for my cooking and blog! I have been cooking since I was little and I am so glad to now have a husband to cook for. And my blog is a way for me to make my contribution to society...and to give me something to do and be proud of! I have lots of hopes and dreams for my blog!
15. I am thankful for Mavis Beacon. hahaha...as I'm typing this thinking of things I'm thankful for I was thinking WOW I'm glad I can type fast and the correct way. And well good ol' Mavis Beacon is how I learned how to type, would say Coach Wimberley but nope I learned how to type before then.
16. I am thankful for all my other friends and Facebook friends. Don't think I forgot about you...I know I mentioned my PTC friends and my 2 best friends but I am so thankful for ALL of my friends! Over the past 2 years yall have prayed for me and many of you have even had your churches praying for me and I cherish each and every one of yall's relationships. I know alot of my friends on FB are people from high school that I didn't even talk to much but some of you have really turned into great friends!
17. I am thankful for other food blogs! I pass so much time by--by looking at food blogs and finding recipes. And then I get such wonderful recipes to add to my blog!!
18. I am thankful for Hip2Save & my Mother in Law. My mother in law told me about Hip2save and gave me a printout about couponing so I learned about a whole other world of couponing and blogs that taught you how and matched coupons with ads for you and saved you lots of time and money!
19. I am thankful for my job. Even though I no longer work I did have a wonderful job before I became sick and I am still considered an inactive employee so maybe one day I'll get to return.
20. I am thankful for medicine. Even though there is no cure for PTC I have hope that one day there will be, hopefully in my lifetime, but I am thankful for inventions like Shunts & Ports....and also all the medicine in the world that helps cure people or take their pain away!
21. I am thankful for my Port. I have never had the greatest veins but since my veins have so much scaring now they are even worse. And now with my port doctors and nurses can access it for either an IV or to get blood with only one stick!
22. I am thankful for my Iphone. Best device ever invented! Everyone should get one.
23. I am thankful for all of my kitchen appliances. Okay so this is getting hard to think of things I'm thankful for, but really...I love my kitchen stuff. When we moved we had more kitchen boxes than any other room and that was the first room that I unpacked. I love my kitchen stuff and I am thankful to have all of it.
24. The last one led me up to...I am thankful my Mom sales Pampered Chef. I love all my Pampered Chef stuff. I use atleast one PC item a day, if not more!
25. I am thankful for the lack of money we have. Yeah I know another strange one but I am thankful for it. When I worked and even when I was single and working I had a very good job and pretty much bought whatever I wanted. Yeah of course I couldn't go out and shop at Saks or things like that but if I wanted new clothes I would go, if I wanted a new appliance I'd go, if I wanted to go get my hair done, go get a pedicure, go buy someone a present, and the list goes on I would just go and do it without much thought into it. Bottom line I was bad with money even though I had it. I should've been saving money and had a set budget but I didn't. So I am now thankful that we do have to have a budget and we do have to think about every dollar we spend because even though it really sucks right now it's teaching us a lesson and one day when we do have money again we will know how to set a budget and stick to it and not buy useless stuff! And I'm glad to be learning this in my 20's rather than in my 40's.
26. I am thankful for all my husband's t-shirts! haha! So again the popular phrase..."before I got sick" all I pretty much wore was dress pants and semi dress shirts that I wore to work, I don't even think I owned jeans. Ok I think I did own one pair. So when I stopped working I wasn't going to dress up to go to the store so I started wearing all of Lee's shirts. He gained weight after we got married so he had to go up a size so that left me with a bunch of shirts to myself. And considering all I do is sit at home, cook, go to the store, and go to doctors offices/hospitals then all I need is t-shirts!
27. I am thankful for my furniture! The only furniture we have ever bought together was our couch/sectional. Besides that Lee had bought a TV and a TV stand prior to me and I had bought a TV stand and side tables, other than that everything was given to us. Of all the stuff I was given, furniture wise I am most proud of my great grandparents bedroom suite. It was very well taken care of and very nice! And not out of style. I wish it was a bigger bed but hey it was free so it'll work for now! I also have another bedroom suite that was my grandmother's and both of those bedroom suites I plan on keeping forever or passing down to my kids. I like furniture that means something! Anyways but bottom line I am thankful that my grandmother and mom gave me furniture when I was moving out!
28. I am thankful for past relationships. Rather if you realize it or not or want to acknowledge it or not we all learn something from our failed relationships. Hopefully we take something good out of it rather than something bad. But I am thankful to have had them, some of them I wish I would've been smarter and ended them sooner...but I wouldn't of learned the things I learned.
29. I am thankful for my memories! I think I would be a very sad person if my memories we're erased. I have lots of good memories with lots of wonderful people.
30. I am thankful for pictures! I love looking at pictures, some pictures when you look at them can take you back to that exact moment. For one second you feel like you did when you had the picture taken! I am so thankful for pictures! I wish I would start taking more of them!
31. I am thankful for my Nannie, Pappy, Meme, Mom, and Mema for teaching me how to cook/bake growing up. And for my Mema teaching me how to decorate cakes!
32. I am thankful for my husband's job. I am glad my husband has such a great job to support us!
33. I am thankful for my education. Even though I chose not to continue my education past high school I am thankful for my high school education. Now I just wish I would've listened a little more in English class because I'm sure there are so many errors on here and for all you people out there that are correcting me in your head and your reading, I'm Sorry!!! But if you think this is bad you should hear me talk. :)
34. I am thankful for hair. Though it really wasn't that bad shaving my head and being bald. I really enjoyed not having hair, considering what I went through it was much easier going without hair then. But now that I have it back I am so thankful to have it a normal length again. I no longer have to explain to people unless I want to that I had brain surgery.
35. I am thankful for Redbox. Even though we tend to get one and keep it for days and it costs us even more, it's nice to be able to go to a machine in numerous locations and be able to rent a movie for a dollar and even better be able to take it back to any location!
36. I am thankful for cars. I was one of those brats that had a brand new car at 16, well actually I got one at 15 and then another new one at 16. Then I had another new one at 20. That's the one I wrecked and even though it was horrible it did have perfect timing because I was just promoted and got a company car. Since I wrecked my car and got a company car I saw no reason to replace my car. I was lucky and got to keep my company car while I was out on short term disability (for 6 months) but then when I went to long term disability they came and took my car. There was no reason to replace it and buy me another one since I don't work, so me and Lee only have one car. At first it was hard mentally because I have had a car since I was 15. But now I don't care, no point in paying insurance for another or having a car payment! Actually this is another one of those things I have learned a lesson on...if you can make it on one car them share a car and save money to pay cash for a 2nd car and new cars are over-rated, had 4 of them. As soon as I'm able to work again that's what we have intentions of doing! Why finance something when you can save and pay! But I am very thankful for the car we do have!
37. I am thankful for my attitude. It does suck sometimes and I do have an attitude and opinion on some things but overall I am thankful for my POSITIVE attitude!
38. I am thankful for skillets, chicken, and sweet tea. Three of my favorite things that involve a kitchen. I have a bad sweet tea addiction but it's okay because it's cheaper and healthier than Dr. Pepper. I love skillets...I'm not sure why but I get the urge to buy one every time I see one. I have 5 skillets already but I would love more! And chicken, well it's my favorite dish. I always have some in my freezer and I am always on the look out for new chicken recipes.
39. I am thankful for coupons! We kind of have a love/hate relationship though because I love to use them but I hate to cut them. Right now my coupons are not organized in their binders like they should be, I am actually changing up the way I organize them but I just haven't done it yet!
40. Last but not least, I am thankful for LIFE! That explains itself!
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