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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Being Thankful

November has come and gone, and it happened fast. Like supa fast. I blinked and it was suddenly December. I truly thought things would slow down after the wedding, but boy was I wrong! We started November in the Dominican Republic while on our honeymoon. Quite a few of my friends and family did the month of thankfulness on Facebook and updated daily with the things they were thankful for. I liked the idea, but wanted it to be a little more introspective, so I decided to keep a note in my phone that I added to each day. This list only represents 30 things/people/events that I am thankful for. In reality I could never sit down and list out all of the amazing things in my life.

1) My husband. He's pretty awesome :)
2) My wonderful mother who does so much for us, like watching our dog during the honeymoon!
3) Home sweet home. Love my quaint little spot in the woods, especially after being gone for a week.
4) My best friend and matron of honor, Beth. She is amazing and so selfless. The amount of energy, time and money she put into making my wedding day perfect can never be repaid or thanked enough. Love you bestie!!
5) A job with a company of people who genuinely care for me, my family and our well being.
6) The kindness and generosity of family and friends that have allowed us to start our marriage with new belongings - like fresh bedding and new kitchen wares!
7) My amazing new in-laws who have taken me in and love me as their own.
8) The ability and opportunity to work a second job for supplemental money. I may not like Outback and won't be there much longer, but it's been good to me over the years...mostly.
9) My beautiful sisters - Alyssa, Ashland and Kristina - that have always understood and appreciated my silly, goofy self.
10) Ballet. I don't do it much these days and I miss it, but I love the passion I feel for it.
11) My dog. She thinks I'm one of the coolest people ever. Little does she know! Either way, she's always happy.
12) The two men that have accepted me as their own daughter. Chip and Howard, they let me right in.
13) Andrew's job. The Cheesecake Factory is a great company and his coworkers were very welcoming of me at the work outings I've been to.
14) Warm clothes and heaters in the cold, making us able to stay warm and comfy!
15) Cameras and pictures that give us the ability to create reminders of the wonderful days of our lives.
16) Coming home to my husband after a long days work and cuddling up in bed.
17) Great friends and meeting up for dinner when we have time.
18) Nap time after a long day. And a husband who only heckles me about it a little.
19) My bed -- new sheets, blankets and pillows make it so so cozy and pretty!
20) The great women I work with. Love our office ladies.
21) Date night with my husband. And Mexican food. Yum.
22) Outbackers that are friends - both new and old.
23) My Nanny - she's one of the kindest, sweetest and most caring women I know. She's the best.
24) Days to sleep in and be lazy!
25) My dance family. I love them.
26) My nieces, Harlee and Mabry. Being able to see the world through a child's excitement is priceless.
27) An early close at the office and being able to enjoy a beautiful, albeit cold, early afternoon off work.
28) My family. The one I was born into, the ones I married into, and the those that I've grown to love over the years.
29) Being able to recover when I feel awful and the forgiveness of family who know I am not perfect.
30) My husband. Again. He opens and closes this list for me!

We are lucky enough to have a lot of our family here in Alabama. So we did my mom's for lunch and made it to Andrew's mom's for dinner. We got to see a lot of family members, laugh, eat, drink, be married, and have a great time. 

1st MARRIED Thanksgiving!      




The FEAST! Mom goes all out!
Half of our group.



My sweet niece, Mabry.

The Boggans :)
We also got to take in the Iron Bowl with some awesome people, even though the outcome wasn't quite what I was hoping for. After the game we hung out, drank, talked and played Pictionary. Sadly the men won again, as is too usual in our gaming history.

 At the end of the day it was a great game, a lot of fun and I still say Roll Tide :) Unfortunately this means Andrew and I won't be squaring off in an in-house BCS Bowl with Florida State playing Alabama. That would have been interesting!!