Thankful November

Over the course of the month I have been writing this post, saying one thing each day that I am thankful for. Instead of doing a "Thankful Thursday" post each week I have done one or more for each day of the month. Here is my list:

1. November 1, 2012: I am thankful that my parents are awesome. I hit a moving metal object this morning on my way to work that fell off of the car in front of my. When I got to work I noticed the oil emptying itself into the street. I called the Patrick, my parents, a tow truck, the car dealership the tow truck was taking it to and my insurance. There's nothing I can do about it from work, so my dad is helping me take care of my car issues while I'm at work so I don't have to worry about it for now.

2. November 2, 2012:  I am thankful for car insurance. I've been paying it monthly for over 11 years now and I always just paid it and never gave it a second thought, obviously cursing it as I put it in the mailbox like every other bill I had to pay. However, after this mornings incident I've had to deal with my car insurance and I couldn't feel more taken care of. I realize that there is always the possibility of having to pay more than just the deductible, depending on the damage and the estimation, but for now I feel like everything's going to be okay.
3. November 3, 2012: I am thankful that I am able to earn overtime this weekend. It is desperately needed because we just do not have enough people for the work load. I am trying to stay on top of the amount of work and I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job but it's just a lot to try to fit into an 8 hour day. It will also be nice to have a little extra money for the holidays.

4. November 4, 2012: I am thankful that I was able to work this afternoon with no distractions. My mom graciously asked if she could take Isabel for the afternoon so I could get some work done. I quickly agreed and got a solid two hours in this afternoon. When Patrick got home from work we were able to do some child free grocery shopping and then went to dinner at my parents house. It was really nice to be able to do all of that. My parents are awesome!

5. November 5, 2012: I am thankful that I am taking part of NaNoWriMo. The subject I picked to write about (letters to Isabel) makes it very easy to reach the word count. I feel like I'm cheating it's so easy. I know I would be struggling with it if I was to write fiction, but I think that this is what will benefit both Isabel and myself in the long run. I'm hoping that it turns out well and that I am able to give it to her when she's older so that she knows how much I've gone through for us.

6. November 6, 2012: I am thankful that I am an American and that I am able to vote and have my voice heard. I am thankful that I know that being an American means that, whether I agree or not, it is my responsibility to respect the President and everything that he is doing to help make our country a better place. I really hope one day we are able to work together as Americans and not be separated by a title of Democrat or Republican.

7. November 7, 2012: I am thankful that Lorien is awesome. She is always willing to help me out at work when it gets overwhelming. For some reason I am being bombarded with work and either I don't manage my time as well or our alignment of agents is way off. Either way she's always right there to help and I appreciate it more than I could ever say. It's very difficult for me to ask for help, but I know with her she doesn't mind helping me.

8. November 8, 2012: I am thankful for Patrick. He is getting better at knowing when I need a good hug. I can come home from a long stressful day at work and he's there with his arms open and a glass of wine for me. It really does help.

9. November 9, 2012: I am thankful that we received our wedding pictures yesterday. I am now obsessed with looking at them because they all turned out so well. I cannot wait to print them and finish my photo album as well as make photo collage books for our parents for Christmas.

10. November 10, 2012: I am thankful for my family. The kids are here this weekend and even though at times the two big ones can push our patience (what are they supposed to do? It's their job to pick on one another) it's so nice to have them here. We don't get to have them as often as we'd like, but it just reassures how much of a family we really are when they are here. I feel so lucky that we blended so easily into our family.

11. November 11, 2012: I am thankful that I was able to get ahead on my novel for NaNoWriMo at the beginning of the month. Work has been crazy busy, so I haven't had a chance to write for a few days, but I'm still on track to finish before the end of the month.

12: November 12, 2012: I am thankful for my in-laws. I have heard some horror stories about in-laws and I cannot even begin to explain how lucky I am. I could not have asked for nice people to call my family. They are so loving, kind and accepting and I will never be able to tell them how much I love them as there are not enough words.

13: November 13, 2012: I am thankful that I was able to finish our photo album for the wedding. I printed 200 pictures and actually put them in the album. I have a tendency to start printing pictures but never put them in albums, so it's nice to get this done.

14. November 14, 2012: I am thankful that I started Christmas shopping yesterday. I was only able to order a couple things online, but at least I am on the right track. It's going to be a small Christmas this year due to financial issues, but I want there to be some things for the kids to open.

15. November 15, 2012: I am thankful that I am being trusted with more responsibility at work. Although it is our busiest time right now and I'm having a difficult time getting my job done to begin with (hello overtime!) it's nice to know that they believe I can take more on. I do know that they are giving me more work in order to help out other people (and there's really no one to help me other than Lorien, but she has just as much) so that's the real reason behind the additional responsibilities but still, they couldn't give us more if we couldn't do it.

16. November 16, 2012: I am thankful for payday. This payday was awesome and I'm thankful for being able to work overtime. It's nice to be able to earn some extra money this time of year.

17. November 17, 2012: I am thankful that I've found a new craft. It's something that keeps me busy and that I enjoy doing. I am glad that I am able to use this for gifts and for myself. I may even be thinking about looking into selling them next year...

18. November 18, 2012: I am thankful that I finished laundry this weekend. Even though I had to start on Wednesday and even though the hampers are already getting full again I at least finished the piles of laundry I had and can now feel better about leaving for Vegas on Wednesday.

19. November 19, 2012: I am thankful that we are going out of town for Thanksgiving this year. I am really excited to go to Vegas and to spend some time with the family without having to worry about who's going to cook what.

20. November 20, 2012: I am thankful that I have not been bringing work home this week. I have been working so much overtime, but I have decided that bringing work home is just not acceptable anymore. Even though I've been getting paid for it I need to use that time to be with my family.

21. November 21, 2012: I am thankful that I've been doing awesome at Christmas shopping. I still need to get a few more things for the kids, my niece and our parents. The kids need to get their gifts for the secret santa we decided to do this year with the nieces and nephews. I'm feeling good and like we may actually stay within budget this year.

22. November 22, 2012: I am thankful that I am able to be with my family today. We went around the table tonight saying what we were thankful for. Collectively we have lost quite a few friends and family this year, so we wanted to make it a point to say what we were thankful for. Not just because it's Thanksgiving but as a reminder that we should be doing it more often.

23. November 23, 2012: I am thankful that I stuck with my plan for Vegas. Although I spent a little more than I wanted to with food and entertainment (we went to the Bodies exhibit), I had a wonderful time and didn't gamble (unless you count the $15 playing Bingo).

24. November 24, 2012: I am thankful that I am able to take Isabel to the Fresh Beat Band concert today. I bought the tickets awhile ago and she's gone back and forth with not wanting to go (she gets scared at the unknown and places that are loud) but she's really excited to go and you know what? so am I.

25. November 25, 2012: I am thankful that I was finally able to properly say goodbye to our dear friend who passed away October 1st. It took this long as they were trying to find a living relative. He had none. For a man who had no family, he sure did have a lot of friends, making up a much more loving family... He will be missed so much by so many people.

26. November 26, 2012: I am thankful that I was able to make some progress on the apartment. Although I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, I need to focus on what I did accomplish. I got about half of the laundry done (done-done, not just washed and/or dried, but hung up or folded and put away). I also started hanging the craft I did for the kids room. I love it so far!

27. November 27, 2012: I am thankful I am thankful that I am able to spend some time working on my scarfs. I have this big idea to make a bunch of them and at some point I want to sell them. It's very relaxing to spend some time at night crocheting and I'm glad that I'm able to do that to relax at night before bed.

28. November 28, 2012: I am thankful that I've taken the stress out of running. I was planning on running the Goofy Challenge in January 2014, but I decided that it would be a better use of time and money to hold off on that challenge for a while. I'm not saying I'm never going to do it, but I decided that it would be a lot less stressful if I stopped putting money away for a race and start using it to pay off credit cards and to save up for a house. At this point I'm more into saving money so that we can buy a house faster and maybe add to our family than I am into running. It's a little sad, like losing a friend, but maybe that motivation will return someday. (Hopefully soon as I have 4 races I'm signed up for...)

29. November 29, 2012: I am thankful that I've been able to get a lot of work done this week. Despite the flood in the office that happened over the Thanksgiving break I've been able to concentrate more than ever. The flood affected my desk the most, so I had to move desks. We have dehumidifiers all over the office and we are all feeling some symptoms of that. I've been able to put my iPod in and focus on work which is good because we're pretty much drowning with work.

30. November 30, 2012: I am thankful that today is payday. I checked my statement and my paycheck is awesome-sauce! Partly because it's the third paycheck of the month, so no benefits are taken out, but mostly because I had 25 hours of overtime. I already used it to pay rent and bills and I have enough left over to go Christmas shopping. I should finish, if not get really close to being done Christmas shopping.