30 Days of Gratitude

image from here

 Today I combine  A Few of my Favorite Things
with a list of  Things I am Thankful For.

Last year I chose to post about something I was grateful for each day through the month of November and even continued through some of December (check out A Grateful Heart posts), but this year I chose to display it in one post on the last day of the month. 
Remember though, that this list includes only 30 things, and I've grouped many together, so it is in no way complete. 

 

1. My Family =

husband, children, married children and grandchildren, parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and all ancestors ...

 being a Wife, Mom, Grandma, daughter, sister, ...
 

2. The Godhead =

Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ our Savior, the Holy Ghost - Their love for each of us, the comfort I receive through them, the suffering and Atonement for me and each individual, divine guidance ...

 

3. The Gospel of Jesus Christ =

Christ's teachings, doctrine and principles that lead to happiness, the scriptures, the priesthood, ...

 

4. Friends and Good People Everywhere =

old friends, new friends, and people I have never met, but who care for my loved ones (like the people who care for my sons while they serve missions), maybe I should have called this one Kindness & Compassion ...

 

5. Life =

being alive! ... the Plan of Happiness ... experiences that bring joy ...
Learning ...

 

6. Financial Security =

we haven't always been as financially secure as we might wish, but we are always grateful for what we do have ..., and we appreciate being able to share when we can, or because we can ...

 

7. Health =

funny sometimes to think of since we do have some health problems and concerns, but really - it is better than it could be and even better than it has been, so we are grateful for the good health we do enjoy ...

 

8. Love =

it's such a wonderful feeling to be loved and to give love ...
not to forget ... Hugs & Kisses & Holding Hands are among those things that help us feel love ...

 

9. Chocolate =

yip!  I do like it!  In milk chocolate form, dark chocolate form, white chocolate, in cakes and cookies, in candies, in liquid form, with raspberries, with most anything ..., mmmm good!

 

10. 5 Senses =

each and every one of them; seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling.  Each of these senses helps us partake of the joy that is readily available to human kind ... 

and, I am grateful for friends who have taught me the goodness that is still there, when one or more of these five senses is not ...
our physical bodies that can do so very much ...

 

11. Words =

words say so much spoken or written ...
Communication ...

 

12. Smiles, Laughter and Happiness =

oh joy!  it just makes life so much more pleasant ...

 

13. Farming =

I love the farm life - always have ...
If there were no farmers, we'd be in a world of hurt!   It's a great profession!

 

14. Doctors and Medicine =
the knowledge and abilities of all people and things medical ...
Medical Science ...

 

15. Music =
good music that brings peace and joy to the heart and soul ...

 

16. Home =
my home - the one I have now, the one I grew up in, those I have visited that made me feel welcome ...
a place of refuge - comforts and safety from the elements of nature and other evil or undesirable forces ...

 

17. People who have taught me =

 parents, grandparents, school and church teachers and leaders, friends, everyone ...
 by word, by example ...
Thank You!
 

18. Working Modern Appliances =
in the kitchen and laundry room - gotta love em all - they make life easier ...

 

19. Automobiles and other forms of
modern Transportation =
my car, a car for my children so I can use my car, a pickup for my husband, planes and other forms of transportation that get us from one place to another to see loved ones ...

 

20. Furniture =
soft sofas, tables and chairs, beds, book shelves, dressers, and more ...

 

21. Plants =
trees, flowers, veggies, grass, grains,
There is beauty all around!

 

22. the Sun =
shining brightly for the whole world to see, and to add warmth on a cold winter day ...

 sometimes I love clouds or a nice cool breeze to hide some of that warmth on a hot summer day :) ...
 

23. Four Seasons =
each with it's individual beauty, color, and charm ...
Nature in all it's splendor ...

 

24. Electricity =
it makes #18 so nice ...
light to the dark, heat or cooling to make life more comfortable ...
all Electrical Devices ...

 

25. Food =
the good tasting stuff :)

 

26.  Clothing =
the many choices for all needs and desires because one size or one style does not fit all ...

 

27. Decorative & Beautiful Things =

 trinkets, knick-knacks, holiday & party decor, antiques, and all things lovely to look at ...
 

28. Cell Phones =

 a great way to get a hold of your children and to contact others at almost all times ...
all communication devices ...
 

29. Cameras =
photos to save the look and preserve memories ...
personal and family histories ...

 

30. Blogs =
blogs I read and blogs I write  ...
personal, family, spiritual, food, craft, scrapbooking, decorating, creating, collecting, repurposing, party and wedding planning, sewing,  and
all things creative and informative and inspiring ...
 

 

image from here

 

I am going to

 

KEEP ON GIVING

THANKS

... did I say COLOR?
well ..., I am grateful for it!

and

 I'm so grateful that our HARVEST IS COMPLETE.

I guess I need 32 days in November  ...  ;)


Merry Christmas!
 



Another Advent

Here is something I found from a catalog from Deseret Book.  It is only $30.00 to buy, so that's not too bad, but for those who can sew and have the fabric already it would be quite easy to make.

 

 

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And for those who don't sew, but can work their magic with paper, here is a paper advent garland from Oh Happy Day, with all the other fun additions scattered in and around the paper bags/envelopes.  (This was found in my reader this morning, but I can't seem to find it on their site - I'll update later with a link if I find it.)

 

Elf on a Shelf

Just found this Elf on a Shelf party idea at a blog I love - Kara's Party Ideas.  She shares great ideas and where she finds them - this one was from HERE

 

 

I can imagine that each year it would get harder to find new ways to hide or display your elf each  day, but it's still such a fun idea.  Starting out with a party sounds awesome - and this looks like a cute one.  This party is a bit different than the party on my previous Elf on a Shelf post with ideas.

Another idea - (maybe this idea is found some where else, I mean really, why do I think I'd be the first to think of it, but I did just think of it without seeing it anywhere and wanted to write it down, so here it is ) -
Put your elf inside the advent calendar's first day box (like here), envelope (that could be clipped to something like this here), or whatever you use (like here). With a note welcoming him for the season.
If it isn't big enough to hold an elf, place a note inside telling where to find your elf.

Other advent days could also include a note where to find him if he is not easily visible - like if he is hidden in a bread drawer or trunk or inside a vase that he might have accidentally fallen into while trying to climb around.

 

I just might have to do Elf on a Shelf for my grandkids (they don't come every day, but often enough that it could be fun to do).   Hmmm ... Thinking ... 



Life is like a mirror,

we get the best results when we

smile at it.

-Author unknown, but quote was found HERE

 

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image found on Google Images

 

 

 

Smores on a Stick

We've seen smores done several ways - I Heart Naptime shows them, and how to make them, on a stick.  They look good enough to decorate with eat. They look so festive.  I can see them with several small marshmallows too ...,  maybe the mini marshmallows that are used on the outside of the milk chocolate bar could be used inside.

 

 

FYI - Notice the link shown on the photo is Your HomeBased Mom - guest writer that day for the blog I found it on.

Fun Bracelets

We have been likin' the homemade bracelets this year. 

GirlyQ made some at girls camp - and then she taught them at our family reunion.

These are finger knit bracelets.

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These bracelets from Beachcomber are cool.  Maybe we'll have to try these with all that ribbon I have stashed away for using ... someday.

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This friendship bracelet is made from bakers twine - from Whisker Graphics

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This braided with jewels look is from Indulgy

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Gratitude



Thanksgiving Day 2012 is over, but Thanks Giving is not and should not be over.

It is, and should be, a daily event in our lives.

 

________________

from here

________________

 

 

1 Thessalonians 5:18



Psalms 50:14

 



Advent Calendars

Now we'll be thinking about getting the Christmas stuff out - one of the first things on our minds could be an Advent Calendar.  Do you use an advent calendar?

 

Here is a great looking advent garland from Paloma's Nest

 

The cost is over a hundred dollars, so it's not coming to my home, but I can see this as a great idea with wooden circles or cardboard tags and numbers cut from a Silhouette or Cricut or purchased number stickers.  Easy Peasy!

Maybe I could even roll out my own clay, cut it, stamp it, and dry it to make these exact things ..., maybe!

.....

 

Several other fun advent calendar ideas at Tip Junkie

34 Best Christmas Advent Calendar Tutorials {diy}

Check them out - there are some great ideas.

 

.....

 

Check out some earlier posts about advent calendars or what could be used as advent calendars:

Vintage Style Junk Drawer Advent

A Favor Tree

A Christmas Tree

Silhouette Advent

and colorful stockings could be used like these found at Christmas Stocking Fun

 

Counting Down is Coming Up!

ThanksGiving

Our Thanksgiving was Great!

This year I even got to decorate the table like I had hoped.

Usually I have to fit so much food on the table that I cannot use centerpieces.

 

 

Using tiers helped things fit better. 

There are rules to setting a table - someone somewhere made those up - but for us ..., we just put things on the table so they would fit and be easily accessible. 

I didn't buy anything new for this, I was able to pull things from other areas to place on our table and create a pretty tablescape.  Oh, I lied - I bought the table cloth, which is a piece of brown linen fabric.

 

 

The glasses / goblets were a Christmas gift from my mother many years ago. Fun to use!
The plates were something I found many years ago - after Christmas sales.

 

Notice the little bowls of green - our favorite jello salad - placed in individual bowls so it didn't need to take up space in the center of the table.

 

We had a great day with family - half of us - we missed the other half!

 

Now we can keep this ThanksGiving spirit in our hearts as we travel on to Christmas.

Love it!

A Handy Tool

It's Show and Tell Time!

This is not a paid advertisement - it's just a review of one of my favorite things.

This in one of those things that I am grateful for because it is so useful and takes up very little space and isn't too heavy to carry around.

little blue pocket knife/tool I keep in my bag

Now that I take a look at it, I see that it is a Leatherman Micra.
It was a gift many years ago from a company my husband deals with.  It became mine, and I've cherished it ..., okay, maybe not cherished in the true sense of the word, but I've kept it in my bag and used it many times. You can see how much the paint has worn off in the photos below.

I like the scissors (instead of pliers on most Leatherman's).

I like the knife too.  We use this often when we traveled with hungry children in the car and we needed to cut an apple (or whatever) into wedges to share. 

A great little device to carry around for those needy moments.

Funny thing - I had to remove it when I entered the building for jury duty several weeks ago.  I didn't want them to take it, because I was afraid I wouldn't get it back. (You know, I often forget things, and I didn't want to forget to pick it up on my way out.)  Luckily I did remember!  Happy day!


 

A Grateful Heart

This is a great read!  From My Salvaged Treasures 

(great photo there too)

 

 

BE THANKFUL
Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.
It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.
~~ Author Unknown ~~

Thanksgiving Table Decor

This long box is a great look.

From The Finer Things

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Ever since my parents moved to the other side of the state (okay that was 30 years ago) I have had a new fondness for  "Over the River and Through the Woods"  because that is exactly what we do in our travels to get to their house now. 

One silly thing - in my young years I used to think that rhyme or song was about Christmas, but one day I realized I had been wrong and it was about Thanksgiving.  Age and experience changed my mind.  Knowledge is a good thing, but the unknown in that case wasn't bad, it just wasn't completely correct. 

Anyway, when our children were young and we would travel to their grandparents house for the holidays I would remember that tune with fondness. 

That was a lot of words to introduce this look from Hostess with the Mostess - a great look for Thanksgiving.

The popcorn balls touch my heart, but with our children's other grandma. She used to make popcorn balls and shared them freely with us and with all who came to visit. 

Well, I think today I must say that I am grateful for Grandma's and Grandpa's!

My heart is full!

Barn Again

Another lovely barn.
From Every Last Detail



I love the mowed meadow in the foreground and the stately everygreens framing the background.
The barn itself is great.  I love the stairs peeking around the back.

Pizza Party

 ... stuff I want to remember, like the aprons for each participant, the pizza rollers for each to roll his/her own, and just the look of it all.  Fun stuff from The Finer Things.

 

Bunting on Scrapbook Pages

Add some celebration to your page with some bunting - like these

 

from Right Click Scrapbook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 and this one

 

 

Here is some for Christmas - from HERE - cute stuff!
 

 



 

Beautiful Arrangement

I love this look from Every Last Detail 
Great Texture ..., Great Colors ...,





and these are great boutonnieres

Gratitude



“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”
―Mark Twain

~~~

Remember:

A grateful heart is the beginning of greatness.

Gratitude builds humility as we recognize an act of kindness, service, or caring from someone else. True gratitude is a foundation for faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being. Being grateful leads us to look outside ourselves and turn to the bestower of the blessings.

As we regularly express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father, we cultivate an uplifting attitude.

Bitterness, resentful feelings, or mean-spiritedness cannot exist in a grateful heart. Greater happiness is achieved as deeper gratitude is developed.

~~~

See Related Gratitude Resources  for games and coloring pages

~~~

wikipedia definition of gratitude:

Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a feeling or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive.

more from wikipedia:



A large body of recent work has suggested that people who are more grateful have higher levels of subjective well-being. Grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed, and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships^[19][22][23] Grateful people also have higher levels of control of their environments, personal growth, purpose in life, and self acceptance.^[24] Grateful people have more positive ways of coping with the difficulties they experience in life, being more likely to seek support from other people, reinterpreted and grow from the experience, and spend more time planning how to deal with the problem.^[25] Grateful people also have less negative coping strategies, being less likely to try to avoid the problem, deny there is a problem, blame themselves, or cope through substance use.^[25] Grateful people sleep better, and this seems to be because they think less negative and more positive thoughts just before going to sleep.^[26]
Gratitude has been said to have one of the strongest links with mental health of any character trait. Numerous studies suggest that grateful people are more likely to have higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress and depression.^[27][28]











Favors

Do you give favors to your Thanksgiving guests? 
Do you take a gift to your hostess? 
If so, consider this idea - it seems fitting for the occasion.
It's a nice look for weddings too, and seems great for the fall season.

Olive oil favors wrapped in lace - from Style Me Pretty

Thanksgiving Treats

I think these acorns from Our Best Bites are pretty cute, and I'm sure they are tasty.

 

 

Those were my favorite looking, but these are also from that same post

 

 

VERY CUTE!  I wonder how long they last?  ;)

 

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Amazon

It's Show and Tell Time!

This is not a paid advertisement - it's just a review of one of my favorite things.

This in one of those things that I am grateful for because it makes shopping so much easier.

Yip! On line shopping at Amazon.com is a great thing in my life.
(Really, you probably guessed that by now, because of how often I mention it when I talk about my favorite things.)

I use Amazon quite often and find it very helpful, especially since I live in a rural area that requires much travel time to get to a city large enough to have the variety of stores necessary to complete my shopping needs. 

It doesn't replace all of my shopping needs, but it does help, especially when I need to purchase gifts to send away.  I do purchase the Prime Membership and have saved on shipping costs even with the price of the membership.  Gotta Love It!

Thank You Amazon!

Stuff on a Wall

Here is an idea from The Country Chic Cottage for hanging stuff on a wall

 

Pallet Wood Letters

I like this look from Beyond the Picket Fence -

the pallet wood letters are pretty cool, especially offset with a different texture for the O. 

 

Consider spelling THANKS or LOVE or your surname.  Could be fun.  See how the letters are made by clicking on the link above.

 

Button Neckaces &/or Garland &/or Key Fobs

Cute necklace from Dishfunctional Designs

and from Bohemian Beads

There is so much color here - it would make a great garland

These crocheted buttons would also make great garland

I see these necklaces from Etsy as a cute key chain

Buttons can be a lovely thing -

check out the Buttons Label at the right of this blog for more ideas for buttons, which includes these (and more)

Garland Galore Part Two

Buttons and Beads



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Gratitude

 

The upcoming holiday seems to give us more opportunities to contemplate the many blessings we have been given and to have a heart filled with gratitude.  I am grateful for that opportunity in my life right now, and always feel better when I consider the many blessings I've been given.

 

 

"A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings…"  

Pres. Thomas S. Monson

 

 

 GRATITUDE  

(click on the link for videos and more)

 

Gratitude is a sincere appreciation for blessings or help we have received.

Where there is gratitude, there is courtesy; there is a concern for the happiness and well-being of others.

 

 

Image is the back of a recipe card I created at HeritageMakers a year ago

Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God´s love.

Menthol

It's Show and Tell Time!

This is not a paid advertisement - it's just a review of one of my favorite things.

This in one of those things that I am grateful for because it really helps - when I have a cold it eases the pain.

 

Watkins Menthol Camphor Ointment

 

 

I have had this can of ointment for many years, and have used it whenever I have a cold and my nose is rubbed raw from blowing it so often.  I just rub a very small amount on the red areas (not inside though) and it makes a world of difference.  It just takes a touch, so it lasts a long time.  If you have to blow your nose right after you put it on, put some more on.  That means it's helping!

 

Tis the Season!

 

 

Autumn Chopped Salad

Not sure where I originally found this recipe because it's not a site I have on my reader, but I printed it from HERE and left it sitting in my stack of recipes to try. It stayed there for, well, more than several days.

 

We finally made this salad a couple nights ago and found it to be delicious!  However, we didn't pour the dressing over it - we allowed each to add their own.

 

 

We used some greenish (crunchy) pears (not yet soft & yellow) and found it to be quite enjoyable.



Thought we'd share the goodness!  Try it, you might like it too!

Chalk Painted Utensils

This could be a fun idea for Thanksgiving table settings.
How to's from Celebrations at Home