30 Days of Thanksgiving: Nice Strangers

So here we are at the last day of November. First of all, today I am thankful for nice people. I know a lot of nice people, but today I am specifically thankful for nice strangers. When I'm coming home from an after-school program I help with on Fridays I have to sit at an intersection in a not-so-great part of town. There isn't a light and it's a pretty busy street. I often have to wait there for several minutes. But today a really nice guy let me out in front of him and I didn't have to wait at all! Simple kindnesses (is that a word?) from strangers are often the most influential of all. Secondly, what did I learn this month? I've learned that it's a lot easier to be thankful when you're seeking out things to be thankful for. I've learned that I need to work on getting things done on time! And finally, I've learned that when I'm thanking God for things that I have, it's much harder to complain about things I don't have.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: The Season of my Life

I am thankful for the season of life I'm in right now (read as "I'm thankful I don't have kids and real responsibilities yet!") Don't get me wrong, I love kids, I want a family, and I know I will be blessed in my adult life as well, I'm just glad I'm not there yet! I'm thankful that I don't have real bills. I'm thankful I don't have children yet. I can basically do whatever I want right now, and I am so thankful for that freedom. I absolutely love babysitting, but I also love coming home and sleeping afterwards! I'm so glad God created the teenage years.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: My Car

I am SO thankful for my car. I love her! Her name is Pond, so I can say "come along Pond" when I get in to go somewhere. My one year anniversary with her is coming up in January. It's amazing how the time has flown by; it's hard to believe I've had my car for almost an entire year! I've plastered the back with bumper stickers. I'm so thankful that my parents let me buy my own car and drive it (pretty much) wherever I want to go. I'm so blessed to have such abundance in my life!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Music

I love music. Not just in the "I listen to music all the time, I can't go a day without it" kind of way, but also in the "I can play four instruments" kind of way. I'm especially thankful for music this time of year, because I LOVE Christmas music. I love playing Christmas music in band, I love listening to Christmas music in the car, I love going to Christmas concerts, and I love playing Christmas records on my record player. Today, I get to do all four things. I've been playing Christmas records all morning, I'm about to go to band when I get to listen in the car, and I'm going to the Story Tour tonight with my bestest friends (The Clarinets). I'm super excited!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Plans

It would be an understatement to say that I am a social butterfly. I often (maybe once a month) have to schedule "stay at home" days in my calendar so I don't plan something on every single day. I cannot imagine how different my life would be without socialization. I believe it would be very, very boring. I always laugh when people ask me if I get to socialize because I'm homeschooled. You sit in school eight hours a day and I'm the one with no life? Right. So today I am thankful for plans: plans made months in advance and plans made minutes in advance. Any kind, with any friends, on any day. :)

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Deals

Today I am thankful for deals. We (my mom, sister, and I) went to the Goodwill clearance store today (they sell by the POUND!!) and it just so happened the whole store was half off! I went in not intending to buy anything as I was already over budget from Black Friday, but when the store is half off what can you do? I picked out several records and two pairs of shoes that I'm going to try to cover in fabric (tutorial courtesy of Pinterest). My total was two dollars. And then my amazing mom who is the best in the entire world paid for it for me. I love her to death, and I'm very thankful for deals.

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Sleep

On Saturday I was incredibly grateful for sleep. I had gotten less than eight hours of sleep in a forty-eight hour window and I was ready to crash. I slept until noon. It was glorious. I believe (not, but kind of, seriously) heaven on earth can be defined as not setting an alarm. Thank God for lots of sleep.

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Christmas Shopping

I love having fun. I know there's a line between having fun and getting things accomplished, so I especially love having fun while getting things accomplished. Like...Christmas Shopping!! I love giving presents, and I love shopping, so putting the two together is especially fun. I'm super excited now because I got almost all my shopping done in one day! There's only a few more things to make/buy and I'll be all ready to wrap!

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Pie

So I am officially four days behind. Sorry guys! On Thanksgiving day I was thankful for a lot of things, food, friends, family, pie, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the list could go on and on. I am thankful that America has set aside a day to focus on these things, and I'm thankful that it's important to my family. :)

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Tradition

As we close in on Thanksgiving, my family beings our traditions. We (the royal we, aka my dad) always smoke our turkey, which means we have to stay up all night on Wednesday night to make sure the temperature is right. We always start the night with British Comedy shows (they seem to get funnier the older I get), but I usually fall asleep before we get any farther. I think I've seen the first episode of Mulberry about ten times and I still don't know how it ends. Hopefully I'll finally see the end of it tonight! When I was little my dad would pause whatever movie we were watching as soon as my sister and I feel asleep and started it again right before we woke up. I was convinced for years that I had stayed up all night. Although I now know that I fall asleep at night, I'll still take a nap tomorrow morning in between the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Thanksgiving dinner. What are y'all's Thanksgiving traditions?

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Laughter

My post for yesterday: Today I am thankful for laughter. It's quite amazing how specific each person's laugh is to themselves. I often find my mom in the store (yes, I still loose her in the store, you never really grow out if it...) by her laugh. I love that part of the night when you're so tired everything is funny and you laugh until your heart hurts. I almost only watch funny shows, because what's the point in watching tv if you're not going to laugh? I love laughing, and I am so thankful that God gave us laughter.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Color

Can you imagine a world completely in black and white? And I'm not talking about just the TV, I mean the whole world. I am known to wear the occasional black and white t-shirt, but I cannot imagine only having black and white to wear. What an imagination God must have to have created all the different colors. Seriously, just think about all the different shades of blue or purple there are! Thousands, I'm sure. I am so thankful God didn't place us in a black and white world.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Shopping

Late once again, but here's my post for yesterday: It might sound a little spoiled to say I'm thankful for shopping, but I really am. I am more thankful for the time spent shopping with family or friends than the time actually shopping, but I do REALLY enjoy shopping. To clarify, I don't usually shop at real stores, I only shop at resale shops. I could probably shop every day. I don't particularly have to buy anything, just the experience of going, trying things on, looking for the best deal, and so on. So today I am thankful for shopping.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Food

I love food. I could seriously eat all day long. It's one of the reasons I started running: so that I could eat more. Today I had a LOT of good food. It was holiday tasting day at Sams, I got a cupcake after the run, and my mom made a delicious dinner. I am so blessed to have so much food to choose from on any given day. Thank you, God, for delicious food.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Motivation

Today I ran twenty-four minutes. At the beginning of September I could barely run two minutes. I will be running in my second 5k tomorrow. I never thought this would be possible. If someone had told me this summer that before I moved to New York I would have completed two 5k's I would have called them crazy. I am so thankful for the motivation (and the encouragement from many, many people) it took to carry me this far.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: The Moon

Last night I was thankful for the beauty of the sky. The moon was incredibly beautiful. It was just a sliver of pale light against the cloudy midnight blue sky. It was gorgeous, and I was thankful.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Love

Here I am again, I haven't forgotten about this! Here's my post for Wednesday. Wednesday I was thankful for love. Love from my family, friends, and God. Even if I don't feel it, I know that it's there. It is hard to remember it sometimes, but I hope and pray I can grow to remember and return God's love.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Technology

Today I am thankful for technology! I honestly don't know what I would do without it. Three-way skyping with The Clarinets and then a surprise conversation with my sister lasting until twelve thirty made my night super awesome. Being able to connect with people that I haven't seen in five (or more!) years through Facebook is amazing. Plus being able to post to a blog online for anyone to see is crazy cool. I love seeing the countries that my blog was viewed in: Finland, China, Sweden, Korea, and Germany to name a few. It's so neat to know that people in a completely different country are reading what I write in my quiet little house in the United States. Not to mention "smaller" technology such as phones, texting, and email. I have become so accustomed to having internet twenty-four seven, but today I will stop and remember how lucky I am to have it. It would be much harder to live without technology.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Sweats and Slippers

Today I am thankful for lazy days. The kind of day you can wear sweats and slippers. The kind of day you can watch a movie and almost fall asleep on the couch. Life is so busy, it's wonderful to have a sweats and slippers kind of day.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Abundance

My post for yesterday: Today I am thankful for abundance. Abundance not only in material things, but also in love, faith, encouragement, and laughter. I have so much; it's hard to believe how incredibly blessed I am with all God has given me. I strive to constantly remember the abundance I have received and to be thankful.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: The Clarinets

You might think this is the same thing as being thankful for my friends. However, The Clarinets are more than friends. We might even be more than sisters. Whatever we are, I am so thankful for it! This group of girls has changed my life. I am so thankful God brought me to Columbia, SC so I could form bonds with these AMAZING women! Thank you, God for The Clarinets!!

From Left to Right: Rachel, Lindsay, Me, Ms. Cindy, DeVendra

My favorite memories with The Clarinets:
1) Craziness at band (especially in clarinet ensemble, Ms. Cindy puts up with a lot!!)
2) Making our "Clarinets of 2012" shirts
3) Flea market shopping (we got turtles!)
4) Vintage dress shopping/wearing/taking pictures
5) Trying pear salad (it has mayonnaise and cheese on top of a canned pear...)
5) Trying out each other's churches (mine is next!)
6) Three-way calling
This list could go on for pages and pages, but you might get tired of hearing how awesome they are, so I'll stop at just six. I am so thankful for The Clarinets! I love you guys!!!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Fall

I love fall. Mainly, I love food, and lots of good food comes with fall. For example: Pumpkin!!! I absolutely adore pumpkin flavored things. Today I had a pumpkin spice latte, a pumpkin scone, and pumpkin waffles. Also with fall comes sweaters and tights and boots. All of which are lovely! Colorful leaves, hats and scarves, pie, and chilly air describe fall to me. Fall is probably my favorite season, and I am so thankful that God chose to add fall to the seasons.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Children

Once again, I am one day late. It seems to be the story of my life, lateness. However, I am thankful for friends and family who forgive that lateness. And I am also thankful for children. Specifically the children in the picture below. Yesterday was Thursday, which is Classical Conversations day for me. I teach the three and four year old class. They are the most adorable children you will ever see. There are nine of them. It is incredibly hard to get them all looking at the camera at once. And I love them. They draw me pictures. I tell them stories and play the alligator game with them. Because of this class, Wesley is no longer afraid of fire trucks and Nate knows that his name starts with N. I am incredibly sad that I won't be able to teach them second semester. I will miss these children dearly, and a little selfish part of me hopes that they will miss me too. I am so very thankful for these children.

From Left to Right: Kyle, Wesley, Nate, Mary Pinckney, Solveig, Elizabeth, Eliot, Rebekah, Lily, me

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Youth Group

Today I am thankful for my amazing youth group. I honestly would not be the same person without them! I LOVE you guys!!! We can laugh or be serious, talk a lot or a little, mourn or rejoice, and we have done all these things together. We love each other. We care about what's going on in each other's lives, and we want to be part of each other's lives. It's the best youth group I've ever been a part of. I wouldn't trade it for the world! I'm so thankful that God put me in South Carolina for my high school years so I could be a part of this group.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Beauty

From the title of this post you might think I was talking about physical beauty. However, I'm talking about the beauty of a heart. I watched Sweetpea Beauty (Veggietales) with my mom today (yes I'm homeschooled...) and I honestly think that every girl should watch it. I had started watching it while babysitting but the kids had to go to bed before it was over, so I finished it this morning. It's amazing!! My favorite quote: Larry: "Sweatpea, how do you see beauty in everything?" Sweetpea: "It's God who sees beauty in everything, I just choose to agree with Him." How often am I blind to beauty in everyday things like the laugh of a little kid or a freshly baked pie? Or even unconventional things like having to do homework? I truly am thankful for beauty, and I will strive to see the beauty in everything this coming week.

After deciding to go to bed I browsed Pinterest and found this lovely picture. Who needs sleep? 

P.S. Go watch Sweetpea Beauty. 

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Tea

I love tea. I don't drink it very often, because I really like coffee, but when I do I always wonder why I don't drink it more. Today I had two lovely cups of tea with my mother at lunch. Just sitting and chatting and drinking tea. It was blissful. I also had a tea party with my babies tonight. (note to grandmothers: these babies are not mine, I've just been babysitting them since they were born. You don't have to have a heart attack and call my mother. She already knows.) I have fabulous memories of tea parties with my sister when we were kids. She usually says they weren't tea parties because I threw the dishes over the railing of our stairs, but that's beside the point. Today I am thankful for tea.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Forgiveness

This evening was rough. Letting people down is the worst feeling ever. So today I am thankful for forgiveness. I was incredibly blessed that it was freely given today. I am thankful for the learning moments that come out of forgiveness.

Romans 5:3-5

(ESV)

³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Friends

It was really hard to decided what I'm thankful for today. Not because I have nothing to be thankful for, but because I have so much. I'm thankful that the SAT is over. I'm thankful for great deals on nude heels. I'm thankful for comfy pants and movies with family. But I'm also really thankful for my friends. So it's kind of cliche to say I was thankful for family yesterday and friends today, but I don't mind being cliche. Friends are awesome. The best kind of friend is the friend who can go shopping, watch movies, eat chocolate, and have deep conversations til the small hours of the morning. The friend who can listen to you vent, or mourn, or cry. I am blessed to have many friends that fit this description, so today I am thankful for friends.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Family

Well, once again I'm behind. Surprise, surprise. Also, this post won't have a picture in it because I forgot to take one, sorry! But yesterday I was thankful for family. First of all, my family rocks. In my completely unbiased opinion, it's the best family ever. But it's not just that we love each other, which we do, but my mom doesn't allow fighting, complaining, whining, and so forth. We can work on the yard all day without a single complaint. And it's fabulous. So I'm thankful for my family, cause they're amazing.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Jeans

Well I'm off to an unsatisfactory start! I'm participating in a project this month called 30 Days of Thanksgiving, where I post something every day that I'm thankful for. I think this is super important because I  am almost never grateful for things throughout the day. I heard of this through a fellow ODPer, and I'm super excited! It's also similar to something a very dear and amazing friend of mine suggested, called a gratitude journal. Hopefully this project of thankfulness will spur on a continual habit of a thankful life. So here's yesterday's picture of what I'm thankful for!

Being the first day I could wear "normal clothes," yesterday I was thankful for jeans. I never knew how amazing it would feel to just wear jeans and a sweater. 

And here's yet another gem from Pinterest. This is so true, and I hope that repeatedly being thankful this month will create in me a thankful heart. See y'all later today for what I'm thankful for today!