100 Things I'm Thankful For-2nd 20

Here is a continuation of my 100 Things I'm Thankful For. Catch my 1st 20.

21. I'm thankful for our 4bd house in a good neighbourhood. We are a 5 min walk to my daughter's school and there are 5 or 6 girls that all play together with my girls in our cul-de-sac. It's like a kid gang and it's so cut to watch them running around together.

22. Music. It lifts my mood or relaxes me or pumps me up during a workout. I would be so lost without music in my life.

23. I'm thankful my Mom taught me to cook at a young age. I've been experimenting and creating recipes since middle school. Another really good skill to know.

24. Thankful for all the benefits that come with being a military spouse. Free activities, great health and dental care and lots of discounts.

25. Shoes. I'm slightly obsessed. I love all shoes but stilettos and boots really rock my world.

26. Thankful for where we live. Close to the beach for surfing, tanning and beach volleyball and also close to the mountains for snowboarding and tubing.

27. Thankful for great health. My daughters rarely get sick and when they do it's only minor. They pretty much only go to the doctor 1x a year for their yearly check-up.

28. I'm thankful I have the opportunity to go to school. I can't say I love it but in the end my hard work and efforts will pay off. That Bach degree is so close. Who knows maybe I'll get my Masters if I change my mind about law school. (And let me say that going to college full time while working and taking care of 2 kids is hard work. Going to nursing school while mommy and daddy pay all your bills so you don't have to work, collect welfare and child support, let someone else raise your kids and clean your house is not hard work. It's actually pretty pathetic.)

29. Thankful for our military. The Marines especially. I come from a long line of Devil Dogs. My Grandaddy served, my Dad is a pilot in the Marines and my hubby is a badass infantry man in the Marines. (And this week my stepson is entering Marine bootcamp! So proud of him!)

30. My OCD. Well yeah I'm a little thankful for it. It makes me keep a spotless (and I mean spotless, like not even fingerprints on the wall) house. I can't leave dirty stuff around so my house is ready to walk into pretty much anytime. And let me tell you with a messy husband and two messy girls this is no easy task.

31. My involvement in I AM THAT GIRL or IATG. It's kind of like girlscouts for college girls. It's all about empowering girls, supporting each other and making a difference in the world. I love our heartfelt, deep talks.

32. I'm thankful there are groups out there like Fathers 4 Justice, that support fathers, despise alienators and help fight for fathers that are getting screwed over by the system. Father's rights is a cause I've become very involved in and my research has uncovered some shocking stuff about corruption in family court, the out of control Child Support system and Parental Alienation just to name a few.

33. This might be a little conceited but I'm thankful for perfect teeth. Teeth are one of the first things people notice about you and I love being able to grin and not be embarrassed. My husband's grandmother use to say to him "Find a women who can cook and has nice teeth." I think he finally followed her advice when it came to me hehe!

34. Books. Yes I'm thankful for books. As a youngster I read all the time since we weren't allowed to watch tv. I read for school but I mostly read for fun. I went for several years after high school not reading much but this past year I made it my goal to read more. I put Read 100 books on my Day Zero Project Goal list. I've read about 10 books over the past couple months. My husband laughs at me and calls me a nerd since I read so fast. I had almost forgotten how nice it is to get lost in a book!

35. The view from my bedroom windows. We are in a canyon and sort of on top of a ridge, so it looks like we are on top of a mountain kinda. We have this long window in our bedroom, and at night it is breath taking to see all the lights of the city twinkling below us. We don't have any houses behind us so the view is looovely!

36. Chocolate! I'm a total chocoholic! So thankful God created it.

37. Scary movies. I love cuddling up with the husband, turning off all the lights and watching something scary. Afterwards hubby and I try to sneak up on one another and scare each other like kids. He always jumps before I do haha!

38. I'm thankful my husband was able to get a smoker for free. In his divorce the only thing he got besides debt was his grill. It was a nice grill but it finally broke for good about a year ago. Since then we have been oogling over nice grills and dreaming of having a grill/smoker combination. We never had the money to spend on one but a buddy from his work was moving and gave us his grill/smoker. It's the exact one we were dreaming about! A good scrub and a coat of paint has it looking brand new. We cooked some steaks on it for the first time last week and they were sooo yummy! It makes me happy when good things  happen for my husband. He really deserves it.

39. I'm thankful I got to travel a lot as a military brat. We lived in many different states and I got to see so many different places. Some people live in their own little bubble, like being born and then living their whole lives in the same town. I'm glad I got to experience the world and different cultures. Growing up like a gypsy gave me what I think they call "wanderlust". I don't like staying in the same place too long. I want to see the world!

40. And speaking of travel, I'm also thankful for GPS. I am super bad with directions although  I can almost always get back to somewhere I've already been before. Before we got a GPS I would usually end up lost and panicking anytime I went somewhere new.

Well that's all for this round! Feel free to comment below with anything you are thankful for!

100 Things I'm thankful for- 1st 20

I love seeing all these thankful posts on facebook lately. There is a thing going around called 30 days of thankful, where you post something you are thankful for everyday of the month of November.

I'm going to do something slightly different, since on my Day Zero project I have to make a list of 100 things I'm thankful for. I'm going to do them in sets of 20 so I don't overload you guys. And what better month than Thanksgiving month to do it in? The first ones are going to be pretty deep, but don't laugh if towards the end of this project I start saying things like I'm thankful for bubbles or something haha!

So here are my 1st set of 20...I'm thankful for

1. How God has blessed our family and been there even in the toughest of times.

2. A husband that treats me like a princess, is a good daddy and just a wonderful person to all who know him.

3. For a close relationship with my family. My parents are always there for me and even when I'm wrong they help instead of judge.

4. For smart, kind siblings. They would never abandon or hurt me like my husband's sister has done to him.

5. A God-loving, caring extended family who is always interested and keeps up with my life. I can always find encouragement in them.

6. A great relationship with my in-laws. They make me feel like a daughter. I know a lot of people who hate their in-laws so it is very special to me that I have amazing ones.

7. Friend that have my back and I know I can count on.

8. Starbucks! Or coffee in general. It saves my life in the mornings...and probably other people's too haha!

9. My red hair. It's unique and wild and I wouldn't change it for the world. Hairdressers say people pay a lot of money to get my natural color.

10. My oldest stepson Bryan. We have become close and after all the women in his life screwed him over, including his mom, I feel privileged that he loves and cares for me and that he has let me be a big part of his life.

11. My great metabolism. I do workout and eat fairly healthy but I always stay a good weight even when I'm lazy and eat like a fatty.

12. My wonderful, smart girls. People compliment on how beautiful they are all the time. They make me smile and laugh everyday.

13. My mustang. I always wanted one growing up. There is nothing like driving around with the windows down and a great sound system and pumping subwoofer turned up while you shift around town like a street racer.

14.  My amazing stepsons. They are so strong and courageous after everything they have been put through. Despite lies and manipulations, they believe what they see with their own eyes. I'm thankful for this because we have and amazing relationship. It is such a good feeling to be told how much they love me, admire me and look up to me. It's also a huge responsibility to be the kind of person they can look up to.

15. Thankful God has blessed me with a good mind. I've been able to make awesome grades even with my busy schedule, moving 5 times and attending 3 different colleges.

16. Thankful God has also blessed me with creativity. I love painting, designing and all things artsy.

17. Thankful my Mom made me take piano for years. Now that I'm older I appreciate it a lot more, and be able to read music is such a great skill to have.

18. The success of my photography. It started as a hobby with a little point and shoot camera. It grew with lots of positive reinforcement from my husband and family. 4 years later I have a top notch pro camera and many satisfied clients. I've been published in magazines, brochures, calendars and have met some B-list celebrities.

19. Thankful for the success of my blog. It also started as a hobby to keep far away friends and family up to date on our activities and how the kids are growing. I gradually added more categories like recipes and tips&advice. Soon companies started contacting me to review their stuff or do giveaways. Now I get a bunch of free stuff to try out and it's awesome!

20. My dog Chloe. I adopted her for free from a lady who had too many pets. She is a red heeeler and has been the best dog ever. She is super smart and well behaved and acts like a babysitter for my girls. She is in the process of getting certified as my "emotional support animal". Don't laugh! This means I can take her where ever I go even into stores and restaurants.

Well there is my 20 for this week! Feel free to add some stuff you are thankful for in the comments section below. Look for next week's 20!