Day 12: Rawhide Chewsticks

So today's title may have you thinking what? but today it is something simple. Today our puppy Coco was entertained by one of those rawhide chewsticks and it was such a blessing because she wasn't running around chasing the cat or chewing on stuff she shouldn't. She was just laying down chewing on something she was supposed to be chewing on. lol *sigh of relief* lol It gave me some time to relax and not run after her and so I was sooooo thankful for the chewstick because it kept her happy and when she is happy and not getting into trouble, I am happy. She isn't too bad and learning fast but she is a puppy and likes to chew.... Anyways it was nice to have some down time I guess you could call it. Plus it is so much fun watching her get so much joy out of something like a chewstick. lol Not only the chewstick but how she looks at everything, she gets so excited over us and so many things that seem insignificant to me like twigs/sticks. lol  Kind of neat to watch.

Day 11: Electricity

So I missed another day and trying to make up for it again! I don't want to make excuses but we have a new puppy and she has been top priorty and she is a bit of a handful but I expected that going into this and knew what was involved. So please bear with me!
As it gets darker earlier and earlier I am really reminded how thankful I am for something that is really quite amazing when you think about it-electricity!!! Of course we use electricity for many more things than just lights but having power/electricity to make those lights work that we don't have to use candles is what made me think about it. It is so common now to just flip a switch and the light comes on and I know that I often don't even think about it and just turn lights on and off. But it is something that I really notice when the power goes out and it is dark and I am fumbling around trying to find my way! We use lights to read and to light up a room so we can see where we are walking etc. Then there is the electricity that we use to power our clocks to help us know the time and not be late, and our computers to help us with work or play, our tv to keep us entertained and up to date on what's happening in the world, and on and on. But again not everyone in the world has access to power whether because of cost or they just don't have access to it and so we should really remember to be grateful for it even when we have to pay the bill. :) lol

Day 10: a new puppy

Hi again. Well today we got a new puppy and I am thankful for this because she already has us smiling so much and she is so funny and it is so fun to have someone so excited to see me. She sees me or anyone in my family and she starts wagging her tail so hard her whole body moves. lol The excitement and joy a new puppy brings and the wonderful memories that will be created as she grows is something to be very thankful for! Of course a new puppy isn't all fun and she needs to be trained and there are times we have to be firm and it is very hard but in the end it is all worth it I think. I say this even after a very exhausting day! I actually really haven't been thinking of much else other than her today so I thought the best blessing to write about today is her.

Day 9: Libraries

I would like to say that I think Libraries are absolutely amazing. I love to read and I can't afford to buy books really and so the Library is a wonderful place because it satisfies my thirst for reading while being affordable to me. Also if I had bought every book I have taken out of the Library, I would need such an incredibly large room to store them in! So Libraries help with space too because when you are finished the book you can bring it back and you don't have to find room to put it. I love how I can walk into the library and I am surrounded by thousands and thousands of books on pretty much any possible topic and I can take out which ever book I feel like reading. Sometimes a book I want to take out is being borrowed by someone else but I can wait. I choose another book! There is such a wealth of knowledge in a library and I wish more people took advantage of it. I wish that the government would cover the membership costs like they do in other provinces so that every single person who wants to read they can without worry of the cost of membership. I could go on and on about the benefits of Libraries but I am trying to keep these posts short and sweet. :) So thanks for taking the time to read my blog and I hope you enjoy it!

Day 8: Painkillers

Hi again. Yesterday I missed posting because my back was giving me an incredible amount of pain but I will make up for that posting twice today. Yesterday was quite a tough day to get through and was actually difficult to come up with as many ideas as other days. One thing I was thankful for so much was the ability to have painkillers when I need them. I am someone that only takes them when I really absolutely need to because they are hard on my system. But to have the choice to take them is quite a privilege that I don't have to suffer through the pain without anything at all.

Day 7: Hot Running Water

Wow already a week into this!! Time flies doesn't it? Well sometimes more than other times. Today I was reminded of something seemingly so simple but very big. Hot clean Running water when we want it right in our homes coming out of which ever tap we like. I think it is something we may or may not think about often because it is something we have easy access to but there are so many in the world that would consider this a luxury. Even with in 'developed' countries like Canada and the US there are people without access to running water/plumbing in their homes. Then there are countries that it is more common than not to not have running water even close by let alone clean water. I am thinking alot about this right now because of Haiti being in the news again with the Cholera outbreak. So I suppose this post isn't just about running water but also clean water to be thankful for. For me, I don't even think twice sometimes when I go to a tap to wash my hands or get a drink of water or wash my hair or what ever. I do however complain when the power goes out and we don't have access to water and that is usually just a few hrs and then it is back again. So I suppose in some ways I feel entitled to it even though I don't really like to admit it. But sometimes I pause and realize how privilaged we are to have running water that can be what ever temperature we like just by moving a lever and inside our house no less. Today is definitely one of those days.

Day 6: the first Snowfall?

Well today it snowed for the first time this season and my first reaction was this isn't something I will be considering to be thankful for. But then I started thinking about how in the Bible it says to be thankful in all circumstances and I thought that the first 5 days for this project I have picked things that I am naturally  thankful for and happy about but not anything I have to push myself to be thankful for. Let's face it, when it first snows I am not a happy camper! As time goes on, I start to enjoy the snow a bit because I accept that Fall is over and Winter is here and I can enjoy the snow... for awhile. As soon as March rolls around I am ready for Spring and sick of snow. lol Well... if I am honest-I am already itching for Spring a week after Christmas. lol Anyways the first snowfall does not even begin to evoke any kind of thankfulness because I want fall to stay and it is cold and people drive badly because they forget the roads are not good when it snows etc. I have seriously been thinking how the first snowfall can be positive and I can be thankful and it hasn't been easy but this is what I have come up with....
The first snowfall is only a taste of winter because it usually doesn't stay so we can ease into accepting that Winter is coming. Also it causes us to think that +10 is balmy so when it warms up again and we experience +10 we are not complaining it is cold. :) It can be somewhat magical when you are a child and you are not thinking of the roads being bad. If you imagine it as white sand-it is really pretty! Also even if you are not in denial and you look outside and see the snow, it can be pretty. You can build mini snowmen because it is usually sticky and that can be fun. The first snowfall usually disappears again so then I am thankful it is temporary! lol Last night it started as rain and then turned to snow and it can make for some pretty pictures of ice on the trees. Also when it is cold outside it is nice to sit by a warm fire! You can't do that in the summer!! lol unless it is cold which does happen I suppose. I suppose it isn't completely bad. So while there were other things that would have been much easier to write about that I am thankful for, I chose to try to be thankful for something I wasn't ecstatic about and realized it isn't so bad in the process! I am learning! lol I am not going to jump up and down or anything but I don't find it so negative either. I hope I have helped you see that it might be possible to see the bright side in some not so pleasant circumstances also.

Day 5: Music

Today I had a long day and in the midst of it I was listening to music here and there and I was reminded how wonderful and powerful music can be. It can take us places emotionally or it can just get us tapping our feet to a great beat. Music gets us moving. It can also be thought provoking. It can cheer us up when we are having a bad day or make a good day better or it can even make us sad. It can take away unbearable silence and it can take a party from dull to exciting. The power of words to a beat is so powerful and can do so much when you think about it and I can't imagine life without it. It also provides great background to shows on tv or movies in the theatre. :)

Day 4: Heat

As it gets chilly outside and starts to dip below freezing more and more at night, I am reminded how wonderful it is to have heat inside to stay warm. Whether it is a woodstove to curl up in front of or a furnace to keep the house warm, it is so nice to be warm. I think alot of times it is easy to take something for granted that we have and sometimes easy access to and we grumble about having to turn on the heat but there are many who don't have a warm house to live in. I know that we have had the heat on for awhile now off and on because it definitely hasn't been the warmest year and I am very grateful for the option to be able to turn on the heat when we need it. I know it isn't something that comes free and I suppose I should be thankful for the money to be able to have heat but tonight I am really just thankful for a warm house. This may or may not seem like something to write about to be thankful for but when you think about it isn't just a given to have a warm house to live in-it is pretty big to me.

Day 3: Blood Donors

Hi again! So today I am thankful for Blood Donors because while watching the news they had a story about a blood drive and a couple yrs ago I needed a blood transfusion (during one of my surgeries) so I know how important it is. I don't remember alot about it because I was pretty out of it but I do remember needing to be under close observation afterwards for about 24hrs to make sure I was doing ok. I know that it was important that I recieved that blood and I am ever so thankful to those unknown strangers who donated it and gave me a wonderful gift. That is why whenever I get the chance, I ask people to please consider it if you are able because it can mean the difference of life or death. Today on the news they shared some stats that I found interesting and I would like to share some of those with you now. A couple shared on the News were that 1 in 2 people are able to donate but only 1 in 60 actually do which surprised me. Also every 60 seconds in Canada someone needs blood. wow. So today I am thankful for blood donors whether you have donated once or 100 times-thank you!

Day 2: Roses

Hello again. wow day 2!! Today I actually felt I had a difficult choice because there were a few blessings that I felt would be good. I chose Roses though for today because on Wednesday nights I have a sort of bible study and last night we all got a rose. The reason for this was we have been going through some really amazing growth and so the leaders gave us all a rose. It made my day for sure! Roses are so beautiful and amazing and delicate and they make me smile. Maybe that is why there are so many quotes about roses because a rose's beauty speaks to so many of us. I also felt it was fitting to recieve a rose last night because a rose is both beautiful and prickly and we can choose to focus on the rose or the thorns. In our group I think we have been starting to go through the thorns of our lives and growing as a result and I for one am starting to see the beauty and hope life has to offer which for me is what the rose itself signifies. I don't know if this makes sense or not and I feel I am struggling to put my thoughts and feelings into words. As the famous saying goes-take time to smell the roses!
Now to leave you with a few quotes about Roses.

Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.
Alphonse Karr

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.
James M. Barrie

At every step the child should be allowed to meet the real experience of life; the thorns should never be plucked from his roses.
Ellen Key 

 The sharp thorn often produces delicate roses.
Ovid

Thorns and Roses grow on the same tree.
Turkish Proverb

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Shakespeare

Day 1: Sunshine

I was thinking alot about what my first post should be about and I thought that maybe it should be something big and important but then I thought maybe it should be something simple to show the simple things in life can also be blessings too. So I immediately thought about the sunshine that is streaming through my window and how the sunshine always brightens my day. It is interesting how the weather can affect our moods. I love the warmth that it brings.

Welcome to My Blog

Welcome to my blog. I would like to explain a little bit about how this idea came to be. I have been dealing with depression for some time now and last week I hit pretty much rock bottom and I was contemplating taking my own life because I felt I had nothing left to live for. It felt like I face struggle after struggle with no relief in between. I have been dealing with recovering from 2 major back surgeries (one to fix complications) and the many struggles that come from that and many others that are unrelated. The only thing that kept me from following through was that I knew the hurt it would cause those close to me. I could not do that to them. On Monday I started to pull out of the pit that I felt I was in and I realized so many things. One of which is that no matter how dark it gets, there is always something good and I need to focus on it and hold on to it no matter how small it may seem. So I remembered about something that was going around on facebook that was called the Gratitude project where you list 3 things you are grateful for no matter how big or small. I thought I would like to do my own project maybe based on that idea where I actually blog about it and it is available for people to see and maybe inspire others to find the blessings in their lives as well. I decided to do this for one year-365 blessings. I hope to continue past that but for now I would like to try one year. This might be challenging some days to find something positive when everything seems to be going wrong around me but those are the days I need to do it that much more. I am convinced that there has to be something however small to grab hold of in those dark days. I hope to come up with a different blessing each day which will be incredibly hard as time goes by but I think I am up for the challenge. I am hoping that through this project, I will become a better happier person. I also hope that I will inspire others to do the same. One thing I am always thankful for that I can't really be thankful for only one day of the year is the love from my family, friends and God. Thanks and I hope you enjoy it.