A friend of mine is doing "No Miss November" on her blog. When I started doing the days of thanks, I kind of figured that I would be joining her. However, student teaching immediately sucked all of my time away from me and I was barely keeping up with grading and planning and eating/sleeping. There was nooooo time for blogging.
But, now that I have given back two of my classes to Mrs. Byrnes, my time has freed up and I can relive the joys of blogging again! Yay!
Since I'm on my school computer and therefore have no pictures, I'm going to be doing the silly little things to be thankful for so the rest of my posts can be of the utmost detail and pictures!
Day 6.
I am thankful for kind text messages. I have blogged before about how people have forgotten about kindness and how badly our world is in need of it, so although "kind text messages" might be something silly, it's still true.
I was having a rough day at school a few days ago. It was a bad day--I've certainly had worse--but my kids were just really needy and I had enough. Then I checked my phone in between classes and I saw a few text messages from friends saying "Hey! I love you!" or "I miss you and would love to grab coffee sometime." or "You're my favorite". The first thought in my head was "SOMEONE LIKES ME!" Silly, I know, but the smallest things can mean the world to somebody.
Day 7.
I am thankful for music. Music puts me in the best of moods. I had a stocked iPod and can always enjoy a tune or two to either cheer me up or pump me up or something. I grew up around music. Nearly my entire family sings and some of my best childhood memories include singing Christmas carols or jamming out in the car. My favorite present of all time is a mixed CD. They're precious!
Day 8.
I am thankful for my LTN Girls. For those of you that don't know what "LTN" means, it's the graduation code that State has assigned for English Education. I have no idea why, but that's what it is. I am very, very thankful for the girls in my major that supported to me, listened to me, let me cry on their shoulder, passed along ideas and lesson plans. We've been through some insanity together but we've pulled through. The six weeks before student teaching we had two classes together for a total of 4 hours together. We also normally spent the two hours in between those classes together.
These women have edited my writing, critiqued my teaching, encouraged my laughter, and loved me unconditionally. Some of them drive me crazy, some of them I couldn't live without, but in the end, I know that we were all placed together for a reason.
Day 9.
I am thankful for books. Big shocker there I know, but seriously. They are my escape. They're one of my guilty pleasures. They are my ability to travel without leaving my couch. They provide me with an education and common sense.
Day 10.
Along the same lines, I am thankful for stories. My kiddos and I normally have "story time" about every other day. They'll give me a theme, topic, or word for me to tell them a story about my life. It's fun for me and it's a break for them. I think I reeled them in to this idea when they gave me the word 'bacon' and I was able to tell them a 10 minute story about my Clearwater family. My kiddos also have amazing stories that they tell me through their journals or just after school. It's entertaining and educational all at the same time.
My grandparents have always been great story tellers and have let us into pieces of their past. My dad also has some amazing stories from his childhood. It's his dream, as well as my Granddaddy's, for me to write down a lot of our family stories so that we can pass them down.
About a year ago I spent an afternoon with Granny and Granddaddy (my mom's parents) listening and writing down their stories. It was an amazing afternoon. I learned so much. It has really inspired me to continue this idea with both sides of the family. It's one of the items on my bucket list and I'm hoping to work on it this upcoming summer.
Day 11.
I am thankful for crafts. Once again, silly, I know, but I've been doing them forever! My mom was creative in ways to keep us kids entertained and out of her hair when we were little and that desire has not gone away since then. I knit on a regular basis; I have Disney princess coloring books that I pass Saturdays with; I cross-stitch. I am even having a "cheap and crafty Christmas" this year. Megan and I have no money so we're going to take simple, cheap decorations and put our own special twist on them this year to decorate our apartment. My girls are even coming over to help!
I am also planning a "crafty weekend" this weekend. A friend of mine has her own Etsy shop and makes greeting cards and other fun things. Laura is incredibly creative and if you ever need something, I highly recommend you give her a call! She also took the photos of me and siblings for Mama's Mother's Day gift this year. I was in a pinch for a birthday card and decided to give her a call. She helped me out with a super cute card at the last minute and it gave me an idea! 'I could do this!' I thought. 'Not as good as Laura, but I want to do something cute for my kiddos...I can make them each a cute little card!' So this weekend I'm planning on cleaning off my DVR, knitting, scrapbooking, Christmas decorating and making fun cards for my kiddos! Yay!
Day 12.
I am thankful for my self-esteem. I have taken plenty of psychology classes and so I am sure that someone along the line has told me how one develops their self-esteem, but I don't remember. After working with girls through Crusade and reading the journals of some of my students, I am so thankful that I know my worth. That I know how to make myself feel better. That I know that the lies that the media tells us are not true and that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Of course, like any other girl, I have my days, but overall, I think I'm pretty well off.
Some of the girls that I have spoken with are their own worst enemies. Their dreams will not come true because they won't get off the couch long enough to make them happen. I have a fantastic life with fantastic friends and a fantastic family and fantastic prospects for where I am to go from here.
Day 13.
I am thankful for discounts! As a college student, I love anything free but I realize that we live in a capitalistic society so therefore I sometimes have to fork out cash. But I do LOVE those moments when I have a coupon or I have a discount card or there is a sale and I can save a bit of cash or get more for the same price. Whether it's Buy 2, Get 3 Free Diet Cokes at Harris Teeter, or 50% off Kim Rogers cable knit sweaters at Belk (seriously, my favorite tops for cold weather!) or just a free cup of coffee because of my Panera Card...that little bit of saving makes me smile! May I please add that this past weekend I ran to HT to pick up a few things...and I finally did it!! I SAVED more than that I SPENT!!! I have been told by a few of my coupon-queen friends/relatives that this is the thing that sets apart queens from just coupon-ers! :)
Day 14.
I am thankful for my daily reads! If you haven't noticed, I haven't been big on the whole blogging thing for very long. My cousin, Hannah, has been doing it for nearly forever and is nearly a whiz kid at the whole thing, but me, not so much. I would rather have a cup of coffee with you and tell you about my life. Nevertheless, once I got into the "blogging community" a bit more than as a visitor, I have become quite the fan! I have a handful of blogs that I check daily, and then a few others when I'm looking for a way to pass the time. But this one goes out to my daily reads:
Laura is a friend from school. Sophomore year, for some reason I signed up for this awful literature class. Seriously, it hurt to wake up and run across campus for this class every other day at 9:10. One of the two things out of it: Laura Underwood. Not only did we have Renaissance Lit together, but we also had an equally painful Spanish class right after it. I believe these classes were the start of my notorious skipping of my college classes. (ATTN PROFESSORS: Please do not tell me that I have three days to miss your class. Because I will take all three. And possibly a few more. Tell me attendance is mandatory and you're worse than Hitler when it comes to stipulations.) Anyhow, Laura is absolutely precious. She's a funny writer, an amazing photographer, a sweet friend, a creative artist, a vegetarian--but don't let that turn you away!--and a runner! She's honestly an inspiration to me and my blog. You should check her out too! :)
Laura is also the girl that took our Mother's Day photos. She even put some on her blog! I was so honored. Please note that these pictures were taken before my brother decided to chop off his helmet of hair. Laura, I think we Sandersons may be in need of another photo shoot soon :-)
Hannah is my first cousin on my mom's side. She's the one older than me. She's a pretty fabulous cousin and the closest thing to a big sister than I'll ever have. Hannah works for our family's gun store. A few of the other featured people on her blog is her sweet husband Lee who we are so thankful that she brought into the family, and also my "niece" Eden, who we are also so thankful she brought into the family. Hannah's a riot and writes in a stream of consciousness. Her blog keeps me updated on the happenings of Wendell that I miss out on while living here in Raleigh.
The Pioneer Woman is the newest addition to my reading list. I adooorrreee her. She's sassy, Southern, and sweet as can be! I don't normally read "celebrity blogs" because they're probably fake and are also pushing some type of advertisement...but how can a mom of four who lives in the middle of no where on a cattle ranch be fake? I feel like that's a life that would keep you pretty humble and pretty straightforward. I feel like if we ever met in real life, we would be friends. Our humor seems very similiar and also our writing styles. What more can a friendship need?
She's also an author of a book (not just a cookbook, but a real one, with stories!) "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels". It's all about her courtship with her husband, whom she has affectionately named "Marlboro Man." On top of this book, she also came out with a cookbook just over a year ago. Oh, Santaaaa?
Last but certainly not least, is Miss Christin A. Kubasko! I've known Christin since I started coming to Crusade and for her last three semesters of school I was in the same Bible Study as she was. Since graduating from Meredith back in May, she is now at Appalachian living the good life as a grad student. Her blog is as cute and glittery as she is, and sassy to boot! I absolutely love her and her blog!
Thanks ladies for keeping me entertained day in and day out!
Day 15.
I am thankful for snail mail :) Silly, but true. Writing letters is one of those things that I wish I were better at doing. It's not that I don't have the time, it's just that I seem to fill the time with other things. But, I truly enjoy getting letters. Sweet emails are cute too, but there is just something about the joy that I get when I find a letter in my mailbox.
Day 16.
I am thankful for Western medicine. I don't know how many of you have had to encounter hospitals or medicines or doctors from people that don't live in the States...but wow! America is so blessed. Whether it's a simple OTC drug or my prescription glasses/contacts--my life would be incredibly different if I didn't have access to the prescriptions I do.
I am quite certain that this is the longest post that I will ever write in my time as a blogger. I'm not caught up yet, but I'm thinking that a few hours at Panera tonight will fix me up right.
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