Thankful

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I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

Psalms 9:1

First thing's first, I'm guest blogging over at StyleBy.Me today for the first time, so come on over and visit! StyleBy.Me is this fabulous online lookbook, exclusive to residents of Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley! I'll be a regular contributor each Wednesday, so be sure to stop by and catch the latest on the fashion front from some of Northwest Arkansas's finest bloggers and style extraordinaires! Many thanks to Anna and Josh (the geniuses behind StyleBy.Me) for this cool opportunity!

Today we'll be taking a break from Trend Watch Wednesday in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. There's so much focus on trivial and material things here and I think that's totally ok, since this is a lighthearted blog and oftentimes life can be far too serious.

The recurring theme of fashion and style isn't going anywhere on this blog anytime soon, (let's face it, sappy and heartfelt just aren't my forte). However, God has blessed me tremendously this year, so I wanted to give a little "I'm thankful for..." recap.

In no particular order, here are the things/people/etc. that I'm endlessly grateful for this year:

1) My family.
They would support me to the ends of the earth and back. My mom is my best friend, my brother is the funniest person I know and my dad has always set such an outstanding example of what a good, Christian man is supposed to be. I'm fortunate enough to also have both sets of grandparents still thriving and even one great grandmother.

2) My sweet guy.
A semi-recent addition to my life, S was the most unexpected, yet wonderful thing to happen this year. I often call him my "sweet" boy, but the words "smart", "hilarious", "kind", "genuine", "selfless" and "way hot" also come to mind : ) So very thankful for my man and his heart of gold.

3) This blog.
It sounds ridiculous, but really, I am so grateful for this little blog. I have formed some pretty incredible friendships over the past year from blogging and have made connections with some very cool people from all walks of life. I never dreamed it would have any success or semi-large readership, so for it to have taken off the way it has...well, I'm humbled. Thank you.

4) My health.
I recently found out that a dear friend of mine from high school was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is 26.

To be able to get out of bed in the morning, to breathe in and out deeply, to run, to sweat ridiculously after a spin class, to laugh til my stomach aches, to dance around like a fool in my bathroom with Lady Gaga blaring over the iPod dock- these are things I'm grateful for, things that a healthy girl can do.

5) Ruined plans.
Let me explain...a couple years ago, I had everything planned out. Or so I thought.

I wasn't happy, but from the outside things looked picture perfect. The reality of the situation was anything but picturesque, but flying without a net (or in my case, living life without some sort of plan or itinerary) scares the Prada out of me.

You see, I've always been an obsessive planner and I had set up this ridiculous timeline for myself, things I needed to accomplish by a certain date or age, figurative mile markers (life events) that were supposed to occur in a certain order or at a specific time.

God certainly does have a sense of humor. Not one thing I planned came to fruition. And I've never been happier. I thank Him everyday for "ruining" my plans : )

6) Dee
I've known Dee for 2 and a half years now (we worked in cubicles across from each other when I first started my job) and she has become one of my best friends. I have several friends that I love dearly, but she keeps me laughing both inside and outside of work. She's that good girl friend to whom you can divulge hypersensitive information and rest assured it will remain under lock and key. She was, coincidentally, one of my rocks during that time when all of my plans were being ruined, too.


7) My car
I was going to avoid putting material things on this list, but I am so thankful for my car. I noticed a prayer request on another blog I follow for a couple who is needing a car so they can transport their daughter to and from the hospital for dialysis treatments. I don't drive a luxury sports car, but my Altima runs well and looks nice. It gets me to and from work and I've come to depend on that car like another limb. Sounds trivial, but it is what it is.

8) My (real) job
I get emails from time to time from readers asking if blogging is my full time job. This always makes me laugh because if I depended on my blog earnings to support myself, I'd be living in the poor house! : ) My job in financial marketing however does pay the bills and it's such a blessing, especially in this economy, to have a stable job when so many others do not.

I'm curious to know some of the things y'all are thankful for this year, so leave your list in the comments thread below!



Be blessed, lovelies-