100 Blessings

It's my 100th Blog! Thus, 100 blessings that I'm grateful for.

1. my husband who loves me more than i could ever imagine being loved by anyone
2. my mom, she brings p and i soup and dinners so we dont have to cook when they come to visit. she is extraordinarily generous to both of us
3. my dad, he walks me through unclogging sinks on the phone, and still says a prayer with me before i go to bed when i stay at their house
4. my sister, my shining star, who never fails to make me laugh
5. mojomom, she challenges me to grow personally, professionally and spiritually and also for our "am i being a good wife?" checks...
6. llama, her sense of humor
7. chuck, she's just always been there for me
8. cornelia marie, everyone needs a friend with whom they can drink in excess and then pretend to be a crab boat on the bering sea with. at age 29.
9. that i got to rekindle my friendship with my childhood best friend and that she is on her way to becoming a mom after years of trying and i get to be a part of that now. i would have missed it had we not decided to be friends again...
10. that my family, friends and i all appear to enjoy good health despite my worrying that disaster will strike.
11. that i 100% without feeling like i'm "supposed" to say it because that's how marriage is supposed to be can say that i married my best friend.
12. that Colors, while expensive, is still alive at age 23
13. Sonford Q. McSquigglebottoms. Best.Dog.Ever. yours will not win this argument.
14. That i have a job that i love
15. That i work with people i like
16. That i feel like personally, i am where i'm supposed to be at age 31
17. that even though i wish we made more $$, p and i can live well on what we have
18. finding my grandmothers recipes, handwritten on scraps of paper, and framing them
19. that i'm slowly learning to eat healthier and lose weight
20. that its currently football season, i love the festivities and school spirit
21. that the students i work with genuinely love their school and i get to help them have the best possible experience they can
22. red.wine.
23. dark chocolate.
24. that my father in law and his wife make me feel like part of their family.
25. that my family has passed on to me a love for cooking and that i can successfully make recipes that i remember my grandmother cooking
26. i get to see my sister in 2 weeks
27. through the wonders of the internet i can talk to my cousins in England and 'befriend them' as adults.
28. picking pumpkins out with my husband and playing football with him in a park on our annual 'fall date'.
29. the monday night football chimes... buh buh buh buh BUH BUH BUH!
30. books. any kind of book. well,except for sleazy romance...
31. shared memories with people i love
32. all my internet bloggy friends who i've met through blogger
33. for having lived in athens, oh for three years...i think i became a better person there.
34. for people who are allies
35. for the lonely trees that you see from the highway. they're out there all alone , but they're beautiful
36. for the way the leaves change colors in the fall
37. for the way that the air feels from october to december
38. mountains, even though i hadn't seen a "real" one until my honeymoon.
39. for this place
40. salmon.
41. for pine tree scented candles
42. christmas trees in general
43. the traditional family christmas that we always have, complete with reading Twas the Night Before Christmas before bed on Christmas Eve, waking up and going downstairs to find presents, christmas breakfast, christmas dinner and reading the christmas story in the Bible that night.
44. the noises my parents make at night and in the morning when i'm laying in bed. no matter what house it is, they're always the same...cupboard doors closing, checking the locks, winding the grandfather clock...they are ingrained in my memory.
41. comfortable underwear
42. joy in simple things, like when you slice cheese and find out that you have exactly the right amount to go on the crackers you grabbed out of the bag or finding out that a coworker already made the coffee when you really need some
43. starry nights
44. dick francis horse racing mysteries
45. my education. i never had to fight for it...and i always took the access i had for granted until i got to college and met people who werent as lucky as i.
46. for that matter, all of the priveleges that i have been granted my whole life...
47. for the awareness that they are priveleges...and that not everyone has them, and for people who try to lessen the gap.
48. Ye Olde Trail Tavern in Yellow Springs, OH- best juke box ever
49. how blue and green our world is
50. roses and poppies my two favorite flowers in the world
51. bed knobs and broom sticks
52. M*A*S*H- something that my sister, my dad and i all can share
53. beatrix potter and enid blyton- they helped me learn to imagine
54. the way the horse barn smells
55. sports stadiums
56. ohio state football
57. stadium hotdogs with stadium mustard
58. firepits
59. that P has introduced me to so many things that I may never have experienced without him, massillon football, hobo pies, camping
60. that fundamentally, p and i work well together and share values and beliefs.
61. that my parents tried to bring me up to love God and to have faith, but that I had to learn on my own what that really meant.
62. for that day in the horsebarn where i pleaded with God to send me a sign that he was listening and cared about my family and suddenly at the end of my prayer all the horses went from standing still to galloping across the field kicking their heels up in sheer joy of being alive.
63. that signs exist if you pay attention to them.
64. that many things in the world are spoken in whispers which makes them all the more special when you hear them
65. being comfortable being alone
66. honestly being able to say at 31 that i like who i am
67. how when you lay on your back sometimes the sky looks curved. i used to think that it was entirely possible that we were a 'snow globe' for someone out there
68. bad keanu reeves movies
69. hybrid cars
70. that people are still trying to scientifically prove the existance of aliens and bigfoot. i appreciate a world that refuses to let go of Possibility.
71. that i have gotten to travel to 8 different countries already in my life
72. my family crest is an oak tree and the phrase on it says "Stand Sure" which is something that i feel is an integral part of my life...
73. bagel sandwiches
74. nutella
75. that my little sister is much 'healthier' than i ever was at her age, mind body and soul.
76. for my parents 35 years of marriage
77. for our third year of marriage 11.11.09
78. for people who openly show their feelings, they make the world a more interesting place. think about what our lives would be like if there were a "no celebration rule" on life.
79. optimists- those of you in my life keep me hopeful
80. realists- those of you in my life keep me grounded
81. that no matter what happens, i know that i will always have Hope.
82. my grandparents...the good and bad memories, they're all part of life.
83. making stone soup with my Amma
84. my moms soup recipes and how making a bowl of her chilli instantly takes me back to being about 8 years old
85. that i am so very incredibly loved by such wonderful people
86. that i have so many people that I can love in my life
87. the smell of tomatoes in the garden
88. my grandmothers ring that i wear every day
89. never ever having had to have braces
90. the roof over my head and the home that p and i have created
91. being healthier now than i was at this point last year
92. that my friends in the military have so far, all come home safely
93. that my anxiety has pretty much gone away...or that i've learned to manage it to the point that it seems to not bother me anymore
94. that i can send my sister random nonesense that very few people would understand and she knows exactly what i'm talking about and will respond. For exmaple: "if mom's hyacinth and i'm daisy, does that make you rose or violet?" "definitely violet" (our last text messages) bonus points to the person who knows what we're talking about.
95. my husbands green eyes
96. that he loves me no matter what weight i am and thinks i'm beautiful no matter what.
97. random acts of kindness, doing them, seeing them, experiencing them
98. being able to take pretty pictures of people's lives...it makes me smile to show them how i see them.
99. knowing without a doubt that i am blessed
100. that my life is amazing

phew...i could go on...but 100 i think is enough for now. it was actaully harder than i thought to list 100 because so many of them seem silly...but it's true, they are blessings no matter how small.

what are some of yours? top 10 anybody?