Texas Lou

It’s been a little over a year now since I wrote my first Thankful Monday post.  This originally started out as an experiment so I could see if practicing gratefulness would help make me a happier person.  I think I can say that after a year, practicing gratefulness at least once a week has without a doubt helped me to be a happier and more positive person.  As a result of this conclusion, I think I will continue to write my Thankful Monday blog posts indefinitely.  So without further delay, here is the first Thankful Monday post of 2014:

1. I’m thankful for a fun craft night on Friday evening with Amy and Sarah.  It was Sarah’s birthday, so we celebrated her day and I made her this flourless nutella cake.  I had so much fun just chatting with the girls, watching them make scarves, learning about different sewing techniques, and creating an ornament from the trunk of our first Christmas tree.
   
   I always cherish these fun and creative times with friends.
2. I’m thankful for a nice long phone date with my cousin and best friend Megan!  Whenever we have phone dates, we end up chatting for hours.  It’s always so much fun to catch-up and talk to the people I love!
3. I’m thankful for a very generous gift from my boss.  She was about to donate some belongings to Goodwill when she found out that I would be needing them soon so she gave them to me!  I’m so grateful to be surrounded by generous and helpful people!
4. I always say it, but I don’t think it is ever enough – I am so thankful for my husband Ben!  He is always helping me and taking care of me!  This weekend, he stacked wood and continuously made sure the fire in our wood stove was burning to keep us warm (he even taught me how to operate it).  He also did several things on my honey-do list including but not limited to changing all of the burnt out light bulbs in the house and helping me fold a tablecloth.  I love him so much and still can’t believe how lucky I am to have found him.
5. I’m thankful for my days off.  Though I work in retail and don’t get as many days off during the holidays as I’d like, I am very thankful for the ones I do get.  Last Wednesday was a nice day off spent celebrating the New Year.

Have a great week and happy New Year!