30DoT Participants Are Thankful For...

In case you're curious, here are some of the things last year's participants told us they're thankful for:

• My husband
• Egg nog
• Christmasing
• Long weekends
• Thanksgiving Day
• Friendship
• Home
• Co-workers
• Movies
• Sleeping in
• Outdoor recess
• Warmth
• Wine appreciation
• Humor
• Mistress Garmin (my GPS)
• Music
• Feline friends
• UGGs
• End of parent/teacher conferences
• Veterans
• Tea light candles
• My sons
• Sunshine
• Guardian Angels
• Time
• Novocaine
• Geeks
• Yello
• Gentle snores
• Handprints on my heart
• The gifts I have in my life and those I had in my life which are now gone
• I made it through my supervisor's retirement party and for my co-worker, Avis, who is more responsible for the party's success than I!
• Enough of everything that I need plus more to share with those who don't have enough.
• A wonderful organization working toward ending fat discrimination. Naafa.org and my local chapter. capitalnaafa.org
• God's grace. Almsot had a mini-freak out, but I heard that voice and let it go. Life is so much more peaceful when you know He has your back.
• The love and guidance that led me through a very dark time and brought me back into the light and enveloped me in the love that I feel today.
• God has blessed me with wonderful friends and an awesome family, but I am even more grateful for the lessons that have taught me how to really appreciate them all. 
• My blogging friends. @heatherhinson & @StacyBrice you have the gift of words that make me LOL and think!
• If you know my dad, he thrives on "encouraging" me to reach higher, usually by kicking my butt into gear. Today, I had the great opportunity to kick his butt into gear and "encourage" him :). It's always a revelation when the kid repeats the words from a parent! Love you Dad!
• My laptop! Working offline today!
• Wonderful committee friends and volunteers. Thank you to those who stepped up and helped me make our first Hanukkah/Holiday Bazaar so successful. I couldn't have done what I did with out you: Donna, Terri, Sheri, Audrey, Lynn S, Lynn G, Andrea, WRJ, THS Committee!!
• My Husband! He remembered the Tooth Fairy and I didn't. Ash found a whole $1 near her pillow. Talk about inflation!
• Being an AssistU VA!
• Being around for the 1sts! Ashley lost her first tooth tonight. Freaked herself out. Didn't even know it was loose
• 8pm bedtimes for all my kids, so I can catch up on the work and volunteer stuff that I can't get to during normal work time.
• Hearing my kids laughing and playing with each other! 
• The 30 Days of Thanks challenge
• The *chill factor* - the ability to chill!
• Skilled (and sober) pilots
• Mini-vacations
• For so much: my husband, my family, my in-laws, good food, good friends (old and new), Dallas Cowboy and Longhorn football, my high-maintenance animals, Turkey. I love turkey. I'm thankful that I have so much to be thankful for
• Thanksgivings and Christmases past and the memories I hold of those holidays
• My husband's education and gainful employment
• This exercise
• My ability to have compassion
• TopGolf,com
• Egyptian cotton sheets with a threadcount of 800 or above
• My community of Virtual Assistants at @AssistU
• I get to get up every morning
• The power to choose my own electricity company
• Music
• Texas and all its beauty
• For the 9-1/2 years I've been riding my motorcycle, by the grace of God, I've been safe
• Busy weekends and opportunities
• My wonderful clients
• Our Veterans
• Life
• That my recent sonogram showed that I have a benign cyst and nothing more serious
• My baby brother and the time we get to spend together.
• Community and how the community supports the walkers for the 3 day walk.
• Bi-weekly massages.
• My husband and his love for me.
• Friendships and friends, old and new.
• We have a roof over our heads, when so many don't.
• Modern technology.
• My eyesight. 
• I catch on to most concepts quite quickly and easily
• I have enough to share
• My wonderful, wonderful weekend at the Equine Affaire in Springfield, MA
• My fabulous group of friends
• Hospitality.giving and receiving 
• Flowers 
• My hens, because they make me laugh
• Motherhood,  because it may be the greatest adventure of my life
• My husband, because he's a true partner in my life
• Time to bask in the sun on a mild day
• Technology, because it allows me to work profitably from home
• AssistU, for all I've learned there (which has ALSO helped me to work profitably from home)
• My health, because I haven't always been healthy
• Boyden Bird Sanctuary, because I relax as soon as I start walking along the river there
• Beech trees, because I find them stunningly beautiful
• Education, because it's opened up so many new worlds to me
• Books, because they're one of my greatest pleasures
• Melaleuca, because their Tub & Tile cleaner got rid of the soap scum in my bathtub and it's still a "green" product!
• Ecology, because I find the systems that support life endlessly fascinating
• My Howard Miller clock, because I like the Westminster chimes every 15 minutes
• My clothesline, because I love the way the laundry smells after it's dried in the fresh air and sunshine
• My parents, who just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and gave me a good environment to grow up in
• The finches who've nested in the arborvitae right outside my office window for three years running
• My beautiful, fluffy, wonderfully affectionate grey kitty because I'd never experienced a mutual bond with a pet like I had with him. He died, but I'm very grateful to have ha him
• Living within easy distance of city, country, mountains and beach. There's so much to see and do where I live!
• My scented geraniums, because it's fun to rub the leaves and release a shot of fragrance when I'm watering the houseplants.
• Life, because that's the foundation that makes everything else possible.
• Calendars, because one of my favorite things to do this time of year is pick out a calendar I really love for the coming year.
• Pedicures, because that's a special thing I do for myself to relax and rejuvenate once a week.
• Hot water bottles! 
• That God made me His child 
• My husband and his support 
• The quiet moments Christian and I have in the morning 
• The celebrations I was able to share in the past with my children 
• Faithful friends who pray for me before I even ask 
• That my second son is saved 
• My sight so I can behold God's beauty 
• My hearing so I can hear my loved one's voices 
• My heart that hears God's still small voice 
• The glorious praise and worship singing with Crystal 
• The intelligence that God gave me to run my business 
• It has finally gotten cold in Jacksonville 
• That I awoke because God sustained me 
• That Jesus loves me, and the Holy Spirit guides me 
• The blessings God continually sends my way, by my husband, my sisters and my friends 
• My children and my grandchildren 
• The prayers God has answered this year 
• That Dan got all the expensive repairs done on the house before financial disaster struck 
• That God caused my orange hibiscus to finally bloom when it is almost winter 
• That the Holy Spirit guides me in my business so that something that has so much potential for disaster goes smoothly 
• That I am able to perform the functions of my business 
• Bible Sunday, a day especially made to honor God's Word 
• The encouragement of friends on a dark day, especially my friend Debbie 
• That between Jehovah Jireh and my wonderful husband I have a really nice house to live in and food to eat 
• For those who serve this great country, to try and keep us free, and I am thankful for the veterans who have served in the past 
• That God is with me every day while I homeschool Christian 
• For those on Facebook and elsewhere who give their whole hearts to bringing us encouraging, convicting and uplifting words and devotions every day.  
• My backyard. 
• Chik-fil-a's kid sized meal is perfect -- just big enough. Plus, they give you a bendy straw! Having Brentley in my life. He takes SUCH good care of me. :-)
• Life Leadership Coach Laura Neff
• My body and how it moves, dances, laughs, breathes, cries, feels, rests. Love it!
• Lovely pets who are soft and cuddly and silly. 
• Local, healthy food
• Presenting my first webinar 
• Very honest feedback that several people have given me recently. 
• The flexibility that my business gives me
• My clients. 
• Getting outdoors. 
• Being in the moment right now.
• Mornings—especially Monday mornings because the week is just bursting with possibilities!
• My mentor, Maria Gamb. 
• Getting my carpets cleaned
• For FRIDAY and the anticipation of good times, good friends, and big laughs for the weekend. The time to enjoy a lazy Saturday morning watching PBS.
• Fabulous friends, good food, and LOTS of laughing.
• My friends and clients who think enough of what I do to suggest or specifically send me referrals. 
• Watching my garden grow. 
• My family – all of them  
• Options
• Healthy child
• LASIK
• Michelle
• Musical talent
• Great weather
• Health insurance
• My hometown
• Washer and dryer
• Books
• Beautiful sunsets
• "Sunday Morning" on CBS
• Empowerment
• Working from home
• My female doctors
• HappyLite
• Not having to cook
• Drum corp
• Staying home
• 57 degrees in late November
• Family gift exchange
• New generation
• Square edges
• Lifetime warranties
• Naps
• Intentionality
• C, my son 
• A day off work to rest and rejuvenate.
• For a cuddly kitty to snuggle with.
• A sturdy home to provide shelter, warmth, and a safe haven.
• A comfy bed to rest in (while my body continues to heal from the chiropractor yesterday.)
• The amazing Doctor for fixing the broken things and my friend Stacy for telling me about him.
• Speedy tire repair and road-hazard insurance plans.
• That Adam is home safely and that he and Alena had a good time last week!
• A home, loving family, pets, food to sustain, clean laundry, and all the many things we so often take for granted, but without which our lives would be more difficult and/or less fulfilling.
• The blessing of my Father, Bill Diller.
• Fun
• The personal growth which has helped me to curb my perfectionist tendencies!
• Abundance. 
• The time, place, and ability to rest and rejuvenate after a long, demanding, and draining work-week. 
• The job/career which fulfills so many needs, both internal and external.
• A loving partner to share life with, day in and day out, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
• A successful son
• The little things and big things alike that make up a moment, a day, a life.
• Difference and diversity of life which enriches and blesses
• Blankets
• Thankfulness and gratitude
• Squirrels and birds. 
• Living in a country that lets me freely worship as I choose, and speak as I choose
• Work from home.
• A wonderful family
• Life-long friends
• Clubs
• Experiences as a business owner
• The service-men and women who have put their lives in harms way so that the US can be the great country it is
• Coaches
• Living in Louisianna
• Amazing spiritual weekend
• How social media has changed the face of my own business, how I market, how I learn, and how I can help my clients
• The best clients
• Networking events!
• Clarity in my business
• Mentors
• A climate that isn’t too cold for too long
• Each year’s Presidential Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
• Family traditions
• Abundance of good.
• My amazing life 
• Love
• Humor
• Safety
• Flash-mob dances
• Dim-sum
• Intensity
• Happy music
• Tea
• Quotations
• Life maps
• Rediscovery
• Causes/movements to get passionate about
• Visually beautiful bloggy things
• Things that keep me warm
• Caulk
• Chosen family
• Being unplugged
• Laughter
• Reliable car
• Reconnection
• Kittens
• Holiday tradition
• Opportunities
• Dawn
• Non-voyeuristic tendencies
• Small, simple offerings
• Taking the time off and doing something that's been on my wanna list for years - visiting the National Gallery of Art and spending as much time as I wanted there.
• While my car got towed during my engaging in said wanna above, I didn't let it ruin my day. I'm very grateful for no drama.
• I love my girlfriends, and I am eternally thankful for them. And I'm even more grateful that I got to spend an entire weekend with them.
• I'm grateful that it's a holiday week-good food, spending it with great friends and family, and then decorating for Christmas. Yay!!!
• I'm grateful for my clients, who are also my friends.
• I'm thankful for writing.
• Chico's
• Rainy, chilly days that go perfectly with eggnog spice latte from Starbucks
• Real eggnog is FINALLY in the grocery stores
• Bloody Mary-flavored Terra chips and Peace brand vanilla almond cereal--both from Whole Foods
• Mind melding with my cleitns
• Creating a presentation with Stacy. I love how we work together. :)
• Working on my short story - Big yays!!!
• Naps
• It's a weekend!!!
• The biggest advantage to a cloudy, rainy day is that I can light candles everywhere and SEE them. On bright sunny days, I can light all the candles I want, and I wouldn't really notice them.
• My children got all A's on their report cards.
• My standards are getting clearer - and stronger - with respect to relationships. 
• Self-care. It is SO hard for me at times, but I'm grateful that last night I recognized the need to get out of my own head, and off to Starbucks I trotted - alone.
• I am so freaking thankful that I am finished reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I hated it. Okay, so why read the whole thing? Because at the beginning it wasn't too bad, and I wanted to see if the author materially changed the original story. There were some things that the author added in (sexual jokes and lots of vomiting) that just weren't necessary, even to the zombie part of the story. What I've learned is that a parody or an adaptation of a classic I love does NOT work for me. So, no, I will not be reading Sense and Sensibility and Sea Serpents.
• I am even more freaking grateful that I've moved onto my beloved Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis. I read it every year around Christmas, and it's amazing how my energy shifted just changing from horrid Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and onto Miracle and Other Christmas Stories.
• I'm thankful for healthy children!
• Having amazing people in my life who are there for me. I'm truly lucky that I am loved and that I love in return. 
• Walking with Lee this morning. That was quite a hill!
• The physical ability to challenge my body.
• Always-on technology. I'm happy I can just pick up the phone, and even those far away in distance are just a voice note away.
• I have choice. 
• Funky energy days will pass. Tomorrow will be better. That's comforting, as well as something for which to be thankful.
• Christmas music. 
• Frank (I had to explain to my children that there's only one person in the world who gets to be referred to only by "Frank." Every other Frank requires a last name.)
• It may be a funky energy day, and I'm so thankful that it's nowhere near a wonky Dawn day.
• As I went through months of blog posts to find the link for "wonky Dawn" above, I skimmed some of my previous posts. I'm really very lucky to have the business, relationships, and foundation I have. 
• Earl Grey tea from Teavana
• A stunningly gorgeous red and gold teapot from which to drink delicious Earl Grey tea
• Following my energy. 
• Grandma
• Possibilities
• Chico's and purple. I get to combine the two of these pieces of gratitude into one piece of clothing. :)
• Energy and creativity.
• Gorgeous fall foliage
• Deer. Having moved my desk so that I can look out the window at said fall foliage and watch deer frolic on the playground
• Listening to the weatherman say, "We have a chance of showers today. Oh, I guess I'd better start being specific... rain showers." Oooooh, that's right! We could get snow this year!!! I'm hoping!
• Creativity
• Best friends
• Starbucks
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Camping
• Kids
• Who I am
• Where I live
• I can breathe
• I can walk
• I can hug
• I can love
• I can cry
• I can smile
• I can laugh
• Friends
• Veterans
• Being by myself without being lonely
• My family
• My faith
• Clients
• Marriage
• Mastermind group with AssistU VAs
• Meals on Wheels
• Volunteering