30 Days of Gratitude – Days 29-30

Less than a month until 2018 and the ideas are already rolling around in my head of what the new year will bring. I’m going to finish out my days of gratitude here, and then stay tuned for a special edition of #ThursdayTeaBlog in a couple days.

THURSDAY! Top 5 Things I’m getting used to living in Italy!

Tea of the day: Peppermint Bark
Brand: RC Bigelow
Color: This holiday flavored tea has a typical brown color.
Taste: I took a sip of the tea and then had to check the ingredients because something unexpected was in there. The peppermint flavor is very present and so is the… licorice! Not a whole lot of the cocoa flavor came through in my opinion. I ended up adding my Peppermint Mocha Creamer to get more of a chocolaty flavor going.
Ideas for next time I have this: I’ll continue to drink this with the creamer. I’m not a huge fan of licorice flavor and it masks that while enhancing the chocolate taste.

29. What friend/family member are you grateful for today?

I’m grateful for my dad. We’ve come a long way the last few years, as I think many father/daughter relationships might. He’s always been there to support me and to push me, even when the last thing I wanted was to be pushed. I don’t think I’d be nearly half the woman I am today without him. He gave me a great example of what being a good husband (and sometimes a bad husband if I’m being honest) looks like so I could go find the person that makes me complete. When I think of having my own children some day, I can definitely see using some of his parenting strategies.

 

I love you Dad!

30. What talent or skill do you have that you are grateful for?

I’m grateful for my skill to be organized when I need to be, haha. I’m not always the most organized, and when the time calls for it, I can make organization happen! I think that’s the only way I was able to get through the entire wedding planning process. I make sure to write down details and ask lots of questions so I understand what to expect.

Recently, I’ve started a bullet journal. I’m using this to track ideas for blogs, an idea for a YouTube channel I have, and what episode I’m on for TV shows I watch.

I still use a traditional planner for long term planning and can probably fill out 2018 quite a bit right now. I can organize and plan THAT far ahead.

November is now over.

I’m still grateful for so many things that I didn’t include in the last few posts. Just because November is over doesn’t mean that gratitude goes away. Be grateful everyday. 🙂

If you’d like to do your own 30 days of gratitude, here’s where I found the prompts I’m using. And catch up! You’re late!

What are you grateful for? Leave me a comment!

*SOME LINKS ARE AMAZON AFFILIATES LINKS AND I MIGHT MAKE A LITTLE BIT IF YOU PURCHASE SOMETHING.

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30 Days of Gratitude – Days 22-28

Sorry this is uploaded a little later in the day. It’s been a busy week and just like that we are on our way to Christmas! Let me know if you have already put up your Christmas decorations!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We had 17 adults and 4 kids over to enjoy a delicious meal. Thanks to friends who brought some sides and pies, my husband for cooking our 24.5 lb turkey perfectly, and the MWR for letting us borrow some extra tables to squeeze everyone in and have a seat. We’re really starting to get this hosting thing down!

Tea of the day: Sweet Dreams
Brand: RC Bigelow (again, another part of a variety box I bought)
Color: The first color is a light green and the longer the tea steeps, the darker brown the liquid becomes. It’s quite beautiful.
Taste: This tea is a blend of chamomile and mint. The mint overpowers the chamomile taste a little bit, but is not as strong as the Mint Medley tea in terms of the mint flavor. Chamomile is a pretty mellow flavor so this wasn’t too surprising. The blend makes it a milder taste of mint and is very lovely.
Ideas for next time I have this: I may try this next with some lemon. It is very nice as a standalone though.

22. What story are you grateful for?

I’m really grateful for Matt’s and my story of how we met and made our relationship work. I think that it really shows that if you persevere, believe something is meant to be, and work together toward a common goal then anything is possible. When Matt and I first started our relationship, the odds were definitely stacked against us with immediate distance. Before we got married in June, we had spent a total of about 50 days together in person of the 15 months we had been together. It’s not always easy, and we are working together through everything as we continue to get to know each other.

You can read the longer story of how we met in my first 30 Days of Gratitude post (Day 7).

23. What tradition are you grateful for?

My favorite tradition that my family has is watching The Santa Clause on Christmas Eve. I’m pretty sure we’ve been watching it every Christmas Eve since it came out in 1994, so this tradition is 23 years old. By now, I can quote most f the movies, but every year there’s one little funny part or line that I forgot how funny it truly is.

As I grew up, I can remember some of the one-liners making more sense than when I watched as a kid. Like when Tim Allen doesn’t drink the milk and claims to be watching his saturated fats. Then the following year, Sara (the little girl) puts out soy milk instead. I had heard of soy milk when I was even a 10-year-old but by the time I was in high school, I understood his tongue-smacking to the nontraditional taste and laugh.

24. What challenge are you grateful for?

The biggest challenge that I’ve had so far when my family moved from California to Arizona. It was one thing to be in the middle of high school, let alone that I was in the middle of a school year!

When my parents mentioned they were looking at houses, I asked that we move either over winter break or wait until I graduated high school.I didn’t want to spend my entire senior year making friends. I’d rather have made some already. I don’t know if that made much of a difference.  We did move about six weeks later, two days after Christmas that year.

I didn’t have any fear that I wouldn’t make friends. I knew I was a social person and I was in activities like youth group at church, soccer, and softball. I made friends in my classes, joined the JV soccer team, sang in the choir, and played softball all in one semester. And senior year was pretty fun!

I was a little homesick for a bit and leapt in excitement when we went back to visit. Thirteen years later, I talk to only a few people from when I lived in California. I believe that experience and challenge helped me later when I moved to a new state for grad school and now being in Italy with Matt. I’m pretty confident that challenge proved that I’ll have friends wherever I go. So if I ever say “I don’t have any friends here,” I haven’t tried hard enough.

25. What moment this week are you most grateful for?

The moment this week that I’m most grateful for is when Matt and I went to dinner just the two of us. I had been to a restaurant I really liked and wanted to take him there to celebrate his promotion. We ordered a bottle of wine, got an appetizer, our entrees, and dessert. We got our wine poured and clinked glasses before drinking. THAT moment is my favorite. We were about to enjoy a celebratory meal together and everything about the moment was the definition of happiness. We smiled at each other during this moment and looked in each other’s eyes. I hope anyone who witnessed that moment could sense our love for each other and how happy we both were.

26. What form of expression are you grateful for?

Does cooking count!? I love cooking and it’s always been fun for me. One of my favorite channels is Food Network. It’s amazing even watching other people cook and seeing the ideas they come up with. It always makes me happy to cook something for someone that they really enjoy, whether it’s breakfast burritos for my best friend or honey sesame chicken for my husband.

And I always appreciate when others make food for me. ❤

27. What small thing that you use daily are you grateful for?

This is an easy one… my cell phone! Like most millenials, it is within reach of me at all times. Living 6,000 miles away from people I’m used to seeing or talking with on a daily or weekly basis is difficult, but not nearly as difficult as if I didn’t have a cell phone. I can message or call them on a variety of apps to stay in touch without feeling like I’m completely missing out. If I had to, I’d probably be writing letters, but the phone makes things so much easier!

28. What small thing that happened today are you grateful for?

Matt and I had thought about going to Paris for a weekend right before Christmas. Usually when he gets his mind set on something, he isn’t easily swayed toward another option… at least not quickly. As we were researching prices for flights, hotels, etc. it started looking like it would be super expensive so I started looking somewhere else for us to go that was more affordable. And today, he was swayed easily. So we are going to Barcelona! We booked our hotel and flights today!

If you’d like to do your own 30 days of gratitude, here’s where I found the prompts I’m using. And catch up! You’re late!

What are you grateful for? Leave me a comment!

*Some links are Amazon affiliates links and I might make a little bit if you purchase something.

30 Days of Gratitude – Days 15-21

It’s the week of Thanksgiving!! 😀 What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving?

If you didn’t know, this week is very special to my husband and I. You can read about it in my first 30 Days of Gratitude post. It’s been an even more exciting week with hearing news about getting my sponsorship all completed and my husband received news that he will be promoted to Petty Officer Second Class. Lots of smiles are filling our home, including the smile as a sip this week’s tea…

Tea of the Day: Country Peach Passion
Brand: Celestial Seasonings (again, this is from another sampler pack of fruit teas)
Color: This peach tea is pretty pale at first with a yellowish color.
Taste: WOW! You can totally taste the peach in this! It is fairly sweet without needing to add any sugar. The peach flavor is dominant and no other flavors are really present. It’s classified as a herbal tea, but there is no herbal flavor.
Ideas for next time: I wouldn’t add anything to this tea with its natural sweetness. I can see myself opting to use these bags to make a pitcher of iced tea in the summer time.

 

15. What season are you grateful for?

I’m grateful for the winter. I do rather enjoy the cold and seeing snow. I grew up in the Southwest region of the US and had to drive at least a few hours to experience snow. I grew up skiing though and love it to his day. I prefer to sleep when it’s colder because I am so grateful for blankets and this is the perfect time of year to use them! I love hot drinks (obviously, it’s a tea blog lol) and foods (soup anyone?). It’s just not the same to eat/drink them as much when it’s warmer. As much as I complain about my toes being cold, I have said for awhile that it’s easier to warm up than to cool down. I can only take off so many articles of clothing but I can keep layering. 😉

16. What about your body are you grateful for?

I’m not so much grateful for any particular part of my body as much as I’m grateful that I’ve been able to communicate with my body better. So, I’m grateful for my body’s communication? Haha. In all honesty though, over the last few years, I’ve paid more attention to how my body reacts to certain medications, foods, and environments. I can pick up quicker if I’m about to get sick so I can start fighting it sooner. I know which foods that I should stay away from and what the consequences are if I decide to indulge anyway.

Here’s a funny story and example of what I mean. I love Raising Cane’s! The sauce is so amazing and their chicken strips are just something completely out of all the other chicken strips’ league. BUT whenever I eat this glorious fried masterpiece, I have at least 3 pimples the following day. I don’t know what it is specifically about Raising Cane’s because I don’t particularly steer clear of fried and/or oily foods, but THIS makes me break out without a doubt. SO, I plan when I eat it around times when I know I don’t need to be camera ready in the next week or if I have something like a job interview where I really want to impress.

17. What knowledge are you grateful for?

I’m grateful for my knowledge in how to research things. I’m not talking about heavy duty, Nobel Peace Prize worthy research. I’m referring to research things that purely interest me. How long can I visit my husband before I need to return to the US (during the time before my visa comes in)? What foods are more beneficial for someone with PCOS? How do I start a business as a life coach to continue using my education while abroad? What job opportunities exist that I can do remotely?

This is just a handful of things that I’ve researched and used the knowledge to benefit my life. I’ve found supplements and foods that can decrease the symptoms of PCOS. I am familiar with the Schengen Area and it’s tourist rule for Americans. I know the steps to take to register my life coaching business. I’ve looked at various opportunities that I can do for “work” while living in Italy.

Also, this isn’t the kind of research where you google something and then click the first link. Google is great! And my first resource when I have a question or interest. However, I click on multiple links, compare/contrast information, read forums when others have asked the same question, and post when I find an answer to a question someone asked that I feel can be helpful.

18. What piece of art are you grateful for?

It’s not a piece of art per say, but it is art. I am grateful for the art of videography. Yesterday, Matt and I were blessed with the first draft of wedding video. And oh my goodness, it is beautiful. I could watch it a million times and this is just the first draft! It perfectly captured the day and all the emotion from getting ready to walking down the aisle to dancing to our sendoff. I’m so grateful that this technology exists. Our photos are gorgeous! But this video is really something else. 😉

Thank you Harley Bonham!

19. What touch are you grateful for today?

Today, I’m grateful for the touch of my husband’s lips when we kiss. It’s amazing the power one kiss can have. Marriage has been so fun but it does come with some challenges, and, lately, a lot of those challenges have been popping up as we adjust to each other. Our first time living together and the longest we’ve spent with each other continuously. Before September, the most days we had spent together in a row was 17. I think we were together a total of 60 days in the first 18 months of our relationship/marriage.

AND kisses from him are my way of knowing that we will get through whatever is thrown at us no matter what. Not one morning or night has gone by without a kiss, and there is plenty in between. 😉

20. Who in your life are you grateful for?

Am I allowed to say my husband? Lol. Truthfully, I am so grateful for him. I know I’m not perfect and I know what he has to put up with. I’m not an easy person all the time. And he doesn’t ever let that get in the way of making sure I know that he loves me. He’s seen the best of me and the worst of me, and he accepts that. He doesn’t try to change me. He communicates amazingly. And that is why I’m grateful for him. He’s really my other half, possibly my better half… but let’s not get too crazy.

21. What song are you most grateful for?

I have an odd obsession with Call My Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson. I loved it when it came out. I loved it when the Harvard baseball team put out their video. I loved it when service members put out a parody video the Miami Dolphins’ cheerleaders. It just makes me happy. 🙂 And it’s my go-to karaoke song when I can’t think of anything else I want to sing that night. I love it so much that it was on our must play list for the wedding and I excused myself from a conversation I was having to join my friends on the dance floor when it was played.

If you’d like to do your own 30 days of gratitude, here’s where I found the prompts I’m using. And catch up! You’re late!

What are you grateful for? Leave me a comment!

30 Days of Gratitude – Days 8-14

And just like that, the first week of the 11th month has passed and we are that much closer to 2018. A lot of time this week was spent talking about Thanksgiving plans and preparations. Definitely looking forward to that… and continuing to think about everything I’m grateful for. This week, I’m going to focus on what I’m thankful for regarding the prompts and what married life has brought me.

Also, please forgive any weird formatting. I’m writing this on my phone because I blew the fuses in our transformers and haven’t been able to charge my laptop. 😦 And the tea…

Tea of the day: Matcha Lemon

Brand: Yogi Tea. I’ve included a link below to a variety pack offered by Amazon also.

Color: GREEN! This is the greenest tea I’ve made myself. It’s not totally green, but more like a yellow-green.

Taste: It’s definitely has an herbal flavor and the lemon is totally there without being overpowering. It’s a great sipping tea, but probably not something I’d choose to drink everyday except for health reasons.

Ideas for next time I have this: I did add some honey for my second cup which add a pleasant sweetness, about a teaspoon to not overtake the lemon and natural herbal flavor. That’s probably how I’ll continue drinking it, and I’m open to suggestions!

Day 8 – What book are grateful for?

So, I haven’t actually read a book since I got to Italy but I do have a series that I’m very grateful for. If you know me in real life, you probably know what I’m about to write.

Harry Potter

I was two years behind in getting started with reading these books. It was 5th grade when I finally decided to pick one up and it was the first book that I didn’t mind continuing to turn the pages. I was quickly infatuated and intrigued! That same year, I had gotten in trouble because I had flat out not done a book report because I really wasn’t much of a reader. Those books probably saved me from a difficult time in English class for the years to come because I didn’t mind reading after that. To this day, it practically impossible to go into a bookstore and not find at least one thing that I want to pick up.

I have favorite authors (Meg Cabot and Nicholas Sparks to name two) so I keep up with them. And I’ll read just about any romantic young adult novel out there, haha.

Day 9 – What place are you grateful for?

In Italy, I’m grateful for pretty much this whole entire place. It’s absolutely incredible! One advantage of being affiliated with the military is being able to still have access to some of the pleasantries of home through the commissary and NEX.

The commissary has really been a blessing because we are having our second Thanksgiving in Italy with all the proper American side dishes. Who would have thought we’d be able to get a turkey in Italy!? Well, if not for the commissary, I don’t believe we would have.

And also, peanut butter. Peanut Butter isn’t really a thing here in Italy. They love Nutella, and their Nutella is better! But this girl needs peanut butter in her life and the commissary is the place to get it.

Day 10 – What taste are you grateful for?

Wine!! And Italy does it well. 😉

I’ve had the opportunity to visit a few wineries so far (and two more later this week!) and I’ve had some great vino.

My favorite, by far, is Tenuto Torciano. This winery was part of a wine tour we went on and it included a “wine tasting school.” The experience and staff was superb, and the wine is glorious. And don’t forget the truffle oil! A-MAZ-ING!

Day 11 – What holiday are you grateful for?

Before last year, I probably would have said Christmas. Who doesn’t enjoy waking up to Belgian Waffles and presents? And later on, Bloody Marys and mimosas? 😉

Now, I have to say Thanksgiving, and there’s a few reasons. Growing up, I liked your normal sides. Mashed Potatoes. Stuffing. Rolls. And that’s it.

A few years ago, Mom added sweet potatoes to her repertoire and oh… my… god! So amazing!

Also, Matt’s favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, and it’s not just that. He proposed to me on Thanksgiving 2016. That’s pretty special! And it’s the first REAL holiday we got to spend together. So yeah, it’s kind of our thing.

Day 12 – What texture are you grateful for?

WARNING! I may sound like a crazy cat lady in a moment. I have Ariel in my lap right now.

The texture I’m grateful for is Maya’s and Ariel’s fur. It’s so soft. And obviously if I can feel it that means they are close to me. It makes me so happy to feel something weighing down the blanket on the couch or comforter on the bed and then to reach out to feel them. I can’t read a cat’s mind, but I’m taking them being so close as their way of saying, “I love you. I am comfortable around you. You make a good pillow.”

Day 13 – What abilities are you grateful for?

This is another hard one. I’m going to go with the ability to cook. Especially now.

In Italy, we don’t have many fast food places and there’s pretty much no delivery. So you have to drive to get food and wait for it if you want to take it to go. And the concept of being too lazy to get food AND too lazy to make food doesn’t exist. You’re forced to do one or the other.

Between having a set of pots and pans, a crockpot, and this ability, we’ve had some really delicious dinners. And being married, there’s something really nice to having dinner with just my husband that we or one of us made.

Day 14 – What sight are you grateful for?

Recently, the sun. It’s been raining the better part of the week here, so when the sun is out, it’s a sight for sore eyes. Not literally, but you know what I mean.

Aside from that, I really love being able to wake up with the sight of my husband next to me each morning. We did long distance for so long, and it’s a welcome change. And I know how fortunate I am that his job in the Navy allows him to come home each night (well, morning right now) so this is possible.

If you’d like to do your own 30 days of gratitude, here’s where I found the prompts I’m using. And catch up! You’re late!What are you grateful for? Leave me a comment!

30 Days of Gratitude – Days 1-7

Happy November!

I was scrolling through Pinterest trying to figure out how to make this blog stand out and what options I have for blogging. I stumbled upon some 30 Days of Gratitude posts and it hit me! Rather than blog each and every day (because do you really want to read what I’m writing that often? If you do, let me know!), I’ll do them one week at a time. And include some pictures. Aren’t you feeling lucky? But first…

Tea of the day: Mint Medley
Brand: RC Bigelow (again, another part of a variety box I bought)
Color: Pretty light. It’s practically clear.
Taste: This tea tastes exactly like what I imagined mint-infused water to taste like. It’s very nice and not overpowering. The smell was a little strong but the strength of the taste is much more calming.
Ideas for next time I have this: I really can’t think of how else I would drink this. Maybe combined with another tea. Perhaps something with lemon or strawberry.

1. What smell are you grateful for?

Really?! Right off the bat? This is such a weird question! Haha, if I’m being honest it’s probably the smell of bacon at home. WAIT! Before you start shaming me for either meat-loving or having an “easy” answer, listen… or read.

Every Christmas since I can remember my family has had a Christmas brunch. When I was younger, that meant waking up to the smell of bacon and knowing other delicious goodies were downstairs, like homemade Belgian waffles. The bacon smell is the most overpowering of everything being prepared. Then, my husband was visiting me after A School. He was my boyfriend at the time. He decided to make dinner… grilled cheese with bacon. The first thing I smelled was the bacon!

So I’m grateful for the smell of bacon at home (NOT in a restaurant) because it means that someone has spent time and love into making me a delicious meal. Bacon is not a mandatory part of these love meals, but when I walk in and smell it, I know without a doubt that someone loves me. It’s not that I LOVE bacon (I mean, I do, let’s not get crazy here). I love the thought and time someone puts into making a meal for me when it happens… and happens to include bacon.

2. What technology are you grateful for?

Again, probably another cliché. I never thought I’d be so grateful for FaceTime. Matt and I met at a point in our lives where we did not live close to one another. And we wouldn’t live close to one another for over a year! I 100% contribute our relationship’s success in the beginning stages to FaceTime. Everyday until we met in person, we would FaceTime before Matt went to bed and for hours on the weekends.

After he left for Italy, we would FaceTime so I could see where he lives, meet some of his friends, see our fur babies, and “be” together in the closest way possible to actually physically being together. Being able to see someone’s facial expressions, their laughter, and that they aren’t crafting the perfect text message back built more trust in our relationship than I ever thought it would.

For all that, I’m thankful for FaceTime. And the ability to screenshot some pretty goofy pics!

3. What color are you grateful for?

This is a simple one… PURPLE! No particular rhyme or reason here. I just love the color. It’s gorgeous. The color of royalty. And I didn’t like pink like girls are “supposed to.”

4. What food are you most grateful for?

This is a HARD one! If I have to choose one, I might have to choose pizza because of the variety! There’s your classics: cheese and pepperoni. Endless toppings you can mix and match. And now, different sauces! BBQ Chicken Pizza was my FAVORITE for a long time. Lately, I’ve been really into Hot Wing Pizza. And the pizzas with salads on them aren’t bad! And dessert pizza?! Get out of town! You could probably go your entire life and have a pizza for whatever mood you’re in and never duplicate exactly what you have had before if you don’t want to. Now I want a pizza…

5. What sound are you grateful for?

The sound I’m grateful for is the sound of the front door being unlocked. These days, I spend a lot of time at home… drinking tea… no joke. I’ve had like 5 cups of tea today already. So when I hear the door unlock that means Matt is home. And unlocking the front door is LOUD haha. I can hear it from upstairs.

I’m taking a second sound for this one. The sound of a text on my phone. Again, I’m home a lot and the majority of my friends are living in a world 8 or 9 hours behind me. So around 3:00 PM is when it’s finally a normal hour that we can chat. Similar to my answer for #2, I’m so grateful for technology that I can still maintain my friendships from thousands of miles away and that little *ding* is what let’s me know I’m not completely out of touch and just a message away.

6. What in nature are you grateful for?

When it comes to nature, I’m grateful for water! It’s so beautiful. As a kid and teenager, I loved going to the beach. I’m totally looking forward to beach season next summer! And it adds so much to different landscapes whether it’s a canal, lake, shoreline, or waterfall. Even rain is beautiful.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy

West Point Lake, West Point, NY

7. What memory are you grateful for?

WARNING! I’m gonna get sappy. I’ve told a few people about the first time that Matt and I met, and to be honest, it’s a moment that could have gone totally wrong and went so right.

Matt and I met online and didn’t have an opportunity to meet for a month. He was in San Antonio, TX and I was in Gilbert, AZ. Referencing #2 again (Yay for FaceTime), we built a relationship that I was incredible. We really got to know each other because we could actually talk without the distraction of physicality. So a month later, I decided to rent a car and drive from New Orleans to San Antonio to meet him for the first time.

A lot of people thought I was crazy. What if he didn’t turn out to be who I thought he was? Yeah, I’ve seen Catfish. I know that was possible and it ran through my head constantly while we were getting to know each other to the point where we said “I love you.”

I get to San Antonio, check into the hotel down the street, then drive to the Visitor Center at Lackland Air Force Base to wait for Matt to sponsor me on base. The ten seconds between seeing him in the sideview mirror to getting out of the car was the most nerve wrecking ten seconds I’ve EVER experienced. Everything I had built up in my head and heart was about to be confirmed or come crashing down with all the disappointment possible in the entire world. I was pretty sure if things went right that I had met the person I wanted to be with the rest of my life. And if he wasn’t, I’d give up. The stakes were high people!!

Finally, I got the courage to step out of the car and smile at him. “Hi.” That’s all he said. I don’t even remember what lame greeting came out of my mouth. Then he smiled, kissed me, and hugged me… and the whole world made sense. I’ve never felt so immediately comfortable with someone and like I had known them for so much longer. I felt like we had actually spent time together and were meeting again.

That memory is what I’m most grateful for. Knowing that the most genuine person I’d ever crossed paths with was real and that he was mine.

Our first picture together. March 19, 2016

If you’d like to do your own 30 days of gratitude, here’s where I found the prompts I’m using. And catch up! You’re late!

What are you grateful for? Leave me a comment!