Attitude of gratitude

First off, as an online business I am compelled to plug a Cyber Monday deal: $5 off everything and free worldwide shipping in my Society6 store today!  You know you want this tote bag.

Secondly, Thanksgiving Weekend just ended for us United Statesians, which means a few different things: you're probably figuring out where to put all the stuff you bought on various Black Friday sales (I didn't go to any...I try not to, and especially not since I'm moving and have enough stuff to tidy up already!), you're probably still eating turkey and various turkey-related leftovers, and hopefully, it also means that you thought about things you're thankful for, i.e. the real meaning of the holiday, not just eating lots of food and buying cheap electronics.

Pre-Thanksgiving table setup at my mom's house this year.  Invisible chairs!

So here's a shortlist of things I'm thankful for...


- My family, friends, dogs, and all the nice people I know and have worked with over the past year...there's a lot of y'all, and you are awesome!

-  The ability to (albeit with great difficulty sometimes!) buy a house and move into it with my husband and stepson...this new place is much better suited to us, and we're going to have a lot of fun here over the years. (And we are NEVER MOVING AGAIN!  I say that every time, but seriously, this time we're really not.)

- Being able to still get by financially - a huge blessing.
   - And as a subset to that, all the little material/technological comforts we're able to have...it may seem like a small thing, but just to afford a cell phone and electricity and a computer and enough food in the fridge...it's a big deal, and people take it for granted.

- The various artistic (and theatre!) opportunities I've had over the past year: exhibitions, art shows, the open studio tour, and the connections I've been able to make, and hope to strengthen over this coming year.
   - Sub-heading under this one: I recently lost out on an opportunity (don't want to get into too many details), but it really turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  Under other circumstances I might have let the lost opportunity devastate me, but a little perspective (and a little sour grapes!) goes a long way.

- Being able to get back into the craft fair game, possibly very soon!  I had to drop out of a lot of shows during the fall season, due to schedule conflicts and just being too darn busy moving house, and that was a bummer.  But I've applied to a couple for the spring season, and I might even have one last pre-Christmas show coming up...watch this space.

- My health, and that of those I love.

-  Having the time/energy/wherewithal to dedicate myself more to art and my art business this year...it can be discouraging and hard to motivate myself sometimes, but it pays off!

- And, uh...chocolate.  One should always be thankful for chocolate.

I used to keep a gratitude journal a couple years ago...I've dropped off in the frequency that I write in it lately.  But I should start back up with it again, it really does help you put things in perspective.  What's everyone out there thankful for?  Drop me some comments about it!