100 Awesome Things

I was planning to write this post yesterday, but I got caught up in doing other things, but today I am writing with the goal of writing a post just about every day for the foreseeable future. Since e are kicking off November, which many people consider to be thankfulness month, I thought I'd start off by writing down 100 awesome things in my life, big, small and in between. 

1. My husband. I really don't know how I got so lucky. I mean, how many men do you know that will willingly clean, do laundry, spoil the dog rotten, keep up with the budget, work an extra job so that we can do more fun things, and continually help around the school of their teacher wife, all while doing everything in his power to help her stay happy, healthy, and sane? 
2. My job. I love my students and my coworkers. Every day they bring a smile to my face. 
3. My friends and actually getting to see and spend time with them on a regular basis. 
4. My parents, who feed us dinner once a week, support our decisions and help us out whenever possible. 
5. My dog, who is the best little puppy anyone could ask for, not to mention insanely cute. 
6. My horses, who I am hoping to have more time to spend with in the near future. 
7. Tutus. Is there anything cuter?
8. Spare change, because when it is saved strategically, it can be used to afford things you didn't think you could. 
9. My craft room, which I'm hoping to get back into and to finish organizing this month.
10. Pinterest, which gives me a thousand craft ideas.
11. My grandparents, who love us and work to help us out on a daily basis, not to mention spoil Sage rotten. 
12. This blog, as a place to share thoughts and ideas and connect with the rest of the world.
13. Wine, and all the culture that goes with it. 
14. Cheese, I freaking love cheese!
15. Coffee. I can finally drink the stuff again and I forgot how much I love it. 
16. The farmer's market. I love that I can support local businesses.
17. Krushed and Kreated, our little craft business that helps us to bring in extra money. 
18. Etsy, which gives us a place to sell our crafts all over the world. 
19. Pizza. So many options, so little time. 
20. Rafe Esquith, who is one of my teaching heroes and who's books give me the idea that I'm not completely screwing up. 
21. Vegetables, and the ability to cook them so that they taste really good. 
22. Baseball, which is the only sport I can sit through a game of. 
23. Babies, and that our family has been blessed with several of them over the last year. 
24. Random acts of kindness, shown to me on the part of others in small and large ways over the years.
25. Music, and its ability to capture and inspire. 
26. The resilience of children and their ability to overcome impossible odds. 
27. Good neighbors that look out for each other. 
28. Boy Meets World and the many life lessons it taught with humor and sincerity. 
29. My bread machine and the opportunity to produce many tasty homemade goodies. 
30. Memories and the many ways that are available to me as a means of preserving them. 
31. Dreams and having the courage to chase them. 
32. Education, and the opportunity to learn something new every day. 
33. Cooking and the ability to create something amazing and appreciated from start to finish.
34. Any recipe made with cheese, wine or beer. 
35. Creative ideas for the classroom and the ability to implement these ideas. 
36. Compliments from stingers. They don't know me, they don't have to like me, and therefore I know they mean it. 
37. Disney based art. All of a sudden there's more and more of it and it is so cool. 
38. Parties and getting to plan a fun time for others. 
39. My emersion blender. I use it all the time for soup, smoothies and about a million other things. I works great an takes up almost no space in the cabinet. 
40. Thrift stores. I went yesterday and spent $37. I got a Ralph Lauren shirt, an Ann Taylor sweatsuit set, two nice collared shirt, a long sleeve shirt, a skirt, a pair of shorts with the tags still on them and had a lot of fun doing it. Definitely not something to turn your nose up at. 
41. Casual dates with Brad. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy going out for dinner, but going to the grocery store is just as if not more fun. 
42. Food art. I know it can be a lot of work, but there's not much cooler than cupcakes shaped like pandas or apples cut to be kermit the frog.
43. Cupcakes. As Kid Preseident says, "You can't be sad when you're holding a cupcake. 
44. Gay marriage and that it's finally legal in Virginia. My cousin finally gets to marry his longtime partner. And just think of how much this could stimulate our economy. 
45. Goats. Goats have got to be one of the cutest animals ever I want a few. 
46. Gretchen Rubin, who's book, "The Happiness Project," inspired me to reevaluate my own life and happiness and start this blog. 
47. Angels in our everyday lives, who come to our rescue and remind us that the world is a good place. 
48. History and the understanding it brings to our present. 
49. Horse based knowledge competition and the benefits they provide young horse people bot in and outside of the horse world. 
50. My gratitude journal and the serenity it brings me each day I use it. 
51. Free stuff if you know how to track it down and get it. 
52. Hugs. They've actually done studies on this. Happier people give and receive more hugs daily than unhappy people. 
53. The permission to be imperfect. I give this to myself and those around me and it is truly liberating. 
54. Childhood toys that you hold onto. I don't have many, but the ones I do have I don't want to give up anytime soon. 
55. Really good Chinese food. 
56. Parents who try to inspire imagination in their children, instead of bombarding them with technology. 
57. American Girl Dolls. 15 years later I still love these toys. 
58. Children finding their voices for the first time. 
59. Kid héros, and their ability to make the world better at a young age. 
60. Summer vacation. I love my job, but this is a perk of being a teacher. 
61. Lottery tickets and the rare occasions where we splurge and dream for a little while. 
62. Crazy mane styles people put on their horses. You have to appreciate their creativity. 
63. Children's books, and the fact that there are some things you never outgrow. 
64. Shakespeare and the timelessness of his works.
65. Our unbuilt house and getting to dream about it. 
66. Local restaurants and the fact that Lynchburg has a lot of good ones. 
67. Old cars. I'm not even a car person, but anything vintage and in good shape makes me drool. 
68. Sewing patterns and the knowledge that following them will allow me to make really neat stuff. 
69. Popcorn. So many options, so tasty, and not really that bad for you. 
70. The quiet conversation of life that takes place between those truly in love. 
71. Random useless facts that it's still really cool to know. 
72. Bonus family, and our ability to chose to have them in our lives. 
73. Our mission to be debt free by the time we're 30. 
74. Rescued animals and their obvious gratitude. 
75. Rubber duckies. Not exactly functional, but insanely cute. 
76. Jewelry with a story. 
77. Therapy animals and their ability to heal. 
78. Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg and the history it had preserved. 
79. Really fabulous shoes. 
80. The ability to continue improving one's self. 
81. Daylight savings and the magic of an extra hour once a year. 
82. Really cool barns you just can't help but drool over. 
83. Really amazingly created fictional characters. 
84. Creativity and the multitude of ways we can express it. 
85. Weddings and the fact that so many of our friends are going to get to experience the joy of marriage over the next year. 
86. Farm kids, and the wisdom our lifestyle bestows upon us. 
87. Being continually surrounded by good men in my life. 
88. The horse community and its ability to bring people from many walks of life together for a common interest. 
89. My extended family and the fact that we are all close and get along. 
90. Alternative ways of wrapping gifts for those of us with wrapping paper challenged. 
91. The ability to let things go. 
92. Fitness and the ability to start over. 
93. Soup. Cheap, hot and delicious? Count me in!
94. The sound of rain on the metal roof of our house. 
95. The home I grew up in and the values I was taught. 
96. Hands and the effort they put into creating so many things in our world. 
97. Patchwork quilts and the history they can represent. 
98. Tattoos and the stories they tell. 
99. Hekping students to reach their goals. 
100. Gardens and our ability to grow small miracles. 

What's on your 100 awesome things list?