A Month of Thanksgiving: Days 13-30.

When I began this project, I intended on sharing something each day, or at least every other day. It has (obviously) not worked out as I had planned. Oh well! Still going to complete the project because let's be real, I have much more than 30 things to be grateful for, so it isn't a difficult list to compile.

I am thankful for:

- Evelyn's silly laugh that can make all the adults laugh, too.

- Evelyn has babies her age to grow up with while we're all on island.

- Watson the Raccoon; he's an interactive stuffed animal that says little statements when you say the cue words in the storybooks.

- The hugs that Evelyn was giving Watson this morning. So. Cute.

-  Snail mail! Dan and I haven't been able to talk since a few days after he arrived in country, so I'm glad that snail mail still exists and that we haven't forgotten how to hand write stuff.

- Succulents. I don't have any here but I once went to the nursery with my Mom, and she got me a hen & chicks plant. I thought it was beautiful but I think I ended up killing it. I just saw a picture of a succulent plant and it made me think of that beautiful plant I once had.

- Itty-bitty camelbak bottles. Evelyn always liked to steal mine so I just got her her very own mini version. It is pink and it has zinnias on it.

- Free towing when your spouse is deployed. Less than a month into the deployment and I already had to use this perk. Yep. Tonight as I was trying to leave the BX, I felt that something was very off and sure enough, my tire was completely drained, sitting right on the rim.

- Online shopping! I can't imagine having to order something from a catalog that would have to be sent from the States to Okinawa so that I could mail it to Afghanistan. Oofta.

- Friends that sat with me until the tow truck arrived, then one friend put my jogging stroller in her car while the other one drove me home. Saints. (I just drive around with the jogging stroller in my front seat because it is easier than taking it in and out each day. It probably looks quite silly.)

- Best friends with medical-related knowledge, and best friend's boyfriends who happened to be an athletic trainer in the past.

- Scrabble, thanks to Facebook. I'm workin' on my game so when Dan gets home, I can whoop his butt. Though let's be real, even if I play everyday for months and he doesn't play at all, he'll still probably whoop me. He's very skilled.

- Christmas trees. I cleaned my bedroom this week and rearranged it just so that I could put our tree up. The glowing lights make my heart happy. I also have a little miniature tree that sits next to my TV.

- Applying for my last loan of my undergraduate career. It should take care of the last six classes I need -- yahoo!!

- Our weather. It has kind of hit me that when I go home, I won't be going out and taking walks or going running in shorts and a t-shirt, or pants and a t-shirt. I'll be walking or running inside ... on a treadmill. Unless I want to put on a snowsuit and trudge through the snow. There isn't any snow yet (at least a major amount) but I'm assuming that by the time I'm there, it'll be a normal Minnesota / Midwest winter. And by normal I mean horrible.

- Weather back home. It may be very, very, very cold when I go home, but it will make me appreciate a Christmas with SNOW. It'll also help me appreciate our weather here (see above) once I get back, and I'm nice, warm, and cozy.

- Great doctors. Evelyn had her 1 year well baby visit this week (Tuesday) and the doctor was marvelous. He was very kind and approachable and did not make me feel like a crazy person for asking 101 "you're totally a new mom" questions.

- Lime tortilla chips.