Practical Thanks

I'm thankful that I actually like working out. I still would even if I didn't, but enjoying it sure helps!

No Giving It Up

I'm thankful that the whole not giving up thing is so contagious, and I'm even more thankful that I keep picking it up from my own self. See, I've just realized today that the more I take certain risks, the more I'm willing to fight for something, the easier and the more natural the decision not to give up next time comes to me, the more determined I am to succeed. Totally awesome how this thing seems to work!

Unzipped

I'm thankful for yet another funny episode at work (some of the previous ones included me having chocolate stains on my butt, me ending up being bare legged at work and wearing plastic bags). It took me 5 (FIVE!!) hours to realize why my booties felt so loose all of a sudden - turns out, I forgot to zip them before leaving for work and have been walking around the office in undone shoes for more than half a working day. I'm thankful for it, because when I noticed it made me laugh and lifted my mood instantly. I'm still giggling!

P.S. Zipped shoes feel so good on my feet... I think I'm thankful for the feeling of zipped shoes too then!

Creative Outlet

I'm thankful for the kind of a great creative outlet this project has been for me. I used to write on the go all the time because my mind just needed it, and this blog has managed to concentrate most of my writing in one place, giving it all a mutual purpose. I guess I kind of missed my past writing habits, but I'll soon be able to get right back to them and who knows, maybe somethign good will come out of it too.

Know What Your Heart Is For

I'm thankful that I know what my heart is for. You know, just thinking now that so many people are scared of their own feelings and emotions... I'd say, if you have it, make use of it!

Simply

I'm just simply thankful for today. For simply being alive, for being able to plan my day and to go about my simple day filled with good news and fulfilled expectations. I'm thankful for the simple day that was simply out of the ordinary - just like every day should be.

Not Your Average Young Girl

I'm thankful for having some very unusual and unexpected life experiences (the memories are fantastic) that are not so common among people from my walk of life and definately not common among people my age. My favorites would have to be me assisting in helping a cow deliver her calf baby and my pilgrimage trip through a few Russia’s holy towns (especially so since I am not religious at all). Yes, I'm pretty crazy if you're wondering (I'm smiling as I type this). Any unusual experiences you're willing to openly share on the internet? No?

Communication

I'm thankful that I've learnt how important it was to communicate my desires, ideas and needs. If you don't ask for something or suggest something, you'd never know if it was possible to get it or have it happen. Hearing an occasional "no" is nothing compared to an opportunity that might as well change your life if you just go for it. Plus, other people are really not supposed to read your mind at all times... Even I would only do so sparingly... Oh yes, I can read a thought or two if I absolutely have to, ha!..

Genes

I'm thankful for my genes. When I think of the personality traits me and my parents have in common, I always feel like I've only taken the best my mom and dad had to offer in terms of temper, habits and such. The mix makes me a very contradictory person at times, but I kind of like this about myself, so I really don't mind. I'm also thankful I didn't inherit some of their traits I personally don't like, ha.

Body Modification

Thinking of it now, I'm thankful I'd gone through the phase of being into getting body piercings when I was still a teen. It would be much harder to pull off some of the "looks" now taking into consideration my office job. Nevermind that it's illegal to get those if your under 18 without your parent's permission, I actually think it was wise of me to be done and over with it back then.

Laundry Service

So, as finding the good in the bad is one of my specialties, here I'm bringing to you yet another of my silver linings. I was just wondering yesterday what I'd be missing about living at home once I move out... I have no problem with supporting myself, with cooking, cleaning, being on my own, buying groceries etc.- the kind of things a lot of my friends like to rely on their moms to do. One thing I'm not so used to doing is laundry. Whenever I want to wear something and it needs to be washed I'd just go and wash it with my hands - no probem with it either. But for some reason I never really had to even plan any grand laundry days, this is something mom has always done on her own. Thus, while I still can, I am thankful for not doing the laundry.

If you want to find some good in something bad of your own, come ask me and let's figure it out together!

Maxi

I was wearing a maxi dress today, and each time I had to lift or hold it with my hand or even both my hands to help me go up or down the stairs I just felt so feminine, so graceful... Lately I've just been increasingly appreciative of simpler little things like that.

Childhood Memories

When I was little my family had a dacha in Belarus, where me, my then non-working mom, my brother and my grandparents used to spend all summers long (my father would visit us whenever he could get away from work and make his way to basically another country). Our piece of land there was prosperous and the soils were rich - all sorts of nature's creatures lived and growed there in abundance. Nearby we had ponds with water lillies and frogs, and we had woods with numerous kinds of trees and all sorts of wild forest berries and mushrooms waiting to be picked up, and wild forest animals waiting to be discovered or maybe even hunted down... On our own lot we had various juicy fruits and garden berries that we would eat right from the trees and bushes, we had luscious flowers of all colors growing there too - I even had a beautiful pink rose planted in my name (my brother had a little oak tree planted for him). So many living things were there for us to enjoy also, I remember my favorites were friendly little grass snakes, the harmless kind with bright yellow spots on their heads - I was always fascinated with them and would touch and gently poke them on the head with my fingers, and they wouldn't mind that at all!

It all sounds just like a fairytale, doesn't it? Most of my childhood memories have to do with this amazing place, and maybe its wonderfullness is what deserves all the credit for making me remember myself and my surroundings so well since I was about 3 years old.

This is what I'm thankful for.

Facebook Notes

I love writing my notes on Facebook. I love everything about it - from the moment I get an idea of what to write about to this very moment when I am about to click "publish"... I swear my heart almost stops for a moment!..

.

Now I guess I need to explain what the fuss is all about - after all, what's so special about posting stuff on Facebook, you may ask. For me, it is kind of special and a kind of big deal - my notes are personal and often representative of my creative writing style and a lot of times each such note reveals a part of me not many know. This is why. This is why I'm thankful for my own way of writing Facebook notes!

.

P.S. And this is also the reason why I take my personal Facebook account seriously. Should you want to connect via Facebook though, feel free to keep in touch via The 'Thank You' Project's FB page.

Best of Both Worlds

I'm thankful that whenever I read something on gender differences I feel like I'm not really your usual woman, but nor really a man either - I really do understand where both are coming from most of the time. I'm guessing I was definately a man in my previous life, and my past life memory is still going strong, ha ha.

No Hate

I'm so thankful I don't feel hate any more. Hate is a very strong word, and it's nothing to be proud of, but some 8 years ago I used to hate an ex best friend of mine with a passion. She deserved it though, and I even wrote a little hate poem to her back then. She never got to hear it, and never did I even share it with anyone - I guess it was my own outlet of those poisonous emotions. But here's the poem, just for the laughs of it, because it does make me smile now - it feels really good not to have felt anything like that for so long, and I am thankful that feeling such genuine hatered at a tender age of 14 or so didn't turn me into a vindictive dark little person.

.

I hate you when you speak,

I hate you when you're silent.

You always make me sick,

B***h, you make me violent.

.

Now c'mon laugh with me!.. Ha

Being a Woman

There are more than one disadvantage to it, but at the end of the day I can't help but love being a woman. It's true, all true - sometimes I don't let things go and try to hold on, sometimes I need too much and want to depend on you, sometimes I get emotional, get vulnerable and sometimes I'm just out of control. But if you really think of it, my vulnerability is exactly what makes me a woman, and no matter how much I'd like to experience being a man for a day, I wouldn't have it any other way long term. I'm thankful for being a woman, for enjoying to show my appreciation of being a woman and for being the kind of woman that I am.

FootbalLOVErsary

This summer marks my and the Netherlands' 10th footballoversary - 10 blissful years of my love and unconditional support of their beautiful play! It was year 2000 and the European Cup when I first saw the Dutch at play and fell in love with their graceful football, and it was them who inspired my interest in football and established my sophisticated football taste.

They set a high standard of the style of play for all the future football clubs I saw at play, and the only other team that was able to steal my heart was FC Barcelona. Keeping in mind this year's Spain VS Netherlands final and how many Barca players there are in the Spanish national team, today's final game is all the more remarkable to me. I hoped for this final and as much as I love Barcelona, when it comes to national teams my heart belongs to Holland. And no matter the outcome of the match, today I'm giving thanks for and celebrating my love of outstanding football. Happy 10th Footballoversary, the Netheralnds!

Tricks, Tactics & Technics

I'm thankful for a) having a brother and b) for my brother's not so easy personality type. See, I'm not married and I don't have a live-in boyfriend but I still get to learn the essential skill of how to live with a man on a pretty much daily basis. Having tried so many different tricks, tactics and technics already, I know how to get things done my way while still staying on the friendliest of terms. I can truly say I've mastered the skill better than I could have hoped for by this time, and I swear I'm better at it than my mom already. Looks like I'm definately not lying when I say I love to learn all sorts of things, ha!.. Knowledge is power, people.

"There is no knowledge that is not power" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Life Saver

You're gonna be laughing... I'm so thankful for my incredible everlasting positive attitude!!! I don't know how I do it, but even through the darkest times I manage to remain optimistic and this is how I keep saving myself... from myself.