I am thankful for a lot this year (2019 edition)

What are you thankful for? Here are 31 things I am thankful for. My goal for this last month is to write meaningful posts starting with this one in no particular order… Also not going to lie… I cried a lot while writing this. Enjoy. 

It’s the last month of the year and I can’t believe we have made it. It feels like I was just celebrating New Year’s Eve. It’s now December in the blink of an eye. Blogging did not happen much in November. I had all my ideas planned out but never executed them. 

Thankful for family near and far

This year my sister and nephews moved away to South Carolina. It makes me sad, but also happy because now I can take adventures in South Carolina. This year I also got to visit my cousin Deborah in New Jersey. It didn’t end the way I wanted but I enjoyed the late-night conversations we had about our mothers and the laughs we had getting to know each other. She is not just my cousin, she has become one of my best friends.

I am thankful for Friends

I don’t have many and I know that. As of right now, I have “friends” and I have FRIENDS. There is a difference between the two. Those few friends I have mean the world to me. I hope they know I will be there for them no matter what. I hope to find a few more quality people to spend my life with.

Bills being paid

I can appreciate this one more than just this year. For almost 4 years we have not had our electric shutoff, cellphones shut off or internet shut off. Looking back at the past 4 years we have really become more financially responsible. It also helps that we make more money than the minimum wage at the hotel. 7.67 was hard to live on. It has made me appreciate the purchases we have been able to make, while all the bills are paid for when they are due.

Waking up next to the love of my life

We have been together for 7 years and we have had our ups and downs. There have been blowout fights and some little tiffs, but I wouldn’t change a thing, because, in the end, we choose each other. We choose to overcome those hard times and because of that, I think that’s why we have lasted as long as we have. This is the longest relationship I have had and the most mature.

Mike was the first guy that I said from the get-go in 2012 I will not play games at all and I haven’t. Even when people said too. He is my best friend in the whole wide world and I will never lie or keep things from him. I could write a whole blog post about him. He gets on my nerves sometimes, but he never asks me to change. I kinda like him for that. Love you, Mike!

Coffee… iced or not

This may seem stupid to some, but to those who understand. We need to be friends. No one needs that type of negativity in their life. HAHA. I am an avid coffee drinker. Since I could remember it was hot coffee with the occasional cold brew. I am thankful I learned how to make cold brew coffee at home. It has been 5 months of me living on it and now I am back to hot coffee. So much money has been saved making this delicious coffee at home.

I am thankful for this blog

Sadly I haven’t been blogging as consistent like I have wanted to. The truth is I would rather not post anything than push out something half-assed. I would feel terrible if I pushed out some crappy posts and called it a day. That would be the easy way out and I have done it a couple of times. That can’t be done anymore because I want to be different and offer a unique perspective. The perfectionist in me doesn’t like I did that. Spending way too much time inside my head overthinking things. If I write something that just doesn’t click with my heart and soul I can’t publish it.

One of my goals is to solve real-life problems or make you laugh while learning something. I have a whole notebook full of ideas, but no unique way to write about them without sounding like a repetitive robot. If you guys stick around and let me get in my rhythm I know you won’t regret it. I appreciate all of you who take the time to read my blog and leave comments. I respond to all of them. So don’t stop.

I am thankful for Good music

It has been the only thing I have ever been able to depend on consistently in my life from a young age. No matter how I am feeling, music doesn’t judge me. Growing up being bullied and not having a good home life, music is what I turned to, to escape my reality. Many many nights were spent in my room while my mother and her boyfriend were arguing. Trying to escape reality I would listen to music and pretend I was the artist who sang the song and performs a concert in my room.

Another coping mechanism was to play out my love story to songs I thought would be perfect if my life was a movie. I daydreamed a lot about a different life. I owe music my life. When you find that perfect song that describes how you are feeling and you find comfort in not being alone. ( god writing this one made my eyes watery)

I am thankful for karaoke

This goes hand in hand with good music. While I grew up performing my own concerts in my room alone. Karaoke let me do it for real. Requests have been made for me to sing songs people want to hear while at karaoke. Sometimes they would even pay me money to sing their request. I entered contests and have won. I also have lost. It has been the surrounding thing that brought my friends and me together.

Although, some of us are not that close anymore. It makes me so happy when I hear a song sung by me or my friends and it reminds me of a time when life was hard, but those karaoke nights with friends made life worth living. There is so much I cherish about those nights and keep them close to my heart. (There are videos on my YouTube Channel)

I am thankful for the lows

All of the lows I have had in my life made me the person I am today. Growing up I was so angry. Angry that I had a shitty life and I was poor. I was overweight. I was angry about everything. Now as I get older I try to put myself in other’s shoes. I will help anyone who needs it because not many helped me when I needed it.

I know its not anyone’s responsibility to help, but man does it impact a person when someone does. In the lows, you lose the most important thing you can have in this world. You lose hope. When you lose that you can still come back, but it’s harder.

Lessons I have learned

I have been screwed over and I screwed over people. Neither one is good for anyone. I have learned a lesson in life, love, and business. Because of all these lessons learned I am a different person. Now, I am more in touch with my intuition and trust my gut instinct fully. Also, I never regretted a decision I have made even if it is good or bad. I always look for the silver lining and learn the lesson for future decisions.

The biggest lesson I learned was from the hotel owner. I used to get so angry at guests when they would lash out at me. The lesson he taught me was “it takes two hands to clap”. You may be thinking what the hell does that mean? It means if one person is yelling and making noise, no one else will hear it unless someone else responds.

If two people are yelling and making noise people will notice and look. They may also jump in and it makes more noise. If one person is calm while the other is yelling you could calm that person quicker than flying off the handle. I live by those words every day.

The trash taking itself out

I have written posts about toxic people and situations. Sometimes you have to remove it yourself other times the toxic shit removes itself. I cherish those moments too because sometimes it’s hard to make the first move and distance yourself from people and situations. I do a life audit every few weeks to make sure I am on track with my goals. Thank you to those who have removed themselves from my life. You have taught me something about myself.

All things the internet shows me

Oh, the internet can be a gift and a curse. People can be really cruel behind a screen. I choose to ignore that type of toxic crap. I enjoy all that the internet has to offer. We make friends, we learn new skills, we share happy moments in life, we can share hard moments in life. The internet brings people together. I have learned how to “semi” do makeup, I have learned how to dress for my body type. You can also learn how to DIY something. Fixing my car has become easy. We can all learn something from someone.

If I am unhappy… I can change it

This is a big one. I spend many many years unhappy. I was unhappy with my love life, my weight, my job. Once I learned to stop blaming others or letting others tell me what I should do or not do. My world changed. I am the only one who controls my narrative. If I am unhappy with something I have the power to change it. I don’t like my job. I look for another one that could make me happier. If I think I am to fat, I change can change the way I eat and exercise. It is all in my hands. You do you, baby!

I am thankful for my cats

My precious cats. I never thought I could love an animal as much as a family member. We somehow have found the perfect cats. They love us unconditionally no matter what we do. Tubby went from hating me and Mike to having separation anxiety when his owner died. Mike’s grandfather poppy. This cat cant sleep in our bed unless he is touching both of us. He loves kisses on the forehead and being cuddled almost close to smothering.

Mo-mo is my big fluffy monster. Since he is Maine Coon, he talks to us when he is hungry and when we come home like he is telling us he missed us. He loves his feet and belly rubbed. He is my little baby who loves to be carried around.

Chewie somehow grew into her name. She was named Baby Chewie reminding us of Star Wars, but now it means she chews on everything. Our floors have to be spotless. She is 4 years old now and is finally becoming more cuddly. She is a moody teenager, only wants to be touched if she wants to and if you annoy her you get love bites. This house would be so boring if it was just Mike and I. They bring a joy no human ever could to our home.

I am thankful for letting go

I have let go of a lot of baggage over the years. Baggage from my past that I thought would burden me for all my life. As I get older I realize certain shit doesn’t have to keep me down. Once I let go of the baggage my mother and father left me with, the baggage of failed relationships ( thinking I was unlovable), and in general the weighted baggage, my life became fuller with things that mattered. I have a loving relationship with Mike and have 2 step kids, a home, a car. I am able to do more now than I ever was growing up.

Saying yes more

My new year’s resolution for last year was to say yes more and I have. I took my first plane ride, quit my job, started a blog. Saying yes to more experiences rather than stuff and because of that my life has changed for the better. I quit the excuses for not doing things because of money or fear. Taking those 2 reasons out of the equation and I was left with only one answer. Yes. Without those 2 reasons, there is no reason why you shouldn’t. All that is left with is why not?

I am thankful for hikes

Never being a hiker growing up, it is something mike and I started doing. We ended up going for a long-ass hike. I thought I was going to die, but I didn’t. We walked 9 miles in 3 hours. I have never done that in my life. Mine and Mikayla’s legs were jelly on the way back to the car, but we felt really good. It made me want to keep doing it. Any chance we got, we walked at the rec center, state forest trails, and beaches. We just made it interesting. We have slacked off a little bit this year but will get back into it. It just felt really good to get some fresh air.

Cool-weather in Florida

Florida is always hot. It is “take a shower to cool off and walk outside hair stick to you because of humidity not because of the shower” hot. When it gets cool in Florida my windows are open until I see my cats cuddling together more than usual, then I will close the windows. My AC/Heat will not be used in those days or weeks that it is cool in Florida. Right now it is 63 at 4:42p and the low for tonight is 46. This weather makes me so happy and energized. Perfect weather to hike in.

I am thankful for date nights

These are few and far between but we make the most of them when we do plan them. We have done cheap date nights at home. It saves money and doesn’t require a bra. We can be comfortable. The other night I taught Mike how to play Canasta while having a few drinks and it ended with us watching a new Christmas movie (The Christmas Chronicles). I haven’t played canasta in years. It’s a game my mother taught me when I was 10. It was simple and relaxing. It was a good way to reconnect after not seeing each other a lot during the days.

Sleep… Enough said

Right now my sleep schedule is messed up. I don’t know what happened but I am trying to make the most of it. It’s 11:30p right now while I finish writing this post. It takes me forever to fall asleep but once I wake up I am up. Lately, I have been only getting 5 hours or less of sleep. Tonight I decided to put that time to good use and finish things for the blog this week. I would normally be watching TV, but I am going to blog and do the dishes. Next week I will fix my sleep schedule but for now, I am just going with the flow.

I am thankful for home-cooked meals

As much as I love someone else cooking my food. Mike and I have been splitting the cooking. He does 70% of it, I do 30. I like making specialty things, not an everyday food. Like the time I made homemade bread! LOL. Last night we had Chicken Gyros for dinner. I defrosted the chicken, made a marinade, and make homemade Tzatziki sauce.

Everything was prepared when Mike got home and he cut the chicken into strips and added the marinade. While we waited we caught up on his workday. In a couple of hours, dinner was cooked. We tag-teamed dinner and it brought us closer. (Sometimes a picture of the food we make ends up on Instagram.)

I am thankful for trying new things

My life was always to live simple. Work, hang with friends and family, and hang out at home. Since being with Mike I have done more than I could ever imagine. We drove to Key West and back home in 24 hours. We took a vacation to Massachusetts. I took my first plane ride and visited New Jersey by myself. In these past 7 years, I have said yes to more things I have never done.

I love the experiences for me, but more so for Mikayla. She has so many stories to tell. Who knows one weekend we could just get a twist in our knickers and decide to drive to god knows where to hang out for the day. I love that we get to do that and I have pictures to show for it.

I am thankful for kind people

There can be a lot of mean people in your life and online. I am grateful for the ones who keep it real and genuine. You can tell when people are being fake and I don’t want or need that in my life. I have changed a lot over the past 15 years. I can be nasty if I need to be, but I don’t want to. It takes too much energy. Kind people are the people I want to be around.

Pictures and videos

Back in the day, I used to make vlogs on YouTube and my family would get annoyed by it. Everything needed to be recorded or documented because I never wanted us to forget. The only pictures I have of me as a child can be counted on my 2 hands. I don’t remember much of my childhood. I mean I remember the bad stuff, but very little of the good. It made me sad. Now that I have access to a camera constantly on my phone I take pictures and videos. I have so much I have not shared. I like looking at the pictures every couple of years and reminisce.

Financial stability

I remember in 2006 I was working at an assisted living facility as a housekeeper and I made 5.25 an hour. Then working at the hotel I made 7.67. I never made more than minimum wage. Working at the hotel my check was about 272 a week and Mike’s was to be the same but because of child support, it was 166. That was 438 a week, 1752 a month.

Our fixed monthly bills were at least 1300. How the hell did we survive, because I surely do not know. I know I still have that fight or flight response. I grew up poor, hell I am still kinda poor, but my bills are paid, there is food in my fridge and presents under my Christmas tree. By no means is it perfect yet, but we are working on it and that’s all I can be thankful for.

Working on our debt-free journey

While we are working on the financial stability we are working towards paying off debt and following The Budget mom to become all-cash spenders. We want to save for a house and for a rainy day. Still having some setbacks, but all that matters is that we are on the same page in the same book. We know what we want to do and what we have to do to achieve it.

Getting married soon

Mike and I have been engaged for 6 years now. Did I want a big wedding, yeah? Again we were making 7.67 an hour. A big wedding did not seem like it could be done and I felt like I was doing it alone. Friends would “help”, but nothing ever got done.

Besides Mike, I felt alone like no one cared that this was my moment. Something always outshined it. So I gave up. Now over the years Mike and I decided to just go to the courthouse to get it done. A big wedding has lost its charm since I felt alone the first time. I don’t want to feel that again. I am just ready to be Mrs. Michael Surett.

I am thankful for romance

I am such a die-hard sucker for romance. Wine and dine me but on a budget of course. Mike can be romantic when he wants to be. It’s few and far between, but man I love it when he does it. Hopefully, someone will make me feel like I am the only girl in the world. Am I the only one who just love, love. Everyone should have it.

I am thankful for my Stepkids

It is possible to have kids when you have PCOS, but I just think about what if it doesn’t happen. It used to make me so angry. SO FUCKING ANGRY. It still kinda does, but if I never have kids it’s okay because Mike has 2 children that I call my own anyways. Even if I am not their real mother who birthed them, they are great kids.

I love it when Mikey messages me just to chat. He doesn’t message his dad, he messages me, and god that makes me feel good. The deep conversations we have had about past situations. He is growing up to be a really good man.

Mikayla is so smart, beautiful, and sassy. She is really funny and says the weirdest shit. She and I have had deep conversations about things they don’t tell you growing up a girl. In the end, I want these kids to grow up to be exceptionally kind people. Thank you for letting me be apart of your life.

Having another year to appreciate life

The older I get the more I just want to appreciate life and remember all its glory by taking pictures and videos. I want to remember all the fun I had with my family. Each year I want it to get better and better. All I ever want for myself is to have my life overflowing with joy, hope, and happiness. The same for all my friends to find their happiness and we spread it to others like a disease. Our purpose for life is not to just live on this earth and pay bills. If and when it is my time to go I want people to remember me by my kindness and see how things can change once you change your mindset.

I am thankful you finished reading this post

A lot of appreciation for those who stuck with me and this long-ass list. But I didn’t want to just list things I am thankful for. The reason this one is on my list is that I wanted you all to know I mean every word I said in this post. Taking 2 days to write this list because I wanted everything to be perfect. The words poured out of me as I sat at this computer. I appreciate you all and are thankful for those of you who read this post.

I hope you gained something from this post and share what you are thankful for. Don t hold it in. Spread the love. I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving and stay tuned for more heartfelt posts in the future. I love you all!

Until next time, Have a great day!