100 Things I'm Thankful For

1. Writing abilities. I have a way with words, but only when those words are on paper...or a website/blog. I started writing a lot when I was young. I wrote lots of stories in grade school (some for homework, some just for myself). Then, I received a diary as a birthday gift when I was 13. After reading The Diary of Anne Frank around the same time, I was inspired to pour all my feelings out onto my diary pages. In fact, I think I've filled about 10 diaries. I do believe that all that writing and exceptional reading skills helped to better my writing skills as I got older, and they definitely helped in college. And now I'm able to use them to create good content for all of my Squidoo lenses, which is important. I've done a bit of writing on my blogs, too.

 

2. Creativity / Artistic abilities. I have always been artistic. I'm artistic by nature. When I was younger, I could spend hours drawing, coloring, making stuff, etc. In grade school during art classes, my classmates would be jealous of my artwork because I would put so much detail into it and think of things to do that they hadn't thought of.

Though I don't draw or make things by hand nearly as much as I used to, I still create things, but it's currently limited to collaging posters & my own personal fashion guide book and designing products in my Zazzle store, Diva's Designs (pictured here). So I haven't abandoned my artistic gifts entirely.

I think this same ability also allows me to play around well with my lens formats, as well as coming up with ideas for lenses. Although I currently have plenty of lenses I can work on, I'm somewhat worried about running out of ideas. I'm hoping my creative thinking will allow me to be able to churn out some more ideas for good lenses.

3. Unemployment benefits. I previously had a government job that I was let go from, but was able to get unemployment benefits for 2 years as a result. Without those benefits, not only would I not have had a job, but I would have had no money for food or health insurance. I would have been worse off than I was, so I'm thankful for being able to have had that temporary safety net.

4. Squidoo. This is actually one of the biggest positive money-making opportunities I have going for me right now. It's because I see & know what it's capable of doing for me if I make the most of it. My current goal is to make enough lenses & get enough traffic so that I have at least $1000 a month coming in from Squidoo alone. I know of only a few other Squids who make that kind of money on Squidoo, so it is rare. But I have no doubt I can do it. It's just a matter of time, effort and quality.

 

5. Other Internet money-making opportunities. Aside from Squidoo, I've been able to find money-making opportunities through surveys & such elsewhere on the internet. That, and I can sell things on eBay, Amazon, and Zazzle. But I haven't made as much money from these as I have from Squidoo, which is why Squidoo is my favorite.

6. Paycheck from my current job. I would love to be able to say that I like my current job. But I don't. I hate it. It's monotonous and depressing for me. I ended up having to go back to retail, which doesn't pay well starting out. Granted, I make more money per week than I did with unemployment benefits. And I'll get very slight raises every so often. But it pays less per hour than the job I had while I was in college. And it's still not enough for me to move forward in the way that I would like with the speed that I would like. I feel like I'm never going to make enough money to pay off my college loans, get the laptop I need for my future online project, buy a car & live on my own. Impossible to do with this job. So I'm thankful I'm getting a paycheck at all still, but I'll need a much bigger paycheck in the future.

Photo seen here is a screenshot of my Scene Kids, Scene Queens, Scene Style & Hairstyles lens.

7. My Florida Trips. I love Florida. Love it. I've been 3 times to visit one of my longtime friends who lives near Tampa. I even plan on eventually moving to the Tampa/Clearwater. It's sort of like where I am now in Ohio, but warmer and sunnier year-round, and there's lots of beaches to visit. If I lived in or near Tampa, I would visit beaches every single week, and I could drive to Miami or the Keys whenever I wanted. Those would be nice road trips. Much better than the family road trips I've been on (such a pain). Unfortunately, I haven't been in 3 years, and would really like to visit, but don't have the money. So I'll have to wait.

Photo of road in Dunedin, Florida is from my 2007 Florida trip photos.

 

8. My Bermuda Trip. I visited Bermuda in summer of 2008 to visit family there. It was my first international trip in 21 years. (I visited Canada when I was 4.) Let me tell you-- it's gorgeous. Far more colorful than where I live (and even more colorful than Florida). The houses are painted in pastel colors (pink, yellow, green, blue), and their cars and clothing are just as colorful, but brighter (and not pastel). As someone who really likes color, I loved that there was so much of it. And of course, since it's an island, it's got beaches everywhere. But the beaches on the southern coast of Bermuda have pink sand from the corals breaking apart and washing ashore. Anyways, it's was a great vacation, even with my jellyfish encounter and drinking party I had no idea would happen. (I'll save those stories for my blogs or another lens or something.) I plan on going again with a friend or something in the future.

Photo seen here is from my 2008 Bermuda trip.

9. The Sun. Yes, too much of it is bad for you. But it is necessary. Sunlight is a good source of Vitamin D, and it also affect your serotonin levels, which affects your mood & state of mind. It's why some people (myself included) are moodier during the fall & winter months, but just fine (maybe even unusually chipper) during the spring & summer months. I know for sure it affects me, probably to the point where I have Seasonal Affective Disorder. It's a big part of why I want to move to Florida. I hate when the sun isn't out, on top of hating the cold weather where I live. So when the sun is out, I appreciate it.

Sun photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

10. Greenery / Foliage. One more reason why I enjoy spring and love the summer, but dislike the fall and hate the winter. I miss when everything is nice and green, and the flowers are out and all. I wish I didn't have to see the leaves turn colors at all. I hate looking at how dead nature looks outside during the winter. That on top of no sun for days, even weeks at a time- it's so depressing to me. So I always look forward to the spring & summer for that reason as well.

11. Coastal Beaches & Ocean. I do not care for any other beaches except coastal ones where I can look off into the ocean and watch the sunset (or sunrise). These beaches stretch for miles and miles, unlike the lame man-made beach near my house off some dinky lake. The beaches farther south are better, as they're in a warmer climate year-round, meaning I can visit them anytime I want and it'll be nice and warm when I get there. Another reason I want to live in Florida- miles & miles of beaches. I feel happy, relaxed and at peace looking out towards the ocean...

12. My (Close) Friends. I don't have any close friends that live within an 800-mile radius of me. They're spread out throughout the globe- Florida, the UK (where my friend AWildDog is from), Holland, etc. But I talk to all of them by phone or online. I'm soooo thankful for them. They help keep me sane, and they understand when I complain & go off about a lot of things. They don't tune me out like a lot of people do. They listen to me, and I listen to them. We give and we take, as happens in all good & healthy friendships. I really hope I can eventually visit them one day, because as great as it is that I can talk to them at all, it's not the same as it would be in person.

13. Libya. If you've been paying attention to the news, you've likely heard about the air strikes & whatnot carried out by the U.S. in Libya. If you were paying attention to Libya a month before the No Fly Zone was implemented, then you know why it was done; Gaddafi/Khadafi & his government have been brutally attacking their own citizens in every way possible- guns, missiles, rapes, beatings-- and then deny that they're doing any of it. This country, if left to fend for itself, had the potential to become Obama's Rwanda. While people have accused him & the government of only being there for the oil, if he'd done nothing, he'd be getting just as much flack for it. He was screwed either way.

But lets move away from the politics & back to the Libyan citizens, particularly the Anti-Gaddafi ones. Many of them have left the country, but some cannot, and those are the ones in peril right now, even with the military intervention. I'm thankful that I'm not in the same situation they're in, and they have my deepest sympathies. I cannot imagine how stressful and painful it must be for them.

14. Japan. They were hit in early March 2011 by what is being said to be the 5TH most powerful earthquake on record. Then they were hit by a devastating tsunami (which literally looked like something out of a disaster movie if you saw any video footage of it). Then they had to deal with their nuclear power plants, at least one of which did leak radiation-- and STILL IS leaking radiation, because they haven't been able to completely stop the leaking. And hours before I initially wrote & added this section to the lens, they were hit by another strong earthquake (not as powerful as the first, but still bad). They just keep getting hit with one thing after another.

Japan was one of my "places to visit" on my bucket list, but now not only wouldn't I live there, but I likely and unfortunately won't be visiting the country any time soon, either. They also have my deepest sympathies. I hope they, like Libya, will get the aid & support they so desperately need.

15. My senses. I don't know what I'd do without them. I'm fully aware it's possible to live a full life without sight or the ability to hear or touch. But I'm glad I can do all of that without any problems. Without my hearing, I wouldn't be able to enjoy music the way I do. Without sight, I really wouldn't have been able to use my artistic talents. Without taste, I could not fully enjoy all the food I eat. Same goes for smell, which also allows me to enjoy perfume and alerts me when something is burning. Without touch/sensation, I would not be able to move freely, to hug others, walk, run, or do all those gymnastic moves that I could do when I was younger.

 

16. Having all my body parts in tact and functioning correctly. Yes, I know how weird that sounds initially. But follow my train of thought for a moment:

I appreciate my face, not just because others think it's pretty, but I do as well most of the time. And unlike some women in certain parts of the world, I've never had anyone threaten to throw acid on my face, nor has anyone actually done it.

I appreciate my skin. Although I have eczema on the inside of my right elbow and elsewhere, and my feet have a few issues, my skin is otherwise great. It could be far worse. I could have vitiligo, a condition where your skin loses pigmentation in certain areas. I could also be allergic or sensitive to simple things, like sunlight or water. People who're allergic or sensitive to either can blister, break out in hives, get really bad sunburns, etc. I don't have to worry about any of that.

I appreciate my hands, arms, legs and feet. While not impossible, it's more of a challenge do things without any of these body parts. Also hard to use them properly if they didn't develop properly at birth, as has happened for some people. So I'm glad I have limbs that formed the way they were suppose to.

17. Food allergies...and non-allergies. Surprisingly enough, I'm starting to have an appreciation for my food allergies. I do hate eating out, and having to worry about certain food putting me in the hospital because it could potentially kill me is something I will always have to deal with. But if I look at it from another, more positive angle, I do believe my food allergies have kept me healthy otherwise. I'm allergic to eggs, all dairy (including products with whey or casein in them), all nuts, meat, seafood, barley wheat, sesame, and I believe even caramel color. Yeah, it's a lot, and it's rendered me vegan. But because I've lived mostly off of fruit and veggies with a few special vegan dishes, I do not struggle with eating healthy. I might have struggled in the past to get variety in my diet, but that has gotten so much easier with all the food alternatives available now, as well as recipes I can simply Google.

I'm also thankful for the allergies I don't have. As I mentioned before, there are people allergic to sunlight and water. I'm so glad I'm not allergic to either, as I enjoy both. I'm also glad I'm not allergic to other foods or ingredients, particularly soy. I really enjoy soymilk and tofu, and how versatile they are when it comes to cooking things. Glad I don't have to worry about a gluten allergy, either. I have enough allergies as is.

18. Music. I have always loved music, though my taste has changed throughout the years. I use to listen to a lot of pop in my teen years, but I've mostly listened to rock since I graduated high school. I also played piano for about 12 years, and I was in choir groups for just as long.

Even though I only listen to music now online or on my iPod (I hate radio these days), I still enjoy it thoroughly. I've been to 6 concerts (7 if I count the band I saw live at NBC's Today Show in New York City), and I plan to go to several more in the future.

Whether it's live or on my iPod, the kinds of songs I listen to are mostly songs that convey feelings/emotions that I can relate to but can't always articulate. Some songs remind me of certain moments in my life, both good and bad. Some are just fun party or dance songs, yes, but these aren't the songs I listen to on a regular basis. It's the songs that speak to me about where I've been in life, where I am now, and where I hope to go.

Photo of Alyson Michalka (from Aly & AJ) playing guitar is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

 

19. Photography. I didn't realize how much I appreciate a good photo until I realized how many pictures I was (and still am) saving on Photobucket and favoriting on Tumblr. I also didn't realize how picky I am about photography either. I did take a photography course in college, but it turns out I'm not very good at taking pictures. I'm only good at picking out the good ones. This helps when it comes to my Squidoo lenses. I think a good, relevant photo can sometimes be more attention grabbing than the text/lens content alone. So I try to add good pictures whenever I can.

 

20. Culinary Arts/Cooking. I love to cook, probably because I love to eat as well. There's a bit of an added challenge for me in finding things to cook that I can actually eat, thanks to my several food allergies that have rendered my diet vegan and then-some. And with my dietary restrictions, it's necessary for me to try as many different recipes as I can so that there's variety in what I eat. But when I do find a dish to cook that I can eat, and the recipe turns out like it's supposed to (which is actually most of the time), it's very rewarding for me. Example- the vegan pizza shown here (yes, entirely vegan, with the best vegan cheese ever- Daiya Cheese).

 

21. Interior Design. Not the typical stuff that you might see on TV, but the more unusual designs. I like unconventional interior design, when people use bright, bold colors and have funky little trinkets all around their home. It inspires me to do the same with my own future apartment/house. I want every single thing I get for my place to be unusual/unconventional in some way, shape, or form, but I want it all to work together. I don't mind if people visit my home and think that it's a bit weird. I'd actually take it as a compliment.

22. eBay & Other Online Shopping. Seriously. I love that I don't have to leave my house in order to go shopping. Although I can't buy much now, I can put everything on wishlists and buy them when I'm ready to. I don't have to deal with salespeople, and comparing prices between websites is easy to do as well.

eBay though- it's in a category of it's own. You can find a lot of stuff on eBay. The stuff I've found and bought have been things originally in other catalogs & other online sites, but often for half the price. Example- my 4 Coach purses (which I bought when I was working), and some cashmere cardigan wraps (that match all my purses, lol). I've also found some unusual, quirky stuff that's rare, like this cherry necklace seen here, and a Bazooka Bubble Gum necklace. Basically stuff that's very like me, but that no one else has, yet always wants.

 

23. The Internet in General. Aside from making money online & shopping, the internet is great for other stuff, too. YouTube comes to mind. I can find old TV shows there (and a few new ones, too), my fave music videos (instead of watching MTV or VH1), concert footage, random videos of people I don't know doing stupid stuff, etc. I was also able to apply for unemployment online without ever having to go in person. I was even able to do an entire internship online for my last year of college. Helpful since I was going back and forth between campus and my then government job, and I didn't want to have to spend time at a third place. I could do my internship work wherever I was, as long as I had a computer with internet.

In short- the internet makes a lot of things a lot more convenient to do.

Photo of cherry necklace is my own.

NinaLee_CherryB (my personal Twitter page)

OR

Cherry Ambition (my official Twitter page for my Cherry Ambition blogs)