Every so often we all need a deadline to help motivate us to get things done. Unpacking is definitely one of them. If I didn’t give myself an unpacking deadline I could draw it out for weeks and months. It’s not the most fun thing in the world to do (although it is slightly more fun than packing). It can get frustrating and tiring. And even though I know I’ll feel better when it’s all finished, that isn’t quite enough motivation to get me to get it done.

So instead I give myself a deadline by inviting people over a certain time after the move. Then things have to be finished by then. When I moved to Tucson I invited Brett over to go see the movie 27 Dresses and have some food for my half-birthday. I worked real hard for two weeks to get my place unpacked and presentable as a home. Funny thing, for the rest of the time I lived there, that was as unpacked as it ever got. But it was plenty.

With this latest move, we’ve given ourselves a little more than two weeks before we’ve invited a bunch of people over for a little shin-dig. We currently have one more week to go. And things are getting there. We make small progress every day. I believe at this point we have all the major furniture items we currently own where they need to be. The upper half of the kitchen is all finished. It’s slowly coming together. Just don’t look behind door #2 right now.

The hymn asks us to count our blessings, but what if we alphabetized them instead? I definitely have more than 26 blessings this year, but here’s one for each letter of the alphabet on this Thanksgiving Day.

A – Air Conditioning. I live in Arizona. Enough said.
B – Brett. He is the biggest blessing in my life.
C – Computers. This one would seem obvious for anyone who knows me, but it was especially helpful this summer planning a wedding in Utah from Arizona. Brett and I kept track of everything on the computer.
D – Dancing. Salsa dancing, belly dancing, ballroom dancing. Dancing is good stuff.
E – Education. Both formally and informally, life would be so different without education.
F – Family. I love my family so much. And so many friends who are like family.
G – Gospel. So many of my blessings are wrapped up in the Gospel. Nothing would be the same without it.
H – Health. This might seem like a strange one for me this year, having a 7 month thumb injury and getting kidney stones, but really, I’m quite healthy. And I love what my body does for me.
I – Ice Cream. Ice cream can fix everything, especially a real bad day.
J – Journals. I don’t write daily any more, but I do write almost weekly. And I love that I have that space to record the special and sacred in my life.
K – Kissing. Because it’s fun. And that’s all I’m going to say. :kiss:
L – Languages. Portuguese has always been a special language for me. Now I’m watching Brett learn Hebrew and Greek and it’s so much fun for me. He involves me and it really is fun. And he’s learning a bit of Portuguese too.
M – Mechanics. While I’m not exactly thankful for all the car trouble I’ve had this year, I am grateful there have been people who were able to fix my car as quickly as they did.
N – Name. I love my name. I love the story of it. I love the connection I have with my ancestors because of the name Giles. And I’m grateful that I am not getting rid of any of that story but just adding another chapter.
O – Opportunities. I have so many opportunities in my life, opportunities to grow and learn and create and live. How amazing is this life?!
P – Prayer. It really is the solution to any problem. How grateful I am to have it in my life.
Q – Quilting. Where would my sanity be if I didn’t quilt? Let’s not ponder that question too long. It’s been wonderful this year to do the quilts I did.
R – Running. The other key to my sanity. The inspiration to many great thoughts. And my source of relaxation. I’ve had some good runs this year.
S – Sewing. I know it might have seemed like I did a lot of sewing for our wedding, and I did, but I loved every minute of it and I love that my mom taught me to sew so that I could make our wedding so personal.
T – Teeth. I went to the dentist last month for the first time in probably five years. The only thing they could say to me was I could floss if I wanted to.
U – Universe. I love the feeling of awe I get when I look up into the sky. And I love sharing what I know about the stars and planets with Brett.
V – Veterans. I love this country and I’m so grateful for all those who gave so much for it.
W – Washing machines. I have a washing machine I can use in my house again. I love it! It’s the simple things in life, really.
X – Xeriscaping. I know some people don’t think it’s pretty, but I really like it. You can have lots of textures and colors, and it’s easy to take care of. And it goes great with all the cactus around here.
Y – Yarn. I’ve had so much fun knitting over the last year. And I’ve really enjoyed the crocheting that my sister has done. She does cute stuff.
Z – Zoos. I’ve been to two this year, the St. Louis Zoo and the Hogle Zoo, and had a great time at each.