Blessings 21-30

As I have today off from work, I'm going to try to catch up on my blessings!! I've been remiss in posting lately, and for that, I'm sorry. I'm also sorry because I think some of these blessings could end up being repeat blessings from before...

21. A day off from work, in general. This gives me time to get things done!! And since I have time to get things done, I shall focus the rest of today's blessings on how they relate to having the day off work.
22. Time to get some much needed rest. Jake and I talked last night about how exhausted we've both been lately, and today, Julie and I got to lay back down for about three hours this morning after Daddy left for work!
23. A dishwasher, because if you'd seen the mountain of dishes I had in the sink that I needed to take care of today...geez.
24. Julie's bouncer, so she could sit calmly in the kitchen with me while I loaded the dishwasher.
25. Washing machines/dryers. Because laundry never ends. Currently, Julie's clothes are waiting to be put in the dryer, and there's a mountain of clothes in our room that are waiting to be washed.
26. Time to spend with my little princess. With being back to work full time now, Julie and I don't get to spend as much time together like we did the first 10 weeks of her life, and she's growing up so fast! Plus, in the next month, I'm going to have about 11 days that I'll be out of town for work. Boo.
27. The ability to change plans...because I had planned to go for a walk outside with Julie today, but it was raining earlier (but we need the rain, so there's a repeat blessing), so now I'm planning to take a walk on the treadmill instead (repeat blessing!). Gotta get better on the exercise.
28. Leftovers. I didn't eat any breakfast early this morning (because I was feeding Julie and then decided that going back to sleep was more important), so when we got back up at 10 am, I had a brunch of last night's leftovers. Yum!
29. Coupons. I'm going to go through today and see what coupons I have left from last week, which was my first foray into the couponing world. I ended up saving about 40% on my purchases (coupons combined with store sales), which I think is pretty good! Our haul included 13 2-liters of drinks, 2 18-packs of canned drinks, 9 deodorants, 30 razors, 3 bottles of body wash, 2 large roasts, 4 boxes of cereal, 4 10-packs of Capri Sun for our lunches, etc etc etc. Lots of other stuff too! I'm really excited to see what we can score on this weekend's trip!
30. Time to catch up on blogs and FB and update everyone on our lives!

1000 Blessings: Blessings 11-20

These are long overdue, but life has been so very busy lately!!! So, without further ado...

11) Rain and thunderstorms. It makes it hard to get ready this morning, as I don't like to shower during a storm, but we can really use the rain!!
12) My new office. While it's not all set up yet and some of my stuff is still in boxes, I think I'm really going to like having my own room rather than having to share!
13) Brief naps. I don't have much time now with Julie to nap in the mornings like I used to, but I really know the benefit of a quick 20 minute nap before getting ready...even if it does turn into an hour long snooze.
14) DVR. I love having my shows to watch when I actually have the time to watch them...and can skip the commercials!
15) A mother-in-law that's willing to watch her granddaughter during the day so that we don't have to put her in--and pay for--daycare.
16) A good new-ish friend who's willing to watch Julie when said mother-in-law is having a procedure done next week and can't watch Julie! (From our Sunday school class, so don't worry that I'm leaving her with someone I just met on the street.) :o)
17) Cherry tootsie rolls. Enough said. And also for the fact that I had a baggie of them that I forgot about and found in my computer bag the other day...
18) Pacifiers. Sometimes these are a lifesaver with Julie, when she has this really strong desire to suck on something but it's not really time for her to eat. Plus, these mean that I can sleep through the night more, because when she starts to stir, I can give her the pacifier back and she'll go back to sleep. Of course, we'll have to break her of them in the future, but I'll deal with that then.
19) My own treadmill. We had to store it at Jake's parents' house briefly while our sinkhole was being fixed, but now we have it back here, and I hope this means that I'm going to actually start exercising. I've got to do something.
20) Weekly weigh-ins at work. While sometimes these are frustrating and depressing, they are good to help keep me on track. While I was at home on maternity leave, I didn't really track my weight as good as I should have, so now hopefully I can get on track and lose the weight that I need to lose. Goal for 2011: the 30 lbs that I wanted to lose last year!! (Before I found out I was pregnant, of course.)

So there they are. I'll try to get back on track and start posting them regularly...

1000 Blessings: Blessings 1-10

So have an old friend who has made a commitment to list at least 10 blessings per week until she reaches 1000. I so enjoy reading hers that I have decided to start the task myself. :o) Let's celebrate the positive in my life!

1. A wonderful husband, who works hard to always provide for our family
2. A healthy child, who amuses me each day with the things that she is constantly learning, even at a young age
3. The opportunity to stay at home with my child for the first 9 and a half weeks of her life (I'm returning to work two weeks early, on March 28th)
4. A good job to return to!
5. A nice house that, although it had a sinkhole under it, is in the process of being repaired
6. Reliable vehicles to get us to and from work
7. A new, welcoming Sunday school class
8. A big comfy bed that I always want to spend more time snuggled up in!
9. A swing for Julie that she loves to spend time in. We weren't going to get one originally, because we didn't want to spend that kind of money for something that they grow out of so quickly, but we broke down and found one at a garage sale for $20!
10. Beautiful sunny Florida weather!