31 Squared - Happy New Year, You Guys!

November 30: This past month I've watched as many of my friends have posted one thing every day for which they were thankful. I think that is a noble idea, but I found myself resisting the peer pressure to join the trend. Here it is the 30th of November and we shall be done with the thanksgiving by numbers. I had an inspiration. Maybe my resistance came from 1 a day not being a challenge, so I've decided to post 31 things a day for which I'm thankful for the month of December. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em as they say. Just for practice, here are 30 for the month of November:

1. camera on my phone
2. peanut butter
3. hot water on tap
4. blue fingernail polish
5. pens and paper
6. Chattanooga
7. the Avatar Course
8. my mother
9. my father
10. my nieces
11. my brothers
12. flashlights
13. books
14. Improv
15. laughter
16. kissing
17. orange juice
18. Pandora Radio
19. Capitalism
20. solitaire
21. the sun and all the stars
22. extension cords
23. zip drives
24. dogs
25. death
26. music
27. words
28. deodorant
29. no-shave November ends tomorrow
30. Thanksgiving by numbers is over... for November
*cue maniacal laughter*


Day 1: I am thankful for...
1. chocolate cake
2. coffee
3. singing
4. Steve Jobs
5. strip and seal envelopes
6. rain
7. chapstick 
8. spellcheck 
9. algebra 
10. Ellen Degeneres
11. shampoo and conditioner
12. high heels
13. seeds
14. school
15. pencil erasers
16. my retinas
17. post-it notes
18. the Grand Canyon
19. compassion
20. Pearls Before Swine comic strip
21. scrambled eggs
22. levels
23. horses
24. breathing
25. scissors
26. spoons
27. skin
28. dirt
29. honeysuckles
30. lists
31. creativity

Day 2: I am thankful for...
1. the ocean
2. staples and staplers
3. fire
4. Mumford and Sons
5. rugs
6. kittens
7. Tabitha
8. q-tips
9. paint
10. my lounges
11. French... yes
12. microwaves
13. picture frames
14. The Yellow Deli
15. inspiration
16. the moon
17. pianos
18. sugar
19. gravity
20. rhyming
21. worms
22. chewing gum
23. candles
24. brooms
25. Instagram
26. logic
27. earrings
28. muffins
29. chickens
30. dictionaries
31. stairs

Day 3: I am thankful for...
1. thin mints
2. theatre
3. Ireland
4. Facebook
5. daylilies
6. lines
7. mugs
8. root beer
9. caller id
10. rivers
11. hole punches
12. butterflies
13. apples
14. Verizon
15. knuckles
16. the electric blues
17. cheese!
18. carpet
19. circles
20. dancing
21. harmony
22. balloons
23. chips
24. ladders
25. hugs
26. the Internet
27. Cutco
28. the signs of the zodiac
29. boxes
30. humming
31. hair brushes

Day 4: I am thankful for...
1. happiness
2. love
3. Oreos
4. water
5. Tupperware
6. my teeth
7. waves
8. growth
9. Daniel Impson
10. grass
11. Panera Bread
12. Mouse tracks ice cream
13. fashion
14. mirrors
15. SheliaBurgerClaudeJeanieWoof
16. drums
17. passion
18. lips
19. Veggie Tales
20. flexibility
21. Pacho
22. alcohol
23. Relient K
24. Kleenex tissues
25. cell phones
26. frogs
27. sleep
28. toilet bowl cleaner
29. Google
30. Ellen Page
31. rhythm

Day 5: I am thankful for...
1. copy and paste
2. thunderstorms
3. the symphony
4. Coldplay
5. shaving cream
6. calculators
7. chairs
8. drains
9. cinnamon
10. hair dye
11. screws
12. Microsoft
13. Mary Engelbreit
14. my spine
15. birds
16. photographs
17. consciousness
18. ants
19. quilts
20. jewels
21. perspective
22. reed diffusors
23. bleach
24. electricity
25. pear trees
26. aquariums
27. intelligence
28. stand-up comedy
29. intention
30. sex
31. Walmart

Day 6: I am thankful for...
1. eggs
2. blood
3. Little Debbie Snacks
4. economics
5. dreams
6. Photoshop
7. YouTube
8. Star Wars
9. calenders
10. bags
11. rice
12. bridges
13. practice
14. dental floss
15. pavement
16. Gmail
17. PBS
18. mechanics
19. bubbles
20. underwear
21. clouds
22. my elbows
23. smiles
24. humor
25. generosity
26. The Lion King
27. toes
28. swimming
29. keys
30. leaves
31. instincts

Day 7: I am thankful for...
1. tweezers
2. baby oil
3. children
4. boots
5. television
6. teachers
7. my ear drums
8. rainbows
9. the Muppets
10. Indiana Jones
11. peaches
12. libraries
13. breaks
14. sweet tea
15. memory
16. bottles
17. bed sheets
18. beer
19. lotion
20. Ibuprofen
21. basketball
22. stories
23. awareness
24. honesty
25. my eyelids
26. Lady and the Tramp
27. potatoes
28. shells
29. language
30. peace
31. texting

Day 8: I am thankful for...
1. Velcro
2. The Boxcar Children
3. scotch tape
4. crocheting
5. vinyl records
6. vases
7. trout
8. The Magic School Bus
9. ribbon
10. ink
11. ice skating
12. shower curtains
13. Autumn
14. headbands
15. thrift stores
16. macaroni and cheese
17. John Galt
18. musicals
19. Calvin and Hobbes
20. Craig's List
21. patterns
22. blogging
23. spandex
24. lamps
25. diapers
26. castles
27. gardens
28. Mario Cart
29. RexSherryAnnGarryJeff
30. bathrobes
31. motorcycles

Day 9: I am thankful for...
1. cuddling
2. my bed
3. matches
4. curves
5. face wash
6. twist-ties
7. wristwatches
8. peppermint
9. mittens
10. tree-houses
11. sunsets
12. directions
13. freedom
14. stuffed animals
15. The Beatles
16. hotdogs
17. Victoria's Secret
18. blue eyes
19. Finding Nemo
20. skipping
21. Apples to Apples
22. wine
23. popcorn
24. dynamic
25. backspace
26. gravy
27. tables
28. exercises
29. balance
30. poetry
31. nail polish remover

Day 10: I am thankful for...
1. the storm last night
2. waking up to a sweet text
3. my earbuds
4. my friends flourishing
5. house shoes
6. time spent around the kitchen table with my family
7. opportunities to perform
8. my legs
9. make-up remover
10. my pillow
11. art
12. the 60's
13. fishnet pantyhose
14. posters
15. the Oregon Trail
16. mason jars
17. order
18. tomatoes
19. salt
20. being able to see my nieces grow up and be a part of their lives
21. the years my family was whole
22. voices lessons
23. Peter Pan
24. my car
25. Trixy
26. being born in the USA
27. perfume
28. Starbucks
29. turning signals
30. pancakes
31. Reading Group

Day 11: I am thankful for...
1. Disney World
2. my hair
3. telephones
4. Eleanor Roosevelt
5. belief
6. grace
7. my feet
8. mock trial
9. Jason Reeves
10. fingernail clippers
11. copiers
12. my tongue
13. flip flops
14. label-its
15. tremors
16. San Francisco
17. centripetal force
18. Louisa May Alcott
19. primaries
20. vision
21. J.S. Bach
22. numbers
23. antiques
24. nerds
25. a break from school
26. sunscreen
27. lunch
28. Winni the Pooh
29. Spiderman
30. hummingbirds
31. communication

Day 12: I am thankful for...
1. glass
2. house plants
3. bed sheets
4. Toy Story
5. steel
6. Google Translate
7. Bob Waycott
8. Reese's cups
9. chocolate syrup
10. Elf
11. cards
12. comics
13. syncopation
14. caves
15. Batman
16. justice
17. multivitamins
18. cotton balls
19. the colors of fall
20. dishwashers
21. certainty
22. The Lord of the Rings
23. Sapphires
24. quarters
25. Ramen noodles
26. contrast
27. October
28. vocal scales
29. Noah's ark
30. iTunes
31. alliteration

Day 13: I am thankful for...

1. Harry Potter
2. sunrises
3. airplanes
4. Shrek
5. fabric softener
6. my pulse
7. toilet paper
8. 101 Dalmatians
9. heat
10. my hands
11. stretches
12. flat irons
13. peas
14. vacuums
15. microorganisms
16. deer
17. timing
18. Joshua Radin
19. colored pencils
20. high gears
21. automotive vehicles
22. nests
23. consistency
24. editing
25. Oreos
26. buttons
27. January
28. sweaters
29. conversations
30. Ancient Egyptians
31. zoos

Day 14: I am thankful for...

1. silence
2. baby oil
3. cardboard
4. tape dispensers
5. wrapping paper
6. newspapers
7. vacations
8. arguments
9. space
10. hope
11. luck
12. escalators
13. aerosol
14. resolution
15. biology
16. gyms
17. forgiveness
18. attraction
19. magnets
20. Roald Dahl
21. abbreviations
22. Emily Chidalek
23. measuring cups
24. Christmas carols
25. those little red numbers that appear when activity concerning me has occurred on Facebook
26. New York
27. those moments of realization, like the one I just had about New York. "New" as in of recent origin, production, purchase, etc.; having but lately come or been brought into being.
28. dictionary.com
29. being a brunette that disguises the fact I have blond moments.
30. my thumbs31. Mickey Mouse

Day 15: I am thankful for...
1. detergent
2. Legos
3. contacts
4. chiropractors
5. squirrels
6. socks
7. Gone with the Wind
8. couches
9. pineapple
10. whipped cream
11. hydrogen peroxide
12. diversity
13. lawn mowers
14. wash clothes
15. towels
16. vanilla
17. concerts
18. karaoke bars
19. needles
20. drawers
21. steam
22. energy
23. dams
24. swimming pools
25. chestnuts roasting on an open fire
26. daylight saving time
27. shopping carts
28. pontoon boats
29. big rocks the tops of which are great for jumping
30. Paris
31. my heritage

Day 16: I am thankful for...
1. yogurt
2. fat
3. rock 'n roll
4. church
5. puddles
6. England
7. menus
8. dust pans
9. crystal
10. planetariums
11. mayonnaise
12. padded bras
13. vintage
14. my will
15. Switchfoot
16. mountains
17. the credit union
18. mousse
19. blow-driers
20. Beanie Babies
21. discounts
22. Aretha Frankensteins
23. the starving children in Africa
24. columns
25. Wall-E
26. Woopi Goldburg
27. eagles
28. doodles
29. wit
30. my cuticles
31. wheels

Day 17: I am thankful for...
1. oranges
2. plaid
3. plastic wrap
4. buckets
5. Tuesday
6. snow
7. barns
8. calenders
9. dusting spray
10. porcelain
11. Chinese
12. TED talks
13. bells, especially doorbells
14. fertilizer
15. Five Iron Frenzy
16. my bellybutton
17. empathy
18. pearls
19. vegetable peelers
20. pumpkin pie
21. transformers
22. Beauty and the Beast
23. Epsom Salt
24. adoption
25. speed
26. pictogram
27. mini M&Ms
28. pot holders
29. bagels
30. parking spots
31. drafts

Day 18: I am thankful for...
1. air conditioners
2. trash cans
3. window blinds
4. seat belts
5. bouncy balls
6. Silly Putty
7. water filters
8. screws
9. studs
10. the mute button
11. Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream
12. diving boards
13. life jackets
14. bicycles
15. storage compartments
16. shovels
17. my eyebrows
18. phone books
19. songs
20. preying mantises
21. sarcasm
22. sincerity
23. my dental retainer
24. having some knowledge of phonetics
25. car washes
26. ammonia
27. Butterfingers
28. high-fives
29. graph paper
30. charcoal pencils
31. mascara

Day 19: I am thankful for...
Day 19: I am thankful for...
1. doctors
2. Bugs Bunny
3. carrots
4. fences
5. black berries
6. bug spray
7. long pants
8. tents
9. sleeping bags
10. road trips
11. Oregon
12. the coastal shoreline
13. shells
14. whales
15. Moby Dick
16. Dory
17. DVDs
18. burnable discs
19. playlists
20. holes
21. Swiss cheese
22. Arabian nights
23. my imagination
24. Reading Rainbow
25. Lamb Chops
26. The Chop House
27. curse words
28. cadence
29. the US Navy
30. wedges
31. waterproof sealer

Day 20: I am thankful for...
1. today
2. crackers
3. timers
4. trash bags
5. insulation
6. rocks
7. Christmas trees
8. the American Constitution
9. Dr. Suess
10. spaghetti
11. hula hoops
12. enamel
13. stamps
14. the delete button
15. mercy
16. My Dog Skip
17. lead
18. shapes
19. punctuation
20. dopamine and serotonin
21. tomato soup
22. next-day shipping
23. the US postal service
24. rubber bands
25. aluminum
26. scientists
27. my muscles
28. garlic
29. gymnastics
30. change
31. Highlighters

Day 21: I am thankful for...
1. zombies
2. apostrophes
3. yarn
4. crocheting hooks
5. automatic windows
6. clothes hangers
7. creeks
8. stumps
9. paint markers
10. Big Lots
11. Burt's Bees
12. my nose
13. white blood cells
14. Brail
15. massages
16. play dough
17. the Metric System
18. rakes
19. flee medication
20. lower case letters
21. black pants
22. gravel
23. that moment when you arrive just in time to do what you came to do
24. experimentation
25. Aladdin
26. dimes
27. slideshows
28. apples trees
29. Labradors
30. Elvis Presley
31. roller coasters

Day 22: I am thankful for...
1. wind
2. Amazon.com
3. home
4. sea food
5. Sara Bareilles
6. the Imperial March
7. Powerade
8. foreign exchange students
9. biographies
10. mailboxes
11. dung beetles
12. keratin
13. ponytail holders
14. Alan Greenspan
15. bundt pans
16. HDR
17. illusions
18. mechanical pencil refills
19. South Park
20. ingenuity
21. recycling
22. Jack Johnson
23. inside jokes, especially ones I'm in on
24. fried chicken
25. measuring cups
26. chocolate chips
27. canola oil
28. Ancient Rome
29. Sharpies
30. my uvula
31. leave-in conditioner

Day 23: I am thankful for...
1. cork boards
2. scotch tape
3. curse words
4. questions
5. razors
6. capital letters
7. hoop skirts
8. the Emancipation Proclamation
9. Monopoly
10. cousins
11. Target
12. Hellogoodbye
13. mattresses
14. bunk beds
15. Juno
16. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
17. Vodka
18. #24
19. door knobs
20. coffee filters
21. freckles
22. saddles
23. history
24. college
25. Latin
26. weekends
27. sunglasses
28. sensitivity
29. the Urban Dictionary
30. drag shows
31. snail mail


Day 24: I am thankful for...
1. Keyboards
2. Desktop computers
3. Autocorrect (when it isn't screwing up what I'm trying to say)
4. Marbles
5. Captain Hook
6. Board games
7. Bows
8. eBay
9. Nostalgia
10. Touch screens
11. Peppermint bark
12. Curls
13. Sales
14. Saline solution
15. 2nd Grade
16. Attics
17. Cloth napkins
18. Collages
19. Reflectors
20. Bath and Body works
21. Owls
22. Take-out
23. Clowns
24. Pocket knives
25. Robin hood
26. Bandwidth
27. TV Land
28. Eye liner
29. Knock-knock jokes
30. Passwords
31. Brotherly love

Day 25: I am thankful for...
1. The Grench
2. Alvin and the Chipmunks
3. Big band music
4. Blankets
5. Pear trees
6. Reindeer
7. Misfit toys
8. Snowmen
9. Flying
10. Piglet
11. Prime numbers
12. The cinematic experience
13. Good cheer
14. Syrup
15. Candy canes
16. Glitter
17. Jingle Bells
18. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
19. Annie
20. Tap dancing
21. Home Alone
22. Lamp shades
23. Trunks
24. Me
25. You
26. Yesterday
27. Andy
28. Round brushes
29. Scarves
30. Zoe Deschanel
31. Night lights


Day 26: I am thankful for...
1. caramel popcorn
2. slouchy hats
3. hipsters
4. creative wrapping jobs
5. my family's sense of humor
6. free stuff
7. the smell of freshly ground coffee *heavenly*
8. holiday music by Disney characters
9. fireplaces
10. bacon
11. gutters
12. pacifiers
13. Becky's Discount Shoes
14. quotes
15. braces
16. triple antibiotic ointment
17. polyester
18. pajama pants
19. precipitation
20. vegetable peelers
21. fantasy
22. Gold Bond
23. vacuum cleaners
24. space pens
25. my ribs
26. Tetras
27. tea pots
28. Ben Daniel
29. dandelions
30. winning when there is no competition
31. unexpected surprises (and the occasional redundancy)

Day 27: I am thankful for...
1. script
2. belts
3. blue jeans
4. overalls
5. status updates
6. alone time
7. the Renaissance
8. kindergarden
9. strike-anywhere matches
10. grapefruit
11. spray bottles
12. curtains
13. coffee pots
14. feeling
15. current
16. Miss Frizzle
17. Crystal Hoover Henderson
18. punk rock
19. photosynthesis
20. spelling that correctly the first try
21. Emma Stone
22. indexes
23. prefixes
24. the Walnut Street Bridge
25. Athlete's foot cream
26. bottle openers
27. silverware
28. extensions
29. refunds
30. my gums
31. multiplication/division

Day 28: I am thankful for...
1. my hairstylist
2. yoga mats
3. indoor plumbing
4. birthdays
5. directories
6. the agitator in the clothes washer
7. middles names
8. Avenue Q
9. octagons
10. live music
11. blow driers
12. lighting bugs
13. visors
14. rearview mirrors
15. Bose sound
16. spooning
17. euphemisms
18. the Erlanger cafeteria
19. grasshoppers
20. USB cords
21. bridles
22. cd cases
23. strawberries
24. now
25. JoMegAmyBeth
26. parades
27. the county fair
28. proper sentence structures
29. Crayola
30. sketchbooks
31. bumper stickers

Day 29: I am thankful for...
1. focus
2. somatic practices
3. boyfriends
4. Sing it or Wing it
5. ornaments
6. chili
7. heavy coats
8. mittens
9. story books
10. parables
11. short films
12. teeth whiteners
13. linoleum
14. shelves
15. my hipbones
16. glass repair shops
17. my esophagus
18. eyeshadow
19. R2D2 and C3PO
20. Trixy Beldon
21. Lucy Maud Montgomery
22. Canadians
23. Ryan Gosling
24. restart buttons
25. Johnny Cash
26. ginger
27. sewing needles
28. afghan
29. irony, like the fact that afghan (as in warm cozy blanket) is spelled the same way as Afghan (a person from a country that I do not consider warm and cozy at all, except in the literal sense of warm, but definitely not cozy, unless one is wearing one of those head wrap things, in which case cozy still isn't the exact word I would choose, but rather maybe suffocating).
30. the occasional run-on sentence
31. hyphens

Day 30: I am thankful for...
1. air fresheners
2. springs
3. stages
4. sisters
5. Otter boxes
6. white out
7. pellet ice
8. Styrofoam
9. sea horses
10. armrests
11. seat belts
12. aisle
13. Halloween
14. feathers
15. fake eyelashes
16. Linda Ronstadt
17. Germany
18. social science
19. birth control
20. trains
21. elastic
22. daisy chains
23. American Girls
24. legal pads
25. bouquets
26. Florence and the Machines
27. ale
28. sweater vests
29. prioritization
30. window seats
31. the alphabet


Day 31: I am thankful for...
1. bologna
2. all the things I've learned from doing this exercise of focusing my attention
3. being able to count
4. realizing that there are an infinite number of things to be thankful for when I take the time to think about it
5. not having to remember everything all the time
6. not having to be thankful for everything just because it exists but having the choice to decide what I am and am not thankful for
7. having fun splitting hairs
8. Fun facts: like the fact that a factory sharpened Cutco blade can split a hair twenty times because they are badass sharp.
9. Ghirardelli Chocolate
10. not having to know how to pronounce that name to be able to enjoy the taste
11. sliced bread
12. strawberry jam
13. grape jelly
14. my choice
15. the knowledge that I am not what I create
16. themes
17. all the little people, whose names I can't remember
18. Amway
19. back seats
20. Supper Time
21. Glee
22. associations
23. chicken noodle soup
24. the profound
25. smoke
26. the ability to make judgements and surrender judgements
27. homosexuals, especially gay guys
28. home births
29. reminders
30. CAPS LOCK
31. this opportunity to share 961 different things in a month (give or take one or two, I'm pretty sure I was thankful for oreos more than once) that I am thankful for with you, my dear, sweet, generous, sometimes obstinate and argumentative, kind, compassionate, interesting Facebook friends