Some of My Favorite Things~Bonnie

Our gifts can be big and small. I have been periodically been working on this list of my favorite things for a few years now and today I am updating it again, these update for 2011 will be in Red. Orange 2010, Green 2009 I must have updated the list twice in one year as I also see Blue??

This is such a fun list to make...I hope you have one for the days when you are feeling down, or sad, or bored with a ho-hum life, it is a great pick me up! There is so much to be thankful for and so much to enjoy in this life. You may even find things on here twice! The original one was done around Thanksgiving 2008. I thought I would add it in to my list of 1000 Gifts as well. But I am not assigning each thing a number, holy cow!

Thanksgiving *

I know we are all thinking about Thanksgiving and the things we should be grateful for each day. I also know that for many of us, every day is Thanksgiving Day as we bow our heads and thank the Lord for his abundant blessings in our lives. I originally posted the list below in July but wanted to do it again today. As I think of new things I'll add them in color. I think we should all have a list like this and add to it regularly.

I'd like to challenge you all to write one to share with us
on your blog sometime between now and Thanksgiving.
It may surprise you what the Lord has done for us all!

Finding Joy in the Big and Little Things of life

My Philanthropist Jim, being mom to three and then six, being the Gramma to 10 fabulous kids, Baby Hazel's much improved health, beautiful interiors, answers to prayers, nicknames, licorice, Will Smith, flower gardens, Netflix, memories of good days gone by, Hazie's New Scooter, computers (iMac in particular), Lowell, the iMac guru, red, uplifting and fun movies, great books, San Francisco, days alone with Jim-Bob, rings, funny things the kids say, wonderful friends, Just A Little Lowder came on the scene, linen spray, Laura's big hair obsession, North & South the mini-series, temple times, my iPod and the sweet brother that gave it to me, Camillia Tea Room in Benicia, blogs and bloggers, scrapbooks of old, thinking about our kids and how much we love them and their families, green; the way God makes it, Hazie's wheelchair all purple and sparkly, dimples, Europe, 7 cents a minute international calls, the families of our children's spouses, Diane Keaton, having fancy dinner parties, girl time, Hilary Swank, Miss Vanessa's Fab Blog, bracelets, quiet restaurants, thinking about retirement and the freedoms of it, Farmer's Market, Billy Joel, Blogging, blogging and more blogging, ethnic foods, Tom & Jean, photography, a great sense of humor, fabulous books, truffles, education, art, home accessories, movie tickets, fabulous jewelry, revisiting places with nostalgic past memories, WC III Ward, Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia), seeing friends from the past, Palm Springs in January, Scottish accents, Jeffery Holland, God's mercy, love & grace, Thrift Store finds, memories of Mississippi before Katrina, no more math classes, salt and vinegar chips, normal body temperatures~no fevers for Hazel in two months now, Washington D.C., eucalyptus trees, pansies, fish; alive and in the pan, digital photos, Curiel lotion, Ann Voskamp's blog, the guys in the white hats, Hazie in the pots and pans, creme soda, fried scallops and calamari, birds singing in the morning, frogs croaking at night, Facebook reunions, crickets chirping or whatever they do WHILE they are totally out of sight because they scare me, Room with A Past, shade, phone calls just to say hi, passionate causes, voting, laughing 'til tears roll down your face, a good cry, a gift for no particular reason~just because, Richard Gere, smiling when its hard 'til your heart believes it, waxing lyrical (per Jen's request), hilarious comedians, Blogging Friends, Johnny Mathias, Uncle Buffalo, K.D. Lang, Nora Jones, Diana Krall, Thai Food. Studying the history of WW2.

Thinking about parents and grandparents, my great brothers and their families, plans to move nearer the kids, New Orleans (pre-Katrina) in the winter, new friends, leather furniture, deer in the yard if they are not eating our plants, electronic technology, the smell of steak on the barbie, Gordon B. Hinckley, tax deductions, summer evenings when it cools off, cyber friends, Blissfully Domestic, summer mornings, Queen Latifah, fire in the fireplace, Letters From Juliet, Autumn, teaching, the holidays, oddly enough...flying, our DVD collection, Lee, Barb, my Monday morning group of inspiring friends..past and present, courteous and friendly strangers, watching all the grandkids grow older and mature and develop their characters, pictures of Cohen Romney, Robert hugs, designer paint, white picket fences, beautiful kitchens and bathrooms, good health, magazines, family history, Google, shopping with my favorite females, snuggling with the babies, fabulous memories of all European travel, Val Wilcox, Connor's concertos, thinking about our mission for the church, laughing a lot, Mother's Day, cherry pie, Tom Hanks, North and South, appreciation, Louis Armstrong, garlic; on everything that doesn't have sugar, Perkins Cove~ Maine, memories of Chris & Laura in Pops Concerts, the Ensign, Old Glory, rainbows, houses, waterfalls, GPS, cracked crab, Jen's new paper flowers, great singers, New Hampshire foliage, Kevin James in Hitch, porch swings, Norma Bowerbank's pizazz,

sunrise, sunset the events and the movies, Michael Ball, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rankin, Kenny Rogers, Kenny G, Michael Buble, The National Science Foundation, Big Band music and other oldies from my parents' era, our cousins, Silpada Jewelry, Bob & Beth, Scott's Restaurant's fried calamari, Christmas in Italy,memories of our good friends gone before us, Chinese Food, Elder Holland, Presidents Uchdorf and Eyring, Rossie's billion kisses, our cottage, clean sheets, Golden Girls Christmas Luncheon, disappearing into the matinée alone and not telling anyone where I am for a couple of hours, bleu cheese, car trips with Jim, babies' toes, online shopping, driving right past the place I use to work, that four of our grandkids have blogs, The Gilmore Girls, enjoying the wonders of nature and the beautiful world we live in, shopping in Italy, a full moon in October, Jim's cooking, James Franco movies, hot chocolate on a winter's morn, Jeff Adams' knowledge of the Gospel, iPhone, ice, texting, Steve Martin, photo editing, air-conditioning, Real Simple, the excitement of falling in love and staying in love, Date Night, reliable cars, mad money, cell phones, e-mail, abc.go.com, the heartfelt "I love yous" from the little ones, pancakes at Cracker Barrel, Olympics, Denzel Washington, the crow of a rooster in the early morning, The Kindle, Sausalito, gift cards to the movies, Itty Bitty Soap Company, the smell of pine trees and baking bread and the sea, Good Ole Days, Billy Crystal, baby's skin, popcorn popping in the pan and on the apricot trees, no shower curtain or door, being alone, being together, Italian marble, Cabot Cheese,

turkey baking, a clean house, Matt Damon, anything Christmas, the forest, our newly remodeled and spruced up house, driving through canopied streets, patio umbrellas, homemade ice cream, my Daddy's gentle ways, Patrick Swayze, good haircuts, Newport, Rhode Island, manicure and pedicures and a great massage, family photos, long time friends, giving gifts and service to my favorite people, Judi Dench, our never failing Kim, mom's potato salad, apple pie and her nut bread, iPhone, getting to know Caroline and Faye so much better, Missy's great cooking, Moonlight & Roses, my Dad's garden and his ability to win every game he ever played, Oprah, Paris, memories of my brother, Brighton, Steve, when Alesha & Raul got married and of Sebastian watching them dance and knowing he belonged to them, War and Remembrance the mini-series, sleeping with our granddaughter Julia Mae, our new bathroom, concert memories, Muir Woods, black current and licorice sweet treats from Scotland, Concord II Ward, James Taylor, Jen's cupcake obsession, drive-in movies, Newport mansions, one on one with our kids, Connor's piano playing, Lowell's Lost and his Mr. Bass Man, the way Tony Damiano teaches Sunday School, Yosemite, the sound of a push mower, the smell of freshly cut grass, Creme Brulee, faux grass, real grass, Restoration Hardware, Rick Steves, The Nut Cracker Ballet in SF, my Mom's unconditional love for me, days with nothing pressing to do, Marie and her Kitchen, chocolate, Silpada, Brenden Frazier, a good storm, bedazzlement, fun collections, flash drives, theater, concerts, Yale University campus, musicals, Christmas tree lights, Piper; our Scottish princess, Christmas in Scotland, croutons, cheese fondue, Rouclette,

good responsible people, Traci Hartman and her photography, a walk in Golden Gate Park, thinking about the blessing of having a husband that can do anything, answered prayers, old things, new things, Linda Ann, glitter, Connor's vocabulary, double paned vinyl windows, memories of travel to Italy, working with Laura on houses, also Jim, Maureen and Emily, Scotland, my brother Steve's Airport Taxi Service, candle light, Orchard Nursery, Agent Baigent, Zach's charging hugs when we visit, clean windows, good jazz, the gift of Chloe Jane and her spiciness, Golden Gate Park, Paris, Venice, Orvieto, Florence, birthdays, the delete button, my new Rebecca Stewart, buying new clothes, Disneyland, New England in the fall, getting paid for what I love, Robert Mitchum, salads, urns pots and outdoor statuary, road trips with the family, Muir Woods redwoods, the way Spencer could tell you all about the water systems of a city at 2 years old, salsa, all things feminine, possibilities, getting a real bargain, Kenny Rankin's music, Google Reader, gel nails, Max Raabe, Aynlsee's beautiful stripped golden and apricot hair and sweet smile, hydrangeas, Nellie, Maggie Smith, Day Trips with Jim, grandkids loving their cousins, vests for layering, Wrinkle Releaser for fabrics, Shaun, Root Beer Floats, Julia Roberts, going on Brokers' Tour to see houses others have staged, Tiberon harbor benches, punctuality, Filoli Gardens, writing, Manhatten, watermelon, Weight Watchers new program, the way Jen helped Laura after Katrina, Laura and Brandon's Life, the way Laura re-decorated the faculty lounge at Spencer's elementary school over a three day weekend to surprise the teachers, Verona, artichokes, sunshine on my shoulders, Owen's sweetness, maple trees, garden tomato sandwiches, pandora.com, clean cars, Chris' career accomplishments, hearing Laura and Ross speak Italian, adding to this list as things pop into my head, Retirement, Jeffery Dean Morgan, HomeGoods, box seats at an opera you have studied and understand before you go, Deanna's Christmas Blog and Old Radio Shows, reflexology, eTools, Christmas stockings, Presepes, garage sales, the love and lessons of Hazel, the Rockies, knowing when enough is enough...well, almost knowing it anyway....! Ah, on second thought, maybe not!

Way more than anyone really wanted to know but great notes for my obit!


*As seen in Country Living
and theinspiredroom.net
(2 more of my favorite things)