In the month of November, I posted a picture and what I’m thankful for each day on Facebook and Instagram. This helped me to focus my heart on being thankful not just on Thanksgiving day, but throughout the month. Completing all 30 days of thankfulness didn’t come easily and there were days where I felt like giving up, but I’m thankful that I persevered. I’m thankful for this tradition that I started 2 or 3 years ago and hopefully, I can continue for years to come. One thing that I did differently this time than previous year is that I didn’t keep up with posting something each day, but I posted at my own pace whenever I felt like it. That lifted the burden of my back and I’m glad I made that choice to do this at my own pace.
Here’s a recap of all 30 days:
Day 1 of thankfulness:
I’m thankful for rest. I followed my 3 step process that I mentioned in my blog. First, I gave myself permission to rest and set boundaries so that I can rest. Second, I wanted to go to bed early so I made sure I didn’t hang out with friends too late. I made sure I went to bed by 9pm like a grandma 👵. I played too hard for Halloween. 😂 Third, I got ready for bed by 8pm and went to bed by 9. I got 10 hours of sleep, just for my body to recover from the long week. I feel so well rested and good. 🙌
Day 2 of thankfulness:
I’m thankful for my friends who remember me during this 🎃 season. I have been enjoying all the pumpkin goodies from friends. I feel loved when people think of me when they see a pumpkin. 😂 Also, I love sharing my pumpkin love with others. Pumpkin carving and baking with pumpkin are my favorite things to do with friends!
Day 3 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for Eileen and her big heart for people. She’s going to be a missionary and teacher in Thailand. I ❤️ her heart for people especially the ones who are underserved like people on the streets and the Thai people. I’m thankful to have gotten to know Eileen for the past few years through World Christian Fellowship prayer group and she encourages us to step out in faith. I pray that she continues to be bold and courageous for God on the other side of the world.
Day 4 of thankfulness: I’m thankful to be able to participate at Pathway’s annual craft fair and to be able to sell international crafts from The Light Center Thailand and Todd Fong Photography. I’m thankful for that this craft fair allows me to share about Pathway’s missionaries and the good work that they are doing around the world. I’m thankful for my friends in helping me out with the missions table so I won’t be lonely. I’m thankful for the fair organizer.
Day 5 of thankfulness: I’m thankful that I’m able to inspire a friend to participate with me on the 30 days of thankfulness just from posting on day 1. I never formally told anyone to be thankful or even invite anyone to join me, but I secretly hoped others would jump on the bandwagon as I posted daily. I’m reminded that if I can make an impact for one person, then this daily effort is worth it and I will keep encouraging others with my daily thankfulness (even if it’s late). 🙌 Now, we are keeping each other accountable in this 30 days of gratitude. Will you join us? It’s never too late to join.
Day 6 of thankfulness: I’m thankful to be able to be a kid again and have a little imagination. 😉 I know Halloween is over, but I can still have fun and pretend to be Pinky Uni-kitty spontaneously. Pinky had a recent play-date with my friend’s kids. We had a blast making apple juice from scratch, one of Pinky’s favorites, coloring, and playing board games. There’s nothing like making a kid’s dream extra special and a reality.
Day 7 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for friends that helped out and visited me at the craft fair. The craft fair wouldn’t be fun and successful without supportive friends.
Day 8 of thankfulness: I’m thankful that my friends and I were able to pull off the surprise engagement. Great teamwork. I’m thankful for my engaged friends and their love for each other. Congrats to the happy couple!
Day 9 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for the America’s true heros who fought for our country. Happy Veteran’s Day!
Day 10 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for prayer art night. Yesterday, I took out my sketch book and watercolor pencils for the first time and let my imagination run free. 😄 It’s been a while since I allowed myself to be creative and artistic, so I really enjoyed being able to create a piece of art. My inspiration came from a bare tree inside the house which had construction paper leaves where people wrote their thanksgiving. So, I created my own thanksgiving tree listing all the things I’m thankful for. While doing this, I found this to be very therapeutic and refreshing to my soul. This reminded me that there are many ways to express thankfulness such as writing/drawing it down in a journal, sharing on social media or verbally saying it.
Day 11 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for my missional community (MC) group. We meet together weekly and we also have fun together. I’m thankful for these ladies in my group who have helped me to go deeper and encouraged me in my journey. I’m thankful that I don’t have to go through life alone. They are always helping me to strive for the best version of myself by pointing me to Christ. We are iron sharpens iron.
Day 12 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for Friendsgiving and being able to get together with friends. Friendsgiving has been a tradition that I started with both MC and WCF groups because I wanted to bake a turkey and share it with friends. (Call me crazy 😜.) Three years ago, I successfully baked a turkey and planned Friendsgiving with activities for WCF group, so I knew I could repeat baking a turkey with my MC. 🙌 Now, the tradition continues for both groups. I’m looking forward to both Friendsgivings. 😄 (and yes…I love baking a turkey. It all started a few years ago when I discovered the perfect recipe and made it every thanksgiving for my family.)
Day 13 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for international student fellowship (ISF). I’m thankful for all the friends that I connected with over the past 10 years since first being involved and now being able to reconnect again. Yesterday, I had the chance to volunteer again at the thanksgiving dinner and it brought back good memories of when I consistently volunteered in the past. I even dig up some old photos and went down memory lane. I enjoyed making friends with international students.
Day 14 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for family. I’m glad I’m able to celebrate my cousins’ November birthdays. We usually don’t get together unless there’s a celebration, so I’m thankful that the holidays are coming up.
Day 15 of thanksgiving (halfway there!): I’m thankful for Doterra’s BOGO week. This is the best time of year to stock up on essential oils and one of the few times I promote my small business. I’m thankful for Jinnia who introduced me to essential oils 5 years ago and helped me get into the business. I’m thankful that essential oils to keep me healthy. I don’t use any over the counter medicine whenever I’m sick, but I use essential oils instead. There’s an essential oil for everything! 😅 I’m thankful for my customers. Feel free to ask me if you’re interested to learn more about essential oils and/or BOGO sales and how essential oils can help you. I ❤️ sharing with others.
Day 16 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for my mom. She’s one of the people that can endure much pain. I’m thankful that she is recovering after a recent fall where she landed in the ER (luckily no broken bones just a painful knee sprain). 😅 I’m thankful that she doesn’t complain about her pain though I know pain level is probably a 10 out of 10. She’s a good patient to let me take care of her. 😂 (If anyone has a chance, please say a prayer 🙏 for her health and speedy recovery.) I’m thankful that she enjoys traveling and has earned the title “cruise queen.” She has shown me the world through traveling. (First picture is when we traveled to Vietnam together a few years ago on our first overseas trip for the both of us.) I’m thankful she enjoys being a grandma and embracing this new season of life. She is super grandma 👵 to my niece. My niece is lucky to have a grandma that will take her to the library for baby bounce and watch her half the week. My mom is willing to learn the baby songs through YouTube. (my sister and I missed out when we were kids😭 who knew my mom can be the funniest baby singer and dancer?😂). The best part my niece loves it and her eyes light up whenever my mom sings those song.
Day 17 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for my dad. I’m thankful that he helped me to grow into who I was meant to be. He was the one who inspired me a few years ago to start this daily thanksgiving. He was one of the most appreciative person I knew who always said thank you for the little and big things. It has helped me to be more appreciative of the little and big things in life. Today I remember him as I cooked a lobster dinner. It was his favorite meal and I only cooked it for him twice a year for Father’s Day and his birthday because he always asked for it. Today is neither of those days, but luckily Safeway had a $5 Friday deal so I couldn’t pass it up and remember my dad. I admit that I forget about him often, out of sight out of mind. I don’t stop to remember him, not because I don’t want to, but because I am consumed with everything that’s going on in life and the hustle and bustle. It wasn’t until a friend had mentioned about him in conversation just recently that made me pause to remember him. I appreciate it when friends ask about my dad (and it doesn’t make me feel weird or sad). I think it’s good pause in the midst of living a crazy busy life to remember my dad and to shed some tears. I’m thankful that friends can care for me in this way. I know it can be a touchy topic talking about a deceased person or even know how to bring it up the topic.
Day 18 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for my favorite sister. Growing up with someone who’s close in age was a lot of fun and now, it’s even more fun to play with her mini me. I’m thankful that she’s a loving, caring, and disciplined mom to my niece.
Day 19 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for my niece. She lights up the room with her cuteness and smile. I ❤️ watching her grow up and she’s growing up so fast. She loves to sing, eat, read, and point at things. I’m thankful that she helps me to be a proud auntie.
Day 20 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for the motivation to write my blog. My blog has been neglected for most of the year. I admit that it’s hard to finish writing a blog post because being vulnerable doesn’t come naturally. With a few friends who have mentioned how they appreciated my thanksgiving social media posts and the comments that I received from the posts, I was motivated to write again. I wrote this blog post in time for thanksgiving that this may be helpful and informative to others who want to help their friends/family who have lost a loved one. My goal for blogging is to be able to encourage others to shine brightly. Thank you for inspiring me to write and I hope you will shine brightly in your lives!
Day 21 of thankfulness: I’m thankful that extra preparation before thanksgiving may help me to earn my cooking prime rib badge. I’ve successfully mastered the turkey recipe for thanksgiving and now it’s time to master the prime rib “beast.” This year, my sister requested prime rib over the turkey. 😲 Challenge accepted! I’ve watched many videos and read recipes. Tonight, I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and garlic. I hope garlic is the secret recipe because I shoved the cloves inside every side of the meat. 😂
Day 22 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for friends, family, food, fun, and fellowship on thanksgiving day! I’m thankful for the 3rd annual Friendsgiving with my MC group. I’m thankful for the love and encouragement from the ladies in the group. Happy thanksgiving! 🍁 My heart ❤️ is grateful and full! I’m thankful for everyone who’s kept up with my daily thankfulness posts. 😉 I only have a week left till the end of 30 days of thankfulness. I’m glad I’m almost there. 😂🙌
Day 22 of thankfulness (extra thankful for time to post again): I’m thankful I earned my prime rib badge today. Cooking prime rib was a success. 😋 It has the approval of my sister and brother in law. My brother in law said it taste better than house of prime rib. 😲I’m not sure if I have beginner’s luck or I’m just an awesome cook on thanksgiving. 😂 I didn’t have a meat thermometer and relied on the recipe and a timer. Prime rib is really simple to make. Just in case anyone was wondering the recipe, I used this recipe.
Day 23 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for small business Saturday. I’m thankful for all my loyal customers who support my Doterra (essential oil) business. You help me to share my love of oils and help you meet your health goals. (And yes, I’m thankful to this one customer who purchased all these products from the BOGO sale.) If anyone is interested to learn how to get $50 in free products today, send me message.
Day 24 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for celebrating thanksgiving with some of my extended family. I’m thankful that I was able to pull this off with last minute planning and prepping. 😅 I also had first time luck cooking a 11 pound ham. I think ham is the easiest thing to cook for fancy meals. 😂 Thanks to my cousin for helping in the kitchen. I’m thankful for my extended family as we don’t see each other often even though we don’t live far from each other. I’m looking forward to seeing the other half of the family at future celebrations next month.
Day 25 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for today’s lazy rainy day where I can have a movie marathon. 😂 I haven’t done this in a long time and it feels so relaxing. Milk and cookies were quite a treat while watching movies. This is a great way to end the thanksgiving season! 🙌I’m also thankful for my friend’s kids for baking me snickerdoodles which was quite a surprise when they gifted it to me today at church. I’m thankful that they are so thoughtful.
Day 26 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for Celebrate You Coaching (CYC). I’m thankful that CYC equips and empowers the unemployed and underemployed individuals in the SF Bay Area through career/life coaching and workshops. I believe in this organization 💯 and have seen the positive impact CYC has had and still having in the Bay Area. I’m thankful that CYC provides hope to those who have lost hope and their way. As a way to end these days of thankfulness, I hope you will consider donating and supporting CYC on Giving Tuesday. To donate, go to https://www.celebrateyoucoaching.com/donate . Thank you for your generous support!
Day 27 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for those who donated to my giving Tuesday fundraiser for Celebrate You Coaching and all those who gave to non-profits on giving Tuesday. 🙌 With the help of friends, we raised $145 to help equip and empower the unemployed of CYC. If you would still like to give to CYC, we are having another fundraiser till the end of the year. This is a clothing drive fundraiser. Now is the best time to clean out your closet to get ready for the new year with new clothes for the new you. 😉 Savers will pay CYC $0.25 per pound for all of our donations. If anyone has any clothing to donate, please message me and I’d be happy to pick it up from you. Thanks in advance. 😄 We are 58% to our goal.
Our fundraiser website:
https://fundrive.savers.com/e/clothingfundrive_47
Day 28 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for hanging in till the end (2 more days) and continuing days of thankfulness at my own pace. I admit after 2 weeks, I wanted to end it because it was a lot of work. Perseverance is one of my weaknesses, so I’m thankful that I can strengthen my weakness. To end days of thankfulness and celebrate, I’m having a giveaway for a Starbucks gift card. All you have to do is comment what you’re thankful for, just like I did for my days of thankfulness. You’ll be entered in my giveaway. I will announce the winner on day 30 of thankfulness.
Day 29 of thankfulness: I’m thankful for sweet memories with my niece this year. We went to see Santa for her birthday and it was a lot better than I expected. 😂 No smiles for Santa, but not wet tears or screams either, just some whimpering. Maybe next year she’ll sit on Santa’s lap and actually smile . 😀 Happy first birthday to cute niece! 🎂 I’m thankful we can celebrate her. Raffle giveaway in honor of my niece’s first birthday: comment below what you’re thankful for or something you’re celebrating this month and you’ll be entered in a raffle drawing for a Starbucks gift card. Winner will be announce at day 30 of thankfulness.
Day 30 of thankfulness: I’m thankful to celebrate my niece and mom’s birthdays. They are two peas in a pod and always have fun together. Even at a young age, Maddie is such a sweet and caring person. She surprised me when she tried to feed the smash cake to her mom instead of herself. I hope she grow up to be loving and caring just like her mom and grandma. Even though this weekend has been about my niece, I’m thankful that we can honor my mom and celebrate her birthday too. Last day to enter for raffle giveaway (Starbucks giftcard)- comment one thing you’re thankful for or something you’re celebrating. You have a good chance in winning as there aren’t many entries.
