Day 30

Wow, it’s Day 30! And I sure haven’t yet covered tons of people and things I’m grateful for. I can’t choose what I’m going to write about… Now, how lucky is that I have such a long list?

So today, I simply want to send out my virtual hugs and kisses to everybody.

My family, my friends, people who directly and indirectly made an impact on me and on the world…

THANK YOU!!

Here is to awesomeness in every single one of us.

Day 26

All of us in my family seem to be very prone to cavities, and I think we make more trips to our dentist than most people. No, that is not something I’m grateful for, LOL.

But I’m very grateful for the wonderful dentist and his staff who take care of us so well.

Just this morning, I had to go through a procedure to replace an old, corroding crown. This particular appointment took almost 2 hours, and while trying so hard to keep my mouth wide open without drooling, I was so impressed by the teamwork between the dentist and his assistant. They knew precisely how everything should be done without exchanging many words, and they were constantly checking on me to make sure I was okay. Oh, it’s hard to explain how impressed I was by their efficiency in words.

The dentist also has another assistant, and two ladies who take care of financial/admin stuff, and they are all awesome. I don’t know it’s a good thing, but my kids do not even mind their trips to the dentist’s office.

It’s great to have a great dentist who we can trust.

Day 24

I am thankful to Costco today.

When I went to a Costco-type of store for that first time (I think it was called Price Club at least back then in Canada), I felt as if I was at an amusement park. It was a lot of fun to see all kinds of stuff in a huge warehouse setting. But at the same time, I couldn’t help feeling, “How would a store like this survive? Nobody needs to buy stuff in such insanely large quantities!”

And now, with a family of 5, that is our favorite store.

I appreciate the fact that they make it easy to purchase variety of stuff that we need every day at discounted pricing, and that we do not need to make frequent trips because, well, we can buy everything in large quantities. They save us time and money, and now I don’t know what we would do without them.

My husband just picked up their free cookbook for me yesterday. Everything looks so yummy… (Drooooooool…)

Day 23

Yesterday was the last day of breastfeeding my baby.

I was very fortunate to be able to breastfeed all my 3 boys without major problems. If I add up all the years of breastfeeding, that would be 7 years in total. Wow, I’m impressed myself, LOL.

I’m not a big breastfeeding advocate or anything. If it works for you, great, but if it doesn’t, that is totally fine, too. The most important thing is for the mom and the baby to be happy.

And for me, it worked great! I especially enjoyed the super special bond that I was able to create with my boys through breastfeeding. My older two started going to a daycare when they were 3 months old, and I used to go visit them during the lunch break to feed them. I enjoyed it so much that running back and forth between the daycare and my office did not feel like a lot of work.

My mother was not able to breastfeed me in spite of her relentless effort. I also know other moms who wanted to breastfeed but could not for various reasons.

I’m thankful that I was able to have this wonderful experience. And of course, thank you, my boys!

Day 22

I’m thankful for Social Media today.

When Stacy started encouraging people to get on Twitter and Facebook over a year ago, I was VERY hesitant… I had used one Japanese social media site for female entrepreneurs before, loved it, but ended up spending way too much time every day. Hey, I’m a busy gal. I don’t have any extra time to spend on more social networking!

But… I also knew that if Stacy was recommending something, I should give it a try. After all she is Stacy Brice!

So I dove into Facebook and Twitter, and later on, I also reactivated my dormant LinkedIn profile. And thank goodness I did.

I admit, I still need to be careful not to spend too much time on these, but I’m loving social networking! It’s a wonderful and easy way to find and connect with people. Through social networking, I recently located my old neighbor whom I had had no idea how to contact. (Hi Tracy!) People are eager to share great information all the time. I also found these sites make it easier to stay connected with people that I meet in the real world.

It will be interesting to see how Google Wave will change the social networking dynamics, by the way. I tried using the preview version (thanks, Eydie, for the invite!), and it’s already making me dizzy, LOL. I’m planning on spending some more time on it. Hope it’s not too addictive.

Day 21

Today is not just Thanksgiving to me and my husband. It’s also our anniversary.

On this day 11 years ago, we tied the knot at a little chapel in Las Vegas (yes, one of those chapels!) after being great friends for over 7 years.

I’m simply so grateful to have him as my husband and as the father of our children. He is the only person who can fill this role.

I don’t know if you’ll ever read this, honey, but I love you! Thank you so much for sharing your life with me.

Day 20

Day 20 already! Today, I’d like to express my thanks to Heather, Stacy, and Monica who are behind this 30 Days of Thanks Project, and also to other fabulous people who are participating by writing or reading.

I was recently talking to Kelly, the Design Biz Coach, and we both agreed on the power of gratitude. (Kelly had a teleseminar for Interior Design professionals yesterday, and she touched upon the importance of gratitude during the call as well. It was such a powerful call!) By simply realizing and writing down all the things you are grateful for, you get so energized, and your day becomes brighter (which of course will make people around you happier, too).

Over a year ago, after reading Take Time for Your Life by Cheryl Richardson for the second time, I put up a big sheet of paper on a kitchen wall, and whenever I came up with something that I was thankful for, I wrote it down with colorful markers. My kids thought it was a fun thing to do, and they started doodling cute pictures on the paper, too… I loved it, until one day, when my youngest found the joy in ripping the paper off, LOL.

Now, my gratitude journal is safe, right here in Cyberspace.

Day 19

Today, I’d love to express my big thanks to my fabulous clients.

I talked about my mentors in my post yesterday, and in many ways, all of my clients are like my mentors, too; I learn so much from them every single day. They are all amazingly intelligent, creative, and positive entrepreneurs who motivate me to grow more. How lucky I am to have such great role models as my clients!

Thank you for letting me be a part of your business. That just means so much to me.

Day 18

I’m thankful to have wonderful mentors in my life.

For a loooooong time, I did not have anybody that I saw as my mentor (well, maybe except for my parents), and I remember, at one point in my life, I was asking people around me, “How do you find a mentor?”

Since I started my journey to become a VA though, I’ve been finding my mentors everywhere! Was it just a timing or my mindset? Or I just did not know that they were around me before? I dunno…

But, it’s wonderful to know that I have these wonderful people that I can model, respect, and get encouragement from. Thank you all… You are playing a big part in my growth.

Day 17

Today was a spacial 3-hour training day at my older two boys’ Judo dojo. They were still recovering from the stomach flu and were not eager to go to dojo in the morning, but once they got there, they had so much fun!

They have been practicing Judo for about 1-1/2 yrs now. We were very fortunate to find a wonderful dojo with dedicated sensei, instructors, supporters, and parents. My boys are learning not only the Judo techniques, but also the discipline, respect, sportmanship, and teamwork.

I’m so thankful to the wonderful people we met there.