What are you thankful for in 2017?

I'm grateful for meeting some cool people on this site. Either in person or online, their support has been amazing & I've developed quite a few friendships as a result.

Thanks to the people of OH for running, keeping & making this site for what it is.

Ok sappy post over. lol

I am thankful for every moment I get with my dad.

I am thankful for surgery.

I am thankful for my awesome dog.

I am thankful for wonderful friends who challenge me to be active and support me in everything.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I am thankful that I have a husband that I can trust and who is kind and loving (even if he is messy).

I am thankful that my mom lives with me. She is my best friend. I value every moment we spend as she will at some point forget who I am.

I am thankful that I got my surgery before they eliminated my position at work.

I am thankful that I am now free and can pursue my career and get paid what I'm worth.

I am thankful for all the support of the OH community and all the people who share their opinions, outlook, tips, tricks and stories.

I am thankful for my fur babies.

Finally and most importantly, I am thankful that I have re-kindled my relationship with God and trust him. He waited patiently for me to come back to him. Even though I never know what is in store in the next moment, I know that he will see me through any challenges.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

2017 was the year my life started over, thanks to RNY surgery on Feb. 1st, and I'll be sad to see it go.

I'm so thankful for this surgery; it's given my life back. I am so grateful for every pound that I lost, and for every activity that and health benefit that I gained as a result.

I'm so very thankful that I'm no longer a plus size, I'm an average size...medium...me! It still boggles my mind, going from a size 24 to a 12 in 9 short months.

I'm thankful for my family and friends, and my feathered and fur babies.

I'm also thankful for the Internet, which lets me get to know fabulous like minded people like you all.

I'm late to this, but I am thankful for:

• My children, my husband, my friends and extended family
• My health - and my VSG!
• My environment
• My OH friends and support!!!!

And I love the picture of you reading to the little ones!

I'm thankful to see the success of my husband's and my efforts to minimalize complications (and debt) in our lives in 2017.

Back Story: Back in 2014, Hubs and I started a new challenge of moving to a new state and building a cabin (our empty nest home) for us in the forest of GA. Our home would be off-grid ad paid for with cash-in-hand. To accomplish this, we are living in this cabin as it's being finished, a work-in-progress. We had our debt reduced and barring a few plot twists, we were starting to enjoy a life less-complicated. I received a curveball in January when I lost my job and had the hardest time I ever had getting a new job. Little did I know how much I would accomplish this year while living in utter poverty.

1. I learned that provided Murphy and his laws didn't stretch their muscles, that Hubs and I could live on less than $1000/month if we had to (because we did much of the year). This was HUGE for us and had me thinking hard about fighting for full-time employment that usually included at least 2 hours of commuting daily.
2. I did take on a project mid-year developing a course for a company and that turned into me writing an entire textbook that was published just last month to be sold either with the course or independent of the course. One of the first books was purchased and shipped to Europe. If any of you are interested in certifying as a Six Sigma Green Belt, that is the online course and textbook content I developed for The Forge. The textbook sales make me ongoing royalties. How cool is that?
3. I was inspired so much by writing the textbook that I wrote a book accounting of my first three years of living off-grid. I had been keeping stories out on a blog already because some were just downright hilarious. This book is out on Amazon and Kindle, The Off-Grid Adventure of a Girly-Girl.
4. I finally landed a job in October, and I think it's going to be perfect. I'm working as a contractor, remotely, doing mostly instructional design. It's taking some getting used to because everyone works remotely, so that's cool. The income stream isn't your standard 2-week pay schedule, it's monthly, but that's okay. I will make more with them working part-time than I made full-time.

This hasn't been a year of prosperity for us, but it laid a good foundation to our goal of life less-complicated and broadened my horizons and experiences in many ways. How cool is that?

Thanks everyone for such great replies and sharing