Recurring Elements

For the past few years, I have been making my own holiday cards. This was from 2007. When I looked at it today, I realized my dog was a pancake in this image! I love finding recurring themes in my artwork.

Sometimes abstract elements such as colors or shapes appear over and over. Sometimes narrative images appear. For example, one recurring image is a girl or woman looking into a mirror.
These sketches were done pretty spontaneously and on separate days within the past month.

Here is a drawing from a sketchbook that is a couple of years old:

It's always interesting for me to make these discoveries of repeated elements.
What are your thoughts on this? What are the recurring elements in your work?

In the meantime, I'd better get moving on my holiday card for '08!