Good morning and happy Monday!
Here’s what I’m thankful for today:
- I’m thankful for a healthy body and strong legs that allowed me to have a wonderful 6.2 mile run on Saturday morning in support of the Special Olympics. Ben, Sarah, and I ran the Gene Arnold Memorial Special Olympics Pepsi 10K. The weather was beautiful, the temperature was perfect, and the company was great! And we got to catch up with our friend Jamie who we hadn’t see in a long time! My time was an hour, 4 minutes, and 53 seconds which I think is pretty great!
- I’m also thankful for free tickets to the Charlottesville Top of the Hops Beer Festival. Ben and I went the previous 2 years and had a blast but we decided not to go this year because tickets are pretty expensive. Well last week, I won tickets on Facebook from Champion Brewing Company, one of the newer local breweries, so we were able to go for free. We had a great time together, tasted some amazing beers, saw a lot of friends at the festival, and even tried a new restaurant, Now & Zen, for some delicious sushi!
- I’m grateful for my in-laws and the endless supply of fresh eggs and homegrown vegetables they give us. This weekend, they sent us home with 3 dozen eggs laid by their chickens, basil, salad greens, and beans.
- I’m thankful for such a hard working husband. Ben works hard as a programmer every day and then comes home and spends hours taking care of our yard, house, plants, and cats. And he always finds time to workout too! He is my superman!
- I’m grateful to get the chance to see good friends for dinner tomorrow night at the Tavern on the James!
BONUS: I’m thankful the Texans won yesterday! I didn’t get to watch the game because it wasn’t shown here, but I hear it was a close game ending in overtime! Go Texans!
Have a great week!
Good morning and happy Thankful Monday!
Here’s what I’m thankful for today:
- I’m thankful for beautiful weather this weekend that allowed me to spend a great deal of time enjoying the outdoors. I’m especially grateful for this since the weather will soon be turning cooler and the days are already getting shorter. My husband and I enjoyed the weather by running several miles and doing lots of productive yard work.
- I’m thankful for a wonderful and amazing massage I got at Oasis Day Spa & Body Shop and I’m also so grateful for the gift certificate that my
sister-in-lawsister and brother-in-law gave me for Christmas. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion and I decided to treat myself as a reward for losing 9 pounds on Friday. The massage was great and they worked out several crazy knots I didn’t even know I had! - I’m thankful for the chance to support a great cause on Sunday by running the inaugural 9/11 Heroes Run on the University of Virginia grounds. The race was in support of the Travis Manion Foundation which supports our nations veterans and service members and their families. This race is especially close to the hearts of firefighters and rescue squad members, like my father-in-law (who told us about the race and has been an active rescue squad member/firefighter for over 3 decades), because the race benefits first responders and service members like Travis Manion for whom the foundation is named.
- I’m thankful for a new phone! There are probably more important things to be thankful for, but sometimes you’ve just got to focus on the simple things. I’m very thankful that Verizon shipped me a new phone for free(thanks to my foresight in choosing to pay for phone insurance) especially since last week we had 2 broken air conditioning units, Ben’s broken car, my broken phone, and a leak in our bathtub. My old phone had been acting up for months and continued to get worse and worse so a new phone that, so far, works seamlessly is a blessing!
- Lastly, I’m thankful for the opportunity this week to get together with some of my old friends from VGT and catch up. A VGT Girl’s Night Out has been long overdue!
Have a wonderful week!
For the past six years, I’ve run the Charlottesville Women’s Four Miler, the most popular local race that raises breast cancer awareness and money to support local breast cancer research. The race is overwhelmingly popular, so much so that it increasingly closes in record times. Last year, it closed in 10 hours and this year it closed in 5! I usually set my alarm to wake me up so I can sign up as soon as race registration opens so I can secure a much coveted spot.
This race is especially important to me because it is the race that got me started running. I’d always been into treadmill running throughout high school and college but let’s face it, treadmill running and outdoor running are just not the same. Back in the summer of 2008, I joined the Charlottesville Women’s Four Miler Training Program where they taught me everything from how to run properly to how to choose the correct type of running shoe. Since then, I have run the Four Miler ever Labor Day weekend with my sister-in-law Sarah and many other amazing friends and women. My sister even ran it unofficially a couple of years ago because she was in town visiting. I’ve also gone on to complete 2 half marathons, the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco and the Yuengling Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia beach, the Charlottesville Ten Miler (hardest race I ever ran), and many other smaller races since I got my start in the summer of 2008. I owe my love for the sport of running and my incessantly improving skills to the many people who have organized the training program and the Four Miler. If it weren’t for them, I may have never found this hobby or shared it with my husband (we run together alot).
I’m so proud of myself and all of the other women out there who run this race every year. This year, the winner of the race even beat the 30 year old record, running the 4 miles in 21:39…AMAZING! I can’t wait to run this race for many years to come and maybe one day, if I have a daughter or a granddaughter, she might run it with me!
Sarah and I before running the Four Miler for the 6th year in a row!
Good friends and I getting pumped before the race!
This year, I beat my personal record for the Four Miler coming in at under 42 minutes. Not bad for a 30 year old!
Here are my stats for the past 6 years:
Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone is enjoying a day off and if you’re working today, thank you for your hard work!
Today I’m thankful for the following:
- I’m thankful for a day off. So far, I’ve enjoyed Labor Day by making breakfast, going for a 5 mile run with my husband, and doing laundry. This evening we’re going to cook-out with my in-laws for dinner.
- I’m thankful for a good friend and his expertise regarding HVACs. Our friend Robert has helped us diagnose broken coils/leaks in two of our air conditioning units and he is hopefully going to help us fix them which will save us alot of money. I’m very thankful for the time and effort he has put in to help us.
- I’m grateful for my health. I recently quit taking a medication I’ve been on for nearly a decade and it looks like a side effect of that combined with exercise and a healthy diet is finally helping me to lose weight. I’m at my lowest weight since 2007 and feel great!
- I’m thankful for a short week at work. One of the great things about a 3 day weekend is a 4 day week!
- I’m thankful for the labor of everyone throughout history who we should remember today on Labor Day.
Have a great week!
Good morning and welcome to this week’s Thankful Monday blog post!
Here’s what I’m thankful for today:
- I’m thankful for the opportunity to attend the wedding of Scott and Shelly this past weekend and share in their special day as well as getting to hang out with so many awesome people who I don’t get to see often enough. Scott and Shelly threw a beautiful and amazing wedding and the weather was perfect for the outdoor ceremony and reception. I’m so happy for them and am thankful they allowed me to celebrate with them on Saturday.
- I’m so grateful for a husband that knows what is important to me and accompanies me to events even when I know he’d rather be doing something else. Ben attended the third wedding of the summer with me (1 in June, 1 in July, and 1 in August) and they were all for my friends or family members. He’s a pretty strong introvert so I know going to these big social gatherings takes alot out of him. I’m just so thankful that he realizes how important it is for me to attend and how thankful I am for him to be there with me.
- I recently stopped taking a medication that I’ve been taking for over ten years and I am so happy and grateful to report that I feel a thousand times better both mentally and physically! I was especially worried that the side effects and coming off a medication I’d been on for so long would be adverse so I am very thankful that the side effects have been virtually non-existent. I feel so good that I wish I had stopped taking it years ago!
- I’m thankful for wonderful friends! After the past week and weekend of spending time with awesome people, I look around and realize how lucky I am to be surrounded by these amazing friends. I’m so happy to have them all in my life!
- I’m thankful for a successful surgery for my dad. He had back surgery recently to remove a very painful cyst he had on his back for a long time. He seems to be recovering quickly and successfully and I’m so grateful for that!
Have a great week!
Good morning and welcome to my weekly Thankful Monday blog post!
Here’s what I’m thankful for today:
- I’m thankful for the opportunity to see The Book of Mormon musical with my friends Cris and Carolyn at the Kennedy Center on Friday. Thanks to all of us working together, the plans for the night turned out great! I’m cherishing these little trips right now as once I have kids they will be fewer and far between. The play was hilarious and the Kennedy Center was a beautiful venue! What a great night!
- I’m thankful for the generosity from my sister-in-law’s dad. He was cleaning out a storage unit this weekend and gave us several items that homeowners would need including a shop-vac and a miter saw! I’m so grateful for his generosity and the future spending he has saved us!
- I’m thankful for family. Sunday, we had lunch with my in-laws to celebrate my nephew’s 20th birthday. It was nice to spend time with the whole family and enjoy my mother-in-law’s awesome lunch, including her famous coconut raspberry cake! She and I also made bacon wrapped figs using the figs from our fig tree.
- I’m thankful for the cooler weather we’ve been having. Our air conditioner has been broken so the cooler weather in August has been a blessing!
- I’m thankful for a fresh start this Monday!
Have a great week!
I found this article on lifehack.org and wanted to save it here for my own future reference and others’ enjoyment as well:
1. Move Your Body
Exercise is one of the fastest ways to joy. When you move your body you change your state. You go from down and lethargic to feeling more energetic, masterful, and fulfilled. The reason is both physiological and psychological. Not only does exercise burn off cortisol (the stress hormone), and studies have shown that exercise can release endorphins (feel-good chemicals, the commonly referred to “runners’ high”), but when you exercise you also feel a sense of accomplishment, known as self efficacy. There’s a psycho-social hypotheses called the mastery hypothesis that tells us that our mood improves when engaging in difficult and significant work. Thus, on both a psychological and physiological level, exercise will lift your mood, and as a bonus side effect you’ll be healthier too!
2. Fake it!
Seriously, the next time you’re down, put down the self-help book and simply smile. Make ridiculous faces, and even say the words “Ha Ha”. Did you know there is a form of yoga called laughter yoga, that uplifts the spirit? The class is centered around saying things like “Ha Ha, Ho Ho, Hee Hee”, and before you know it the whole room is howling. You can take this strategy and employ it in your own living room. Try it right now, and see how your state changes. Happiness is often thought of as an emotion, yet our physiological state is inextricably linked with our emotional state. The moment we change what our physical body is doing, our emotions follow. There’s been plenty of research to back up these claims, but better than science is your own scientific experiment! Try it now, and see how you feel. Put on a smile that includes your eyes smiling, and see if it influences your feelings.
3. Go Play
Life can be serious. From horrific television news stories, to deadlines, family responsibilities, and more, it’s so vital to remember to play. Kids do it all the time, and often with big smiles on their faces. So whether your form of play is taking a hike, reading a magazine, playing a sport, or literally heading over to some swings in a park and playing like a kid, play is on of the fastest ways to get in touch with our inner happy. Taking the time to go have fun, and bring some joy in your life should be part of your weekly regime. Even little doses of fun make all the difference. If it’s been awhile since you went out to play and have some fun, set up a play date now. Think of an activity you have been longing to partake in, and pencil it into your calendar.
4. Watch Something Funny
Alright, so I am all for practicing presence and meditation, but sometimes, if you’re feeling totally bummed out, meditation may not be the trick you seek. Did you know that consciously choosing to distract yourself can be a healthy coping mechanism? Now, if you are constantly living in busyness and distraction, this is not a healthy way to cope. But, consciously choosing to engage in something to get your mind off something troubling can be a healthy way to shift your attention. You can easily find thousands of hilarious comedic routines on YouTube, or the Comedy Network. Sometimes taking a time out, such as watching something that gives you a good laugh, is a healthy way to let go of the sadness and stress. And often it gives us perspective so that we can deal with what ails us in a clearer way.
5. Forget Your Schedule… For an Hour!
If you’re feeling stressed and caged in by your heavy duty never ending to-do list, it’s time to engage in what I call the “Forget Your Schedule” practice.
The truth is, if you don’t get everything done on your list, life will go on. Things won’t fall apart. It will be OK. Besides, feeling stressed and overwhelmed can seriously slow us down. By taking an hour to forget your chores and to-do-list, you often gain perspective that half of those things you thought you had to do are either unnecessary or you find a better way to get them done (which sometimes includes delegating tasks to others). By taking some time to let yourself be free, you get to finally live in the moment. When you are living in the moment, away from the giant to-do list and never ending stress (which leads to unhappiness), you tap into freedom which leads to space, possibility and happiness.
Good morning and welcome to this week’s Thankful Monday post! Here’s what I’m thankful for today:
- I’m thankful to live in a city where you are almost always guaranteed to run into people you know. Some may not consider this a good thing, but I love it! Friday, while hanging out with my friend Kristen, I ran into Kevin, Dolly, Tracy, Wendy, Stephanie, Carolyn, and many other awesome folks! It felt good to see so many friends!
- I’m thankful for great in-laws who spent their entire Sunday helping to fix up our condo so that we can hopefully get it rented soon.
- I’m thankful for a nice dinner last Monday at Guadalajara with good friends and their kids. It’s always great to see my old friends from Albemarle County and their kiddos are growing so fast!
- I’m thankful for a restful weekend. After being out of town for the last three weekends, I was so grateful to have a travel-free weekend. I did do alot of work around our house, yard, and condo, but it was still nice not to have to spend a significant part of the weekend traveling.
- Lastly, I’m thankful for hope. I won’t say what it is, but I’ve recently taken some steps to help myself and this action gives me hope for the future.
Have a great week!
Good morning! I apologize that I haven’t written a Thankful Monday post in TWO WEEKS! But, I’ve been a very busy girl. I spent 10 days in Seattle and Victoria, Canada celebrating my cousin’s wedding, site-seeing, and spending time with family, came home for 5 days, and then left for a 4 day weekend at the beach in Nags Head. I’m feeling refreshed but I’m super sad my fun trips and time with family and friends are over. I think being grateful will help cheer me up, so here’s what I’m thankful for today:
- I’m thankful for an amazing trip to Seattle and much cherished time with my family. I LOVE my family and just saying that makes me feel that it doesn’t give my feelings about them justice. I’m such a lucky person to have these people in my life!
- I’m thankful for a wonderful trip to Nags Head in the Outer Banks with Sarah and Cris. We had the best time celebrating girls weekend and I’m extra grateful to Cris and her parents for letting us use their condo at the beach!
- I’m thankful for my husband who has spent so much time traveling with me and then putting up with me being gone on trips without him. He is very supportive of me and my love for family and traveling and has even been a wonderful shoulder to cry on when I’m sad that my trips are over.
- I’m thankful for my family. I can’t say how much they mean to me and spending time with them only makes me realize how lucky I am to have them. I wish I lived closer to all of them.
- I’m thankful for a very smart and skilled friend who helped us diagnose a problem with our air conditioning so we didn’t have to pay to have someone look at it (I’ll of course buy him dinner as a thank you). Between the new house, fixing up the condo, my car payment, and Ben’s car being in the shop for the past month, we need to save as much as possible!
Hope you have a wonderful week!
Good morning and welcome to my weekly Thankful Monday post!
On a side note, I know I have been only using this space for my Thankful Monday posts for the past few months. I enjoy writing about other topics, but time constraints are what have mostly kept me from blogging about my usual stories and ideas. If there is anyone out there that actually reads this, I can tell you that I do plan to get back into regular writing again once things settle down with our new house, traveling, and fixing up our condo. In the meantime, I feel these posts about gratefulness have been a benefit to me so I have continued to make time for them in my busy schedule.
And now, here’s what I’m thankful for this week:
- I’m thankful for a husband who has similar interests to me and for date night. I can remember always arguing with my ex about what movie to see, but luckily, my husband and I don’t have that problem. Friday night, we tried the new Sedona Taphouse for dinner. The food was good, but a little overpriced. The real reason I wanted to go there was for their beer selection…they have over 500 beers available and update their draft list daily which often includes many local beers. Then we went to see Pacific Rim which we both loved. It was a great night and made me suggest that we try to have date night more often!
- I’m thankful for family. I must be very lucky because I have a wonderful and supportive family who really enjoy spending time with each other. I’m going to get to be around alot of my extended family very soon and we are all very excited about it!
- I’m thankful for my cats. They always bring a smile to my face. They are so cute and each have their own individual personality. Yesterday, Ben and I let them go outside briefly to explore. It’s so fun watching them absorb all of the new sights, sounds, and smells around them.
- I’m thankful that our good friends had a healthy baby boy on Wednesday. I’m so grateful that both mom and baby are doing well and that our friends are finally starting this new phase in their family. Ben and I were lucky enough to get to hold the little guy on Thursday when we visited them at the hospital. I’m wishing them all the health, love, and happiness in the world for their futures!
- I’m thankful for life. Everyday there are struggles and things can feel rough, but I just have to remind myself that I am alive and live a pretty good life surrounded by amazing people.
Have a wonderful week!
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