Gratitude: Day 17

Holy Moly! Lazy Blogger strikes again! I totally forgot to finish my 30 Days of Gratitude! 

Today, I am grateful for:

1.) Finding a really awesome, reliable and trustworthy handyman and construction guy. He's been busy working around my house installing new closets, fixing doors and fences and all kinds of good stuff. So happy I found him!

2.) Finding a really good massage therapist at this chiropractor office. His name is John and he is really awesome! He really knows how to work out the knots and gives a very thorough deep tissue massage with zero pain or discomfort.

3.) New beginnings in 2015! I am getting a new puppy, starting Pilates instructor certification and have stayed committed to my resolution to eat at home more and eat out less (and to eat healthier of course)!

Gratitude: Day 16

One year ago today, I turned in my resignation from the most high profile role I have had in my career with a major consumer packaged goods company. I was burnt out and had had a tremendously right year from a personal perspective and was just ready for something completely different. I knew what I was walking away from and I had no job lined up other than the idea that I wanted to become a Pilates instructor.

I gave my company 90 days with the promise of additional flexibility if needed while they worked to fill my role. 2 weeks after resigning, I was sitting in our corporate office in Manhattan talking with our VP of sales about what I was going to do next. He expressed his appreciation for my contribution as well as concern for the financial risk I was planning totake entering into the fitness industry. 

I must have had a very puzzled look on my face as to the direction of our conversation because he then decided to get to the point of why he called me into the office. He said he understood my desire for change and my entrepreneurial spirit but that he was afraid that I may dip my toes into the fitness industry and might not like it and want to return. His concern was that they may not have a role for me where I wanted to live when I came back so he wanted to discuss options that would allow me to pursue my Pilates certification and still keep my career in tact.

I was stunned...I had not resigned to negotiate and was not expecting this at all. Through several conversations, I was offered a role in a city I selected with a pay increase and full relocation benefits.

It was the beginning of a major turn around in my life and so many amazing things have happened in just 365 days since I turned in my notice on 11/12/13.

Today, I am grateful for:

1.) The amazing company I work for and people I work with every day.

2.) The awesome opportunity they have given me to keep my career while pursuing one of my personal dreams / goals at the same time.

3.) All the positive changes I have experienced in the last year. 

Gratitude: Day 15

Today, I am grateful for:

1.) Smooth travels to NY

2.) Dining alone...I just love eating at a nice restaurant by myself. I like to people watch and love the alone time  :-)

3.) My family and family friends rolling out to support my niece at her performance tonight. I was not able to be there in person but I heard there was lots of family friends there and that Miss B pulled off her best performance yet! I talked to her on the phone and she was so happy. I'm so proud of her and so glad so many people were able to see it live!

BONUS: grateful for the universe reminding me to be humble. I wrote more on this in my journal but thought it was worth mentioning here too.

Gratitude: Day 14

Man...I am having a hard time staying disciplined on this 30 days ofgratitude thing. Not because I don't feel grateful...just haven't made the time. 

Today, I am grateful for:

1.) A slow Monday and flexibility in my schedule to attend all my neck appointments for today.

2.) Making very good progress on recovery. Very little nerve pain and just mainly dealing with loss of strength which means that likely my discs are still bulging a bit and irritating the nerve but not nearly as bad as a few weeks ago. Progress as promised.

3.) Beautiful Fall Weather! 

BONUS: My cleaning lady! She is AWESOME and always does a great job!

Gratitude: Day 13

Today, I grateful for:

 

1.) A very relaxing weekend with lots of sleep! 

2.) Finding a new chiropractor who included a one hour full body massage with my adjustment and all covered by my insurance! 

3.) A clean and mostly clutter free house to start out the work week

Gratitude: Day 12

Man! I am behind! Went on vaca for 10 days and have been busy dealing with this neck issue, work, etc...but back on track!

Today I am grateful for:

1.) Hearing from 2 of my very best friends who live far away but are both doing great and their happiness makes me happy :-)

2.) A relaxing and restful vacation! I went alone but was able to spend time with very good friends while away and it was great to have some downtime.

3.) My niece who calls me out of the blue just to chat. She is so happy and loving her new school and her happiness also makes me very happy!

Gratitude: Day 11

Today, I am grateful for:

1.) My new chiropractor and acupuncturist...she really is awesome and I am so grateful to be in such good care with her. She will probably be on here a lot as I get thru this pinched nerve and bulging disc issue. 

2.) Hearing from a former customer / friend today! It had been a few months since we connected so was a pleasant surprise to hear from her and I am grateful for our new friendship!

3.) Less pain in my arm/shoulder/neck as the day went on. I woke up feeling like I had gotten worse but after a good adjustment, the doc said my neck was normal and healthy for the first time in 2 weeks! Then we did acupuncture which relieved a lot of the pain during the session and my body seems to respond so positively to the treatment...as the day goes on, I feel better and better and even my attitude and mood improves. I'm really loving this ancient woo woo stuff!

Gratitude: Day 10

Today, I am grateful for:

1.) My new bath recipe: lavender and chamomile Epsom salts, baking soda and lavender essential oil!

2.) Finding a good massage therapist here who can help me with my pinched nerve and bulging disc. She really knows what she is doing.

3.) Making the time to go grocery shopping and buying all healthy food to eat the rest of this week :-)

Gratitude: Day 9

Today, I am grateful for:

1.) Progress with my neck, arm and shoulder issue

2.) Finding a great chiropractor who has a plan for my recovery

3.) Discovering acupuncture 

Bonus: My super awesome health insurance which covers all these alternative therapies 100%!

Gratitude: Day 8

Today I am grateful for:

1.) Fun girls weekend! I'm feeling refreshed from the weekend and ready to start the work week after a great weekend with some of my best friends!

2.) Having lots of healthy food in my house to start out the week.

3.) Clean house and laundry done. Ready for Monday!

Gratitude: Day 7

Today, I am grateful for:

 

1.) Living in same town with one of my best girl friends. This is the first time since 2006 I have lived in same town of one of my bestirs and it's pretty awesome!

2.) Girls weekend! Several of my very best friends are coming in town this weekend and I am so thankful we have the opportunity to spend the weekend together. Can't wait! 

3.) Making the time to get more organized at work. I do a little each day and it feels so good to get a new system going in my new job.

Gratitude Day 6

Today, I am grateful for:

1.) My new cleaning lady. She is awesome and does an awesome job everytime! I paid her a little bit extra today because she is so awesome :-)

2.) A very, very productive day at work. Every meeting was purposeful and solutions oriented and really felt like my teams moved forward on several projects. Most importantly, I made a huge dent in cleaning up and organizing my emails and that feels awesome!

3.) The little deli that is just a few blocks from my house. Their food is fresh and delicious and it is only a 15 minute or less round trip...perfect for a day like today when I only had a half hour for lunch!

Gratitude Day 5

Today, I am grateful for:

1.) My new bed. It is awesome and everytime I have to sleep in a hotel bed, I appreciate my new bed even more! 

2.) A quick and easy drive home from Houston with very little traffic.

3.) TGIF! Grateful for the weekend!!!

Gratitude Day 4

Today I am grateful for:

1.) Making good choices to eat for nourishment instead of for convenience or pleasure. Okay maybe that Dr Pepper at lunch was for pleasure but I did pretty good overall today.

2.) Deciding to focus on "WHEN I" instead of "IF I" and on what I want vs what I don't want :-)

3.) The opportunity to spend some time with a wonderful woman on one of the teams I manage.  Her positive attitude and commercial / professional maturity in spite of the unfair situation she is in right now is incredibly impressive. Very glad to have her on my team and to have the opportunity to develop and coach her! Such great energy!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 3

Today I am grateful for:

1.) Good meeting and what seems to be a new way forward with a very difficult buyer at one of my customers.

2.) Coffee! I had to wake up super early today and drive to another town and everytime I have to get up early, I seem to get no sleep! Last night I only slept 2 hours but a big coffee with an extra shot of espresso got me thru the day and all the way to the next town for more meetings tomorrow!

3.) Clean and cozy hotel room with a nice firm bed. I'm going to bed early tonight! 

Goodnight world!!

Oh wait! Bonus: I've started journaling privately on a daily basis. It's been really cathartic and also relaxing to reflect at the end of each day. I'm grateful for the time to do this as I know the reflection time is very good thing :-)

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 2

Today, I am grateful for:

1.) Working from home...grateful for this for a lot of reasons but today I was not feeling well and working from home allows me to sleep in and take mini breaks during the day...and enables me to stay in my pajamas all day!

2.) Excellent health insurance thru my company. My allergies have gone bananas since relocating. I decided to go see an allergy doctor and get tested for allergies. It can cost between $500-$800 but thanks to my great insurance, the testing and the treatments will be 100% covered!

3.) My friend Foxy...she's just an all around wonderful person in general so I'm always grateful she is in my life but today she sent me a sweet text message to cheer me up and well wishes to feel better which put a smile on my face. Love you foxy! 

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 1

Today I am grateful for:

1. Finding a pilates studio that I REALLY like so close to my house! I love Pilates! Today it kicked my ass but it was awesome:-)
2. FaceTime! It is so fun when my niece wants to FaceTime to show me what songs she is working on for voice, piana and guitar.
3. Cooler temps...hello Fall! Well...hopefully it stays cool but I'll take it regardless!

 

 

Joe Pilates on the Reformer

30 Days Gratitude Challenge: 2014

Last year I was in a big 'ole funk when I saw a Ted Talk where the speaker said, "If you want to change your attitude, start practicing gratitude!" After watching that Ted Talk and knowing I needed an attitude adjustment at the time, I decided to start 30 days of practicing gratitude each day and used this blog to write the top 3 things I was grateful for each day. It took me a lot longer than 30 days to complete the 30 days of posting but I was so glad I did it! It really made a HUGE difference in how I was feeling at the time and helped me get out of the funk I was going thru at the time.

I was recently challenged to complete 5 days of gratitude on Facebook and after completing it, I decided I wanted to repeat my 30 day Gratitude challenge in 2014. Things are going terrific for me this year but I do think it is important to take time to not only be thankful for what you have but to also be present in your life today...letting go of the past, living in the moment and to not spend a lot of time longing for the future as it will be here soon enough.

I've got the "bad friend" blues...

So...I know I've said it before on here but I love my friends (and family) and am so grateful for the wonderful people I am so fortunate to have been my life. 

Sometimes (like lately), I feel like I suck as a friend and have been neglecting the people I care about the most. 

So many of my friends are going thru MAJOR life transitions...new babies, moves to new cities, divorce, new jobs, death, illness, graduations, performances...you name it, it's happening to the people I care about. All of these things are obviously just a part of life but I sometimes feel like I can't keep up and get to everyone to give them my support and love like they do for me. 

It seems so obvious and simple that if I value these people so much then I should be a great friend but I'm not...I let my life and my job get in the way. 

Okay...so I know I'm not a "bad friend" but I have the blues because I know I can do better and want to do better for the people who matter most to me.

So today...I am making a simple commitment to myself and the people I love to do a much better job of staying in touch and to make the time for the people that matter most to me.  

That is all...

4-14-14...a day that will live in Fucking Awesomeness!

Today is pretty awesome! Actually all of 2014 has been fucking awesome so far! I closed on my new house today! I can't wait to get moved in and start my new job in my new city! My transition to my new job and my new house has been great so far, very busy, but also just seems to be coming together like clockwork! 

Still feel so much gratitude for everything and I am so excited about the future :-)

Today I feel grateful for (in no particular order):

1.) As always, my mom, who does everything she can for me and her family. She is always there for me even when I sometimes act like a jerk. I will be working on that going forward...

2.) Mar Mar who has graciously let me crash at her place so many times and with very short notice AND has helped me with the home buying process too!

3.) My realtor...she has been AMAZING! So patient, so attentive and so willing to help with anything I ask her to do. She has worked so hard and I am so happy she was on my team through out this process. She was Fabulous!

4.) My lender...he was also awesome! I mean...who is grateful for their lender?!?! Me! He took the time to explain everything to me and was also very attentive to detail and helped move all of my paperwork through so I could close so quickly. He was terrific! 

5.) My company for having such a generous relocation and home buying package! 

6.) My coworkers on my old and new team who have been willing to step up and have shown great personal leadership during this transition.

7.) My dad just because he is just awesome in general and always gives great advice. I am so excited for him and my mom to see my new place soon!

8.) My niece who made a very long drive with me to attend my home inspection during her spring break. Wasn't the most fun way to spend her spring break and Auntie is not always the most patient person in the world (will be working on that too) but I was so glad she came with me and can't wait for her to visit me this summer! Plus I am grateful because she always makes me happy :-)

9.) My friends who are always patient even when I don't call or email back right away and always supportive and encouraging and happy for me! I can't wait for them to visit! I am hoping to impress them with my forthcoming domestication :-)

10.) My insurance agent because she was also awesome and made sure I had all the coverage I wanted and made sure I was getting the best discount available.

11.) They sales guy today at Lowe's where I bought some appliances. He also  totally hooked me up and was very fast and efficient. I think he sensed I was a woman on the move and ready to GSD (get shit done) so I was grateful he was no nonsense and got down to business!

12.) My aunt and uncle who live local where I am living now. It has been so nice to be able to spend so much time with them and they have been so gracious to feed me home cooked meals and also happy to eat out and drink wine with me! I will miss them and hope they will come visit me in my new city!

13.) My chiropractor who has really helped me get back on the right track with awesome care and great supplements. Still a lot of work to do but I set up for success!

14.) I have to have 14 on my list today because 4-14-14 is now a lucky day and I didn't want to jinx it! I am grateful for the really awesome massage therapists I had in both Miami and in Austin.

They say it takes a Village but I say...

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK!!!!