Gratitude: The Master List

Last week I treated myself to a copy of Sarah Ban Breathnach's The Simple Abundance Companion. I dove into it this morning over a steaming soy chai latte at Starbucks!

One of the first things Sarah asks us to do is to make a Master List of 50 things we are grateful for. She says, "...making a master list of your blessings is a reassuring reminder that all you have is all you need."

My Master List (in no particular order):

1. My health

2. My family

3. My two adorable fur babies, Milo and Monty

4. Our beautiful home in a great neighborhood

5. Being my own boss

6. Yoga

7. The Internet

8. Books, books, books

9. My body & all that it does for me

10. My businesses

11. Scented candles

12. Magazines

13. Down pillows

14. My girlfriends of 20+ years (aka The YaYa's)

15. Pandora.com

16. Burt's Bees chapstick

17. Hot showers

18. Clean water to drink

19. Flowers

20. Babies

21. Courage

22. HGTV

23. The Planner Pad

24. Dark chocolate

25. Wine

26. Digital cameras

27. Blogs

28. Silence

29. Surprises

30. Peppermint Tea

31. Bubble Baths

32. Perseverance

33. My Ph.D.

34. Dreams come true

35. DVR

36. Memories

37. Photographs

38. Board Games

39. Tranquility du Jour podcasts

40. Meditation

41. Pranayama Practices

42. Sitcoms, especially Modern Family and Community

43. Movies

44. HBO on Demand (such a luxury)

45. Journals

46. Colored pens & pencils

47. Glitter Glue

48. Opportunity

49. Doing what I love for a living (priceless)

50. Possibility

What are you grateful for today?

Friday Just Got Better

Hello! I hope you are having a Fabulous Friday!

I am in a strange pattern of alternating between cleaning the house and completing work tasks. I will sit at the computer for a bit and then go downstairs and vacuum. Feels a bit peculiar, but I am going with it...

Anyways, I was taking a mini-break in between phone calls and I just discovered that I won a blog give-away from Kelly Rae Roberts!!!!! I have never won a blog give-away before and I AM SO EXCITED!!!! Especially since I won a gorgeous bracelet from Gwynnie B Designs!!!!

Hence... Friday Just Got Better!

I typically take Friday as my day off and I have not honored that so far today. I was going to list for you all of my excuses why I am sabotaging my day off, but instead I am just going to get off of the computer and go get a pedicure :-)

Namaste,

Mindy

Good Things by the Numbers

Good Things by the Numbers

• 1 lovely dinner with my family at the new Pita & Grill restaurant tonight
  
• indulged in 1 massage last week
• celebrated 1 year of TOL Yoga Studio
  
• planning to record 2 yoga & meditation CDs
• ran 2 consecutive miles yesterday
  
• 2 loving orange kitties
  
• 3 new therapy clients this week
• 3 consecutive weeks of spinning class
• 4 new books arrived in the mail, including If You Want to Write and Bird by Bird - books to inspire me as I focus on (eek) attempting to write a book
  

It's only Tuesday and I feel like it has already been such a fabulous and exciting week! Before this week is up I hope to bake something with the surplus from our apple-picking trip, start on another grant application, and make several necessary phone calls.

Hope you're doing well! Enjoy the week :-)

Abundance

I have been thinking a lot about abundance these days. Mostly because I am finding myself in a scarcity mindset (the opposite of abundance) more often than I'd like... but something clicked for me this weekend as I was reading Gail McMeekin's 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women. In Secret 10 she talks about how our society often equates abundance with having money, but that there is so much more to abundance than money. She says, "Abundance invites us to live the life we desire instead of settling for less." Abundance is about how we live our lives; the choices we make, the choices we are free to make. It is about how we spend our time, the relationships in our lives, and our daily experiences.

I realized that although I may not receive a plentiful paycheck, I have plenty of abundance in my life. I wake up in a warm and cozy bed with a wonderful, supportive husband next to me. I spend my morning leisurely getting my daughter off to school. I have a wonderful family close by. I have fabulous friends that I get to spend time with regularly. I craft my own schedule each and every day of my life. I have time to exercise and practice yoga regularly. I live in a beautiful home filled with good books! I do exactly what I have always dreamed of doing for my work. I meet amazing people through my work. I have freedom and independence to explore my creative dreams. I am surrounded by abundance!

Happy Abundant Monday,

Mindy

Time Flies!

My how time flies!

I can't believe it has already been a week since I officially finished up at work!

I'm keeping busy learning the ins and outs of setting up a private practice as a psychologist, fitting in as many yoga classes as possible, enjoying early morning walks in my neighborhood, taking trips to the public library, and enjoying many celebrations with friends and family - birthdays, going-aways, new babies, weddings!

Today the hubby and I took a trip to Home Depot to pick out light fixtures and paint for the new office. We invested in paint without VOCs, a serene blue aptly named Healing Waters for the therapy office and a peaceful light lavender, Heaven's Wind, for the yoga studio. I can't wait to see it all come together!

In the midst of so much excitement and change, I'm working to rest in the delight of everyday things. My daughter laughing and dancing with a sparkler on a summer night. A cool glass of Pinot Grigio shared with old friends. Lounging on our comfy chaise and reading The Red Tent. My niece giggling at me. My gramma's snickerdoodles. Homemade ice cream. Fresh mango. I could go on and on... I'm such a lucky girl! What everyday things can you be thankful for?

Good Things

Nina over at The Whole Self sometimes writes a Good Things list, so I totally borrowed this idea from her!

I feel like I am having an ultra crappy week, so I need to remind myself of the Good Things!

Here goes! Good Things that have occurred this week in the midst of all the not-so-good stuff...

girls' night with the yayas

fields greens with mango, strawberries, almonds, and goat cheese

freshly made amaretto ice cream

i'm actually connected to the internet on my new laptop (it's been in the works since december, i am not kidding)

me sticking to my physical activity plans for the week (so far), including a super challenging yoga class (gasp) in the middle of the work day

two consecutive 80+ degree days

coming home to find my husband pulling weeds and being able to effortlessly cross that off my to-do list

Cheers to the Good Things!