Day 10 & 11 of the 21 day gratitude challenge – yes, I skipped a day.  I guess I was just completely present and lost track of a day…or I was too tired last night to write   Either way, I was grateful for my busy day!

Okay so day 10’s assignment was to pick one of my five senses to focus on and take note of how many gifts come to me via that single port.  I chose (drum roll) my sense of taste because I, of course, love to eat!  I could have gone the route of tasting processed chemical laden food, but instead I chose to focus on real food.  Food that comes from a plant or an animal.

Real food is so incredibly good.  I’m so grateful to be able to taste, and to be able to differentiate between foods.  I made a pineapple salsa yesterday and OMG…so good.  All that was in it was pineapple, cilantro & red pepper flakes, but the combination of the sweet and spicy was so delicious.  I put it over shrimp.  Wow, I’m so thankful that I am able to put food in my mouth (can use my arms and hands and can chew, rather than being fed through a tube) and can taste it.  There are so many great foods that are natural.  I’m not only grateful that I can taste it, but that the universe provides it!  We can live a wonderful, healthy life by what nature provides us.  We don’t need processed food to live, and for that I feel a great sense of appreciation.

I’m so thankful that I can taste things and decide whether I like it or not.  I have a choice.  If I decide that I like the way something tastes, I can have more, and I can completely enjoy it.

I love that I have choices and can taste different flavors, that mother nature provides us with everything we need, and that I can enjoy it.  Our sense of taste is so awesome, and I’m so grateful for it!

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Day 11 is to see the world through the eyes of a child, and to think about the things I take for granted on a daily basis.  Then, to express gratitude for everything down to the basic necessities that sustain my current life.  This one is easy because I have 2 kids under 4 and I think about this a lot.  I think about being brought into this world knowing nothing.  Now, let me back peddle a little…I believe babies know a lot.  I think they are way more connected to their sense of Self then we will ever be.  But, I’m talking about not knowing what things are, not knowing how to speak, and experiencing life for the first time.

This really goes back to the 5 senses.  It’s incredible to see a child’s face the first time he tastes a banana, strawberry yogurt, or a piece of candy.  I love to watch the excitement in my children when they see something for the first time.  This past Christmas when Max, my 4 year old, started to understand Santa…just priceless the look on his face when he saw what Santa had brought him.  I’m so thankful to have been able to experience that through his eyes!  I’m also so thankful to have been able to provide as many toys as we did.

Miles, my 2 year old, got a little plastic harmonica for his birthday.  When he heard the sound it made, he completely fell in love with it.  I’m grateful to be able to hear beautiful music, the croak of a frog, the ocean waves crashing in, my children’s laughter, and Miles trying to play that harmonica.

It’s really cute.  Max has just now began to notice that some things stink.  It used to never bother him.  I’d ask “doesn’t that stink?” and I don’t think he really knew what I was talking about.  Now, if he even thinks Miles has a dirty diaper he covers his nose.  I even had him tell me that I smelled good after spraying on perfume.  Our sense of smell is really cool.  I’m thankful that I can smell good food cooking, that I can smell a great candle, and that I can smell something to know if it’s still good or not.

I remember going to my Dad’s house every other weekend as a child and when I’d get there I would notice that my clothes smelled like my mom.  That was so comforting to me.  And when I’d get back home (to my mom’s house) and smell that same smell, I knew I was home!  I just love that smells can remind us of things.  The ability to smell is typically a sense that I take for granted, but really it’s such a blessing.  Thank you, Nose!

I’m thankful for textures and that I can feel.  There are lots of touch and feel baby books, and it’s really neat to watch those little fingers feel.  Since I have 2 little ones in my lap when we read books they both want to feel it.  And now it’s a matter of who goes first.  It’s so funny.  They make me want to feel it and to experience the bumpiness, roughness, or smoothness like it’s my first time.

I love and appreciate that our bodies have the capability to feel.  I’m thankful that I know when I feel good and when I don’t.  I love it that I can feel my emotions and that feeling is a guide.  I’m so grateful for this guide because I know that all I have to do is feel good and everything else will fall into place.  Thank you, thank you for this guidance system.

In summary – I’m thankful for pineapple salsa, Santa Claus, harmonicas, my nose, and touch & feel baby books!!

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I absolutely believe that we are all one.  We look at the same sky.  We drink from one water.  We breathe the same air.  We are one energy.

Marcus Aurelius says this:

“Think often of the bond that unites all things in the universe, and their dependence upon one another.  All things are interwoven with one another; a sacred bond unites them; there is scarcely one thing that is isolated from another. Everything is coordinated, everything works together in giving form to the one universe. The world order is a unity made up of multiplicity: God is one, pervading all things; all being is one, all law is one… and all truth is one…”

While we are all connected, we are also all different.  Each one of us has our own unique abilities, talents, personalities, looks and thoughts.  I am so grateful we have these differences.  Can you imagine life if we were all the same?  How boring!!

I truly appreciate our differences.  I love that we all have different views and ideas.  While I don’t always agree, I keep an open mind.  And I appreciate that we have the freedom to express those different ideas.

I love that I can learn from different people, that I am entertained by different people, and that I can enjoy different people.  Thank you!

I think Bono says it best…

Too late
Tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We’re one, but we’re not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One

Thank you, Bono for giving us this song too!!

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Today I’m grateful that my youngest son turned 2 years old.  I’m grateful that we had an “intimate” party for him that was SO much fun.  I’m grateful that we were able to buy him lots of gifts, had a fabulous dinner (I made chicken with spinach, pears & feta – yum!), that my mom-in-law joined us, and that we were all together.  I’m grateful that we’re all healthy, happy & enjoying each other.

I’m so grateful to have my children in my life.  They have brought me so much joy.  They mean the world to me, and I’m so grateful that I’m responsible for them.  They have taught me patience, compassion, how to let go and how to be more present.  They show me what’s truly important.  And, they have taught me that love is infinite!!

I can’t thank you enough!  I love you, Max & Miles

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So I didn’t skip out on day 6 of this 21 day gratitude challenge.  The assignment was to call someone and tell them how much you appreciate them.  I did.  I called my mom.  Made me feel good and I know I made her day!  Thanks again, Mom.  I truly appreciate you.

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My list of things I currently have that I’m ever so grateful for.

–These are in no particular order–

• My friends.
• My house with warm, clean beds, hot running water, full of great furniture, a playroom filled with toys, a pool, a fantastic neighborhood and schools, and most importantly, a place I call home!
• My car.
• That I have a solid marriage.
• My kids.
• My family.
• My Mac.
• My camera.
• My faith.
• That I have support.
• My health.
• That I am inspired.
• My motivation.
• My breath.
• My awareness.
• My ability to always see the bright side of things.
• My clothes.
• My hair, eyes, and sense of feel.
• My jewelry business that’s doing really well.
• My yoga and yoga students.
• That I get to stay at home with my kids.
• That I am free.
• That I have good food to eat.
• That I get older and wiser.
• That I live a dream life….my dream!
• That I have an amazing body to carry me around in.
• That I’m laid back.
• That I know who I am, and have confidence to just be me.
• The love in my heart.
• That I am able to give.
• That I am open to receive.
• That I get to make this list!

THANK YOU   THANK YOU   THANK YOU   THANK YOU

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I can honestly say that I can’t think of any negativity in my life right now.  Wow.  Writing that feels really good and almost seems impossible, but it’s true.  I work at always finding the positive in all situations, and it looks like it’s paid off!  I also work at being grateful for the things in my life, good and bad.  That’s what I’m here to do today too – to give gratitude for the negative things.

I’m by no means perfect and I absolutely do have negative thoughts at times, and “bad” things do happen, but I realize pretty quickly that negativity is swarming my brain.  When I realize it, I switch my thinking immediately.  Sometimes the negativity will leave almost instantly and sometimes it takes a little while, but I know it’s there so I will focus elsewhere.  Soon it’s gone.

I’m very grateful though for the negative things I do experience, whether in my head or in my so called “reality”.  (Isn’t it always in your head though?)  So…I’d like to give my negative thoughts and feelings a little message.

Dear Negativity,

I’m so grateful you exist.  Without you I wouldn’t know the positive.  In order to know what I want (a positive) I need to know what I don’t want (the negative), so it’s good that you’re around.

Negativity, you teach me so much and for that I’m thankful.  When something happens in my life that I perceive as negative, I always know that there’s a lesson to be learned.  Thank you for that.

And lastly, you challenge me and encourage me to be creative.  When something is not working or I’m feeling my limitations, you nudge me to find a new way.  I like that about you.  Thank you for encouraging me to grow.

With love,

Katrina

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Today, I’m grateful for family…my family in particular.  My mom drove down yesterday evening to take me to dinner for my birthday.  It was a great surprise.  She’s such an amazing woman with a heart of gold.  She has done so much for me that I can’t even begin to thank her enough.  She is truly an inspiration and I have so much respect for her.  I’m so grateful to have her in my life.  She not only lights up my life, but my kids are wild about their “Bebe” (no, she’s not French).

She stayed the night with us and we had plans to spend the day at a pumpkin patch.  Unfortunately, she had to leave early because my Grandmother was sent to the hospital.  BUT, everything is okay.  In fact, my Grandmother (aka Nanny B) is wondering why she’s even there.  We won’t know until test results come back tomorrow, but I’m so thankful it’s nothing too serious.

Nanny B…I’m so grateful she’s my grandma.  She’s awesome.  She wears my jewelry in the nursing home, and is the self proclaimed Queen Bitch.  She’s an amazing woman and I’ve never met anyone that didn’t just love her to death!

So back to the pumpkin patch…  Ben (yes, I hit the husband lotto), Max (my oh so incredibly sweet son), Miles (my oh so incredibly cute other son), Gaga (my wonderful mother-in-law), and I had a fabulous time at a pumpkin patch today.  It was in Celina, Tx and well worth the small drive.  I’m so thankful to get to spend time with my family and that we get to go out and enjoy stuff like this.  The weather was perfect and so was the company (yes, I even enjoy my mom-in-law!).  I’m thankful we’re all healthy and happy.  I love and appreciate my family so much.

The older I’ve gotten the more I realize how important family is.  I’m so grateful to be really close to them, and that we all stick together no matter what.  Thank you!

(We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up ev’rybody and sing)

Sorry, just had to do it.  It’s taken me extra long to write this because I can’t get this song out of my head!

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So it’s day 2 of my 21 day gratitude challenge.  Here’s the ABC’s of all I’m grateful for today!

A – Apples are so juicy & delicious.

B – My husband, Ben, is an all around great guy!

C – My Car.  I love my Car.

D – I appreciate all the Dollars that flow in and flow out.

E – Everything I have in my life, the good & bad, is a blessing.

F – I Feel great.

G – We have Groceries in the house.

H – I absolutely love the House I live in.

I – I am thankful for who I am.

J – I’m so grateful that I get to make Jewelry and that people buy it!!

K – Katrina.  I like my name

L – For the Love I feel, that which I give and receive.

M – Max and Miles, my sweet sweet boys.

N – I’m really thankful for Noses.  I mean it would be really strange if we couldn’t smell, & even stranger without one on our face.

O – Oxygen.

P – I am Physically healthy.

Q – I’m thankful that I don’t Quit too easily.

R – Rain.  I love a good thunderstorm!

S – Sunshine.  It’s makes everything so pretty.

T – I appreciate the Truth.

U – I’m really thankful for Umbrellas.  What a great invention.

V – Velcro shoes for kids, when you’re in a hurry, rock!

W – The weather today is just amazing.  I’m sitting outside as I type this and absolutely enjoying the moment!

X – X-rays.  What would we do without them?

Y – Yoga.  It has totally opened my internal world!

Z – Zebras!  Because their stripes are just too cool.

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Today has got to be one of my most favorite days of the year.  Wanna know why?  It’s my birthday!  Today, I turned 37 years old.  I can’t believe I’m 37.  I feel like I’m 27.  I really love getting older.  I’m definitely wiser than I was at 27, and that’s what I love about getting older.  It seems like every year I grow more and more, and with the growth I feel younger, fresher, more alive.

I’m so thankful for the amazing day I had.  I woke up this morning with really no birthday plans, but my day has ended and I got a massage, went shopping for myself (which I never do), brought home sushi to enjoy with my family (okay, so my little guys didn’t indulge in the sushi, but a Sonic grilled cheese and chocolate milk to them is like a fresh, melt in your mouth volcano roll to me!).  And, I topped all that with a fabulous cupcake (white cake with buttercream icing, my fav!).

I was just about to go to bed when I learned about a gratitude challenge.  It’s 21 days and the idea is to help people see the brighter side of life.  This is right up my alley so I had to share.  I would love for you to join me!  Click here to get the deets.

Gratitude Challenge on YouTube

I’m accepting this challenge because I want to blog about my gratitude and share it with you for 21 days.  I have a gratitude journal that I try to write in most days, but I want to see if anything differently happens when I express my gratitude for all to read!  So today, October 1st, the first day of my challenge, I’m so extremely grateful for being born!  I have so much gratitude for my awesome mom who brought me into this amazing world and who taught me so much about life.  Thank you, Mom!  And, thank you to my awesome husband and cutey kids for allowing me to have such a great day today.  I love you!!

Wanna join me?  There’s all kinds of great guidelines and calendars to use on that site.  So please join me…what do you have to lose?

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According to Webster’s, appreciation is defined as an expression of admiration, approval, or gratitude.  But more than that, it’s a feeling!  It’s a feeling of being in awe, a feeling of something having great value, and a feeling of positivity.  When we have true appreciation, we are energetically vibrating at a high frequency.  When our energy is vibrating at a high frequency, we attract more of the same…which means we attract more things to be appreciative of.

I think Abraham-Hicks says it beautifully:

The key to experiencing the absolute absence of resistance; of achieving complete alignment with all that you have become and all that you desire, and of bringing to your physical experience everything that you desire – is being in the state of appreciation.

Here’s a few ways to appreciate.

1.  If you normally have a negative emotion about something, start to feel appreciation for it instead.  It may take some time, but eventually that negative feeling will fade away and your appreciation of it will become more dominant.

2.  Feel appreciation for something you want to have in your life.  While you may not currently have your desire, act as if!  Appreciate as if you’ve already achieved it.  The Law of Attraction doesn’t know time.  It only knows the present moment, so in this moment act/think as if you already have what you want, appreciate it, and you will attract it.

3.  Write in a gratitude journal.  Write down things you have that you are grateful for, as well as things that you want.  Read back what you wrote down, and when you read it really feel the appreciation.

Another thing you can do to cultivate a sense of appreciation and to keep that feeling alive throughout your day is to use one of my “Be Charmed” charms.  I have one on my purse and use it as a reminder to be present, connect to my Self, and just Be, but now I think I’ll use it as a reminder to feel appreciation!

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I rarely go on a rant.  In fact, I can’t even remember my last one.  BUT – OMG!  So my lovely husband and I went to the movies on Sunday for our 6th wedding anniversary.  We saw The Hangover, which is great.  I loved it.  However, I was disturbed the entire movie & here 2 days later, I’m still disturbed!  We saw a family walk in with 2, yes 2, small girls.  I would say they were probably 6 years old, give or take a year.  I couldn’t believe it.  How is it ever okay for an innocent child to see a rated R movie?

If you haven’t seen The Hangover, it’s a movie about a BACHELOR PARTY IN VEGAS…HELLO???

Do people really think the “f” word, nudity, sex & violence are okay for children?  I guess so because my sister witnessed the exact same thing this past weekend.  WHAT?

I know I can’t control what other people do.  I just feel so sorry for these kids.  Children are so innocent, so full of life, so confident, and so spiritually connected.  And then life happens.  For some, they learn how “bad” they are.  They learn disrespect and how to stress.  They’re taught they’re not good enough, and that they don’t matter.  They’re stripped of their innocence, and some are even taught the “f” bomb!

And now, those kids are going to be in class with my kids.   Am I going to have to have the birds & bees talk at age 5?

Since I can’t control what other people do (including other kids), the only thing I can do is be the best mom I can for my kids.  To me, that means being the best person that I can be.  I see children (including my own) watching every move their parents make, so being a role model is SO important.  I want my kids to see my confidence.  I want my kids to see how calm & happy I am.  I want them to watch me interact with other people and see how I react (or don’t react) to situations that arise.  I want them to see how grateful I am for the things we have, and I want to be connected to my true self and take action based on inspiration.  I want to be honest, to love, and to give.  I want my children to see me exercising and eating healthy.  Basically, I just want them to see me staying true to myself, and staying connected to a higher power than myself.  If I am completely aware of me (I am aware of my behavior, my thinking, and just how I’m being) then my kids will do & be the same.  They will be the best people that they are!

I just hope & pray that when my children get into school and are around these other kids that are cussing, disrespecting, and have bad behavior that they stay true to themselves.  That they treat everyone with respect and have compassion, but at the same time know right from wrong.  That they stay full of love and light!

Okay, I’m done ranting and feel much better!  Now, if you haven’t seen The Hangover, go see it immediately…just make sure you get a babysitter!

Love, Kat

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