TODAY I AM GRATEFUL FOR:

01/08
Lunch Buddy–A year ago I would have killed for a lunch buddy at work who kept the date with me every week. This year I have Jen. She is my friend. She laughs with me. We talk about work, men, clothes, and life. Life has thrown me some bumps of loneliness but Jen is one of my many blessings of friendship and sisterhood.
Hand Massage--I went to get a much needed manicure and the sweet lady doing it was one of my favorites. She takes such care with my nails and tonight, even more importantly, she takes great care to massage my hands, arms, and neck. Tonight my hands just melted as she began to massage them and I nearly wept from the feeling of stress leaving the palm of my writing hand. So grateful for this lovely woman and her excellent service.
Web Site–Playing with this new website tonight has been so much fun! Moved over a bunch of posts and have just LOVED every minute of getting this ready for publication.

01/07
Jillian–I do love to spend a few minutes (30 max!) with Jillian Michaels. I get to sweat, she gets to make me laugh, and my body gets the benefit.
Saying Sorry–Sometimes I just say stupid stuff too quickly. And in the moments following those times, I want to kick myself. I don’t think I’m alone in this but I was raised in a home where saying sorry wasn’t done. It wasn’t modeled for me or my siblings. I was in college before I learned how to apologize and like most women have sometimes strayed into the territory of apologizing too much. But now and then, an apology is exactly what needs to happen to lift your burden and ensure that things are set straight. I did that tonight and I did it publicly. It is not easy but it is right.
Phone Calls–Had a conversation with a sweet friend that I haven’t talked to in a long time. He reminded me of a conversation a few years ago and encouraged me to continue to believe in the best for myself and never settle for less.

01/06
Meditation–Did a little meditation this morning, some reading, and ate breakfast mindfully at the table before leaving. I was a little late but I am fortunate to have that kind of flexibility. I think I’ve forgotten how much I thrive on slow, productive mornings before work. Need to stay on track with that.
Routine–I am so grateful for starting back to my routine today. I love time off but am a creature of habit in many ways. I full recognize and am grateful for the blessing of a having a job. It was not that many years ago that I was fairly certain that following the holidays I would lose my house and have an uncertain future. Now the future is still uncertain…because I’ve learned that it always is…but I have a steady and stable job and I do not take that for granted or treat it lightly. Hopefully this year I will again be able to bless others financially because of my blessing.
Sense of Humor–-I am seriously grateful for my sense of humor. The potential to get annoyed at something this evening with the guys from bowling turned into a joke to me very quickly. I am grateful that despite the hurt feelings and unfair treatment that I experienced at the hands of one of these guys, I am able to just roll with it, enjoy the irony of the moment, be a grown up, and laugh. Always always I have found laughter in difficult situations to be a balm…and once again I recognize this gift. I am also grateful for those funny moments and how they can make you realize that you were saved from a bigger problem by not getting what you wanted…unanswered prayers! 🙂 (And how could two guys I’ve dated being on the same bowling team and becoming friends NOT be a funny moment to walk into tonight? I mean COME ON!!) 🙂

01/05
Lazy–One last day of sleeping late and taking my time for this holiday season. Back to work tomorrow but today I laid in bed with the kitties, read, and wasted away the morning. Ahhhhhh
Tapping--I started tapping again and am reading the Nick Ortner book on the psychology of EFT. I do love the peaceful feeling I get when I practice tapping. I’ll be interested to see the long term effects.
Plan–Put together a fresh start plan today. I do love a list. 🙂 Grateful for knowing what areas I want and need to work on.

01/04
Breakfast at Ettas–Beautiful sunshine, perfect Bloody Mary and brussels sprouts at brunch, and great company
Anchorman–Oh my gosh!!! I haven’t laughed that hard or said the words “This is so stupid” so many times …well..since I saw the first Anchorman movie. What can I say…in the history of stupid movies, none have ever made me laugh like Anchorman!
Allanda–So nice to sit for hours and just talk about faith, our pasts, and the future with my new friend Allanda. Grateful for our differences and our similarities.

01/03
Progress–Made progress on a couple projects today. Super grateful for a clear mind after the simplicity of the holidays. Looking forward to getting started again on Monday for real.
Lacey–It was fun to have a friend over from Portland. Lacey is interesting, funny, and a delight to get to know. It was fun to run around town and just generally hang out with another woman. I’m grateful for the blessing of building a friendship.
Chocolate Coma--Had the best chocolate martini and Chocolate toddy ever tonight for dessert. YUMM!

01/02
Productive–I worked from home today and banged out a ton of work from my couch. I am grateful for a couple more days away from the office…and being able to get caught up on emails and hit the ground running Monday.
Amanda–Grateful for texts with my sweet friend Amanda. Life can kick you in the teeth sometimes…she and I are both very aware of that fact. But I am so grateful that she clings to peace and has set her intuition this year around the word “NOW” knowing that the Divine Creator who takes care of stuff like GRAVITY without much thought, can certainly step into her grind and create beauty from ashes.
Enough–I love the way the word enough is resonating with me at every turn. I posted on FB earlier today that I’d been stressed about a project I was assigned to right before the holiday season. I’ve been stressing about not feeling like I know enough to be of benefit to the team. And yet…today I just started doing the research and realized “Oh…is that all there is to it?” I’d let the one project snowball into a sort of ball of anxiety about several things I’m assigned to and not having a job that allows me to LAUNCH anything. First I stopped myself and said “WAIT…I’m enough. I’ve got this!” And then later my friend Rich said “Leah, you don’t launch things because we constantly give you everyone else’s messes to clean up and you step in and fix things over and over.” I laughed and realized that he is right. As Jen B says “Leah, you are the Olivia Pope of Amazon Payments.” 🙂 I’m a fixer. It’s a skill. I do it at work. I try to do it over the hearts of my loved ones. I try to do it for strangers. And this year…I’m going to be a fixer for myself by trusting in my muchiness…and believing that I am ENOUGH!

01/01
Fresh Start--Love January 1st. Love the fresh calendar. Love the fresh start of it.
Sage Smudge–Today a group of lovely women went over to the new house the Walters bought to bless it for 2014. I brought my Sage stick and smudged the entire house. It felt good to make an offering and bless their home. So excited to see what this year holds for my sweet friends.
Planning–I’m planning a fun night in Seattle for my friend Lacey and I this weekend. Super excited. Picking places I haven’t been and finding things for us to do together is fun!

12/31
Jhana--I’m so very grateful to have a friend to spend time with on New Years who I can talk to, laugh with, and be myself around. I don’t know why it’s so easy with some people and not others…but Jhana makes it easy to be me.
Storm Large–I mean COME ON! That lady can put on a show. She has an incredible voice. Is hilarious. Nearly made me cry a time or two. And is gd sexy! So grateful to have these amazing tickets!
All of it–I’m just going to be grateful for ALL OF IT! You can look back over a whole damn year of gratitudes and see that somedays I had to reach to find things to be grateful for and other days i was overflowing with beauty, wonder, and joy. But all in all…2013 was ok. Not my best. But sure as hell not my worst. Grateful for all the grace, blessings, and beauty. The rest of it…let’s leave behind shall we? xoxo