Practicing Thankfulness.

Let's get very honest for a moment: At the time of writing this, I'm actually writing it in a notebook, because there's no power (thanks, Irma). There's no air conditioning without power, so I'm hot and sweaty and sticky. I would love a hot shower, and I'm grumpy about the fact that if I want a cup of coffee, it's going to be a cup of lukewarm cold-brew I found in my pantry. 

When I woke up Monday morning, I was super thankful that the hurricane didn't hit my area at the level of ferociousness that had been forecasted. I was thankful to be safe and to even have a house, power or no power. 

Know what I'm not feeling a ton of right now? 

Thankfulness. 

Thankfulness doesn't always come naturally. It doesn't feel natural right now, because I just realllllly want a hot shower and a cup of coffee. It doesn't feel natural to be thankful when I'm about to throw away hundreds of dollars of food that went bad without power. And that's okay! I would love to be the kind of person who is naturally thankful in any given situation-and sometimes I am!-but sometimes it takes some practice. One could even say that sometimes, you have to force it. 

So let's practice (ahem, force) some thankfulness today. 

I'm thankful that my house is still in tact, even if it is a thousand and four degrees in here. 

I'm thankful that I had the foresight to buy a bottle of cold-brew coffee, so even though it's not the hot mug I'm craving (nor is it "cold" brew), I'm not having caffeine headaches. 

I'm thankful for the people who reached out to double-check that I was okay and then continued to check-in...I love the blog world. 

I'm thankful that a few days without power has given me time and motivation to write...I'm writing this post by hand, for goodness sake!

I'm thankful for a happy toddler, who has no idea he's supposed to be upset that there's not power and is currently running around sans-clothes while swinging an emergency lantern around...living his BEST life. 

This is cheesy, but I honestly feel better. 

I'm still hot and still want power and would probably still pay somewhere around $75 for a cup of coffee right now, but I feel better. 

What are you thankful for? 

Force it if you have to. 

Thankfulness on Thankfulness on Thankfulness.

First things first: I GOT A LIBRARY CARD. For the first time ever, I updated my licence as soon as my address changed, and I did it for the sole reason of getting a library card. 
I don't understand why everyone doesn't have a library card...it's completely free, as are all of the books you get to check out. FREE BOOKS. ANYTIME. ALL THE TIME. HEAVEN. I got most of the books in this stack just because the covers were pretty and the plot looked interesting. If I hate them, it's fine, because they were free. Get yourself a library card! And then tell me what you're reading so I can read it too...for free. 
I think the biggest thing I'm thankful for this week is how I've been pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I've been going out with Jack, just me and him. We did our first solo big grocery shopping trip, a Target run, tried out a support group (that sounds depressing but it's more of a bible study/built in friends) for doctor's wives, and even went to church by ourselves. 
High school me would be shocked. College me would be shocked. Really, me three months ago would be shocked. I don't go places alone. I get intensely anxious over situations where I don't know people or where things could easily go wrong. But I did it. 

Yes, it was uncomfortable. Yes, my hands shook as I was driving to meet up with a group of women I didn't know. Yes, I felt anxious and out of place and overwhelmed a few times. Yes, the above picture is an accurate depiction of taking Jack new places. But I did it. And I'm so thankful that I did! Because next time will be easier. And the next time will be even easier. And even in the most anxious of moments, getting to carry this sweet little bub around Target, or rock him to sleep in church? Thankful, thankful, thankful. 
I talk a lot about thankfulness. I know that sometimes, when someone is always talking about the positive, it can come across as a little forced and maybe even fake. So I wanted to give you a quick behind the scenes peek over here. 
I have a sinus infection (true life: I just typed "science-infection" three times in a row). My throat and ears are killing me and it's just not fun. Jack is currently doing this new thing where he skips his nap and then laughs/cries/screams because he's so tired, but he doesn't want to sleep. I need to do the dishes, and the laundry, and probably a lot more, but I've decided to have coffee under a blanket instead. 
It is loud and stuffy and messy up in here. 
But that doesn't change the fact that I just feel so thankful for my life. 
In reality, your life is probably always going to be full of good things, and it's going to be full of not-so-good things. There will be times where the balance makes it so easy to be thankful, and there will be times where the balance makes you just want to cry with how unfair life seems. But there's always going to be good and bad. If you look for the good, it's there. If you look at the bad, it will drown you. 

So why not look at the good? Why not celebrate it? Why not drown your days in thankfulness? 
Life is so much better that way. 
What are you thankful for this week?

I've Never Been so Thankful.

Do you ever have days where you wake up and just feel floored by how incredible life is? Maybe it's not one big thing, or maybe it is, but life is just good? That's where I'm at today.

I have never, ever been so thankful.

I'm thankful for this sweet, sleepy babe who just slipped into our lives like he's always been a part of us. I'm thankful for the awe that I experience when I think about the fact that this little dude is equal parts me and Christopher, when I see him smile, when I hear him chirping like a little bird when he wakes up.

I'm thankful that I'm on this journey with the love of my life. This huge change is taking lots (and lots and lots and lots) of adjusting, and Christopher has been more amazing than I ever could have imagined. I say it again-marry someone who makes a good teammate. I'm also thankful that he truly is my best friend...that all the late nights and time we're spending together is something that is actually enjoyable instead of frustrating and annoying. I'm thankful Jack has two parents who love each other so much.

I'm thankful that we have a family who loves Jack as much as we do. That they'll drive over just to snuggle his chunky little self.

I'm overwhelmed with thankfulness at how unexpectedly beautiful life has turned out to be. At how late nights snuggling a little fox and a little baby and watching The West Wing are turning out to be some of the most beautiful nights of my life. I didn't expect it to be this good already.

Sometimes, life is hard, and you have to try to be thankful. I pride myself on how I wrote honestly about the good and the bad and the hard parts of pregnancy, and I want to keep doing that. Pregnancy was so hard. Recovering from labor is really hard. Having a baby who doesn't sleep more than an hour and a half at a time is really, really hard. Being thankful right now? Not hard at all. Not even a little bit.

Before I'm even fully awake in the mornings, I find the first words that leave my heart and shoot heavenwards are thank you. 

So cheers to celebrating the moments where thankfulness comes easy. Where it flows from every area of life.

What are you thankful for this week?

Just Us: Our Thanksgiving.

Today is one of my favorite days of the entire year. It's a festive day full of love and chaos and really good food. It's a day that kicks off the Thanksgiving celebrations, and it's a day of celebrating how thankful I really am for Christopher and our marriage.

This will be the third year we've celebrated our own personal Thanksgiving, and it's a tradition I'm so glad we started.

Every year on the day before Thanksgiving, we go to Whole Foods. I think this is probably their busiest day of the year-it's absolutely chaotic, and that's part of the fun! We pretend we're rich for the day and pick out appetizers, drinks, desserts, the whole nine yards. Then we go home and cook everything and have the best night ever, eating delicious food and celebrating life and all we have to be thankful for.

I have never been more thankful for Chris than I am this year. We're right on the cusp of all these big changes, and every day is filled with so much unknown. But in a time where it would be very easy to freak out and miss out on all the good, I'm able to look at my very best friend and know that no matter what, he will be by my side. And because of that, I'm able to cherish every moment.

I love you, Christopher. I've never been so thankful to have such an amazing life partner. You're my babe, forever and always. 

In the hustle and bustle of tomorrow, don't let the holiday pass without taking a minute to tell your significant other that you're thankful for them!

It's Not Just for Thanksgiving: Being Thankful This Month & All Year Long.

No matter who you are or how much emphasis you put on thankfulness in your daily life, you can't deny that Thanksgiving just brings about an attitude of thankfulness. For me, all of November is just full of constant reminders to be thankful. The month is full of magic and happiness and reasons to overflow with thankfulness.

Every November, I'm always thinking about how much I have to be thankful for. Drinking coffee outside with my husband, having a picnic with our pup, lighting pumpkin candles at night, getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving together...these are all things that make me explode with happiness.

Right now, at the beginning of the month, I want to stop and tell myself to let this month be a reminder to practice thankfulness all year long.

After November has passed, after fall is gone and Thanksgiving has ended, when the holidays have come and gone and Christmas music is a distant memory, there is still so much to be thankful for.

Logically, we know there are things to be thankful for. We know that if we had dinner last night, we're luckier than a lot of people. We know that if we have a bed to sleep in, we should be thankful for that. But knowing something and putting it into practice are two different things.

This coming year, I don't want to just know that I have things to be thankful for; I want to practice thankfulness all year long. In the same way that November fills me with gratefulness, I want the whole year to be one heart explosion of thankfulness after another.

Cheers to November. To Thanksgiving. To being thankful. And cheers to keeping that thankfulness alive in our hearts all year long.

A Thankful Life is a Happy Life.

Sometimes it's good to take the time to think about what exactly you're thankful for. It makes a happy life, and we could all use a happier life, yes?

Good books. The kind that you fall asleep reading and want to pick them back up the second you wake up.

Warm weather. Because even as an adult with a job that does not get summer break (but why???), there's still something about summertime that's just more laid back and alive and carefree.

Coffee. Always coffee.

Learning to live in the present. Planning is good, and planning is my favorite, but I'm learning that you get 24 hours at a time to make as adventurous or as productive or as relaxing as you want. You literally only get one day at a time, so I'm learning how to live one day at a time to get the most out of life.

Little joys. Last week I wrote about getting more excited over the little things. I was cooking dinner yesterday, and this beauty was right outside my window!

What are YOU thankful for this week?

Thankfulness.

In my life, I've found that the cure for stress, sadness, not-so-great circumstances...well, that cure doesn't really exist. Sorry. But, I have found a really good way to combat those things, and that's with thankfulness.

You have to focus more on the good. It doesn't make the bad go away, but it does shift your perspective. And sometimes, that's all you need.

This week, I'm stressed. Tired. Worried. Confused. And there's not really anything I can do about those things.

But I am also so very thankful.

I'm thankful for days spent crafting. For surprise rooftop dinners. For the summer weather that seems to be back. For weekends that aren't full of to-do lists. For a snuggly pup. For days when writing comes easy.

It's just so important to take time to be thankful. Because do all of those things make bad circumstances go away? Nope. Do they change anything? No. Thankfulness may not have the power to change situations, but it has the power to change me.

And this week, it definitely did.

On Wednesday, Christopher came home and surprised me with dinner. We went up to the roof and he set the table with candles and wine. He grilled burgers. And we sat up there laughing and talking and just being together. I'm so thankful for moments like that, where you stop worrying and thinking and stressing and just be. And when I take the time to actually stop and think about how thankful I am for that, how can I ask for anything else?

Thankfulness changes you. It really, really does.

What are you thankful for this week?

The Art of Thankfulness (And Why it's Important).

Gatsby knows alllll about the art of being happy. 

Sunday night, my car wouldn't start.

Normally, that wouldn't be a big deal. Frustrating, sure, but not a big deal.

Sunday night, however, it was a big deal.

The past month (two months?) feel like they've been full of one thing after another. Car issues and health issues and bill issues and house issues and all of those other issues that come with being an adult.

Little problem, little problem, big problem, little problem, little problem, slightly bigger problem..all stacked on top of each other again and again, making a lopsided jenga full of frustration that you can only stare at and scratch your head, wondering how to make your next move without it all falling down.

For me, my car not starting was it. I tried not to cry while someone helped Chris jump my car, but once we started driving it around, it was game over. I cried and cried and cried, and wanted to scream, but just kept crying instead.

"Chels, it's not a big deal. It's fine."

But I kept crying anyway. Because it was a big deal. It felt like nothing was going right, and at some point that just becomes a big deal.

"You're the positive one. If the roles were reversed, you would tell me that we have so much to be thankful for."

Do those words feel like sandpaper when I say them to you? I wondered. Because he was right, that's exactly what I'd say. But that wasn't what I wanted to say right now, and it most certainly wasn't what I wanted to hear.

The next morning, I begrudgingly sat down to journal (because who really wants to journal when they're having a bad day/week/month? No one) and, like every other Monday, made a list of things I'm thankful for.

And magically, things weren't so bad. With each thing I added to my list, the circumstances I was so frustrated over seemed smaller and smaller.

So what that my car isn't working right, or that some frustrating things are going on. In the grand scheme of things, what does it matter? I have the best husband ever, an amazing place to live, and SO much to be thankful for. Who has time to be mad at circumstances when it's Thanksgiving? It's time to celebrate, not cry.

A short fifteen minutes later, I was immensely happier and any "problems" seemed immensely smaller. Not because anything changed, but because what I focused on changed.

And this morning, I didn't wake up thinking about car troubles. I woke up thinking about Thanksgiving  and friends and Christmas and family.

Taking the time to remember all you have to be thankful for can truly change everything.

Why do you think thankfulness is important? 

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Even though Thanksgiving is in 8 days, which is technically longer than a week, I'm insanely excited and feel like it's tomorrow.  Just go with it.

My favorite things about Thanksgiving:

Food. 
Let's just go ahead and put this one out there.  Thanksgiving food is the best.  For me, it's a combination of amazing foods that we don't really eat any time other than the holidays.  Every year my family always talks about how we should really eat this type of food more, and every year we never do.  I love it because it makes the day even more exciting.

Thankfulness. 
It's so nice to have a day where you are constantly thinking about all you have in life to be thankful for.  If you're not thankful about on Thanksgiving, there is no hope for you.

Family. 
This is my first Thanksgiving being married, so I cherish being able to sit around the table with family even more so.
{Side note: last year at thanksgiving my dad made me cry at dinner because since I was getting married the next month, I was probably never having thanksgiving with my family ever ever again and this was the last one ever and I should enjoy it because it was never happening again.  Yes, I was incredibly rational, I know.}

The Macy's Day Parade.
Because Christmas can't start until Santa and Mrs. Claus come riding in on their sleigh.

Black Friday Shopping.  
I've only done this for the past few years, but I love it.  I like to go with nothing specific in mind so I can just enjoy the craziness of it all.

And I love love love going to sleep way too late, full of happiness and way too much food, knowing that the morning will bring Christmas music and decorations and peppermint mochas.  Knowing I get to wake up on that day with my husband this year is almost more than I can stand.  Holidays are the BEST.

What are your favorite things about Thanksgiving?

Check out this month's featured sponsor:

The Thankful Project.

So yesterday I woke up and had coffee and was wondering why in the world I felt so relaxed and not behind in my life at all. 

And then I realized it was because my iphone is broken, so I'm not constantly being made aware of the bajillion emails I have received or the amount of blogs I am behind on or the things I have forgotten to do.   I have to admit, it was a nice little break of feeling on top of things, even if it was totally not real.

Anyway, I blame my lack of technology--I really didn't realize how much I did on my phone instead of the computer--for me not hearing about The Thankful Project from Chasing Happy.  We all know I love a chance to talk about being thankful, so 28 days of thankful prompts is way too good to pass up.  Since it's the third already, I had to squeeze the first three into one post.

November 1st.  A person. 

My husband.

I am so incredibly thankful for my husband.  This past month has been a little rough, and there is no one I would rather have been beside during it all than him.  There are still days when I wake up and cannot believe that we actually got married and live together, even though it's been ten months already. I've had a lot of people tell me that getting married young was a mistake [side note: if this is your opinion, you should probably only tell it to people who aren't married yet.  Otherwise it just gets a little awkward] but when I'm sitting next to the love of my life, drinking coffee and dreaming about the future, I just want to show all of those people my prettiest finger [the one with my wedding ring on it, duh.  What were you thinking?] and tell them they are wrong.  There is nothing better than being partners with someone who loves you and supports your dreams.  There is nothing better than waking up with that person and dreaming out loud about where you'll live next year and when you'll get your first Christmas tree and how you can't wait to get a little puppy.  It's the best.  Just the best.


November 2nd.  A role you've played. 

A big sister.  

I love my little brother more than words could convey.  We've always been best friends and partners in crime.  When we were little, we'd get in trouble together and then talk through the air vents that connected our rooms until whatever storm we had created had blown over.

Though a lot has changed since our air vent days, a lot hasn't.  He is still the funniest person I know.  I still have more fun with him than I have with most people that I know.  I still always want to protect him from everything bad.  And I will still take you down in two seconds flat if you hurt him.  Hell hath no fury.

I am lucky enough to be bff with my little brother, and will always be so, so thankful that I was blessed with the role of being a big sister.

November 3rd.  A place.

Universal. 

This may seem silly, but I am legitimately thankful for Universal.  My dad bought my family season passes four or five years ago for Christmas, and when I moved to Orlando Chris got a pass too.  It's so nice to have somewhere so fun that close that we can go to for free (if you don't count the corn dog that you know I'm gonna get).  It's seriously one of my favorite places in the world.  Especially at Christmas--they do Christmas right. 

I'm so excited for a month to celebrate thankfulness!