Thankful

With the changing of the leaves, the drop in temperature, the layers of clothing, and the smell of spiced pumpkin comes October. As we harvest the fruits of our labour from the Spring and Summer seasons, we begin to prepare for the celebration of Thanksgiving.

September was my month to focus -- to reflect on my goals and the direction I wanted to steer my life in. To take the steps and measurements to instilling habits that would serve me better. I spent a month running, a month learning to breath and bend, a month of planning the "new" year.

And I feel set up to jump hurdles, move mountains, swim oceans. I have my priorities in front of me. I am ready to accept my past, my present and prepare for my future. 

Melody Beattie said "Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." It's the perfect reasoning as to why my challenge for October is developing an attitude of gratitude. 

31 days of appreciation for the things I have, the people I am surrounded by, the challenges that bring change. 31 days of praising the life I love. 31 days acknowledging my personal cornucopia.

I will be using the hashtag #31DaysOfThanks on Instagram and Twitter. Some days may be an abundance of gratefulness, others may be a struggle to find even one thing. My hope is at the end of 31 days to have a refreshed outlook on life, how I got here, and where I am going. And in the process to grow, have more joy, and bring joy to others.

"Gratitude is the sign of noble souls" Aesop

April 20, 2014

My eyes slowly open and I look beside me. He is still sleeping peacefully, my husband. We have been married less than 24 hours. I reach over and place my hand on his, smiling to myself. I am a Mrs.and get to have sleepover parties with my best friend for the rest of our life.

The day before is a montage of moments over flowing with emotions. From seeing his face look at me as I walked to him holding my daddy's arm, my stomach fluttering with butterflies. Our first kiss as Man and Wife. The joy of seeing our loved ones all in the same room. Sitting quietly in the limo, enjoying a moment of solitude before entering the reception and having wishes toasted upon us over dinner. Dancing, laughing, his hand on the small of my back. The decor, the food, the love. Posing for photographs to capture each of those moments, unknowing which moments were caught candidly.

As so many before us stated, the day was over too quickly. We had documentation stating that we were now bonded legally till death do us part. We professed and publicly displayed our commitment to over 100 witnesses while hosting a fabulous party.

And here I am, relaxed, reliving those moments with elation. I test out my new last name, quietly in my head and then aloud. He wakes up, pulls me in close to his chest, and tells me he loves me.

We begin the next chapter of our lives. Happily. Ever. After.

New Bucket List Item

• Attend Paris Fashion Week

The Weekend

.caught up on Under the Dome. A summer series that I still have no idea what it was truly about, although I think corruption. Aliens are not fans of corruption. I also learned that the worst insult EVER is to call a man a politician. SUPER BURN!

.continued with my 30 day yoga challenge. Hot Core is a tough class. You won't realize it until the next day. 

.ran the Rock the House Run 5K for Ronald McDonald House Southern Alberta. My Chip time was 28:41:95 -- which means I was able to get my 5k under 30 minutes. And I placed 19th out of 480 for my gender. I'll take it! The mile a day for 30 days challenge was the key to this I think. I am on day 29 today.

.volunteered for TLB Group's YYC Rocks for Future Rock Stars event. 30 bands came together over 2 days, and for a minimum donation of $10, the audience was treated to a thriving indie scene in Calgary Rock music. I am still waiting to hear the final numbers from the event, but the goal is to help kids receive instruments and music lessons.

.spent Saturday afternoon painting. Set up the easel and played with acrylics while listening to Meatloaf. I would do anything for love, but I won't do that.

.watched the final episode of Dexter. And was left incredibly disappointed. Truthfully though, I would probably have been disappointed in whatever way they decided to end it. I won't provide any spoilers, it just tied up too neatly and conveniently for me.

.breathe

Thoughts racing through my veins, details demanding to be prioritized. My pulse rising to match the tempo of sentences sent to stimulate my sensitive sensories, increasing stress reactions. It's late. I begin to feel settled and a simple notion sets off another wave of never ending ideas linked seemingly by coincidence.

I imagine my body grow heavier, enveloped by blankets, shrouding me in warmth. I count backwards, envisioning each number written out in my mind in the lost art of cursive. I embrace the thoughts, acknowledging their presence, releasing them until the morning. I feel the air fill my lungs, fill my belly, fill me until I release it with those urgent thoughts.

The heaviness gives way to light, I float into darkness. I enter the world of my subconscious. And with a final leap from the due diligence of the day, I begin to breathe.

Focus

I celebrated every single day of August. It was a blast -- some days I had to think outside of the box (example -- how does one celebrate Lighthouse Day in landlocked Alberta? By having lunch at the Lighthouse cafe!), other days were planned in advance. It was a great way to spend a month of summer.

It's back-to-school time. Not for me, although I wish so bad it could be. Back-to-school was always my favorite time of year -- fresh new supplies to help me succeed, new outfits to help me achieve the persona I wished to be that year, seeing friends after a 2 month break and the challenges of learning something new by applying what you already knew. I know I am not the only person who still feels like September is more of a new year then New Years -- Google this and I bet you will find tons of blog posts on the very subject.

It's a great time for me to work on goals I have. Take deep breaths and focus on what I want to achieve. It's the final third of the year, so there are still 4 months to complete goals set out on January 1.

My plans for focus in the next 30 days are as follows:

• A 30 day yoga challenge
• Running a mile a day for 30 days
• Playing chopped again within our deep freeze and pantry to help with budgetting
• Checking even more off of the wedding planning to-do list
• Abstaining from alcohol as much as possible (there are plans to hit up the Monster Trucks and, let's be honest, a girl needs draught beer while cheering on Monster Mutt and Gravedigger)

Time to sharpen my pencils and get back to business. September is in session.