365 Days of Thanks!

Yesterday, I started my 365 Days of Thanks. I'm looking forward to thanking God for one thing each day.

On January 1st, I was (am) very thankful for Max. Max woke me up with soft chirps; it was so sweet. Throughout the day, Max was very chatty and enjoyed being near me. He made me laugh when we were watching the football games. Each time the Refs blew their whistles, Max would "yell" at the TV. Not sure if he was disagreeing with the Refs or yelling at the players who made the mistakes, or a combination of the two. It was funny.

The Florida Gator game was on late, and since the Gators were so far ahead, I figured I didn't need to watch the end of the game. Max, however, didn't want to go to bed... he wanted to see how the game ended! When I tried to take him back to his night cage, he flew back to the living room and made it very clear, he wasn't ready for bed.... so we watched the end of the game. After the game was over, Max very easily went to bed...we were both very happy with the 51 to 24 Gator Victory.

Jan 2nd isn't over yet, but I think my "thank" today is the location of my apartment. Being on the 2nd floor gives me a balcony which the birds can enjoy, but the Canadian Geese, cannot. Today, due to the cold, I changed the birds water, 5 times! Between the water freezing and the birds taking baths in the warm water, it needed changing. Max also enjoys "talking" with the birds as they come to eat and sun themselves on the balcony.

I also enjoy the view from my windows. I can see the tops of trees and see the birds as they fly around. The sun also fills my apartment. On these cold winter days having the apartment warmed by the sun...is well just wonderful! Yes, I'm very thankful for the location of the apartment.

A day full of surprises!

This morning when I got up, I knew it would be a tough day. My pain level was high and my headache was more intense than normal. But I knew I'd have to go out, since I had a chiropractic appointment (the treatments help me so much). I got ready, but was dreading going out in the cold.

The first surprise, was that the snow on the car was very light and wiped off very easily. I only had to scrape two small sections of ice. That was wonderful.

To get to Dr. Moore's office, I have my choice of several routes. As I got to one intersection, I had to make a choice, go straight or turn right. When I looked to the right, the traffic was backed up all the way to the light! I wasn't sure how long I'd have sit in that traffic jam, so I went straight. God had a wonderful surprise waiting for me! As I traveled down the road, the speed limit goes from 45 mph to 25 mph. Just after reaching the 25 mph, I saw the most beautiful thing. Ahead of me on the left side of the road where 2 huge deer. Then they bounded across the road.... and were soon followed by two smaller deer. As I approached where they crossed, I looked down to the right and there they stood! Surrounded by the white snow and trees, it was breath taking! I slowly went on my way to Dr. Moore's, thanking God for a wonderful view.

My adjustment and treatments went very well at Dr. Moore's. Due to my chronic pain, some days I'm tighter than others. On the tighter days, it's harder to do the adjustments. Even though my pain level was high today, Dr. Moore was able to adjust me quite easily. 

On the way home from Dr. Moore's I stopped at Target to pick up a few groceries. I didn't need a lot of things, but I did have several things on my list. I went to one aisle and as I picked up the item.... there was a coupon! As I continued to shop, there were a few more coupons and some extra special sales. I love to shop when God has surprises for me!

Once again God showed me that pain doesn't dictate the type of day I'll have. Just because my pain was high today—that did not mean the day would be bad.

God sends surprises everyday. Some surprises are bigger than others. Yet, each surprise is sent from God and make every day a special and positive. The more I look for the surprises and blessings from God the more I find! Yes, today was a very positive and good day! Thank you, God!

Changing Habits

Not sure about you, but this last week of the year, is...well, strange. I'm winding down from all the Christmas activities, and it's not quite time to begin the "New Year's" activities.... then I thought why not?

Why can't I begin working on the New Year's Resolutions now? What is it about Jan 1st? It's not a "magic" date. "If you begin your resolutions on Jan 1st you will succeed". We all know that's not true.

This year, I'm doing several things differently. One, I'm not making resolutions, I am working on creating HABITS! I want to create habits which will have a positive impact in my life. 

My chiropractor has a very unique idea. He has 6 Factors of Health, which he's divided into the year. Every 2 months, we will work on creating a new health habit to build on the one created the months before. January and February the focus is Nutrition. I'm still working on my Nutrition habit, but it will do with eating proper meals on time. (I tend to eat when I remember or not at all... rather than when my body needs nutrients.)

I'm also creating a habit to be thankful. To help me with this habit, each day I'm writing down at least one thing for which I'm thankful.

Another habit I want to create is to be more aware of and encourage others. I have to figure out exactly what I want to do, and how to make it into a habit.

It's not about a date, or creating some unobtainable goal, rather it's about what habits do I want to change, or create. I like the idea of building on habits throughout the year. The end result is to become a better person. Maybe if I do it slowly over the entire year, the habits I create will actually become part of my life. Habits don't happen all at once.. they are CREATED.

Beginning today, I will begin creating new habits.

Creating a positive day is about habits. To make creating a positive day a habit, write down something positive about each day... then increase it to several times a day.. than as many times as you need to remind yourself that there is much of which you can be positive!

Thanks to Digi Web Studio (www.digiwebstudio.com) for the penguin artwork used to create this blog post.