{Day 10} I am grateful for...

Gratitude. It is amazing to me how quickly this gratitude experiment is honestly changing the way that I see the world. For months I have been trying to convince myself that I am happy with the way my life is going - work, living situations, dating, etc. But the problem with trying to convince yourself of something is that you don't actually feel that way and you end up feeling like a fraud. At least I did. But in the last few weeks, especially since the start of this gratitude experiment, I have sincerely been happier and seeing my surroundings and circumstances for the blessings that they are and truly enjoying work. I've noticed a difference in the way my teaching has gone and the ways I am able to interact with my students. And I must say that I have been loving it. A lot.

Students. I kinda love them right now. My shiatsu class is hilarious. I have a student, who bytheway is extremely paranoid, especially when it comes to health issues and diseases - pathology was a kick in the pants with her. Anyhow, she had a funny popping noise in her neck while being worked on and called me over to ask if that was normal. I quickly assured her that her head would probably fall off. She got the most terrified look on her face, until she realized I was joking. (Don't worry, I actually reassured her and clarified why that can happen and how its almost never a serious problem.) She then reminded me how paranoid she is and proceeded to tell me that she had a dream not too long ago that she had chicken cancer and woke up in a cold sweat, afraid she actually had chicken cancer. I started laughing, but she was quick to reassure me that chicken cancer isn't actually real. Haha. Thanks girl, I taught you pathology, remember? (Note: pathology is the study of diseases).

{Day 9} I am grateful for...

Running water. The pipes were either broken or frozen or something up at the cabin, but whatever it was resulted in no running water for us. (Unless you count melting snow and pouring it where you need it to be). I haven't been so grateful to stop at a gas station to wash my hands. And showers are pretty great too.

Eating healthy nourishing foods (and drinking clean water) after a long weekend of less than healthy stuff. Doug was kind enough to make tasty lentil soup with green/red peppers and onions over rice. Kinda looked like slop. Kinda tasted amazing.

Catch phrase and speed scrabble. Today had the beginnings of cabin fever setting in after 3 days of being mostly inside. But catch phrase and speed scrabble saved the day.

{Day 8} I am grateful for...

Crustless quiche. This recipe is a tradition of my Mom's to make on Christmas morning. I was on the Sunday morning breakfast team, and we decided to make a quiche. I had failed to bring the recipe up to the cabin, but fortunately I had read it enough times while figuring out who would bring which ingredients and it turned out just great! Okay fine, it turned out amazing.

Wet Wipes. (We had no running water at the cabin this year.)

Snowshoeing to the waterfall while it was snowing all around. Breathtakingly beautiful.

{Day 7} I am grateful for...

Seriously rad friends to spend an entire day with and never tire of.

Snow adventures: snowshoeing (twice), sledding, and snowball fights = fun!

Rachel Taow for cooking some seriously tasty lasagna and being willing to also clean up after. (Don't worry, we didn't let her do all the dishes.)

{Day 6} I am grateful for...

Freshly painted offices that no longer smell like freshly painted offices.

Office hours with students who choose to be there to do better in the class they are currently taking and want to learn the material. And helping them make connections and watching lightbulbs 'turn on'.

Snowmobiles. The trek into the Svenna's cabin is 5 miles and without snowmobiles we would have been making that trek on foot (snowshoe) at 10pm. Yuck. Luckily we were all able to shuttle in on the backs of snowmobiles, making the trek less than 20 minutes.

{Day 5} I am grateful for...

Yoga. I don't know how I ever lived without it on a regular basis. I seriously crave it if I happen to go more than a week without it.

Packing for fun weekend adventures! I'm going up to my friend Brenna's cabin for the extended weekend in Kamas. 3 days of snowshoeing, watching movies, eating tasty food, and spending tons of quality time with super fun people. Can't wait! I'm excited to share grateful things from the weekend when I get back on Monday.

Thursdays. It means the week of teaching is over and only Friday is left before the weekend. And Friday's are usually pretty chill at work. And this Thursday was an especially nice day because I had office hours all afternoon and the evening off!

{Day 4} I am grateful for...

Being slightly forgetful. (Hear me out): In the business of the day I had forgotten that I recently purchased snowshoes online. So coming home to a big box on the kitchen table this evening after work was a really fun surprise. I can't wait to try said snowshoes out this weekend in Kamas.

Sleep. Especially sleeping in. Who needs yoga when you can sleep in late.

Rock climbing.