{Day 16} I am grateful for...

Having meals already prepped for the day so that when I want to throw my alarm clock out the window in the morning because it goes off too early (read: on time) I still have delicious food to take with me to work.

Heated blankets. They are toasty and make sleeping so cozy.

The thought of going snowboarding tomorrow. Aah! So excited! (And the couple of inches of fresh snow that fell whilst at work this evening certainly helped the anticipation.)

{Day 15} I am grateful for...

Anatomy Cadaver Labs. Honestly, it is one of the most amazing learning experiences to see the human body and how it functions. I am in awe every single day at the awesomeness of our bodies and what they do every second without us even realizing.

Home teachers who care. And share really timely messages with poignant questions.

Sunday School lessons that remind me of the goodness of God.

{Day 14} I am grateful for...

O' Falafel. I might be obsessed with their portobello mushroom sandwich right now. If it wasn't all the way up in salt lake, I'd be eating many many more of them.

This American Life. Today there was a story about a man who has a rare disease called narcolepsy cataplexy that causes paralysis while still conscious. He is aware of his surroundings, but unable to speak or move his entire body. There unfortunately is no cure, and the strangest part is the trigger for the episodes is feeling happy. Any moments of nostalgia or pleasure or happiness will trigger paralysis is this poor man. This has to be one of the saddest things I've ever heard of. I am grateful to be able to be happy and feel happy and not have unfortunate side effects as a result.

King Cake. Its just a fun tradition. My lovely friend Anna is from Louisiana near New Orleans and she makes king cake every year for the occasion. It is a delightful treat.

{Day 13} I am grateful for...

Denny's. Let's just say that going to Denny's after working late on a Friday night with co-workers is a fantastic idea. And that's saying something since I don't even really care for Denny's. I seriously am loving the people I work with lately.

The blending of Shiatsu and Structural/Trigger point therapy. Did you know that energy (Ki), especially the stagnant kind, can cause structural and postural imbalances? Makes perfect sense, but I had never really thought about it before. I have been learning more and more lately about the blending of the physical and energetic sides of bodywork as well as taking into account the emotional or spiritual aspects of the body. I am gaining an understanding of all the facets and how they each work towards the same goals of wholeness and health. I use to believe physical vs. energetic theories stood at a stark contrast to each other. But I am becoming a firm believer that you can't just understand and address one aspect of the body and expect complete health to follow, each approach adds something to the equation and even helps to support the other.

An 11.a climb at the quarry that was... easy? Did I really just say easy? When did that happen? It was a crazy fun climb. Can't wait to go back and climb it again. I love how consistency really makes all the difference in improving and getting better at things.

{Day 12} I am grateful for...

Not passing out. The strangest things happened today. I was giving a massage, and halfway through got seriously gnarly stabbing pains in my stomach that were not only relentless but increasingly worse throughout the remainder of the session. I couldn't stand up straight or figure out any position that I could continue to work and have the pain not be there. I ignored it and breathed through it the best I could for 30 minutes, finally ending a few minutes early because I thought I might throw up. When I left the room after the session was over I got really light headed and a wave of nausea swept over me as I waited for my client to finish dressing. Normally I walk my client out to the door, schedule a session for the following week, and shoot the breeze for a few minutes but instead I quickly thanked him for coming and jetted back into the massage room where I started having tunnel vision and ringing in my ears, barely making it to the massage table where I quickly layed down and hoped to not pass out and/or throw up. (Run on sentence anyone?) Luckily no harm done and 40 minutes later, I got up and went on my merry way as if nothing happened. Dehydration? Gas? My body telling me to not go out tonight and take it easy instead? Whatever it was I cancelled my plans for the evening and headed home. Weird...

Spaghetti with lentils, zucchini, and feta cheese. One of my favorite pasta recipes.

Chill days at work with nothing specific that has to get done. A few hours of prepping, catching up with co-workers, and leaving early to flex out time for Saturday are all fine ways to spend a work day.

Adventure Anyone?

In other news, I was shown this video today:

It makes my palms sweat and gives me heart palpitations just thinking about it, but I really want to do it!

{Day 11} I am grateful for...

Bikram Hot Yoga. 105 degrees. 90 minutes. I honestly don't think I've ever sweat so much in my life. Or touched my face to my shins for that matter. So I suppose there's method to the crazy heat fest madness. Want to feel more flexible? Try stretching in 105 degrees. Its seriously amazing.

Structural Integration. This morning I started a new client who is doing the full 10 sessions of structural integration. And I couldn't be more excited! I love this work so much!

A new desk space. Today was awesome because I had office hours all day. And so with all that time, I cleaned my entire office and finally switched desks over. My back no longer faces the door when I sit down to work and my new desk is way bigger than the old one. It was a no brainer, really.