Notes from The Universe

Do you get daily notes from The Universe? I heard about this email list from my friend S. The notes are usually  personalized just for you, like the one below is for me, and usually they have some great nugget to meditate on for the day. Today's message was particularly great - exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks, Universe! Sign up here if you want your own!

Practice, Rachel. Study. Prepare yourself. Think. Act. Face the beasts. Pay the piper whatever dues you think you have to pay. Do the dance, walk the fire, wait in line. Plant the seeds, hoe the field, go to market. Because on the day that you become all that you now dream of becoming... Oh my gosh, there is simply no price that would seem too great. It's going to be that good, you're going to be that happy, and it's going to be for so, so long, Rachel. Guaranteed. Tallyho,     The Universe

Thanksgiving=Happy

"Nothing is either good or bad. It's thinking that makes it so."

--William Shakespeare

Most days I choose to have an attitude of gratitude and my days are better for it. Today being Thanksgiving and all, that is especially true. I am truly grateful for all the blessings in my life. 

Because it's Thanksgiving and I've been seeing "Happy Thanksgiving" greetings everywhere, I pondered its meaning. Do we really mean "be happy while you're giving thanks today"? To me, it seems like it should be "Thanksgiving=Happy." I know that when I'm looking for things to be grateful for, even if it's been a particularly crap day and I don't feel like I have anything to be grateful for, when I start making a gratitude list, my attitude improves. If I am giving thanks, for the big things and even the smallest things, overall, I'm a happier person. 

I hope you had a Thanksgiving=Happy day today and carry that over into every one of your days! 

Goodness

After a few days of feeling a bit out of sorts after my race, I'm feeling better and looking forward to getting back to the gym. What did it take to get out of the funk? Time, sleep, and having an appreciation the simple goodness in my life right now. Here's a small sampling:

Seeing some local art last night. Blog post about Site_Lab is in the works. Will hopefully post tomorrow.

Eating melty ice cream.

New shorts for running! I finally found and ordered a couple pairs of my favorite running shorts. They arrived in the mail today and I can't wait to work out/run in them.

Saucony PE Revival Shorts. The front two are new, the back pair are my original pair.

Playing with the cats. And the fact that they're using their little kitten beds on the regular.

Did I mention eating ice cream?

Project Runway. I was sad that Michael Costello did not make it to Fashion Week! His "effortless" looks for the mini runway show this week were gorgeous!

Orville Redenbacher Naturals Buttery Salt & Cracked Pepper popcorn. Yum!

Cookies from the VW dealer. Perhaps the most expensive "free" cookies around, but they're still enjoyable.

Watching make up tutorial videos by make up artist Kandee Johnson. Here are a few halloween make up vids of hers that are fun: Betty Boop, Queen of Hearts & Edward Scissorhands.

Sleeping in. Going to sleep early. Naps. I've been very serious about sleeping since the race last week and I'm loving it!

Spending time with and/or chatting with my girls.

Winning tickets to see Mason Bates perform his piece Rusty Air in Carolina with the Grand Rapids Symphony.

What kind of simple goodness are you appreciating in your life these days?