Thank you notes – February 2019

It’s easy to get so caught up in the hustle of life that we forget to appreciate the small miracles that happen every day. I created the monthly Thank You Notes post to help me relive the happy moments, savor the gratitude, and share them with you. I hope they also inspire you to think about what you have to be grateful for and share them with us. So let’s get started!

Thank you Larry…

for 20 years of marriage–for the love and support through the laughter and the tears. Thank you also for a wonderful anniversary celebration.

Happy anniversary dessert

Red roses

Thank you maintenance crew…

for plowing the road to the pump house by Hawkes Landing, so we could get this close. We didn’t make it all the way in, but it was fun to get a peek at what was happening. We’re thinking we should get snowshoes and try to walk in next time. (This photo shows the snow piled up along the plowed trail.)

Snow pile

Thank you Midway Ice Castles…

for the delightful experience walking through these impressive castles built entirely of ice. Thank you also to Larry for accommodating my desire to go to this chilly outdoor experience, knowing how much you hate the cold. Next year we may go at night, so we can see it all lit up with colored lights.

Woman in ice castle

Midway Ice Castles

Ice Castle fountain

Thank you Cindy and Heidi…

for a fabulous girls dinner at Stratford Proper. Thank you chef for this delicious and nutritious pizza. Thank you to everyone and everything that brought this food to my plate–sunshine, earth, water, farmers, delivery drivers, restaurant workers, and everyone and everything else I didn’t think of.

Smoked ricotta pesto pizza

Thank you Tessa…

for inviting me to participate in your 13th birthday celebration! Thank you for being such an amazing young lady and a super fun granddaughter. Thank you Tessa’s mother for creating this little bon fire for us to sing to. (She blew it out with one big breath!)

Teenage girl and birthday cake

And I included this photo just because it made me smile. Thanks Jessi and Mila for the feel good moment.

Woman holding a dog

Thank you Larry (again)…

for the new tires and wheels, especially after I slammed the old ones into the median. Thank you Mother Nature for dumping the accident-inducing snow and ice prior to Larry putting the new wheels on my vehicle.

Ford Edge with new wheels

Thank you Ashley…

for introducing me to our sangha at the Salt Lake Buddhist Fellowship. Thank you Sensei Chris for inspiring an atmosphere of love and acceptance where “come as you are” is more than just a nice sentiment. And thank you for a beautiful dharma talk about death and an opportunity to commemorate and celebrate all of those who have passed on.

Buddhist Ceremony

Nirvana Day Buddha statue and photos

That’s it for me. I hope you will share some of your feel-good moments from this past month in the comments.

Transformation Challenge – Week 3

In order to create accountability for myself, I will be giving a weekly update of my efforts and progress in the 8-week Transformation Challenge. If you are not interested in this portion of my blog, please feel free to skip down to the Comments. I’d love to hear from you.

Workouts

Despite the weather and a car accident (which did not injure me, but put my car out of commission) conspiring to keep me away from the gym. I did manage to attend two Orangetheory classes this week.

Orangetheory Fitness results

Between Orangetheory workouts, I did one stationary bike ride and one yoga session and had three rest days. That’s more rest days than I would normally take, but I did shovel snow twice–nearly two feet of it! That’ll get your heart rate up and work some muscles you didn’t know you had.

Nutrition

I food prepped for the week on Sunday, making kale and spinach smoothies for breakfasts and zoodles with avocado sauce and cauliflower rice and chicken stir-fry for lunches. I did eat lemon pie and homemade cookies, but it’s all about balance, right?

Goals

Last week’s coach’s goal for the group was to focus more on proper form on the treadmill and rower for a safer and more efficient workout. I feel good about my efforts in this department and took some corrective notes from the coaches during the workouts.

Your turn

  1. What made you smile this month?
  2. What will you do today to inspire joy?
  3. What is your wellness goal this week?
  4. Share anything else you’d like to–any topic at all.

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Shared on the GRAND Social, #MLSTL and Blogger’s Pit Stop.

Blogging Grandmothers Link Party - A Link Party Exclusively for Blogging Grandmothers

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38 Comments

    1. Thank you Dee. I can hardly believe 20 years have gone by. We have been receiving so much snow! In fact this photo was before we got dumped on last week. I’ve seen photos of the ice castles lit up, and it’s pretty incredible. I can only imagine what it’s like to see it in person.

  1. What a fabulous amount of things to be grateful for Christie! Congrats on your anniversary (ours is in a couple of weeks – 36 years!) Loved your cake and flowers. I was also amazed at all that snow and those ice castles – a bit different to my post on blue skies and rainforests and swimming in the pool to cool off! I really enjoy your gratitude posts and the positivity that comes with them x
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂

    1. Coming up on 36 years of marriage–that’s impressive. And wonderful. Enjoy your anniversary, Leanne. I’m sure you will. Yes I would say there’s a big difference between our weather. About now, I would welcome the need to cool off in a pool! Thanks, as always, for hosting the #MLSTL party. Have a lovely week!

  2. Love the ice castles. And I love that you appreciated Mother Nature for creating the accident BEFORE you got new tires put on the car, glad you’re doing fine.

    1. Hello Jennifer. It’s funny, because my husband has been wanting to get new wheels for my vehicle for a while, but I keep saying I don’t care about wheels and I’d rather save the money. Then this happened, and we had to get new wheels. I told him it’s a good thing I had the accident, and not him, I may have thought he did it on purpose! 🙂

  3. Congrats on your anniversary, Christie! Glad you were not hurt in the car accident and had a good month with plenty to be grateful for. I have the Wellness Wednesday link up currently open. Optional prompt is Healthy Heart. Feel free to link up this post or your previous post. The next link up will be on March 13, optional prompt Indoor or Outdoor Fitness. Have a great day! #MLSTL

  4. Hi Christie, I enjoy your gratitude posts because they remind me of how much I too have to be grateful for. Love the ice castles! Visiting from #MLSTL

  5. Hi Christie

    I like the snow shoe idea. Sounds like fun. Thanks for all the breathtaking winter wonderland photos. It truly looks very cold at Hawkes Landing.

    Even though you have a beautiful setting, I hope it warms up for you soon.
    Laura

  6. Happy Anniversary, Christie & Larry we are coming up for our 21st this year. The roses are just beautiful. You have shown that there is so much to be grateful for in our lives we just have to take a moment to reflect. I just love the Ice Castle as there is nothing like this in Australia. I would love to visit one day. I’m grateful for blogging friends like you and being able to share your memories with you. Have a great week and thank you for supporting #MLSTL. xx

    1. There is something to be said for the beauties of winter. I must confess I’d prefer the sunny beaches about now though. There is much to see and do in Utah. I hope if you make it to the States, you’ll come see us.

  7. I complained about the cold and snow here in Columbus Oh, and we had nothing compared to what you had. The ice castles are beautiful, and I would think more so at night with lights. I need to look harder to find some joy and beauty in my days.

  8. Happy Anniversary, happy birthday to your Granddaughter and Happy Valentine’s Day. You definitely have much to celebrate. Thank you for sharing this with us.

    1. There is a lot of celebrating going on around here, Donna. We still have one more birthday to go. I have a grandson turning 15. Fifteen! How can that be? Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

    1. Isn’t that picture of Jessi and Mila precious? We are one lucky family–to have each other. I hope you are soaking up the sun right now and enjoying your leisure time together. I love you.

  9. Happy Anniversary to you and your husband, and thank you for reminding us to count our blessings. I am so grateful that I’m able to continue to experience this continuing travel lifestyle, with my husband, the person that I love most in the world. We will be celebrating our 36th anniversary in May, in Banja Luka, Bosnia. Thanks for sharing a great post!

  10. What a lovely amount of things you have to be grateful for Christie and many congratulations on your anniversary. What a gorgeous cake and flowers. What made me smile today – seeing my daughter and her dog Bear. What joy did I give – hopefully cooking smoky beef brisket. #MLSTL and #Lovinlife

    1. Thank you Jo. Children and animals always seem to make me smile too. Cooking brisket is sure to bring some joy. I like the idea of including both the giving and receiving of joy. Thank you!

  11. YOUR ice castle photos made me smile. So glad you were able to make that happen this year. My 2 year old granddaughter has been applying chapstick with great enthusiasm lately and the videos my daughter sends of her make me smile.

  12. A blogging grandmother here….loved this lovely post! Being thankful for all of life’s moments is a wonderful way to live. Happy Anniversary and Happy birthday to your granddaughter. Your ice castle photos reminded me of an ice castle we visited in Breckenridge the first full winter we lived in Colorado.

    I am thankful for my foot healing after surgery last month. for my husband having a good cardio test result last month, and for being able to spend lots of time with our grandchildren!

    1. Thank you Pat. I do have much to be grateful for. I’m happy to hear that you have had some good health reports lately at your house and the time spent with grandchildren. That is always a highlight!

  13. Feeling and expressing gratitude is so important to our mental health! You certainly have Much to be thankful for! Thank you for cohosting and sharing at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty

    1. You are right about gratitude and mental health, Lori. Actively cultivating gratitude has made a huge difference for me. I appreciate the opportunity to cohost with you. Have a lovely day!

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