This morning was the Super Blue Blood Moon eclipse. Needless to say it is a rare full moon. I was so excited to see it and even after a rough night with the little one managed to get out of bed, bundle my daughter into the car, and head out to see it.

Unfortunately, I did not get to see it due to cloud cover and arriving at the tail end of the view. It was down by the horizon and despite my vantage point the clouds were just too thick. I stood there with my camera realizing I would not get to see this awesome event.

Exhaustion and disappointment weighed on me. I tried to think of how I could turn this around into a positive so that I would not be focused on feeling sad. The answer was right behind me as the sunrise crept into view and the lake took on pink and purple hues.

I'm grateful to let the disappointment go. I'm grateful to accept the beauty of the sunrise instead. I'm grateful for the beautiful art of nature. I'm grateful to know that there will be plenty of opportunities to view the moon in its different phases in the years to come. I'm grateful to have see blood moons, full moons, and blue moons before. I'm grateful to connect to nature this morning.

What beauty is present in your day? When was the last time you stepped out into nature just to observe?

May today help open our eyes to the beauty around us. May we release the disappointment of expectations unmet and revel in the gifts that we receive. Have a beautiful day!

I'm keeping it short and sweet today per my daughter's request. The second she saw me pick up my laptop she started saying, "Oh no, shut it down. Shut it down, shut it down."

After a busy weekend and busy Monday it seems my little one is needing some undivided attention. It helps me with one of my goals too as I strive for quality time with my girl.

I'm grateful for my daughter's sweet voice in the morning. I'm grateful that she has mostly been sleeping through the night. I'm grateful for all the snuggles I have been getting as we go through another wave of teething and separation anxiety. I'm grateful to have the flexibility to stay home with her and to have the resources to get to take her to play groups and swim lessons. But most of all I'm grateful for our one on one quality time.

What needs your undivided attention today? How can you shift your schedule to give even just ten minutes of undivided attention to someone you love?

May today remind us what is important in our lives. May we make time for the people we love. Have a beautiful day!

I will be the first to admit that my family does not eat as healthy as we could. In fact, my daughter is a big part of the healthy stuff we eat, between trying to feed her well and the fact that she loves vegetables. 

Recently I found rainbow cauliflower. It is shades of purple, green, yellow, and the usual white. It is delicious! And my daughter loves it even more than I do!

Last night my husband made an upgraded version of root soup. He bought a variety of root vegetables that we like such as carrots and sweet potatoes but also ones we have not tried before. The counter filled with leeks and radishes and parsnips and turnips was full of fun, healthy colors. 

I also watched a video on how to color pasta in the colors of the rainbow using natural "dyes" like blueberries and dragonfruit. It amazed me how bright the colors could get while not using food coloring. I hope I find the time to try it one of these days, though I am a little skeptical how blueberry colored noodles would taste. 

I'm grateful to be opening my eyes to a whole new world of healthy foods. I'm grateful to learn that I love parsnips! I'm grateful for fun colors to brighten regular meals and for the use of more vegetables as we cook. I'm grateful for my husband's adventurous spirit when it comes to food that has rubbed off on me. And I'm grateful that my daughter loves these healthy, colorful choices. I'm grateful for nature's edible rainbow.

What colors do you enjoy most? How many colors do you eat in an average day?

May today brighten our day with delicious shades of the rainbow. May we find fun ways to eat healthy. Have a beautiful day!

Over the last week everyone in my house seems a little more snuggly. Even the two dogs that that love each other but spread out have been sharing a dog bed, curled close during the day this last week. 

There has been extra hugs and kisses from and for my husband which definitely brightens my day. Touch is an important love language for me. Plus it is just nice to take the time to make that connection each day in the midst of our hectic schedules.

Even my Lil Miss Independent, who is hitting the toddler years running, has been wanting more snuggles. It warms my heart when she comes up, both arms held palm up in front of her and her head tilted to the side asking, "snuggle?" 

I know part of the added snuggles has to do with the change in energy around home. My husband and I have been making an extra effort to be light hearted and playful. And my eldest dog is still walking that line near her eternal rest.

I'm grateful for snuggles. I'm grateful to connect with my husband rather than letting our opposite schedules effect us. I'm grateful for my daughter's sweet voice asking for snuggles. I'm grateful for her soft face snuggled into my neck and her arms wrapped around me. And I'm grateful to see my dogs comforting each other too. I'm grateful to be taking more time to snuggle each of them as well.

How do you get your daily quota of snuggles? Did you know human touch is a necessity to survive and thrive?

​May today bring us the comfort of human touch. May we snuggle the ones we love and allow the day to be even sweeter. Have a beautiful day!

Today is National Compliment Day. I love this day because it is a reminder to me to go outside my normal bubble to share kindness. Especially these days between occupying a toddler and trying to get groceries done; I sometimes don't pay as much attention to the people around me. 

Compliments are such an easy way to spread kindness and give someone a smile. And I don't just mean people I know. The woman picking out eggs that has colorful earrings would probably enjoy the compliment and the mere idea of being noticed. The mom that is out shopping with three kids and one is having a meltdown would probably love to hear that she's doing a great job and to hang in there. 

We never really know how taking a moment to give someone a compliment may change their whole day. I know it has for me before. 

I'm grateful for those compliments that have come from strangers and brightened my day. I'm grateful for compliments from friends and family that I hold in high respect. I'm grateful for genuine compliments. And I'm grateful to find genuine compliments to give. I'm grateful to share a smile with a stranger and say I love their boots. (I love boots!) I'm grateful to know I have the power to share kindness with people. And I'm grateful to know these little exchanges can make a difference in my community.

When was the last time you gave a stranger a compliment? When was the last time you gave a coworker or family member a compliment? How can you spread joy through compliments today?

May today remind us we have the power to brighten someone's day. May we be generous with compliments and slow to critique those around us and ourselves. Have a beautiful day!

Creating the day is like making a pie. There are infinite possibilities. Will I choose to lay out the filling with intention and care or dump it in? Will I choose to create my day with intention and conscious choices or simple dump in whatever thoughts that appear?

Once again I was awaked way too early with monkey mind. As I lay there practicing my breathing techniques I had a choice. I could let it set the tone for my day or I could choose to focus on the moments of calm and happy thoughts. 

If I were baking a pie and someone kept handing me mustard and tabasco sauce and other ingredients I didn't need, would I choose to put them in? It definitely wouldn't taste the way I had anticipated when I set the intention of making a pie. So why not apply the same concept to my day? There will be some things I can't control and some options that may not make my day the sweetest. But I can choose to move passed them and not "bake" them into my day.

I'm grateful to focus on the sweet things, like my daughter's sweet snuggles. I'm grateful to know a lot of breathing and relaxation techniques to test out when I can't sleep. I'm grateful to release the way the day started and focus on all the positive things happening right now. I'm grateful to know I can build a day that is as sweet as apple pie. And I'm grateful for delicious pies to think about today.

What will you "bake" today? How can you make your day a little sweeter?

​May today remind us we are in charge of what we choose to focus on. May we build a day that is as sweet as pie. Have a beautiful day!

My husband and I celebrated date day this weekend by going to see Star Wars. My favorite part is when Rey (yes, spelled the same as me and no, I had no idea before the last movie came out that I was a Star Wars character) was seeking to learn about the force. 

It was not something within her so much as the ability to tap into the universal energy. The ability to connect with nature and things around her was the source of power. ...As you may imagine, I resonate with that idea.

When I feel connected to nature and the energies around me I think clearer, feel more joy, and generally am more balanced. Winter has always challenged that connection for me and yet yesterday was a beautiful, warm day.

The whole family went outside and played. It was wonderful! My husband playing with his remote control helicopter. My daughter trying out her balance bike, with some assistance from me, for the first time outside. And the dogs relaxing, gated back from the tempting helicopter.

I'm grateful for the warm day outside. I'm grateful for date day with my husband. I'm grateful for the reminder that the "force" is all around me just waiting for me to tap in. I'm grateful for energy and to feel the resonating energy when I am in nature. And I'm grateful to breathe it in as I enjoy my family.

Where do you get your "force"? What reconnects you to your inner power?

May today remind us how strong and amazing we are and may we reconnect to the force around us. Have a beautiful day!

We have started out the last few mornings with lots of fuss. Today there was a dog pooping in the bedroom and a toddler who wanted carried everywhere. It is easy to get sucked into that energy and feel frustrated myself but today is Friday and I am determined to create a good day!

Instead of clenching my jaw and trying to take deep breaths I am going to release my frustration through laughter. As a Laughter Yoga leader I will admit I do not practice my skills very often anymore. What better time that now to get back to it? So today each time I feel frustrated I am going to laugh, not a fake little "hehe" but a loud, releasing "HA!" I'm going to open my mouth wide rather than clench down.

I'm going to use the full capacity of my lungs and push out a good "ha" and then another and another. One of two things is going to happen. Either the oxygen increase and effort will release my tension or the ridiculousness of it will make me laugh for real and the mood will actually change. My daughter and dogs may look at me like I'm crazy or they may climb aboard the laughter train too, either way I will feel better and that will help us all feel better.

I'm grateful for laughter. I'm grateful to recognize the tension in my jaw. I'm grateful for deep breaths but I'm more grateful to recognize when I need a little bit more. I'm grateful to have a great family with loving dogs, a helpful husband, and a sweet daughter. I'm grateful for Fridays and I'm grateful to have the weekend off. 

Would you like to climb aboard the laughter train today? How can you add laughter to your day?

May today give us plenty of opportunities for real laughter. May we have the conscious presence to redirect the unpleasant moments with happy thoughts or laughter. Have a beautiful day!

I love books. I love to read. There is just something rejuvenating about how a book transports me into a story that I don't get from television.

I have not had a book to read since before Christmas because it has been increasingly difficult to find a book with a sixteen month old running around "exploring" all the books on the lower shelves. Yesterday, though, I was blessed with help. The children's librarian, Ms. Becky, played and sung songs with my daughter while I ducked over to pick a book. Without a toddler running around it took less than five minutes.

I'm so grateful to Ms. Becky. I'm so grateful to have a book! I'm grateful for our great library system here. I'm grateful that storytime will be starting up again soon. I'm grateful my daughter loves books too. I'm grateful to read together.

What is your favorite book? How often do you read for fun?

May today give us time to do the things we love. May we meet supportive, kind people in our everyday outings.  Have a beautiful day!

My daughter woke at 3:45 this morning and after an hour of her screaming I gave in and we got up. I would love to say that I was able to respond in a calm, pleasant fashion but in honesty I was not my best version of myself. And after another hour of listening to fussing and tantrums I was about ready to lose it and have one of my own.

Time to find the hidden gifts in this situation. Well, one of my goals this month was to focus on consciously taking deeper breaths. What better time than now to practice some slow, deep breaths?! So I can say this is an opportunity to practice my goals.

There is also the benefit of my daughter having pretty good communication for her age. When she woke screaming I could hear her saying "Oh no! I did it, Mommy. Poo poo. I did it, Mommy! Sad baby, crying. Poo Poo." Now, none of this was actually true except her being sad and crying. She had not gone poo poo but it was a very clever way to get me to respond immediately and I respect that intelligence even if getting up at that hour isn't appreciated. At least it's a good laugh.

​And last but not least, there is always the radio. My daughter loves music and I appreciate the ability to turn on the radio and find music no matter what ridiculous hour it is. Right now it gives me the opportunity to blog as my daughter sits singing while listening to a completely different song playing over the radio. 

I'm grateful. I'm tired but I am grateful to have this intelligent, ornery, sweet little girl in my life. I'm grateful that teething does not last forever. I'm grateful to reframe my mind and release my own feelings of tantrum through deep breaths. I'm grateful to try to be my best version of myself but I'm also grateful to forgive myself when I am not. I'm grateful for music and for my daughter's distraction and return to being a happy baby.

What hidden gifts can you find today? What are you grateful for in this moment?

​May today provide all the support we need. May we find the silver lining in any challenge and the gifts in every situation. Have a beautiful day!