Today was the coldest day here in Chicagoland so far this winter. When my hubby left for work his car’s thermometer told him it was 1 degree outside at 5:50 AM. By the time I was getting the boys moving for school the thermometer on the screen saver told us it was 0 degrees out at around 8:15 AM. Around 2 PM we’d finally warmed up to about 9 degrees. Now at 10:30 PM it’s a balmy 10 degrees! LOL Hardest part to today was that I could literally feel the cold through my whole body – bones ached, muscles were sore and tight and Ray was in all his glory causing me pain I’m still not quite used to. Despite that I got some little things done around the house and honestly just enjoyed the time to do some leisure reading that I haven’t done enough of lately. That’s always a plus in my book!

Today I Am Grateful:

1) For quiet time at home this morning. Walking at the gym may have helped me some today, but it was nice to stay in where it was warm and just enjoy the moment.

2) That although the aches and pains were more uncomfortable today than normal, I still made myself get up and move around the house every hour or so just to make myself move. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it.

3) That I am taking care of myself in my own way – yes I’m hitting the gym with my dad when I can, but I’m also exercising my brain with two books I’m using to help me on my weight loss journey: “A Course In Weight Loss” by Marianne Williamson and “The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size” by Julia Cameron (if you’ve read the book “The Artist’s Way” yes it’s the same author) – Both books are amazing at helping with the mental side of lifestyle changes because there is often a lot of mental clutter that needs to be cleaned up as well. Give them a read, they’re worth it.

4) For being active on my SparkPeople SparkTeams today – it felt good to interact with other people who are on the same journey, just with a different point of view. What an amazing group of people!

5) For the countless numbers of possibilities and opportunities that tomorrow always brings with it – what will I see? what will I learn? what will I chase after? What might Life bring to me??

You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside. ~ Wayne Dyer