The little dude loves his new coat : )

Happy Sunday! Hope you’re having a good weekend. I wasn’t planning to work at the hospital but ended up picking up a few shifts so have spent most of it working. No complaints, though—I actually like working weekends sometimes.

I’ve been doing a lot of clinical over the past few months, which has certainly been an interesting exercise in living in the moment as far as my schedule is concerned, since I’m constantly juggling. I really love it, though every week is a different sort of balancing act. Sometimes I get confused over which is my “main thing” and which is the “back-up.” Any per diems out there who also do their own thing who can relate? The current plan is to just keep doing what I enjoy and trust my instincts. I feel lucky to enjoy what I do for work, so at this point, it’s all good. Despite the fact that I’m basically working six, seven days a week when you take everything into account, it doesn’t really feel that way. This is how I know I’m still young. Or something like that.

That said, I have a string of days after Thanksgiving where I’m not on the calendar, and I’m going to make an effort to take an actual day off. I have a few freelance projects, events, and private clients scheduled for that week, but I also know it’s important to recharge the ol’ batteries. See? This is me trying to take my own advice!

Um, wow, tangent. Back to the whole point of this post…Welcome to my weekly gratitude list. Here are some things that brought me joy this week.

1.) My birthday isn’t until next Sunday, but I’ve already gotten a few cards. 

My cousin always sends the best cards. This one from my aunt & uncle is pretty awesome too:

2.) With Thanksgiving coming up, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to go grocery shopping if you’re going to be traveling, but I was out of a few staples on this past Thursday and needed to grab some stuff to get me through to Wednesday. I was way too excited to see two of my favorite Stonewall Kitchen products on sale for only $9.99 at Trader Joe’s. That’s often what I’d pay for just one at my local (overpriced) gourmet market. 

3.) I am obsessed, lately, with maple syrup as a topping for plain yogurt. All you need is 1/4-1/2 tsp to get a great burst of flavor. The other day I enjoyed some plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon, flax, and chopped dried fig and then topped it with some syrup and the rest of a packet of cacao nibs—so good. Again, you only need a little to really richen the experience of your snack break. Hah! I sound like an ad person. 

4.) It was so cold this week, I had to break out the unironic Snuggie I used to wear at my last job because it was so cold in my office. It’s ridiculous, but it reminds me of using humor to get through a tough time. This time last year, I was trying really hard to keep it off the blog, but I was not in a great place. I knew I had to make some changes in my professional life but the path was not yet clear and I felt completely powerless and sad about things I couldn’t fix. I would sit there in my bright blue Snuggie, cross-legged in my desk chair typing nutrition notes in my windowless office and crying…until I would remember I was wearing a Snuggie and start laughing. I would think about how one day I would look back at my younger, Snuggie-wearing self and want to tell her all kinds of comforting things. It was my weird, roundabout way, I guess, of telling myself everything was going to be okay—and it really got me through.

5.) I get to see Eli on Wednesday! I miss his furry little butt like crazy, but he’s having an awesome time with my family and their dogs. They’re like the three goddamn musketeers—too f***ing cute.

6.) My Rise business cards came in the mail Saturday. That was a nice surprise. 

What’s brought you joy recently?