We’re getting back into the swing of things here at the Gratitude Circle.  What a great holiday we had!  It was a great time of rest, relaxation, entertaining, family and all that good stuff!  It felt so great to have an abundance of downtime to rest and re-charge.

I actually became addicted to a series of books during the break. I am what I call a “wanna” be reader.  I intend to read, try, and seem to lose interest or fall asleep-mostly because I read really slow.  My sister-in-law is an avid reader.  She could read a book in an hour and I was always envious of this.  Well, until now–I discovered Twilight right before Christmas and am now on the fourth book in the series.  I’ve been to the movie several times and have had so much fun with it.  I am truly grateful for finding these books and being able to really enjoy them.

I am very excited for the new year ahead and all of it’s promise.

Today I am most grateful for:

• the opportunity of a fresh, new year
• a garage to put my car in so that I don’t have to chisel ice off of it! 
• a growing daughter
• great friends
• perspective
• a manicure and pedicure
• a great pilates workout

Make sure to journal your gratitude daily!  It truly does make a difference.  A few months back I found a wonderful program called the Gratitude Tracker.  It’s basically a digital Gratitude Journal and the best thing is that it’s completely FREE!  A note pops up each day when you boot up your computer for you to log your gratitude.  It pops up just like a sticky note.  Click on the above link and download your free copy.  Let us know what you think, too!

Appropriately so, I was inspired by the blog post from KD on “A Bit Squirrelly.” She wrote today about the days that we struggle to find things to be grateful for. We know we are blessed, we know what we have, yet it’s a struggle. It seems there are days when everything is working against us, we keep getting beat down. Sometimes it’s difficult (or seems so) to climb over that mountain and see the other side.

I often tell people that these days of struggle are often the days of most growth. Right now, after a tough week I am most grateful for simple things–sitting in front of a warm and welcoming fire, watching a football game while snuggling next to my warm and fuzzy corgi named Coco.

Days of struggle force me to see the simple things that I may overlook on the days when the gratitude pours out of me. I have a great appreciation for things that maybe on regular day I take for granted.

Use these days to dig deep and grow!

I can’t believe it’s Thursday already this week! So many exciting things have been going on around here lately. 2009 will be a very exciting year and I am very grateful for that! I’ve been meeting so many people through my social networking over the past several weeks, it’s been a lot of fun.

Today I am most grateful for some much needed me time. It feels good to take care of yourself! I spent the morning at my pilates class, took myself to the nail salon, and ran some errands. Simple stuff, huh? It felt really good to clear my mind, now I’m refreshed and renewed to jump back into my exciting work!

Tonight I am grateful to dig into reading two new magazines I bought for myself while spending time with family watching the Patriots/Jets game. Go PATS!

Until next time,

I am really excited to join in with some of my blogger friends on a Gratitude Carnival started by my twitter friend, KD from A Bit Squirrelly.

It’s really cool to start Thankful Thursdays during the month of November which is actually national “I Am So Thankful Month.”

Of course as the holidays come upon us we are compelled to reflect on our gratitude and thankfulness. In our family, we truly enjoy the holiday of Thanksgiving. We love getting up early to make the turkey. I love to set my table the night before and enjoy how pretty it looks. We love sitting around as a family, enjoying each other’s company and my favorite, watching football (much to my daughter’s dismay!)

As the holidays approach, how will you create a grateful and fulfilling holiday for you and your loved ones? What does that mean to you? Do you have traditions that you share with your family that you carry forward each year? What extra steps will you take to help others?

Join my twitter friends at MommyGossip Cares who are having a Virtual Food Drive to help feed hungry families this holiday season.