Day 257: Gratitude

"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~Melody Beattie~

Gratitude is something I think about every single day. I'm grateful to have a good job. I'm grateful to have a nice home. I'm grateful to have a nice car. I'm grateful to have a wonderful family. I'm grateful to have my health. These are in no particular order but I can tell you family does come first. We actually had a bit of a scare tonight as one of my nieces was unaccounted for this afternoon. Turns out she was perfectly fine and we had our days mixed up. She was right at work where she was supposed to be and wondering why the family was blowing up her phone ! So we were worrying for no reason. Still, I'm grateful it was just a mix up, because those girls are so loved ! Despite the negatives I've experienced in life I choose to focus on all of the positives and I give thanks every day for the blessings that have been bestowed on me. One thing I've never felt is a sense of entitlement when it comes to anything in life. I've worked pretty hard for everything I have, but that doesn't mean I didn't have help along the way. The fire is the reason my home and its furnishings are a source of pride and my brother-in-law helps me keep a nice car in my garage. I'm also pretty proud of my new and improved figure and grateful for the support I've received throughout the past 257 days.

Breakfast was a 2 ounce 160 calorie cherry cheese roll with hazelnut coffee. Second cup was cinnamon roll. Morning snack was a 155 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 4 ounce 220 calorie spinach and cheese pretzel melt with raw carrots. Afternoon snack was 2.5 cups of Skinny Pop popcorn (100 calories) and a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit Strawberry Cheesecake yogurt. This left 485 calories for dinner and an evening snack. Dinner was an unexpected flex meal of 1/2 a french onion grilled cheese sandwich and a few potato chips. I didn't use any of the broth it's served with for dipping so my sandwich was pretty much just a grilled cheese with sauteed onions. It was incredibly greasy but delicious. Evening snack was a 1.8 ounce 140 calorie butterscotch cake. Since I don't know the calories on the grilled cheese I'm just putting my calories at 1200 for today. 

Although the morning started off chilly it was sunny and much warmer by lunchtime. I decided to venture out during lunch to get gas, since Delta Sonic is nearby and I only had 1/4 tank. That eliminated one planned stop on the way home tonight ! I was hesitant to venture out because I didn't want to be out in crazy traffic, but in the end it was easy to get in and out of the office lot because there's a traffic light. It is so nice to be able to run out during lunch !

Turns out getting gas during lunch was a wise move. On the way home I ended up in a massive traffic jam on 81N due to a tractor trailer accident. After sitting in traffic for over an hour they made everyone exit to 481S ... so I was headed right back the way I came ! To top it off there was another accident .. and another traffic jam on 481 !! I guess I should have made an illegal u-turn like so many other people did ! A couple people even threw their cars in reverse and backed up an on-ramp ! Craziness !! I ended up getting off 481 near my mom's house (I'd had enough of the highway for one day) and stopped in for a visit and a bathroom break. It was 6:30 when I got there and I had left the office at 5 !! She hadn't had dinner so we went to Point Place casino and shared a french onion grilled cheese with potato chips. So there was no exercise tonight. I got home at 10 and I'm glad I can sleep in a little tomorrow since I'm going to bed so late.

Time for a shower and bed !