Little Things for Which I am Thankful

I woke up this morning to find four of my cats sleeping on the bed with me – guess they all like it to be cozy in the winter! My list below is a combination of both silly and not-so-important things, as well as more serious subjects. I feel fortunate to be leading a full life right now.

1. Oreos. You might think I’m silly for saying this but they are vegan! I am an Oreo addict so this is like wonderful music to my ears.
2. A friend recommended the book, Bleating Hearts: The Hidden World of Animal Suffering by Mark Hawthorne.  While this may not sound like pleasant reading, and believe me, it has brought me close to tears and horrible disgust at our human race many times, I feel like it’s something important I have to read. Along with many others, we can’t just turn our heads away and pretend this stuff doesn’t go on in the world. There is absolutely unspeakable cruelty being perpetrated on the lives of innocent beings, innocent and loving creatures, all because humans think for some reason, that they have the right to do what they do.  It makes me all the more determined to lead a purposeful life and try to remedy as much of it as I can, both as an individual and working with other like-minded individuals.
3. I’ve begun doing my freelance work this week and I feel invigorated by it. At times, I feel like no time has passed at all, since I’m working with familiar topics, but I know so much time has passed. I feel like I am more discerning of what I find, and more confident in my research abilities. It’s also wonderful to work with someone who really values you for your brain and abilities. I hope that all of you are able to experience something like that in your life.
4. I’m typing this list on my new Samsung Chromebook, which I was able to get for $200. Yes, that’s $200 that I should have probably put into my savings or toward my debt but I feel like it will pay me back many times over. Without it, I would have had to do all of my research on my ipad mini. It’s not impossible but with the smaller screen, I was not able to get onto a number of different websites, for one reason or another.
5. A friend asked if I would “train” her for her upcoming wedding in which she is wearing a strapless dress! She’s going to pay for my gym membership at our school so I can meet up with her at least once a week. This afternoon, I’ll be running her through some assessments.
6. I feel like I am leading a purposeful life right now. Not doing exactly what I want to do, job-wise, on a consistent daily basis, but I’m getting there. I’m using my skills for something good. I wake up every day, and once I have my coffee, I feel motivated to get stuff done.

I hope all of you will have a great weekend. If nothing else, remember that after tomorrow, the days get LONGER! Now that is something we can all be thankful for.