A month of completing Challenges.

There was a tradition I started back in college that was inspired by friends. Starting in November they would post something each day that they were grateful for until Thanksgiving. I loved this idea and after my first year of doing it, would go the whole month. Last September I remember thinking about how grateful I was for something and how I wish November would come around so I "could write it down." Then I thought, why I can't it be today and why just a month? Challenge accepted and this month completed my "365 Days of Gratefulness" challenge.

What was my challenge? It was to write down something I was thankful for that day and meditate/think about it and what it meant for me. Popular themes included Robert, the dogs, friends, family, and yoga. Other more random days included scotch tape for killing ticks (I never said it had to be zenful), being able to donate blood, and getting better at making biscuits. 

It serves as a reminder to be grateful for the small things in life, even on hard days. 

My other challenge for the month was a 21 day challenge to avoid the following:
-soda
-chocolate
-pastries
-ice cream
-pretty much any dessert/sweet related item

If you know me well enough, then you know I cannot turn down desserts, especially decadent chocolatey ones, cheesecake, cake-... you get the idea. I have a pretty big sweet tooth and I was going to go three weeks without satisfying it.

Did you know you can get sugar withdrawals? True story. I was very lethargic the first couple of days. Robert and I like to keep Snickers bars on hand. I decided to start this when we had four of them stocked in the refrigerator. If I ate one, I would not be lethargic and I would get energy, like they do in the Snickers' commercials. Talk about temptation!

Once I got over that, there was another big temptation: a volunteer where we teach English bakes whenever she is there. She was there a week before my challenge ended with banana bread. I declined and Robert took my slice. Everyone was talking about how good the treat was.

The plus side to this is the fact that I began eating more whole foods and drinking more water. I actually lasted about 25 days for my challenge before getting a brownie milkshake. I usually get the small, 10oz size. The awesome part? I got a stomach ache after about 7oz of it, so the rest went to Robert.

Life can be a lot of things: challenging, rewarding, scary, and beautiful. I have learned a lot about myself in the last year. I not only feel healthier physically, but mentally as well. What are you grateful for today?