5 Ways I Practiced Gratefulness This Week

One thing yoga has taught me is to be grateful.  I remember during one of my very first yoga classes when the teacher shared a thought.  It has stuck with me since that day more than two years ago.  “If you woke up tomorrow with only the things you were grateful for the day before, what would you have?”  Good one right?

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Sometimes, in our day-to-day lives, we get annoyed or angry or sad.  Sometimes we feel bad for ourselves and think it just can’t get much worse.  I am completely guilty of this on a day-to-day basis.  I’ve really tried to move away from this way of thinking.  The brain is a powerful tool and you have to train it to think in certain ways.

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Here are 5 ways I practiced gratefulness this week.

When Andy and I had to leave each other after our weekend in NYC. I got in one of my moods…sad, mopey, and not very talkative. How I practiced gratefulness:  How lucky am I to have someone in my life that makes saying goodbye so hard?  Some haven’t found that yet or some are thousands of miles apart and can only see each other on a computer screen.  I’m grateful.

When a big ugly pimple showed up on my face.  This one inspired this post.  I really let it get to me.  I hardly wanted to go to work or look at people.  I tried hiding it anyway I could. How I practiced gratefulness:  Really, Kelsey? It’s a pimple, a little red dot! There are people who have to go through life with severe cases of acne or other skin conditions.  I’m grateful.

When a stressful situation happened at work.  This obviously happens to a lot of people. You can get discouraged or unmotivated. How I practiced gratefulness: I have a job! A job that makes me a good living, and gives me great benefits so that I can take care of my health.  I’m grateful.

When I got annoyed having to pack a bag. I  always say I feel like the ‘bag lady’ and get frustrated having to plan out my wardrobe for 3 or 4 days.  How I practiced gratefulness:  How lucky am I to have so many people all over the place who I love and want to visit.  I’m grateful. 

When I was tired on Monday and didn’t want to go to the gym, because I had a “long” weekend.  How I practiced being grateful:  I have two legs and a car to get me there.  I have the ability to move those two legs and money to put gas in my car to get there.  I’m grateful.

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What are you grateful for?

Take Me Back Tuesday – A Weekend in Manhattan

For this weeks Take Me Back Tuesday post, I decided that I’d like to just re-live my past weekend in Manhattan,  Yeah, yeah I guess that’s being a little greedy but it was just the perfect weekend.  Andy and I celebrated our one year anniversary in the city.  It was an absolute beautiful weekend for it and neither of us realized before that it was the weekend of the marathon!

We arrived at our hotel Friday night which Andy booked.  As soon as we arrived he took me up to the roof top deck which had an awesome view of the Empire State Building!  He knows me well.  We tried to get some pictures of ourselves but night time selfies are tough!

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We went to dinner at a restaurant in Murray Hill called Cask Bar & Kitchen.  Take a look at my Yelp Review.  We indulged in some bread and oil and a great cheese and meat board.

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Saturday morning we woke up and went for a run.  It was the perfect temperature and the city was buzzing because of the marathon!  We ran a couple of miles up First Ave, which is part of the marathon route.  I was only maybe pretending we were running the next day 🙂

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We came back to our hotel and did some handstand practice.  I really need to work on my banana back! Baby steps.

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After our work out we decided to head out and walk uptown towards Central Park.  I hadn’t been to Central Park in a while and thought it would be pretty on a fall day.  On our way there we ran into a street market!

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Central Park was so pretty.  The pictures don’t even do the foliage justice!

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From Central Park we headed to Rockefellar Plaza.  I’ve heard that the Top of the Rock is an awesome view of the city.  Of course, most tourists go to the top of the Empire State Building but going to the Top of the Rock you actually get to SEE the Empire State Building.

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The view was awesome!  Andy was probably getting a little antsy with how many pictures I was taking from every angle possible.

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That’s Central Park behind me!

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Everyone was really friendly up there and offering to take pictures.  I returned the favor of course!

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On Saturday night we headed to dinner and then to a Comedy Show at The Stand in the Gramercy area.  I highly recommend this comedy club.  Tickets were cheap and the acts were hilarious.  Oh and I should mention that Jim Gaffigan was a surprise guest!! Along with Godfrey.  They are both really well known comedians.

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We had an awesome night!

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On Sunday morning we woke up and headed to a great diner (I think they might all fit that description).  I ordered their “Red Flannel Hash” which was a twist on hash that included sweet potatoes and beets! It was so different and so good.

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After we ate we headed to the train.  I was sad we couldn’t catch the marathon but then we were lucky to see it from the train!!  That’s all I needed 🙂

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I love this weekend.  New York is such a fantastic city and I’m grateful to live so close and just a train ride away.  Now if I could just figure out how to get my pictures on my blog to be bigger!

Lemon Basil Chicken & Artichoke “Pasta”

I’m super excited about this meal I put together tonight.  My inspiration came from wanting to try spaghetti squash for a while now, PaleOMG’s “pasta” recipes, and the extra lemon I had sitting on my counter since last week.

So as I walked through the aisles of the brand new Trader Joe’s in Stamford (ecstatic about this), I came up with Lemon Basil Chicken & Artichoke “Pasta.”

Oh just as an FYI.  I’m far from a great cook.  I’ve always enjoyed cooking since I was younger but took about an 8 year hiatus (thank you college and post college life).  Even when I was younger though, I was always the type to throw a dash of salt here or a heaping of garlic there.  So when I cook, I don’t always measure everything.  People have different palates so I prefer to season to taste.

Lemon Basil Chicken & Artichoke “Pasta”

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  • 1.25 lbs Organic Chicken Breast Tenderloins (cut into cubes)
  • 1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
  • 1/2 Yellow Onion
  • 1 Clove Garlic
  • 1 Can Artichoke Hearts
  • 1 Lemon
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Fresh Basil
  • Salt
  • Lemon Pepper (from Trader Joes)
  • Garlic Powder

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise (this was a lot harder than I thought!).  Place the two halves face down on a pan and bake for 40 minutes.  When they are done turn them over, let cool, and scrape out “spaghetti” with a fork by going with the grain.

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While the spaghetti squash is cooking, start preparing everything else.  Coat your skillet with olive oil and let it heat up on medium heat. Throw in chopped onion and garlic clove.  Saute for 5 minutes and add in chicken.  Saute until chicken is cooked on the outside. Add in your halved and washed artichoke hearts. Take half of your lemon and squeeze over chicken.  Make sure not to let any seeds fall in!  Add in basil and start seasoning with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Turn burner to low and let simmer for 10-15 more minutes, or until your squash is done.

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Once your squash is done and you are able to pick it up, fork the spaghetti into a big bowl.  Squeeze the other half of your lemon on to your spaghetti squash.  Add in chicken mixture and mix together with spaghetti.  Enjoy!

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