Daily 5 - Day 150

After a couple of mentally very messy days, I'm reminded again of the fact that I started making smile lists in the first place because I heard somewhere that making a list of things you're grateful for (in my case things that make me smile) on a regular basis has the same effect on your brain chemistry as a mild dose of anti-depressants.  After some particularly challenging moments in the summer, I decided to make it an official daily habit, and 150 days ago the daily 5 was born out of the desire to simply choose to be more thankful and joyful in the day to day moments of life.  A month or two after that, I realized that it was becoming commonplace to list five things, and that there was tending to be quite a bit of repetition from day to day in my list of five, and I started challenging myself to write 10 (while still calling this experiment the "Daily 5").  These days I write some version of 5 or 10, depending on the day, how tired I am, and how much of a challenge it is to reach whatever number I've chosen.

I need to push myself for 10 again for a few days.  These rough days have had a decided impact on my mental landscape, and I need to shift focus, and deliberately choose again to find the "joyful, make me smile and oh so grateful" moments in my life.

Daily 5 - Day 150!

1. Some great new jeans - so comfy, and discovering that a store that I'd long thought didn't make jeans in a short length, does.  Love the cut of the new jeans too - GAP, curvy flare.  Kinda like the name of the cut too, for that matter.
2. Some great new tops to go with the jeans, or to be dressed up quite easily for work.
3. Being caught off guard by an almost sick feeling at the excess I experienced today while shopping at the new mega mall.  I like that a trip to the mall became a chance for God to really challenge my heart again, and remind me that one of my goals for the year is to purge and simplify, to be less of a consumer.
4. Time laughing with friends, while shopping
5. Italian wedding soup from M&M for lunch
6. Made a great grilled oriental chicken salad for supper.  Kinda cheated by using a salad kit, but I really liked the addition of dried pineapple that came in this kit (which I'd never used before) - it added a nice texture and flavor to the usual noodles, veggies, almonds, and sesame dressing.
7. still loving the George Foreman grill my parents gave me for my birthday.  Such an easy way to make hamburgers or grilled chicken, without fire being involved, or the need to flip things, and without having to go outside in the middle of winter.
   
8. Loved the surprise that an audio book I'd requested at the library, and that I wasn't expecting for another couple of weeks had arrived when I went to the library to pick up some other items that I'd requested that had arrived.  Was great to spend some time this afternoon listening to part of the book while I puttered around.  Liking it quite a bit so far.
9. Thinking about the friends that are really more like family, and grateful for the way they challenge me, and for their love of me.
10. Productive, but mostly restful and quiet afternoon, with candles and my oil burner lit in my bedroom
11. (AND a bonus!)  Making it to 150 straight days of showing up and listing the things that are reasons for joy and hope and thankfulness in my life.  I think it really is making a difference in how I see the world, and I'm so grateful for that.