Super late for Day 73 72 of 100

I made it to 72 days of 100 days of gratitude.

I can’t be brutally honest and share everything that has occurred over the last six weeks or so. They have to do with addiction, co-dependence, and pain.

Here is what I am grateful for at the moment. Our household is based on support, love, and honesty. Even if shit happens, we all feel comfortable sharing our feelings. And I’m grateful for DoorDash and UberEats. Cooking has been very low profile for me. I like to eat but I haven’t felt ready to cook.

Tomorrow we have to go to the orthopedic surgeon for an appointment to discuss surgery on Saturday. Our surgeon is from Hawaii. That’s cool, right?

Business Travel Days 65 to 72?

Last week was a blur. I completely forgot to jot down three things that I’m grateful for each day.

Let me consolidate with photos.

My job requires a lot of my attention and sometimes that means I need to travel. I drove to Carlsbad on a Mon, back to LA on Tues and flew out to New Orleans on Tues night. As exhausting as it felt, I know that my job is making a difference for people inside my company, as well as for our customers. So I travel and I feel blessed.

Once in New Orleans, I napped before I had to attend my first meeting. Not much of a party experience. But that evening I walked outside to find a restaurant for dinner and found

LOL I was starved and went to the buffet for all I could eat seafood for dinner and the Buffalo slot machines for dessert. I’m grateful for that.

The next three days were a whirlwind of meet and greets and educational workshops. Thanks to social media, I discovered that my friends from LA were in town and met up for Beignets.

I’m grateful for the time to connect with friends as I connected with myself and renewed my dedication to diversity and inclusion.

At the end of the conference, my company sponsored an event at the House of Blues.

And when I checked in for my 6am flight the next day, I was in 5A. First class baby. I slept almost the entire way home, after my two mimosas.

💜

Uh oh. I’m behind. 59 to 64?

I got a bit behind the last week. That’s what happens when I have to commute 90 Miles there and 90 Miles back for work. It was a long day and I didn’t want to cook so we went out for sushi. I’m grateful for a huge variety of restaurants in the area. This one has a conveyer belt at the bar and crazy fun Sushi chefs.

And the next day that was the big guy’s birthday so we met up with some dojo ‘Ohana to go to an amusement park for roller coaster, water rides and junk food.

Saturday was more quiet, he went to a meeting and I took the pup for a walk. Afterward, we ran errands before the UFC fight.

Sunday we held beach workout which was really an excuse for having a potluck at the beach to celebrate his bday again.

Monday I had to work in Carlsbad but the family met up with me for dinner and to spend the night. It is much nicer to come home from work to the entire family, including my cute puppy.

Tuesday I had a good day at the office, starting at 7am with a great conference call. At 3pm I drove back to LA to pack for a four day business trip. I’m on my flight to get to New Orleans for a conference now. I’m grateful for a full life. Maybe I can get back on IF and working out soon.

Day 57 & 58 of 100 Days of Gratitude

I’ve stuck with this idea and have been jotting down three things I am grateful for 56 of 100 days. This hasn’t been the easiest 56 days and yet this little exercise has helped me stay grounded. Big changes have come and gone. Little victories have stayed.

Day 57

1) I’m grateful that executive recruiters are contacting me about open D&I positions at Fortune 500 companies. Work has not been the most pleasant experience thus far. There are always other opportunities around.

2) Work is not life. I’m grateful for a fully rounded life with friends and family and hobbies and outside interests to fall back on every day.

3) Despite my work experience being less than exceptional to date, I’m still seen as a subject matter expert at my new company. I am grateful that my past experience can help my new company.

Day 58

1) Resources like HRC, NGLCC, and OSHA are invaluable to me. I’ve got a major challenge at work concerning an employee who is transitioning. These resources and my network of friends have helped me a lot this week.

2) Everyone is doing so much around the house so I can focus my energy on work. The dog gets walked and bathed. The dishes get washed. The house gets cleaned. I’m grateful.

3) I’m grateful for prayer and the power of forgiveness and patience. It’s run thin and it almost gone but it is still here.

And I’m grateful for this face

54 55 56 Days of Gratitude

54

1) Being home, I needed to bury my head in my pillow and rest. I missed my halau’s Ho’ike but my a piece of my heart was with them, especially because of all the loss in their family this year.

2) Prayer and connections through the big guy’s RICA classes.

3) Sleep and more sleep

55

1) Surprising friends from Hawaii

2) Hula sisters who keep secrets

3) My extended hula ‘Ohana

56

1) my airfryer

2) Costco prepped meals

3) windows because we don’t have a/c

45 Day 45 of 100 Days of Gratitude

1) no traffic

2) good weather

3) driving safely between Pittsburgh and Frederick, MD

FiddyTree of 100 Days Hugs from Students 💜

One hundred days of gratitude has made me give pause and really consider my blessings.

I was back on the dojo floor and taught last night, despite my sore throat and jetlag. I was praising one of my students as he was stretching and he shyly looked down to the floor and mumbled something. The dojo gets LOUD while we are warming up so I couldn’t hear him over the noise. I said, “excuse me? I didn’t hear you.” He looked up at me and said, “I’m glad you’re back, Sensei” and gave me a huge hug. That makes it all make sense.

Before we started class, two of our longest tenured students showed up. They are brother and sister. The boy asked me about doing flips and rolls and spinning back kicks. I talked about safety and learning new skills. But it also gave me an opportunity to have them do cartwheels and front rolls during warmups. Even the big guy showed them some acrobatics. That made warmups more fun and I need to teach my five and six year olds how to do cartwheels now.

The last thing I was grateful for yesterday,

I wasn’t done yesterday was 51. Today is 52.

Yesterday, I was grateful for making it to Boston safely. I definitely wanted to remain in LA with my family but I had to travel to the East Coast again for work.

The team meeting was productive. I am grateful to have been on a team of smart people. Too bad they’re not all staying on the team. That’s something I am NOT grateful for and still need to process.

We ended the day with a walking tour of the Freedom Trail in Boston. American History is so rich.

Day 51

1. I’m grateful that my work teammates respect my capability and experience. They also crack me up. That’s a good team experience.

2. I’m grateful for alarm clocks on my cell phones.

3. I’m grateful for comfortable shoes, especially my Allbirds.

That was Swifty, I made it to Fifty

Grateful Days 100 of Them

1) First, I’m grateful for podcasts. I can listen a variety of podcast genre such as pop culture, politics, TV/movies/comic books, sports, in-depth interviews, even Diversity and Inclusion. Podcasts give me insight and educate me. Or sometimes they just make me laugh. And over the last nine days, podcasts have kept me company as I fly cross country, and drive across state lines.

2) Some podcasts come with online networks or websites. And through some of these networks, I’ve made friends in real life.

3) Melatonin. Thank you for helping me sleep.

Day 49 Almost Halfway

Three things I am grateful for today

1) Family

2) BFFs who I can lean on when I’m in a pinch

3) El Charrito Chile verde burritos