Gratitude Project, Day 7: Comfort Foods

I thought my first gratitude post related to food would be for coffee or chocolate, but it turns out not. Today I am grateful for comfort food. I made Cottage Pie for dinner and am about to eat some yummy Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins. Yum!

Yes, sometimes {alright, most of the time} food makes me feel good. I am not sure I should be grateful for my emotional connection to food, but today I am.

Gratitude Project, Day 6: Family

Luke and cousin Hannah together

Today we are headed over to my sister's house for a cookout with our two families and our parents. My kids always enjoy playing with her daughter, Hannah (well, Emma is too old for "playing" now). And all the grown-ups in this family enjoy some eating.

I am thankful we all live in the same town and we have the opportunity to spend some time together today.

What are you thankful for today?

Gratitude Project, Day 5: State Health Insurance

{I actually wrote this entire thing yesterday and forgot to publish it, so it still counts for yesterday's gratitude.}

I guess I am showing the true state of my finances by posting this on my gratitude list, but I am thankful that we qualify for the kids to be covered by our state children's health insurance, Health Choice, and I'm not ashamed about it. When the real estate market started tanking, and my business went from showing a profit to suffering a loss, we suddenly qualified for children's health insurance.

This insurance is free and covers doctor visits and hospital 100% and we pay just $2 per prescription. Just saving on the insurance premium alone saves us $200/month. Then, it saves us doctor copays, usually at least $25/month. Also, it allows us to have Luke's ADHD managed by a therapist that wouldn't have been covered under our individual insurance plan, saving us a minimum of $250 each month but usually more like $375+. Well, it's not actually saving us the therapist costs -- we wouldn't be able to afford that so Luke wouldn't be managed by a therapist otherwise.

We are up for renewal again and I found out today that this year we don't have to submit a new application. No stress over whether or not we still qualify, even though I know we do. We didn't have any changes in income status so we don't have to submit a thing.

Ahhhh!!!! {that's my big sigh of relief}

What are you thankful for today?

Day 4, Gratitude Project: Morning Wakeup

Day 4: Morning Wakeup. Today, the first day of school for Emma, I am so thankful she and Luke both got up and going without much hassle. Emma woke before me and was dressed before I would have woken her up. I let Luke sleep as long as I could (his school doesn't start until August 29), and then woke him to dress and go. He got up so quickly that he got to have breakfast before we left too. I'm hoping most school mornings can be this easy and I'm so grateful this first-day-of-school morning was.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude Project, Day 3: New Listing

I think most people are aware of the state of the real estate market, but probably not as acutely aware as those of us in the industry or who have bought or sold property in the last three years. I not only work as a Real Estate Broker but I am also trying to sell my home right now.

Today, day three of my Gratitude project, I am thankful for my new listing. A past client called me to sell their downtown condo. I am grateful for their loyalty and I am grateful for new business, just when I need it most.

What are you thankful for today?