November has been a super busy month at work. In the past I may have resented the long hours and the grinding work; but I find my industry, my company, my colleagues, and I suppose the work itself actually very nurturing and rewarding.

I’m grateful that I’m heard and have the opportunity to collaborate and change things for the better. I’m grateful that my colleagues accept me and my ideas.

So as I’ve been working hard this month, I suppose I’ve also been playing hard too. I’ve found and binged a really good Chinese drama, Love like the Galaxy, and it’s odd as I haven’t binged anything in a long while.

This drama has provided a good retrieve from work and has so many emotions in each episode. Usually I try to create rather than consume content, but I guess sometimes we need to change things up a bit.

So, here is my November gratitude journal:

1 A couple of things today. Grateful for taking things slowly, I’m not sure what happened this morning considering I went to sleep late and awoke super early, but taking things slowly this morning felt really good – doing one thing at a time and focusing just on that. Grateful for Artemis, who is a greedy pig – and that turned out to be a really good thing as she eats pills really easily! She also slept most of the day, giving me some peace to work.

2 A couple of things today. Grateful for the dog today – compared to our old dog where it was a treat when he was on the sofa with you, Artemis was super keen to melt into my lap whilst lounging on the sofa. Also grateful for a useful reminder on how to use my adult ego in difficult conversations: aiming for a win-win situation on both sides. Dealing with difficult people and having difficult conversations can be tricky, and it’s super hard having to bring people up to your level, but worthwhile in the end.

3 Car: grateful for the car today, getting me safely to places. The torrential rain has meant some places had flooded and the electric car thankfully actually managed to make it through some flood prone areas.

4 A few things today. Grateful for working from home today and having my creature comforts on a cold cold day. Grateful for the dog who is absolutely adorable. Grateful for tea, because some days, caffeine is absolutely essential. Grateful for my career training; I feel I see things a little differently from other people and can pick up on things that others can’t – a blessing and a curse, I suppose. And grateful for gratitude, because I’ve worked a 12 hour day and was super annoyed at an affiliate partner, but thinking about what I’m grateful for has put me in a more positive mood.

5 A few things today. Grateful for the dog today, as we went to obedience class and Artemis did really well! Grateful for the hubby for cleaning my handbags, which I never ever do myself. Grateful for tea, maybe oat milk is the secret ingredient to really tasty tea, but tea is great. And grateful for heating, the temperature has dropped outside meaning the heat pump is actually working properly and the radiators are operating and heating the house quite well.

6 A few things today. Grateful for sleep, as I had an epically long lie in. Grateful for quality time spent with the hubby playing Trine 2 and also cuddling with the dog. Artemis has been a little spooked by the fireworks so has been seeking comfort through hugs, which is sad yet adorable at the same time. And grateful for memory lane, as I did a little tidying up and life admin today, so looked at some old notes on Merlin and on a pivotal career path I made almost two years ago – it was interesting reading about those old times.

7 Fererro rocher: grateful for this delicious chocolate today. Craving chocolate and nuts – and what’s the best combo of that – Ferrero rocher!

8 Progress: grateful for progress today. Progress in loose leash walking the dog, Artemis did really well today; progress in training the dog too. Progress in my mental health, I’m better equipped to see and name things as they are and not dwell as long on the negatives – name it to tame it, and progress in being a funnel instead of a sponge. Progress in finding peace in the chaos that is life.

9 Hubby: grateful for the hubby today, having a positive perspective on some annoying issues. It’s reassuring hearing a calm voice and having someone just nip in there before you snowball and catastrophise.

10 Car: super grateful for my car, as I have it back today after a few days in the garage! I suppose it’s true when people say you don’t always know how good you’ve got it till it’s gone.

11 A few things. Grateful for open and authentic conversations, as I am trying to think of improvements and efficiencies so it’s good to have a different perspective. Grateful for the dog, who has been so adorable and sweet today. Grateful for an interesting Chinese drama that I’ve happened upon that is also quite funny.

12 A few things today. Grateful for having the car back, as I made two 15 minute journeys today, which would have otherwise been two 1 hour journeys. Grateful for rest and sleep, as I slept in till 9am this morning, which for me is super late. Grateful for tea, giving me caffeine and energy and also tasting super good lately – probably due to the new oat milk we’ve been getting. And grateful for this new drama I’m watching which is just really clever with arguments and wordplay and characters getting their just desserts.

13 A few things today. Grateful for couple walks as the hubby and I have been busy so we’ve been walking Artemis separately, whilst today we had a nice family walk in the sun. Grateful for sleep, as we slept in even later today which was nice. Grateful for heating, as we’ve adjusted the heat settings and I’ve been feeling a lot warmer inside.

14 Caffeine: grateful for caffeine today, helping me plough through a 10 hour work day – I’m absolutely exhausted, but still breathing.

15 Love like the Galaxy: grateful for this Chinese drama today, offering all the feelings as respite to my work day. A lot of death in today’s episode, all the feels, for sure.

16 Dog stuff: grateful for dog stuff today. I’ve found a Youtube music video designed to soothe and calm dogs, and I think it worked! Also grateful for Artemis, every now and then I’d look over at her during the work day and she’d notice and immediately start wagging her tail – just because I looked at her! It made me laugh so many times today.

17 Colleagues: grateful for colleagues today. We had a major discussion off site talking about the department, the company, improving processes etc and I found it very productive and super useful airing out issues and thinking of solutions. We also had free lunch and dinner which was also a nice morale boost, and of course the food was super tasty!

18 Sleep: grateful for sleep today. Had a day off and it was so good catching up on some snooze times, I also fell asleep watching a film! Grateful to get a little recuperation time.

19 Artemis: grateful for Artemis today, as she successfully did recall for the first time ever! I called her to come, she sat there for a second, and then came sprinting over to me – I was both delighted and shocked, didn’t know she could run so fast!

20 A few things today. Grateful for sleep, as had a lovely lie in this morning. Grateful for Artemis, as she is appearing to understand and perform a new command. And grateful for catch ups, as I spoke with a few friends I haven’t spoken to in a while and it was nice hearing their news directly.

21 Rest: grateful for rest and recuperation today, just chilling and relaxing – it’s good to clear the mind every now and then.

22 Artemis: super grateful for Artemis today, as jumping back into work and grinding, and then I look over at her looking at me and her tail starts wagging! So adorable and it’s nice to have a reminder to take a breath and be in the present moment and not worry about things so much.

23 A couple of things today. Grateful for tea/ caffeine, keeping me awake and alert. Grateful for Artemis, who has been slumbering in such funny contortionist positions – makes me laugh whenever I look over at her during the work day.

24 Colleagues: grateful for colleagues today. We had some colleagues from a sister company visit and it was a great collaborative day, we also had free sushi for lunch, and it was great brainstorming ideas on how to make processes more efficient and streamlined. Grateful to work with like minded people who are super supportive – yes, the hours can be super long sometimes – but the people sure make it worthwhile.

25 Warmth: grateful for warmth today in many different ways. Grateful for tea, keeping me warm. Grateful for heating, also keeping me warm. Grateful for Artemis because her fur is so soft and warm too.

26 Rest: grateful for rest today. I slept in, I lounged and relaxed, I cuddled with the dog. Grateful to carve out some time to rest and recuperate.

27 Self care: grateful for self care today. Slept in a little this morning, cooked a winter meal, did some dedicated skin care this evening – just looking after my physical and mental health.

28 Cuddles: grateful for cuddles today, with the dog and with the hubby. Super cold today so some warmth was much needed.

29 Warmth: grateful for warmth today. Artemis lied down on my feet this evening keeping them nice and toasty, tea was also very warming, and the radiators eventually worked today keeping me warm too.

30 Candid conversations: grateful for candid conversations today. Learning a lot from other people as well as uncovering some things myself in the process.