First month to the new year and it appears I’ve just done a lot of sleeping and napping and eating – it’s like Christmas and New Years have just continued into to January!

Reading back on January’s gratitude journal it appears I’m super grateful for Artemis helping me stay present, as well as the hubby for doing lots of chores – it appears quality time and acts of service are still pretty high love languages for me.

It appears I’m also super grateful for food, both sweet and savoury – it’s the simple things in life, I suppose. So, here is January’s gratitude journal:

1 Grateful for sleep. Grateful for Artemis, who was snoozing on me most of the day, she was oddly flossing her teeth with her rope toy which was hilarious too. Grateful for Korean dramas, been watching some hilarious shows lately.

2 Grateful for Korean dramas again, absolutely hilarious! Grateful for rice, I feel like I haven’t eaten rice in so long, and it was sure tasty. Grateful for Artemis, who didn’t just want to be close to me on the sofa this evening, but her shoulder/ elbow was actually digging into me!

3 Grateful for upbeat music whilst driving to work today. Grateful for less traffic as many people are still on holiday, making the roads quieter. Grateful for baby back ribs, which I ate for the first time in forever it seems. Grateful for the hubby helping me charge the car as it was doing weird things this evening.

4 Grateful for the hubby today, he cooked and washed up and was just super helpful. Grateful that we are a partnership and working as a team together.

5 Grateful for rice, been having it a lot lately and it is so good. Grateful for deliveries, we ordered a lot of things from the boxing day sales and quite a few items have now arrived – exciting stuff! Grateful for Artemis, she thinks all the packages are for her and it’s hilarious seeing her wiggle butt get so excited around some boxes.

6 Grateful for some extra sleep today. I awoke in the middle of the night and then couldn’t get back to sleep, but I slept in super late today so managed to get some more shut eye. Grateful for the hubby, we’ve been putting new furniture together and clearing away lots of old things – like a new year clean – and he did most of the heavy lifting. Grateful for Artemis, she has a cute little run up the stairs last thing at night and it’s utterly adorable!

7 Grateful for the hubby, who booked for us to see the Christmas lights show at Kew.

Grateful for Kew for organising and holding a wonderful event. Grateful for music, because some of the installations were made even better with the atmospheric music.

8 Grateful for weddings, as we’ve received some save the dates and invites for weddings – super exciting! Grateful for checklists, helping me make sure I have everything I need for work. Grateful for tracking apps, as I’ve been using them lately and they’re super informative and useful. Grateful for the hubby cooking dinner while I was working late and dealing with the dog too.

9 Grateful for yoghurt, we’ve started eating Activia lately and, gotta say, it’s very tasty. Grateful for home organisation, we had a very cluttered utility room that is now a little tidier with some rearrangement and new organisation tools.

10 Grateful for podcasts, some are very educational and I’ve been able to listen to them while driving into work so I’m learning lots before the working day has begun. Grateful for reading which I actually managed to do yesterday. Grateful for food at work, lots of people bringing in goodies and sharing them – super grateful and they’re super tasty.

11 Grateful for brownies, there was a brownie pop up at work and the brownies had different flavours and were super tasty. Grateful for the hubby, helping and supporting me as I deal with abrasive and toxic people, offering sound advice. Grateful for podcasts, which I’m listening to on the drive to work and they’re really informative.

12 Grateful for dim sum today, super tasty. Grateful for barley water, also super tasty and kind of gone off water a little bit. Grateful for our dog walker who walked Artemis for 21km today, if I remember correctly!

13 Grateful for the hubby today and yesterday, yesterday I wasn’t aware he had repositioned pillows on the bed for me, and today he put together a lot of new furniture. Grateful for more driving confidence, I managed to reverse out of a parking space onto a busy road, whilst usually I would’ve parked somewhere quieter and walked. Grateful for obedience classes with Artemis, it’s restarted again and we are both learning new things. And grateful for Artemis, she really likes to burrow into me when snoozing on the sofa, being next to me isn’t enough she has to be practically on me which is so adorable.

14 Grateful for a lie in, rest and recuperation is good. Grateful for broccoli and stilton soup – super tasty. Grateful for family dog walks and just chatting and being present. Grateful for our scanner, I’ve been scanning things and recycling or shredding them to declutter the study.

15 Grateful for the hubby who has been reading to me, it’s been nice, like I’m listening to a podcast. Grateful for Artemis who was snoozing on me this evening, she likes to be really close to me these days. She had a haircut at the weekend so looks even more adorable than usual, as all the fur has been chopped off so she looks smaller than usual.

16 Grateful for boxes keeping Artemis busy and entertained. Grateful for batch cooking at weekends so we can reheat during a busy weekday. Grateful for having a car and a supermarket nearby so I can pop to the shops really easily. Grateful for heating, I’ve not really felt the cold as I’ve been all snuggled up inside. Grateful for a really tasty and fail-proof brownie recipe that I got from an old colleague, and I baked brownies this evening and another friend actually asked me for this recipe recently too.

17 Grateful for cakes, brownies, and doughnuts today; it was a colleague’s birthday so three of us brought/ bought things.

Grateful for our dog walker today, who was able to take Artemis and send adorable pictures of their walks together. Grateful for podcasts that I’ve been listening to lately, really insightful stuff.

18 Grateful for having a car, getting me to and from work ok. Grateful for brownies and squirty cream, super tasty. Grateful for Artemis who buried herself in me this evening and we had a nice little snooze together.

19 Grateful for our morning dog walk, even though it was absolutely freezing, Artemis definitely helps keep me present. Grateful for dog cuddles this evening too, Artemis really wanted to bury herself into me again – cute yet heavy.

20 Grateful for Artemis, keeping me exercising and healthy – obedience class today and we were both working very hard. Grateful for family dog walks. Grateful for Korean food, which we had tonight. Grateful for a dehumidifier, we’ve turned it on when drying clothes in the house and it has made the clothes dry a lot faster.

21 Grateful for off lead walking and nearby areas of outstanding beauty.

We walked Artemis in a beautiful area and she was off lead and loving life, running around and coming back to us checking in for treats – it was wonderful. Grateful for Artemis being calmer than usual in a restaurant. Grateful for a couple of friends visiting us as we probably won’t be seeing them for a little while now. Grateful for the hubby reading to me and keeping me informed on some pertinent things.

22 Grateful for the hubby today for cooking a lovely meal. Grateful for Artemis, we had a nice morning walk together and she really does help to keep me present. Grateful for checklists, making sure I’m doing everything I need to do.

23 Grateful for parks today, walked Artemis in our nearby park using the long lead and she was having a whale of a time. She kept going off and coming back to me for more treats. Grateful for a footrest that work has sent over, very handy. Grateful for flowers budding/ trying to bloom, we have carnelians in our garden that’s trying really hard to bloom. Grateful for birdsong, opened a window this morning and there were birds singing. Grateful for past us buying too much chicken, as I was able to find some chicken in the freezer to defrost for dinner tonight.

24 Grateful for work dinner out, super super tasty! Grateful for milder and warmer weather today, it’s been too cold lately. Grateful for the dog walker’s pictures of Artemis, she looks like she’s having lots of fun on her walks.

25 Grateful for podcasts and music, keeping me company as I drive to work. Grateful for massages and stretches to realign my body and relieve some aches. Grateful for nap time this evening, Artemis and I had a nice little snooze on the sofa together.

26 Grateful for Artemis, she was very needy this evening and wanting lots of attention and strokes. Grateful for the hubby, offering warm hugs and sound advice. Grateful for evening naps on the sofa cuddling the dog – bliss.

27 Grateful for naps, napped on the sofa a couple of times today! Grateful for obedience class, did a lot today, so feel that Artemis is being enriched, as am I, I suppose. Grateful for the hubby for doing so many chores while I was obedience training Artemis. Grateful for pizza, as we had a little pizza party this evening. Grateful for Pixar, we watched Elementals and it was really good, I appreciated the immigrant backstory and heartfelt story line – Pixar never fails to impress.

28 Grateful for a varied day today, we were very productive in batch cooking today and had a lovely family dog walk. Grateful for green open spaces super near us where Artemis can run free – she was so adorable running off to sniff and then running back to us for treats. Grateful for napping on the sofa – that walk tired me out! Grateful for cookies, I can never make the chewy cookies, but the shop bought ones are super tasty. Grateful for the hubby making soup, this is the first time I had carrot and coriander – super tasty too.

29 Grateful for the hubby today, I was feeling queasy and faint and he was very helpful in aiding me. Grateful for strong citrus smells, helping me overcome the queasiness. Grateful for a little lie in this morning, ready for the week ahead.

30 Grateful for having access to a car, running errands and getting me from A to B, even if parking takes me a little while! Grateful for being in the room where things happen. Grateful for a lovely spread from work – grateful for pistachio and rose cakes. Grateful for friends sharing their experiences and stories with me – I learnt lots today.

31 Grateful for heated seats and a heated steering wheel in the car – super handy. Grateful for sweet treats and free tote bags from work.