The second month of the new calendar year and it appears I am super grateful for food! Be it batch cooking at the weekends, food from work, or treats from people – food is everywhere.

I suppose it really has gotten to the point where I am really grateful for the little things in life. When work can be stressful or when things don’t quite go as planned, being grateful for little every day things does help bring things back to perspective, reminding me that not everything in life has to be perfect.

Artemis really helps me stay present and in the moment. And it appears that acts of service is still a pretty high love language for me, as I have been very grateful for the hubby doing the bulk of the weekend batch cooking.

So, here is February’s food-filled gratitude journal:

1 Grateful for being lazy/ trusting my gut and going the same route to work this morning; I could’ve taken the route the satnav advised to avoid a crash, but by the time I got to the alleged crash site it was just traffic and no crash. Grateful for fruit at work, as I was super hungry today. Grateful for the hubby and Artemis, they both leaned on my lap on the sofa this evening – it was adorable. Grateful for finding a couple of really informative podcasts that I’ve been listening to on the drive to work, very insightful.

2 Grateful for the hubby doing a lot today, he made lunch and dinner and allowed me to do a lot of work. Grateful for morning dog walks with Artemis, helping me stay present. Grateful for postage and deliveries, as some products I ordered have finally arrived – super excited to try these products out.

3 Grateful for the hubby for batch cooking for the week, the meals smelt really good too. Grateful for Artemis, she was doing the sit stay in obedience class today and really wanted belly rubs from people – she brings such joy and laughter to our lives. Grateful for a productive and varied day today. Grateful for a cute popsocket that I’ve now fixed to the back of my mobile phone so it can stand up hands free to watch videos, it’s so cute and it actually works!

4 Grateful for a lie in the morning. Grateful for YouTube videos and Confluence. Grateful for pizza. Grateful for deliveries of products I’ve recently ordered. Grateful for future planning and being prepared.

5 Grateful for my new exercise ball which I used for the first time today. Grateful for the hubby helping me inflate the behemoth of a ball! Grateful for dehumidifiers helping dry the clothes much quicker.

6 Grateful for freshly baked bread today, super tasty. Grateful for the hubby having batch cooked meals for the week so it was a quick reheat dinner tonight. Grateful for Artemis, we had a nice walk in the local park, I brought the long lead but for whatever reason she stayed close by my side – maybe it was the treats she was after.

7 Grateful for an organised morning routine, we left the house on time this morning! Grateful for podcasts, been listening to them while driving – entertaining and insightful. Grateful for YouTube as well – you can really learn anything from it!

8 Grateful for free food and pins today from work, celebrating a product launch – they were tasty sweet treats. Grateful for grapes too, super juicy grapes which I don’t usually get. Grateful for new glass tupperware boxes, haven’t used them yet but excited to try as they can be used to bake, microwave, and refrigerate food – very versatile.

9 Grateful for Bamboo chopping boards, which arrived today. Grateful for eco friendly non BPA plastic tubs, which also arrived today, we are getting rid of a lot of old plastic tubs so need some green replacements. Grateful for the hubby today, he did a lot of online shopping that I needed to do, so that’s saved me some time. Grateful for Artemis today, I forgot to bring treats for her bed time snack and she was looking at the treat bag forlornly – she always helps me stay present and in the moment, and it was clear in that moment she really wanted her bed time treats!

10 Grateful for obedience class, though the weather wasn’t great, I like the structure and Artemis and I learn a lot each week. Grateful for a new Asian supermarket opening in town, I was able to buy some dim sum and Korean green tea. Grateful for checklists helping me stay organised. Grateful for the hubby celebrating lunar new year with me, eating good food and watching a Chinese film too.

11 Grateful for family time today: I cut the hubby’s hair, we batch cooked together, and we went on a nice afternoon dog walk together. Grateful for a lie in, didn’t mean to sleep in, but my body was clearly telling me to. Grateful for cookies, especially when dunking in tea – super tasty.

12 Grateful for the hubby getting biscuits and doughnuts today, super tasty and appreciated the sugar intake. Grateful for deliveries, as some items we’ve ordered have arrived. Grateful for YouTube videos being a wealth of information to help me as I’m researching things – you can literally find anything on YouTube to help you.

13 Grateful for an afternoon nap with Artemis, I awoke in the middle of the night last night and couldn’t get back to sleep so I was really tired by the afternoon so took a 30 minute power nap – and Artemis just wanted to join in. She was burying her head in me, it was warm and adorable. Grateful for pre-prepared dinner, making it easier for me.

14 It’s Valentine’s day today, so I’m grateful for the hubby and grateful to be able to spend the evening with the hubby. Grateful for Artemis today, who was being really nosy during dinner and really wanted to snuggle this evening.

15 Grateful for barely any traffic this morning, making my commute more pleasant. Grateful for Artemis who was snuggling up against me on the sofa this evening. Grateful for batch cooking, as it was an easy reheat meal tonight. 

16 Grateful for the hubby for dealing with groceries and dinner. Grateful for Artemis, we gave her a new yak chew today and she has been hilariously overprotective of it and wanting to bury it in the sofa and in her dog beds – it’s adorable watching her try to bury it.

17 Grateful for friends visiting us and bringing food and gifts – super useful and tasty. Grateful for obedience class today, learning lots. Grateful for family dog walks, played epic fetch with Artemis – pretty much what we need to do in obedience classes, actually – just less formal. Grateful for dog cuddles on the sofa, Artemis was snoozing on me this evening, she is just so adorable. Grateful for the hubby for putting together some furniture pieces, and they’re looking really good.

18 Grateful for a lie in this morning. Grateful for the hubby batch cooking meals for the upcoming week ahead. Grateful for cream soda, love the stuff and I haven’t had it in a while – so very tasty. Grateful for checklists, making sure I’m tackling everything I need to do. Grateful for a little writing time today. Grateful for informative YouTube videos, you can really learn a lot from YouTube these days! Grateful for a camera, capturing Artemis in the weirdest and funniest positions.

19 Grateful for sleep. Grateful for morning dog walks, keeping me present. Grateful for the hubby, I’m proud that he’s learning to drive and making good progress. Grateful for our dog walker, sending funny pictures of Artemis. Grateful for nature and outside, flowers are starting to bloom, I’ve been seeing daffodils, and birds are chirping away.

20 Grateful for informative physio today, got some tips and tricks that I’ve already started trying out. Grateful for having the chance to be on the other side of the interview process, it’s interesting hearing people’s answers and wondering how I might answer these interview questions. Grateful for green parking where I live, with an eco car I can pay for one hour’s parking and get three hours free parking – super handy! And grateful for the hubby making lunch which I had to hoover down so I could make it to the physio class on time. Grateful for the person who directed me to the correct place today, as I must’ve looked like a proper post lamb.

21 Grateful for a massage today at work, I didn’t get pummelled this time, it was a relaxing massage – I was actually surprised it didn’t tickle! Grateful for our dog walker taking hilarious pictures of Artemis carrying a mahoosive stone on their walk – she really loves carrying things in her mouth when she’s excited, it’s so adorable! She has a super strong jaw!

22 Grateful for pre-made dinner, meaning that dinner was a quick reheat tonight. Grateful for Haribo, which we’ve been eating lately due to being gifted them. Grateful for being invited to meetings and contributing to moving things forward. Grateful for being consulted and asked my opinion at work.

23 Grateful for homemade Chinese jung, not sure what the English translation is, but we ate the last of it tonight and I do miss the taste sometimes. Grateful for Artemis, she was just sitting next to me while I was working, then I turned around to look at her and smiled at her and she started wagging her tail like she was going to lift off – just because I looked and smiled at her! How adorable!

24 Grateful for Artemis today, she did a really good job in obedience class today and really surprised me with what she could do! Also super grateful for the trainer who just had a spur of the moment thought and it worked! I was super impressed with Artemis! Grateful for Google today, sat nav wasn’t so great so I had googled how to get somewhere and the directions were much better than Google maps. Grateful for checklists, we were able to get a lot of chores done and some things we might have forgotten had it not been for the mighty checklists.

25 Grateful for falling back to sleep, I awoke in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep but eventually did manage to in the end. Grateful for The Last Airbender, we’ve started watching the live action TV show based on the amazing animation and I’m really enjoying it and I like that it’s rather faithful to the animation. Grateful for Google, helping me plan something.

26 Grateful for YouTube videos, followed a pilates video this morning. Grateful for some endorphin release due to said exercise. Grateful for morning dog walks, helping me stay present. Grateful for batch cooking at the weekend for an easy reheat meal tonight.

27 Grateful for daylight early in the morning, which was lovely. Grateful for morning dog walks, I walked Artemis in the other park near us and she was so well behaved staying close by me, I think because we don’t take her there very often so she’s a little uneasy wandering off alone. Grateful for getting a lot of chores done and out the way today.

28 Grateful for Artemis for being adorable on the sofa this evening, just lounging on me, wanting strokes. Grateful for the hubby, we double teamed this morning as Artemis had an accident: he washed her and I cleaned up the mess, it was the most efficient clean up ever! Grateful for our dog walker, sending hilarious pictures of Artemis on their walks, apparently Artemis loves holding stones on their walks – so random! Grateful for pizzas from work today, super tasty.

29 Grateful for doughnuts, a colleague got doughnuts for everyone, super tasty. Grateful for Artemis, who slept with her head on my lap this evening, super adorable. Grateful for podcasts, keeping me entertained and educating me while driving to work.