I’ve kind of gotten away from writing on the theme of thanks for this month’s NaBloPoMo so we’re going to rectify that tonight. This morning while I was doing my daily round of bloghopping I came across a cool little post by Vanessa Smith at Let Your Life Bloom.

The gist of her post was that we often forget to recognize all the little things that are good in our life. The examples that she used were her bathrobe, the shower, and even the floor.

That got me thinking about the whole cycle of paying attention, noticing the good things around us, and being thankful for them. It’s easy to remember to be thankful for the big stuff. But how many times do we really stop to appreciate all those little things that are good in our lives?

Just thinking about what’s good in my life today brings to mind my favorite pen, peppermint tea, and my mittens. And I’m extremely grateful for all of them.

What about you? What’s good in your life today?

I don’t know about you, but I find that during the holiday season, the closer it gets and the busier everyone gets, the more stressed out and short-tempered I get. There always seems to be somewhere to be, something that has to be done, and someone who wants a piece of my time. And I don’t have a big family!

It’s especially important for women to make sure that we take the time to take care of ourselves while we’re being pulled in ninety different directions every day. Even if you can only spare fifteen minutes, for yourself, there are lots of things you can do to let off a little stress. Here are fifteen of my favorite stress relief quickies:

1. Go for a walk
2. Meditate
3. Write in your journal
4. Find a friend to vent to if you need it
5. Take a bubble bath
6. Get a foot massage
7. Have a short nap
8. Get outside and take some nature pics (my favorite!)
9. Take a daily multivitamin
10. Go out for a coffee with a friend

Try one of these the next time you’re feeling like you need a break. And let me know in the comments how they work out for you, or if you have any stress relievers you’d like to share. I’m always open to new ideas.

Earlier this morning I was on Twitter moaning about the snow and wishing that I had a truck with 4-wheel drive to make getting around easier. I nearly got stuck three times this morning, and today is only the first real snow of the season. But wanting a truck is nothing new… I’ve been droolin’ over other peoples’ trucks, mostly F150′s and Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cabs for the better part of a year now.

And no, before you ask, I haven’t really done anything about getting one yet except whine about how much I want one. That’s the whole point of this post.

I’ve had a wake up call … one of those magnificent ah ha! moments. As I was about to post a status update on Facebook wishing for a new truck, it hit me. It is so time to stop droolin’ and start doin’ something to get what I want.

My little voice was yellin’ at the top of its lungs, “C’mon, get real Lena. You write about taking action all the time, but you’re not doing it yourself.” (I really hate it when that voice is right!) I’ve been doing this stuff long enough that I know that all the wishing in the world isn’t going to make things happen if I don’t take the action necessary to make it happen.

So starting right now, this minute I am focusing my energies on attracting a truck like this one or something better. And I’m gonna use all the skills and knowledge I have at my disposal to make sure I do my part in making sure it happens. At the very least I figure I’ll end up with a shiny new truck to play in the snow with, as well as a good head start on achieving my goals for the new year too.

If you want to keep track of how I do, feel free to either subscribe to my feed, or follow me on Twitter. I’ll be posting regular updates there too.