Sharing Thanks

Forget about Cyber Monday and Black Tuesday. I am thankful for Giving Tuesday! It gives us a chance to contribute to make the world a better place. Today I gave to the  No Limits For Deaf Children . This group has a speech center  in Southern California and Las Vegas as well as an acclaimed National Theater Program for deaf and hard of hearing children. I was blessed to voluneer and be part of Silent NO MORE with my daughter Liz. This inspiring collection of stories read by indivuals with hearing loss helped educate people on what its like to grow up deaf. Please share your #GivingTuesday charity story in the comments. Let's see how much good we can all do today! It feels joyful to give!

Me using my talent playing with the South Shore Symphony TURKEY THANKS Gratitude Challenge: Day 15 Share a gratitude story about being thankful for a talent you have. I want to also thank my good friend Monesha who gave me the idea for this gratitude prompt. I was thankful to have lunch out with my daughter Becky and her friend and we were talking about my blog and I was asking them if they had any good suggestions for different ways to appreciate. Thanks Monesha and Becky for a fun lunch! I am thankful for my musical talent. I love playing the violin with the South Shore Symphony. I have met so many terrific people through music. I have nurtured my talent through lessons and practice over the years. Thanks to all the music teachers I have had who helped me become a better musician. I also want to thank our concert master Susan. I had the joy of sitting first stand one year in the orchestra and Susan taught me a lot of great fingering and musicality by getting to play as

The Emmons Lab from the University of California has done a lot of gratitude research in the last decade and has found that the simple act of saying ThankYou   has many health benefits. Want to keep those New Years Resolutions? Then learn to say thank you! In one study people who kept gratitude lists were more likely to make progress toward achieving important personal goals over a two-month period compared to participants who did not keep gratitude lists. To learn more about this ground breaking gratitude research listen to Robert Emmons himself! I'm devoting the Month of January to help you start a gratitude habit! Each post this month will focus on techniques that will lead you down the road to thankfulness! I invite you to try these exercises! The first exercise is to start your day by waking up to gratitude! When you open your eyes to wake up, continue laying down in bed and take a deep breath. Breath in a "Thank You" Breath out a "Thank You"

Smiling Rocks found on Caumsett Beach I love taking walks in nature and finding unexpected surprises. I went for a walk with my good friend Stella at Caumsett State Park and was surprised to find these smiling rocks on the beach. They look like they were left by creative kids with a black crayon! There simple designs made me smile. Smiles are contagious. I just started a new pinterest board dedicated to smiles. It is hard not to smile when someone smiles at you! Smiling is an easy way to spread happiness. You can view my new Pinterest board at Smiles . Here is what made me smile today! I am thankful for a beautiful October Day! Enjoyed walking on a 68 degree, sunny October Day. I enjoyed finding a beautiful small red leaf on the sidewalk! I am thankful to the Banfield Vet center at the PetSmart at Huntington Station. They took good care of Oreo and gave her all her shots for this year!I am thankful to my Mom who came with me to the vet with Oreo. Oreo loves my mom. It was nice