February Gratitude Challenge

I chose Health for January and oddly enough ended up the sickest I have ever been in my life! (I think...) What a reminder of how wonderful my health actually is! Honestly. I couldn't have had a better reminder. I was sick for five solid days, and I mean SICK. I could barely get off of the couch. It was crazy. There were times when I wondered what it would feel like to be healthy again. I watched lots of movies and was thinking it would be amazing to have as much energy as the people in them and to be able to eat the food that they were eating without gagging.

I didn't do much writing in my journal these past five sick days, but I did a lot of things to get myself better including drink some amazing tea made with fresh ginger, honey and lemon juice. You must try it some time, no other ingredients. So simple and so healing. 

So I am writing this post to catch you guys up on the February Gratitude Challenge. Let me tell you, it's super simple. All you need to do is choose someone that you are very close to, preferably who you are closest to, i.e. your spouse, your roommate, your best friend, your sister, your mom... You get the idea. Every day you must write something that they do that makes you thankful for them, it doesn't have to be something that they do FOR you, but it probably will be most of the time. Because if you think about it, we do things for the people we love basically every day.

The GOAL? The goal is very simple, to get you to love them MORE than you already do! I know, How can it BE?! Well, usually when we focus on the good things in a person we tend to like them more. So I dare you! Take this challenge and be wowed by how much you really CAN appreciate your loved ones. 

Don't forget to write all of these things down in your wonderful "Happy Thoughts Journal" or whatever you like to call it :) 

and PLEASE, let me know how it goes! 

15 Simple and cheap things that can turn your bad days around

I guess I have a lot of experience with this. Struggling with infertility these last three years has given me a reason to look to the brighter side and do things that help me from slipping into depression. So since it’s winter and I am sure more people out there also struggle with feeling down, here are 15 things that can help turn your days around. 

1. Make Something Beautiful 

Something for your home, something for a friend, anything! Usually when I am feeling depressed it helps me to change things up a bit in my living space, make life a little brighter, take this book shelf for example :) 

2. Make Yourself a Cup of Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate 

Sit and drink while just relaxing or reading a book. Sitting with a hot drink can feel like quite a luxury, sometimes I am not sure why I don’t do it more often ;) 

3. Bake

There have been so many days when I have come home super down and baking has been so therapeutic. This picture was snapped on a day when a little baking turned my afternoon around. 

4.Do Something Active

Go swimming, hiking, biking or even for a simple walk - doing something active always gives you a boost and it’s a plus if it’s outdoors, unfortunately for many of us this isn't an option. Oh how I miss you Southern California! 

5. Write Down Ten Things That You Are Grateful For in Your Life

Write them down and try to find pictures to match them, it will give you a visual reminder of how good these things really are. Even if you have to search the net to find them, you can always look back at that list on another difficult day to lift your spirits.  

6. Listen to Some Upbeat Music

I know that this sounds like a no brainer, but sometimes we forget the this is even an option and just sit at home feeling depressed with no soundtrack. Putting on some happy music can really make you feel different about life, I even do this when I am at work sometimes just sitting at my desk in a boring office can be depressing, but when you add music... By the way, I can’t recommend this album enough.

7. Go To a Cafe

Sit and enjoy a cup of coffee, just sit and read a book or even take your computer, I can’t stress enough how much it helps to get out of the house when you are feeling down. It’s just important to remind you that there is a world outside of your own mind sometimes. 

8. Look At Pictures 

From your last vacation, the last holiday that you celebrated or just life. If you are anything like me and take lots of photos, flipping through them can be a great visual reminder of how blessed you are with friends, family, food, vacations and the list goes on and on… 

9. Watch a Funny or Uplifting Movie

This is another no brainer, but before I started going through this difficult time, I was very disciplined about very rarely watching movies, when I started watching more movies, it really just helped me to escape. It can obviously be dangerous if we use any of these things to cheer us up too much, but these things in moderation can be really useful to battle depression. This is one that I often go to for cheering up. 

10. Call a Friend 

This one can actually hurt the situation if it’s not the right friend, but it’s good to know who you can call to cheer you up. Some friends just know how to bring our minds out of that dark space. 

11. Do What Excites You

Sometimes you just have to throw responsibility or obligation out the window and let yourself enjoy doing something that you love! If that is writing, do that! If it’s playing the guitar, go for it! Painting! Whatever it is, just do it! 

12. Review What Inspired You on Pinterest

I’m so serious about this one! We pin these things because they inspire or encourage us, why not let them do it again and again! I do this a lot and it really helps! Click here to view my truth board if you need some new inspiration. I also have one with scriptures that inspire me here. I also added a happy thoughts board which is filled with things that just make me smile :) 

13. Do Something for Someone Else 

This isn’t exactly something that you can do if you come home feeling upset, but it is something that you can start doing that will help you get perspective.  I have the wonderful opportunity of visiting the orphanage for disabled children once a month and hanging out with little guys like him :) 

14. Buy Yourself Some Flowers 

Put them on your dining table or in a place that you will see them often. 

15. Read a Book

Not only is it productive and brain food, but its also a source of entertainment, escape and inspiration at times. Just make sure it’s something uplifting or inspiring. Kisses from Katie was one of the most inspiring books that I have ever read.

Hopefully this list helps! Would love your feedback for more ideas :) 

Gratitude Challenge Week 1

So far, so good! I feel healthier and more grateful! What a wonderful combination ;)

Here is a little recap of how it has worked so far. 

To be honest I am making a lot of healthier choices because I have some health and fitness goals for the New Year, but each day I sit down and write something in my “Happy Thoughts Chronicler” that really stood out and made me feel good that day or even made it easy to be healthy. Focusing on being thankful for these things encourages me to continue doing more. 

I have realized throughout the days that the thing which has helped me the most is trying out new and healthy recipes with real food. Of course exercising always puts me in the mood to eat healthy and also gives me the energy to try out new recipes when I get home at the end of the day. 

Here are some of the recipes I have tried this past week and a half. Hope you find them useful. :) 

Easy Feta Chicken Wrap

My personal Creation

1 cup romain lettuce

1/2 cup shredded carrot

3 oz shredded boneless skinless chicken breast 

1/4 cup feta cheese (I used full fat because you can’t get reduced fat here) 

Place ingredients inside one flour tortilla (wheat would be good, I used Lavash which is a turkish bread that is basically like a tortilla only thinner) 

Pour 2 TBS of Italian or Greek Dressing over the top and be amazed! 

Spinach Broccoli Quinoa Soup 

adapted from cooking quinoa

http://www.cookingquinoa.net/broccoli-spinach-quinoa-soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, chopped fine

2 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

2 teaspoons minced garlic

4 cups water

3 cups milk

2 Chicken Bouillon cubes

1 package frozen Broccoli

1 package frozen spinach 

2 tablespoons tahini

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Homemade Hummus

adapted from the cozy apron 

http://thecozyapron.com/cozy-cameo-when-pita-met-humus/ 

2 cups chickpeas 

(I use dry ones and boil them in a pot for about two hours till they are soft)

4 tablespoons lemon juice

4 TBS olive oil 

1 TBS Tahini 

1/3 cup water

2 cloves garlic 

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dry oregano

Berry Banana Smoothie 

My personal Creation

1/4 cup frozen raspberries

1/4 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup milk (any kind, I used 2%)

1/2 banana 

1/2 TBS Chia seeds

Now go out there and be awesome! and grateful! 

2014 Gratitude Challenge!

Since my blog is about thinking Happy Thoughts, and since that basically represents being grateful, I would like to present you with a challenge this year:

Here's How it works:

Every month this year I will challenge you to be thankful in new ways. Each month's challenge may vary and some of them may be repeated, or if you liked the month before better you could always use the same challenge with the new month's theme. 

Each month I will write a reminder of what the theme is and expand on it more to give you a broader idea of what that might encompass. 

Here's what I need you to do:

PLEASE TELL ME about your experience, let me know the ups and downs. This is a first for me, so I want to learn. I am open to new ideas, so don't be shy.

You could very well take this list and use the themes as a guide for an average old gratitude journal, writing something you are thankful for from the specified theme each day. But I am hoping you will come back each month to hear about the next month's challenge because I have some good ideas up my sleeve and hopefully they will challenge you and me to be grateful in ways that we haven't been before!

Themes: 

I am not going to go in detail about them now because I need to tell you about January’s challenge since we are starting so late and I don’t want to bore you too much with details! But believe me I will explain and give ideas when the time comes :) 

How better to show gratitude for something than to care for it. So I know that there are many health challenges out there, but this one is a little different. 

This Month's challenge is:

Do something good for your body every day this month and write about it. 

Something that you can be thankful for!

Such as: making a fruit smoothie, walking instead of a driving to your favorite restaurant or creating a healthy version of your favorite dessert (beware this can go VERY wrong). In that case you could try a healthy recipe from pinterest (this can also end in disaster, but the odds are a bit better) I have tons of ideas pinned here and here if you need inspiration. 

I will check back in a few days to update you on how the challenge is going for me. 

In the meantime, here are some 

IDEAS of great things that you can do for your health 

That will leave you feeling thankful that you have the ability to do them and the luxury of things like dental floss, gyms, fresh fruit in the winter and applications on your iPhone that help you count calories! 

Count Calories using Myfitnesspal 

Go for a walk instead of driving somewhere

Measure out your food

Drink 8 glasses of water

Take a long bath

Journal what you eat

Floss your teeth 

Make a smoothie

Take your vitamins

Use milk with a lower percentage of fat

Read a book instead of staring at a screen

Brush your teeth after dinner

Eat fruit instead of dessert

Stretch (Seriously! This can avoid injuries and feels so good!)

Don't deprive yourself! 

(using moderation) 

indulge in something you love 

So there it is folks! Now get yourself a journal or a 'Happy Thoughts Chronicler', preferably one that just cries out to have happy thoughts written in it, like one of these, and start writing!

Here's to a 2014 filled with Happy Thoughts! 

Aal izz well...

I love movies. Especially when they promote happy thoughts. Seriously though. I don’t really like movies that leave me feeling depressed and empty or remind me too much of the terrible things that have happened or could happen. There is enough of that in my head already, I really don’t feel the need to be reminded. 

I do, however, need to be reminded of the good things that are happening. Which is why I usually stick with movies that do that very thing. That doesn’t mean that the movie doesn’t have sad moments. It just means that there is redemption to the sad parts of the movies, so much so that it makes you almost forget the tragic parts. 

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the movie that I watched last night is one of the best movies I have ever seen! It consisted of all of my favorite aspects including musical numbers. You may have guessed it, this was in fact a “Bollywood” film. If you are not familiar with the term, its basically refers to the film industry based in Mumbai India, and these films pretty much always include singing and dancing. There are only a few dance numbers in this film including a song called "Aal izz well" which we can't get out of our heads. 

This is a film about three young men who are studying to be engineers at one of the most prestigious engineering universities in India. It’s filled with beautiful scenes of India, it was a great mix of tragedy and tenderness, as well as laugh out loud humor. I found myself angry at the villainy, then touched at the transformation that took place in some of the characters and even a little bit surprised at some of the subtle plot twists.

I really cannot recommend this movie enough. Curtis and I have been talking about it all day. We watched an hour long of behind the scenes and extras last night after finishing the film. (if you know Curtis, you know that this NEVER HAPPENS!) I hardly want to give it back to our friends who lent it to us, so that I can watch it again. If you have the chance, you should really try to get your hands on a copy of this film and please do let me know if you enjoy it :) 

Welcome to Happy Thoughts with Katina

Hey everyone! A few changes and here's why:

Growing up I never wanted to grow up. I wanted to be just like Peter Pan, I thought Wendy was crazy for leaving him. I always pretended that I was Wendy, but that I stayed back in Never Never Land with Peter Pan. Not much has changed since then. True story.

So I really feel that this title fits me. I also have know for a long time that this was more of a personal blog written from my perspective. This became much more than a way to update people back home long ago and I want it to be defined differently because of that.

It has become a way of expressing myself, processing my thoughts and feelings and hopefully inspiring some people along the way. I have been a lot more open about what is going on in my life lately and really felt that the theme of this blog had been going in this direction for some time.

I am hoping to make this blog a little bit more public because I am not worried about hiding anymore and I want to be able to encourage other women who are facing what I have been facing these past three years.

Infertility can be highly shame related and although that seems completely natural and obvious for me to say, it's not so obvious for those who haven't experienced it. It's just not talked about very much and since I am being open about it, I'm not afraid anymore. I do still feel shame at times. But I want to be a light to other women who battle with the same and hopefully inspire others of you while I'm at it.

I'm mainly focused on sharing life's joys with you as I wrote about in the new ABOUT section of this blog. Visit that page to find out more about what the focus of this blog will really be. Join me on this journey of beauty and pain.