Quite simply, I'm just grateful.

My friends and I often get into conversations about how grateful we are for the lives we get to live. I'm fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who can't help but see things from this perspective. No matter how tough a moment or day may be, we can always seem to capture what was good about the overall experience and usually find at least one thing to laugh at in the process. This past week was overflowing with moments to be grateful for and I found myself feeling reflective and energized after each experience.

I've begun some preliminary efforts toward my fundraising goals for the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge to benefit CAF, which I will be sharing more about at the beginning of February. I sat down with several friends in the past couple of weeks to strategize and share ideas; their enthusiasm has been awesome! It really does feel like I have a small army backing me on this one. I was so afraid of this fundraising task but now I can already see this is not only going to be fun, it's bringing out the generosity and creative best in some of my favorite people.

Also, I'm already assembling some raffle/auction items from what feels like my own personal version of Oprah's "Favorite Things" episodes. I just keep hitting up the restaurants and stores I frequent and they've all been very generous. See?! It pays to be a terrible cook! I will definitely be needing many more items but I am just incredibly grateful for the response I've gotten so far. Below are some of the local establishments that have started me off:

CANTINA MAYAHUEL

If you're familiar with any of these places, you know how awesome they are; if you've never been, check them out or be ready to buy some raffle tickets for a chance to win a free sampling of their greatness. I have many more establishments that I am loyal to (remember, I don't cook) and will be visiting in the next few weeks but I just felt the need to share what my week has been like so far, a great time of connecting with friends and an opportunity to highlight local businesses that I love.

My friends Liana and Pearl (ages 8 and 6) recently made me a sweet little box with affirmation cards to pull each day. They have pretty cool parents, to say the least. Today I pulled a card that said, "Release limiting beliefs."

I'm on it.

Thanks for reading!