Thanks to the USA's celebration of Veterans, I did not have to work today. Not being compelled to sit in my office on a Monday is worthy of its own Gratitude post, but I decided to celebrate the Mystic River instead (sorry, Monday! Maybe next time.).

B and I often drive by this intriguing three-story wooden structure built on the banks of the Mystic River. We kept saying we needed to do some investigation (especially since I've been driving by this thing for six years now!), but we never got around to it. It was absolutely gorgeous outside, so B had the brilliant idea of remedying this gross error. Amazing idea, B! It was rad.

Turns out it is part of Torbert MacDonald Park... a huge and absolutely gorgeous park on the banks of the Mystic River. You cannot tell from the road how huge this park is... and even cooler: it used to be totally wrecked due to the construction of I-93. It was reclaimed and made super luscious! How lucky we are to live so close. Enjoy the bonus inclusion of photos documenting our adventure!

THE GRATITUDE CHALLENGE: November 12, Grateful for the Mystic River.
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On Day 5, I am grateful for Emerson College. I have worked at Emerson for over five years now (eek!). I started as an assistant in the Journalism department, mostly so I could bankroll my Master's degree. Upon graduating from Emerson with a degree in Media Arts (concentrating in audio production, of course), I was hired by my darling of a boss, Jonathan Wacks, to work in the Visual and Media Arts department. I've been in VMA for a little under two years now, and despite my complaining about the seemingly endless bureaucracy, I have it pretty good.

Unrelated to today's Gratitude, I think it was a bad idea to commit to improvised sound bytes. I broke my own rule and listened to one of them after recording. Yikes. So much rambling! Despite that, I'm soldiering on. I am particularly excited about tomorrow's post. It is my husband's birthday; bet you can guess what I'll be talking about! (He would have been post #1, but I thought it would be a good birthday treat.)

THE GRATITUDE CHALLENGE: November 5, Grateful for Emerson.
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COSTCO IS THE MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH.

Where else can you shop for cameras, fresh pumpkin pies, huge bags of quinoa, and gallons of laundry detergent whilst cramming handfuls of hors d'oeuvres down your throat right before eating a huge slice of pizza and a hand-dipped ice cream bar smothered in chocolate and almonds?! Only at Costco.

From Julie's birthday party to Friday night outings with the Rachels, I have so many wonderful memories at Costco. And now I get to share the joy with Brian. He has fallen in love, and we go to Costco at least once a week. In fact, Brian took his best friend there when he was visiting so he could show him just so awesome it is.

If you ever want to go to Costco, we'll take you. It would be our pleasure. You can get in through our membership and you won't want to leave until you gain access for yourself. Magic, people! Magic.

THE GRATITUDE CHALLENGE: November 4, Grateful for Costco.
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This post was updated after-the-fact to include our turkey friend and the embedded sound file instead of a link.

It is almost two in the morning on Day Three of the Gratitude Challenge. Making sure I do these posts every day is really jacking with my sleep, dudes!

I am posting from my phone, laying in my bed. Considering that fact, I should spend today talking about technology. However, today's gratitude is focused on living in New England.

Since this is a mobile update, and this app has some limitations, I can't do the fancy embedding of my sound file. I am also missing the presence of our little turkey friend (should we name him?).

But here is a link to my sound for the day (I will fancy up this post when I wake up on Day Four!): http://soundcloud.com/colleenita/sounds-from-sunday-morning

THE GRATITUDE CHALLENGE: November 3, Grateful for New England.
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Okay, dudes. It is freaking 1:33 in the morning... technically Day 3, but actually Day 2. Don't judge me.

I address this in today's answer to the Gratitude Challenge. I haven't slept my normal amount of sleep (8-9 hours... I can't help it... that's just what my body needs) this entire week. Always up super late and oversleeping. And even when I oversleep, it's not restful because I am judging myself for constantly being super late to work (haven't been to work before 10:15 or so this entire week).

I can really, really tell how much it is affecting my body. I can't think as clearly and I want to punch everyone. No sleep means no mercy!

So today I am grateful for sleep. Here me ramble on about it below.

THE GRATITUDE CHALLENGE: November 2, Grateful for Sleep.
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Today is Day One of the Gratitude Challenge. I will post an audio clip here every day until Thanksgiving (the day I will actually write out something for you!). 

It is 10:48p and I still want to watch Halloween (I've never seen it, can you believe it?) with my husband. So that means I'll give you more expansive details tomorrow.

But, YES! Today is the official start. I promised myself I wouldn't edit these things (or even record with a real device; just an iPhone!) and I don't even want to listen to them. This is just about gratitude! Not art! (I have to tell myself that or I will spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME on these things. 

Okay. Welcome to Day One. And welcome to the Gratitude Challenge. Brian is joining me for this challenge, and I invite you to join us, too! Tell me what you're grateful for every day, or just when the mood strikes. It will be super fun, guys. I swear! (I think.)

See you tomorrow.

THE GRATITUDE CHALLENGE: November 1, Grateful for Gratitude.
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