Grateful160

About a month ago I signed up for a service called Grateful160. It's a daily reminder sent to your email or as a text message that just asks you what you are grateful for. Then, each week it sends you a review of those things.

It only takes a few seconds each day to do it and it's fun to look back on. You can sign up by clicking on this link. Here is my compilation from the last few weeks.

Saturday (10/26)

10:59 PM
I'm grateful for college football and a wife who loves going to the games with me. It's really fun to have a night out with our little family on a nice fall evening and that BYU football is really getting it together.

Tuesday (10/29)

11:50 AM
I forgot to mention this yesterday, but I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood. I got a blessing Sunday night and it was so great to be reminded again to have a bigger perspective than just my next interview and job opportunity.


I'm also so grateful for fantasy sports and friends that are fun to draft and play those games with. Just love it.


Wednesday (10/30)

09:24 AM
I am really grateful that I got the interview with Chevron, and even just knowing that it was a more selective process up front. I thought it was open to the whole world, so I didn't think anything of it when I was selected to be among the interviewees. I like that my odds are better, but it makes me feel better overall about the amount of interest that I am able to garner from employers in this process. It helps me to feel more optimistic about my chances of finding something going forward. And I think the interview went well, regardless if I get the job or not. I appreciated how straightforward their process is.

Thursday (10/31)

11:49 AM
I am so grateful for Jane. She had a really rough night last night and so she had a terrible time sleeping, but it was so sweet the way she would calm down so quickly when I picked her up and the way she fell asleep with me on the couch. It's amazing to me the amount of happiness she brings into my life. There are very few people or things that I do that make me feel so full with love and gratitude as Jane does for me.

Last Friday (11/01)

01:10 PM
I am really grateful for Halloween. It is such a fun holiday and I love how kids and adults can both get excited about it, dress up and be silly together. We went to a ward activity yesterday and it was fun to get good reactions from ward people and see people in a different context.


I also wanted to say how grateful I am for Jane. She is just the sweetest little girl. I think I said this yesterday, but I'm just always feeling it with her.

Saturday (11/02)

11:24 AM
I am grateful for a wife who loves to go bowling. And she did awesome by the way, 27 weeks pregnant and all. She's the love of my life. I have so much fun with her.

Sunday (11/03)

12:46 PM
I'm grateful to be doing work that is at least mostly engaging. I'm at a point with my thesis where I can really start pushing through it and get it done, and I think it'll be a really interesting exercise. I'm excited to see what comes of it, and to have it out of the way. While I may not love all of my classes or what I'm doing, there are at least bits and pieces here and there that I really am so interested in and I hope that I can continue that kind of work going forward.

Monday (11/04)

11:11 AM
I'm really grateful for good friends. Yesterday we had the Morris family come over for dinner and they've become some really good friends of ours. They are just so down to earth and easy to talk to. I really appreciate their friendship and it's so nice to be able to relate with them because of how close Mariah and Jane are in age.

Tuesday (11/05)

12:59 PM
I am grateful for Jane. She is just so sweet. It's always a highlight in my day to come home and see her and see her put her arms up for me. I love how much she wants to hang out with me when I'm around and play with me and do things together. I didn't really know before what was so great about having a little girl, but now I get it. I hope we have more and I couldn't love that little girl more than I do. She lights up my life.

Wednesday (11/06)

08:38 AM
I am so grateful that I have a best friend. I got to talk to Dave last night and it was just nice to hear about his time in Hawaii and what that vacation is like. It's so nice to have someone that you can be so connected to at such a deep level.

Thursday (11/07)

08:33 AM
I am so grateful to be friends with Marshall and Yetta. They are such great people. I got the opportunity yesterday to help Marshall move some cabinets and sometimes I forget just how fun it is to talk to Marshall. He's very thoughtful and asks interesting questions. He's just a really great guy and I'm glad to know him.


I'm also grateful for the times when I go to check in on Jane at night and she hears me and gets up for me to pick her up. I don't know how long she's been doing it, but when she's ready to sleep she cuddle right in and tuck her arms and hands in between her legs as she leans on your shoulder. I just love it. I love how cuddly she is, but it's not ever in a needy way. She just likes to cuddle. She's the sweetest little thing.

Last Friday (11/08)

03:03 PM
I'm grateful to finally feel like this thesis is going to wrap up. I finished up (I think, at least) my data analysis and nothing really came of the findings, but I'm just glad that I see some light at the end of this. I feel like it's going to finish up, and may be a little last minute, but I'm just excited for it to wrap up and be done. The experience will be valuable and I do appreciate that, but I'm excited to just be able to move on to something else different. I'll be glad to get this albatross off my neck.

Saturday (11/09)

09:25 AM
I'm really grateful for my MBA program because of the great people I get to associate with. I love being around these people and hearing about the neat things that they're involved in. It's inspiring to hear what they're doing and makes me want to be a better person and do more with my life as well. I just love it.

Sunday (11/10)

09:49 AM
Even when the day turns out all wrong, my wife is still so great to be around. Nothing worked out for us yesterday. Our babysitter fell through, we couldn't get anything done at our house, and the construction guys were in our kitchen all day long, but we came home, played games, and everything was fine. I was a little sour, but it helps so much when your partner is just so willing to make the best of any situation. I love my wife and I am so grateful for her.

Monday (11/11)

09:06 AM
I am grateful to have such an inspired bishop. Yesterday I gave a talk on the power of invitations, and the speaker who followed after me seemed to be the perfect person to give his talk, and then bishop gave his. I was just so impressed with the whole meeting and it was very apparent how inspired he was to choose the speakers that he did. Bishop Nelson himself is such a capable person and I am constantly impressed by his insight and his clarity in delivering his messages. I'm grateful that he is my leader because he is so easy to follow.

Tuesday (11/12)

08:56 AM
I'm grateful for the example of my wife. She's so diligent with everything she does. She just seems to have a constant motor with getting things done and it makes me want to be a better husband to her as a result.

Wednesday (11/13)

09:25 AM
I am so grateful for a healthy body and for exercise. I can't believe how much I love running, how good it makes me feel, and just what a release it is for me. I went out yesterday for the first time since my half marathon and it was such a nice feeling being out there and running. I only went for three, but it just felt wonderful.

Thursday (11/14)

09:23 AM
I'm grateful for naps. Sometimes you just really need one and I love that I have a wife that can be sensitive to that and let me catch some quick zzz's while Jane is hovering around me.

Last Friday (11/15)

12:24 PM
I am really grateful for the opportunities that are available through the MBA program. I know that I haven't been able to fully appreciate and reap the benefits yet since I'm still looking for a full time job following graduation, but I know that there are great things still out there and I feel really fortunate for what will be coming our way because I know it'll be great.

Saturday (11/16)

10:07 AM
I'm grateful for the work that I am doing. I got to go to a plant and while the actual work I was doing, it is neat to think about the different ways that I can be involved in helping to improve the things around me. It makes me realize how much I can contribute to the world if I am just willing to make some effort to do so. I got some good feedback from Dr. Brown today about my thesis and I'm excited to be wrapping that up in the next few weeks, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to launch into some new projects that will be interesting to me. It's a great time in my life.

Sunday (11/17)

09:34 AM
I am grateful for my sweet wife. She is so accommodating when it comes to letting me get what I need to do for school and makes sure that she takes care of everything that she needs to so that I don't have to have any concerns about our home life. She takes care of all of my needs and that of the family's. She's just wonderful.

Monday (11/18)

10:13 AM
I am grateful for the ward that we are in. Every so often I start to think that maybe there is something that I don't like about this or that in the ward, but then there occurs something in church that changes my thinking and  helps me to see something new. I'm really grateful to be here.


Also, I'm so grateful for the blessings that become available because of obeying the commandment to pay tithing. I recently read Elder Bednar's talk from last conference. He touches on some points that I think we are directly experiencing, but I realized in the last few days that I have been wanting less much more these days, and that is such a huge blessing when times are tight. A lot of times that is a struggle for me - wanting more - and so I become a bigger consumer, but this last year or so has changed me and that has been tremendous for being much more content with everything that I have in my l ife. It's a tremendous blessing.

Tuesday (11/19)

08:34 AM
I am thankful to get a good night's rest. I got two hours the previous night because I was up late working on my thesis. There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel though as I'l' be sending out a draft this evening and scheduling my defense for two weeks from today. I'm also so grateful for Dr. Brown. I love how positive he is and always so encouraging, even if he can sometimes be a little unrealistic sometimes.


Wednesday (11/20)

09:23 AM
I am so grateful for productivity. I love the feeling of being engaged in your work and learning new things and the struggle that comes from trying to learn, then learning it, and then really making it work. I love that. I had a good evening last night between sending off my thesis to my committee, and then writing up a case for my Quality class - one that I don't feel comfortable in, but worked at nonetheless. It's great. I just love it.

Thursday (11/21)

09:14 AM
I am grateful to just have a nice quiet evening with my wife at home. I love coming home to see Jane and she gets all excited and walks up to me and holds her arms out. I love just catching up on our shows with Amy. It's fun to laugh and just veg with her. She's so easy to be around and I love our lives together.

Today (11/22)

08:17 AM
I am so grateful for Jane. It makes me feel so awesome how much she loves me. If I am at all in the house she comes to me, holds her arms out, waits for me to pick her up, or takes my fingers and walks around the house with me. I ended up holding her for nearly 40 minutes when I went in her room last night and accidentally woke her up. I just love her so much and she makes me feel so good.

Saturday (11/23)

12:38 AM
I know I say this all of the time, but I am so grateful for Jane. She lights up my life. I was telling Amy the other day about how much I want to write about what a dream Jane is because I feel like we end every day of her whole life up to this point talking about how much we love Jane, about how easy she is to take care of, how sweet she is, and just what a happy and wonderful little baby we have. Not a day goes by that I don't think often about how much joy she brings into my life. I love her more than anything.

Sunday (11/24)

12:40 AM
I am so grateful for a healthy body. I have been busy lately so I have been cutting out exercise as a result, so when the workouts do come I end up feeling so good afterward and think repeatedly to myself about how much I love being active and taking care of my body. I am so grateful to be able to move and do different things. I am so grateful for what a stress reliever that is for me and how much it improves my mood.

Monday (11/25)

10:23 AM
I am so grateful for Scott and Elisha. We haven't seen them nearly enough since we've been back from the summer, but every time we do see them, I come away thinking how grateful I am for Amy's family as whole, but especially for Scott and Elisha. I just admire them so much as people and as parents. They exemplify so much then kind of parent that I'd like to be and I'm just always so impressed with the way they handle themselves and the kind of philosophy that they adopt for how they live their lives. They're just so great and I see so much in them that I'd like to emulate in my own life.

Tuesday (11/26)

09:09 AM
I am so grateful for Thanksgiving week as it relates to school. Things are wrapping up really nicely and I love where this holiday falls in the semester and how it proceeds Christmas by so little. It's a good thing to be reminded of the things that you're grateful for.

Wednesday (11/27)

09:47 AM
I am so grateful for the home teaching program in the church. I was just encouraging my families to read their scriptures regularly, &nbsp_place_holder;to rededicate themselves, and it really surprised me how much they all needed that prodding. And these are very active people. It just made me realize how much everyone needs that reminding. And I also felt how important it is to be sitting on both sides of the home teaching conversation.