However, each day I see patients who have it so much worse than I do and

yet they still manage to laugh the

ir way through pain.

Last week I was called back into the examining room to teach a young patient how to say “G’day Mate”. She laughed, I laughed. She then went on to Google Aussie slang while receiving her chemotherapy treatment. She laughed some more.

This week another young patient laid on the table with his shirt pulled up over his head to hide his face, wiggling and dancing to the LMFAO song “I’m sexy and I know it” while the nurse accessed his port. We all laughed.

How can I not stay positive when I see these kids, their bright spirits shining through all their pain? It’s impossible not to.

In an environment that could be perceived as anything but happy, I’m so thankful that I get to experience their laughter, their contagious giggles that are impossible to avoid.

“Let your laughter sparkle like sunshine”

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4 years of undergrad studies

9 months of unpaid internship

1 interview later…

I am officially employed!

Last week I started my dietetics career at a

children’s hospital, specializing in the Neurology and Oncology pediatric outpatient clinics. The job could not be any closer to where my interests and passions lay within pediatric nutrition and I am so thankful to be given this opportunity. In this economy the thought of getting employment upon finishing my internship was always in my thoughts. I treated each and every day of my internship as if it were a job interview and it definitely paid off.

I have my own office!

I even have a pager!

I am so thankful!

I was thankful to spend some quality time with my family on the other side of the world.

Project 365 Thanks has really made me appreciate things on a different level. Sometimes I can be a pretty private and independent person but this project has allowed me to open up and express different areas of my life that I may not have otherwise discussed on the blog.

Throughout the process, I have realized that in order to truly express my gratitude I must share it with others. This in itself has brought on so many more moments of feeling thankful. Thankful that others care enough to listen, that they too can appreciate

my personal gratitude.

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Coz who wants to spend all that time making a present look

pretty and not seeing the joy it gives to others?!

So, I encourage you to not only be thankful but go ahead and express your gratitude for all it’s worth. Share it with someone, anyone and encourage them to be thankful too.

I promise you, gratitude is a gift that keeps on giving

I had time to do some thinking. A lot of thinking, actually.

I thought of how blessed I am. Blessed with the life I have, the people who are in it and who I get to experience life with. I have always loved creating memories, and I found myself feeling so blessed and thankful to have such a deep pool of memories to draw from. You see, to me life is all about making memories, but more importantly recognizing when a memory has been made. While I thought about

my travels and all the things I have seen I still believe that most of my favorite memories are of the simpler things in life when at the time, I didn’t know that moment was going to be a lasting memory.

As I sat on the plane and reminisced about life’s happenings, I realized that blogging is not only a way to connect with others,

but also a way for me to keep a collection of memories. Obviously, I am not a daily blogger so there is a lot undocumented, but to have the tools to look back and see what I did on a certain day, to see what my mood was like through my writing, to see how I felt about a certain topic at that point in time are all ways to re-live that moment, that memory.

“Sometimes we will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory. Then, it is our job to treasure that moment in time when the memory was created”

stop long enough to be thankful for th

e little things.

Here are some snapshots of things I have been thankful for over the last 7 days…

Sol Bread.

I have a yeast intolerance, and finding a good yeast free bread that doesn’t crumble away to nothing before you get to take the first bite is like trying to find a needle in a haystack – almost impossible. I am yet to find a bread in the U.S I am 100% happy with. Last week Mum and I visited a local health food store that had so many different options of bread I could eat, I walked away with 4 loaves including pumpkin and pepita, multigrain, and two different fruit loaves. I have been yeast intolerant for 10 years now and have never had such a big selection of bread. This makes me SO happy!

Breakfast poolside. Green monster smoothie post-workout while catching up on blog reading. It’s what makes vacation that much better.

Viber: Free texting and calling (international included) to any other iPhone. A lifesaver when overseas.

O.P.I’s “Houston We Have a Purple”. Sometimes all it takes is a fresh coat of paint to bring a smile to a girl’s face!

Eating S’more’s on the Strand (beachfront). When I found out about my surprise trip home one of the first things I went out and bought were ingredients for s’more’s. In Australia we don’t have graham crackers or Hershey’s so, like with slow cooker liners, this is something else my Mum stocks up on whenever she can

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On March 16th I officially finished rotations for my dietetic internship. For the past 9 months I feel like the internship has consumed about 95% of my time. After interning for 8-9 hours a day I would go home only to spend more time studying and writing up assignments. Although it was exhausting, it was completely worth it and I can honestly say I loved all my experiences and the opportunities the program provided.

Since finishing rotations, I suddenly found myself with so much extra time. I didn’t have a full-on demanding schedule and I could take things at a slower pace. It took me a few days to adjust to this but then I realized my mind and body needed the down time. If I wanted to lay on the couch and watch re-runs of Real Housewives I let myself. If I wanted to lay in bed for an hour after waking I listened to my body and did it. To some, this  might be a no-brainer but I have always had trouble simply relaxing. In the past I couldn’t totally relax without thinking of all the other things I had to get done, everything I could be or should be doing instead of just laying and relaxing. I was like this through college too and Kevin would constantly be reminding me to slow down and relax. But for me, it was always easier said than done – that is, until this week. Having this down time and beginning each day at a slower pace has made me be thankful for smaller things that I normally would be too rushed to enjoy. I learnt to be so appreciative of things like sitting down for a cooked breakfast and actually taking my time to

savor everything about the meal instead of whipping up a breakfast and eating it while reading emails/checking the weather/doing my hair.

I became more adventurous in the kitchen, making Brussels Sprouts chips for the first time and eating them in my slippers  

These little things may not mean much to others, but to me they were small things that had a big impact both mentally and physically.

The crazy working world awaits, so for now, each and every day I am going to be thankful for (and enjoy!) this down time. 

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This week my parents celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary!

Whenever I think about my family I know I am beyond blessed. Growing up, I knew I was lucky to come from such a stable home environment, but it is only as I grow into my adult years that I really begin to realize how truly blessed I am.

My parents have provided such a sound example to my brother and I of how love and relationships are an ongoing but unquestionably rewarding journey and I will forever be thankful as I know this is sadly not so common anymore.

It makes my heart happy to see them continuing to build on their love for each other, continuing to build their two-man team, all

while having fun in the process.

To Mum and Dad,

Happy Anniversary! Thank you for being such an amazing example when it comes to love and relationships. Mitch and I couldn’t have asked for better role

models.

xxxx

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