Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Positive DONUT! 

We're featuring some of our favorite moments and stories from Positive DONUTs past as I'm on maternity leave.

Thanks for being here, and have a fantastic week🤗.

—Kailyn

Ready, Set, Go: Today's newsletter takes ~2.77 minutes to read (736 words).

It’s a chance to unplug and/or recharge. Think: cabin in the woods, a seaside cottage, or even your own Emily in Paris adventure.

How to enter (it’s free): Click here + enter your email. Then let the travel bug take over your daydreams✈️.

I am capable of handling anything that comes my way.

Twelve-year-old Aubrey Sauvie is a go-getter. The triple congenital amputee has never let her limb differences stop her from accomplishing anything to which she put her mind. 

Not just content with being a black belt in taekwondo, Aubrey also loves attending dance, music, and arts classes. Her most recent venture? Drumming😎.

Background: Aubrey was born without either of her hands, and only a partial left foot. While her parents worried during the pregnancy that she would struggle through life, Aubrey has proved over-and-over again that she can conquer anything that comes her way. 

• The preteen started drumming this past school year, inspired by her older sister who is also a percussionist.
• Aubrey had to get creative with the drumsticks when she first started learning the drums, holding them in the crevices of her elbows to play. They would often fall out or slide backwards depending on how hard she was played. 

That is, until Texas Tech engineering students came along. They designed a custom pair of prosthetics for Aubrey this past semester as part of a dynamics of machinery class👇.

The prosthetics allow Aubrey to snap in her drumsticks, so she can play as hard and intricately as she wants while keeping them stable. 

And, while the prosthetics were made with drumming in mind: "...if you [theoretically] wanted to hold kayak oars or whatever, you could just print out different tips to put on this same base (of) prosthetics. It’s pretty cool,” her mother explained.

• The prosthetics have made a "world of difference" for Aubrey, who worked with the Texas Tech students to help perfect the design. 
• The team of engineering students made a total of six prototypes before settling on the final product.

What she's saying: “I was really excited that I was going to be able to use these and try them out,” Aubrey, who wants to be an ultrasound technician when she’s older, told CNN. She added: “They are becoming a very useful and resourceful tool to help me with my drumming.”

Your Everyday Heroes presents Melissa Paris, who didn't just crash the boys' club—she transformed it. This joy-riding genius proves that champions can be competitive AND inspiring.

• 🏆 First woman to qualify for FIM World Superbike Championship
• 🏍️ Hustled her way from fixing busted bikes to becoming 2008 Lightweight National Champion
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Founded MP13 Racing because sharing the thrill is half the victory
• 😍 Called riding a MotoGP prototype "the coolest motorcycle you could possibly ride"

Success isn't just about crossing finish lines—it's about enjoying every single moment.

Rockhampton zoo director Liz Bellward can now put "dressing up as a rogue cassowary" on her resume.

• As part of the Australian zoo's first live-escape drill, Bellward donned a costume and wreaked fake-animal havoc during opening hours to put her staff's extensive training to the test.
• “Up until seeing the costume, no one was aware that it was a drill," she shared afterward. "The team rose to the challenge and did exceptionally well under pressure and surprise.”

In case you were curious...A cassowary is a type of flightless bird native to the tropical forests of New Guinea, The Moluccas, and northeastern Australia.

🏠🛠️ Architect Cynthia Sigler and her husband Alex Athenson are the proud authors of The Foothill Catalog, a magazine with multiple pre-approved home designs to help victims of the Eaton Fire rebuild at lower costs.

🌳🥳 The USDA Forest Service recently turned 120 years old. To celebrate the occasion, here are 10 fun facts about the organization.

🧘‍♀️ “Wellness rooms” are all the rage. Find out how to incorporate one into your home (or maybe just a “wellness corner”) here.

Need some help incorporating more gratitude into your day-to-day? Try this exercise suggested by @hereweeread on Instagram.

How to create your “Good Things Are Always Happening To Me” list:

1. Create a note in your phone with the above title.
2. Every time something good happens to you throughout your day (no matter how big or small), jot it down on your list to remember for later.
3. On days when you’re feeling down and need a reminder that life is still filled with joy, open up your list and scroll through the little and big wins.
4. Rinse and repeat!

I started my list this morning––join me and remind yourself that little daily joys are always there if we keep our eyes open to them.

How many times a week do you spend money at the same places? Unless you’re a robot or hate money, Upside is for you.

The app gets you cash back for everyday spending at 100k+ locations nationwide, AKA places you already visit—and it’s free.

• ⛽ Up to $0.25/gallon cash back on gas
• 🍽️ Average 8-10% cash back at restaurants and groceries
• 🏆 4.8-star rating and 30M+ downloads

Welcome to What’s Your Win, the section of the newsletter where we celebrate all of the good news happening right here in the Positive DONUT community. I love sharing stories from around the globe, but there’s just something extra special about hearing what’s going on in your lives.

Check out the submissions we received this week!

💍 One anonymous subscriber traded in their stress for marital bliss…

• “My fiancé and I finally decided to throw out the wedding planning and get married at the courthouse next month! It may not be ideal for everyone, but we're both very low-key people and a big wedding was only going to make our families happy, not us. We want to travel, buy a house, adopt pets, etc. A wedding was just getting in the way of our Happily Ever After. I'm so ecstatic that we can save the PTO and money for an actual honeymoon in the fall and to hopefully buy a house by the end of this year!”

🎉 Margaret W. from West Palm Beach, Florida, is a proud grandma…

• “Celebrated my granddaughter graduating from kindergarten. We took pictures with all kinds of poses and went out to lunch, it was wonderful😊!!!!”

It's time for trivia. Today’s theme? General knowledge.

What is the last book in the Twilight novel series?

• Breaking Dawn
• Life And Death: Twilight Reimagined
• Midnight Sun

Who is the most followed person on Instagram?

• Kylie Jenner
• Taylor Swift
• Cristiano Ronaldo

Before gaining independence, what was Bangladesh called?

• Ceylon
• Formosa
• East Pakistan

Which US state has the smallest population?

• Alaska
• Wyoming
• Vermont

What is the highest-grossing film of all time?

• Avatar
• Avengers: Endgame
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens

(keep scrolling for the answers)

Whether you had an energizing conversation with a friend, beat a sickness, met a milestone at work, or even just booked a dream trip, we want to hear about it.

There is always something to be grateful for, and no win too small. And who knows? Sharing a bit of positivity from your own life could inspire someone else to recognize the good in theirs🥰.

Submit your wins here for a chance to be featured in next week's newsletter. We want to celebrate you!

Share your accomplishments – big and small – here.

1. Midnight Sun: The 2020 novel tells the story of Twilight from Edward’s perspective.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo: The football icon has a staggering total of 641 million followers
3. East Pakistan: East Pakistan seceded in 1971, creating the independent state of Bangladesh
4. Wyoming: The state has a population of 576,851 people, according to the 2020 census
5. Avatar: The film grossed a grand total of $2,923,706,026