Saturday, December 25, 2010

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 132

Today's Daily 5:
  1. Dad's "famous" hashbrown breakfast
  2. good times with family (even with changing dynamics that I sometimes struggle with)
  3. fun giving presents
  4. opening a few different gifts that made me smile
  5. opening apples to apples after almost picking it up at work yesterday in exchange for a donation.  I would have taken it, but my brother gave it away to a client, and while I wasn't that disappointed, I did harass him about giving away "my" game all day yesterday.  Then I opened the gift he and his wife purchased for me this morning and turns out he'd given it away yesterday so as to not ruin their gift for me today!  Oh, we laughed!
  6. watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for the first time ever - I loved it! (so thankful for the friend who gifted it to me earlier in the week)
  7. great food prepared by my cousin (training to be a chef) and his mom (the one from whom he got the passion for great food)
  8. tried something new food wise (didn't like it, but working on being open to expanding my palate and horizons and willing to try new things)
  9. stealing a few minutes to just read quietly
  10. curly hair - I loved the way my hair turned out today, with minimal effort
Merry Christmas All!  I hope your day was filled with many blessings!

Reverb 10: Day 25 - Photo

Today's Reverb 10 Prompt:

December 25 – Photo – a present to yourself

Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.

(Author: Tracey Clark)

I spent a few minutes scrolling through photos from the last year and realized that this was definitely a year where I spent a lot more time behind the camera than in front of it.  Since I find photography therapeutic, that's not really all that surprising, but it does make it interesting to try to find an image that best captures me from within the past year.

I narrowed it down to these three images.

A dear friend who I met in person because of this blog took the first shot.  It's taken at the beach at Coronado, and I love the smile that I'm wearing.  It's a smile that reflects the fact that I was resting, that this trip was an escape, to find joy and to pray.  I love the ocean and being near the ocean on a sunny day in early fall was just about perfect.  I also love that I'm wearing a scarf in this photo.  I wear them most days, and almost all of my scarves have a meaning or a place attached to them.  That particular scarf was a gift for my 27th birthday, and was purchased in Germany and mailed to me from the Czech Republic by my dear friend and former roommate, L.


The second photo was a self-portrait, taken in either Bragg Creek or Kananaskis, on a late fall day.  I was out hiking with my mom and her cousin, and I was happy.  I love being in the mountains, and as I recall, that day was particularly lovely.


The third portrait is also from California, and was taken by a mutual friend of myself and the other LP/CA, the friend I flew to California to meet.  I love that this photo shows a friendship that has been full of laughter, and that it showcases some very happy memories.  That particular day we attended a Moroccan Tea, and that tea is one of my favorite memories from that trip.


Merry Christmas!

A dear friend sent me this late last night, and it made me smile.  It seemed the perfect addition to yesterday's cute children's re-telling of the nativity.

Merry Christmas to all of you!  Hugs and Prayers and Many Blessings for each of you today!


Reverb 10: Day 24 - Everything's Ok

Today's Reverb 10 Prompt:

December 24 Prompt – Everything’s OK

What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

(Author: Kate Inglis)

This has been such a year of nothing being "ok" that I don't think I can pick a moment, really, that proves the opposite.

But there have been moments of peace - walking into a hug at an airport in California.  The relief that came after following through for the first time on a decision I'd made.  The deep internal knowing that the path of choosing nursing has been confirmed in odd little ways that really only mean something to me.

Everything may not be okay, but I'm going to be.  Somehow I know that, even without a moment that can be pinpointed.  This has been a year of learning to trust that thing deep inside me, to trust Jesus with that.  And it's that trust that I want to carry forward into 2011.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 131

Today's Daily 5:
  1. twinkling christmas lights left on overnight, still shining in the early morning
  2. an early morning moon in a clear sky
  3. no wind chill factor in the outside temperature today
  4. having the art of packing to spend several days at mom and dad's down to a quickly accomplished art
  5. Christmas greetings on facebook and email
  6. getting my favorite seat on the bus
  7. the beautiful colored silk lanterns lit up in the window displays at 10,000 Villages
  8. a very low key day at work
  9. getting off work early
  10. Christmas Eve food - love the tradition of just making appetizers.  so yummy.