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"Find joy in the ordinary"
What brought you Joy: Week 22
After many visits to California, one of my favorite novelties while visiting is the simple joy in bird watching outside my Aunts window. With several feeders around the yard, the birds gather creating flutters of happiness as an array of creatures come to visit, or perhaps just to eat.
These visits prompted the idea for more feeders in...

53 Ways to Celebrate Me
And so it begins...
Life is short, I know this all too well, my son had 5 years, my brother 37 and my father 53. Each day is precious, how do you want to celebrate the days of your life?
Beginning in June as I glide from 52 to 53 I will celebrate life and living, making choices and taking chances, noticing gifts, observing life, recognizing my power, celebrating me, being...

DRINKING | Arbonne citrus fizz
EATING | hard boiled egg whites
EMBRACING | where I am on my journey
CATCHING | Cavs fever
ENJOYING | the countdown to grandbaby
COOKING | chili for veterans
TRYING | to run more often
MISSING | My time to read
FEELING | Grateful
LISTENING | The Moth podcast
WATCHING | The flowers bloom
READING | Anonymous (local writer)
WEARING | running gear
PLANNING...

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend." 
Gratitude: Week 48 (May 21 - May 27)
As I approach the end of this 52-week journey with gratitude I examine the lessons, discarding unnecessary pain with the...

"As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands - one for helping yourself the other for helping others." ~Audrey Hepburn
What brought you JOY: Week 21
This week I discovered abundant joy and gratitude when volunteering at a homeless veterans shelter. The first step was to prepare white chicken chili for approximately 100 people. Not only was this the first time I had created a meal...

"Let gratitude be the pillow on which you say your prayers nightly prayers." ~ Maya Angelou
Gratitude: Week 47 (May 14 - May 20)
Days plunge quickly into nights and if I am not careful, another year will unzip before my eyes exposing all the hope and promise I had made in its wake. Inscribing the details helps preserve the pause of gratitude unveiled in each day with a snapshot of evidence I can...

"Live beyond what if, find joy in what is." 
What brought you JOY: Week 20
Hard to believe we are already twenty weeks into the year, projects that document the year like this one really emphasize how rapidly the days pass while I shift and grow with each introduction.
Amidst this mixture of peace and plenty, I uncover joy in quiet days and busy nights, uncovering the harmony of calm and chaos...

Mom's make life beautiful 
Gratitude: Week 46 (May 7 - May 13)
I was thinking about Mother's Day and how different it is today, reflecting on memories of my mother and the trauma that has affected her life. Becoming more curious about the woman and her vacant stare, a sadness that consumes my attention as memories blur from jubilant to somber.
Perhaps this disease was a distraction from the...

"Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief." ~Swedish Proverb 
What brought you joy: Week 19
Endless joy fills my week, from the love delivered with a celebration of family and friends to the time spent with my cousins who traveled a mighty distance to honor the day and weekend. From painting daisies to a baby shower we filled the days with song, stories, and laughter, weaving the threads...

"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul." ~ Henry Ward Beecher
Gratitude: Week 45 (April 30 - May 6)
Gratitude arrives in lessons when experience appears at our doorstep. Countless moments are tangled in regret when reflection magnifies the stages of my past, allowing my thoughts to drift wearily towards others who have suffered, their images displaying a remorse that radiates...