Woah! :)

Thinking back through all the times I was surprised or almost surprised I found that there are a lot of little things that surprised me. The best surprise was the day my parents told me that I could take skating lessons over the summer (at least that's how I remember it) I was so super, uber excited that I could skate on ice like Michelle Kwan, an olympic figure skater and I admired her. It was scary at first but after a while I got used to the ice and falling on my bum whilst learning new techniques. 

I recently went back to the ice with my little sister and it was exhilarating! I felt so free, without a care in the world and that no matter what happened on the ice it was between the two of us. 

Thank you mom and dad for giving me that chance to "fly" on the ice :) 

A spark of Joy

I just joined in the NaBloPoMo December daily blogging...umm challenge? (First time daily blogging, eek! Wish me luck!)  Well, here goes...Something that always puts a smile on my face is lighting up a log in the fireplace and I am so happy we have one in our home. :) I don't know what it is about the fireplace that puts me at ease the extra bit of heat might have something to do with it, specially after a long day or just cold weather. Combine that warm fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee, some freshly baked cheesy bread (honestly, anything will do), and Christmas music softly playing in the background; it's just awesome! With all the the stress that this time of the year puts on us it's nice to sit back for a few minutes and enjoy something as small as standing by the fireplace to warm up before that e-mail you have to answer, getting recipes together for Christmas Day, or even looking for that special gift for someone dear. Finding joy in the little things can melt the stresses of the day away and sometimes give us clarity to take on the next day with another list of tasks to cross off the list. I hope that many of you get a chance to enjoy a fireplace this holiday season and if you don't have one you can play a loop video of a firewood burning in a fireplace with holiday music. I like to call that moment I have in front of our fireplace my Spark of Joy!