Showing posts with label gratitude. Show all posts

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Lest We Forget

Taking time today to be grateful for our freedom, and to reflect on the enormous cost.

In Flanders Fields, printed in 1918 by the Heliotype Co. Ltd. Ottawa | Canadian War Museum

Remembrance Day posts here, here, and here from years past.

Do you know what the poppy means?

Garden Of Flags Honours Fallen Canadians For Remembrance Day, Toronto, 2015

Friday, 9 October 2015

Friday, it's Friday!

In keeping with my focus on gratitude for the rest of the year...

I'm grateful for lakes on beautiful fall days.

New books.

Growing kids, even if it means more new clothes.

Time in my kitchen to try new recipes.

Apples, fresh and crisp, right off the tree.

Puppies.

Hockey.

Time for coffee with friends.

I'm also thankful for my hard working husband, who's turning 50 today :)

We went apple picking last weekend, and we've already eaten our way through almost one bag of apples. There's nothing like a freshly picked apple, and I've got a few ideas on how to put them to good use.

I made this Buffalo Chicken Dip again, I think we're addicted.

I think my cabbage roll loving hubby might like this dish.

I love hard boiled eggs, I hate peeling them. Easy to Peel Eggs - thank you.

I love these DIY Fabric and Burlap Pumpkins!

THIS twisty pumpkin pastry, awesome!

Our daughter wants to go to Ireland. I think I need to go with her.

How cool is this Black and White Halloween Topiary? And how is it that Halloween is only three weeks away??

This is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. I haven't planned or prepared a thing, so tomorrow will be a busy day for me. See my old Thanksgiving posts here.

And I've created a Facebook page for this blog. I tried resisting the commitment to more social media, but what can I say, I gave in to peer pressure.

*Sigh*

Likes appreciated.

Happy Friday, Happy Weekend, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Friday, 2 October 2015

Friday, it's Friday!

Gratitude. The simple act of being thankful can change ones entire outlook. I came across a blog post this week that asked the question "can you be happy for the last 100 days of the year?"

Good question.

Being thankful, a week before we celebrate Thanksgiving is something worth doing. Being thankful for a hundred days will be a worthwhile challenge.

I'm thankful for sister-in-laws, who texted me photos of two recipes made from my blog this week. Sticky Toffee Pudding and Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits. How awesome is that?

Hockey. I love watching our boy play.

Weekends. Until recently, I worked most weekends. Simple things, like a trip to a flea market weren't things I could typically do.

Fall planters. To replace the dismal looking summer planters that never seemed to get enough water.

Saturday morning trips to Costco. Again, weekends :)

Our eldest son's recent engagement. We are over the moon for them both!

Driving at dusk. We've had some gorgeous sunsets lately.

And I'm thankful for the internet.

It makes me want to collect acorns, so I can paint them.

It shows me how to make this cute Polaroid frame.

It inspires me to paint our front door.

It validates my love for potatoes.

And shows me some of the best pumpkin recipes, like this, this, this, this, and this.

Happy Friday, happy weekend!

Monday, 11 November 2013

Remembrance Day Canada

Today is Remembrance Day. Click the image to check out the post I put together last year in the spirit of gratitude and remembrance.

Thank you to all those who sacrificed so much for our freedom.

Friday, 11 October 2013

Happy Thanksgiving Canada

We're celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend, and I have a busy few days ahead of me. We'll be hosting the turkey sit-down at our house, making a couple of trips to the rink, and hopefully enjoying some beautiful fall weather. A to-do list is running circles around my head and I don't have it in me to write anything inspirational today, so I'm recycling last years Thanksgiving post. This weekend is all about family, gratitude, and turkey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(Canada)

The long Thanksgiving weekend is here! As excited as I am about enjoying three days off with my family and sitting down to an all-the-trimmings turkey dinner, I'm also reflecting on the many things we have to be thankful for. Traditionally, Thanksgiving celebrated the harvest and all the blessings of the past year. It was a holiday created to express gratitude. I've been thinking about gratitude a lot lately. I've watched people I love and care about struggle with various crisis in their lives and I am reminded again and again of all that we have to be thankful for.

Gratitude is about taking notice of what's around you and being aware of all the good things in your life. Often we are so busy thinking about the future, or dwelling on the past, that we don't see the present and all the things we should be grateful for on a daily basis. Sometimes we get caught up in comparing our lives to the lives of others and wishing for better or more. Gratitude is the act of looking to our own lives - the roads that we've travelled, the experiences we've been through, the gifts that we've been given - and appreciating all that this life is teaching us. Life may not be perfect and our paths may need adjusting, but gratitude requires that we look to the good in our lives and be thankful for it. Often the very things we take for granted are the things that some people only wish for. Despite hardships and challenges, when you stop and really take a look around you, life is pretty good.

So this Thanksgiving weekend I am thankful for my family, healthy kids, our imperfect home, the turkey that's in the oven, and the beautiful autumn weather. I'm also grateful for teachers that do great crafts in their classrooms. A Thanksgiving table setting can be a beautiful thing, but it's decorations like this that make them great: