Well, today is my birthday.....I used to really dislike my birthday as I was concentrating too much on the age factor and not enough on the joy factor....The last several years I have really taken to enjoying the day and having lots of fun....Today at work I was dancing around, being really silly - the girl I was working with couldn't quite figure me out!!!! My favorite thing to do on my birthday is to take the day off and spend it at Barnes and Noble.....The last two years I was able to do this, but this year I had to work..... I would go there early in the day and spend lots of time enjoying the books about things I was interested in at that point in my life. Then I would take a few magazines to the cafe (love that you can do that!). order their wonderful potato leek soup, and enjoy lunch while reading....My idea of a great time!!!! Of course, I could never leave without purchasing books - birthday presents to me!!!!!
Today it snowed for the first time (except once really early on) all winter, so it was quite slippery when I came out of work.....So I went to the Christmas Tree Shop on my way home and picked out a lovely new mug for my tea.....I'm sitting here typing, drinking tea (in my new mug), and eating brownies....It's the small things that mean so much.......
This December I started reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp - I have read it through two times now and will be starting on the third reading soon.....What a wonderful book!!!!!! It has really opened my eyes to all the blessings we have in our lives that we take for granted unless we really make an effort to be aware of them.....Her idea is to make a list of 1,000 blessings.....I started in December and this morning wrote number 512!!!!! Ann writes about days of Joy and a life of Gratitude....I can tell you that reading this book has really changed my life!!!!! Ann and her husband are farmers in the Mennonite countryside of Ontario. She is the mother of six children and writes everyday at "A Holy Experience." I hadn't expected to write on the blog today, so didn't have any pictures lined up - now that I have begun again, I will try to really get into the swing of things soon.....Have A Blessed New Year!!!!
