Om shanti shanti shanti

Day 17: A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

I've recently started practicing yoga. At first in Malison's gym with just her and her boyfriend, then even more recently at a hot yoga studio that just opened nearby.

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I have never felt more peaceful in my life. Not just happy or calm, but like all the chatter in my head has...not stopped totally, but at least slowed down to manageable.

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PS. Why are my posts so short lately? I think this has something to do with the kids being home on Christmas vacation.

PPS. I hope you all had the exact Christmas that you dreamed of.

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Favourite Cousin

Day 16: A picture of someone who inspires you.

This is my favourite cousin. She is one of the strongest people I know.

She travels to far-off places alone--and not ones that are familiar to us as Canadians like England and France, but places like Nepal and Isreal.

She is going through a really tough time in her life right now, but still she remains positive and optimistic. Taking on one challenge at a time instead of letting it all push down on her at once.

She runs businesses, she makes time for friends, she stays fit, she's never lazy. She makes me want to be a more energetic and take advantage of everything life has to offer. She's very inspiring.

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Tomorrow? The World!

Day 15: A picture of something you want to do before you die.

I read this as: if you had all the money and time you could possibly imagine, what would you be doing? I want to travel the world. There are so many sites I want to see and things I want to learn. I'm always jealous of other people's travels: I want to hike the Annapurna trail; I want to sit in a cafe at the top of the Alps; I want to check out the Taj Mahal and the Tower of London, and the Eiffel Tower, and some Buddhist temples and all the eight wonders and a bunch of museums and soak up as much history and culture in as many places as I possibly can. I can read every book about the lives and deaths of Russian royalty ever written, but seeing where all this happened would make it that much more real. I can take classes in the history of Greek mythology, but seeing the Parthenon and all the other temples dedicated to the gods would bring so much more understanding. I can watch movies about East and West Germany, but standing where the wall used to be would make it more...just more.

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And that's just the stuff I know about. What more have I not learned? What can Africa teach me? What's in Asia that I've never heard of? What can India show me?

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I have a lot that I want to do; looks like I'm going to need to live for a very long time.

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The Church of Football

Day 14: A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

There are many people I could never imagine my life without: my kids, my parents, my bff.... But that's not who I'm going to write about.

A few years ago, Twin A begged me to let him play football. I was very hesitant, but finally gave in. I had no idea that him playing football would be such a positive experience for all of us. At the time, I was very unhappy. It was a time of my life that I felt very alone. I was considering joining some sort of religion just so I had a group of people to call my own. Enter the Church of Football. The football schedule is all encompasing; it takes up most of the week. So we spent a lot of time together. It's where I met Malison (and through Malison I met her boyfriend and Cake Mix), and it's where I met two other families that I consider really good friends. I know that these people will be around for the rest of my life.
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I can never express to any of these people how thankful I am to have them around. I know they are there whenever I need them (even when football season is over). They are an awesome support system and I not only can't, but don't want to, imagine my life without them.

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GLEE

Day 13: A picture of your favorite band or artist.

Yes, this is a picture of the cast of Glee. They are, at the moment, my favourite artist. I don't have a favourite band because my favourite music is whatever I can sing along with. That could be anything from Neil Diamond to Owl City to any Christmas song to Eminem to whatever kind of music my kids force me to listen to. Luckily, Glee does it all.

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Yum

Day 12: A picture of something you love.

I love this place. The food is so yummy. I always get Bento Box B with sashimi (no wasabi). I eat there often. At least once or twice a week. I've introduced many friends to it, and it's just about unanimously a favourite among them.

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My very favourite thing about this restaurant is what it symbolizes. This is the first place I ever went to have a meal by myself. I was always afraid that people would look at me funny for being alone. They don't. Nobody cares. And if they did care, I like to think that they admire me for not being afraid to take time to myself in public. It's silly, I know, but I view this restaurant as the first step of total independence.

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Go me!

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Cliche

Day 11: a picture of something you hate.

I hate cliches.

I hate being thought of as a cliche. I cannot be put in a box and labeled.

Most especially, I hate the answers that come when you ask people what their pet peeves are:

"I hate intolerant people." What does that even mean? Everyone is intolerant of something. Granted, I'm not that fond of anything that deliberately physically or mentally hurts someone because of their race, religion, or sexual orientation, but I have to say that I'm very intolerant of whiners. (Quit faking, ya big baby.) Does that make me an intolerant person that other people should hate?

"I hate how Christmas has been so commercialized." Really? You hate when someone thinks so highly of you that they lose sleep trying to think of the perfect present for you? You hate how everyone joins together as one big community and sings and smiles and tells perfect strangers to have a merry Christmas? You hate how excited your children are when they tell you what the shopping store Santa said to them?

"I hate [insert driving behaviour here]." I read somewhere that anyone who drives slower than you is an idiot and anyone who drives faster than you is a moron. The funny thing is, we've all been the driver that has made a mistake. When I cut you off, it's because I didn't see you, not because I'm deliberately trying to ruin your entire day.

But the biggest thing I hate today? The fact that I'm responsible for putting the lights on the Christmas tree. I hate putting the lights on; I always scratch up my hands and I always end up with either extra tree or extra lights at the end.

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