26. My Kind Spouse

As I was stepping into the shower, I was thinking of how grateful I am to have a loving, kind spouse. The kind of spouse who apologizes by bringing home a dozen roses, and whom I love so much that seeing those flowers, that act of thoughtfulness, brought tears to my eyes, and I barely managed a 'Thank You.' It's amazing how a dozen roses can say so much - today they said, "I'm sorry, I love you, and you are important to me." Even typing this is making me emotional...

Dear Matthew, thank you for being so kind, generous, and thoughtful. When you handed me that bouquet this afternoon, I thought to myself, "He brought home some crappy flowers again," and the roses caught me completely off guard...I hope all goes well at the hospital.

25. Apricot Trees

One of the great things about summer is the abundance of fruit trees in my neighbourhood. Earlier in the summer, I got to see cherries ripen, and now I get to see beautiful, bright apricots fill up the green in trees. Yesterday, I saw a couple of little boys picking apricots, how sweet! Apricot trees have been making me smile for the past couple of years, and it's one of the things I look forward to on my walks. Last year, as I was transitioning through my pregnancy, I would talk to my unborn child about the beauty of nature, in the form of these happy, feel good fruit trees. So now everytime I walk past apricot trees while pushing the stroller with my son, I am reminded of the wonderful times I spent walking with him in utero.

Thank you, apricot trees, for the wonderful memories.

24. Pixiwoo

Tonight I am nurturing my gratitude for Pixiwoo, a YouTube makeup channel featuring two extremely talented makeup artists. I have been watching their videos since last year, can't remember how or exactly when; it was most probably during makeup tutorial searches on YouTube. What grabbed my attention was how professional their channel looked - well-organized, well-lit, well-filmed and edited - and of course the artists are very good at what they do. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I have a soft spot for Mac Cosmetics, and it helps that Nic and Sam use a fair amount of Mac products in their tutorials (I bought Mac's Club eyeshadow after watching one of their tutorials), although I have to admit their latest video on Chanel Illusion d'Ombres has actually got me thinking about purchasing one of those costly eyeshadows, eek! Just goes to show that marketing and advertising are constantly evolving, and with so many different media options out there, YouTube channels can have a big impact on sales and promotion.

Ooops, I digress. Back to Pixiwoo, I think I have learned so much about makeup application and techniques from these ladies, including contouring, smokey eyes and which brushes to use, and lately I have been trying their technique of lining my eyes by changing the angle of the brush. I have also tried buffing my foundation because of them, and wow! What a difference that makes!

Thank you, Pixiwoo sisters, for teaching me how to apply makeup and learning how to accentuate my features, I hope subscription to your channel continues to grow!

23. The Olympics

As the London 2012 Olympic Games approaches, I am reminded of the incredible energy and city spirit of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. While I was excited to be a part of Olympic history, nothing could prepare me for the way in which the Games really brought Vancouverites together. Within days, there was a sea of red and white, almost everyone sporting red and white mittens supporting Canada. It was the first time I saw the city unite, everyone riding on a high of solidarity and positive patriotism for Vancouver and Canada. I felt so much pride, and my spouse and I thoroughly enjoyed the different games and activities that were happening throughout the city. The cauldron was simply spectacular, and the Games were a great way to have an appreciation for sports like curling. The  climax, of course, was the ice hockey final between Canada and the USA - one of the most tense games I've ever watched. The glorious moment during overtime when Sidney Crosby scored the goal that got us Olympic Gold...the mass of people crowding downtown in a sea of red and white, certainly memories worth feeling grateful for. So, thank you, Olympics 2012, for reminding me of how sports can truly unite a nation.

22. Friends

Now, where do I begin with friends? I am very fortunate to have some amazing friends, friends who make me laugh, help me gain new perspectives, and support me through some of the toughest times in my life. My friends got me through my teens, my college / university years, my angst-ridden years as a new graduate, and now, as I go through parenthood and grieving the loss of a parent. I can write on and on about some of the wonderful things my friends have done / continue to do for me over the years, but that might turn into an overly lengthy saga. So I will keep this entry short and sweet, and end by saying that friends are definitely the family that one chooses, thank you my dear friends, for being there and unconditionally supporting me. I am truly grateful to have you all in my life.

21. My Pregnancy

So, it has been over a year since I last nurtured my gratitude in the blogosphere, although I've been nurturing gratitude for the little things in life in my head...the last year has just been such a wonderful year for me, and the joyride continues. I got pregnant with my first child, who is now five months old.

Being pregnant and continuing along that journey has been one of the most gratifying experiences in my life this far, it has given me a sense of contentment that I had only dreamed of before, having a life grow inside of me, feeling his first flutter-like kicks, that gradually grew more pronounced. Not to mention the amazing skin (best skin I've had in my adult years :) I rocked throughout, thanks to pregnancy hormones. The transformation was simply amazing from a biological standpoint (yes, this is where the bio / health science nerd in me comes out), my body went through so many changes, and was so in sync with my growing baby, I mean we pregnant ladies are pretty lucky to be able to undergo such changes in adulthood.

Though I make it sound like I had the most smooth-sailing, glorious pregnancy, I did not. First trimester came with an overwhelming sense of exhaustion that really had me worried, and third trimester had its own set of challenges (one, for instance, was that I never thought how difficult it can be to roll from one side to another...) And of course, how one feels about being pregnant is also a state of mind that depends on a myriad of factors - I was at a point in my life where I was both emotionally and financially ready to have children, and so the pregnancy-related challenges were easier to cope with. And in hindsight, it was nice to have weeks where I was able to just lie in bed and read book after book, 'coz time for reading leisure books is hard to come by these days!