33. Cooking

As I was making lunch today, I thought of how nice it feels to be cooking again. Ever since I've been able to cook, it's been a creative process for me. Yes, I do have recipe books, but I rarely follow every step to the letter. There is simple pleasure and joy in cooking something aromatic, in playing with the colours of food to create something appetizing, delicious, nutritious, and healthy. I also find cooking oddly meditative, in that when I'm cooking, I'm solely focusing on my creation, and rarely think about anything else. Nowadays, I have very few occasions where I am just thinking about the task at hand - usually my mind is occupied with a multitude of thoughts.

During my pregnancy, I had a brief interlude during second trimester where I had enough energy to cook and bake. And since my child was born, it's been an adventure ride that's left little time for me to cook. Now that Eric is eating solids, I feel more of an imperative to cook again, and it feels great to be able to do so.

So here's to cooking, and the simple pleasures of life.

32. The Mighty Salmon

While I'm rocking my salmon art T-shirt, I figured I might as well nurture my gratitude for the salmon. My admiration for this mighty fish came about three years ago, while on a cruise to Alaska. There I got to see hundreds of salmon going upstream, and what a sight it was to behold! I was completely transfixed by the tenacity of salmon, fighting currents, and jumping up in its journey to spawn. With every failed attempt, the fish would gather in a calmer spot, waiting, and trying again. I thought of what kind of genetic mechanism enabled the fish to remember where it originated, to continue to fight against such odds, sometimes even dying in the process of going upstream. Survival of the fittest in its amazing glory...

What was once a simple (albeit delicious ;-) fish took on new meaning for me. Sometimes in times of hardship, I think of the salmon fighting to go upstream, struggling to survive the current...I was and continue to be in such awe of the fish, that I bought a T-shirt with native salmon art at one of the souvenir stores, have considered buying salmon earrings (!), and hope to one day possess some salmon artwork for my wall. Two years ago, I enthusiastically went to see the Adams River Salmon Run and hope to return to Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park with my son this year. I hope he'll feel some of the same excitement and marvel I felt upon watching this mighty fish in action.

31. Facebook

Tonight I'm nurturing my gratitude for Facebook. I've been feeling pretty ambiguous about Facebook for the past week or so, especially after learning that my profile would change to the new timeline feature by default. With the current profile, it was already difficult to control my privacy settings, without making it only visible to myself, which kinda defeats the purpose of Facebook, as the privacy features are based on an 'opt-out' idea, where one has to manually edit features for every single 'friend.' I viewed the whole timeline feature with skepticism, thinking it as a way to make my profile even more public in an attempt to perhaps generate greater revenue and recover some of the momentum that the company had lost during its initial public offering.

Then I started thinking of some of the great things about Facebook, about how it has reconnected me with people from my past that I had completely lost touch with, and who are thousands of miles away, enabling me to get a glimpse of their current lives through their posts and pictures. I thought of how easy it is to post pictures and share news with everyone simultaneously, and the joy I feel when others are able to share in my joys, or offer me suggestions when I'm in a tough spot. The concern with privacy still remains - however, I also recognize I live in an era and amongst a generation where publicizing through social media is the norm. Many years ago, people were very concerned about email privacy, when email was still relatively new, and now it has become ubiquitous. Perhaps, in a few years, social media will be viewed in the same light, with privacy being less of an issue. So, I am thankful for the connections that Facebook has enabled, and for being able to share joyous events and passionate causes instantaneously.

30. Picnics

When one thinks of a picnic, images of a picnic basket, a comfortable blanket, a green park, perhaps a book, and a nice breeze comes to mind. It's the perfect image of relaxation and bliss. And yet, in the past six years or so, I've gone picnicking maybe once a year? Despite living about 10 minutes from a park...

So nowadays I'm kinda forced to do impromptu picnics because of a little one; I find it's the best way to have a nice dinner/lunch, and catch up with friends without having to worry about my son having to behave in a restaurant, for instance. Eric loves being outdoors, with lots of space and greenery to keep him distracted; I as a parent love the downtime I get, where I either play with Eric without having to worry about what needs to be done at home, or just relax with a book, or get to eat in peace. The more picnics we have, the more I wonder why and how I never got to do more of this before Eric - it's free, affordable, and nourishes the soul.

29. Competition

As I nurture my gratitude for competition, I realize this has probably been a long time coming, although it took me the London 2012 Olympics and a great athlete like Michael Phelps to do so (Congratulations on your 22th medal, wow!) Growing up, I've had quite a negative experience with competition, not in an athletic context, but more in an academic context. I got to see how adults would sometimes act worse than children, perhaps out of resentment, jealousy, ego...I've experienced friends sabotaging me, and not knowing who to trust in the name of competition. And of course, to be at the top of one's game,  one has to sacrifice and make lots of compromises, which is probably harder to do in one's childhood and teens than as an adult.

Watching athletes compete in the Olympics has made me realize how competition can be a great motivator, despite all the challenges, struggles, sacrifices, and ugliness that might come with it. I can't help but wonder how many athletes Michael Phelps, the great swimmer and Olympian, inspired to be stronger, faster, better at what they do, in particular swimming. When the training got tough for these world-class swimmers, they probably thought of this great champion for inspiration. Those swimmers who wanted Olympic gold knew they had to beat Michael's record, and in order to do that, they had to swim harder, faster. Plus, imagine how these swimmers are feeling now, as they're winning gold at the London  Olympics. Maybe there is some truth to victory being that much sweeter when it's harder to accomplish. For me, it's nice to think of competition in a positive light, especially after so many years of seeing it as something negative...and it's also nice to gain some inspiration to make physical activity a priority in my life. After all, if athletes can train for five hours a day, six days a week, then surely the average person can chip in an hour a day (or every other day) in the name of physical and emotional health.

28. Pedicures

Tonight I am nurturing my gratitude for pedicures, as I probably had the best pedicure this evening! I had booked the pedicure because there was a promotion going on, figuring that I haven't had a pedicure this year, and my feet could use some pampering. Turns out the pedicure came at the right time, because it help to pamper my soul too. This has been such a roller coaster year for me, with great happiness, great sorrow, great stress, and great worries. I was wondering today as to how much I can continue to cope with this year, because it seems like every time I feel like I am emotionally strong again, something happens that crushes me and tries to pull me under. And yet I know I have to somehow stay strong and continue to hope for the best, and to pray for courage and resilience to get through this, not just for me, but for others who are counting on me to do so. Today's pedicure was a one-hour oasis where I could forget about my worries, stress, sadness and just let go. I don't think I have ever appreciated a pedicure as much as I have today, and the esthetician who did such a fabulous job. Thank you.

27. Funny movies

There's nothing like a good laugh to relieve stress and feel good, and it's even better when that laugh comes right before bedtime. Yesterday, I happened to watch a great comedy on TV called 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,' a light-hearted, feel good movie that's perfect for ending the day on a high note. Watching the movie made me realize that I definitely can use more laughter in my life - sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in everything that needs to be done, and lately I've been feeling a lot of pressure to establish more routine and structure in my life, especially with a little one in the family. Perhaps being able to let go and have a hearty laugh is just as important as routine in my life right now :)