The write stuff

1) Being surprised by a really good plot twist in a book 2) Laughing out loud to a joke I hear or read when I'm alone 3) Getting good news on a bad day 4) Being surprised by something beautiful 5) Getting or giving a word of encouragement 6) Making cookies and eating the dough…mmmmm 7) Finding kindred spirits 8) Curling up on the couch with hot tea and a warm blanket on a cold day 9) Getting a hug when I need one 10) Learning about something new that interests me

As I was skimming through the new and exciting books at Chapters awhile back, I noticed a book called, "The Book of Awesome" by Neil Pasricha. I'm not a big fan of self-help books (though I'm sure many of them are interesting), but I noticed when I flipped through this one that it was more about observations on the shared enjoyments and pleasant surprises in ones life (serendipity). As I flipped through and remarked to myself how true his observations are, it got me thinking about the things in my life that make me happy. This book has inspired me to be more aware of the pleasant moments in my own day to day life. I'll write down a few here and there over the next little while as they come to me! My first ten: 1) watching birds run (I know its strange, but their little legs amuse me) 2) Getting the parking spot closest to work in the morning 3) Making my own caramel macchiatto at home after work (tasty and inexpensive) 4) spending a whole day in my pj's

Well to my surprise and delight I was granted vacation on my chosen week...and so the frenzy began. I was given permission at the end of the work day on Thursday and had plans for that night and Friday night, so basically I actually got to packing my stuff at around 12am Friday night (Technically Saturday morning). By the time I had packed everything, cleaned house, showered, and taken care of my cat it was about 3am and I set my alarm for 5am wondering if sleep was even a good idea by this point. Little choice I had in the matter though as my eyelids would no longer stay up and my body ached for the comfort of my mattress. I fell asleep the moment my head hit my pillow and woke up resignedly at 5am. I took the first half an hour to get dressed and then called a cab and managed to arrive at the airport at around 6:15am. This wasn't necessarily late...well not very anyway, but my heart rate did increase slightly as I got closer and closer to the massive lineup that was the Air Canad

I'm one of those people who like taking photos of random signs that I find funny or amusing while I'm travelling and so I can appreciate the irony in this picture!