And with that I begin my post to catch up on several missed posts of "celebrations."
The past (almost) week has been busy, exhausting, time-consuming... the perfect way to describe life with a toddler I guess, and basically life in general some weeks. But that hasn't dampened the desire to celebrate the random holidays. While I have to admit that some days did fly by with merely a verbal acknowledgement of what day it was, other days did get their due "celebration" if even for a few moments. Here's a quick recap:
Thursday was National Handshake Day. The perfect thing to celebrate with a toddler who is all about imitation right now. She's gotten pretty good and understanding the handshake now thanks to this random holiday.
Friday was Take Your Dog to Work Day. Since I don't have a dog, and since I work at home most days, I had no idea how to celebrate this aside from thinking about the chaos the office would be if I did go in with a dog!
Saturday was a day I planned on celebrating -- Chocolate Pudding Day, but also turned out to be Forgiveness Day which is what I ended up actually celebrating. Let's just say our marriage can be best defined by one word: spicy! When you put together two first-born, strong-willed, independent thinkers, you get fireworks and Friday was certainly firey. However, we never end our day that way and when all was said and done all was forgotten and forgiven.
Sunday was Sunglasses Day, which I wanted to celebrate had it not been for the gray day outside. What's with this summer west-coast weather this year anyway? Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the lack of HEAT in this summer. But the sun, come on... we need it!!!
Monday was Tapioca Day. To be honest, until I married a Malaysian I though tapioca was only good for pudding ... and even then not really that great. It turns out though that many countries actually cook with taipoca! I've had some pretty tasty dishes with the strange little balled ingredient. I didn't make anything to celebrate... but I did drool as I thought about it! ;-)
And that leads us up to today. Today's choices of random holidays included one that is my personal fav. It's Camera Day. What better way to celebrate than to grab my Nikon and enjoy capturing the moments of my growing toddler.
What have you done to celebrate life over the past few days?
I was excited about yesterday's day of celebration. Why? Because it was "Chocolate Eclair Day" and my hubby loves them! A week ago we were at Granville Island I caught him drooling over some in a yummy bakery we walked by. Knowing that Chocolate Eclair Day was coming up soon, I told him we'd get some later... or so I thought.
It turns out that finding chocolate eclairs is a lot harder than you'd think... at least if you live in Langley. After I finished up work in the office I stopped in at several bakeries hoping to bring my man some yummy eclair goodness, but alas I came hope empty handed. I told him of my hunt; and he set out that afternoon to fulfill my (his) wishes. Again, he came home empty handed.
It was while I was making dinner though, that my hubby had an idea. He scooped up our toddler and told me he'd be back in 10 minutes. 20 minutes later (yes, dinner was ready and getting cold), he arrived with a box of donuts from Tim Hortons and a bag of groceries from Save-On Foods. There was a twinkle in his eye.
After dinner my daughter and I were banished from the kitchen while my hubby prepared his surprise dessert. A few minutes later he came out of the kitchen with one of Tim Horton's "long john" donuts, which he had carefully cute in half horizontally and filled with whipped cream. A make-shift chocolate eclair a la Sherman. It was odd. But it was yummy. ;-)
What have you done to celebrate life lately?
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Today was National Pink Day. I'm not a huge fan of pink, so I have very little of it in my wardrobe. We do, however, have a 20-month-old daughter. She has a lot of pink. So, I celebrated pink day by dressing her in a cute onesie and hot pink shorts. She was cute... and very pink.
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Tomorrow: Swim a Lap Day; Prailines Day; International Fairy Day; National Handshake Day
Selebrations, I mean celebrations, over the past days have all started with "S"! Friday was "National Splurge Day," so we splurged and got pizza for dinner. We don't do it often (although we are tempted to since we have a Panago Pizza literally outside our living room window), so we savoured the yummy flavours of our splurge and thanked the Lord for the ability to do it.
Saturday was all about sauntering. We spent time sauntering around the mall while letting our monkey-pants expel some energy, and sauntered out to the patio that night to enjoy watching her wade in her little pool while my hubby grilled up some burgers.
Sunday brought on the sillies and the snuggles. It was Father's Day, which led to a phone call to my daddy across the continent, and some silly giggles from my daughter as she babbled to him on the phone. Then it was some silliness and snuggles with daddy as I sat and enjoyed the sight of them together. Oh how she loves him!
And today, well today is the first day of summer. Not that you'd know it by looking outside these days. I think summer may have decided to skip the West Coast this year. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining too loudly. Afterall, I could do without the heat that each summer brings. But even I am longing for sun and warmer weather! So, while we didn't have a whole lot of sun to celebrate today, we did celebrate the first day of summer indoors. Odd.
What have you done to celebrate laterly?
Tomorrow: National Chocolate Eclair Day; National Onion Ring Day.
Today was "Eat Your Veggies Day;" a day we attempt to celebrate every day in the Lau house. I use the word attempt however, because we have a toddler; and the big question each day when living with a toddler is "will they?" or "won't they" when it comes to the food you present them with.
Today, she surprised us. She willinging ate (translation: without coaxing) two slices of cucumber. Now I know that, technically, a cucumber isn't a veggie - it's a fruit. But honestly, when was the last time you saw a cucumber sliced up in a fruit salad? And while I'm on the subject, the same goes for tomatos!
The battle or "is it a fruit, or is it a vegetable?" aside, the point is she ate something healthy. All by herself. Without pleading. Without crying. And after she ate her cucumber, she downed a bowl full of grapes. It was a good day.
Eat your veggies. And celebrate life today.
Tomorrow: Go Fishing Day; International Picnic Day; National Splurge Day; National Cherry Tart Day.
Today was the perfect day to celebrate National Fudge Day, for today we enjoyed a "family day" at Granville Island. What better place to buy some yummy, ooey, gooey, sweet fudge than "Olde World Fudge," as we walked around the market, fed the birds and enjoyed our family time!
What did you do to celebrate today?
Tomorrow: Eat Your Vegetables Day; National Apple Strudel Day; Bunker Hill Day
When I read that today was "Nature Photography Day," one name came to mind. Anika.
A former co-worker, and now full-time mommy, living in Quesnel, BC, Anika captures amazing images of God's creation through the lens of her camera. I visit her site daily for a "fix" of breath-taking beauty. You should do the same.
It's important to count your blessings when life feels like its giving you lemons; but its not always easy to do. It can be hard to see the positive in life when surrounded by negativity. But that's exactly what this blog, and each day of intentional celebration, was supposed to be for me and for my family. And it has been -- and continues to be so.
So in this post, as I recap the past few days of celebration by counting our blessings, I hope to pass on to you the encouragement we have felt and the exciting journey we are about to embark on.
Counting our blessings through images...
Hugs Peanut Butter Cookies A Kitchen to be a Klutz in Strawberry Short Cake The Life Centre
What have you done to celebrate and count your blessings lately?
Tomorrow: Smile Power Day; National Lobster Day; Nature Photography Day.
Today is Iced Tea Day; a day that's pretty easy to celebrate in our house. We love Iced Tea. I make a fresh jug of it every other day, and have been anxiously awaiting better summer, sunny weather so I can break free from the "steeped" variety to my absolute favourite - Sun Tea. I fell in love with Sun Tea while living in Texas for language school in the early 80s. You wouldn't think brewing tea for 3-5 hours in the hot summer sun would change the flavour... but it does. And it's so good.
So, if you're in the neighbourhood on a hot, sunny day this summer, stop by the Lau House for some freshly brewed sun tea and we'll shoot the breeze.
What did you do to celebrate today?
Tomorrow: Hug Holiday; National German Chocolate Cake Day; and the 1st day of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (hum... I wonder what we'll be celebrating tomorrow... ;-) Hee hee.)
Yesterday was National Chocolate Icecream Day, the perfect excuse to indulge in my favourite summer treat. Today, ironically, that celebration continues. Why? Because today is "Name Your Poison Day."
While typically this expression refers to an alcoholic drink, any indulgence can really be someone's poison. And for me, that poison is chocolate. So today I celebrate my poison by reliving the celebration from yesterday. The perfect indulgence as I cuddle up in on a warm summer night to watch the season finale of Glee. Yeah!
What did you do to celebrate today?
Tomorrow: Donald Duck's Birthday; Strawberry Rubarb Pie Day.
What have you done to celebrate life of late? I ask that at the end of each post, but seriously - I want to know. If you read this blog with any regularity, let me know what you've done to celebrate life lately, and why. I'd love to hear from you.
The journey in our 365 Days of Celebration continues. While admittedly I have found it hard to intentionally celebrate each day, whether it be because the day's holiday of choice left me perplexed or because the rocky journey we've been on of late has left me feeling uninspired, I have made every attempt to celebrate -- even when I didn't feel like it. And through that I've been blessed. Blessed to be reminded that, even in the darkest of storms there is light at the end of the tunnel. Encouraged by the reminder each day of what I've been blessed with. And filled with the Lord's love and peace on days when the holiday to celebrate has left me pondering deeper thoughts of His faithfulness, His promises and His grace.
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So, to recap the past few days of celebration:
Thursday was an easy day to celebrate in the Lau house. It was Egg Day. We love eggs and usually have eggs every day for breakfast in some form. Packed with protein, we love them scrambled, fried, in an omelet, baked in a quiche, poached... you name it, we eat it! Even our little monkey-pants loves eggs!
Friday we were supposed to celebrate National Doughnut Day with a trip to our favourite Canadian hang-out, Tim Horton's. But alas the day got away from us and by the time we made it home from our evening appointment, all we could think about was getting our over tired monkey to bed and following her soon there after! We'll have to cash in on our doughnut later!
Saturday was World Environment Day, so as I cleaned the house I did my part for the environment by ensuring all our recycleables were in their proper place. I dusted off our energy efficient bulbs too, and made low low energy appliances gleam.
Today was Yo-Yo Day, and while we did not play with yo-yos, we did enjoy watching the mood of our 19-month-old toddler bounce up and down like a yo-yo! Without a morning nap (which she is slowly giving up), and a long and activity filled day at church, by the time we got her in the car she was plum tuckered out. Three hours later (with a short transfer from the car to her crib), she was a yo-yo of engery, tears, laughter, hugs, trantrums and cuddles until she hit the hay again at 8.
Today was a celebration of rocky roads. The sweet kind of course. But as I "baked up" a batch of "no bake" rocky road squares today, it occurred to me that I could be "celebrating" the other kind of rocky road - the rocky road that is life. Or at least our life of late.
Growing up in Ecuador, I can honestly say I've had my taste of some seriously rocky roads. But what occurred to me today is that if I had avoided all the rocky roads in mi tierra linda, I would have missed out on seeing some incredible sights! For it was down those rocky, and often treacherous roads that we would turn a corner and see magificant mountains, breath taking water falls, delicate orchids and truly mind blowing scenery. Had I chosen to stay in the safety of the city and it's paved (although frankly just as bumpy) roads, I would have missed out on the treasures of the Amazon jungle or the Andes mountains.
That got me thinking about life and the not-always-so-smooth journey we are on. As I've alluded to in previous posts, our journey right now is especially rocky as we wait on where the Lord will lead us next in ministry. It's been a rocky road full of doubt, regret, grief, anxiety and tears; but just around every corner on the road has also been laughter, miracles, encouragement, love and other reminders that the Lord has not forgotten us. Would I choose to go down this rocky road again? No. But am I grateful for the experience and the treasures I have gleaned along the way? Absolutely!
So bring on the rocky road. For I know who is driving my car, and I know that He will lead me to the treasures He has along the way as we travel to our destination!
************************************************ What have you done to celebrate life today?
Tomorrow: Repeat Day; National Chocolate Macaroon Day; National Egg Day
Today was "Flip a Coin Day." Apparently the tradition of flipping a coin to make a decision dates back to Julius Caesar. According to "Holiday Insights,"Caesar would take a coin and flip it to make decisions where the right choice was unclear. The correct answer was "heads", which of course carried his image on the coin.
So, flip a coin to help you decide something, anything, in honour of this day! ;-)
What have you done to celebrate life today?
Tomorrow: National Bubba Day; National Rocky Road Day; National Rocky Road ICECREAM Day; Leave the Office Early Day; National Running Day.
