the grateful five

i decided that i'm going to start a new series here on the blog. the grateful five will be a weekly post where i describe what i am grateful for, the top five anyway! hopefully it will make myself and others see how precious everything around us is and to bring notice to the little things that make us happy. maybe, just maybe, it will bring us all back down to earth where we belong. so this week, we will start small. 

a simple list for a simple life on a simple day.

no time like the present

here we go...

1. barley. our little puppy. fast approaching not so little but who's counting. i know i talk about her a lot, but not unlike all those baby mama blogs out there. so until i have a baby to talk about and take pictures of all day, i will talk about my dog. because she is cute and small! ok, now that that is out of my system.  barley is happy all the time meaning i'm happy all the time. you know how you have those friends who are always happy and it's a bit annoying? well it's not like that at all with barley! if you've ever had a puppy, you know what i'm talking about. always snuggling, warm and happy! i am grateful for little ms. barley.

2. scarfs. i never really was the type of person to wear scarfs. being raised in california and then suddenly living in the appalachian mountains, you think i would have learned how to dress for the winter! but they are amazing! i've collected a few over the years but i've only ever worn them for stylish reasons. but, they are a necessity for winter warmth. i am grateful for scarfs.

3. cooking. by no means am i ever the cook, i was always the baker in the family. but i've recently found a new joy in cooking. putting together different foods to make a meal, adding different spices to make it actually taste good! and it actually tastes good! i've learned something new about myself in this new year. i can cook. well, try to cook something that is reasonably edible :) it all started with the p90x nutrition guide.  Mathieu got the whole package for christmas. and he's had practice with the first version of this program. so i've been looking through the small cookbook. making healthy meals from there, gathering ideas for other meals. i think i just get lucky with how good they turn out. it's my time in the kitchen to be quiet and watch the food transform from uncooked separates, to a warm unified meal. i am grateful for cooking.

4. bloggers. i love all the creativity, life-sharing moments and courage i see everyday in other bloggers. it truly inspires me everyday to make my blog the greatest i can. it gives me hope to see people living a creative, artistic lifestyle. i always thought that a life that revolved around originality was too impractical. but here i am. living, breathing with impracticality. and it's ok. :) i am grateful for bloggers.

5. love. it does a lot of crazy things to a person. it can make you feel like life is never going to end and it can make you feel that it has. it's bad and it's good, but when it's right and it doesn't hurt or embarrass you; that's when love shines. because it's suppose to. when it's right, it's comfortable, unassuming, all consuming love. i fell in love with my best friend! and it's perfect. i am grateful for love

so there it is. barley. scarfs. cooking. bloggers. love. all things this week that have made me grateful for life. we'll see what will come up next week. maybe it will be a few of the same things or five different things. but either way, being grateful for anything is start! 

what are you grateful for?