January 9, 2015

Water’s back, YAY! I checked early in the morning, praying for a miracle because the weather was still below freezing, and it came back. You cannot imagine my happiness. Ah, to take a hot shower, today’s greatest blessing. From my post earlier where I mentioned all the things you need water for, you lose count the number of times absentmindedly we reach for water when we’re working or even walking around the house. I had brought bottles of water up from the basement and each time I needed to rinse my hands, I had to uncap the bottle and then wash each hand separately. I cringe to think of earlier civilizations that either did not have access to or enough of water to get through their day, relying on loose dirt and other remedies to get hands clean.

Truly grateful to be so blessed.

Juanuary 8, 2015

Ahh, the many things to be grateful for today. Last night my pipes froze and I had to do without running water. It’s funny when you figure it’s no big thing at first, thank God it wasn’t electricity, but then realize how many things rely on running water in order to work, toilets, for one. NOTE: Once pipes freeze, each toilet has one good flush in it. Involve strategy to use these precious flushes wisely to endure the length of your condition.

Today, I’m counting my wonderful supervisor, Christina – who sent me home immediately upon hearing about my pipes in order to check to make sure there was no leak and to turn off the main valve to prevent a flooded basement, and the plumber who came out to help me, free of charge, and to offer some seriously good advice on how to further prevent frozen pipes.

January 7, 2015

Today I am super looking forward to tonight’s dinner at a Howard county indian restaurant. Being vegan now I figured I was pretty much done for social dinners and today I count this blessing that much of India is vegan and looking forward to a dinner of palak, channa, rice and nan. YUM!

January 6, 2015

Hello, winter! Snow arrives in time for a busy morning commute. It’s the powdery kind, freshly fallen, no big deal to clean off your car but it’s tough to drive in, like driving down a slushy drink. And this Maryland, so drivers freak out and make me 30 minutes late to work. Which makes me ever so grateful for a salaried position where I can be late due to life’s OR weather’s mishaps and not have to worry. It really was a blessing to be stuck in traffic but calm knowing that I did not have to kill myself to get to work with crazy driving. I’m also blessed to have a father with the incredible foresight to force me to buy new tires at the end of summer. Money well spent. My commute was that much more easier, with me having more peace of mind, than if I was driving with no tread. 🙂

January 5, 2015

I am ever so grateful for my father leaving me a whole case of Perrier sparkling water. I don’t drink soda but I miss the fizz of the taboo drink. In walks this magnificent creature that hits the spot every time, room temp or chilled. And yes, two-pronged blessing I have a father who thinks of these little things that make me happy… and executes with stealth. 🙂

January 4, 2015

All caught up! I’m grateful today for living in the greatest country in the world. I went out to run errands and in the moment of charging my phone (for music) and being in a silent car I really focused on the road — the roads, highway construction, the cleanliness, the laws of the road, the speed limits, etc. got me thinking.

I live in a country that recognizes me as a citizen. I was born here. I’ve grown up here. I live in a country that accepted my parents here from another country, to live here as citizens, to own land and homes here. I live in a country where as a girl I can go to school. I live in a country where I can work, drive, talk freely, write, go wherever I want.

I live in a country with hospitals, with healthcare (ok its not perfect, but I have insurance at least), with state of the art technology, with clean water, with sanitation services, with farms, with fuel sources. I live in a country that is slowly changing it’s norms, it’s progressing, change takes time and my country is learning, adapting, growing, evolving.

It’s not like I have never been away from home. I’ve visited other countries and sure they all are great in their own way, sure there are places I visited and thought, wow, isn’t this nice but there isn’t a single thing I saw in those countries that you cannot find here at home: from lakes and rivers to oceans and mountains, desert to valleys, forests and open fields, the US has it all.

…and for all of it I am grateful. My heartfelt prayer is that God bless America, and make this an even better nation than it is today.

January 3, 2015

I am grateful for the availability of all vegan/vegetarian food options today. Another 2015 resolution — perhaps the biggest change — is my resolve to eat vegan for the entire year. This means no animal products whatsoever — no dairy, no egg, no honey, no meats (incl. seafood).

I’m so proud of myself today for cooking my first mushroom and asparagus dish. I finally recreated the infamous brown sauce in most chinese dishes. Newsflash: It’s not just soy sauce! I used ginger, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce and a dash of cornstarch and it to my steamed asparagus and mushroom sauté. I plated this over basmati rice and gave my mouth (and tummy!) a yummy party.

There are so many options to choose from these days. If you check the PETA website you will see a list of what’s “accidentally” vegan as in every day products you already use that are vegan, so my resolve will not have me going dessert-free all year. Like, Oreo cookies, Nesquik chocolate powder, my favorite pies: cherry, pumpkin and apple, and  Pepperidge Farm turnovers. Another resolution was to eat a piece of fruit every day — and shamelessly I will admit that the cherries in the turnover counted as my fruit for the day. DEAL WITH IT!

In my transitioning phase it’s wonderful to know I have so many yummy options: Coconut milk for my cereal, vegan meats for sandwiches, tofu for lasagna dishes. I do have to keep in mind that my goal in being vegan is a whole-body naturistic one: Keep ingredients as simple as possible and to stay away from harmful chemicals and over-processed foods. So my main goal is to incorporate as many veggies into my meals as possible. My friend, Amy, turned me on to sprouted grain bread which is completely flour less. Ahhh-mazing. It’s the best stuff in the world, really, so filling and so tasty, especially when its spread with cashew butter and chased with black coffee. Mmm.

Having been vegan before for nine months I missed the way my body felt so renewed, energetic, light. And I will admit, there is something about preparing a meal and knowing nothing sacrificed it’s life so I could eat.

January 2, 2015

I am grateful to have a job. I know this sounds cliche and its not a small blessing, really, but hear me out. During the holidays, work can be slow, and boring. Downtime gives you a chance to reflect and I cannot impress upon myself just how blessed I am to have a job.

I have the opportunity to go somewhere for a greater chunk of my day and interact with people, exchange ideas (recipes!), learn new cultures, concepts and crafts, create, confirm, convey. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you do it well. You do it better than you think you ever could.

In a world where economic struggles dictate happiness and money buys comforts that lead to happiness, I’m very grateful to have a job that gives me the means necessary to have intellectual fulfillment as well as the means to acquire personal nourishment and creature comforts.

January 1, 2015

I am grateful to have a friend choose to celebrate the new year with me. Her name is Amy. I met her in the last quarter of 2014. She spent the night and we had girly celebration complete with yummy snacks, hopes and dreams, and a funny movie (Hadn’t seen Wedding Crashers in forever!).

My family was out of town visiting family and I could not go because I recently got a new job and I could not take time off. Fear not, good friends don’t let friends part alone!

We both made several resolutions, but most noteworthy of all, we resolved to first and foremost heal ourselves: to find our happy place, to live in the moment, to make ourselves happy; and second of all to give ourselves unselfishly to the community, most our community’s most vulnerable entities: the elderly and children.

I am a crafty girl on a mission to be both selfish and unselfish, all the while making it look glamorous.

My challenge to you: Stick around for this year-long ride and witness my failures, successes, falls and rises, falls again and commitments to rising, yet again. Check in regularly, indulge in my life’s little blessings and every day be a little bit more adventurous and grateful yourself.