2009: the Good, the Bad & the Sexy

As 2009 is almost over (just 5.5 more hours to go here in Moscow) I'm taking a look back on it. The year brought enough of sorrows and there were some lows, but all in all it's been a good one. Funnily enough, it really seems like this time around the hurts and tears got compensated with material goodies - designer stuff and designer aspirations, travels and friends' visits. So, at the down of year 2009, I want to give thanks for the new pairs of designer shoes, clothes, little goodies and now a chair, my room redecoration project, all the partying and dining in designer hot spots, my both trips to Italy and Spain, Jack's visit in January, followed by Savo and Fabio's visit in August and Ruben's and his crew's visit in September. Looking at it now, the tears were worth it in the end. Thank you. I'm so ready for the new year to be the best year so far, so bring on 2010!

My Tree Smells Better Than Yours

I'm thankful I've finally gotten into somewhat of a holiday mood, I remember in the last few years holiday home and tree decorating seemed like a torture to me rather than a fun activity. I'm so thankful holiday spirit has finally got a hold of me! The fact that I got inspired enough to come up with a fun idea to decorate my very own tree must be a very good sign. I'm so ready for 2010 now! So, my Xmas tree is a coffee tree - decorated with coffee machine coffee sachets and actual coffee beans and a home made star shaped cookie on top of it!
P.S. For your information: In Russia, where I'm from and still reside, we don't celebrate Catholic Christmas and our main winter holiday is New Years. The New Years Eve tradition is basically the same as that of 25th of December in Europe and USA. With that being said, my tree might be a last minute thing, but it's not late for celebration.

Her

I am soooo thankful I was able to afford a 'Him & Her' chair by Fabio Novembre for Casamania! I know not everyone likes or gets the design, but it's so me - I knew I had to have this chair ever since I saw one in some magazine in April. I so cannot wait for it to arrive here in February, this is going to fit perfectly into my newly redecorated room! I'm getting the 'Her' one in brown, matte finish. Yay! :-)

Photo courtesy of Settimio Benedusi.

You can take a look at more pictures of the chair here.

Patience

I'm thankful life's been teaching me patience. I'm not known to be a very patient person, but I can see that with time I'm getting better at it and it's only been helpful.

Musee du Louvre

Today I want to give thanks to Charles, to my lovely friend and a perfect French gentleman. There are many things I could thank him for, but let's focus on our trip to the Musee du Louvre during my short but productive 4 day Paris trip at the dawn of 2008. We got to the Louvre late and it was getting close to the closing time, but since I had only so much time we decided to still go for it - running through the spacious halls and up and down the stairs was still a lot of fun. Charles happened to know the Louvre really well since he used to go a lot with his father when he was a kid, I'm sure I would totally get lost there if I was alone, and mind you, I speak no French!.. So, thank you, Charles, for taking me there and for being a perfect tour guide!

Still on Paris

I feel like praising the Eiffel Tower! I've seen various famous landmarks and although each one had impressed me greatly, I'm thankful I was totally blown away by the effect of Tour Eiffel on me. I remember I thought it would be fairly big... until I saw it and realized it was HUGE!.. I still can't get over the memory, ha! Next time I'm in Paris I want to go up the very top of it again, but I want to do so at night.

Christmas Lights of Paris

Last year I was welcoming winter in Paris, and although my flight back home was scheduled for the 1st of December, the city was already all beautifully decorated and I had a perfect chance to see it in all its Christmas glory. I'm really thankful for the experience since I'm really not sure when I'd have the opportinuty to see Paris during the Christmas time again - I'm kind of really tempted to go back when it's all warm and sunny there.

P.S. Please excuse the blurriness of the last shot - the photo was taken from a car, it was snowing heavily, we were on Champs-Elysees on our way from one night spot to another and everyone was screaming and whatnot and we were just having a happy time!

Up For Grabs

I had always enjoyed being single and couldn't really imagine myself being really committed to someone for a longer period of time until a few years ago. I remember I met someone and knowing him just put me in a slightly different state of mind - I thought it could actually be fun to give a relationship thing a try. Still, I couldn't imagine myself being in a relationship with anyone I knew back then... Until I met someone else and all of a sudden I hated being single. To make a long story short, somehow I fell in some sort of a rut and not even being committed to anyone I subconsciously started living my life like I was single no more. No wonder it was a strange and a confused period of time! I'm really thankful I noticed my weird patterns and changed my ways back to being content with my singlehood.

Quotes

I'm really into collecting and using various quotes. In my opinion, a good quote can lift your mood instantly, can inspire you, can make you think and sometimes even change your mindset, and if you use it in writing it can really help bring out the idea of your writing work. So I'm thankful for the whole idea of quoting in general.

Think & Thank

My thankful theory has a longer story than it may seem and a deeper and dearer meaning to me than you may think. The above serves as an advice to others, and on my worst days I can't help but think it's a pity that I can't see it... Something to serve as a reminder to myself is still a work in progress. Until then, I am thankful for little meaningful reminders of our blessings in life - seeing a homeless person or an abandoned dog out in the cold when you're on your way to your warm house where you'd be greeted by your cheerful pet makes you think... and thank.

English

I'm so tremendously thankful for knowing English. I have absolutely no idea what would I do or who would I be now without it, I can't even imagine it... Also need to give thanks to my parents who paid for my very expensive classes back when I was learning it, my dedication alone would probably never get me this far or so fast.

Working Sunday

Having to be in the office on Sunday, it's not so surprising that my thoughts revolved around work mostly. And so when I was thinking of what to be 'officially' thankful for today, I once again realized how thankful I was for the really good atmosphere at my job. Even though it's mostly women's environment it's still a gossip free zone, and even after 2.5 years here, it still amuses me just how understanding most of my colleagues are. I sure am lucky!

Father Issues

It's not the most obvious thing someone would want to be thankful for (and definitely not the nicest thing to say), but my father issues have taught me a lot. For instance, I know for a fact what exactly I'll try my best not to ever let myself tolerate in MY man. And maybe it's a good thing that I'm reminded of it so often. Thank you.

For the Love

Heartbreaks didn't make me a dancer, but definitely made me stronger and wiser. I'm thankful that the hurt is still worth it in the end.

Time

I'm thankful that time follows its own pace. If you let it be, it's not going to fly or go by too slowly. There are really no such things as "better time" and "best years of your life" - the best time is right now, and it's entirely up to you to make sure each year of your existence is worth being called the best. I appreciate my current age and my current youth, I'm not taken aback by the fact that time will pass and that I will age. I appreciate the changes time brings, and I even love my mimic wrinkles. As long as it's natural, it's okay.

iWrite Notes

I'm thankful for my most frequently used iPhone application - Notes! I write so much and so often that putting down my thoughts wouldn't be half as easy without it!.. I write at home when taking a shower, while eating my breakfast, in my bed at night, I write on my way to work and at work, I write in the metro and in cars, I write when out in clubs, I write at grocery stores and when eating out with friends, I write while walking down the street and shopping for clothes... I write whenever and wherever inspiration strikes me.

If you happen to have an iPhone too, what's your favorite app?

Writer's Challenge

To me, the most difficult thing about this blog of mine is having to update every single day. You know, sometimes you're just really busy, sometimes something happens to the internet at home, sometimes you're just very uninspired, sad, angry... Things happen. I wouldn't have it any other way though. Because, firstly, the whole idea of the project would be doomed - everyone can be thankful once a month, but it's daily gratitude that 'takes you places', and secondly, I realize it's a great challenge for the writer in me - I really have to try and put my thoughts into words and preferably do so at least somewhat beautifully. I'm thankful for "The Thank You Project" being a daily project and helping an aspiring writer (me) in need of additional practice.

Are You Ready to Jump?

While I'm at the subject of boat trips, I want to say thank you for the kind of photography such trips allow! As if taking pictures of breathtakingly beautiful waters all around you (like I took on my trip to Tiran Island in Egypt) is not enough, one can take absolutely amazing shots of fellow boat trip companions. I, myself, am not into jumping off boats (or most other water activities or sports for that matter), but I love taking photos of those who are into it, and it looks like I'm not too bad at it, eh?..

Boats & Boat Trips

Now I need to mention that neither me nor my family own a boat or that I even have those boat trips often, but I love them. There's something about a harbor with lots of different boats and yachts moored to it that I find very alluring.

I'm thankful for harbor lights at night, for modern boats incredible designs, for amazing things such boat trips allow us to see...

Nature and Its Creatures

For the most of my young life, I had never quite noticed most things around me, never quite gave all things nature much thought or time. Then something happened and it somehow happened to open my eyes to the world's true beauty, and I'm thankful for it.

My (Web) Space

I'm thankful for all sorts of networking sites! Back when I still had my LiveJournal account I used to enjoy it a lot and have met some truly genuine people through it, some of whom we're still in touch with, like with the darling Sneha. I deleted my MySpace account about a month ago since I was no longer using it, but I'm thankful for having met some awesome people through it too - Mark, Jay, Jack, Ruben... (Jay, you are remembered and missed! RIP) We're no longer in touch with Frank, but I remember we used to talk a lot via ICQ. Facebook has been helping me stay connected with amazing friends I've made through traveling and connected me with new people too, like Didi and Patrick. And now that I have my blog on here, I realize I've been lucky enough to have come across some wonderful personalities already!

Today I'm going to give it up for Rachel. Somewhere along the way this fabulous mom of 3 (you would never tell!) started calling me "the thanksgiving girl", which is easy but somehow I've never came up with that on my own. From now on, however, that's what I'm going to use as my display name on here. When I just started the blog I had my full name visible, but due to certain things (it's not like I'm hiding), decided to do without the last name and came up with the "So Thankful" part, which I was never too happy about. So thank you, Rachel!

Bottled Up

So thankful to my wonderful friend Teddy! There have been quite a few things going on for me that have been leaving me all sad and tired, upset and uninspired, and at some point I started to feel a bit bottled up and realized I really needed to talk to someone... And it just so happened that at the time I could only think of one person who I could turn to with all of those things that have been bugging me lately - to Teddy. I'm thankful he was right there for me when I mentioned I needed to talk, I knew he would. And now that we've talked I feel so much better, most of these things don't even seem like such a big deal to me any more, I know I'll get through. Actually, while we were talking, I even forgot about one of the things that was upsetting me and now feel like it really doesn't matter that much any more. I even feel like he somehow help bring back the spirit of inspiration, yay! Thank you, Teddy! I so can't wait for your birthday to dedicate a personal thankful post to you in the best of my birthday posting tradition!..

Shoe Matters

I miss wearing my Chloe wedge shoes too much - winters in Moscow don't allow for such dressing. But remembering now how much effort and energy was put in finding those shoes in the right size and color that past summer, I realize I'm really thankful I did find them and have the privilege to own. All of that might sound funny though, but oh my, I'd wanted those too much ever since I saw them in that magazine. Love love love them.

/photo courtesy of a friend of mine

Let's Hug It Out

What's better, a hug or a kiss?

I'm all for hugs, I might even be a bit obsessed with them when it comes to the very few people I hold close to my heart. Even when it comes to romantic relationships, if you can't give me the kind of a hug I like, I doubt it we'll get any further. A hug just really makes me feel good, loved, appreciated, cared for and desired... I'm thankful to whoever is responsible for coming up with the idea of hugging!! Yay, let's all live the hug life!

Dear Body

Oh my Gosh. After 3 days of hard work on my bedroom (I'm redecorating it all by myself), I'm finally feeling really really tired.

- 1st day went surprisingly well, and even though it's not often that I move and disassemble furniture, remove plinths and otherwise strip my room off things for 8 hours straight, there was no muscle pain the next day;
- 2d day I woke up feeling perfectly energized and got down to applying masking tape and painting walls, which I've never done before and thought I'd be all sore after, but there was only a little soreness in my back the next day;
- 3d day I still had plenty of energy to do the second layer on three walls and two layers on the fourth wall... And only after I was done the tiredness has arrived.

Still, all this made me realize how much I'm thankful to my body for being so fit and being able to handle all of the above. 8 hours of hard work for 3 days in a row - even I didn't expect I'd perform so well. I guess all the hard work in the gym and at home with barbells and such really pays off, ha. People, do your body good, work out!!

A Superwoman

I'm thankful to life for making me a fighter. I still break down and cry sometimes, but not as often as I used to, and even on my worst days I now always know that I'm going to pick myself up again. Today was not an easy day, but getting through it, I feel like a superwoman. And that is a damn nice feeling! What's more, I feel like there's nothing in this world that I cannot do. Life's downs can be so empowering and for that, I am thankful.

Work the Work, Talking the Talk

I can't say I get to spend a lot of quality time with my immediate family. I do see them often (much more often than I can handle, to be honest) but being with someone in one room, sharing the apartment with them or working together doesn't mean the time spent is real quality communication or interaction. That said, I'm thankful for the time with my brother today. I've started my big room redecoration project finally and had plenty to do today (well, the room is completely empty now), and my dear brother was so helpful, I didn't even really had to ask. So I'm also thankful for his help, but more so for the 8 hours spent working together and talking.

Contacts

I realize that I'm just so very much thankful for contact lenses. Oh thank you, with you life is so much easier!

Honesty

There's this one thing about me that some find amusing, some admire and some loathe. I'm kinda very honest. It's been helpful in life, it's ruined things... I've felt proud because of it, I've been ashamed, I've been confused. But I've always been thankful. Honesty is my art. It's just what I'm good at.

Leggy

Having been thankful for my my face, my hair, my arms and my height already, I feel I need to give thanks for my legs too. I didn't always feel thankful for them though: even though my legs are naturally straight and are just the perfect size for my body, I remember I didn't like my thighs because they seemed too big, and my calfs because they seemed too thin. But seeing what I didn't like and being me, I got down to working out and improving the good I already had. Some 10 years later I'm thankful for what they look like, I love my legs!

If You Care

I'm thankful for people who care. Sometimes some things in life bring us down and make us sad, and it's not always easy to make things right, but knowing that there are people who care always makes me feel so much better. Just knowing that someone cares is a lot already, even if they can't 'physically' help you and the situation never works out in the end. Thank you for caring to those who do.