All The Food I Was Thankful For

When I was doing my 365 thanks year, I gave enough of thanks for various food related things, and the other day I was just wondering what specific types of food I had on my thankful menu - here it is: 

- berries and berries + mascarpone

- yogurt and melon

- tiramisu

- rice

- mangos

- chocolate (but of course!) and Lindt chocolate in particular

- peanut butter

- Starbucks' Americano coffee and cheesecakes (which also happenes to be my second post on this blog!)

- scrambled eggs

- wine

- sushi

- caviar

Mmmhmm, most of my favorite foods are right here! But I guess it's no suprise! What foods are you thankful for and would add to YOUR thankful menus?* 

P.S. * I kind of like the idea of such thing as a thankful menu!.. Humm!

Czech It Out: a Silly Thankful Little Thing

While I am a person who truly thinks there's no such thing as a silly thing to be thankful for, I sometimes feel something is smaller in comparison to other things gratitude-wise. This is when I remind myself that these simple things are important: they might be easier to miss and have a bigger chance of going unnoticed, but they're what makes the big picture and no moment of gratitude, no matter how tiny, can be considered un-worthy.

With this being said, it was easy to be thankful for my Prague trip earlier this month, which I've mentioned here, but the thankful experience just wouldn't be the same if I didn't feel ridiculously thankful for the following three things: 

a) Even while booking the trip and arranging everything to get my visa (Sadly, us Russians need visas to travel to most of the world's best destinations - this sucks big time and I am yet to find a good reason to be thankful for it!), I was already thankful for the satisfaction I felt each time I got to use my English language knowledge in a situation where it proved especially useful and where Russian would be of no help at all; 

b) Then while packing for the trip and carrying my luggage all the way over to my hotel in Prague (and back!), I felt excited and thankful that I got to use my smallest case again. The luggage is my favorite but I mostly travel with the bigger one I have - that trip being a weekend trip was the only possible excuse to pack only what's needed!

c) It just felt so good to travel to a place where you know you're wanted and awaited - I was visiting a friend and this feeling of going to the right place was overwhelmingly warm and positive. The feeling of being thankful for making the right travel destination decision had lasted through all of the trip and it was present at every moment. In fact, it's still here when I think back of it!

You get my point, right? No matter how small, silly or unimportant something you feel thankful for seems, you better feel it to the fullest - there's just nothing to lose and the world to gain.

Smokers and Gratitude

Standing in line at one of the local pharmacies, I suddenly smelled some smoke... Thought it was weird, but as nothing seemed to be on fire, I just kept standing. The smell seemed to get a little heavier and the next thought that crossed my mind was that it's probably coming from a new comer who must had been a really nasty smelling smoker. 

When a moment later the smell got seriously disturbing I had to turn around and I couldn't believe my own eyes - there was a guy standing in line with smoke rising from a ciggarette in his hand. The scene was so shocking to me (I wish I could've seen my own face at this time) that my brain didn't even give me a chance to think before I declared my "Woah! Young man! Are you serious?!. Standing in line at a PHARMACY and SMOKING?!. Couldn't you have done it outside before coming in?!." 

I guess it was said in my most sincere manner and in my most disturbed voice with the most amused look in my wide opened eyes as the guy looked me in the eyes, said nothing and left immidiately. It's only a moment later when I saw his back in the doorway that the reality came back to me - speaking thoughtfully for the first time since my thinking was shuttered by shock, I could only remember to give away a loud and sincere "THANK YOU!!"

V'Day

Sending lots of LOVELOVELOVE to all the thankful people on this St. Valentine's Day!

From me to you,

Julia

P.S. The photo's taken last weekend in Prague; it's of me next to Lennon's Wall.

Travelling & Thanking

Two weeks ago on Facebook I asked our fellow thankful facebookers whether they tried to learn saying "thank you" in the language of the country of their destination when they traveled internationally, and was delighted to be reminded that "hello" and "thank you" were the most important.

Personally, I must admit that even though I try, I don't always use my "thankful" language knowledge... It's mostly because I want to sound flawless when I pronunce the word, and when it just doesn't come out perfectly I get shy about actually saying it to locals. I'm thinking now, it's either I should stop wanting to sound like a native and just go for it or start putting in even more effort. Anyways, the reason I had an idea to ask the question was because I had a trip coming up, and now that I'm back from gorgeous Prague, I can thank you in Czech - děkuji! 

What's your story with thanking in other languages? And how many ways can YOU say "thank you"?

Image via