Peaceful Mornings

As I am all in a dreamy vacation mood these last couple of days, I've been reminscing about past trips to beach side destinations... One of the things I really like and always thankful for is waking up early and soaking up the sun by the pool while most of a resort guests are still fast asleep. Such mornings are peaceful, and it totally feels like the world revolves around you...

Chair Enthusiast

I'm thankful for my chair design enthusiasm. It gets ridiculous at times, but it brings too much joy!

P.S. The photo above is taken in Milan. Milan must be one of the coolest cities when it comes to display windows of all sorts!

That Night

No matter how long ago it happened, and what happened or didn't happen after, I'm thankful that it was. And I actually really like it that by this photo above it's impossible to tell who, what, where and when... Ha.

Full of Thanks

It's amazing to see the rise of various mission or daily happiness projects meant to spread the positivity that are documented online - i ♥ strangers, Operation Smiley Face, My Year In Haiku etc. Personally, I think it means that more people want to make this world a better place and they're starting with themselves... Inspiring, isn't it?

I'm thankul for coming across, being refered to or found by those amazing people behind these positively inspiring projects. Each such project is unique in its nature and each person behind it is someone you can get inspiration from. With that being said, I want to introduce you to another such person on a mission - Sandy and the 1000 Paper Cranes. Sandy was inspired by the true story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, and what impressed me the most about Sandy's project is how serious she took it long before the project went public. The crane maker girl took enough time (a year or so!) to carefully choose the best 1000 positive and inspiring words to put on each of her paper cranes! Yesterday marked the release of the Thankful Crane pictured above, read more about it here.

Photo courtesy of Sandy.

Sunsets

I am thankful for sunsets! Reminds me that I need to just take the time and watch the sun set - from the beginning of it till the very end, not doing anything else, but just watching... Can you believe I've never done that? God, I'm totally missing out on life. Shame on me.

Commute to Work

My office might not be situated in the most fabulous area of the city, but getting to see something like this every day when leaving work during the colder months of the year is sure enough a good thing to be thankful for! The sunsets are fantastic.

GUM's Art Installations

I'm thankful for GUM Department Store's art installations. The idea is relatively new and it's such a good one - definately provides extra entertainment and artful education to one's shopping or cultural routine both for locals and Moscow's guests!

The photo above is taken during one such art installation dedicated to Moschino fashion brand and the history of its boutiques' best display windows worldwide. And if you know me, you know I just couldn't ignore the chairs!

Countryside Thankfullness

While I'm still here at our family's dacha, I've came up with enough things to be thankful for, but I'll outline just a few:

• I'm thankful for the kind of modern technology that lets you have internet connection anywhere your cell phone would have a signal. Otherwise, how would I update my blog?
  

• And the second good thing to be thankful for is for the fact that Mr. Rhett Butler is still alive and healthy - he ate a bee yesterday and this freaked us all out. Thankfully, the bee didn't bite him on the tongue or throat, because then we'd have a HUGE problem.

Breakfast on the Red Square

I'm thankful for having been able to take a day off today and for having used this perfect opportunity to have a breakfast on the Red Square... Pure perfection.

Celcius / Farenheit

Celcius / Farenheit

It's so hot in Moscow and I'm so thankful I don't mind it at all.

Water!

I feel so thankful now for making it to the final 17 in the GOOD's Water Picture Show contest! And not just because being featured was something I dreamt of ever since I joined their website a year ago, but even more so for reminding me to give it up for water! I am sincerely amused I haven't yet done so until today. There were thanks for the sea world, for boat trips, for swimming pools, for bubble baths and showers even... High time I devote a thankful post to clear waters and the staple of life - drinking water! Please take a look at all the amazing water photography submissions HERE, and, if you like what you see, vote for my picture! To vote you need to leave a comment saying you're voting for photo #9 by Julia Osovskaya. Out of all people, you know I am the one who would be truly thankful, right?...

P.S. For more of my photos from the series entered for the contest, you can check out this thankful post or take a look at the event on Facebook.

Be Smart & Have the Balls

On my way home from work yesterday I got caught in a pouring rain. And if you've been thankful with me for a while and remember those other funny work related things that happened to me this year (like this one time I ended up being bare legged at work or had my butt covered in chocolate), I'm guessing you anticipate another funny tale. You're not going to be dissapointed, and this time I even have a picture!

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So, I got caught in a pouring rain and I absolutely couldn't bear a thought of my shoes getting wet, so I just bought two plastic grocery bags and put them on my feet and walked home like that... making quite a few passerbies smile, as you can imagine!.. Thanks universe for putting me near a grocery store at the time when it started raining heavily!

Picnic No. 2

Having accomplished our second picnic this summer, I want to say thanks to those of my friends who made it here to my area yesterday allowing me to take Mr. Rhett Butler for a day out with us. My dog is not a fan of the underground traveling so if it wasn't for the gathering nearby my place, he would not be able to join us and would miss all the fun!..

Berries

I am so very thankful for yet another nature's wonder - berries! So small and beautiful and packed with nutrients! (Did I just rhyme that?) My personal favorites are bilberries, blueberries, blackberries amd black ash berries... Berries, berries, berries! This even sounds so fun and merry, eh? What are your favorites?

City Boat Trips

Even if boat trips I seem to like so very much usually allow for a more fantastic scenery and more fun activities once it's an open seas trip, I've realized city boat trips can be just as much fun. So if I can't travel to a seaside destination just yet, I'd take the best boat trip the Moscow River has to offer and be thankful for it! P.S. All above links lead to picture posts and if you love water themed photography I suggest you take a look!

Ticking Off

Don't you enjoy the feeling you get when you tick off things on your to do lists? My favorite would have to be lists of items/experiences I want/need to buy/afford but can't get my hands on right away or get all of them at once. That's when I need to really figure out my finances and make it work somehow. I need to mention, not all such lists end up being ticked off fully, or even within one year, but those lists bring the most satisfaction. Or maybe I just love an occasional confirmation of my amazing money management skills, ha.

Speaking of lists and ticking off, I thought I'd include a photo of this t-shirt... And wondering now, what would YOU tick off on it for the whole world to see?

Naomi

Thanks to my friend's new kitten (her 3d day at new home) for being such a friendly little thing and letting me tease, tickle, squeeze and play with her!

Mondays

This might sound unusual, but I realized I liked Mondays. They're like new beginnings - bring new hopes, new goals, new accomplishments. I'm thankful to Mondays, because I get to wake up early and enjoy my early morning breakfast, not feeling sleep-deprived like it sometimes happens later in the week, and I'm thankful to Mondays, because I get to reminisce about the good weekend that passed but is still fresh in my memory, and I am thankful to Mondays, because I look forward to an upcoming weekend with a positive attitude and determination to spend it even better than the one just passed.

Thank You Too! / Winners! /

It's only natural that today I am thankful to Hugo and Joachim, my partners in thankful crime, for making the Thank You Too! Contest possible! We loved reading your incredibly touching personal thankful experiences and it definately wasn't easy to choose just three stories, in Hugo's words - "they all deserve to win!"

So, the thankful new owners of Thank You Cards booklets are:

Emily, Peter & Leah

Congratulations, guys! Please check your emails (maybe check your spam folder too in case you can't find it in your inbox) and reply with your full postal addresses, if you still haven't done so.

Huge thanks to everyone who entered the contest and shared their beautiful stories, if you are thankful you are always a winner, you can trust me on this one!..

Horses

So, I kind of remembered that I really like horses. Horses in general and riding them too, which I wish I did more of.. Can't even remember when was the last time I did!.. So today, I'm going to give my thanks to these beautiful creatures that have been serving humankind well for so so long now.

P.S. And because I don't really have a nice picture of a real horse, I thought I'd post a picture of a really nice door handle instead taken here in Moscow (one can guess where) - it's horse shaped, after all!..

What are YOU thankful for?
Come share a story and win a little thankful something!