365 Days of Gratitude

January 24, 2013- Sun! It has been dark and dreary for the past few days (weeks, months) but today the sun came out! Everything just seems better when it's sunny, even though the wind chill is still around -20 it doesn't feel nearly as cold and my Vitamin D levels have returned to normal level meaning I am a much happier person! Plus it's Friday, what can't you be grateful for?

January 25, 2013- Snow! A little weird after I was so excited for sun yesterday I know, but the snow when we were walking downtown today was absolutely beautiful! It made everything feel like Christmas again, all that was needed was the lights.

January 26, 2013-Ice Cream Sundaes! Meal hall had Sundae Sunday and it was pretty perfect. especially after not really wanting good ice cream for a while now.

My sundae, complete with chocolate peanut
butter ice cream and lots of cherries

January 27, 2013- Talking! AUNBT and UNB Administration have finally decided to start talking again!! This is great news and hopefully we will be back in class before long.

Never have I been more excited with the prospect
of going to class

January 28, 2013- Snow Games! It's Tibbits week this week, and today we had floor wars, aka we got to play outside in the snow! It was so much fun! I miss the days where you just kind of roll around in the snow not really caring about much like we did when we were younger, or the times spent building an imaginary snow fort and "hiding" in it!

January 29, 2013- A Beautiful Campus! UNB may be on strike right now, but it is still the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Looking around reminds me part of the reason why I came here!

The sunset over campus. I love the old
brick and how clear the sky is!

January 30, 2013- Coffee! Some days you need a little coffee to make it through. Today was one of those days, working at 5:45 kills my sleep schedule, but thankfully after a cup of coffee I can make it through my morning shift somewhat alive. Today we also walked downtown, and I got so much work done at a coffee shop. Sometimes distractions are great for focusing. 

January 31, 2013- Skating! The City of Fredericton has skating rinks all over town! I went to Odell Park today and had so much fun! The rink may not be in the best of shape but it was a blast. I'm starting to become more comfortable on the ice in my skates again, after skating very rarely over the past three or four years, and am a lot more confident than I was earlier this week!

Odell Park's rink. It was rough and had a weird slope
but it was possibly the most fun I have ever had on ice!

365 Days of Gratitude

I realize I have been slacking in terms of my 365 gratitude posts, but I have been keeping up to date with them (not always with photos because my phone is having battery issues). Here they are:

January 5- Cars and Open Road. A little broad I know, but  I love driving/ being a passenger. I don't like sitting still for long periods of time, but it isn't quite as bad when you're moving while sitting still. I was lucky enough to drive back to Fredericton with a friend, which is so much better than taking the bus (not that all my stuff would have fit on a bus anyway).

January 6- Professors. I was more than a little stressed out for a few of my classes today, especially since I had just changed my major from BSc Kin to BRSS ( a minor change, but a change none the less) and wa going to be taking classes unlike I have taken before, but it turns out I have awesome profs this semester and the courses I was most worried about have quickly become my favorites.

January 7- Early Morning Devotions and Tea. I sometimes like early mornings, and starting them off with readings, tea, a workout and a shower is the best!!

January 8- Salt. The sidewalks are pure ice. The salt is the only thing that makes it possible to get to class in one piece.

January 9- Early Morning Quiet. Every morning I worked this week I walked down and nobody was there to open the door. Apparently 5:45 really means 5:50, but today instead of getting angry, I decided I was going to take a moment and appreciate the silence around me, knowing the campus would soon be alive with the hustle and bustle of another day.

January 10- Hockey Games. I love hockey games, and I love that UNB gives us free admission!

January 11- Crazy Friends for Crazy Adventures on the Ice. It was a little rainy and slippery beyond belief, but we decided to go to the mall anyway! It was a fun afternoon, sliding down the hill as we were trying to go up, falling on our butts and getting soaked, but we made it (and safely cabbed back on the not icy roads)

January 12- A Good Book and a London Fog. Nelson Mandela is a pretty cool guy, with a pretty cool book. What makes it even better is the London Fog from Second Cup.

January 13- Trading Shifts. I was supposed to work every Monday morning for two hours, now I am working every Tuesday night for 3 hours. I am satisfied.

January 14- The Right to Strike. It sucks that our profs are going on strike, but  it is great that we live in a country where we can protest for the things we believe we are owed.

January 15- Cute Children. I taught Le Petit  tennis today, aka tennis for 3-5 year olds, they're adorable.

January 16- Thriving Schools. I was volunteering at an elementary school with 44 students and 8 staff members. They have an artist in residence

January 17- Community Pride. Tonight was elementary school night at the VREDS hockey game, and the game was SOLD OUT! It was crazy. And a great game to boot!

January 18- Walking. No cabs for this girl. Walking all the way, even after the movies :)

January 19- Being Productive. Sat at 2 coffee shops, finished 2 papers, life is good.

January 20-Kin Kids. They're adorable. I also really got to know some of them pretty good today which as nice.

January 21- A Job. Even though sometimes I hate working, like today when it was 6 hours straight it is great to have a source of income other than my student loan.

January 22- Curling. I love curling. Even though I had five games in six days and my legs are hating on me it's still great.

January 23- Sunrise. Makes getting up for work with it to see the sunrise on the way back up the hill.

365 Days of Gratitude

There are 365 days in a year. 52 weeks. 12 months. 8760 hours. 525600 minutes. 31 536 000 seconds. All too often we waste those precious minutes, seconds, hours worrying or being angry when we could be practicing gratitude. I saw a video the other day on a cool photo project that was done and decided this year I will take photos similar to this project and post weekly (more or less) updates on here.

January 1st- A New Year, A New Beginning. 2013 was a great year by every stretch of the imagination. I had the job of a lifetime (which hopefully will be a possibility again this year), made some big decisions and made some great friends and had memorable experiences. That being said I also made mistakes, I learned from them and know 2014 will be a chance to continue to make mistakes, continue to learn and to make new memories and new trails. We rang in the new year at a family friends house, then came home and watched the ball drop! Even though I wasn't in the city with friends it was great to see family and spend some time with them!

Watching the ball drop has become a tradition for our whole family
 now, despite the fact it's an hour later than our New Year.

January 2nd- My Dogs. Cliché I know, but these two are the loves of my life and I miss them like crazy when I am away (so about 11 months of the year). They each have their own unique personalities. The brown weird coloured one (Hunter) is a dog in every sense of the word. He chews on things. He jumps. He gets into absoutely everything. Just as you're about to get mad at him he looks at you with his cute little eyes and his furry little face and your heart melts, then he makes it all worse by jumping up and cuddling while watching TV, or waking you up in the morning with cute little puppy kisses. The black one (Rockey) is older, he just wants to be loved, he will worm his way under your hand and all of a sudden you are patting him. This morning, when they were left alone for a few minutes Hunter started yapping   and Rockey ran upstairs, cuddled up beside me in my bed and took a nap.  They're the cutest.

Tim Hortons cups are all his latest favorite chew toys

Just look at that face... he sucks you in

January 3rd- A Warm House. Another cliché I know, but today was a day I was ever so grateful for a roof over my head and heat. It was a blizzard outside, blowing snow, minus 11 and win gusts up to 70 kph. Craziness. I feel for anyone who is homeless during these cold months and pray they find shelter somewhere warm.

January 4th- Sun. After a few days of clouds and snow the sun makes everything seem better. It is also really pretty on the large amount of snow we have on the ground. Everytime I see a super sunny day all I want to do is be outside. Too bad it's still -15 before windchill, just going to have to enjoy that sunshine through the window today

The view from my bedroom, sun and beautiful
snow what more could I want

Well that's about it for now, I'll post some more in a few days :) If you're interested here is the original video that inspired this project:

http://www.upworthy.com/you-take-zillions-of-photos-with-your-cellphone-why-not-try-something-new-with-them?c=ufb1


Until next time,
Britt