Happy Monday, friends!  I wanted to share some tidbits from my life last week as well as an accompanying photo recap with selections from my Instagram feed with you.  Here’s the buzz:

It’s hard to believe that we’re already embarking on the second quarter of the year with the end of March.  Life sure zips along quickly!  The way I slow down time is by taking a moment to appreciate the little things.  Some people find this quality juvenile and in some sense of the word it is.  Do you remember how slowly time ticked by when you were a kid?  How come it seems to pick up the pace so much once we enter adulthood?  It’s no trick.  Most of us were able to appreciate the little things when we were children, because we hadn’t yet been taught that it’s a “waste of time” to do so by our culture’s laser focus on productivity (read: making money).  My secret to stretching out and holding onto time when I feel it revving up to an almost frantic pace is through finding joy in the little things: the rich color of an herbal tea, spring snow clinging to tree branches, nibbling on cookies while reading a good book, the beautiful bubbles and patterns in the tub from bath products.  The list could go on and on.  I do all of this and still manage to be pretty darn productive in my opinion.  I wish everyone could know this secret and that it is not a waste of time to enjoy the little things.  It is, in fact, a gift of time.

While I’ve always been the kind of person who delights in what others may find small and inconsequential, I have struggled in my adulthood with finding the joy in everyday nutrition.  Don’t get me wrong, I love food, particularly when it comes to individual things, such as pickles, chocolate, berries, avocados, peas, and ice cream, just to name a few of my favorites.  I’ve noticed over the years that I don’t take the time to appreciate the complete picture of my nutrition even though I do make an effort to eat mostly healthy fare.  I often find myself eating a meal without really thinking about it.  Common meal time distractions for me like watching YouTube videos, flipping through catalogues, and surfing the web don’t help, either.  Every so often I realize I’m not paying attention to the actual act of eating and will work on bringing my attention back to it, but it’s never sticked before and I think that’s because I don’t treat my meals, mainly breakfast and lunch, as special.  You might be scratching your head wondering why I’m going on about this, but consider how important food is to our well-being.  It’s literally what fuels us.  So why not treat every meal with respect and attention?  While I generally stick to my 80/20 rule of healthy vs. indulgent nutrition, which is a healthy balance for me, I have a feeling really committing to this principle of eating with awareness will make a big difference in my general health.  I’m going to give it a real go and I’ll report back once I’ve given it some time.

My weekend was packed with lots of prep work as I prepared this week’s content in advance since I will be traveling most of the week.  I’m excited about my upcoming posts and can’t wait to share them with you!  I also posted a couple of times this past weekend, including a new Book Nook and a Cook Nook where I share the recipe for paska bread, an Easter tradition in my family.  I’m feeling so energized about posting here and on my YouTube channel lately and am working on falling into a better routine with it.  From what I gather in the comments, you guys are enjoying my content lately, too.  This brings me great joy and I hope to continue to be able to share in a way that makes us feel connected.

You might have noticed I’m feeling rather introspective in this post and that definitely reflects my current mood.  Last week I spent some time at my Grandma Betty’s condo with my family for the last time.  She’s moving out to San Diego this week to live with my aunt and uncle.  I applaud her courage and enthusiasm to take on this new chapter of her life at 94 years young, as she likes to say.  Grandma wanted us to come by and pick things we’d like to keep of hers, since she’s not taking much with her.  Going through her things and talking about the stories behind family treasures was a bittersweet experience, as I am sad we won’t live so close anymore but am also so happy she’s finally going to be reunited with her daughter on a permanent basis (they get along like two peas in a pod!).  I am so grateful I’ve been able to spend time and get close to my Grandma and can’t wait to visit her and the family in California.

I vlogged a bit from my day with Grandma and the family last week if you’d like to “meet” this special lady:

I’d love to hear from you if you care to share your favorite kinds of small moments and little things.  I find it fascinating to learn what brings others joy.  We’re all different in our preferences, opinions, and feelings, and yet the same in so many ways.  In sharing our differences within the context of our broader similarities we are able to develop connections that can cross borders and barriers of all kinds.  Sharing is caring.
I hope you all have a wonderful week filled with small and big moments that bring you joy!

* This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are genuinely my own. *