Thankful Thursday

It's that time again -- time to take a moment to focus on gratitude and the things for which I'm thankful. This week, I'm thankful for:

• Getting the chance to get out with the camera and get creative for a bit. It felt good to rekindle my joy in photography and I'm very happy with some of the shots I took. Thanks, too, go to Will, a professional photographer from Colorado who I met as we were both shooting pics near the Capitol. He was kind enough to offer suggestions and pass on bits of his knowledge.
  


• Getting to see my nephews this upcoming weekend. The older of the 2 boys is 4 years old, so Christmas is pretty magical to him this year. I love getting to be part of that.



• Getting to spread a little holiday joy. Each year, we take a group of dancers to the Armed Forces Retirement Home's holiday party. It's a chance to dance with and for the veterans, spend some time talking to them, and in general, just spreading a little goodwill. It's one of my favorite holiday traditions & will take place tomorrow evening.



• The wonderful massage I got last weekend. As a dancer, I beat my body up on a pretty consistent basis. Last weekend was no exception since our gig on Sat night was 7 hrs long and we were dancing on a marble floor. I was most definitely sore after that!! But, since this wasn't the first time we'd done this event, I knew to expect being sore & scheduled a massage for Sunday. My last 3 massages really didn't do much to help; they were nice, but my muscles fight back/require a bit of convincing that they need to release & the past couple of massages I had never reached that point. This time, however, was different -- I went to a new place & this new massage therapist was fantastic!! I'm still feeling the benefits!! And, since this place was considerably less expensive than the other places I'd tried, not to mention more conveniently located, you can bet I'll be going back!!
  
  
• The adorable ornaments I got from Mindi. There's a music clef that represents my dancing and a beautiful bird that can either be hung conventionally or can be clipped onto a tree branch as if it's perching. Pics will be coming as soon as I change the batteries in my camera. Thanks, Mindi -- They are perfect!!
  
  
• Hearing that the package I shipped for my neices and nephews in Vancouver, BC arrived yesterday. Last year, it didn't get there until the 2nd week of January, even tho I shipped it around the same time. There's a strike going on in some of the Canadian postal system, so I was worried this year would be the same, despite being told 5-10 days when I shipped it. Glad to know it made it!!

So, that's my list today. What's on yours?