Days 8, 9 and 10

Day 8 - Friday:
After a long week I went to Devil's Lake to enjoy a girl's weekend organized for a good friend's 40th birthday party.

I don't want post a photo of the birthday girl because I didn't ask her for permission.

Day 9 - Saturday

It was the actual birthday and we had a great time, games, laughter and a great meal.  We also squeezed in some shopping and I got a new winter coat.  Red coats make me happy.

Day 10 - Sunday

Home again... it's great to be home and I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.  I enjoyed the weekend with friends but some quiet time alone with my knitting was just the thing.

Day 7

It's been a week already and I like finding the beauty in each day.  I also like the low pressure way that I have refused to define beauty.

Today is the first snowy day but it's not beautiful yet, it's just gray and brown and not very pretty.  However, there is one tree near my office that refuses to let go of autumn.

With the dusting of snow on the ground, the fiery orange leaves are just that much more beautiful.


Since I'm just getting started here I feel as though I need to warn you (if there are any readers out there at all) that you will most likely see repeats during my journey.  There are a few things I love like crazy and you will find different variations of them throughout the year.  This list currently includes, but is not limited to:

• My family - all of it, in-laws, siblings, old, young ... They almost always make me smile so you'll see them periodically through the year.
• Food - I do a lot of baking and sometimes even I think it looks awesome
• Yarn - I play with it every. single. day.  You'll see finished creations and sometimes just a skein of colored fuzziness that just makes me happy inside.
• Nature - I live 'in the country" so I am blessed to see lots of trees, snow, grass, wildflowers, and once in a great while, an animal. 

Days 5 and 6

I'll start with day 5 - Tuesday.  It was a gray, rainy day outside and a stressful day in the office.  Surprisingly this is what I thought was beautiful today:

I went to the gym for Zumba after work.  I used to dread exercise, but after a year of classes I look forward to it.

Day 6: Wednesday

Another rainy day and I didn't see the sun at all.  I spent the day in Pewaukee at a PMI seminar for work.  This was today's beauty...

The best thing about this picture is that this was the state of the plate when staff cleared the table.  It was DELICIOUS, but I held myself to just 1/2 the piece and it was the narrow half.

Day 4

I'll stop putting the date in the title - I just took a second look at the blog and it's really redundant - what with blogger displaying the post date.  

This is the photo for yesterday's post.  Sara is my cousin, my friend and my hairstylist.  She's the best of all three and one of the kindest, most decent people I know.  Her beauty is inside AND out.  While she's many years my junior (let's not discuss how many) I want to be like Sara when I grow up. 

Also - I'm not affiliated with the salon at all but if you want an amazing salon experience and a fabulous haircut visit Serena at Anaala Spa on Atwood Avenue in Madison.  There are multiple Saras at that location so she picked a 'stage name'.


Now for Monday's beauty: it's something I have taken for granted most of my life.

My hands - not that mine are particularly beautiful in the grand scheme of things, but I have had some problems over the last few months that are finally being resolved and my hands are looking and feeling normal again.  It's very difficult to describe what it's like to be all but deprived of your sense of touch.  I had flaky, calloused skin on my fingers for months that eventually impacted my quality of life.  I'm not trying to get pity points here just trying to explain why today I feel like my pudgy, pasty-white hands are beautiful.  I'm able to actually feel the texture of fabric and yarns, and cook without wearing gloves.  I'm feeling blessed today because I can tell I'm on the road to recovery and hope that by the end of this year I'll have all the information I need to either put this behind me, or have the ability to manage my condition moving forward.

Day 3 - 11/6/11

Today was a lovely day - and my everyday beauty was a person.  I've asked permission to post her photo on my blog so the story behind today's beauty will need to wait.

I got a great haircut from a wonderful person and had a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Day 2 - 11/5/11

Today was a beautiful day all around - the weather was nice, I had a great morning with my mother and sister, followed by a Madison Area Crochet Guild meeting.  A day full of friends and smiles.

Today's photo: The birthday roses from my husband are blooming.  They make me smile whenever I see them.

I'm not much of a photographer - using my cellphone probably doesn't help.  Maybe a happy benefit of this project will be better photography skills.

The first day of a new year

Yesterday was my birthday.  No biggie - just another trip around the sun.  I've decided that this year I'm going to look for the beauty in everyday things.  I will find one example of beauty every day for the next 365 days.

Day 1 - 11/4/11

This is the view out my window at work - all things considered it's not bad.  I missed the peak color of those trees, but it's nice being able to look out the office window and see actual nature.  Sometimes there are even deer in the field.