Thirty days of gratitude: Day 1

It's obvious I can't keep it up here on the blog without some kind of outside structure.

As I thought about November's arrival and the 30 Days of Gratitude/Thankfulness that swirls around social media, it seemed like something I could do: Post a picture every day? Sure, why not? And then I remembered Positively Present's photo challenge and I knew I was on to something! Instagram and gratitude and blogging all rolled into one? Doable with a capital D.

Here's what I'll be posting:

And here's Day 1:

Not a day goes by when color doesn't brighten my world in some way. Either through natural beauty around me or the splash of color I'll add to my outfit or meal, color is a huge spirit-lifter for me. The glassybabies above were gifts from some of my girlfriends at my recent birthday, and their glow is meaningful to me in many ways.

I remember how I first discovered glassybaby (planning our wedding in 2005) and how many times since I have gone into the shop (usually UVillage in Seattle) or online and been reminded and inspired by the founder's story. Color makes my world go round.

Looking forward to a new way of expressing gratitude this month, via photos. Play along if you like!

Sept. 30: Favorite photo

Blogging challenge for today: Show a favorite photo. Why do you love it?

I have a lot of "favorite" pictures, but this one is probably the *most* favorite. Today, anyway. It's Seth's birthday eve, and I'm waxing a bit nostalgic for the little lad of yesteryear. Only sort of, though, as he's such a wonderful very-soon-to-be 17-year-old...

The picture above means so much as it depicts the two people I love most on earth, and to me tells a little story of their relationship, and the love between them. It makes a mom's heart happy.

Jen and I (and now my mom and Lisa too!) are blog challenging throughout September. You can catch her blog over at Stuff Jen Says. If you want to write along with us, give me a shout and I'll send you the blog prompts.