Five Favorites

So often I get bogged down in all the rainy old busyness of life and start counting my have-nots and my I-wishes more than my many blessings! So I'm going to try a nice easy gratefulness remedy half-lifted from one of my childhood favorites, The Sound of Music: a simple list of, say, five favorite things every Friday. 

Five Activities to Get Out of a Dead-of-Winter Funk 

1.) Take a long walk in the woods, alone or with a somebody. We did this a few weeks ago while visiting Karl's family and even though it was cold and crunchy instead of wintery and wonderland-y, I could just feel it doing me good! There's a lovely quote in one of the Sissi movies that goes: "Wenn du einmal im Leben Kummer und Sorgen hast, dann geh mit offenen Augen durch den Wald." Which roughly translates as: When you have stress and suffering in life, take a walk through the forest with open eyes." And I must say, corny as it is (and corny is pretty much the calling card of all the Sissi Movies) it holds true for me. Something about nature just gets me back on the right track!

2.) Make holiday cards for friends and family! I am not anywhere near as crafty as those amazing DIYers out there but even with our very limited skill set, Karl, Sophie, Pete and I enjoyed sitting down together earlier this week and throwing some glitter and yarn at colored paper. Makes you feel like a kid again and I think recipients appreciate the extra personal touch. (Stay tuned, I may work up the courage to show off our amateur handiwork)

3.) Bake cookies. Duh! Then eat all the dough and have to make a new batch.

4.) Listen to Christmas music...from somewhere else! Whether you discover a new favorite advent tune or have fun hearing familiar songs in  foreign tongues, this is definitely one to try. I love introducing non-native English speakers to Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire. It's not well know outside the US but I think it perfectly captures the Christmas spirit everywhere! I recommend trying Es ist ein Ros Entsprungen, a beautiful Marian Hymn from 1609 and I think of all languages Silent Night is most transporting in french: Douce Nuit, Sainte Nuit.

5.) Write it down! Since I started this blog as a way to keep myself accountable to a diary of sorts, this one is big for me. Have you're family write a one page Christmas journal to be sealed up until next year. Then, you can all open them and see what 2014 felt like in the moment, and what you're hopes for 2015 were. Then rinse and repeat! In a few years you'll have lots of letters to read through and a festive chronicle of the years going by. 

Hopefully I'll get through these favorite five in time for Christmas, or at least start smelling the roses more while trying.

Look up at the Sky!

-Zanna