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• Getting a good, early start to the day.
• Falling in love with Evgeni Plushenko because of this. SO MANY LEVELS OF AWESOME.
• Figure skating drama. Love it.
• HOCKEY. Oh my god, I have gone from having zero interest to being riveted by it in the span of one game!
• Finishing my Grace In Small Things project! It’s done!

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Pushing myself & doing something outside of my comfort zone by joining the Learn To Run Faster group instead of the Learn To Run group in the SunRun inTraining. This means nonstop running instead of running + walking in my training. Today = 44 minutes nonstop. Insanity!
• Back to back labs. Feels good to get them over with.
• Having a near meltdown over approaching exams (and not having enough time to be prepared for them), and responding by clearing my head, approaching the calendar once again to calculate that I’ll actually have just enough time. Thank you God!
• Having friends that share my school panic and actually care enough to converse for over an hour about our respective directions in university study (or lack thereof).
• The walk of shame to buy a chocolate bar after a run. I literally went out of my way to avoid running into another member of my run group on my way home with my stash. It’s like I’m a relapsing drug addict or something! hehe

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Getting stuff done I’ve been putting off since forever.
• Watching a video of my recent dance competition. I didn’t cringe to death, but I did realize that my legs are NEVER. STRAIGHT. at any given point in our cha cha routine, which is like the #2 biggest mistake. But at least I can see it now!
• Dancing barefoot. (Granted, the circumstances – having a blister develop on my upper heel mid practice – were not something to celebrate, but it gave me an excuse to dance barefoot regardless!)
• The dying sting of a wound to my pride every time I see you. Somehow, it makes me chuckle.
• That amazing feeling of crawling into bed after feeling absolutely dead on your feet.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Getting a massive amount of work done in one day. Way to kick off the week!
• Pilates. Have you ever tried this? Because holy crap, MY ABS. Intense.
• Doing adulty things like paying bills and responding to calls.
• Catching a little more Olympic fever.
• Writing so much I get hand cramps.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Canada’s first gold on home soil!
• Drive, walk and dinner with the family.
• Getting surprised by a box of chocolate. For meeee!
• Not celebrating Valentine’s day in any way or form (besides eating chocolate, which did not come in a heart-shaped box). I don’t particularly care either way, but after a string of odd Valentine’s days, I like having an uncomplicated, average Sunday one.
• Figure skating! Eeee.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Canada car flags everywhere. GO CANADA GO!
• Having an afternoon to myself for once.
• Going for a run in the cold evening. 20 minutes straight!
• Getting into (watching) olympic sports, like woman’s moguls!
• Lights off by 11:15 p.m. Developing a habit.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Grabbing a pair of those adorable red mittens everyone and their mother are wearing around here.
• Getting up at 5:30 a.m. to track Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger down and get a picture of him carrying the torch.
• Tracking down Arnold Schwarzenegger and being lucky enough to see (and get a picture of) his face.
• Breakfast at The Naam before 9 a.m. I love me some croissantwich!
• Grocery shopping at Whole Foods in West Vancouver. Trendy rich white people say what? I love grocery shopping in uppity food markets, not going to lie. Guilty pleasure.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• The olympic torch passing through our neighborhood!
• Going back to places you haven’t been in awhile.
• Standing under the light display at the maritime museum.
• Having the good sense to beat the crowds by bringing a lightweight, fold up chair.
• Realizing its really happening.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• New design up! It was definitely time for a change. As usual, it features little to no color and a monochromatic scheme. It’s definitely different from anything else I’ve ever had in terms of content layout. Let me know what you think!
• Having a lazy day, yet starting my day at 8 a.m. (This is what happens when you go to bed early! Love it.)
• First day of SunRun 10K training. Chanel, meet your running shoes.
• Working out fail: premeditating how you will gain back the calories (in chocolate bars) you are about to burn exercising. (For the record? That chocolate bar was DAMN good right up until the last bite, at which point I spent the next hour feeling as if I had really overdone it on the chocolate. Basically, the lesson here is to not wolf down an entire chocolate bar in a couple minutes just because you haven’t had one in ages.)
• Putting back together the pieces of my life routine. Oh, how I missed thee!

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Taking that first, hardest step to getting back on track.
• Making smart decisions when it comes to late night sweet fixes.
• Standing in the winter sun, feeling the sun absorbing into my skin. Somehow, this is infinitely more desirable and tolerable than the summer sun, which I normally avoid like the plague because it seems to drain all my energy.
• Going to bed before midnight, again. I finally feel like my life is getting back on track again in terms of personal habits.
• Remembering important deadlines, instead of forgetting them subsequently panicking the next day hoping it’s not too late.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Sunny, summer-like days. IN FEBRUARY. Love!
• Getting an opportunity to attend the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies dress rehersal. FOR FREE.
• Waffles (with strawberries and whipped cream) at 11pm at Hamburger Mary’s on Davies. Mmmm. Also, watching Rita drink not one but two whole GIGANTIC milkshakes in one sitting. Ridiculous.
• Meeting more sweet, lovely people.
• Having my entire family home, safe.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• The most delicious dinner I’ve ever had at a dinner party.
• Homemade Ice cream cake. Mmmm!
• Excellent company and lots of laughs.
• Sweet, sweet souls.
• Having my own personal Pilates instructor for a couple minutes. Your leg can go higher – higher – higher! Point your toes – more – more – more! Straighter legs – straighten! Good!

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Surviving what might be the craziest day I’ve ever had.
• A huge table-long potluck feast of the most delicious pasta dishes I’ve ever had. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten more in one sitting!
• Continually challenging my comfort zone by competing and dancing in front of an audience again, this time at the salsa club at the HoJo.
• Getting into the “zone”; I never though I’d be the person who suddenly came alive when in the spotlight and on stage (as opposed to freezing or becoming more reclusive) but apparently I am. I actually like dancing when people are watching. Its not entirely uncomfortable anymore. I feel like this is crazy! ridiculous! also, ground breaking!
• Sweet, sweet bed rest after the longest day ever.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Interesting car conversations. Let me tell you, you haven’t lived until you’ve sat in on a conversation between two 45 year old women about how their man’s sperm in their bodies has protected them from various cancers.
• Hitting high G in choir practice confidently. Go sopranos!
• Having the best friend’s birthday package arrive early, and being there (at least, over the telephone) when she opened it. Somehow, this bridges the thousands of miles between us.
• Going to bed before midnight. This is happening more and more frequently, which means a pattern/habit is developing. :)
• Being realistic about what I’m doing and how much I can accomplish in a week. In other words: you need to plan for the days when you feel like doing nothing.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Internet, meet Chanooki.
• Dressing up to imitate someone else and mock an internet trend (doppelganger week on Facebook) at the same time.
• Talking to someone I’ve seen around but never “met”. I didn’t initiate it and yet, it was effortless. Pleasant. Surprising. Ironic.
• A beautiful sunny, cloudless, blue sky, green grass, “you’d swear it’s summer” winter day. Thank you, Vancouver.
• Realizing real men go after what they want.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Finding unexpected things in unexpected places.
• Tim Horton’s ice capps. A guilty pleasure, but only in the small size and before it starts to melt!
• Buying groceries and having to bus them home. I am probably the only person on earth who enjoys this.
• French baguettes and olive tapenade! Mmm.
• Paying other people’s bills with their money. The cute, mundane, grown up-y feeling without the pain of having to pony up the contents of your own bank account.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• The 80s hipster-meets-flashdance look.
• Positive teacher comments on doing something right, especially when you’ve had so much trouble doing in right in the past. Feels good!
• More pilates: planks and lotus crunches!
• Going to bed early.
• Finding a use for clothing you swore you’d find a way to wear years ago but have otherwise since collected dust.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Dancing the rumba barefoot.
• Making attempts at pilates, even on days where you’re extremely sleep deprived and have zero energy. A for effort!
• Starting a new month.
• Attacking that growing stack of unreplied emails.
• The vast amount of space “gained” from simply putting away all the clothing that was scattered on the bedroom floor in attempts to find something wearable.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Having it finally hit me that yes, the olympics are happening—and holy cow, they’re happening HERE. For real! (Yes, delayed reaction.)
• Grabbing a quick dinner at Yohan Market food court and being the only 3 non asians in the entire mall. Only in Richmond!
• Shopping for paint and home renovation supplies in a faux fur lined winter jacket and 4 inch mockodile peeptoe pumps. This is what you call blending in with your surroundings.
• Cinnamon melt. Mmmmmmm.
• Walking by the water, even if it’s just the Fraser river.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• One crazy day. Church, choir practice, dance competition, dance party/practice, bed.
• Concrete, off-the-dancefloor tips for improving my dancing: at least 2 weeks of pilates, and “strutting around” in skyscraping heels everywhere (around the house and when I go out) until I can keep my LEGS! STRAIGHT! in the latin dances.
• First choir performance in church. It’s so cool because we’re looking out into the congregation, sitting behind the pastor during his sermon and we can see EVERYONE and exactly what they’re doing. Once you’ve seen things from this perspective, you’ll never fall asleep in church again!
• Friends who appreciate becoming a social recluse as much as you do. Have I ever mentioned that I have the best friends in the world? Because I do. Hardly anyone else would understand this concept.
• Compliments in critique that make Inner Chanel go “hehehehe” and do a happy dance inside.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Great friends who can give balanced perspective on things I am not really in a position to judge.
• Choir practice. Have I mentioned how much I love choir? Because yes, I love choir. And I love love love this medley of four songs that we’re singing for special music tomorrow. :)
• Getting something done that is 1) overdue and 2) been weighing on my mind all week. It feels so good to have that out of my hands now.
• Eating in the mall food court alone, listening to my mp3 player and watching people. Have you ever tried this? Because you really should. It’s absolutely fascinating.
• Public transit. Don’t hate. I love it.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Listening to a cute vet give a lecture on dental health.
• Staying up until 4am. What am I, 14 again?
• Playing with fire.
• Discovering how easy it is to be a homewrecker.
• Introspection. It’s been awhile.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Apple naming their new product iPad. And just the iPad in general. Really, Apple? Way to disappoint.
• Having one of those days where all you can seem to do is think about how little direction you have in life, and somehow, not be terrified of that.
• Long, casual “about nothing in particular yet surprisingly deep” phone conversations.
• My first plaid print shirt (made of linen, not the normal plaid fabric) … for $5. It’s grey and white, of course, and yes, I jump on trends as they’re ending.
• The cute tomboy look.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Sweet, glorious, cloudless-sky SUNSHINE!
• Using something that has been available to you all along and only now realizing how valuable it is.
• Walking the dog on a beautiful sunny morning. Makes me realize how many things I am grateful for.
• Writing essays you expect to be painful but end up being not so bad.
• Realizing when to quit something and move on to the next thing in order to make the best of time.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• When my heart and mind start cooperating for a change.
• Finally feeling as if I’ve hit a couple breakthroughs in my training.
• Attempting balance between school, social and personal.
• Youtube makeup tutorials. I don’t wear much makeup so these aren’t exactly useful for me, but I absolutely love watching them.
• Friends who give you good perspective on things.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Getting to know acquaintances better.
• Coming home at 2:30 A.M.
• Having a surprisingly productive day for such little sleep.
• Organizing things that have been disorganized for so long.
• Working out. Trying to develop this into a daily habit!

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• The color black, even if it’s not technically a “color”.
• Learning a lesson, even if it’s tough to swallow.
• The european customary greeting.
• Watching this couple dance. I am in love.
• Compliments given without ulterior motivations.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Backless dresses.
• White nail polish.
• Being inspired to write.
• Analyzing, judging and making predictions.
• Sweet friends.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Trying out the bath pillow I got for Christmas, and soaking in a scorching hot tub after freezing my ass off all morning.
• Taking that module-end exam I’ve been putting off and being surprised by how much easier it was than I had expected it to be.
• Catching up with Facebook messages after having an awful dream that people were actually ANGRY with me for not replying them. :(
• Sauteed onions. Ohhhh lord how did I go almost two decades without loving these.
• My best friend’s artwork. She is so ridiculously talented, and even though I’ve seen much of her work over the many years I’ve known her, it never ceases to delight me!

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Finally getting that essay I had been putting off since FOREVER done. It was not as bad as I had expected.
• Working out for the first time since Christmas. (Yes, I’m awful.)
• Healthy, light, small-portioned, frequent meals.
• Instant curried Lentil soup with all of 5 ingredients that I can both 1) pronounce and 2) recognize.
• My dog showing remarkable improvement. Words cannot describe how happy this makes me.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Dress shopping on a 1.5 hour time limit. Found one for under $25 CAD at XXI (Canadian version of Forever 21). This is what I call efficient shopping!
• American Apparel’s nail polish in “Office”. Love this color.
• The smell of all Hollister / Abercrombie & Fitch stores. They might scare me, but they smell soooo goood.
• 2 hours of Latin ballroom instruction: very informative, and THANK GOD IT WASN’T THE JIVE. Because I probably would have died. That is all.
• 11pm pizza run to the hole-in-the-wall pizza store across from Joyce Skytrain Station. Deliciiious. (Tip: ranch on pizza – makes junk food even fattier, but omg SO GOOD.)

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• My dog not needing sedation for his x-rays. This is pretty much a miracle considering that he tried to bite the vet technician when she tried to take him from me – i.e., we all expected him to be wholly uncooperative. With sedation comes the risk he may not wake up from it (it’s always a risk, but greater so with him because of his heart) and I can’t even begin to describe how relieved and elated I felt when I saw the vet carry him out to me, awake and unsedated.
• How ridiculously favorable my dog is to the person who feeds him most – and right now, that person is me.
• Going driving with my dad. I practiced right and left hand turns, drove up to 50 km/h, u-turns, parking, and parallel parking!
• 2 hours of solid dance practice (and rewarding my hard work with a fresh strawberry & green apple bubble tea afterwards!) My legs and feet ached when I got home, but it felt so good to see improvements in one practice by concentrating & just doing it [over and over and over again].
• Feeling confident and sexy. These days have been pretty rare in the last six months, but I think they’re making a comeback. :)

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Dad’s birthday dinner at the very posh Milestones on Beach Avenue, overlooking the ocean. I paid. It was lovely, and the food was sooooo good.
• Family walks on the beach. It made me long for summer, but at the same time, appreciate how beautiful this place is even during the so-called “worst” months of the year. (And surprisingly, even right by the ocean, it wasn’t even cold – more like, 10°C or warmer!)
• Nutella & Grand Mariner Chocolate ice cream cake from La Casa Gelato. Holy mother of cupcakes was this “cake” ever delicious. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
• Sitting by the fire with my dad, listening to 1940s records and reading. At this moment, everything felt right with the world.
• Having the whole family together again.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Getting a different perspective – literally – on something I see week in and week out.
• Connecting with people who would have otherwise been passing faces at the back of my mind.
• Playing other people’s pianos. If I am in a room with a piano, I will have an insatiable urge to play. Sometimes fear holds me back, but usually, my desire to play overrules.
• Choir. I recently joined (and convinced Cam to join with me) – and I looove it. It feels good to sing & get involved.
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I was hesitant to watch this at first because I heard it was very sad, but it actually turned out to be a very good movie – sad, yes, but very good. And it made me think, which is a quality in movies I generally dislike, but turned out to be not altogether unpleasant.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Waiting for someone outside the mall and instead getting hit on & followed by a russian dude in his 30s whom I’m pretty sure may have been a prostitution recruiter. Can’t say this wasn’t amusing / scary.
• MY FIRST EVER DRIVING LESSON! I drove on actual streets next to actual cars. Not only that, but I made a left-hand turn onto my very busy street and drove all the way home, no instructor intervention needed. SO PROUD OF MYSELF.
• The satisfaction of comparing the “before” to the “after” and marveling at how great it looks now after you clean an appallingly dirty space.
• The great feeling of personal satisfaction when you do something outside your comfort zone and survive it.
• Adding to my sketchbook/yearbook/lifebook project – there is something so therapeutic about this! Not only that, but it provides the perfect “hard copy” creative outlet and great balance between art, a scrapbook, personal lists and a journal.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Turning what would have ended as a “frumpy day” into something entirely different by simply getting out of the house.
• Getting a glimpse into how stereotypical “normal” females feel; i.e., the joys of retail therapy. I’m not, and god-willing, will never be a shopper (except when it comes to groceries) but I think I finally get why women go to the mall and try on clothes when they’re in need of “retail therapy”.
• Public transit. Sorry – but taking it every day still doesn’t deter me from loving it.
• Strangers who take a leap of faith and offer to share their umbrella to the girl in the hoodie standing in the pouring rain waiting for the bus. I love random kindness – and we ended up having a nice conversation in the process. Strangers are friends you just haven’t met yet. :)
• Buying the most ultra-awesome pair of black, angora-like legwarmers that go up mid-thigh. They were super cheap ($7!) too.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• FINALLY BOOKING MY FIRST DRIVING LESSON. I have literally been putting this off for about a year and a half, and you have no idea how good it feels to finally do it. The first step is always the hardest! (This also fulfills one of my “one-a-day”s – do something you’ve been putting off.
• Grocery shopping. Love this.
• Having a day full of productiveness with very little idleness. I’ve come to realize these are among the days I’m happiest with.
• Vegetarian shepherd’s pie. Sooo good.
• Experimenting with different outfit combinations, and finding one that both looks good on me & makes me feel good wearing it. (It’s all black of course – black goes with anything, and happens to be my favorite color for things.)

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• Telling people things that are hard to say outloud, even to yourself.
• Taking hump day a day early.
• How writing about something can make you realize how much you value it. It was in you all long, but it took committing words to paper to bring it to the forefront of your mind.
• Prettifying the sidebar of this layout. I love the feeling of satisfaction after being dissatisfied with something for so long.
• Having conversations via txt. I almost never do this.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• You. Even if you look straight through me like I don’t exist, you are so freaking cute I just want to die every time I see you. I can live with that.
• Making to-do lists to organize the panicked chaos going on inside my mind of all the things I need to do and am terrified i’ll forget.
• Narrowly escaping potential disasters.
• Feeling like I’m finally living a well-balanced life.
• My Don’t Mess With Texas t-shirt. Love.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.

• When you do something good for someone else, entirely without self motivations. (Although I won’t lie -It was pretty fun to pretend to be a CSI photographer and document all the flood damage in the four apartments!)
• The bus arriving one minute prior to my ticket expiring, and precisely on its scheduled time; by the time I got on it had expired but the bus driver let me on anyways. This bus is aaaalways late – Just two days before, that same bus was nearly 45 minutes late. I love small miracles. :)
• Shopping restraint.
• Texting. This was a cool invention.
• The Jane Austen Book Club. Cute chick flick.

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace In Small Things.