december... begun with snow!

although i knew it wasn't cold enough to stick

i gazed through the windows all morning

enamored with the fluffy white flakes that drifted slowly to the ground.

to my surprise, the snow remained on the grass

and as a bright layer over the field
of crunchy leaves behind my townhouse

giving the first day of december a little extra sparkle.

i'm so happy to have snow,

no matter how small an amount!

i know one day soon i'll be out there making snow angels & snowmen!

december snuck up a little on me...

for the past week, i've had trouble remembering the date

and without buckets of snow on the ground already,

i was hard pressed to believe that it was actually december

(it being so different from the december i'd envisioned

when moving here from rainy vancouver)

but december is here nonetheless,

and this week kicks off

holiday baking

christmas tree decorating

greeting card mailing

wishlist daydreaming

and the countdown to our flight home!

with all the excitement & indulgence of the upcoming month,

i'm going to make an extra effort to keep these intentions in mind...
~~~

enjoy these times, even if they get stressful.

they come only once a year.

~~~

make time for myself & honor my commitments to myself

(this would include regular yoga practice, spinning classes,

eating mindfully & journalling regularly)

~~~

make the most of every moment, especially when there's

the opportunity to spend it with friends or family.

~~~

get outside! there's nothing more beautiful than a walk in the snow...

or in the rain (hello, west coast), because the weather upon our return

to ontario won't be so mild!

~~~

establish new family traditions & reinforce old ones.

in the end, nothing is more important than family.

~~~

do you have any intentions for december?

i'd love to hear them...

ps, today is the first day of hanukkah...

happy festival of light!

wintery images from weheartit