Honoring World Gratitude Day

Today is September 21, World Gratitude Day. I am lucky to work in a company that recognizes the importance of being grateful and of seeing the positive side of life. After all, this is what Tinyprints delivers every day: nice, customized cards, that allow people to share their happiest moments with their friends and families.
Tinyprints started the Gratitude Challenge movement in August, with 30 bloggers who were asked to take note of the brighter side of life for 21 days. The stories were powerful, and the video below captures some of the highlights.

Now it's my turn to start the challenge. So for 21 days (and hopefully beyond), I will be paying -more- attention to the little things that make life so worth living. Stay tuned, and feel free to join the challenge too!

What I hope to achieve during this challenge is a little bit more awareness for the positive things in my life, big and small. It's very easy to get caught up in the stress of work, the difficulties in balancing job and family, and all the little things that make life less than perfect. And while it's good to think about how things could be better (assuming one can make a difference), it's healthy to be able to sit back and appreciate the positive. Hopefully, after this journey, gratitude will be more of a habit, allowing me to step back and think positive, even in the middle of crisis.

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Turkey travel with toddler - a good idea after all

After 10 days traveling in Turkey with our 16-month old son, we found that going to far-away countries with a toddler is not as difficult as many people believe. Yes, we also had our own concerns, and we had set our expectations that we might have a rough time. Yet, we had decided that it would be worth the effort since we were very eager to visit Turkey. As it turns out, most of our concerns weren’t justified, and we found that Daniel had a great time in Turkey. Below are a few things we have learned in our trip. • Jetlag : Interestingly enough, it was easier for Daniel to adjust after this complex trip than after a “simple” journey to Germany. After a 26-hour journey (2 flights and one 2.5 hour car drive) and a jump of 10 time zones, internal rhythm is typically quite upset for everyone, big and small. We flew with the night flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt, so Daniel had a good night of sleep behind him when we landed in Germany. From then, we paced his naps until the follo

Lassen Volcanic camping trip

After our fun trip to Yosemite , our second camping trip of the season was at Lassen Volcanic National park, and it was a great end of a fun summer. On our longest camping trip yet (3 days), we had the chance to visit most of the park highlights. First, we visited Sulphur Works, with boiling mud pots and geysers. It was a fun and relaxing hike, and a great way to get to know the park. On the second day, we climbed Cedar Cone , an old volcano that offers amazing views from the top. The hike is quite challenging due to the sandy aspect of the climb. But Daniel did great, climbing faster that some of the grown up around us (and despite wearing a shoe that was way too tight, as we discovered later!) The reward as the top is astounding views of the surrounding mountains and lava flows. The spent the afternoon after this long hike splashing in the river by the campground, which the kids loved! On our last day, we drove all the way to the other end of the park, to Drakesbad Ranch,

Yosemite trip

Last week, we had another big milestone in our family life. After last year's first quick camping trip at Pinnacles , we went camping for 2 nights for the first time. And it was a great success. We were lucky to get a reservation at a campground in Yosemite, on a weekend where the weather was perfect, if not a little too hot. We spent a weekend exploring the valley, hiking, looking for wildlife (not very successfully though) and enjoying the outdoors. It was fun! Even though Daniel had a short phase of accidents after a long hike to the top of Bernal Fall (bitten by a squirrel - or so he thinks, and a fall leading to a cut gum), he quickly recovered and enjoyed the rest of the trip. A few minutes later, he was again climbing on boulders, running around, and enjoying being outdoors to use his endless energy. The hardest part was leaving. Everyone was heart-broken, but Daniel had the hardest time. It seems to be a pattern for him lately, and I think this had to do with the age (a

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