Pause the hustle & bustle

Yes, Thanksgiving is a couple of days away. Followed by Black Friday. Then weeks of shopping chaos. Then Christmas. Until suddenly it's all over and everyone breathes a sigh of relief...Maybe it's time to pause the madness for just a sec.

Take a moment to put down the shopping ad, set aside the to-do list and forget about the pumpkin pie you still have to bake. Enjoy these simply beautiful photos, stories and links.. and maybe you'll be reminded of the essence of the joys of life and the holiday season.

• @TwitterStories - amazing stories of how Twitter has touched people's lives.
• A dog's seeing eye dog - via one of my new favorite websites, 22 Words.

• Brushfire Records (Jack Johnson, G. Love, Zee Avi & others) released a holiday album, This Warm December. I've had it on repeat since Starbucks introduced their red holiday cups earlier this month and am especially enjoying Jack Johnson's version of "Someday at Christmas."
• ...And just for a good laugh, the humorous website Sad and Useless

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Starry, starry night..

Tonight's post is short... Just wanted to say that I had the opportunity to spend some time admiring the beauty of the universe tonight as it is the final night of the Perseid Meteor Shower. Since I was looking around 10:00 pm I only saw a few but it was still a brilliant sight to witness! If I had the willpower to wake up extra early tomorrow I would (supposedly the best time to view up to 75 meteors an hour is between 3-5:00 a.m.) But in any case tonight's view was a reminder that we are constantly surrounded by the remarkable and astounding beauty that the world has to share and it's sometimes easy to forget - and all it took was spending a few minutes stargazing to remember that. As I watched the meteors streaking across the sky it did two things for me: 1) gave me a better appreciation for where I live and the ability to even have a view of the night sky and the stars, and 2) subtly reminded me of the "bigger picture" that we all belong to. The idea that anywhere in the world, we are all witnessing the same night sky, is truly an incredible fact.

So if you're on the West coast maybe you'll get this post in time to take a look outside; and for all you East coasters maybe you can set your alarm a little early tomorrow to get your day off to a beautiful start!

If any of you had a chance to witness the meteor shower share your stories here or at TheDailyChallengeBlog@gmail.com.

The Words That Surround Us...

After doing some exploring over the weekend, I'll be following up with my post from Friday in the next couple of days. In the meantime, I wanted to share this song that I am recently obsessed with, and a quote that I came across today: "Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." (Lao Tzu.)

May flowers!

Spring is HERE!!! I've seen a lot of flowers around and although these aren't my own pictures, I just wanted to share the beauty of some of my favorites! These "hidden beauties" remind me to look around and be aware of my surroundings. What do YOU love about springtime?!




Gerberas.


Dahlia.

Red chrysanthemum.



Sunflower.


African Violet.







Golden Poppy.

Beautiful..

This week has been pretty hectic so I'm keeping the posts short and simple. After watching Glee I thought this song was a simple reminder of something that can easily go overlooked.