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Sharing Thanks for Holiday Train Magic at the New York Botanical Gardens

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New York Botanical replica at the Holiday Garden Trains This month on Sharing Thanks I am sharing thanks for December Joys! My husband grew up with Lionel Trains. Spencer and his Dad would spend many December hours putting up an elaborate train display. Today I took my husband to experience the holiday magic happening at the New York Botanical Gardens. It was wonderful to see so many young children excited about seeing trains on the magnificent replicas of the Brooklyn and Hellgate Bridges. To find out how you can visit here is a link to the New York Botanical Gardens   Below is a short video I took to try to capture the magic. I was thankful to share this experience with my husband. We giggled over the conductor greeting everyone on stilts. Deep inside there is a kid inside all of us. What December Joy did you discover today? I love hearing your gratitude stories. You can share them in the comments of this blog or tweet them to me  @sharingthanks

Sharing Thanks for Santa's!

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Santa decoration found on my Neighborhood walk! Today I had some December Joy walking my dog Oreo around the neighborhood. Everyday new holiday decorations appear. This Space Sleigh Santa gave me a smile. When I was younger I remember being confused about seeing lots of different Santa's. I do believe Santa's helpers bring cheer. They help raise money for the Salvation army and raise holiday spirit. I enjoyed taking my kids when they were young to see Santa and snap a Christmas photo with him. We have the Santa spirit when we focus on what we give during the holiday season. The Santa spirit is alive when we read "The Night Before Christmas." It's alive when are kids write letters to Santa and leave him some milk and cookies to help him fuel his journey. I love Santa decorations and signs to the North Pole! I do imagine if I had the power of Santa Clause that I might make my headquarters in Bermuda. Let's spread some Santa cheer by sharing fun Santa pho

Sharing Thanks for the Joy of watching Peter Pan

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Listening to "I Won't Grow Up" reminds me of the summers I spent at Girl Scout camp growing up. After dinner in the mess hall, the camp counselors would lead us to sing, "I Won't Grow Up!" I loved these song fests after dinner. They made me want to learn to play guitar. I'm enjoying watching Peter Pan Live tonight. I love that your imagination can take you to Neverland! The idea of flying through a starlight sky simply enthralls me. Today my Joy is sitting down with my daughter and watching this classic musical! This month we will be sharing gratitude for December Joys! Share your simple joy in the comments or you can tweet them  @sharingthanks  with #DecemberJoys.

Sharing Thanks for remembering Grandma's Joys

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Grandma with Becky and Liz in New Hope We are remembered by what we create while we live. This post is dedicated to the life of Catherine Virginia Davidson who passed away this November at the age of 87. I have been reflecting on her life and the love she gave our family. I am thankful for Grandma for treating me like one of her daughters. Grandma came into the world in Baltimore weighing less then 3 pounds. She was determined to live and was an only child to older parents. This may be why she was cautious, and could be stubborn. There is fine line between stubbornness and determination. Her mom was a seamstress and my mother-in-law loved to make homemade dresses for her three granddaughters. She would say that she did not have a creative bone in her body, yet she was an artist and made many beautiful garments including my wedding dress! She loved figuring out how to cut the material for the patterns. She loved her family and was married over 50 years and had four children, and fiv

Sharing Thanks for Giving Tuesday

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Forget about Cyber Monday and Black Tuesday. I am thankful for Giving Tuesday! It gives us a chance to contribute to make the world a better place. Today I gave to the  No Limits For Deaf Children . This group has a speech center  in Southern California and Las Vegas as well as an acclaimed National Theater Program for deaf and hard of hearing children. I was blessed to voluneer and be part of Silent NO MORE with my daughter Liz. This inspiring collection of stories read by indivuals with hearing loss helped educate people on what its like to grow up deaf. Please share your #GivingTuesday charity story in the comments. Let's see how much good we can all do today! It feels joyful to give!

Sharing Thanks for taking time to grieve.

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I apologize for not completing my #TurkeyThanks gratitude challenge in November. On November 19, my mother-in-law passed away and I took a break from my blog. It's important to take time to grieve a loved one. We need to stop and take a small break to shed tears, and remember and honor our loved one. I am so thankful to friends and family who supported us by attending her funeral mass, sending our family a fruit basket, lovely plants, and beautiful cards. We must be thankful for each moment we wake up and get to experience a smile, the sound of laughter, a sunset, a hug, hearing a song, being able to dance!  It's a reminder to appreciate the people in our lives and think about how we are interwoven into each other's lives. I have been using the time to reflect on all the kindnesses I received from my mother-in-law and the legacy that she has created. I am going to start a new gratitude challenge, beginning on December 3rd celebrating 2014. Join in the fun and share

Sharing thanks for a good read! Day 18: #TurkeyThanks Gratitude Challenge

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Morning Meditations: Daily Reflections to Awaken Your Power to Change I love reading books that make me think. Today I want you to think about a book your thankful to have read. Growing up I was inspired by Richard's Bach's, "Jonathon Livingston Seagul" I loved Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" and I confess Shirley Conran's "Lace" was my first great summer read.  This week I am enjoying W.W. Norton & Company's book, "Morning Meditations" I love to start my day reading  a few meditations on gratitude,communication, forgiveness, mindfulness, and reflect on ways I can lead a purposeful, happy life. What book are you thankful to have read? I love hearing about what inspires you. Please share a book you enjoyed reading and how it made you think and feel.

Sharing Thanks for Thanksgiving Traditions Day 17:#TurkeyThanks Gratitude challengeI

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Pilgrim cookies from Fairway Thanksgiving is coming. I was thankful to see these adorable pilgrim cookies at my favorite grocery store Fairway. I remember as a kid looking forward to the chocolate Thanksgiving Turkeys my grandmother would give to us as a treat. Part of the fun is preparing the feast,making special family recipes and honoring traditions. One of our family traditions is to wake up on Thanksgiving morning to bagels, and watch the Macy's Day Parade on TV.We love watching all of the broadway performers, and the fantastic marching bands. My husband's family likes to make sauerkraut for Thanksgiving. It's a Baltimore thing. Now whenever I have sauerkraut I think of Thanksgiving too. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it celebrates family. No gifts are exchanged, we just enjoy parades, savoring good food and conversation with our families and friends, and a little college football. Most of all I like the spirit of Thankfulness it brings. At our dinner

Sharing Thanks for compassion from people when I make a mistake. Day 16: #TurkeyThanks Challenge

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Liz comforting our dog Oreo. Day 16: Sharing Thanks November Turkey Thanks Challenge Today's challenge: Thank someone who showed compassion to you when you made a mistake. I was a little out of sorts yesterday. I was clumsy. I went to Dunkin Donuts and my big pocketbook swung around and knocked off a glass coffee mug on the display. I picked up the broken pieces and brought it up to the counter and explained what happened when I ordered my coffee. To my surprise they said it was ok and thanked me for bringing them the broken cup. I offered to pay for the cup but they refused to charge me for it.  I sighed a huge relief. I also want to thank my friend Deborah for lending me her music folder at our concert last night/ I had left my folder at the last rehearsal and it got packed away. I really appreciated her kindness of lending it generously with softspoken words. Let's face it we all make mistakes. We are not perfect. Compassion helps us pick our selves up, learn

Sharing thanks for your talent! Day:15 #TurkeyThanks Gratitude Challenge

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Me using my talent playing with the South Shore Symphony TURKEY THANKS Gratitude Challenge: Day 15 Share a gratitude story about being thankful for a talent you have. I want to also thank my good friend Monesha who gave me the idea for this gratitude prompt. I was thankful to have lunch out with my daughter Becky and her friend and we were talking about my blog and I was asking them if they had any good suggestions for different ways to appreciate. Thanks Monesha and Becky for a fun lunch! I am thankful for my musical talent. I love playing the violin with the South Shore Symphony. I have met so many terrific people through music. I have nurtured my talent through lessons and practice over the years. Thanks to all the music teachers I have had who helped me become a better musician. I also want to thank our concert master Susan. I had the joy of sitting first stand one year in the orchestra and Susan taught me a lot of great fingering and musicality by getting to play as

Sharing Thanks for the Unexpected! Day 13: #TurkeyThanks Gratitude Challenge

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Sunflowers from a Riverhead farmstand Day 13: #TurkeyThanks Gratitude Challenge: Today I want you to think of something unexpected you are thankful for! Everyday has something unexpected about it. Today I received an unexpected gift from a friend. She gave me a pair of warm shoes for the winter. It's a wonderful feeling to a get an unexpected gift! I also found a penny while walking home from lunch. It was nice to walk to lunch instead of taking the car. This helped me reach my walking fitness goal for today. I always will pick up a good luck penny if its facing heads up. If its tales, I turn the penny over and leaved it for someone else to discover and pass on the good luck. What are you thankful for today that surprised you? I love to hear your gratitude stories.

Sharing Thanks for something silly!

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DAY 12: #TurkeyThanks Gratitude Challenge Give Thanks For Something Silly! Oh know they are going to turn me into Pumpkin Pie! Today's challenge is to focus on the little silly things your grateful for. I happened to come across this upside down pumpkin on my morning walk today and it gave me a chuckle. Then I also noticed this. Yes it's a swinging Squirrel. I am always amazed by seeing something new in everyday places. It's what I focus on that makes me notice the silly simple joys in life. Be grateful for being amused! Share something that your grateful for that was silly!

Sharing Thanks for being American on this Veterans Day.

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I love this picture of a floral flag I took this summer at Jones Beach. The red and white flowers look  like they are proudly waving in the air. Day 11: #TurkeyThanks Gratitude Challenge Make a gratitude list to give thanks to your country. I am thankful for our freedom of speech, for a nation whose citizens respect the outcomes of our elections which enable us to have a peaceful transition of power. I am thankful for our constitution and our ability as a people to be able to keep amending it. I am thankful for the separation between church and state which makes America one of the great melting pots. We are made up of a multitude of different people, with different ethnic backgrounds, and practice different religions. I am thankful for America where creative expression and innovation still thrives. I would also like to thank our veterans who have sacrificed to protect our freedoms and our nation.

Sharing thanks for the joy of dancing around the house: #TurkeyThanks Gratitude Challeng Day 10

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There is nothing better than having your own dance party. I saw this video today on twitter and it mad me laugh. I love the energy and the pets in the video watching this cleaning dance routine. I'd be thankful if my husband cleaned the house like this. Let's be honest I'd be thankful if cleaned the house without dancing. For today's challenge be thankful for that feeling you get when your busting a move. Share a story about when you were caught dancing to yourself. I have a habit of doing dance moves while I'm sitting at a red light listening to my tunes. Yes, I'm over 50 and I dance in my car. I looked over to the left turn lane next to me, and two young men were hysterical that I was dancing. It gave me a laugh. Sometimes you have to laugh at yourself! I was thankful I gave them a laugh and a story. I am always thankful to dance, it just feels good!

Sharing Thanks for the Light in My Life! Day 9:#TurkeyThanks Gratitude Challenge

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Golden leaves embracing the sun. I am thankful for the light and warmth of the sun. I think cat's are masters of finding thesunny spots in the house. It is amazing the when a ray of light comes in through the window and practically kisses your skin. I just saw an amazing pink from a sunset. As each day gets a little darker it makes me appreciate the light. Today I want you to think about the light in your life, and radiate appreciation.  I thought about this prompt when I walked at Planting Fields Arboretum today. The light made these yellow leaves turn to gold. I am also thankful for the people in my life who light me up with their kind deeds, words, and smiles. I was thankful to run into a friend at the grocery story. I am thankful to my parents for visiting my daughter Liz at college this weekend. I was thankful to share cinematic light by seeing Intersteller with my husband and daughter last night. Love is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. What light were