As the year end is about to end, I decided to take a break and truly tune into what I have been missing.  In this time I’ve taken notice to the more subtle things in my everyday life that my five senses have become a little more aware of.  Below are five experiences I’ve noticed in the past week.

HEAR:

I bought Call of Duty World at War for Christmas for my boyfriend.  As soon as he opened it he ran to our Wii and played it with his brother.  As they were playing I immediately took notice to one of the voices in the game.  I wondered that be Kiefer Sutherland aka Jack Bauer’s voice that says “The Recon Planes are…”

SMELL:

As my sister was in the car I had noticed she had a distinct perfume on, something I had smelled growing up.  When I had asked her what she was wearing she had said, “Paloma Picasso” I immediately started screaming Ewww! You smell like Mom!

TASTE:

During a Holiday dinner we took some time to do Kirkland Beer tasting someone had brought.  Who knew Costco made Kirkland Beer??  As we tasted the Amber Ale, Hefeweizen, and Pale Ale something about the flavors made it seem familiar.  Thanks to trusty Google, we discovered that it’s brewed by San Francisco company and restaurant chain Gordon Biersch who also brews private label beers for Trader Joes.

TOUCH:

The Holidays involves a lot of hugs amongst family and friends.  You can determine a lot by the way someone approaches and hugs you.  Maybe it’s a hug out of consideration, or a hug because they haven’t seen you in a long time, or maybe it’s not a full hug and just a half hug squeeze with a pat on the back.

SEE:

Growing up in Pasadena I’ve taken many trips to the Huntington Gardens, but yesterday for the first time I took my older sister and mom.  I had seen the Japanese and Rose gardens many times, but this time was different than others. Something about standing in the Chinese garden next to my sister and mom overlooking the giant pond, made me see not only the gardens differently, but life as well.

NIECEE’s TAKE AWAYS:

• Take Time To Realize. In our lifetime we will always come across these life altering moments that make us appreciate life a little more.  When you’re caught up in your everyday life routine, you overlook the subtle things in life.  On Twitter I’ve seen people already posing the question of “What’s your New Year’s Resolution?”  This past year I haven’t taken time to enlighten myself as I used to and taking a break this past week to just enjoy life has made me realize I need to get back to a better balance in life.