Some days, I feel so happy to be alive that I’m compelled to do a shout-out to our maker.

It started with polenta. Last night, a friend said “Why don’t you cook up some polenta and I’ll grill vegetables and we can enjoy a nice, healthy dinner.”

For those who know me, I know you won’t be surprised when I say, placing all work on hold, I immediately googled “Polenta” and thanks to today’s technology, came up with a “Cheesy Polenta” which sounded not-so-difficult to make. I drove to the store and bought all the ingredients — and I mean, all of them, as I don’t typically drink whole milk, or eat butter, or corn meal. Long story short, the polenta was fantastic and accompanied with grilled vegetables, I was feeling ever so top-chef-ish.

This morning, the same friend and I headed out for a walk along the bay, warmed by a spectacular sun and promises of a great day ahead. We walked to the water’s edge, eucalyptus leaves and angel’s caps crunching under our feet along the way. There, we stopped to relax, breathe, and focus on the horizon. Stepping into our first Tai Chi form, I smiled at the two of us and our new-found bravery. We knew walkers on the path were going to scoff, but we didn’t care. It was super.

Bidding my friend a good day, I came home – checked my emails. Awesome, no work-related fire drills — and remembered the left over polenta. Happily, I reheated a dainty portion (OK, fine – a huge bowl full) and sat down to watch the sunlight wake up a eucalyptus tree and listen to the birds greet the morning.

It simply doesn’t get better than this.

And so I shout: Thank you, God!