Photo: Cliff Watts

Spending the day, doing what I always do at the end of year, counting my Blessings, literally. That's how you keep 'em coming. When you focus on what you have, your abundance increases. I started with my breath. Noticing being alive is a good start. Then worked my way up to today's two and half hour hike. Even grateful for the blister on my right big toe--cause it gave me a reason to stop.

We're feeling very grateful today for this holiday season and the chance to look back on a wonderful year. We're going to take a little break, but we'll see you right back here on January 3. Happy holidays.

We do love traditions: A look at the New Year's Eve celebration over the years.

Got a dilemma? There's a good, old book for that.

Think like a kid: What could you see in a single black spot?

This good guy made it his mission to decorate for those who couldn't do it themselves.

An anonymous donor leaves a diamond ring in a Salvation Army kettle.
(Via Happy News)

Photo: Thinkstock

This time of year, there are plenty of year-end roundups—the best of this, the worst of that. Well, here's one year-end particularly moving collection: The New York Times asked readers to submit photographs of the loved ones they lost this year, and the results comprise the impossible-to-stop-clicking collage here. The visual impact alone is quite affecting. So you're behind on your Christmas present shopping, so you committed to too much, so your home is a mess unworthy of the guests about to descend (am I projecting too much here?)—all those petty seasonal troubles fade away.

Clicking on the photos enlarges them and offers a caption about the departed person. "I found out via Facebook that my first love died a premature death this summer at age 41," one caption reads. "I find it incredibly strange that he no longer exists, out there somewhere." Another photo is labelled, "My brother was always a ham. He was also an amazing protector and friend. Looking through pictures of our childhood, I was amazed at how nearly every picture had him with his arm around me supporting me. He truly taught me the meaning of love." And another: "This is how I would like to remember my sister Sandy, optimistic and mischievous at the same time...She was strong and brave up until the very end."

Viewing this gallery offers an irresistible peek in to the stories of others, and the format is thought-provoking. What one photograph would encapsulate my life? What moment in time would your loved ones remember most about life with you? What pose, what face, what mood would you most miss about the people you love? If you're not crying by now, maybe it's time to go slice some onions or something. At any rate, when you see your loved ones over the holidays, be sure to hug them tight, tell them you love them, and remember to take lots of photos.

You must see this photo gallery to believe it: The Lives They Loved, at the New York Times

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Coping With Loss
The Digital Trail of the Dead

You may be wondering: What does Oprah do all day now that she's not doing her show? Well, among other things, she meditates, she goes fishing...Oh, yeah, and she walks on fire. For real.

As she's put it: "Let's just say we're not sitting on The Oprah Winfrey Show in those chairs anymore, people." In her new life, she's got plenty of time to have adventures, and on her new show, Oprah's Next Chapter, she'll be sharing everything, from interviews with personalities as varied as Paula Deen and Steven Tyler to trips all over America, with you. 

On January 1, start the New Year with Oprah and see everything she's been up to!

Oprah's Next Chapter premieres January 1 at 9/8c on OWN.

Photo: Todd Porter and Diane Cu

If you're still searching for the perfect cocktail to serve this holiday weekend, consider Cristina Ferrare's Cranberry Cosmopolitan. Cristina's twist on the classic drink is to sub in lemon vodka for regular, which gives it a brighter flavor. Garnish it with few fresh cranberries and a lime twist to keep the colors Christmas-y.

Photo: Thinkstock

So you want to be a robber. Here's some advice for you.  Try not to rob a marathon runner. Because they can run really fast, for a really long time. And, if this wonderful news story is any indication, they will catch you really quickly.

According to Fox News, a robber walked into an Olney, Md bagel shop and handed the cashier a note that said "I have a gun. Please give me the money. Don't make any noise.." (At least they said "please"!) The cashier handed over the money and the robber ran away. Unluckily for this would-be criminal, the husband of the bagel shop owner took off after him. And this husband happens to be a marathon runner. The robbers were apprehended within - ahem - 2 minutes.

What's not to love about this story? Here is a world were the robbers are cartoonishly bumbling and seemingly harmless, where the victims prevail, and where all that marathon training really comes in handy. Something to consider the next time you want to skip the treadmill at the gym.

Read More Feel-Good News:
A high school supports its homecoming queens
A community rallies to find a lost cat

We all had a favorite food when we were little, whether it was just-right buttered cinnamon toast or after-school English muffin pizzas.

You can find recipes for those (and more) in Loukoumi's Celebrity Cookbook, a new collection of more than 50 celebrities' favorite childhood recipes (the book also benefits a Chefs for Humanity and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital). Beyonce contributes Easy Guacamole with Corn Chip Scoops, Katie Couric offers Brownies and Lemon Squares, Jennifer Aniston contributes a recipe for Quinoa Salad (clearly, she was a sophisticated child) and Oprah Winfrey gives us her recipe for crispy Corn Fritters.

 It's a fun, nostalgic cookbook--and it even has a few surprises. For instance, who knew Ellen DeGeneres could eat 12 Vegan Sliders?

Keep Reading
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20 favorite childhood meals with adult twists

Photo: Lisa Maree Williams/Stringer

According to people who know these things, Kristen Wiig's outrageous, raunchy, female-centric "Bridesmaids" could just earn itself a nomination for the Best Picture Academy Award this year.  Melena Ryzik writes in the New York Time's Carpet Bagger blog that the film, which has already landed on many Top 10 lists, "was recognizably funny and sweet to boot — you wanted to be friends with everyone in it, as a high-ranking female studio executive recently told the Bagger." And, as Ryzik reminds us, this summer "Bridesmaids" activists turned the goofy comedy into a social cause, urging people "to send a bracing message to a business that has become increasingly oppressive for the women who work within it as well as for those who consume its product." Any grass roots campaign that requires its followers to go see a funny movie is aces with me.

And it's a funny movie, it really is. I valued it most for its exploration of female friendship—it is truly refreshing to see women in a Hollywood film competing not over the living Ken doll that most romantic comedies tout, but instead over a female friend. Plus, the success of "Bridesmaids" has spawned a whole slew of female-centric movies and television shows meant to portray funny, smart women. If nothing else, that's got to be good for women in Hollywood-- actresses like Zooey Deschanel ("The New Girl") and Christina Applegate ("Up All Night") get to star in their own series in which they get to play more than just The Girlfriend. But, as Alyssa Rosenberg wrote in The Atlantic, "in some ways this year's sitcoms...feel a lot more like throwbacks to Archie comics than a continuation of the R-rated exploration of sex, materialism, and friendship that proved so powerful with movie audiences." In other words, it's great that women are getting all this attention in the media, but it raises the question: is this really the kind of attention women need? So the "Bridesmaids"-spinoff-flurry is getting its message heard, but what is the message? That women can be just as silly and bawdy and dumb as the man-boys of the Judd Apatow set? So... what?

Of course, it's gratifying that people are having these conversations about "Bridesmaids" and women in general. Good things happening for Kristen Wiig and her buddies can only mean good things for the rest of us too. Maybe "Bridesmaids" will remain just a beloved, funny movie about some ladies that spawns a new generation of screwball comediennes (welcome, admittedly). Maybe it will be remembered as the thing that somehow turned the tide of sexism in Hollywood, or the country. Seems like a lot to ask from a movie full of fart jokes but hey, they're really funny fart jokes.

Read More:
Chick Flicks We Actually Love
What Can We Learn From The Movies?

Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.

Photo: The Woody Guthrie Foundation via Lists of Note

* Prepare to be charmed by the illustrated list of "New Year's Rulin's" Woody Guthrie made in preparation for 1942. (Lists of Note)

* 88% of Indian women don't have access to sanitary napkins during their periods. One male inventor set out to change that—and even wore his own pads for a week. (Co.Exist)

* Do you want to see a photo of a young Allen Iverson showing off for his mother? (Storming the Floor)

* Do men need special beauty products? (Slate)

* "He was the dream New York cabbie: bus driver, crossing guard, therapist, and beat cop all in one."—Hannah Rosin offers up her dad as a reason to love New York. (NYMag)