On Monday!

Forgot until 9:34 this evening that today is Monday.  Ha.  At least I'm getting it done on the right day, right?  Riiiiiiight.
Antibotic cream and peroxide.  My old cat at the farm kicked my ass this weekend.  Allegedly, I had been drinking some wop and thought I could save her from my dog,  She did NOT agree with me that I could or should save her.  She's also a complete biyotch in everyday life,  So, why I thought she would suck any less when I was trying to rescue her is beyond me.  Idiot.  I got whooped pretty good.  I proceeded to go to the river and keep my hand in the water, wrastle with my garden, and pet a bunch of puppies all the rest of the weekend like a genius.  I come home, dunk my hand in peroxide and slather it with the antibiotic, and BAM.  It's not achy anymore.  If only they worked on sunburn...

Fourth of July, baby!!!  On a regular day, I dig being an American.  I really do.  I love the freedoms we have and the pride we can have in our young little country.  I love so very, very many things about this country.  I wish I could make a Hugh Grant-style speech about what a great nation we are.  But, we're not *technically* a nation of David Beckham's right foot.  Or David Beckham's left foot for that matter.  Let's just leave it at the fact that I love the red, white, and blue.  HAPPY FOURTH, Y'ALL!!

Along the same kind of lines, I'm totally grateful for my fam-damly.  I love the hell out of all of them.  I have such a great family, and I'm reminded of that every once and a while.  We were all together this weekend, and I didn't want anything else.  I didn't want to run to the bar in town (which wasn't open anyway - holy straightline winds, Batman!), I didn't want to escape these people...I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could.  I only with the outlaws had been there.  And if my hubby had been willing to go float down the river.  Weirdo doesn't like water...

Support.  I'm so grateful for the support of everybody back home.  Maybe I'm a smidge shallow or whatever, but it makes me feel so damn good when people say I'm looking good.  Honestly, even though I KNOW the numbers are going down, it doesn't really feel like I'm losing weight.  I don't look at myself that differently yet.  I know my arms are skinnier and my feet can't fit into my favorite shoes anymore, but it doesn't always feel like what I've been doing is all that effective.  So, for anyone who said something nice about my shrinking self, THANK YOU!!

Unexpected delays.  There were some pretty wicked storms on Friday.  They pretty much ran the line from where we live to where I grew up.  *Pretty much* literally took the path we were driving.  Our car was SLAMMED with hailstones.  From inside the car, it sounded like my boy Aaron Rodgers was whipping Superbowl-winning spirals at the car from 30 yards out.  It was nuts.  At one point in our travels, we determined things were bad enough to pull into an old abandoned gas station and try and wait out a little bit of the storm.  Thank God we did.  Had we not, we would have been in one of the little towns along the way that got PUMMELED.  It was bad.  Trees all over the road, downed power lines, just awful.  The story wasn't much different in my little hometown.  Had we not had the unexpected delay we had at the begining of our trek (in the form of an hour-and-a-half delay at work...), we would have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I guess sometimes things DO happen for a reason.  I can appreciate that.

And that's it for this first week of July!

Maybe Tuesday should be my day?

Looks like I'm getting worse and worse at this whole posting thing.  Bah.
This week's list might be a little short.  I'm tired.  I've been working a lot.

• SUNSHINE again.  I'm so happy that it's back.  I love seeing it peeking out behind the trees, love how it warms my skin when I'm walking from the office to the car.  I love watching the cats lounge in a beam on their backs.  I love trying to get pictures with a nice little haze or some kind of a sun spot.  I got some decent back-lighting on some pics of the gatitos earlier this spring.  Those are the kinds of pics I want to take more of.  Back to the topic at hand - I love the sun.
• I'm graeful for the bounty that my little garden is gearing up to produce.  My tomato plants look like giant bushes of craziness, all tangled into each other and full of blooms.  My two little pumpkin plants are losing their minds growing like weeds.  The leaves on my zucchini and yellow squash plants are bigger than my big 'ol head.  There are little baby peppers on a whole lot of my pepper plants.  Here's a pic of my little garden from a few days ago, before everything grew even more.

Those are radishes in the front-right box.  Tomatoes are in the back left.  All manner of squashy items are in the back right.  Peppers left of the back right.  Carrots and garlic in the front left.  Next year, we're going to have to have at LEAST another 4x6 box.  Maybe more than one.  I LOVE gardening.  So, that's my little grateful - I'm grateful for the bounty to come!  And more close-up pics.  Promise.

• Trying new things!  This episode of stuff I didn't know I loved:  corn chowder.  I said "corn chowda" in my head, just for the record.  I took some time recently to sift through the plethora of magazines that I have hanging around this joint, and stumbled upon some sweet new recipes.  I got this one out of the "Delicious Living" mag that's free in my grocery store.  And it's DAMN good.  And 141 calories for a cup-plus with a tsp of this aah-maze-ing cilantro pesto stuff.  My buddy Geo The Cilantro Hater would not agree.  At any rate.  It's sweet and spicy and delish.  I'm going to make giant pots of this stuff for winter consumption.  MMMMMMMMMM!
• A partner I like, and who puts up with me.  I think I probably shout out my dumb hubby a lot, but I really like him, so I'm okay with it.  He totally gets me, and I just dig him.  We work okay together.  Am I gushing too much?  Meh.  I have such a crush on him that I just. don't. care.

I think I'm going to stop in there.  I'm tired.  It's bedtime.

Whoops.

Seriously.  I gotta get better at this.  :)  I'm really good at being late with posting.  It probably has to do with the fact that there aren't any earth-shattering differences here.  Meh.  Scale's still creeping down.  That's a good thing, yeah?  Yeah.
Without the ado that's further, the list of Grateful

• With Father's Day this past weekend, I'm VERY grateful for the guys in my life.  I've got a pretty great dad.  He's a busy man, with the farmering and all, but he's always there for us.  As much as I adore my mom, I like that I take a lot after my dad too.  I mean, I could do without the iffy genetics I get from his side- thanks for the belly fat, daddy-o!  ha.  I think I get my easy-going attitude and KNOW I get my ability to sit still from The Man, The Myth, The Legend:  Mike.  Heart you dad.
• Next:  Grandpas.  I love mine.  I have only one memory of the one, but it was full of rainbows and unicorns.  Or, a hug and a big green Lazyboy recliner.  Either way, it's what I've got and I love it.  Grandpa #2:  That guy's pretty great too.  Hardworking, hard playing, and drinks Jack on the rocks.  Always with the hugs and the smiles.  And great eyebrows.  What more can you ask for?!  :)
• And then there's my newest dad.  My Papa-in-law.  I really like that guy.  I see a lot of my husband in him, and I definitely don't mind that.  He's smart and generous, and has a great heart.  He's a pretty knowledible, and can talk for ages about his areas of expertise.  I say all the time (three times on this blog I think...) that I scratched the winning ticket in the in-law lotto.  And I mean it.
• Last but not least, the newest dads:  my pseudo-brother first.  His little girl K is just over a year now (WHERE did that year go?!), and it's crazy to see the transformation in him because of that little girl.  Being a dad is a great thing, and I see it in him every time I see him.
• And, for its world-wide-web (non-FB) debut:  my brother.  I don't see or talk with him nearly enough, and I know that in about 5 months (!!!), his time is going to be even more limited.  But, I'm just so stinkin' excited for him, and can't wait till I get to see the changes in him that I see in K's poppa.  PS - expect a frequent sleeper in that guest room that ain't Mom.  :)
• Summer TV programming.  Yeah, I know.  Lame.  Being grateful for TV.  The thing is, though, that there are fewer shows on in the summer.  Which means that, even though I'm still watching TV (while I type, as a matter of fact...), there are fewer shows.  I dig that.  More sunlight + more opportunities to get my hubby out the door + still being able to watch shows I like = WINNING!  ha.

I was going to post a current pic (perhaps one of me in my fancy new Sears pants), but that's not gonna happen.  Jess didn't get any good pics of me from our recent Shenanigans Night.  BUMMER.  Next time.  Next time.

Gratitude post!

Monday, Monday, Monday!  :)

This one's going to be short and sweet, cause it's late and I'm tired.  Work, working out, and dinner has me up later than I want to be, and I'm ready for bed...

• Being on the 3rd floor!  We changed floors at work, and I love having to go up two flights of stairs every morning again.  I can't wait until there is absolutely no huffing at all when I get to my desk.  It's not so bad just yet, but it can definitely be better.  I can't wait till that happens!
• Exclamation points.  Sheesh.  Lay off the adreneline...
• Beautiful days.  We've been spending a lot of time on our deck lately.  Tonight, when I got back from walking the dog, I lounged on the deck.  LOVE IT.  We spent a lot of time out there this past weekend too.  I want to have a deck party out there (once we've given it the reinforcements it needs...).  It's also gorgeous enough to walk the dog for a little longer than we would be able to when it gets really hot.  It's also nice and light out well past when I finally come staggering home from work lately.  LOVE summer.  *sigh*  I'm already depressed thinking about the end of summer
• Magazines.  I love them.  I love going through them when they're some 6+ months old and pulling out all the articles and recipes and little snippets that grab me.  I'd like to use my SUBSTANTIAL collection of pull-outs to create a great mood board or pin board with all the collections.
• Not to get too down-ish, but I'm grateful to have a job.  I know the economy still isn't doing well, so I think that it's important to take a sec to be grateful for having a job.  It may be frustrating at times or hard or irritating, but I'm still grateful for every day I pull up to that beautiful building and start another day.
• On that same type of note, I'm grateful to be married to the Hubbs.  We just celebrated five years, and it makes me think even more how lucky I am to be married to a person that I not only love, but actually like too.  Knowing that 50% of marriages end in divorce, it just makes me more determined to make sure we end up in the good part of that percentage.  I still don't believe that marriage is hard work, but I'm willing to make sure that I always try to show how much I love him as much as I want him to show me how much he loves me.  I'm just lucky to have the fella that makes me so happy every day.  He's a good kid, and I'm happy to hold onto him.

I think that, with that, I'll stop.  I'm ready for bed!!

Gratitudes

Another week down, ladies and gentlemen!  Do you ever just feel like time just keeps rolling faster and faster???  Because I sure do.  It could be the 10-hour days I've been pulling lately.
Things I'm grateful for this week:

• Seeing family.  My parents are busy folk.  It's planting season right now - both on the farm and for gardeners (just in case someone actually reads this blog that I don't know - my parents own a farm and my mom is a co-owner of a couple of garden stores/flower shops), so that means that their hours are whack.  I went home this weekend to see them and my girl Lau.  I got to see them for a few minutes.  :)  Even though it wasn't hours on end with them, it was still nice to see them.  I wish they lived closer (you too siblings!!).

• Irony.  Like I mentioned up top, I'm ridiculously busy right now at work.  10-hour days that are just full of  frenetic energy.  Energy-sucking frenetic energy.  In the midst of all that, we're going to be moving desks.  I have probably 15 10-inch boxes full of what I'm doing at work.  That's on top of the "normal" everyday stuff that's in my cube.  Oh, the joy.  Naturally, this move would happen when we're the busiest!  At least it'll give me a chance to organize some of it, right?

• The ability to snap back into being 22 if I need to.  This weekend not only involved hanging at the shop with mi madre, it also involved copious amounts of the drink (YES, I realize that's "against the rules" or whatever.  Get over it.  ha).  And dancing.  And making friends with weirdos.  And a slice (only a slice!!!) of charred bar pizza.  It was nice to reminisce on all the fun we had back in the day (listen to me say that like I'm 50. ha.), and to do it all again.

• Air conditioning!  Man.  For a kid who grew up without A/C until I was probably 21, I love the hell out of it now.  Mom and Dad hadn't turned theirs on at home yet (neither had we, for the record!), and it was a smidge scorchy on Friday.  It was really nice to sit under the fan with a beer though.

• Lounging days!  On Saturday, I woke up late, had a little breakfast burrito, and proceeded to spend the rest of the morning/early afternoon hanging out in the driveway, getting some sun and reading to my little heart's content.  A bowl of pistachios and a glass of water completed the package.  As did the sunburn I managed.  That's three, for those of you counting at home.  It *might* be time to get and use some sunscreen.  You should see what a bronzed goddess I am though!

• Watching my dog attempt to murder the sprinklers.  It's hilarious.  Seriously.  He went after our neighbor's tonight - they have the tractor ones.   He hates the heads that pop up on our in-ground system, but the tractors are now worse.  Probably because the whirley arms clobbered him in the face.  ha.  Stupid dog.

• I maybe have mentioned it before, but I love Chobani Greek yogurts.  I don't know if saying I'm grateful for it is the right thing to say, but it makes me really, really happy and is delicious, and my day feels kinda crap when I don't start it with a cuppa.  I even debated picking some up at my grocery store here for the weekend because I didn't think there would be any at the grocery store at home.  That's love.

Um, that's it for this week.  Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives is on.  Dedication...

Grateful for stuff!

Hiya, kids!

Welcome to the final Grateful post for May.  Side note:  I can't believe it's June tomorrow!  Where the H did this month go?!  I'm fairly certain that it got blown away with all this bloody wind.  I thought it was May, not March, man!

• I'll start with crossing a little something off my bucket list.  That little something being going to Gasthof's!!!!  I've wanted to go there since, you know, I was 21.  I've just never gone.  Thinking about it now, that's friggin' ridiculous.  I decided that I wanted to pitch a tent right then and there and live there.  Some day, I need to live in Bavaria, baby.
• Next, I'll give props to Mr. Sunshine.  Not the junky show starring my favorite Friend, but the warming ball of gas in the sky.  The last couple of weeks have tottered between being junk and being glorious.  Much like today.  It was beautiful for a while there, and now it's total ass out there.  Back to the sunshine.  I love that I've gotten not only my first but my SECOND sunburn of the year this weekend!!!!!  Bring on the melanoma!  (sidenote:  JOKE)  There's just something I adore about that sun kids.  Maybe I'll check out the Vitamin D like my friend Megs did.  Maybe my obsession with the sun and warmth in the warm months, and my moody blues in the colder months have something to do with that?  Who knows.  For now though, I'm going to just going to try to soak up as much of it as I can.  Also, I'll start using sunblock, I promise.  Burns are dumb.
• Gardening!  HELL of a workout.  I'm still a sore mutha from Saturday and Monday's gardening shenanigans.  (sidenote:  TOTALLY worth it!  My babies are all planted!).
• Related:  The crazy stuff you can find at garden stores!  I went to one out here in the boonies, and I found some awesome stuff!  From an 8-foot, $700 metal giraffe to a 6" banana plant to about 20 kinds of tomatoes.  My current favorite thing that I found at said garden store is a CURRY PLANT!!!  I'm so freaking stoked.  I was poking around in the herbs, looking for rosemary (found it!) and grabbed what I thought was rosemary.  NOPE.  It was stinkin' curry!  I love herbs because you just rub those leaves and you can smell it for hours.  I was salivating for Indian for the rest of the day - despite all the dirt and soap from gardening and washing it off.  I could smell that curry all afternoon, and I loved it.
• The Amazon MP3 store.  I love using one of those song "hearing" apps and then finding it on the Amazon store.  It's soooo convenient.  Which my little bank account is saying "PUMP THE BRAKES" to, but meh.  I love music, and I love that I can download it from the application to my phone.  Read also:  all the way to my computer.  Woo!
• My cooky hubby.  That guy just knows what he's doing with food.  Oh, PS - that's "cook-y" as in, he likes to cook.  Not a typo of "kooky."  ha.  He has totally pulled off smoking lately - he's a kick ass dude.  However, all that delicious meat isn't so good for the waistline, you know?  His amazing food is helping me practice portion control like very few things before it has.  :)  Yet another thing about that guy that's pretty cool.

Okie dokie!  That's what I've got for this week.

Oh, also?  I'm .4 lbs away from emerging on the other side of another "10."  WHAT UPPPPPPP!?

Number two:  I CANNOT find a swim suit!!!!  I need something that's not a halter, and isn't a million dollars.  I've tried roughly 15, and I just can't find a single one that I like.  UGH.

Grateful!

Oh yeah.

I'm grateful for plenty of things this week.

• Garden stores are my #1 this week.  Last week I blabbed about getting two types of Heirloom tomatoes.  Guess what, suckas?  I got FOUR types - plus good 'ol Early Girls and a cherry.  STOKED.  Brandywine, Black, Striped German, Yellow Pear (which I suspect is NOT heirloom - Mom?).  I'm so ready to be in tomato heaven.  Next up:  prepping the beds and planting.  I can't wait for the weekend!

• TREES!  This is playing off #1, but I'll take it.  We bought a crabapple tree!  I'm so very exited.  It looks kind of cold and forelorn out there in the front yard.  I kind of want to make sure it's gonna make it before I continue with my "island garden" plan.  I'll probably take this year just to look at and love that little tree (and pray my ass off that it lives!!!) and plan what else I want to go around it (perennials, I'm lookin' at you!) for next year.  We also pulled our poor little apple out of the hole it was in.  The dummies that we bought the house from apparently thought it was a great idea to plant the little bugger almost a foot in the ground.  Ummmm...what???  In non-draining clay?  Friggin' geniuses.  At any rate, we pulled that baby out.  We're keeping our fingers crossed that the two little trees will cross-pollinate and we'll have some apples next year!

• The Mountain pose.  I'm not even kidding when I say I've pulled this pose a couple of times in the bathroom this last week.  There's just something about standing there, thinking about how I'm breathing, to calm me down and make me get back to workin' it.

• Next:  LISTS.  I'm relying on these more and more lately.  Maybe I should rely on my DS Brain Age a little more.  HA.  Seriously though - I love, love, LOVE lists lately.  Every morning, I make a new list.  Every afternoon, I assess said list and see where things are at.  Then, I make another list.  I love lists.  I have lists for stuff that needs to happen at home too.

• Better Homes and Gardens.  From magazines to cookbooks, to gardening bibles.  I adore that publication.  Right now, I have two BHG mags, the aforementioned bible, and a cookbook sitting near me.  Sticky notes and bookmarks in all of them.

• My Dyson.  That little powerhorse kicks some serious ass.  We've put it through the ringer this week, and it's still taking it.  But, I suppose that's what it's supposed to do, right?  Per the commercials and all.

• In the spirit of the Badger Herald, I'll give an Anti-Shout Out (or ASO, for those in the know...) to the weather lately.  WTF, man.  As if it's not bad enough that my poor little yard is clay-ful and doesn't properly drain from just a little downpour, I also have to deal with constant rain this spring.  I'd like to plant my garden sometime soon.  That would be great.

Well, that's about it, kids.  Have another great week!

Another week, another crop of things I'm grateful for!

It was so lovely today that I don’t even want to write a post – I just wanna BASK.

But, since it’s Monday and all…

• I’m grateful for my coffee-making hubby.  Dude makes me coffee every morning before work, while I get myself all kinds of pretty.  Or, at least it’s-7AM-and-I-have-to-go-to-work pretty.  Funny story:  a couple of weeks ago, I got to the bottom of my cup ‘o’ happiness, and got a mouthful of grounds.  I sent Mr. P an email, thanking him for making me coffee, and subsequently asking him if he could be so good as to leave the grounds out next time.  His response:  “Think of them as little bits of love I sprinkle in your coffee.”  Ha!  PS – I’m totally going to make some kind of art out of that…

• I don’t know if you know this about me, but I can be a *smidge* pushy when I want something.  This particular time around, I wanted heirloom tomatoes.  So, I abandoned Mr. P to go home and mow the lawn and went to the great little nursery down the road.  AND GOT TWO DIFFERENT TYPES!!  Black and Striped German or something?  I don’t really remember the names off-hand, but I’m over the moon about having gotten them.  So what if we don’t get to eat out this week – I got my tomatoes!  Hmm.  Is this item being thankful for being pushy or for Mr. P putting up with me?  Or for my little nursery down the road for still having heirlooms?  I’ll go with numero tres.

• Next up:  friends with connections.  Like my friend cablanch and her rain barrel connection.  That’s right folks – we’re rain barrel-having hippies!  Love it.  I’m really excited to gather it up from her and plant it in the backyard.  It’s kind of super bright blue, but a little spray paint will fix that right up.  I’ve been wanting one for a while now, and I’m really excited to finally get one!  Go, team eco!

• Sprinklers.  They give me something to laugh (hysterically) at.  Dog thinks that they’re something to be murdered now.  When the heads pop up (we have an in-ground system), he wants nothing more than to eat them and the water than shoots out of them.  The garden hose too now.  Hopefully, I can catch a video of him doing it.  He seemed to know that we were trying, and stopped as soon as we hit the record button yesterday.  Sneaky devil.

• I’m really grateful for people who understand where I’m coming from and can share my frustration.  I’ll not go into it more than that.  Sorry for the cryptics.  J

• Extra’s newest Dessert Delights gum.  It’s Orange Crème Pop, and it’ll knock your socks off.  IT TASTES LIKE TANG!!!  It’s not like the mint chip ice cream one (where it actually tastes pretty much exactly like the dessert!), but it’s amazing.  If I could chew this gum for the rest of my life, I’d be friggin’ thrilled.  I hope you hear that, Extra gum folks.  Ha.

• On that same note, electronic toothbrushes.  I love you, Oral B 5000.  Look ma!  No cavities!

That’s about it.  Hope you were able to enjoy the sun as I was not – stupid dentist appointment.

Grateful. Or, Lateful...

The grateful list!

I’m getting really bad at actually posting these on Mondays.  I was busy working out yesterday though, so I’m giving myself a pass on this one.  ha.

Things I’m grateful for:

• IT’S 80 FRICKIN’ DEGREES OUT THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!  The second this is posted, I’m going outside and frying in the sun.  Not exactly as weight-loss-inducing as, say, going for a run, but DANG if it isn’t something I’m looking forward to.

• The proprietor of the blog “Bower Power.”  She’s got a new post about Pottery Barn’s design books.  Maybe I should put this into a category called “DANG YOU!”  I am in lust for these books.  So, if you feel like getting me a “hey, congrats on squeezing it into those smaller jeans” gift, feel free to get me one of these.  Any of them.  All of them.  There are a ton of them!  WANT.

• NOT my cats.  Someone decided to dig in the garden seedlings yesterday.  Beans and baby lettuces EVERYWHERE.  Jackasses.  However, since this is a post about being grateful or whatever, I’m grateful for the water bottle.  Dig in that, turds.

• My parents!!  Thanks for the lawnmower, kids.  Mr. Peavs loves it already.  I love it too, as I believe it will mean that we WON’T be the WT neighbors without the mowed lawn.  Ha.  In addition, a special shout-out to Daddy-o for A) packing it into his truck and B) letting us borrow said truck.  It came in handy with the gathering of the materials to finish making our bed and the materials to build the raised garden beds.  For those of you playing along at home, that’s two tasks closer to being able to fully check a couple of items off our lists.  WHAT UP!?

• To a certain unnamed faster-food chain.  My lunch yesterday made me feel like ass.  It inspired me to workout harder (and with the window open for added sweat-inducing heat!) and to eat a much better dinner.  I’m not saying I’m going to use you as a catalyst for being healthy more often, I’m just saying it worked this one time.

• The baby geese at work.  SO STINKIN’ CUTE!!!  They make me all kinds of happy.  I just wanna squeeze ‘em.  And kiss their little beaks.  I like little baby animals.

• Sunroofs.  Sunrooves?  Either way, I love you.  You make the drive home so glorious.  Keeping you open keeps me from having to have an actual conversation with Hubs on the way home from work.  I KID!  Sort of.  Plus, I feel like I’m getting super cheap highlights when the sun hits the top of my head.  I love sun-warmed hair.

Ummm…that’s enough.  I wanna get out and bask in the glory of the sun…  :D  GET OUT THERE AND ENJOY IT YOURSELF!

Whoopsie. Here's my gratitude!

Soooooo…

I might have forgotten to be grateful yesterday.  My bad.  In my defense, I think I posted a couple of other posts.  Or was that Sunday??  I can’t remember all the time.  I’m fairly certain I’m sleep-deprived lately – I’ve been having really weird dreams that wake me up, and I have a hard time getting back to sleep.  Maybe I should pay attention to what I’m eating before bed on those nights!

At any rate.  Here’s the weekly List de Gratefulness.  It’s Spanglish.

·    My favorite little niecey Kendall.  Here’s a pic of her chubby little baby legs (side note:  how stinkin' cute are those leggings?!!?).  She was getting hosed off after decorating her pretty little head with frosting from her first birthday party.  Those legs are carrying her across rooms now, by the way.  *Sniffle*

·    SUNSHINE.  Man, does it feel good!  We’ve had a dreary week up here in the Northwoods, so it feels DANG nice to have some sunshine.  Even if serious wind comes with it.  I’ll take what I get.  Even the pets were basking in the glory.  I didn’t hear any noise for a couple of minutes this morning, so I peeked out into the living room to see who was dead – and all four of them were just hanging in the sun beams like real animals.  It was adorable.  And no.  I DIDN’T remember to take a pic.  Fool!

·    Just barely over four weeks until my bestie Jess is in the contiguous for good!  Or, at least, until she’s got her PhD all done.  Ha!  Only a 5-hour-ish drive from me.  WOO!  I think I’ve said it before, but that’s far better than two plane rides and a chicken bus!!

·    On that note, just over 6 weeks until my other girl Jenn is back!  She’s just around for six (??) weeks, then back to teaching in ‘Nam, but we’ve got a couple of weekends (and a WEEK!!!  SQUEAL!) planned out already.  She’d better bring me some sweet knock-offs.  I need an awesome summer purse, friend.  Think hobo.  Perhaps a long cross-body.  In a fun color or pattern.  GO.  I kid!  Sort of.

·    Exclamation points.  They’ve served me well in this post.  I should consider cutting down on the coffee.

·    President Obama.  I KNOW.  Politics.  Ish.  But, a job that was a long time coming was done.  I’d chant “USA! USA!” but I’m cautious at this point still.  Optimistically cautious, but I don’t want to start any snark offs on a topic that’s completely irrelevant to my blog.  J  So, zip your face if you’re going to get politically-charged.

·    Kohl’s.  They have some serious deals.  Got the super cute shirt I’m wearing today for $4.80.  Holla!  I love a good deal, baby.

That pretty much sums it up for me, folks.  Now, get out there and enjoy the day!

Weekly Gratitude

Here it is again this week, kids!  The Grateful List.

• I’m grateful for this weekly gratitude posting.  I sort of feel like, without it, my blog would be a *smidge* neglected.  Time to get better at posting, I guess.  It’s hard when you don’t have a whole lot to post about though!

• #2 this week is Easter Eggs from the Easter Bunny!!!!!!!!!

• Next up, I’m grateful for being gainfully employed.  Not everyone out there can say that.  I’m learning to acclimate myself a little bit better to the current situation at hand in the US, and realize that no one is immune to the economy, despite all our thoughts and hopes to the opposite.  I’m very grateful to not only have the opportunity to be taking on new items and tasks at work, but to just simply have my job still.

• I’m grateful that, despite a lot of dumb little issues, my pup is really pretty healthy.  This is not the case with my parents’ dog.  Cleo is not doing so great right now.  Knowing that makes me want to spend more time snuggling Cosmo, and less time doing a lot of other things.

• Vacation time!!!!  It means that I get to spend a whole week hanging on the pontoon with two of my favorite girls in the world.  I’m so very excited to be doing that, as I love (and severely miss!) both the girls and the pontoon time.  I’d better be amazingly bronzed, come July.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should get started on my base tan NOW.  I’m pretty damn pasty.

• Books.  I’ve been romanced by the Kindle, and I sort of feel like the pious-but-spunky lead female character in 99.9% of Harlequin Romances.  The ease and flashiness of E-readers is seductive like the flowing mane of hair and rules-be-damned attitude of the Harlequin tempter.  But then, I picked up a book from home that I had read a million times when I was younger, and I realized that paper books, like the pious-but-spunky lead’s close-but-distant admirer, really is the one for me.  They’re the Darcy to my Elizabeth.  The Darcy to my Bridget.  The Ben to my Jemima (name that [REALLY crappy] book for 1500 points!).  I won’t say that I absolutely won’t buy books on the app I have on my phone, but paper copies are my true love, and there won’t be an E-reader in our house for a while.

So, there you have it.  Just a couple of items on this one!

G-g-g-grateful!

(to the tune of  "Ch-ch-ch-changes" natch)

Here are some things I'm grateful for this week!

• Lynda from my gettin' skinny class.  I'm willing to admit that things were slipping.  I wasn't paying too close attention to making sure everything was tracked and logged.  But, now that I'm back on the wagon of having her check all my logs, I'm back on the wagon.  Oh, and I'm down 5 or 6 pounds already.  WHAT UP?!!!?
• Ice cream makers.  Yeah, I know.  Not exactly on the 'ol "diet" plan, yeah?  True, but seriously.  I'd rather eat my homemade ice cream, full of all the things that I know are in it, than some random chemical/ingredient list.  PLUS, we can make low-fat frozen yogurt and get our fruit on.  Pretty dang excited about it, if I can be honest.  :)
• My cat PePe.  LAME.  I get it.  But he's so stinkin' cute!  He's sleeping up against my leg right now, keeping me warm.  It's nice.  Plus, he makes life more interesting most days.  He's got an obsession with being outside.  He's even all about going outside when there's snow on the ground.  But not when he's been tossed in the bank (we call that "cat tossing").  He's a huge Tom, but he has the voice of a kitten.  Very expressive and vocal fella.  Gotta love him!
• Amazon MP3.  I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I LOVE the App on my 'ol Droid.  They have a Free Song of the day, and it's totally expanding my musical pallet.  I like it.
• Making plans!  I've made summer vacay plans already, and I'm so excited!!!  It involves two of my favorite girls, some sun, and PLENTY of beer.  :)  Lite, of course...ha.
• Chobani yogurt.  I love that stuff.  I wasn't sure how I would feel about Greek yogurt, but it turns out that I LOVE it.  SO much more filling than your average, run-of-the-mill yogurt cup.  That baby and some great grains (see, Lynda!  I listen!!), and I'm in business all morning.  My favorite?  That would be the lemon.  YUM.  Makes me pucker and smile all at once!
• Myfitnesspal.com!!!  I love that site.  Actually, I guess I should say I love the site and the app on my phone.  Since I eat a lot of the same foods, it's really convenient to just click the little button and add it to my little food diary.  It's so perfectly easy to take care of my tracking there.  Remember when I mentioned my new fave website?  Yeah, this is it.  Prepare yourself for a full on post about it later...

I think that I'll cut it off there...after all, I'm old and it's bed time!  :D
Heart you all!!



Psst - I feel as though I should mention that, for all the items that are on here there are no sponsors or perks or whatnot.  It's all just how I feel about the things I mention!

Gratitude time again!

In the words of Pseudo Boricua - ack!

 

It's been a strange week or two since I last wrote.  Knee = hurt.  Working out = postponed till I'm better.  Eating well = out the door, 'cause I'm bummed about the stupid knee.  Then, on top of it all, the weather headed south and our fridge busted.

 

So, it's been a bummer 'round here lately.

 

BUT!  A person should still be grateful for the things she has, yeah?  So, I am.

I'm grateful that our fridge broke.  :)  I mean it!  We got to clean out the fridge and the freezer and get rid of all the stuff that's old or gross.  PLUS, I'll even get to physically clean out both sides while the unit is room-temp.  It'll be glorious.  Get ready for the bleach, F&F!  We pulled out the unit on Sunday night, and were able to clean the sides and top and behind and under...NASTY.  We hadn't cleaned it out once since we moved in (two-plus years ago...).  There were 16 fuzzy ball cat toys and 2 fuzzy toy mice under there.  PePe is the happiest cat EVER right now.

For owning an "adult" couch that came with pillows.  I've been using three of the MASSIVE pillows off of our couch to elevate my knee while I ice it.  It's been swell, thanks to how huge and puffy they are.  In that same vein, I'm grateful for my giant chairs.  The fit me, two cats, AND all the pillows for my knee.  They're beyond swell.

 

Again, along those same lines, I'm grateful for the ceramic cold pack we have.  I forget who makes it, but I can tell you that we're going to be getting another one soon.  I've got weak and creaky knees, and the doc I saw last week said it would be beneficial to ice them for a little while after particularly difficult workouts (Jillian Michaels DVD, I'm looking at you...).

 

For my Father-in-Law.  (or, "Other Father.")  He came over today (and will be back tomorrow) to help Hubs with some house stuff.  He's just dang knowledgeable, and I like that about him.  We are willing to try to do things on our own, but we don't always know how.  He's a good Miyagi.

 

My little sister.  I like that she'll have a drink with me at mid-day.  Virtual high-five, hommie.

Dyson.  Our carpet is gross (ah, the joys of owning a pre-owned home completed in a range of "builder's special" everything), but that Dyson works its little motorized butt off to pick up all the pet hair, dirt, and general ish from the carpet of nastiness.  Thanks, Dyson.

Emma's Express car wash.  I like that it's not touch-free!  Feels like my little Rogue is actually getting a good clean.  Good Lord, but the little things in life excite me.  Yikes.

Um, I think that's it for now.  A day late, and a couple of points short...

Things I'm greatful for.

Another Monday, another list of things I’m grateful for.

• Schoolhouse Rocks.  We learned so very much from those little shorts.  As a matter of fact, we had a moment at work today (when we discovered that one of our members HADN’T seen them!!) when we listened to a little “Interplanet Janet” and “Preamble.”  I could still sing the songs!  It was lovely.  Except that I had IPJ stuck in my head for half the morning.  Nothing like a little Smoker-created entertainment on a Monday morning!
• Rain.  I love that stuff.  Especially right now.  Rain melts all the snow.  It makes all the winter grossness disappear.  When it’s rained a few times instead of snowing, the plants all kind of wake up a little.  Warm rain makes the world all quiet and frosty with fog.  It also melts dog poo in my backyard.  Holla!
• Transitions.  I’m having one of those right now – in a few different places.  We’re gussying up the house, cleaning windows and throwing them open to the breeze.  Moving furniture around, looking into changing the mirrors out in the bathrooms (I’ll be putting a post on that on my other blog sometime soon…), finally using some of the million picture frames we have around the house (inspiration:  see Young House Love’s post, here), and hanging shelves.  In my full-time life, the times they are a-changin’ as they say.  New duties, new experience, new stresses.  Bring it on.
• Spring!  It’s officially here.  And, might I say that I like it.  I’m so ready to be done with winter.  This winter was just cold and miserable.  I always love Spring, but this year it seems especially intoxicating.  Spring means that we can walk the dog every night after work.  Spring means it’s almost time for me to take the new bike out for a spin.  Spring means opened windows and the smell of cut grass.
• Reese’s mini PB eggs.  MAN I love those things.  They’re unbelievably good.  AND, the little ones are only 90 calories.  I can stomach that just slightly better than their 170-calorie giant counterparts.  Mmmm.  Looks like I found another Kryptonite.  :)
• Watching Evin eat pita chips.  Super stinkin' cute.  I love that cat.  Oh, this is that cat:

Doesn't he just look like an old soul?  He's such a good kitty.

Anyway.  There you have it.  This week's grateful list.  Tomorrow, I promise I'll have a real post.  Promise.

Weekly Gratitude!

Holy cats.  Another week, come and gone.  And thus, another Gratitude!

• Dilbert cartoons.  Scott Adams just gets me.
• My in-laws.  YES, I know I mentioned them a couple of weeks ago, but I gotta do it again.  We had lunch with them yesterday, and I'm just so proud of them and amazed by them.  Their weight-loss has been an incredible inspiration.  You guys are kicking butt!!!  Keep it up.  :)
• Some of the people I work with.  I talk on the phone to folks all day long in my job.  Every once and a while, you speak with someone who is just pure gold.  They make you smile and are just the sweetest people.  I had one of those today.  It definitely made my morning - maybe even my whole day.  Thanks!
• That the work program is coming back!!!  Starting April 6, I'll be taking the Part I of the program.  Little backwards, I know, but I'm so excited to go through this part of it.  From what I've gathered, it's all about learning how to eat - how to look at the labels on your food and all that.  Super excited!
• Fish sticks.  Yeah, I know that they're not so great for you (mostly breading and all that), but I'm eating fish.  It's a step in the right direction, right?  ha.
• Sally Hansen nail care items.  I've got stellar fingernails now.  I was a HORRIBLE nail-biter when I was younger.  Pretty much up until about 7 years ago when I met Mr. P.  Horrible.  Nails chomped down to the quick.  Painful stuff.  Thanks to the calming effect of my hubby dear (I know.  Puke.) and Sally H, I've got awesome nails.
• My work to lose the extra lbs has paid off at least a little.  As I sit here, my wedding and engagement rings are sitting on the arm of the chair next to me. Wait.  Maybe I should be grateful for the extreme cold in the basement.  Maybe that's why the rings are off.  Meh.  Either way.  My rings are off!

I think that's good for now.  I'm trying not to keep this gratitude thing too deep.  Mostly, I like to think of myself as the kind of girl who appreciates the small things in life - so those are the things I'm most grateful for.  Some of it might be a little deeper, but I like the little things.

Weekly Gratitude!

Weekly gratitude time!

• Mr. Peavs.  He's such a great fella.  His short-comings (Let's face it.  Everone, even me - shocking, I know - has them) are far out-weighed by his awesomeness.  He makes my coffee in the morning, and lets the dog out in the middle of the night.  He tolerates my whining with a laugh most of the time.  He always gets me a heart-shaped box full of chocolates for Valentine's Day.  He's the butter to my toast.  The bacon to my eggs.  Why are my references brekfast food-related??  Love that guy.  Even when I wanna throat punch him.  :)
• Garlic hummus, cucumber slices, and Muenster cheese.  They make the turkey in my daily turkey pita sandwich lunch edible.  More than edible.  Delictable, really!  Which is saying a lot, because lunchmeats = nast.
• My greenish thumb.  I like that I can keep random plants (like a pot of annual decorative grasses) alive.  I’m extremely proud of the fact that I can keep alive the Arboracola that was given to my family when my grandpa was in the hospital some 28-ish years ago.  I’m also mad proud of the Burro’s Tail that I propagated all by my lonesome.  It really needs to be re-potted though.  Maybe we'll call it a green-yellow thumb for now.
• My Droid’s RunKeeper app.  It’s kind of awesome to know just how far I’ve gone when I take Dogzilla for a walk.  It even tells me the estimated calories burned.  Even though it’s probably not 100% accurate for me, it's pretty sweet.
• Birds.  I’ve heard a few of them lately.  Which reminds me…I need to knock down some nests and put up some chicken wire to keep those dummies out from under my deck this spring.  Wait.  Can I say “dummies” in a gratitude post?  Meh.  I’m leaving it.
• Sunshine.  When that golden deliciousness chooses to show up, there's just no way NOT to smile.  I love the emergence of spring.
• "Mad Love."  Yeah, that kid from American Pie and the chick from Scrubs are okay, but I LOVE the other two on the show.  They're awesome, and totally make the show.  I'm a gynormous fan of they guy who plays Larry (a big enough fan that I don't know his name...).  I've watched him play the sidekick on that show about the devil owning a dude's soul and forcing him to chase down demons (yeah, I got nothing when it comes to names today...), as the main character on the short-lived "Sons of Tuscon" (GOT ONE!), and now this.  I like seeing him as the sidekick.  He's good at it.  Also, how have I written that much about a TV show??

There you got it!  Greatfully delicious.

Grrrrrrrrrreat(ful)!

So, my bestie J over at Pseudo Boricua snagged an idea from one of HER frequently-read blogs about posting a weekly gratitude list.  I like it.  I, too, shall steal it (with a little shout-out to Love, Life, Lace).

I think I’ll make them a Monday post about the previous week.  Because, let’s face it.  Mondays can often need a little extra something to keep them from sucking so much.  A nice little post about all the things I’m grateful for that week should do the trick.  Now, the other trick:  making myself start a post every week that I write things in because LORD KNOWS I have no brain for memory.

And on that note…

·         My DS Lite.  I love you and your Brain Age program.  Perhaps I should bust that puppy out more often?  Also, Super Mario Bros 2 is pretty great.

·         Glee soundtracks.  I KNOW.  Nerd.  I get it.  But, I just can’t help myself; I love listening to them.  There’s just something I love about a show that takes “Poker Face” and turns it into a poppy, sweet song.  Plus, I love Puck.  Soooo…  Where was I going with this??  OH.  Right.  On my trip from my sister’s, I listened to all four of the albums I have in their entirety, and it almost got me home (plus an HOUR LONG conversation with the hubs!!).  It reminded me of my “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” days.  The tape (yes, tape) was exactly long enough to start it when I got in the car and have it finish as I turned on the road to the farm.

·         Being able to get my wedding and engagement rings off without having to drench my hand in lotion first.  Holla!

·         Knowing my body well enough again to know exactly what crappy thing(s) I ate this weekend to be giving me this intense, irritating heartburn.  I’m looking at you, French Onion Ruffles.

·         My family.  Those guys are just so stinkin’ awesome.  We may not see each other as often as we like (it’s hard when the closest trip is around two hours), but knowing that we have each other is just about as great a gift.  On that same line, my in-laws.  I love those guys too.  I count myself as one of the lucky who adore the in-laws.  Um…I don’t think we have very good reasons for not seeing each other as often as we could.  Can we blame it on the dogs??

·         Jillian Michaels.  Yeah, she’s the devil.  But she’s helping me make it possible to tug off the rings, so she deserves some gratitude.  Just this once.

·         “Real” motivation.  Sister-mine is getting married next April (MAJOR SQUEAL!!!!).  I am the Sister of Honor (I REFUSE to call myself the “Matron” of Honor, as I am not an old lady).  I thusly need to squeeze into a cute little dress.  I will NOT be in another wedding as a fat person.  I’ve done it four-ish times already, and that’s plenty for me.

I think that’s enough for the first round.  There’s a lot more than these listed that I could go into, but I’ll go ahead and stop there.  Don’t want to jump out the gate too quickly and end up a loser!