Of the many blessings I have, I am thankful for:

* Waking up to sunshine & birds chirping
* The perfect cup of tea or coffee to help start my day
* Cezar Milan. Probably the words best dog trainer. Inspirational.
* No white knuckle driving this year with such a mild winter
* Being able to step out of my comfort zone and have a great time
* Finding the perfect couch after a year of looking
* Gas fireplaces
* Unconditional love
* A place to call home
* Making something old new again

Thankful Thursday

Of all the many blessings I have, here are a few simple things on my mind this Thursday:

• Giggling
• Valentines
• Puddles to jump in
• My son ASKED to have cauliflower with dinner tonight
• Red hot applesauce
• Beautiful sunrises
• Rawhide bones that keep Copper entertained and watching him try and hide them around the house is hilarious. Found one in my laundry basket today. Silly puppy
• Bicycles
• Fruit popsicles
• Excedrin PM and a good nights sleep!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for the many blessings I have. 

Here are a few random things on my mind today:

• Big fluffy snowflakes
• Warm cinnamon rolls
• Board games
• Pillows
• Wireless internet
• Shelves - think of all the wasted space in kitchens, closets, and around the house without simple shelves
• Magnets
• Tape
• Shoelaces
• Tape measure

We spent Saturday night downtown at the gateway. It was a fun night out on the town.















We had dinner at Applebees.  Ash wanted to taste everyone's drinks to make sure her mango frozen lemonade was, in fact, the right choice.

Ash and I couldn't decide what we wanted so I ordered chicken and three cheese penne pasta and Ash ordered an Asian chicken  salad and we shared. Both were delicious.

After dinner we caught a show at the imax theater in the planetarium. We watched, Space Junk in 3D. The 3D graphics were really cool and the documentary itself was really interesting. Jackson brought some of his allowance money so he could buy a geode he's had his eye on since our last visit.

It got pretty chilly but we had fun walking around and checking out our favorite stores. Ashleigh got her first pair of TOMS, which she has wanted for quite some time. She even helped pay for part of them. For every pair of shoes TOMS sells, they provide a second pair of shoes for a child in need somewhere in the world. I think it's a great company.

 We saw all sorts of goodies but all got Starbucks for dessert instead and it was sooooo good.

 Unfortunately for us, the mall closed around the same time as the Jazz game got out across the street so getting out of the underground parking took over a half hour. Four stories under concrete parking levels will certainly interfere with cell phone reception and radio signals. It was almost a game to stay in spots where we could still get the radio. Ashleigh tried to convince me to let her ride on the roof of the car since we were moving so slowly. Yeah right! Even stuck underground was pretty entertaining though.. and the Starbucks didn't hurt either!

Me time.

Uhh. You would think today was a Monday. Work was terrible. I felt like I was just the household chauffeur tonight and an unappreciated one at that. I didn't have dinner planned so we stopped at Taco Time on the way home from karate. I was in a bad mood so nothing sounded good but I was thirsty. I ordered a cherry limeade thinking it would be light and refreshing. Wrong. It was a cherry but with a funky flavor and a spicy after taste. Yuck. I like to cook so dinner from a drive through did not help my mood.

I ate kale chips for dinner. I also keep taking swigs of my drink with hopes it would get better. It didn't. The cup is sitting on the dining room table as we speak. It's about half way full still and that's after sharing with any one else at the table that wanted some... they didn't care for it either.

Working out does put me in a good mood but I've been lazy about it lately. I just typed 'lately' but feel free to read that as 'for months' because that would be much more accurate. I did work out after dinner though and I felt better. Accomplished.

Jackson was in bed by 9:00 and Ashleigh at 9:30, allowing me to hit the shower around 10.  Rusty was playing a game online with some of our friends and Copper was happily napping in his lap. Wow, some alone time. I took an extra long, extra hot shower and it was blissful. I realized that I need to take more time for myself. I need to take time to rejuvenate.

I've been on auto pilot this week, I can tell because the week is almost over and I'm sitting here wondering where the time has gone. As of tonight, I'm back to manual mode and slowing down a bit to enjoy. I need to make 'me time' a priority. Even just 20 minutes goes a long way. I feel refueled and relaxed... and ready for bed. A good nights sleep needs to become a priority again too because going to bed after midnight every night makes for very hard mornings.

Thankful Thursday

Of the many things I am thankful for, here are a few on my mind today:

• Blue skies and sunshine. Which we have none of today, making me even more thankful for the days we do.
• My kids. I just see and hear so many bad decisions being make by other kids their age and hear about it from other parents. I'm so glad I have good kids.
• Hair straightener. I went to bed with wet hair last night, it was a tad bit crazy when I got up this morning.
• Windshield wipers. It has been snowing and raining. Imagine trying to drive without them.
• Indoor plants. They make my cubicle a much better place to spend five hours of my day.
• Chicken noodle soup. So simple and inexpensive to make but oh so delicious.
• Dryer sheets. Static can be particularly crazy in this dry winter air.
• Purse. I would have a lot of things to carry around in my pockets without it.
• Cheese & Crackers. Quite possibly one of the best snacks ever.
• Copper. I've been freezing but I have this nice warm ball of fluff curled up on my lap right now and he's helping me stay warm.