Friday, September 28, 2012

September 28th, 2012 - JJ

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower! My husband reminded me that I was supposed to mention it in my things yesterday and I forgot! Best movie I think I've ever seen! I can't get over it. You should all see it asap for sure! Along that note, I'm also thankful that Derick likes movies so much and that he drags me to see movies with him, because otherwise I probably never would've seen The Perks of Being a Wallflower and that would be really sad!
 
2. That I married into such a great family! Cameron is posting pictures of the food he's cooking for this weekend on facebook and I am drooling in anticipation! Can't wait to get down to NC and see everyone tomorrow! and to eat and eat and eat!
 
3. A short work day. I'm heading out of the office in under an hour. Horray!!
 
4. Dual temperature control in my (parents') car, which we're driving down to NC today. This means that I don't have to wear lots of layers to stay warm, and Derick doesn't have to suffer through me constantly trying to turn the heat on while we're driving. Should improve the long drive significantly!
 
5. Count down to Ripley: 7 days!!! Can't even wait!!! I wish we could get her today and take her to NC with us. Also thankful that my mom is so excited to get to meet her in October! And that my parents get to come visit so soon. I always miss them and am so thankful that they are able to visit so often.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

September 27th - Heather

1. My ability to work well under pressure. I forgot about a presentation that I had to give in class tuesday night until 3:30 Tuesday afternoon. Pulled it all together remarkably well in two hours!

2. That I made myself go to the library session that was offered this past weekend...was a great refresher for my research skills...made #1 feasible!

3. That I'm progressing on my quest to make gifts this holiday season. I'm excited to see pieces reach completion!

4. That Alice is happy and healthy in our home and has settled in with her brothers well. She's already growing too fast. We have a vet appointment tomorrow to be spayed and microchipped etc. She'll be at the vet's office all weekend. I'm already just a little sad to drop her off in the morning.

5. That even when she's squirmy and doesn't want to be held, Alice still purrs the minute you touch her. So adorable!

September 27th, 2012 - JJ

1. That my left over fries from last night's dinner have reheated fairly well for lunch today. Also thankful that I had poppyseed dressing in the fridge at work, because it's a surprisingly delicious dipping sauce for the fries (although it's no ranch substitute, obviously! No worries, Raymi & Megan Kircher. I've not lost my mind completely!!)
 
2. That Allagash comes sprinting down the hallway to get snuggles every morning when I wake up. I love the sound of him running toward me. He's such an adorable, loving cat (when he's not biting and scratching me)!
 
3. Anna, my coworker. She's generally just awesome, and I am so glad I'm getting more clients with her now. I think she's wonderful.
 
4. That we get to go to North Carolina tomorrow afternoon! I can't wait!!
 
5. An all office work day tomorrow. Meaning I'll be able to wear jeans, and I might even have a chance to organize my work life a little bit.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

September 25th, 2012 - JJ

1. Our vaccuum.  In case you missed it yesterday, I'm REALLY excited about it!!! :) I just can't get over how nice it is to have truly clean floors.
 
2. An office with a door. I can still hear vague conversation sounds coming from the rest of the office, but it's much easier to ignore when I can't make out the words.
 
3. A relatively painless experience getting my (parents') car fixed this morning. The only thing that hurt was my bank account. It was nice not to get hassled to have any other repairs done or to find out something else was wrong with the car. Horray!
 
4. Just a few more days until our mini vacation to North Carolina. Can't wait!
 
5. That Derick took out the recycling this morning on his way out the door when I asked him. I know that not all husbands do chores around the house after being asked only one time, so it was really nice that mine responded positively when I asked and that I didn't have to feel like a nag. It was also really nice not to have to walk over a cardboard box to get out the back door. :)
 
6. Less than two weeks until we get to pick up Ripley! Can't wait! I hope the cats don't freak out on us when we bring a puppy into their home.
 
7. The amazing dinner we made last night. Derick made our favorite breakfast sandwiches on bagels, and together we made parmesean fries and avocado fries with homemade truffle aioli. It was delicious!

Monday, September 24, 2012

September 24th - Heather

1.  Amazing fruit and veggies from Brennan's Market!  We stopped on Saturday to buy some veggies because we don't like the produce at the grocery store we go to.  When we go to Brennan's it's usually for cheese....we just kind of breeze past the fruits and veggies and head for the cheese samples.  But I was amazed at some of the fruit samples they had out and equally amazed at how inexpensive it turned out to be!  Great combo!!! 

2.  The genius that engineered the applum!  So amazing!  It's a cross between a plum and an apple.  I can't remember the last time I was this excited to eat fruit!

3.  This recipe for a non-mayo based chicken salad.  I'm not a huge fan of mayo...so I was excited to try it...so flavorful!  It's just cubed chicken, diced cucumbers, diced onions, cubed pear mixed with a honey, fresh mint white wine vinegar dressing.  It smells great right away, but the flavors meld so well after it sits in the fridge overnight!  Thumbs up to mom for finding the recipe!

4.  Talking mail.  One of my student workers brought me my campus mail and sat and chatted for awhile.  It's always nice to have the chance to sit down and chat with them.

5.  Finding balance.  Doesn't mean that I won't lose it, it's tenuous.  But I'm trying to fight this guilt that comes over me everytime I dedicate myself to write something other than grad papers...including these blog posts!

September 24th, 2012 - JJ

1. My new Dyson Animal vaccuum. It's amazing!  Makes cleaning up the cat fur SO much easier, and I love haivng a clean floor!  I'm sure the novelty of vaccuuming will wear off quickly, but after not having had a vacuum for the last two years I'm looking forward to being able to vaccuum every weekend (or at least every time I notice the fur accumulating in the corners)
 
2. That my coworker, Anna, called me this morning to see if she could ask our boss if the new referral she had gotten this AM could be switched from another behavior analyst to me. I absolutely love working with Anna, and hopefully this means I won't get another case with anyone else this week.
 
3. That I was able to find Peaberry coffee at a Trader Joe's in the burbs this weekend! Also thankful for how excited Sandi is that I picked some up for her as well. Smiles and hugs make Monday mornings more bearable.
 
4. That Alison and Brent are engaged!!! I am so excited for them!
 
5. That everything I have for lunch today is vegetables, and that I'm really excited about each thing because they're all delicious!
 
6. North Carolina on Friday!!!  I wish it was tomorrow! and I also wish we were able to stay longer.

Friday, September 21, 2012

September 21st, 2012 - JJ

1. It's FRIDAY!!! YAY!!!!!! And payday Friday at that. :)
 
2. The delicious burgers Derick made last night for dinner. We put them on pretzel rolls. YUM!!! and we had parmesean fries with truffle salt on them, dipped in garlic aioli.  Be jealous!
 
3. That Derick is now tolerating having Allagash stay in our bedroom at night, and also that Allagash is no longer being a total nuisance throughout the night when he is in our bedroom. He's such a cute little snuggle bug, and I'm glad I don't have to feel bad anymore about kicking him out of our room and making him spend the night all alone.
 
4. That I felt much better for waking up at 5am this morning than I did on Wednesday when I did it. Not sure why, but I'm thankful for it anyway. Also thankful that waking up so early twice in one week paid off and we got to see the client we were observing actually engage in target behavior this morning.
 
5. The ability to do work from home, which I am about to take advantage of. Especially thankful because this means I get to eat another burger for lunch, that I get to miss rush hour traffic this afternoon, and that I get to spend the afternoon in my pajamas.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

September 20th - Heather

1. Miss Alice got a clean bill of health from the vet last night!

2. Lunchtime walking with Jodi. It felt good to put on my tennis shoes and break a sweat. It totally needs to happen more often.

3. I was trolling through my yahoo inbox, looking for Alice's report card from her first vet visit in Portland, and I found an email from the vet tech checking in to make sure that Alice was tolerating her medicine. It came in on the 4th and I just saw it yesterday. I was thankful for the gesture and so bummed I didn't see it when it first came in.

4. Thai food for dinner. I'm not feeling well, so a big bowl of spicy thai soup sounds sooooooo good right now!

5. Knowing that I can catch up on work and homework this weekend if I in fact get nothing accomplished today.....which is looking increasingly likely.

September 20th, 2012 - JJ

1. That Jessica called me yesterday. It was a lovely surprise, even though we could only talk for a few minutes.
 
2. The delicious greek lettuce wraps Derick made for dinner last night. So yummy and surprisingly filling. Who would've thought a healthy meal could be both those things?
 
3. Books for providing a welcome escape from reality.
 
4. Coffee. I made it at home and brought it to work this morning in two to go mugs because I just didn't think one was going to cut it. I've been pouring it into the coffee mug Nika made me for Christmas years and years ago when we both still worked at Proctor. :) I LOVE this coffee cup. It's kind of triangle shaped, so the soft corner just next to the handle fits perfectly into the corner of your thumb and the other fingers and the other fingers fit perfectly under the handle. It's the best coffee cup in the whole wide world.
 
5. The new air freshener I got for the litter box area in our house. You can smell the yummy citrus scent in all the rooms on that side of the house, but it's not too strong in the bathroom which is pretty amazing. I love it. I don't know how we lived without it before!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

September 19th, 2012 - JJ

1. That I had a day off of work yesterday. It was amazing! I stayed in bed until 11am reading and snuggling with Muffin and Allagash (with the exception of a short conference call at 9am) and talking to Megan Noon on the phone, then I got up and had coffee and breakfast while watching Game of Thrones. Then the fun stopped and I cleaned the house for the rest of the day. Cleaning aside, it was amazing to stay in pajamas all day and not be constantly responding to e-mails/phone calls while trying to catch up on paperwork.
 
2. That I made a side of sauteed  veggies that Derick ate with dinner last night. He didn't eat the full amount that I gave him, but he ate so many and said he'd eat it again if I made it in the future! Granted, I cooked the veggies in bacon fat and mixed some bacon in, but still!
 
3. Dunkin Donuts pumpkin coffee. Less expensive than a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, and the Dunkin Donuts near my client's house this morning had a drive through while the Starbucks didn't.  WIN!
 
4. The warm sweater I keep at the office. Very necessary on days like today when my office feels like the North Pole.
 
5. That they're keeping Rachel Barry's character on Glee this season even though she graduated. At first I was upset because Glee should be about a highschool Glee club, not about characters that have graduated, but her voice is so amazing that I am thankful to have it in my life on an almost weekly basis.  She gives me goosebumps!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

September 13th - Heather

I have so much to be thankful for.  And I I keep telling myself that I'm going to sit down and prepare my pictures from my last few days in Portland to share on here, and I haven't.  So I'm going to have to post pictures later.  For now, here's what I'm thankful for:

1.  A wonderful and relaxing time in Portland, OR.

2.  Amazing food finds in Portland.  Specifically three places stick out since my last post: Habibi, Lebanese Cuisine; Luc Lac, Vietnamese Cuisine; and Thai Peacock, Thai Cuisine.  I was absolutely amazed at how much food was served for so little money and I was equally struck by how rich and flavorful it was.

3.  Networking at the conference I was in Portland for.  I met some great people and shared some great meals.

4.  Little Alice traveled back to Milwaukee  very well.  She slept through both flights and only got really vocal when there were a couple of toddlers screaming in the gate area.

5.  That her appetite and little system seems to be back to normal after our little bought with a nasty parasite while in Portland.  She is happy and playful and growing like crazy.

6.  That introducing Alice to Jacob and Edward did not incite a feline version of world war three in our household!  Jake and Edward are just under a year old and they've both been so good with her.  It's hysterical to watch them all play together.  She looks so tiny and they look so big.

7.  My first week of classes went well.  Exhausting but well.  I'm clearly not going to sleep for the next few months and will subsequently sleep the entire week that I'm off between Christmas and New Years.  I'm taking two grad courses this term, one on administration and one on foundations of adult ed.  Hello text book, am I going to be busy!

8.  While my hands are increasingly tracking towards the climate of a frozen tundra in northern Canada, me feet are firmly planted in the Saraha....meaning that as the weather cools off - and thankfully so - I can still comfortably wear my strappy sandals.  While I'm ready for cooler weather, I am not ready for closed-toed shoes!

9.  That I have tamed the wild beast that is my hair since returning to Milwaukee.  I didn't take enough hair product with me to Portland to compete with Alice backcombing my hair all night long.  Now that we're home, I have a whole arsenal of bathroom products to combat her nesting in my locks overnight.

And 10.  (I could and maybe should go on, but after this one I'm signing off for today...)  Thankful for friends!!!  Talking to Mrs Julie on gchat two days in a row (:o) (:-)), FaceTiming with Mr Derick and Mrs JJ the other night and getting to see them this weekend, gchatting with Miss Amy and, of course, all the wonderful birthday greetings from friends and colleagues from around the globe!  I'm a very lucky girl!

Monday, September 10, 2012

September 10th, 2012 - JJ

1. French press coffee.  Yum!
 
2. An easy, slow moving morning. I had a quiet, uneventful observation first thing this morning which was wonderful considering the craziness that has been my work life the last few weeks.
 
3. The delicious pasta with jalapeno, zucchini, and mushroom cheese sauce that I made for dinner last night. Just ate the left overs for lunch and it was amazing. I wish I had more!! Also, for our cuisinart! It was so much fun chopping up all the ingredients with it last night. And so fast!! :)
 
4. Cooler weather. We're supposed to get back up into the 80's for the rest of the week, but it has been awesome having it be in the 70's the last few days. I need fall asap!
 
5. The hand sanitizer and napkins I keep in my car. I accidently got gross trash water on my foot while taking out the trash this morning on my way out the door and the hand sanitizer and napkins made it so that I didn't have to climb back up all the stairs to go wash my foot off.

Friday, September 7, 2012

September 7th, 2012 - JJ

1. Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
 
2. That it's Friday!!!
 
3. That I ended up not doing any work at home last night and just laid on the couch and snuggled with Derick while he watched tennis. Also, that he was so excited to show me an episode of Iron Chef that he'd recorded because it had our favorite chef, Stephanie Izard on as a guest chef. I love her!
 
4. Food. It's good stuff.
 
5. The weekend is almost here. Only one meeting stands between me and laying on the couch and eating ice cream.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

September 6th, 2012 - JJ

1. The chinese food place near my work that delivers, and walnut shrimp. So good!
 
2. Pumpkin Spice Lattes, making it seem like fall as long as I'm drinking them with the AC up real high in the car since it's 80something degrees today.
 
3. Getting to bond with a client's parents over our love of Stephanie Izard and Girl & The Goat. I love finding fellow foodies in unexpected situations. :)
 
4. For all of my co-workers who are so understanding of the fact that I am just a giant stressball at the moment, and for offering to help me out when they can.
 
5. A boss who jokes. I'm not sure he's going to help me make the situation better in the long run, but at least I left his office with a smile on my face. Sometimes you have to be appreciative of the small things if you can't get the big ones.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

September 5th, 2012 - JJ

1. Chocolate croissants. I really should learn how to make them. It's my favorite breakfast comfort food! Also pairs well with the giant salted caramel mocha I'm currently enjoying.
 
2. A great weekend at home. Wish it wasn't over already! I'm not at all ready to be back at work today!
 
3. My parents, for throwing Derick and I such a great party. My dad worked his butt off cooking, and my mom did a great job cleaning and taking care of everyone while Derick and I socialized with all the people who came.
 
4. That so many people came to our reception, and especially thankful for those that came long distances and with small children! It was wonderful to see friends from college and from high school and for everyone to meet Derick, finally.
 
5. The beautiful cake Jessica made for the reception. It had daffodils on it!!!! :) My favorite!
 
6. That we're almost definitely getting a puppy!!!!  We've been talking about it so much the last few days that I feel a little bit like we already have one. It's kind of disappointing to go home and not have a puppy there waiting for me since it's on my mind all the time.
 
7. That we were able to clean up all the cat mess easily last night and that our house smells good again this morning. Crazy cats. Also thankful that there seems to be no ill effects from chewing on one of the ant traps. Not sure which cat did it (Allagash, probably), but they're both behaving normally and seem healthy (and the vet said just to continue to monitor them, and not to bring them in immediately). Phew!!
 
8. Coffee. Coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee!
 
9. My co-workers for helping out in a mini crisis yesterday, and for helping out with Kate being out right now. Without them I think I'd hate my job at the moment.
 
10. That this is going to be a short week. Just two more days after today until the weekend. I think I can, I think I can......

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

September 3rd - Heather

 
1. I'm thankful for little Alice. She was not in the best health when I adopted her...but she is on her way to being a healthy happy little kitten. I've been giving her rubby nosed kisses since I brought her home...this morning was the first time that she gave me kisses. Now she's perched on my chest watching me type. I wish she would stay this small forever, but I know she'll grow...afterall, on my birthday I'm acutely aware that we never stop growing.

2. Having had this time in Portland to relax and enjoy this city before my conference begins on Wednesday.

3. Good coffee and pastries...I went to Public Domain one of my first mornings here in Portland. Nothing like coffee love from the barista.

4. My mom for calling me to tell me about a sandwich place she saw on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives in Portland called Bunk Sandwiches....it was tasty!

5. I decided to save going to the Portland Japanese Garden for my birthday. I wasn't prepared for it to be as much of a hike as it was, but it was worth it. The gardens were beautiful and the pictures came out great. The best was the view of Mt Hood towards the end of the path. I love great mountain shots in ordinary places.

6. Speaking of mountain views....one of the first days I was here I found myself in a mall food court enjoying some frozen yogart while gazing out over this view. Real mountains! Not clouds that look like mountains. Not small rises in elevation covered in burnt tumbleweeds. Not mounds of dirt pushed together and covered in grass and snow with a ski slope atop it.

 
7. My new camera connection kit that connects my camera to my iPad! So I was able to upload all of my pictures from the past few days!