May 31st, 2013 - JJ

1. Disinfecting wipes. They make life so much easier to clean up after! 

2. Air conditioning. Can't wait for central air at the new house in two weeks, but for now I'm very thankful for the window AC in our bedroom and the AC in the car.

3. For Elena and all her help with dog training. Ripley Roo had a terrible day yesterday with both toy aggression (an on-going issue, but yesterday she snapped at me for the first time) and getting into food on the counter while we were out of the room (for the first time). The little shit (I love her)! So it's really nice to have someone who can advise me on how to help train her out of those bad behaviors. 

4. For coffee. I wish I could quit it, but it's too amazing.

5. For Pinterest. I'm definitely addicted.

6. For babies and for Anna, who invited me to a party where I got to be around lots of kids and babies. I miss working with kids and though holding babies didn't do much to help my baby fever, it was a lot of fun! :) 

7. For Fabio's cookbook. His meatballs are delicious! (that's what she said?!)

8. Arrested Development. So funny! I'm thankful Derick made me watch all of the first three seasons over the last few months so I could be ready for the new season on Netflix. It's good stuff!

9. For Panera, especially their broccoli cheddar soup and the steak and blue cheese chopped salad with avocado. Amazing.

10. That Derick is also a Behavior Analyst so I can talk to him about my job and not have to explain all the details that are confusing to people who aren't in the field. 

11. An extra today: That Derick can't tell a funny story or joke without cracking himself up in the middle of it. I love it when he has a story to tell me and it takes him 10 minutes to get through it because he's too busy laughing! I love his laugh and it always makes the story much funnier than it really is.

May 30th - Heather

1.  Breakfast quesadillas, they were a yummy start to the day.

2.  Pinterest for being "that" place where I can find random things I've seen and liked and wanted to keep track of.

3.  Big fans on a balmy night...we're resisting turning on the air conditioner, but may not be able to hold out much longer.

4.  Leftovers for dinner...no cooking hit food in hot weather!

5.  That assembly of my new toy from Ikea was super easy!  One of the easiest assemblies of an Ikea purchase ever!

I'll use it daily to put together the next day's outfit and jewelry....but I'll also be able to use it to photograph new crocheted creations!  

May 29th - Heather

1.  Some PNW humor and this one.

2.  This blog that my boss forwarded on to me.

3.  Raspberry lemonade low calorie Gatorade...it's pink, it's much more palatable than the original Gatorade flavor, and...I don't know, but I like it.

4.  Finishing two assignments (one for each summer class I'm taking) today...oh wait, they aren't quite done yet...ah, they should be by the time you read this....

5.  Forgetten snacks lingering in my desk drawer...perfect for a mid-afternoon snack attack.

May 28th - Heather

I've let life get the better of me and haven't posted in quite some time. Life will be especially crazy for the next few months, but I still have much to be thankful for:

1. The sound of the pouring rain on my skylights. I may be thankful for this every time it rains, but I just love the sound.

2. That on a rainy day, I was able to walk across campus to have my picture taken without getting "caught" in the rain!

3. IRB approval...one step closer to collecting data for my thesis!

4. Not cutting my hand - or any part of my hand - off while cutting the sweet potatoes for the chili I made for dinner. It's a sweet potato chicken chili that is really great...I just hate cutting sweet potatoes.

5. The hours of tireless entertainment that our cats provide. Alice is currently quite intent on a fly, and its just too funny.

 

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May 20th, 2013 - JJ

1. That we are officially about to move into a house in the suburbs!!!  With Central Air, a washer and dryer, and a garage!!!!!  I wish we could move in tomorrow! I am so ready!

2. That Ripley seems to be getting better, finally.  Apparently the lake didn't agree with her and we were having trouble keeping food from coming out one end or the other in an unpleasant way. But she's been fine for over 24 hours now and she has tons of energy again so fingers crossed that we're on the mend! Also very thankful for the medicine and advice that we got from Elena.

3. For all the boxes we got from Elena. It's going to take a ridiculous amount of boxes to get this place ready to move and I really don't want to have to buy any!

4. That it's finally gotten cool in our apartment after yesterday's hot hot weather. 

5. That between Wednesday and Sunday Ripley went from needing to be held down by two people to have her ears cleaned and get the medication in her ears and eyes, to me being able to do it by myself without her even being on a leash. It's so nice especially since she has to have it done twice a day, every day for another week and a half!

May 13th, 2013 - JJ

1. For my amazing mom. I am just so thankful that she is exactly who she is all the time in every situation and that she doesn't care what anyone thinks of her. I miss you all the time, momma!! Can't wait to see you next month! Wish we could've spent Mother's Day together. 

2. All my animals. They make me laugh every day (they make me curse most days, too. but usually those are funny stories after the fact...)!

3. For my new client. He reminds me so much of the little boy I used to nanny. I am so thankful that I get to work with him twice each week! His laughter is contagious! 

4. That it's supposed to be warm tomorrow! Can't wait to drive with the windows down!

5. For our trip to Six Flags yesterday with Emily, Jake, Jenna, & Chris.  I had so much fun! Definitely don't want to do it again anytime soon (nothing to make you feel old like spending a day riding roller coasters...), but I do hope we all go again next year!

May 9th, 2013 - JJ

1. For guacamole. Best food ever!

2. For my computer. Couldn't live without it. 

3. That it hasn't rained yet today. It's forecasted, but I'm happy it's holding off!

4. For bread. Bread is so delicious.

5. For budgeting tools. They're very helpful.

May 8th, 2013 - JJ

1. For neighbors who have pets and are understanding rather than angry when Ripley decides to bark for 4 hours straight while we're gone. 

2. For silence. Ripley is sleeping, the cats are quiet, and all I can hear is the ceiling fan turning and the birds chirping outside. It's pretty glorious.

3. For the amazing dinner we had last night at Balena!! My Christmas gift to Derick was tickets for the Steppenwolf dinner series, which means we get to see each play of the season at Steppenwolf and get to have a 3 course dinner at a restaurant nearby before each play. Last night's restaurant was Balena. The food was SO good and the service was great! The manager stopped by our table to ask how everything was and when we told her the food was great but that we wanted to order an appetizer since the portions were small she ended up letting us choose two items off the menu on the house and covering our drinks, too. We will definitely be going back soon!!

4. That it's finally warm enough for skirts and dresses!

5. For my straightening iron that doubles as a curling iron. It's the best.

May 7th, 2013 - JJ

1. For Derick, who cooks pretty much all of our meals these days. I'm very thankful that he's become so open to trying new things, especially new vegetables, because he's found some really tasty stuff recently and has made eating healthy pretty delicious!

2. That Ripley destroys her toys rather than our stuff.  

3. For my new in home therapy client. Working with a little kid twice a week will be a nice break from my adult clients. 

4. For visiting with my old co-workers yesterday, and always for my time with Miss Jenna.

5. Warm weather. It smells like summer outside today. I'm loving sunshine and short sleeves! :)

May 6th, 2013 - JJ

1. That Ripley did so well on her first time at the dog park!  We stupidly chose a park that wasn't entirely closed in, but were very impressed that she came to us when we called her and didn't run off into the sunset when given freedom. My little baby was so happy and we could not believe how fast she was when given a wide open space to stretch her legs! Can't wait to go again! :) I might be more excited than she is!

2. For our friend, Jackie, who came to dinner Saturday night and for the delicious food Derick cooked for us. 

3. That we got to meet Jenna's new man yesterday, and that I get to see her again today! She's my favorite Starbucks buddy.

4. For all the delicious food we had yesterday for Cinco de Mayo. Derick and I threw together some "breakfast nachos" to start the day along with a delicious blue cheese and bacon guacamole, then we had more guac and margaritas with Jenna, and then enchiladas made by Elena which we enjoyed with the neighbors out in our yard in the evening. YUM!

5. That Elena took me with her to tour Growing Power, which is an urban farm in Chicago. They have a more affordable version of a CSA program that I think Derick and I are going to take part in, and I think I may start volunteering there. 

May 2nd, 2013 - JJ

1. That Mrs. Kircher sent her 5 things yesterday!  Megan's always been the best about sending these out so whenever she misses a few my inbox feels sad and empty. I am very thankful she sent one yesterday and I am also very thankful for her sense of humor. She always makes me laugh and I love that about her!!

2. For peaberry coffee. Delicious!

3. Girls' Night tonight!! Definitely ready for a mojito!

4. That our 2nd attempt at Fabio's spaghetti and meatballs was much better than the first! We had forgotten to put salt and pepper in the meatballs the first time which made them a little bland. Then on top of that I had rolled the spaghetti way too thin and then after cutting it had put it all in a bowl together before adding it to the water, and it all stuck together so it cooked as one giant ball of pasta instead of individual noodles. This time Derick re-made the meatballs adding salt and pepper and I rolled the pasta out to a 4 instead of 5 and then after cutting it I laid it all out flat on cookie sheets before cooking it and it was amazing! Who knew whole wheat pasta could be so delicious!?

5. For Ripley. She makes me laugh every day and I am so glad we have her!  She can be a handful, but the silly moments make all the other stuff worth it!

May 1st, 2013 - JJ

1. For the beautiful summery weather we've been having! 80 degrees and hardly any humidity!  I'm in love. I'm also very happy that the heat has been making Ripley tired. Tired puppies are well behaved puppies.

2. Ceiling fans. Making 80 degrees bearable when it happens before you've put the window AC units in for the season.

3. For the Utigard family. I babysat Beck and Ava last night and had so much fun playing outside and just hanging out with the kids (except for the part where Beck and I realized Ava had accidentally locked us outside before she headed up to bed and there was no spare key...That part was more stressful than fun!). I'm also really thankful that Beck wants to hangout with me again. He had gone through a phase for a few months where he was too cool for me which really bummed me out! But yesterday we played basketball and I got to read to him before bed. He's such a smart, fun kid! 

4. For graph paper. I kind of love it!

5. For text messaging. I would be so sad if I couldn't text with Derick throughout the day while we are both at work.