May 6th - Heather

1.  The Hombre burger at Revolution!  It was soo tasty!

2.  The random bookstore we wandered into after Revolution: Bucket O' Blood Books and Records, Speculative Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Vinyl, Awesome...and yes all of that is on the sign that hangs outside the door.  We wandered in because you know I can't resist a bookstore.  And with all of the vampire and fantasy books I've been reading as of late it seemed like a suitable detour on the way to the next stop.  And it was!  Great little find! 

3.  The "next stop," which was a great little mexican bakery...even though she thought I was crazy when I asked for Mexican Wedding cookies. (I even asked using the Spanish word that I remember using in El Paso.) 

4.  That Derick is STILL convinced that he can find a beer that I'll drink....it's been over a year and I'm so impressed that he hasn't given up on me!  I tasted like 6 different beers yesterday....no success....the search continues!!!!

5.  Playing Apples to Apples.  It so made me miss the monday game night tradition we used to have with our little group in DC.  I miss those nights often, last night was just the most recent that I've been reminded of how much fun we had!!!!

6.  Uncle Julio's!  Some of the BEST Mexican food we've had since we left El Paso!!!!  Not nearly as good as EP...but a much shorter drive!

7.  Trying a new driving route to Chicago.  It's kind of a back roads state highway route.  It's benefits: no tolls!, and tons of new little shopping opportunities.  Disadvantages:  more shopping means more stopping which means no time savings.  But a less stressful route for my mom which is what really matters!

8.  Finding a random little bakery that had an amazing lemon lavender Parisian macaron....among many other lovely little treats!

9.  All of the exclamation points in this post!!!! :) Mom and I really had a fabulous weekend, as always, in Chicago with JJ and Derick!!!

10. The random guy in an old white cavalier who waved us down while we were both driving down the highway to introduce his puppy Buddy!  Our little kitten, Edward, was curled up like a baby in my arm (while I was driving) facing out the drivers side window.  And he was flexing his paw so when I looked down at him it looked like he was waving out the window.  When I looked to my left there was a guy with a huge friendly smile waving at Edward (and me).  We were at a red light a little ways down the road and I rolled the window down and we introduced our pets.  It was really hysterical!!!!

May 4th - Heather

1.  It's Friday!  There were a couple times earlier in the week, I wasn't sure I was going to make it in one piece through the week....but I did! :)

2.  Tomorrow will be filled with kitties, mexican food and frozen maragritas!!!  Oh yeah, and the wonderful JJ & Derick too!  ;)

3.  Kitten kisses in the middle of the night.  Edward is so funny...in a near pitch black room...he walks up to my face and then waits to see my eyelids flutter signaling some level of awakeness on my part...then basically headbutts me.  Purring like a boat motor the whole time.

4.  Making peace with the frizz this morning.  It's humid.  It's chilly.  My hair looks like I rubbed the cat on my head to create static more than it looks like I sprayed it down with "curl revitalizers" but whatever...I still had fairly good curl definition...so I went with it.

5. One of the summer courses I was signed up for was cancelled..but it's offered during another summer session using the same book...which is really good because I already bought the book!

May 3rd - Heather

1.  The story below that I saw on Facebook when a friend reposted it!  The perfect thing to read first thing this morning!!!

2.  My mayo jar...even though I favor Miracle Whip.

3.  My golf balls....even though I've only played putt-putt a few times.

4.  Even my pebbles...even when they feel bigger and sharper than the golf balls.

5.  Coffee....even though I'm presently drinking tea.

And now that you think I'm crazy, read on and it will all make sense! 

The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Cups of Coffee

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions--and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else--the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

May 2nd - Heather

1.  The toothbrush and toothpaste I keep stashed in my desk....it's a regular old toothbrush and not as cool as the one I have at home.  But I was especially thankful for it living in my desk after today's lunch meeting at our favorite little mexican restaurant.

2.  Having a job that involves (expects even) a majority of sitting during the workday....there are definitely days where I miss being more active during the workday, but today I'm glad to not have to be up and bouncing about...I wouldn't have made it through the day...maybe not even the morning!

3.  Deadlocked, the newest Sookie Stackhouse book....made that much more enjoyable and difficult to put down on my spiffy Kindle....I was up into the wee hours reading....oh how I love these books!!!  It was just a wonderful added bonus to not have to wait for it to be shipped or have to make a special trip to a store wherein I would have bought many other things and essentially paid WAY more for the book!

4.  The appreciation dinner we are having for our student workers tonight.  This time last year we were a merry band of 7 dining and laughing....tonight we will be double that.  It's been such a busy year that I feel as though I haven't spent nearly enough time chatting with our students.  They work so hard all year and it will be nice to sit down, relax, eat and enjoy the evening!

5.  Falling asleep AND waking up to the sound of the rain!  There is no better sound and to be lulled to sleep and gently woken by a sound I love so much was a special treat.

May 2nd, 2012 - JJ

1. Sarpino's pizza.  They have this awesome special for two medium sized pizzas, any way you want them, for $20, which is pretty great since one medium is $16. Such a great deal!  Also, their wings are amazing!

 

2. Hot sauce.  Making everything more delicious since I finally started liking spicy food.  I brought the whole giant bottle of Franks with me to work today so I could put it on my pizza for lunch.

 

3. The new Sookie book. I didn't read as much of it as I was hoping to yesterday, but it's good so far. I hope Sookie gets some of her old self back though. She's turning into a character I don't much like lately.

 

4. That Derick won movie screening tickets for tonight. Not sure what movie it is, or what it's about, but I do enjoy going to see advanced screenings of movies for free!  I'm also hoping Laurel and Jackie will be there since I haven't seen either of them this year.

 

5. That I'll be in Seattle in a matter of weeks! Can't wait!

May 1st - Heather

1.  Clorox wipes!  Making less than fortunate situations easy to clean up at equally unfortunate times of the day.

2.  Lessons learned...this lesson being that it is better to choke down vitamins on an empty stomach than 15 minutes after eating breakfast.

3.  The extra sweater in my office!  So that when I realize my outfit makes no sense (say covering a purple and orange floral cami with a matching orange shirt to then realize you can't see the pattern just the purple lace around the edges of an orange shirt)...I have options that I don't have to think about. 

4.  The granola bars in my desk...now here's to hoping they settle my stomach.

5.  Instant wireless delivery of the newest Sookie book to my Kindle! :)  No waiting and no going to get the book!  I love it!!!!

May 1st, 2012 - JJ

1. Revolution Brewing's applewood smoked wings. SO delicious!!  We had the pleasure of eating tons of them last night at a charity event that Derick bought tickets to. We also got to try their sweet potato fritters, which came with a delicious curry sauce, and their pulled pork sliders that had a sauce that reminded me of one that Tammy had made over Christmas. Everything was so good!!

 

2. That I was able to finish book 4 of Game of Thrones last night, just in time to quickly read the new Sookie book before starting book 5. :)  I fully plan on having Sookie's new story finished before I go to sleep tonight. I can't wait!!

 

3. The conversation Derick and I had recently about our priorities in life and how we can work toward them together. Having always been single before Derick, it's been a little bit difficult to get used to having shared goals and shared priorities. I'm really excited that we've mutually decided to make adventure travel a bigger priority. It's something I've really missed since moving to Chicago (aside from that one trip to Italy and Turkey in 2010). I'm looking forward to watching our travel savings grow and grow, and even more looking forward to spending it!

 

4. Teeny little hair clips. Also giant large hair clips! Hair clips of all kinds. Anything that can restrain my crazy hair, actually. I spend way too much money on hair clips and hair bands since my hair destroys them so quickly and since the cats think that hair clips are fun toys and they are constantly disappearing from counter tops and table tops, never to be seen again! So I am thankful for packs of multiple clips, especially when they're on sale at Target.

 

5. Warm weather. It's supposed to be in the 70's today and in the 80's tomorrow. I'm excited to finally be able to sit outside on our new patio furniture.