June 6th - Heather

1.  It started as a chain letter text, which I hate, but opened up lines of communication with two old friends that I haven't talked to in way too long.

2.  Making the time to sit down and write a handwritten letter to a friend in North Carolina!

3.  Amazon for suggesting books that I didn't know existed!  Here's to hoping the books turn out to be as useful as they sound interesting for my research paper!!!

4.  Super saver shipping...aka free shipping on amazon!  Allowing me to spend nothing on shipping and therefore allowing me to spend more on books!

5.  Discovering the locking mechanism on the reclining outdoor chairs we have on our balcony.  It was so much easier to lounge and relax/read this afternoon without having to fight with the chair to keep my relaxing position.

June 5th - Heather

1.  Lunch with Mary Beth...it's always delightful to chat over Mexican food!  :)  And it was an especially delightful chat today since today is her anniversary!  Happy Anniversary Mary Beth and Bill!!!

2.  Free frozen yogurt.  The university is considering two different fro-yo vendors for a  spot in the campus center and so we get to be taste testers...it's a tough gig!

3.  No voicemail!  I'm not sure how I managed this, but I returned to my office this morning after more than a week of vacation and there were no voicemails on my phone!  Miraculous!!!

4.  I caught up on all my emails in a very decent amount of time.

5.  An overall not unpleasant day back in the office...I think I really may be on to something with this whole returning from vacation on a Tuesday instead of Monday.

June 5th, 2012 - JJ

1. Since I think everyone on this list knows now: WE'RE GETTING MARRIED IN JUST A LITTLE LESS THAN TWO MONTHS!!!!  I'm very thankful that the decision was so easy, and that people are happy for us instead of disappointed at not being able to be there.  I'm also thankful that everything has come together so perfectly for the day. We both got great deals on wedding bands, I got an awesome deal on a dress that fits perfectly, my partner at work hooked us up with a photographer friend of hers who is going to take the pictures, and everyone who we need to be there was able to make arrangements to come. I can't wait! I wish it was July 21st tomorrow!

 

2. Sunshine and warm weather! It's beautiful outside right now. I'm also thankful that my parents lent me the car with the sunroof!

 

3. Ice packs! I finally bought some for Derick and I to start taking in our lunch bags instead of big ziplock bags full of ice. This will mean that there should always be ice for my drinks in the freezer now. Horray!! Also, we will have to buy giant ziplock bags much less frequently, which is another plus!

 

4. Starbucks and some time between appointments today to sit at Starbucks and write this/get some work done.

 

5. Landlords. Mine is alright, but I'm thankful for landlords in general. While I'm excited at the prospect of someday being a home owner, I'm currently extremely glad to have a landlord to call to fix things like a leaky toilet and a leaky ceiling in the bedroom. I love that I don't have to wait at home to let him in to fix things because he has a key and my permission to enter. I love that I don't have to pay to fix this stuff because it's not my building. I love that repairs and maintenance are not my responsibility.  So horray for landlords, and horray for a dry, toilet stench free bathroom and bedroom this evening (fingers crossed).

June 4th - Heather

1. I'm thankful for a restful day for my last vacation day.

2. Lunch with my mom. We work about 30 mins apart so we don't get to lunch very often. It was nice to grab lunch today.

3. A phone call with a good friend today. I tend to not be much for talking on the phone...I know that's kind of shocking for some of you...I definitely went through many years with my phone glued to my ear. So it was a treat to spend some time chatting on the phone this afternoon.

4. Cupcakes! After I dropped mom off at work after lunch I stopped at Gigi's Cupcakes (over across from Mayfair Mall)...it's always a good thing when there's more frosting than cake!!! And oh so yummy! :)

5. Summer dresses! I loved pulling on a fluttery dress and flip flops today! :)

June 4th, 2012 - JJ

Quite a few things today to make up for the week and a half long vacation I took:

 

1. That I made it home safe and sound from Seattle so quickly. It was a little rough at times since we didn't sleep much, but it was nice to have Friday to relax at home.

 

2. That I am going to marry a man who's response to me ordering a bloomin onion, hot wings, the surf and turf special, a glass of wine, a side cesar salad, and key lime pie at Outback the other day was, "You're so sexy."  It was an INSANE amount of food but I was starving and we did take left overs home.The Heifer club and Mrs. Kircher would've been proud. :) I'm very thankful that Derick appreciates that I eat a lot. I love food too much to love a man who couldn't find that attractive (or at least not repulsive).

 

3. Emily & Jake for taking care of our kitties when we were gone. I'm further thankful that the kitties didn't destroy too much in that time period, even if they did shed EVERYWHERE.

 

4. Nika, for treating us to such a delicious meal while we were in Seattle, and for being Nika. She makes me smile and her little boy is the cutest thing!  Such a happy baby! I'm so thankful that I had time to meet him this trip.

 

5. My parents, for having us stay with them and for cooking such delicious food! Especially thankful that my dad found a mushroom recipe that Derick is in love with. We all know how happy it makes me to find more veggie recipes that Derick likes. :)

 

6. My books. All of my books and worldy possessions are now at our house in Chicago. I love having "my things about me" (Quiet Man reference), and I especially love having my books in the bookcases in our dining room.  I can't wait to re-read (or in some cases read for the first time) the books I kept from college.

 

7. The Pacifica.  I ended up taking the blue car home to Chicago instead of my dad's little red car. I'm thankful for this for many reasons. 1: if someone hits me in it, I will feel much less bad than if someone wrecked my dad's red car which is his baby.  2: The Pacifica has a sunroof!!!  3: It fit all my stuff from home so I was able to be thankful for my books, above. 4: It's just comfy and big and I feel safe in it. 5: It's not a stick. I love driving a manual transmission car usually, but since my office is located right off of the nation's #1 worst highway merging area it's nice to have an automatic.  I expect that my left calf will decrease in size rapidly! :) 

 

Further it's nice to be driving a car that doesn't think the door is ajar when it isn't, has a working sunroof, has a working "door catching" mechanism so that when I open the door I don't have to worry about it flying away from me and denting the car I parked next to, has a fully functional stereo that doesn't come in and out when going over bumps, has SO MANY BUTTONS!, has a key clicker for the key ring, doesn't leak in the rain, wont' be stressful to drive in the snow, drives the same with the AC on as with the AC off, etc., etc., etc.

 

8. That when seeing the highlight about sharks on yahoo's homepage my first thought was "oh man, Raymi will love this!" rather than "omg make it go away!!!"

 

9. That my brother called me last night for girl advice. It's nice to be a good big sister every now and then.

 

10. Megan Noon, who is so much fun to be around, and who always makes my hair beauiful!!  :)

 

11. That I got some time to spend 1:1 with James while I was in town. I miss our coffee dates and random "make fun of everything" conversations.

 

12. That Derick and I got to spend some time with Jess, even though the trail we planned on hiking was closed. We got beer instead and had a great time!

 

13. Lemon curd. It's so yummy and so easy to make from scratch!  It also pairs nicely with the lavender scones Derick and I made over the weekend.

 

14. That summer is finally here! I'm so excited to have beach days and to put away all my warm winter clothing.

 

15. That we had great weather while in Seattle. It was sunny most of the time and was pretty warm most days too.  That rarely happens over memorial day.

June 3rd - Heather

1.  My class yesterday was awesome!  I'm so excited to get my bottom back in the classroom!

2.  That the one person in class who doesn't live close to campus was willing to drive an extra ten minutes so that the rest of us didn't have to drive 45 mins away for class!

3.  Impromptu oil change....I got out of class early and mom was getting her oil changed, so I met up with her at Firestone so I could get my oil changed too.

4.  Getting some reading done today.

5.  The books that my mentor in DC lent me before I left...that I subsequently purchased for my own library before returning his books...I think I'll be using one of those books to write a paper that may turn into my thesis.  I love that after one day of class my brain is already thinking about possible thesis topics!!!  Those instant connections in my head wouldn't have been possible without the books he exposed me to!!!

June 1st - Heather

1.  I start my first graduate course tomorrow morning.  I'm excited and very thankful for the opportunity to whip my brain back in to shape....some part of me should be in shape!!!  :)

2.  Employee tuition benefits!  I'm very fortunate to have all of my tuition covered as an employee at a university.

3.  That one of the two classes I was signed up for was canceled.  To be completely honest, I was a little unnerved at the idea of taking two graduate classes in the same condensed summer term.  Now I can decide if I want to take it later this summer or wait until next summer.

4.   Cleaning at a leisurely pace.  My back is still killing me, and I didn't get quite as much done as I had hoped...but enough to feel confident about having a space that I can think clearly in to study.

5.  Coming across some of the must wonderful things I have received in the process of organizing my papers.  What kinds of things you ask?  Well in and among the not-so-fun bills and  bank statements (how long is one supposed to keep those things anyway???) I found the following things that all make me smile with sheer delight: a beautiful love poem written for me by an ex-boyfriend; pictures that are lifetimes old (some figuratively and some literally); thank you cards from some of the Archer Alums that were in DC while I was working there; every honor roll and award certificate as well as every report card k-12 filed away meticulously by my mom (and me as I got older) in an organizer....these are some of my most treasured things...not because they hold any intrinsic value - and they will surely be some of the first things to burn  in the event of a fire - but because of the emotional value, the memories they hold.  It's a fine line between keepsakes and being a hoarder, I know....it's not hoarding if it's organized, right??????