September 13th, 2013 - JJ

1. That this insurance nightmare is just about figured out. By the end of today I shouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Hurray!

2. Vanilla Chai Cupcakes with Chai Cream Cheese Frosting. For breakfast. 

3. It's FRIDAY! about time!!

4. Cool-ish weather. The high for today is 70 and all of Chicago is sad except for me. I want to spend all day outside.

5. For having maintained a clean kitchen and a clean litter box this week. It's so nice to wake up and not have to immediately start cleaning the kitchen, and it's also really nice to clean the litter box when the last time you cleaned it was yesterday or the day before and not a week ago. It goes so much faster that way! and happy kitties make for happy kitty mommies. 

September 11th, 2013 - JJ

1. For Ripley. I know she's a handful for other people when they have her, but for us at home she's been nearly angelic lately. For the last day or two we've been watching out for her to engage in some behaviors that our trainer pointed out to us so that we can correct her and improve her independent play/calming skills but she hasn't engaged in those behaviors once yet.  Granted, she was at doggie daycare all day yesterday so we've had limited opportunity but still. Hopefully I'll get some good training time today while I work from home.

2. My work from home day.  I am so behind on paperwork so I'm glad I stuck to my guns and took my work from home day today instead of going in to the office. I need to figure out how to adjust my schedule so I get all of my work from home time on a regular basis. Being behind is no fun!

3. For the internet. I'm putting together recipes for dinner tonight and the internet makes that process so much easier! :)

4. That I get to hang out with Jenna and Ben tonight! Girl time is the best! Ripley is excited to spend some time with her man Benny, too!! :)

5. For the vanilla chai cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream frosting that we will be making tonight. Jenna sent me the recipe yesterday and they look so good that I dreamt about them last night!  Figured that was a sign that I need to bake them asap!!

September 10th, 2013 - JJ

1. That the roof guys worked fairly quietly and didn't wake me up this morning. Half the roof on the garage was off before I got out of bed and I had no idea they were even here!

2. For Starbucks. I forgot that we are out of soy milk so I can't make a latte at home this morning. Shucks, guess I'll have to get a pumpkin spice latte on my way to work.

3. For pictures. I really need to get our frames up so I can fill them with new photos!

4. For having a dishwasher. I can't imagine having to do all of our dishes by hand every day.

5. For dog daycare. Ripley needs to run and momma needs to work. Looking forward to a tired puppy when I get home.

September 9th - Heather

1.  The love and greetings that came from everyone for my birthday.  Thank you all so much!

2.  For the lovely gifts from JJ and Derick!  The pictures may just be physical things, but they capture a memory that means the world to me.  And the coffee handbook is a ton of fun to flip through!

3.  My health and that of my family.  I have two coworkers each with a loved one in a hospital fighting for their life tonight.  It's a heart breaking reminder that life is fragile and each day is a gift!  My heart and prayers are with your families and will continue to be.

4.  A great weekend getaway with fam and friends.  Rented a cabin in Mackinaw City for a few days...explored Mackinac Island by day...worked like crazy to keep a campfire burning in the fire pit by night. There may or may not have also been a rendition of Somewhere Out There sang to the stars...

5.  The start of the semester....only three classes stand between my masters and me (one class this fall and two classes this spring).  I was only marginally productive over the summer without deadlines.  So I'm ready to put my writing cap on and get to work!

September 3rd, 2013 - JJ

1. For coffee. I'm still trying not to drink it every day but it's pretty amazing when I do drink it. Also thankful for pumpkin spice lattes which are available now at Starbucks. Had my first one yesterday. YUM! Now if only the weather would cooperate it could really be early fall! :)

2. Pesto. Derick and I made homemade pesto for the first time last night and it was amazing. I can't wait to dig into the rest of it! Now I just need to learn how to make amazing homemade bread to go with it!

3. For a short work week. I'm getting pretty excited to head out to Mackinac Island this weekend with Heather and Kathy! 

4. For Doggie Depot, Ripley's new daycare place. It's less than 5 minutes away and she comes home wiped out every time! And she really needs it today. She's been bouncing off the walls since yesterday afternoon. I'm excited to come home to a sleepy puppy tonight!

5. That I've finally figured out a way to make printing several behavior plans double sided on my cheap little printer go faster. Print all the odd pages together with the signature sheet first, then print the even pages rather than doing one page at a time. It's still taken me an hour to get 20 plans printed, but it could be worse. Saving the trees is hard work! Maybe I should just suck it up and start paying for 3G on my iPad so I only have to print the signature page...

6. An extra today: I am so thankful for Heather. I really couldn't imagine living here in Chicago  without her close by in Milwaukee. Wish it was closer, but I'll take a 2 hour drive over an expensive plane ticket any day! She's always there when I need someone to talk to or when I need a weekend escape. She knows me better than I know myself and is great at comforting me when I'm down but also holding me accountable. My sista from anotha mista!! :) Love you! Happy Birthday!!!!

September 2nd, 2013 - JJ

1. For Trader Joe's and all of their delicious, good food. It's awesome to have healthy, organic choices at an affordable price. Especially peaberry coffee!

2. For Jenna, who watched Roo while we were at the Michigan game this weekend. Ripley can get a little out of control when there's another dog around, so I'm glad both Jenna and Benny (Ripley's betrothed) are willing to put up with her for extended periods of time. Nice to know she's well loved but not getting away with too much craziness while we're away!

3. That it's football season again! I'm very thankful that my parents give us tickets to a game or two at Michigan stadium every year. We've been sitting in the same seats since I was a kid so  it feels like home. :)

4. The amazing shoes I found at the Goodwill store yesterday. They are perfect witch shoes, but are also really cute and I will be able to wear them to work too! We also found a cauldron and two plastic champagne flutes with skeleton hands for stems that are perfect for the "potions table" I'm going to set up. Further thankful for the awesome broom my dad bought me at Cracker Barrel on our way home from Michigan. It starts cackling and moving around when you walk past it. It's amazing!! I can't wait for Halloween this year!! (I may or may not put that broom together this week and just keep it out until Halloween because it makes me happy...)

5. For puppy snuggles. I'm amazed every day that I can love a dog this much. 

August 30th, 2013 - JJ

It's been a long long time! I am setting out on a mission to get back in the habit of sending these daily! 

1. For the bottle of body spray that I keep on my night stand. It helps make the room smell nice again after anyone (husband, dog, either of the cats) let's one rip. 

2. For AAA who came to my aid and put the spare tire on my car after I got a flat last night so that I didn't have to figure out how to do it myself.

3. That our replacement espresso machine makes perfect delicious espresso every time.

4. That my dad is in town for work and staying with us. it's nice to have him around!!

5. For the water proof bed liners we bought after Ripley peed on the bed several months ago when my brother was visiting. Because guess who decided to do it again now that my dad is visiting? Also thankful for the many websites that say this behavior is actually your dog's way of showing preference and protection for the person who sleeps in the bed they peed on.  That makes it less upsetting than thinking she's mad at us. Still not happy about it, but it could be worse.