Thankful Thursday

Two weekends ago, we went to a wedding out in San Ramon. It was perfect weather, good food, catching up with Nolan's UCSF classmates from all over the country, and the site was gorgeous. I just found this picture and thought I'd post it - no reason really.

My excitement for the week was taking Milo to the vet. He's been getting treated for fleas and worms (gross!), and had his last appt on Wednesday. Conveniently, he decided to let us know he had a bladder problem again on Monday, by peeing on everything and hiding in the bathtub (and eventually peeing in there too and ruining his hiding place). Nolan took this picture to document the angry Milo face.

So I took him in for his checkup, and turned it into an exam of his issues too. He ended up staying the night for testing and monitoring, and got lots of food and meds. I called today to check on him and make sure they got their sample so I could pick him up after work, and the receptionist said, "Oh, Milo's fine. He's resting easy now. He ate a little bit, and was trying to lick himself, so we have him in a cone and stuff. He's pretty groggy and sensitive but seems to be doing okay. The doctor said he will probably be able to go home around 3 if he is able to walk..." At this point I'm freaking out like, what have they done to my cat, what are they talking about?!...and then I think of something. "Hang on a sec...can we, uhh...are we talking about the same pet here? Milo - the little white cat?". There's a pause, and then the receptionist says, "OH. So sorry, we have 2 Milos here right now. Yeah, yours is fine. He's been eating all day and he's ready to go home whenever." Eating nonstop? That sounds more like the Milo I know. So now he's home, on meds for a week, and on a prescription diet for awhile to clear up his issues. But! He's happy, mostly healthy, and flea and worm-free. Win.


This week I hosted our first bible study at my house, and was making treats when I got a little hasty (it was almost bedtime and I was still cooking!), and dumped chocolate chips all over the oven and through the burner holes. Oops. However, I learned that perhaps all those games we played as kids maybe do have real-life applications. Here you can see my Operation skillz coming in handy as I retrieve chips with wooden "tweezers" through the burning hot pipes. Oh yeah.

For date night this week, we decided to splurge a little and go for our favourite high-calorie food (ok, ONE of them): Indian. We tried a new place in Sunnyvale and it was awful. Hah. We normally pick such winners, but this one had legitimately gross food. Besides the saag paneer, which was actually really delicious.

This is Nolan giving a surreptitious thumbs-down to the cheesy tikka masala. Seriously: it tasted like it had velveeta in it. Disgusting. Also: they had mango "froyo" as part of the buffet...and it was literally the same stuff as the mango lassi I had, except frozen. Why would you pay for a drink when you could just melt unlimited dessert into your cup for free? That was our first and last visit there. Back to Peacock's amazing buffet for us.

After dinner, we went to Chuck's donuts, and let me just say: I haven't had a donut in like...so many years. I don't even know. But this place is open 24/7, and ALWAYS has people in it. We figured this would be a night of first and last visits to places. Chucks was one. Great donuts, but seriously: I felt like I was eating America. So bad for you.



So with all that...what am I thankful for? A lot, obviously. I have a pretty amazing life, and a pretty incredible husband to share it with. We're super blessed.

1. I'm thankful for Nolan! He's such an amazing partner and friend. I can't get enough time with him, no matter how much I see him! And he puts up with my bad moods and bad habits with love and grace. What more could you ask for, eh?

2. I'm thankful for my bible study. It's great to have a group of such solid girls to meet with each week and learn with together.

3. I'm thankful for Milo's health! You never really realize how dear those little creatures are to you until they're threatened somehow. On that note, if he disappears this Christmas again, I'll kill him.

4. I'm thankful for the future - there are so many exciting things in our near future, and I already can't wait! Who knows what our life will be like in less than 2 short years! It's so great to have fun things to look forward to. Now if I can just remember to live in the present ;)

5. I'm thankful for my car. Sounds like a stupid thing, but I took it in for an oil change and 5,000 service check, and was reminded of how great it is to have a perfectly functioning (and so cute!) vehicle that I can trust. I remember not having that, and it was nerve-wracking and stressful! I love getting into each morning and knowing what to expect. It's like my little pre- and post-work retreat.

What are you thankful for?

Sunday Funday

I thought since it's been just about a month since my last post, it's time for me to get back to posting. I needed a little hiatus from just about everything, so I included the blog in that. A lot of fun stuff has happened in the last month, including of course our tropical vacation (woohoo!), working, weddings, more working, and a ton of planning for the next few weeks and months. We're getting into the Fall swing of things, which means small groups are starting back up, holidays and parties need to be planned, fun outings with friends, and we're seriously planning our next vacation (or trying...). With all that, we need a break every once in awhile. And I know, I'm busy every evening because I make it so...but it's still nice to have some alone time or spouse time to relax. Yesterday after church I met up with ylehsa, who happened to be in town for a few hours. We grabbed lunch, caught up, watched tv shows on Hulu...you know. Then after she left, Nolan woke up from his nap (he's working nights right now), and we got to cuddle and catch up, eat dinner, and we even had the time to drive to our favourite froyo spot in Palo Alto and walk and eat delicious treats before he had to go back to work. Those are the times I most cherish. After that I had the rest of the night to myself, so I did a little workout and just relaxed before an early bedtime. I'd call that a Sunday Funday. My brother and sister-in-law have a Sunday Funday each week as a tradition, and I thought I'd rip it off for my own uses, even if that just means doing whatever I want for a day!

Since I recently rediscovered our vitamix-style blender, I've been getting more into good smoothie and shake recipes, and have been excited that I can really easily make a delicious smoothie into a protein-packed snack (tasty AND functional!). My new favourite breakfast and nod to fall is the pumpkin spice protein shake, to which I add oats to give me my morning grains that I need. Today for my snack, I brought a spinach berry smoothie, so I get my veggies, protein (greek yogurt in there), and tasty fruits...all with no sugar or fat added! Lesson learned over the weekend: actually measure the spinach. I didn't do this, and just threw in handfuls of it. After choking down what was basically a shredded salad, I realized that I probably added twice as much spinach as was called for. Blech. Green smoothies CAN be tasty...if you do them right. Tomorrow: carrot or beet, depending on my mood!

Next on my list of purchases: a good mountain bike. I am a big fan after going a few times (see pic below at Black Mountain), and really need a bike so I don't have to keep renting! We'll see if I can find what I'm looking for so that Nolan and I can start going on days off together.

Tonight after work and my hike with a friend, I'm setting out the fall decorations. I might even make a batch of pumpkin gnocchi to freeze (Nolan's favourite!), and I'm definitely making a chocolate chip pumpkin pizookie (don't worry, it's healthy...other than the chocolate chips in it) for bible study tomorrow night. That link is from one of my favourite dessert blogs. Check it out!