Thankful Thursday

This morning has been tough. I love Thursdays. They are my early yoga days, my free lunch days, my relaxing at home in the evening (usually) days. But this morning I woke up with a mind-numbing headache (it woke me up every hour during the night!), which is really unusual for me. I never get headaches, so I generally don't know how to deal with them. So I powered through yoga, grabbing my head to stop the throbbing every time I was upright. Now it's lunchtime, and it's ebbed a tiny bit, but still throbbing. So I can't help feeling like my Thursday has a bit of a damper on it.

Regardless, this morning I also read 1 Peter 4:7-11 during my BART ride (aka the time in which I do my bible study), and these phrases really stuck out to me:
"Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply...Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling."
Do you ever read something that makes you go, "OH. That's meant for me." Yep. Hello, action items.

I've had to be extra diligent about feeling thankful today, though I know there is certainly a long list to be thankful for. Like:

1. I'm thankful that my brother and sister-in-law got to visit last weekend. It was so great to spend quality time together and just have fun.

2. I'm thankful for good general health. When I have little complaints like today, I have to step back and realize that they are just that: little complaints. I know several people who have honest-to-goodness health issues, and it makes me so thankful that I don't, and that my complaining is about stupid things that are few and far between.
3. I'm thankful for met needs. There have been a few worries on my mind lately, that I won't mention here, and it seems like once I get to the point of thinking, "Ah, how is this going to work out?!", the answer comes along. Jehovah Jireh, indeed.
4. I'm thankful for our vacation coming up! Nothing helps us reset and relax like travelling, and this is going to be a genuinely bizarre trip for us, since it involves neither a language change nor a currency change. Plus: we get to have dinner with our dear friends in DC while we're there - bonus awesomeness!
5. I'm thankful for good breakfasts. Don't laugh! It's true. Nothing starts my day off better than a tasty, sit-down breakfast with Nolan. I've gotten several of those lately!

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

So. It's Thursday night. Let's get our thankful on, because I need me some sleep.

1. I'm thankful I can sleep in a little tomorrow morning, courtesy of working from home. Last night my phone started ringing off the hook with unidentified numbers from 11:30pm on, until finally we decided I had to pick up (sidenote: I wasn't picking up because last week I had the California College Republicans calling me at midnight. WTF were they thinking? Also: I'm not a Republican NOR am I in college.). It was Nolan's colleague, calling me to reach Nolan, and letting him know that his schedule had changed and he was expected at work an hour earlier and therefore he was late. Thanks a lot for letting us know ahead of time that the schedule changed. On that note:
2. I'm so thankful that Nolan isn't in a specialty where such things will be the norm. I couldn't handle that.
3. I'm thankful for the sunshine and warmth this week, and long daylight hours to make everything seem so chipper and summery. It's just a happier time of year!
4. I'm thankful for a couple days with my brother and sister-in-law this weekend. So excited!
5. I'm thankful for our ladies small group. I'm really loving learning and growing with this bunch of girls this spring!

What are you thankful for?

Somewhere along the way, I forgot the point of this post...

Friday was an incident. In which I lit the barbeque wrongly, and almost blew myself up/lost all facial hair. Fortunately, I just singed the tip of my eyelashes and some peachfuzz on my cheeks that I don't care about. Nolan took great joy later on in pointing out that part of my eyebrow and my hairline were singed too. Sigh.

Since running has been so successful lately (no knee pain!), I thought I'd try something else forbidden:

I have athletic passes to the pool on campus and figured I'd better use them at some point. I had a whole lane to myself and the sun was shining and it was amazing. This is going to have to happen more often. 

Saturday morning we had our breakfast together and then played Stone Age, and I felt so antsy (I hadn't exercised yet!) I did NOT feel like finishing the game or staying indoors. So I pouted. And Nolan made it into a semi-artsy picture.

I also did a lot of cooking and baking. We're talking several times a day, food for the day, food for the week...snacks for bible study. Which are these this week:

Mmm, black-bean brownies.

And garbanzo-bean blondies!

But I swear, you wouldn't know they were healthy (or beany!) if you tasted them. 

Thankful Thursday/Hello, Mr. President (again)

This week has been good. Real good. And I think we started it off with a bang - Nolan made his first real prepared meat dish, and it was fantastic! He marinated a porkloin for over 2 days (haha!) in some orange-y, garlicky delicious marinade (for which I still need to make him send me the link), and we roasted that sucker until it was juicy, dripping, and oh-so-good. Paired with a chilled white wine, asian salad and miso dressing, and my healthy tiramisu...what could be better?

le roast


Nolan and Josh were just, you know, hanging around Atherton this past week, and found out Obama was in town again (I knew it - that's the only time I hear huge loud helicopters buzzing around), and they went to go stalk his ride from some fundraiser. It's ridiculous how often he's been in our 'hood since we've moved here just 2 years ago. Where there is money...

Anyway, here is a picture of Mr. President. Behind black windows, anyway. But he's there! Nolan also has a several-minute video of the whole procession but I'm not going to force you to watch that when the only "exciting" part is that picture below :)

Nolan also finally remembered to send me this picture of my first "real" sushi experience. See? Photo proof that I really do like fish now! Yummmm!

This week I also tried buying a new brand of espresso. Saw this brand, recognized it as the kind we loved in Europe, bought it. Same price as the weird brand - so why not? Here's why not (taken immediately after opening):

Apparently in Europe, they only sell you half-cans for full-price. Boo.

But there's more to life than espresso, right? Like...

1. I'm thankful for sleep. Lots of it. I've been sleeping a lot (and a lot better!) these past couple weeks, and OHMYGOSH I feel almost like a new person. I woke up this morning at 4:30am (still got 7.5 hours of sleep though!) for yoga, and felt so energetic, awake, and ready for the day. I remember sitting at my desk this morning around 9:30am, eating my grapefruit, and thinking, "I feel GREAT today. I've felt great for days! This is a great day!". No kidding. Amazing what catching up on sleep can do for you!

2. I'm thankful for sunny days and flexible schedules. Monday was an incredibly slow day at the office, so mid-afternoon when Nolan texted me that he wished I was home and we could go for a bike ride...I said okay! It was glorious.

3. I'm thankful for fun new recipes/tips. Discovered way to make plain old shredded chicken in the crockpot in 4 hours; enough for the week. BEST thing ever. Especially when I mix it with a big batch of my vegan smoky bbq sauce. Pulled chicken FTW!

4. I'm thankful for time with Nolan recently - we went on a date to a latin seafood place last night, had a slow breakfast together several times this week, and got to sleep in together more than we're used to. Let's keep this kind of schedule up, please.

5. I'm thankful for family. I got to see everyone at Easter, then this past Friday had an impromptu dinner with aunts and cousins and uncle and Oma. And now family is coming to visit the next two weekends! So many fun plans and good times! And possibly games of Warcraft.

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

Waking up this morning for 4:30am yoga with the rain drizzling down outside and my cup of hot coffee with me inside was the best way to start my Thursday. Seriously, is there anything better?

Best way to end it? A glass of wine and going to bed at 8:30. Hah.

This has been a week of challenges in many ways. From choosing what to eat and wear to solving relationship/friendship puzzles and dealing with the aftermath of taxes this year (ouch!) to even just feeling like I'm in a rut with my workouts...I'm glad for a couple days this weekend to sort things out. And relax! And bake. It's going to be glorious. I got a text from Nolan today that he bought a pork roast and made a marinade for it to set in (a little random, a lot appreciated!). Saturday night meal? Done! Speaking of appreciation:

1. I'm thankful it's almost the weekend! I'd like a day of nothing with a side of Nolan, please :)
2. I'm thankful for a husband who tells me I'm beautiful when we're just being silly. Talk about an ego boost!
3. I'm thankful our vacation is coming up soon! It's been awhile since we really got away (and may not be much longer until we can get away again!)! I'm also grateful that we're able to travel and do the fun things that we do - this time in our lives is short and we need to enjoy it as much as possible.
4. I'm thankful for a brief respite at work this week and next - it's nice to have a chance to catch my breath between big things!
5. I'm thankful for a challenging new small group this spring. There seem to be all sorts of things for me to figure out and face; both relational and internal. Yay for growth opportunities?


What are you thankful for?