Some things I am grateful for today

1. Spending the morning with Eric, what a delicious specimen, great listener, supportive friend, and, and, and...I sure do like him.

2. After sleeping til 11am, I took a nap from 3-6pm. I now feel well rested and peaceful.

3. I had a great workout at the gym tonight. Almost two and a half hours, I am feeling stronger and healthier.

4. Tomorrow is Eric and my date day, I am so excited!

5. Roofrauff is sleeping next to me, so precious and beautiful.

6. Last night I went to Passover at a friend's house. Her friend had written/compiled her own version of the Haggadah that involved no smiting of Egyptians, what a lovely change. The message was we have experienced slavery and oppression, so it is our responsibility as a people to bring about social change. Pretty neat. Also instead of brisket and all things heavy, we had a mostly vegan/vegetarian meal. Well, salmon was served, and so was gefilte fish, so perhaps not all vegan, but I politely declined the fishes anyway, so for me it was vegan. It was delicious, though honestly, I am now craving my family's brisket.

7. I am grateful to be friends with Sylvia, my compassionate communication teacher. I am really happy to be her student, but excited that she wants to be friends too.

Five things I am grateful for today

1. Eight hours of sleep today. This is helpful as I am working another shift tonight and need energy.

2. 14 hours from now my work week is over. Here's to a good night.

3. Roofrauff and I just went for a little walk in the breezy sunshine.

4. I am feeling really excited about the next five days--I don't have much planned and am hoping for some quality relaxation, yoga, exercise, and art.

5. My IV skills have not been adversely affected by my time away.

Gloriosity and Five things

Last night while trying hard to stay up late I decided to organize all of my large sheets of paper. As I was doing so I decided it would be really rad if I could see them all without having to unroll them so that I could pick what I wanted without turning the room into chaos. So I tore a little piece off of each sheet and put it aside. When all the papers were organized by type (handmade chunky, handmade smooth, Japanese prints, machine printed, etc) I sat down to make this:

Now directly in front of where I sit is a lovely catalog of my papers. This rocks because: 1. all that beauty to behold and be inspired by. 2. Better organizing=less mess. 3.Wow, was it fun to make!

So tonight begins my second week of night shift work. I am grateful to get all of my work for the week done in one exhausting lump. I am grateful for nice coworkers that are kind to their patients and know how to be silly. I am grateful for all the food I have cooked in preparation to take care of myself this weekend. I am grateful for the last five days of delicious relaxation. I am grateful for ambien which takes some of the pressure off of getting enough sleep. I am grateful to Eric for his support and for helping take care of Roofrauff while I work. I guess that's six things. Oh well, a little extra gratitude never hurt anybody.

Five things I am grateful for today

1. Last night a couple of friends came over for dinner which gave me a great opportunity to play with polenta. I made three different polenta pizzas: 1. caramelized onions, spinach, pears, walnuts, blue cheese, 2. pesto, pine nuts, goat cheese, caramelized onions, 3. tomato sauce, mozzerella, salami, parmesan. After dinner we did crafts which was super-fun, my first craft night at the new house! Then for dessert we made ice cream sandwiches out of chocolate mint cookies with mint chip ice cream. YUM!

2. Tonight was the night to go back to the gym after far too long of a break. Darn it's hard to get back into the swing of it! But I came home and purchased Season 6 of Grey's Anatomy to make it irresistible to go. Yes, it's my guilty pleasure.

3. Eric, Roofrauff and I took a nice long walk around the neighborhood today. They are so fun.

4. For breakfast I made potato latkes. Yum. I tried a new trick--I put the batter into my blender. It made for a more pancake like texture. A fun change.

5. I saw my home health patients today. Grateful to have a job, grateful that I enjoy doing it.

Five things I am grateful for today

1. Last night our friends came over for dinner. It was so fun having company in our beautiful, open, clean house. Eric grilled chicken, zucchini, red peppers and fresh pineapple. I made cucumber salad, grilled rice balls (yaki onigiri), and steamed broccoli with a creamy sesame sauce. Everything came out delicious. Being with Michelle and Shannon was super fun-- they are hilarious, especially with Eric. All I have to do is sit back and laugh.

2. More and more the house is coming together. Soon we will decorate it and then just enjoy it. Hooray!

3. Roofrauff seems to be getting more snuggly lately. I LOVE THAT! He just heard me come into the living room and came to sit on my feet. And the other night E and I were sitting on my big comfy chaise lounge in my craft room and he climbed up with his little butt hanging off the end because there wasn't room for all three of us. Such a cutie.

4. Spending time with Eric is great. I love our days off.

5. I am grateful for 31 years of being really close to my dad. What a special being--he was so nurturing, so funny, and so present with all of my details. I miss him.

Five things I am grateful for today

1. Last night I gave the kind of care I went into nursing to give. It is especially nice that it was appreciated too.

2. Five days off from the hospital starting now.

3. Mmm, being employed feels good, and so would a massage.

4. I liked waking up before work and having time to walk Roofrauff and eat a nice meal.

5. Going back to St. Joe's has been full of warmth from my coworkers there. It feels good to see people glad to see me back. I had no idea that so many of them cared-- you never really know the impression that you leave. Mental note: be positive and kinder than necessary.

Five things I am grateful for today

1. Glorious sunshine and warm weather.

2. Eric being around. I love his days off!

3. Last night I started trying to convert my body over to staying up later and Eric helped keep me up until almost 2am. We watched movies and ate a late dinner. 1:45? A good start. Saturday night is my first shift.

4. The house continues to come along, slowly but surely.

5. Jasmine pearls turning into sun tea in the backyard.

Five things I am grateful for today

1. Moving into a wonderful new house with my sweetpea! (This could easily have its own gratitude list.)

*Eric's happiness in our new house makes me even happier. He seems so relaxed here--it's lovely.

*Roofrauff prances around the new yard with a little more joy in his step than he had before. It's true, I swear!

*Having more space makes things a lot easier.

*Our neighbors have been so welcoming--already we stand around outside and chat. I really like that.

*This house is so beautiful. Mmmmmmm! Pictures soon.

*Dishwasher.

2. Recent dates.

3. Getting some per diem work at St. Joe's neuro so I can more effectively support myself.

4. Yesterday I got a birthday care package from Mer! I love that my birthday is extending into March this year! Wendy and I celebrated in early February and now this! A soft, scrumptious scarf and hand carved tree necklace from Ecuador, RAD!

5. Against all odds I had an effective blood draw on my first try on a chemo patient with impossible veins yesterday. I am so grateful that I didn't add to her suffering.

Five things I am grateful for today

1. Rain.

2. New windshield wipers that I put on myself. Well, I put them on my car... without assistance.

3. Mead taking me out to dinner.

4. My health.

5. When I went to see a friend in the hospital today I went in the wrong entrance and the charge nurse of the rehab unit walked me clear across the hospital to the unit I was going to--which I NEVER would have found on my own.

We move in 3 days!

Five things I am grateful for today

1. Today is gorgeous! So sunny and warm!

2. I went to see an outdoor play today that my friend Mead was in. She was a recycling fairy and it was GREAT.

3. We are moving in just a few more days. Mmm, new house! Dishwasher, lots of space, safe and quiet, mmm, yes!

4. Very inspired right now with making cards. I stayed up til 2am making them last night! While I was in Oregon my mom's best friend Anita gave me a wonderful gift from Paperzone, a whole assortment of papers, embellishments and stamps, and these cards are going into a package thanking her. It's fun making them for her because our taste is so different, she loves pink and purple and bling. I like trees, dirt, and art that looks like those things. Here are a few of the cards: (sorry about the photo quality! They look much neater close up. I really don't like photographing my work, I just like making it. Maybe that is one of the reasons nothing really sells on Etsy! Ha!)

5. I have an interview this coming week for that night shift position at St. Joe's Neuro. Employment=good!

Lots of things I am grateful for today

I don't have internet access these days so my posts are few and far between.

1. We are moving in nine days to our glorious new house! And it is sweeter than sweet to see Eric just as excited as I am. My art studio will be in our Arizona room--lots of light and it's big!

2. Ginger cookie at Beyond Bread is my ticket to wifi. Soft and delicious.

3. Yesterday's rain--that smell of creosote fills my heart.

4. An invitation to Regina's house for dinner on Wednesday.

5. 31 years of having a really wonderful father.

6. Spending all of this time on vacation with Eric and Roofrauff.

7. Embossing.

8. Sunshine.

9. Keeping in good touch with my mom everyday.

10. Our future dishwasher.

11. For lunch I made us quesadillas with leftover bbq chicken, grilled zucchini, spinach, corn, Tillamook cheddar, and bbq sauce. Hells yeah, they totally rocked.

12. A bike ride with Mead and Eric to get gelato a couple days ago.

13. It's really, really good to be home.