Thankful Thursday -- Cooper's wiggles

I love my pups.

That's an understatement. lol.

One of my favorite times with them is when I get home at the end of the day. They are so excited! When I first walk in the door, it's Otis' turn to be super excited. Cooper has to wait until he does his business outside. Why? He wiggles a lot and would leak if he didn't empty his bladder first.

So when he gets back inside, Cooper is full of wiggles. He has to wiggle his body because he doesn't have a tail. Wiggles equal love. Cooper has a lot of love. Although if you didn't know better, you might think he was a little terrorist with all his wiggling.

Today I'm thankful for my wiggling puppies that explode with love when I come home. I wanted to share this moment with you all. Take a look.




J.B.

Thankful Thursday...

Last week, my mom and sister, Rachel, went up north to Grand Marais for a short girls' getaway. We had a fun time. My mom and I went sailing on Lake Superior. We hiked. We browsed through stores. We ate way too much food. We relaxed and read books. We visited Grand Portage and learned about the voyageurs that traveled 1,200 miles via canoe each year for trading. We saw Canada, but could not touch it (didn't have our passports). We enjoyed sunshine and endured rain. And we laughed. I laughed so hard I couldn't talk and my stomach hurt. I had a great time bonding with my mom and sister...and can't wait to do it again. Maybe next time my other sisters can join us.

This week I'm thankful for good memories and good relationships with my family.

My mom, Rachel & I at Grand Portgage

Thankful Thursday...

This week I'm thankful for my one-year anniversary at my current job! This year has gone by so fast. My manager even gave me flowers and a card -- if that isn't something that will make you feel appreciated, I don't know what is.

My job has given me the opportunity to broaden my marketing skills and the people I work with are awesome.

I'm truly thankful to have a gotten a new job in a rough economy and that it has panned out as well as it had. It's so true that God has a plan -- some of the jobs that I was a finalist for have gone bankrupt or have had big layoofs. I'm thankful that not only do I like my job, but company has been performing well given the business we're in.

Thankful Thursday...

This week I'm thankful for...Nights out. Good friends. Twins games. Fun times.

Last night we went to the Twins game with our friends Mike, Andee and Nikki. We were with great people. We had $1 dome dogs. The Twins won! We witnessed numerous beach ball parties. We cheered hard. We simply enjoyed the moment.

Thankful Thursday...

It's been a while since I've done a Thankful Thursday post. I keep forgetting on Thursday...and remembering on Fridays.

But for these week, I'm thankful for...

My endurance level being high enough to run a 5k. Last night, Dave and I ran the Torchlight 5K that runs through downtown Minneapolis. Prior to the race, I decided to map my current training route and it turns out the route was only 2.4 miles. That's dissapointing when you think you're running 3 miles! But I was able to run the whole 5k and I feel great today.

Good thing....since I have another 5k on the calendar for Saturday!

The best part of running the race was running with Dave. Dave and I used to run together all the time. But the last couple of years, he's been running longers races so our training schedules didn't match up so well. And, let's face it, I've gotten a little lazier with my running and a little slower, so it's harder for him to run as slow as me. It felt great accomplishing something with my husband.

Three years. We're still running.

Dave and I celebrated our third anniversary yesterday!!! I must say that my husband did a great job making this anniversary so memorable. He had Lou Malnatti's pizza delivered to our house! ALL the way from CHICAGO! It's where we had the best ever pizza during our trip last summer to visit Erin and John in Chicago. And it was just as yummy as I remembered!

The other thing Dave did was order the same cake we had at our wedding (a smaller version). Since that cake was the best ever, we didn't have any left over from the wedding. Consequently, we weren't able to save any and eat it on our first anniversary...as you're supposed to do according to some (weird) tradition. I was really surprised to see that too!

All of this was extra awesome because Dave had school and work all day on our anniversary and we hadn't discussed anything we were going to do. I just thought we'd get take out like we did the year before. But this was the best surprise! He obviously put some time and effort into ordering all this deliciousness and it meant so much to me.

I should also add that he got me the Crocs that I've been wanting. (Not your typical Crocs...much cooler!) He bought himself a similar pair a couple of weeks ago, and I was jealous because he bought the men's version of the pair that I wanted. So I was very happy that he listened to me and bought a pair for me too!

On to more sentimental stuff....

I can't believe Dave and I have already been married for three years. For more than 1,000 days. That means we've been married for almost half the time we've been together. I love celebrating my anniversary because each year is an accomplishment. This last year has been one of the best for us yet.

This year...
We survived new jobs and jobs losses.
We celebrated holidays and birthdays.
We survived the death of a grandma.
We celebrated the election of a new President.
We survived through another school year.
We celebrated friends' weddings and births of children.
We survived a car crash.
We enjoyed our time at home and away.

Each struggle, each accomplishment; we've done it together, hand in hand.
We've grown closer together.
Fallen more in love.
There's no one else that I'd rather have on my journey through life.
I'm so blessed to have Dave and to be his wife.

Here's a slideshow of some of our highlights together from year three. I should also give credit to Katie Mathews Photography for some of the pics and the collage. Having a photographer in the family has its benefits. ;)

Thankful Thursday...

This week I'm so thankful that my husband is back home!!! He has been gone the last two weekends, and now he's home. It's so good to be reunited. The house is just a lot lonelier without him. Otis and Cooper get sad too. Thankfully, neither one of us have any plans to travel without each other in the foreseeable future, so it'll be a while until I'm home alone again. I'm really grateful that neither one of us has jobs that require a lot of travel. I guess that could change at some point.

In sad news though, Dave's grandma passed away today. We'll always remember her. I know that she's in a good place now watching over us. She's not in pain anymore, so that's a blessing.

Thankful Thursday

This week I'm thankful for family. My family. My family that includes both Dave's family and my family...since it's just all my family now. I'm thankful for having families that loves one another. Families that support one another. Families that laugh together. Families that enjoy spending time together.

This week has been a hard week for Dave's family (my family). Dave's grandma had a heart attack late last week. Monday Dave and I went to Rochester to see her. We both thought she looked good. Tired, yes. But happy to see us. Able to have a conversation. Able to get out of bed. But things have deteriorated since then. She's now receiving hospice care.

It's never easy to see someone you love dying. Even though this time is difficult, I can still find reason to be thankful. I'm thankful that Grandma Louise has been surrounded by her family this week. That lots and lots of prayers are being said for her. I'm grateful that I've had the chance to get to know the woman that Dave call Grandma. I'm thankful that I've got to taste the delicious rolls she bakes...and her cookies too. I'm thankful that she's always been happy to see me. I'm thankful for the time Otis woke up her up by sneaking into her room and licking her face when we slept over at her house with us. I'm thankful that she got to be at our wedding. I'm grateful she was able to say, "I love you," during our last visit. I'm thankful for witnessing her faith and love for God. I'm thankful that she's had the chance to see what a wonderful man and husband her grandson has become.

She's still her. She hasn't passed yet. But even when her time comes, she'll always be remembered and loved. And I know she'll always be watching over us....right up there with my grandma.

Thankful Thursday...

I've been absent from blogging for a whole week! It's been busy and there's lots I could have been blogging about. My birthday. Mother's Day. Dave's birthday. But there's one thing that really got in my way. School. I had a big paper I had to write, so I've spent most of my free time working on that. The good news?

It's done.

The even better news?

My semester is over! And for that, I'm thankful!!

Actually, that's not quite true...still a few things I need to turn in within the week. But I'm really thankful this semester is 99.9% over. It's been a long one.

Thankful Thursday...

Today I'm thankful for me! Just kidding....it's my birthday, so today's all about me, right? lol.

Actually, since it's my birthday, I am thankful for my parents -- without them, I wouldn't be here. Also for all of my friends who keep sending me emails, texts and Facebook messages wishing me a great day. And my dad who had lunch with me today. And my great co-workers who turned my day around...

...my day started with traffic jams and long lines at Caribou and culminated with me spilling my entire large Hot Apple Blast on me and my car and the ground when I got out of my car. I was so frustrated and slightly became overcome with emotion (how embarrassing) when I walked in to see my cube fully decorated for my b-day. After I told them what happened, we did a Caribou "re-do" and all drove over there together and got a new drink.

And I'm also thankful for my husband who surprised me a little bit ago by delivering some flowers and my happy birthday card to my office in person and further making my day much better than it started.

My favorite part of my birthday isn't the presents or the big celebration (and I have class tonight, so no big celebration today for me) ..it's definitely just feeling the love from everyone all around.

I'm so thankful for the love.

Thankful Thursday...

This week there isn't any one in thing in particular that I'm thankful for. It's just been an all-in-all great week. I've been spending the week off of work and have stayed pretty busy. One thing I'm definitely not doing is being a lazy bum on the couch (but sometimes watching the dogs do that during the day just makes it tempting to do what they do). But it's just been a good combination of enjoying the time off, cleaning the house, and tackling some projects I'm been dragging my feet on. I've gone to breakfast with my dad, lunch with my mom and breakfast with Krissy. Dave, Jim and I went to a Twin's game. I've taken the dogs on walks and went to the dog park. I've been selling some old furniture on Craigslist and we started refinishing my grandma's dresser. I've probably spent a little too much time reading blogs and Facebook, but that's just part of enjoying the time off.

But my closet still needs to be cleaned out, the people need to pick up the stuff from Craigslist, we still have several more rounds of removing the old varnish off the dresser, my floors need to be vacuumed and the closets organized. I haven't scrapbooked or read my book yet. And my week of is quickly coming to an end.

There is one thing I've learned this week is that there's never going to be enough time to get everything done. And I'm ok with that. I think.

Probably what I've enjoyed most is getting time to do stuff with my husband. It's really great that I have time off and he's transitioning between jobs, so that we've both been home a lot this week. We've gone from just a couple of hours to hang out in the evening to spending several days together. Its awesome! Even though we haven't done much exciting stuff (unless you think running errands or actually running is exciting); I think it's just more pleasant to be able to do it all with the person I love.

Thankful Thursday...

Today I'm thankful that my husband has a new job! He was laid off last Friday, but I haven't blogged about it because not a lot of people knew yet and I didn't want people to find out via the blog (well, if you didn't know that, I guess you're find that out via the blog now anyway..lol).

Yes, it only took him 6 days to find a job. Yes, in this terrible economy. Isn't that amazing? Yes, my husband is AMAZING!! He definitely knows how to make a good first impression!

For now he's going to be working in the garden department at Sears. It's a good fit with his background, and should hopefully be pretty flexible as he finishes up his last year of school.

Thankful Thursday...

This week, I'm thankful for the firefighters that protect our community. Yesterday, there was a big grass fire in the nature preserve less than a mile from my house! It happened while I was at work, but I could see the big ploom of smoke in the sky from my office that's 15 miles or so away. The nature area is one of my favorite places to go running and biking and it's surronded by homes. If it wasn't for the quick response and hard work from the firefighters, surely homes would have been damaged. The news story from KSTP says that at least six fire, police, and other agencies battled a massive grass fire in Shakopee.

My house wasn't in any danger (in fact, it didn't even smell like smoke at my house as the wind was taking the smoke a different direction.) The fire would have had to cross a whole different neighborhood, some woods and most of my neighborhood to get to my house. And I understand that it's part of nature's life cycle for prairie fires -- but still, this hits really close to home.

I have school tonight, but tomorrow night, I'm going to have to explore the nature preserve and my running/biking trail to make sure the tar path didn't melt.

Here's a news story about it...

Thankful Thursday...

Today I'm thankful for dry ground.

Last night we made our first venture to the dog park this spring season. We took a gamble, betting that the wet, muddy ground caused by the melting snow would be gone. It'd be a huge mess having to muddy and wet dogs, so we shy away from the dog park when the snow melts.

The bet paid off! The ground was dry! And the dogs had so much fun. We only walked around the park once, but the way the dogs ran (in circles around us the whole time), they probably did about 2 or 3 laps.

Now we can get the boys to the park more often, which makes them the happiest boys in the world!

The dog park trip wouldn't have been possible without the longer days we've been having. So I'm thankful for that too. It's so refreshing to be active outside in the evenings!

Not to get all philosophical, but when I wrote, "I'm thankful for dry ground," I couldn't help but think of dry ground metaphorically about my life. I'm thankful for the stability that Dave and I have in our lives -- especially as the world around us seems so unstable. We are on dry ground. Love is our dry ground. Our belief in God is our dry ground. The support from our family and friends is our dry ground. Our dry ground make the shaky days bearable. Our dry ground provides the path that we're walking and it's taking us where we want go. And that path that we're walking is so much better with the dry ground beneath our feet.

Thankful Thursday...

I'm thankful for my home!! With traveling to Chicago over the weekend and the numerous evening engagements I've had lately, I haven't spent very much time at home. I love my house. I love the dogs, cat and husband that live in it with me. And sometimes the best nights are spent with everyone laying on the couch (dogs and cat and Dave and I) all cuddly and close to one another, watching TV and falling asleep before the 10:00 news starts.

And I must add that cashing in on a great deal is exciting and I'm thankful for those opportunities when they arise. It's a win-win. I can get something new and cute to spruce up my wardrobe. And I don't have to feel guilty about spending lots of money. Case in point: finding an adorable gray skirt on the clearance rack at Kohl's for $8. Plus, I had a take an extra 15% off coupon. It was all meant to be, because today I had something cute to wear! (Is anyone else completely tired of heavy, bulky winter clothes and ready to break out spring skirts and capris and tank tops?)

Thankful Thursday...

This week I'm thankful for long-time friends, babies and airplanes. Melissa and I are flying to Chicago tomorrow to meet Jack, Erin's 2-month old. From the photos I've seen, Jack looks little and precious. Erin tells me that he wants to be held all the time -- which is great news for Melissa and I as we've been patiently waiting since January to hold him!

Melissa, Erin and I have been friends since high school. They are among my closest friends. We've supported one another through some pretty difficult times...and celebrated good times too. I'm excited to visit Erin and am looking forward to really joining her on this new journey in her life. As much fun it is to see photos and get updates on Facebook, it's not quite the same as being there in-person to experience this new baby crying and smiling and doing whatever else little 2-months olds do -- I guess poop and sleep and eat.

Thankful Thursday...

Today I'm thankful that it's Thursday and the weekend is almost here! It's been a pretty busy week and I've got some stuff that I'm looking forward to this weekend like Comedy Sportz (an improv show that my friend Katy is in) and my niece Emily's b-day. She's turning eight on Sunday. Wow!

I'm also thankful for spring!! Although it's a little cooler today, spring is definitely starting to make it's way to Minnesota. When birds start showing up, you know the cold and snow will soon be disappearing. The dogs and I have gone on walks everyday this week. I love being able to open my windows and get some fresh air in the house! I'm still waiting for green grass, leaves on trees and flower blossoms...but I'm definitely thankful for what spring has delivered so far.

Thankful Thursday...

Guess I've been caught as a blog slacker...given that my last post was a week ago Thursday. Dave and I went out of town for a couple of days, so that's my excuse!! I have some fun stuff to blog about our trip, so stay tuned and I'll write those posts and upload those pics quickly. In the mean time, here's what I'm thankful for this week.

• Sun! We went through many consecutive dreadful dreary days this week, which made me miss sunshine. While the temp during the week wasn't too bad, it gets depressing when you don't see the sun after surviving a long winter. Springs not here yet, but you can tell it's getting close when the sun appears. It's starting to feel so warm! It's melting the snow even when the temp isn't 32. And now that it's daylight savings time, it's still light outside when I get home!
• Time off work. Well I guess this one is two-fold. I am thankful that I have a job! But it's so nice to get the opportunity to take a day off and spend that day with my husband. After surviving a crazy month at work, a day off was just what I needed to regroup and refresh myself. It's important to remember to value you're time off, b/c that's when most of the worthwhile living stuff takes place. Like getting served a 5-course breakfast at a bed & breakfast and then taking a nap once you finally get home.
• Helping friends. It's gratifying knowing that you've helped a friend. Maybe it's as simple as emailing a link to some information that you know they'd find helpful. Or possibly connecting them to a great new opportunity. Or it could be something as serious as being there to help a friend stop something that they might regret later on.

Thankful Thursday...

I've seen a lot of other bloggers dedicate a weekly post to expressing their gratitude for things in their lives. I've done it once or twice. But I'm going to try and do it weekly now too.

This week I'm thankful for alone time with my husband. I'm guessing that once we have kids, we'll be wishing (sometimes) for the days where we could just come home and veg in front of the TV, cuddle and then go get some Dairy Queen. Besides two dogs that sometimes whine for our attention, our weeknights are usually quiet. We get to make dinner. Discuss how our days went. Gossip about people's Facebook statuses. Figure out weekend plans. Watch TV. Play Mariokart. Chill and relax. Chillax. And when summer comes, we add in bike rides and walks with the dogs into the mix.

Our evenings are generally the highlight of my days. And I'm thankful for this time that we have together.

Speaking of alone time with my husband, we figured out what we're going to do during his spring break. We're going to spend a night at a Bed and Breakfast in Lake City and hang out with frogs and bears. I've never spent the night at a B&B before, so I'm looking forward to it. And I'm looking forward to visiting Lake City and explore the town where Dave's dad grew up.