Things I Love Thursday

I know, I know, I have been highly remiss in the blogging world. It's been a rough couple of months and I'm desperately in need of a good mental tidy and a full body hug. So, here's me trying to get myself on a better foot before the new school year starts up again.

online classes - I decided I really didn't want to be in class four nights a week this summer and opted to take an online phonetics course. This has been one of the best and most stress-relieving decisions I've made since I started back to school.

new boss - It's really too soon to know if it's going to be an excellent situation or a terrible one but this woman listens to my concerns, values my opinions, and respects me as a coworker and that is something I haven't had in a really long time.

chosen family - I've spent a great deal of my life feeling out of place and that I'd never really find that place with the people who just get you without explanation. But lo and behold, I have some of the most truly amazing humans in my life and they are capable of making me feel like I am more worthwhile than I have ever felt.

a day in the sun - I spent Saturday afternoon/evening out in Barrington with some of my dearest chosen family. We picked apples, oohed and aahed (at a safe distance) at huge paper wasp nests, fed goats, collected fresh eggs from chickens, wrestled in the grass, and ate incredible food, the kind that's good because the ingredients are top rate and excellently and simply prepared. The rest of the evening included copious amounts of cider and the best conversation while sitting under stars that you just can't see in the city. This is the kind of day that makes my soul sing.

pinterest - Pinterest is the wonderful place where foodies, crafters, and LARPers go to die and I find that 15 minutes pinning new things to my board, gives me great inspiration and is calming when I don't want to do anything that requires a lot of brain power.

HelloFresh - Okay, I'll admit, it's a little pricey and I don't do it every week but the recipes are pretty excellent and it's really been helping me stay on track with eating at home and packing my lunches. If I can get myself moving tonight, there will be sweet potato and black bean tacos.

a little bit of WoW - I've been WoW free for five years but boy oh boy if I didn't take advantage of that free week for returning players and get hooked all over again. When the school year starts into full swing again, I'll probably put it back on hold but it's really been a great way to keep myself occupied when I'm feeling particularly hermit-y.

my sergeant (that's right, somebody got a promotion) - Having him home for two glorious weeks at the beginning of the summer was fantastic and having him back in Germany again frankly sucks balls. But having a partner that can deal with all of that, communicates well, and stays motivated and motivates you, totally worth it.

Things I Love Thursday

Pedicures - Last Tuesday was ladies' night and I got the first pedicure I've had in well over six months, it really is one of the best feelings in the world.

Time off - I only went into the office two days last week during my Spring break for things that I absolutely had to be around for. No classes and most of the week off? Heaven.

Opening night at the Station - It's rare these days that I make it back for an opening night but since my train got in with plenty of time, I was able to see the wonderful opening of Mothers and Sons with three very fantastic people leading the small cast including my high school drama teacher. I always forget how lovely it is to walk in that building and see so many people who are genuinely glad to see you.

Puppies - My aunt's golden cream retrievers just had litter #2 and these six week old monsters are adorable and cuddly and perfect in every way. They are also all eight spoken for so maybe I'll get one next time. *fingers crossed*

Hair cuts - Though my usual stylist, my dearest Michael, was booked solid for weeks on end, my growing out hair was getting fluffy and horrible. Carly at Kane and Co. shaped my undergrowth into something that will grow out a little better and I feel so much better without the fluff.

Mom letting me take the lead on dinner - Seriously, my mom is the best home cook in America (stand aside all you Masterchef wannabes). So, when we had Grandma, Marianne, and Ken over for dinner Saturday night and mom let me be in charge of the main course of chicken pot pie (AND everyone loved it and cleaned their plates), it was kind of a big deal to me.

Facebook hiatus - I'm taking a general Facebook siesta. I still have messenger up on my phone so I can chat with the soldier and anyone else who may be trying to get a hold of me and doesn't have my email but I just needed to stop constantly looking at everyone's posts. I have a lot of personal stress in my life right now and scrolling through negativity and bigotry and mean-spirited posts was bringing me down quite a large amount. It's been two days and I already feel like I took a breath of fresh air.

The good kind of April Fools - I hate April Fool's jokes. The idea of having an entire day set aside where you lie to your friends and family about something that's usually serious is just not funny to me and probably not as funny as you think it is. Seriously, imagine being the couple that's silently struggling with infertility that sees 10 friends pop up on Facebook announcing "They're pregnant! j/k, happy April, lol". Not so funny. Anyway, yesterday, two dear friends announced that they got married which everyone thought was a joke. The joke was it was real and I'm super happy for Eric, Martha, and little Alba.

My gym - Though I'm not getting there as often as I want yet (new routines take some getting used to), I've got some great encouragement from the soldier and a wonderful place to lose the weight at.

Things I Love Thursday

It's been a frightfully stressful quarter and I have had little to no control over my emotions and most of my free time has been spent trying to catch up on sleep. Not good combinations. I'm feeling a little more cheerful this week despite the below freezing temps and I think it's time to remind myself that winter doesn't last forever.

Debt free - Mostly. With this year's tax refund, I paid off all of my credit cards and rejoined the gym since I can now afford it again. It was a huge sigh of relief and a great burden off of my shoulders.

Choir - No, it's not the strongest group of singers I've ever been a part of but they all try hard and the music is truly great stuff. It's a really wonderful thing do be making beautiful music again.

Good food and great company - While my social life hasn't been super the past couple of months, I've had some really great evenings with wonderful people. Fajita nights with Dan and Erin, wonderful homemade dinner and a night of babysitting and dog cuddling with the Tinchers, Quartino with great friends for Chicago Restaurant Week, fabulous pesto and good wine with my dearest Amelia, and truly tasty comfort food and stimulating conversation with the soldier's mom at Cafe Selmarie. Nights like this make me feel incredibly lucky.

Encouragement - That soldier is doing wonderful things for my self-esteem let me tell you. Compliments out the wazoo laced with tough love and constant encouragement. There's a reason we can stay on Skype for three hours.

new year, so much to do, so much to be thankful for

I don't really do New Year's resolutions. Mostly because I feel that any time you resolve to make a change in your life should be the time you start, whether it be December 29th or February 4th. But there is a lot to do this year and a lot I plan on accomplishing and so much that I have to be thankful for from the past year. So let's start with a little gratitude.

I am extremely grateful for:

Moopit - He is the best friend a gal could ask for. He will totally pet sit for me when I have to leave town for a family emergency even when he is going through an equally shitty week, bring me pain killers when I don't have time to stop at home between afternoon and evening plans, take me out for a nice dinner with friends because I had a shitty week, and give as much as he gets in the "giving each other shit" category.

My mommy - She is constantly supportive of my decisions and full of encouragement when I'm having a tough time. She makes sure I am full of tasty food whenever I see her, watches my pup when I'm going to be out of town too much to pay the dog sitter, and gets me things I actually need/want for Christmas (I love my new fitbit and I can't wait to try out my new baking pans and wear my new work pants). I wouldn't be able to do any of the things I do without her behind me.

My sister - She is the most lovely, kind, and talented person I know. She downloads an external hard drive full of great TV that she thinks I need to watch, crochets me super warm winter accessories, and paints beautiful artwork that I hang in my house. Life isn't always easy for her but she keeps going and works hard and I have more respect for that than for people that are always whining about things in their relatively simple lives. She is a rock and I am always amazed by and proud of her.

My soldier - Seriously this guy, I can't say enough great things about this guy. One day I'm just going to explode rainbows and sprinkles killing everyone with happiness within a mile radius because this guy just makes me sparkle inside. (please feel free to go receive yourself, I make myself a little sick sometimes too) But this guy just gets me, supports my geeky habits by sending me awesome costume pieces, makes me laugh and smile and even tear up a little bit because he's so awesome, and even puts up with it when I Skype with my mouth full. I seriously cannot wait to see what the next few years have in store for us.

Anyone else in my life that has listened and been kind or supportive or encouraging or just plain loving because they knew I needed it. I am especially thankful for the extremely wonderful new friends I have made this past year and even a little grateful that I found out that some of my old friends were maybe not such good friends. 

But this year is going to be a pretty big one: 

I plan to make it to Europe at least twice this year
Want to get in at least 6 races and actually improve on my times from last year
I need to pass the College Mathematics CLEP with a 50 or higher
I plan to learn enough German to travel comfortably there this spring
I have 8 courses I'll be taking toward my degree this year and I want to be on the Dean's list as much as I can
I hope to finally get my work promotion through the system (ugh, red tape)
I may have some pretty lofty weight loss goals too but I'm keeping those to myself

This year is the last year before I finish my degree and after that there is a bend in the road. I'm pretty sure I know where it's heading and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a major transition and a wild ride but I'm really excited for a new adventure and quite possibly a new corner of the world. This is a year of hard work and enjoying what I can now and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a great one.