Things I Love Thursday

It's about that time again and I am especially thrilled with life this week so, without further ado, here are a few of the things that have made life great.

Spring Break - Yes, I still have to work all week but there are no classes, no students, and best of all no homework. I'm also getting to catch up with the lovely people that I don't get to see as often when I'm wrapped up with writing research papers.

3.5 GPAs - But I got a 3.5 GPA, so obviously I'm doing something right.

New tattoos - I got some lovely new ink this week. Joel did an amazing job and it turned out just exactly how I wanted it to be.

Party season - The weather is trying to warm up and so begins the start of party season. A few years ago this would have been anxiety-inducing for me. I just don't always do well in large groups of people. But since I've been getting really comfortable in my skin lately, I've actually been enjoying parties more than I ever thought was possible. Bring them on!

Great new recipes - The past two weeks I went to two new cooking classes: Breakfast Breads & Pastries and Steakhouse D.I.Y. I got some really amazing new recipes, learned how to make my pie crust even better, finally figured out how to cook a damn steak, and I am dying to make a new batch of sticky buns. 

Surprise family time - Two weekends ago, my cousin Heather was having her leaving Illinois party. Normally I wouldn't be seen back around central Illinois until around June but I decided to surprise my bff and my gram and head down for a short visit. I got an amazing painting that my sister made, ate some awesome food, played with Ella and Tyler to my heart's content, and had a hilarious game night of Tellestrations. 

Therapy progress - So my therapist tells me that if I came in to see her today, she wouldn't diagnose me with major depressive disorder. We're meeting in two weeks to talk about some plans and maintenance but then we'll be heading into check-ups and doing it on my own. Wow.

Someone cooking for me for a change - Last night I went over to cadge Michael's bourbon (for sticky bun glaze) and Xbox games. He made me dinner and we watched some HIMYM. Other than my mom, I really don't remember the last time someone cooked for me. 

New and scary goals - I signed up for the Chicago Half Marathon on September 7th. I may be insane, I may drop dead in the middle of the course, or I could surprise myself and kick my own ass into gear and kill it. I'm hoping the latter. This year is the year of Emily and I am going to enjoy it, damn it.