Days Behind

I've fallen behind listing my gratitude. It has been a chaotic and challenging couple of weeks. As I told Ken, I'm looking on the positive side, but it would be nice if I had less challenges to explore the good side of.

Sorry, some of these pictures aren't very good. I shot the ones of the fridge with my cell phone in the dark using only the flash to provide light because I didn't want to wake anyone up and I was on my way to the hospital to see my grandma.

I'm behind on days, so here goes a general summary:

Fridge: I'm grateful we had a mini fridge to use when ours went kaput. And grateful for a husband who lugged it upstairs from the garage so it was more convenient to use. I'm grateful that it was delivered successfully and hey now I have a super clean fridge!

Hot Water Heater: I'm grateful that I have a hubby and father-in-law who are experienced with pipe and who were able to replace the hot water heater without having to hire someone. I'm also grateful that hot water heaters are reasonably priced (never in the budget, but so much less than a fridge). Who knew!

Grandma: I'm grateful my grandma won't need any facial surgery following her fall a week and a half ago. I'm grateful my grandma made it through her unexpected surgery (different problem) successfully and while still facing some challenges is recovering. I'm so, so, so thankful to my mom who takes such good care of her (and all of us).

Kids: I'm grateful that Anique has a friend she can giggle with and hide out in her temporary fort (fridge box=over-sized fort). I'm grateful (and proud) that Bailey works so hard on his soccer and took the risk to tryout for his school team. Double practices on some days but he's doing a great job.

I'm grateful for the time I got to spend in Anique's classroom teaching an art lesson. It's fun to see the kids try out new things and see how their individual personalities come out in their pieces.

Car: I'm grateful that our mechanic didn't charge anything to run a diagnostic test on my car when the engine light came on and gave me some tips to try to resolve the problem. Unfortunately, the light is back on and I'll be visiting him again soon but I'm grateful to have a mechanic we can trust.

I'm grateful that the thief who got into my car only took the Sirius radio (which I hadn't activated in a couple of years) and left everything else mostly alone.

I have a sign down in my office that says, "I know God wouldn't give me more than I can handle, I just wish he didn't trust me so much." I'm definitely feeling that sentiment about now.

Despite the challenges of the past couple of weeks, I am so fortunate to have a strong support system around us and a mostly healthy family (colds don't count in February right?)

Day 49

Anique and Maddy have been wanting to start a book club for the past couple of weeks. They changed their mind about the book they originally chose. I arranged to take them both to the library on Monday. Of course, I forgot they would be closed for President's Day.

 

So, I took them to Flirt instead. Flirt is a frozen yogurt place tucked inside a local gas station. So it's not fancy but it's so, so good! They have several different flavors of frozen yogurt to choose from and lots and lots of toppings.

 

The girls were very excited and it was great to see them together and listen to all their stories.

 

I'm grateful for the time spent with them and their youthful openness.

Day 45

 

Ken and I bought our first house about 11 1/2 years ago. It was a little big for us but we added another child, and of course somehow it gets full. Do we really need all this stuff. The first few years we had very nice neighbors, but they also were adding a child and moved to a larger home.

 

Our sweet neighbor moved in and has been a blessing! Anique loves here. She is a dedicated gardener and lets Anique assist with planting, weeding or whatever she might be working on. They just chat and chat. Anique and Bailey water her flowers when she is on vacation.

 

We try to help out whenever she asks and she shares our green bin (for yard waste). We never fill it and are more than happy to let her add her clippings and leaves. We exchange small gifts at the holidays and show each other our project successes.

 

The day before Valentine's Day she dropped off a sweet treat for the family tied with a ribbon.

 

We are so grateful that we have been blessed with such a generous and special neighbor. In past years we have considered moving occassionally but I don't think we could find a better neighbor. We are truly lucky!

 

Day 44

 

She's just so darn cute. This week she tried for a "love" theme several days in a row in observation of Valentine's Day. This was Wednesday's outfit. Pink leggings, denim ruffle skirt, and panda love shirt. And, of course, her purple monster bag.

 

I'm grateful that she is a mostly a good natured child and she still has excitement for the little things in life.

 

Day 40 &43

 

 

Sunday evening Ken and I left the kids at home and headed to Mill Creek for a grown up dinner. What made it a grown up dinner, you ask? Well, we chose a restaurant that we both enjoy and the kids don't. No mac and cheese, grilled cheese or chicken strips on the menu. Kafe Neo is a very small chain (3 locations) of Greek restaurants. We have now been to all of their locations. The Mill Creek one is definitely the nicest. Small but has a great atmosphere. I was coveting the chandeliers.

 

 I had a grown up drink (Ken was driving). It was an ouzotini. I had forgotten what ouzo was. Holy moley, the  licorice flavoring was strong! We both had gyros and salads. And of course the skordalia is a must to try! I need to experiment and learn to make it myself.

 

I am thankful for the opportunity to spend grown up time with Ken. It was a nice night of catching up without interuptions. A true treat.

 

One of the radiologists I have worked with is leaving the company after this week. We are holding a potluck tomorrow for her and we always sign a card for someone when they are leaving. Or coming. Or celebrating a birthday. Or...you get the point.

Anyhow, we didn't have any going away cards in our handy card binder so I volunteered to make one. Normally, I make something with paper, die cuts, etc but I thought it would be fun to make a more graphic card this time. I put this together in Photoshop and am really pleased with how it came out.

I am grateful for the years working with this provider and the opportunity to get to know her. Also, for getting a chance to do a more creative project with my Photoshop skills. Granted it was a simple one, but fun.

Day 38

Today there was beautiful cold sunshine. And I am grateful for my husband for taking me out to lunch so I had the opportunity to see it. We don't get the opportunity to spend time with just the two of us very often so it was a extra special treat.

I don't have a picture today, I thought about taking a picture of my Subway sandwich but it seemed a little cliche.

Ken was off from work today. He is still recovering from having his wisdom teeth out on Tuesday. He had one bite of his sandwich and then decided liquids were still the best option. Boy have we gone through a lot of yogurt the past couple of days.

He plans on going back to work tomorrow. Hopefully, the soreness and pain he has in his jaw and mouth will be bearable. Fingers crossed!

Day 35

 

Today I am grateful for having a crock pot. We are trying to cook more and eat out less. This was driven by the need to get healthy and the even more urgent need to cut down on some of our monthly expenses.

I have been cooking at least one to two meals a week in the crock pot. Not only do they require minimal prep but you come home to a yummy smelling house and dinner ready and waiting.

This isn't my crock pot but it is very similiar. I chose not to photograph mine since it is well loved and has some years on it.

You can find this crock pot on Amazon.

Today I needed to use up some of the leftover ingredients from the last weeks. So, I browned up a little over a pound of ground turkey that was extra from our taco night, added some basil and oregano while it cooked. Once that was browned, I poured a jar of pasta sauce in (couldn't find spaghetti squash this week, so we didn't have spaghetti night) and then the remaining ricotta cheese left from our Million Dollar Spaghetti (find it on Pinterest). I added a cup or so of water and mixed it all up.

I then poured this all into the crock pot. Added two cups of uncooked bowtie noodles. You could probably use any kind of noodle but this was what I had in the cupboard. Then put the lid on and eat when you get home. The noodles were soft and flavorful and the sauce had thickened alot. Very filling! And even the kids were happy with dinner.

Day 34

 

 

 

This weekend was busy with lots to do but there was still plenty to be grateful for. I had the opportunity to have lunch with two good friends on Saturday with plenty of time for chatting and catching up.

 

Today, we headed south to Bailey's soccer game and then back to my in-laws for the Superbowl. I had a chance to edit lots of pictures while watching. I'm just in it for the commercials really. We had the chance to hang out with family only see every once in a while.

 

I finished up the rest of my Pike Place Market pictures and started on the pictures we took sledding while at Mount Baker this winter.

 

I'm grateful for family and friends.