Chris mentioned today that lately I’ve been blogging on the designated Love Thursday and Thankful Friday entries. And he’s right! So, since I’m doing nothing but lounging on the couch, watching The Mummy Returns, I thought I might as well write something.

Today we had planned to take our tax stuff in to a friend of ours in Norman. But as we scrounged all of our paper work together, we realized we were still missing the tax info on Chris’s student loan. Bummer because I was planning on using this as an excuse to try out The Earth Cafe. Well, Chris being Chris, says “let’s go anyway”. So, we did and we were magically transported back to Portland to our favorite little vegan place, Paradox.

Seriously. Why? Why am I just finding this place now? I think there were two actual meat items on the menu: a turkey sandwich and a tuna melt. They use organic and local products. THEY USE VEGAN MAYO! As I finished up the last of my Fool Your Mom chk’n salad sandwich, tears welled up in my eyes. We finished our lunch with a macaroon and just as I was about to take the last bite, one of the guys from the kitchen came out with a chocolate cake. This wasn’t just any chocolate cake. This was obviously homemade, with that light dusting of flour on the cake. It was beautiful.

Good food and I mean good food (ethical and healthy). Now…I’m watching House Bunny.

Well, I have to say that I’m really thankful to be back on the mend. Yesterday was my first full day back to our normal routine since Monday, and I couldn’t have timed it any better since most of the lab (including the boss) are all away at the annual retreat. So, things have been really quite around here, and I’ve been able to actually get a lot of things done. I am deeply thankful for the peace.

As usual, I am looking forward to the weekend and the extra rest. Chris and I plan to take our taxes in tomorrow, which is always a mixed blessing. I am thankful that we have a good friend in the tax business, but I’m worried that we’ll owe (because we always owe). I’m worried that I haven’t kept track of certain things like I should have, receipts and whatnots. But I am thankful that Chris and I don’t have to figure the mess out on our own for once. [RAISES RIGHT HAND] I swear to keep better track of all yoga-related transactions and receipts. Amen.

Hope every one has a great weekend!

Oh, Hello internets. I’ve been MIA this week. A nasty stomach flu hit on Monday and I’ve pretty much have been comatose since. But I’m back from the brink of death just in time for Love Thursday.

Last Friday, Chris and I attended the opening of our friend Misti’s new show Love Song. That’s right. The title is Love Song. The play is funny, sweet and a little sad, but it’s all about love and being open to the possibility of love. It was a great performance, though I might be a bit biased because I think every thing Misti does is awesome and great.

Being open to the possibility of love I think can be the most challenging part sometimes. This week, my husband saw me sicker then he’s ever seen me. He was there to pat my head as I emptied everything from my gut and then dry heaved into the trash bin. He forced me to drink Gatorade even though I cried at the prospect. It was ugly in here, but he was there.

Obviously still a little fevery and delusional. Happy Love thursday!

After an incredibly painful lab meeting on Tuesday, I’ve done a bang up job of staying under the radar until yesterday about ten minutes before five. So…I have a bit more work to do today then I had originally planned for. That’s fine. In fact, it’s all microscopy work, so I’m really good. And because I’ll be so busy, this day will zoom by just like all the others. Before I know it, I’ll be sitting at the opening of Zelda’s play Love Song and crying and laughing with the most amazing friend.

Really? What more could I be thankful for?

Really, this should have been last week’s entry, but I had already typed up and posted before looking at my Phrase-a-day calendar. On voit le bout du tunnel. Which is a perfect phrase for Thursday.

Thursdays are my favorite day. I teach a 6 AM, work all day, and teach a 6 PM and then that’s it. It’s all down hill from there. Thursday’s are our pizza nights, so I don’t even really have to cook. I know that if I can just survive Thursday, every thing will be OK. It’s my light at the end of the tunnel.

Hope everyone enjoys their down hill slalom as much as I. Happy Love Thursday!

Starting a fresh new journal because I filled up the old one
Out of control lasagna that I made and shared with friends
Short weeks
A bunch of other things that I wrote down in the new journal, but have forgotten already and the journal is in the car.
My new soy candles
The gardening magazine I bought this weekend
Taking my lap-top to my favorite coffee place and getting some things cleaned up on the computer
That this day is minutes away from being over
Jambalaya made my way
Fat Tuesday!

Hope every one’s have a great one!

The kitchen remodel has been under way for a few weeks now and for the last week we’ve been with out a sink. Chris and I have been washing dishes in the bath tub, while his mother doesn’t even bother. She just sets the dirty dishes on the back porch. Last night we came home to a working kitchen sink, Hallelujah! Chris and I have nothing to do with the kitchen remodel. It’s all been orchestrated by his brother with out any communication of what and when things will be done. It’s not our kitchen and it’s not our house. We just live there. And this is one of the things that I am thankful for. I am thankful that this is not my house or even my home. I am thankful that I don’t have to deal with the stress of a kitchen remodel right now.

So, we have a working kitchen sink and this week has been busy, but controllable at work. I am thankful for this long weekend and once again being able to leave work guilt free, without little tasks and problems nagging at me. Also, my friend and co-worker Robin was able to get hired on in another lab here. We had had her farewell party last week and the prospects then were bleak. I am so thankful that someone realized that losing Robin and her experience (22yrs!) would be really bad thing for this place. I am thankful that she is back and that we will be able to walk together every day.

I feel like I’m ending this week with a a heavy sigh of relief and contentment. Thankful that it is Friday, but not in the way I have been for the past few months. As in “if Friday didn’t hurry up and get here I’m going to slit my wrists” kind of way. Have a wonderful weekend.

One of the things I wanted to start doing in the new year was to burn more candles, or any actually. The thing is, I’m always a little disappointed in candles. They rarely smell like I think they should or I never have the right kind of holder so the candle leaves a mess. But I love the idea of the candle, the soothing flicker of the flame and gentle calming scent.

Chris talked me into buying this candle from the farmers’ market. It’s made of soy and now…NOW…I get why people burn candles. This candle burns evenly with out a mess and the smell is subtle and not overpowering.

Now, I’m finally really enjoying the candle thing. This winter has been brutal. When I light that candle, I can imagine it warming my room and remember the countless times I curled up in a blanket and fell asleep on the floor in front of the fire as a kid. The candle is a reminder of warmth.

Happy Love Thursday!

I did not forget about the list. It’s just that work has been…work and I’ve been busy. So here’s the Happy List for the week.

When I have a student that finally gets it
Tuning out the lab with my new iPod
My new chai tea and tea basket
Happy hour with friends from work
Finishing up a task that has been bothering me for a week on a Friday and being able to completely leave the lab behind
Going to a yoga class (as opposed to teaching one)
Lunch with friends and then impromptu movie watching
Lazy Sundays
The new fake chicken soup recipe I invented
Getting that @#%$ Western Blot to work
Having the house to ourselves all weekend, no kids.

There’s probably more. In fact, I’m sure of it. I just can’t remember right now. Save it for next week.

Tomorrow is Chris’s birthday, so I thought I’d devote today’s entry to him. I am thankful every day for his presence in my life. I know. I know. Roll the eyes and gag ya with a spoon. But it’s true.

It’s impossible to imagine what my life would be like if I had never met Chris. Most of the friendships that I have now that are so dear to me, I made through Chris. Every day he lets me be me and pushes me to be a better person. He was the driving force behind my yoga teacher certification even though he gets dragged along to all the classes I teach.

I am thankful for the silliness we share and our serious political debates that we have in the car on the way to work. I am thankful that he reads and has a brain and that most the time he knows how to use it. I am thankful that he is my better half.

Hope every one has a great weekend and a thankful Friday.