daily gratitude

yes, i've fallen behind on the gratitudes in the past week. heath and i were out of town for a funeral for several days, and were exhausted when we got home saturday night. we ran in the trick or treat trot on sunday morning, which was fun (lots of people ran the race in costumes!), but didn't do much for our fatigue levels!

so, here's my catch up.

wednesday, october 24: i'm grateful that heath and i were able to take off work and go out to spend time with his family. i'm grateful that i was able to meet heath's grandfather before he passed away.

thursday, october 25: i'm grateful that there were so many happy memories shared and for how many people came out to show their support.

friday, october 26: i'm grateful that heath and i were able to spend a lot of time with heath's grandma and bring her some company and comfort.

saturday, october 27: i'm grateful that i feel comfortable around heath's family and get along with them so well, and for heath letting me know he appreciated me being out there with him during this time. i'm glad i could be there for him.

sunday, october 28: i'm grateful for being in shape enough to run that 5k despite not really training enough for it (though i wasn't exactly a speed demon).

monday, october 29: i'm grateful for heath for bringing us home a cute halloween decoration (since we weren't able to decorate as much as we'd have liked earlier). i'm also grateful for big, deep, vintage bath tubs. i finally took a bath for the first time in our apartment, and it was awesome! the tub is big and deep enough that i don't feel like i'm all sticking out of it. i can actually just lounge and enjoy it. i think i'll be doing that a lot more now that it's getting chillier outside.

tuesday, october 30: i'm grateful for my commute. yes, it sucks to be in the car for 40 or so minutes each way (longer lately with construction), but i get to have a scenic drive every day. instead of letting the traffic annoy me (or the crazy drivers), i'm trying to take in the scenery. right now it is very beautiful, as most of the colors are at their peak. this is my favorite time of year. hopefully the weather is good this weekend, and i can spend some time outdoors enjoying the crisp air and bright colors.

riviera maya vacation

heath wrote up a nice summary of our trip here. i've just been lazy in linking to it.

pictures of the trip are posted here. they are sort of dark, but still turned out alright. the one below is my favorite. we took it while we were snorkeling down the river.

daily gratitude

(i've been so busy that my only posts have been these. at least it's something... heath posted on our mexico vacation here. i'll have pictures and a post soon. life is fairly hectic right now, so posting will be light. hopefully things settle down once we hit november.)

i'm grateful for my family. i think i've said it before, but i'm grateful for how thoughtful and caring they are. the past couple of days i was reminded how supportive they are and the extent to which they make time and effort to show their concern/caring whenever anybody in the family (or close friends or family of friends - you get the idea) faces a challenging or sad situation. these days few people think outside of their immediate worlds and individual troubles, but my family takes the time to communicate their care for people who are hurting, sometimes even when they've never actually met those people. it's very appreciated.

daily gratitude

catch up again

saturday, october 20: i'm grateful that i got to go to the illini football game (and tailgate) with heath and his friends. it was quite an experience, since i went to such a small college. i had a lot of fun despite the drunken idiots behind us.

sunday, october 21: i'm grateful that i went to a small school. while there are certainly draws to a big state school, i'm glad i went to the tiny private one that i went to. heath walked me around the u of i campus, and it was really pretty and impressive. there was SO much to do there. however, there were also curse words written in sidewalk chalk on campus, and a lot of litter in the street from the students partying the night before. i'm sure that it's only a portion of the students that are littering/vandalizing/tipping over trash cans, but i never really remember that happening at hope at all. like i said, there are pros and cons. i think that given my temperament, hope was a great fit.

monday, october 22: i'm grateful for my boss (or bosses? nobody knows who i report to at the moment!). my workplace is a fantastically understanding place, but that's all i can say about that.

daily gratitude

today i'm grateful for having a thoughtful boyfriend. he called me at work and when i asked him what we should have for dinner, he out of the blue suggested that we go see this movie i've been really wanting to see (the darjeerling limited) and grab dinner. i had pretty much forgotten that it was playing and probably wouldn't have remembered until it was too late and gone from theatres. it's not a movie he's dying to see, either. he'll probably enjoy it, but it's certainly not at the top of his must-see list. it was very sweet and means a lot to me that he was thinking of me and suggested this. not many guys would be so mindful and thoughtful. thanks hon!

daily gratitude catch up

i realize that i have neglected my daily gratitude entries. part of this was that i was busy, the other part was that i was out of town on vacation, so here is my quick catch up:

friday, october 12: i'm grateful that i was paying attention while riding along in the airport transfer van and spotted our resort. as a result, we ended up getting dropped off at the right hotel, and not the one they were erroneously planning on bringing us to, which was another 45 minutes away!

saturday, october 13: i'm grateful that i took spanish in high school. even though it was many years ago, i remembered just enough to get by with the folks that spoke minimal or no english. even heath was impressed from time to time. i really should try to get better at it, so i can communicate more effectively.

sunday, october 14: i'm grateful that we bought an underwater camera before we left home because they cost $35 at the ecological water park we visited! i'll elaborate on this experience when i post about the vacation.

monday, october 15: i'm grateful that we planned to do nothing this day. we were both tired from the trip to xel-ha on sunday, and were more than pleased to sit around on the beach and by the pool and at the pool bar for the entirety of the day. i'm also grateful for shade and aloe-vera gel.

tuesday, october 16: i'm grateful that we didn't check any bags, so we were able to get out and on our way out of the airport faster through immigration and customs. i'm also grateful that we had three solid days with minimal worry and lots of relaxation and fun because a good portion of the stress comes back pretty much right away when you get back from vacation. we didn't want to come home! i'm trying to hold onto as much of that relaxed feeling and mindset as i can.

today, october 17: i'm grateful for cup-o-soup. yum. it's totally helping me cope with my 3pm (well 4pm actually) cravings. too much sodium, though, so it will have to be an infrequent indulgence.

halloween

work is having a halloween dress up day. i've never really dressed up for halloween for work before, but my place of employment isn't typical (e.g., there were punishments for people that showed up to the 80's party without dressing the part). any suggestions?

daily gratitude (1 day late)

okay, i missed a day, but am making up for it here.

i'm grateful for my health. i've been very fortunate that i don't have to try very hard to keep myself healthy. though i'm thankful for my health, i know i need to be better to myself, including shifting my diet to be more balanced (it's not awful, but could be better), and making sure that i keep exercising. i've kind of gotten lazy since my race, and have noticed the effects of my inactivity on my mood, energy level, and how well i generally feel. went back to the gym last night and felt really great. i just need to stick with it better than i have been. i've got some goals in mind for running and cycling for next year. i want to do a few time trials over the summer to supplement triathlons.

daily motivator

i have this thing on my google home page that has a daily inspirational message on it. i thought they were pretty good (there is a more elaborate message if you click on it), so i went to the website, where they have html that you can add to your own site if you want. so i stuck it up there at the top. it's kind of obnoxious there, but it gets smooshed if i put it on the side, and it won't be visible on the bottom. any suggestions?

fantasy football noob week 4 & 5

so, what i learned in week 5 was to not hold my breath on guys listed as "game time decision" because 0 points is just plain baaaad. also, just had some bad luck. if i had swapped out any one of the guys on my bench that weren't on a bye week, i would've won this week. ouch. ANY one of them. hopefully i fare better next week when carson comes back from his bye week. also addai should be healed up after his bye week next week, so fingers crossed for week 7! i'm now 3-2 in my league, which isn't too bad, considering i've never played before. i'll have to make sure to set my team up thursday night and hope nothing significant happens before the games on sunday and monday. :)

daily gratitude

i'm grateful for all the fun stuff i've been able to do lately and all the things coming up that are planned. when i got here this morning, i mentioned my upcoming trip to mexico this weekend, and somebody pointed out that since i've started this job, i've had like 9 vacations. now, he was counting things like camping (which don't require a day off) and my triathlon (not so much a vacation, but time away from home doing something exciting nonetheless). although not all my excursions have involved a plane ride or time off work, i have had lots of fun over the summer and have some cool things coming up this fall that i'm already looking forward to.

daily gratitude

i'm grateful for all the experiences i've had. sometimes i feel like
i've failed at certain things or wasted my time in one way or another,
but i need to remember that all those experiences were valuable in
shaping who i am and where i am headed. it's important for me to focus
on how i've learned from my past and remember that i made certain
choices for good, valid reasons and that they were the right thing to do
in my life. when i look at where i'm at, things are really great for me
right now. as i look to the future, i can see several doors in various
areas of my life that are ready to open for me if i am willing to do
what i need to take advantage of them. i have to take the initiative and
pursue these things and not let self-doubt or fear (or regret from the
past) get in the way of my success. it's scary to put yourself out there
sometimes, but i need focus on the fact that the greatest rewards and
most happiness will come when i take some risks. i'm fortunate for the
opportunities i've had and that are waiting for me, and i won't let
myself get in my own way like i have for the past few years!

(a while ago, i said that i wanted to start a daily post on what i'm
grateful/thankful for in my life because i don't appreciate things
enough. so here's the first one. i imagine that some will be "grander"
than others, but the idea is to force me to think about what i'm
grateful for and to take the time to appreciate those things, big or small.)

restless

ever feel like you can't sit still? that's me currently. i couldn't
figure it out, then i realized that it was because i went and got a
double mocha cappuccino out of the machine in the exec's kitchen. no
wonder i'm all jittery and stuff! i'll probably crash sometime in the
next 30 min. wow am i not used to caffeine anymore... it was delicious,
though. :)

conditioner

this morning, i used a conditioner that you are supposed to leave on
your hair for three minutes before rinsing it out.

i think i may have forgotten to rinse it out.

which would explain why my hair was harder to dry and why it feels funny
this afternoon.

i should really pay closer attention to my shower tasks.

travel drama

i understand the value of e-ticketing. less postage, faster, easier,
etc. it's great. i love it.
however, the e-tickets need to have clear instructions and also should
have the relevant information that you need. i just got off the phone
with the agency through which we bought our upcoming vacation to mexico.
the reservation confirmation that was emailed to us contained basic
information about our flights, hotel name, the fact that we purchased
transfers, and the cost of the trip. good, great, fine. they got our
order. however, both heath and i wondered if there were going to be any
documents mailed to us or a follow up email with more detail such as
confirmation numbers, instructions, etc.

so today i called and was essentially made to feel like i MUST not
travel much because i should KNOW that despite there not being any
confirmation numbers on the document, that it WAS our e-ticket. or
rather, all our e-tickets. the guy interrupted me countless times, was
condescending and barely spoke english. when i tried to explain that it
was unclear that it was the e-ticket since the confirmation numbers
weren't in that email, he restated that that is why he just TOLD them to
me. ugh. it was annoying. i try to not get annoyed by this stuff as much
anymore, but this was just one of *those* calls. when i asked to speak
to his supervisor, he stated that he was the supervisor. and i said
"that explains a lot" and hung up. not the most mature, i know, but i
wasn't really appreciating being interrupted and talked down to.

regardless, heath and i are very much looking forward to this vacation.
very much. very very much. can't wait. only 6.5 more days of work until
we get to go!