Gratitude 1.28.2010 - 2.2.2010

"Oh, the Lord is good to me, 

and so I thank the Lord...

for giving me the things I need

the sun, and the rain, and the apple seed.

The Lord is gooooooood to me..."

 

1.  Stay home from work day-  I never call in sick, and when I do, it's the real deal.  My work atmosphere is extremely personal, and I just can't take advantage of that situation.  Well, last Thursday I was for real sick...but I will admit I have been worse and still gone to work.  Work was super slow last week, so I decided to stay home and take a R&R day to help pin this forthcoming cold in the butt.  I did nothing all day, and it was wonderful....except I did manage to get off my but and make...

2.  Coconut Milk Ice Cream-  Heck yeah, I did!  I'm telling ya, my Kitchen Aid Ice Cream attachment bowl is one of the best items I've ever bought.  I have been trying every non-dairy ice cream recipe out there in hopes of appeasing my very demanding taste buds, and I think I've finally found the winner...coconut milk ice cream!  This stuff is so easy, has the closest consistency to real dairy ice cream, and did I mention it's way too easy?!  Recipe to come...

3.  Homemade fresh pasta-  Have you ever made homemade pasta?  You would if you had a pasta rolling machine ($20) and knew how easy it was to do.  I love making homemade pasta, though I hadn't done it in a while; it's light years better than dried store bought pasta!  I was craving some warm comfort food Friday night, so I decided to make fresh homemade pasta tossed in a creamy mushroom white wine sauce (vegan).  It was awesome...duh...and made for a great cozy night at home with Steven and the movie Without Limits.  Steve Prefontaine rocked, and I could stare at Billy Crudup for hours *drooling*

4.  Lunch at the new Mama Fu's with the Kennedy's-  New Braunfels has had a plethora of new restaurants join the community recently, one of them being Mama Fu's.  Steven and I met our awesome buds Holly and Drew Kennedy over there for Saturday lunch.  Not only was the food great, but getting to hang with the Kennedy's was the best.  We hadn't hung out in ages, and it was awesome to cut-up, be goofy, and harass the boys with Holly.  I was introduced to Drew through the music scene, and of course became close friends with his wife eventually.  She's one of my closest friends...and the only one who can eat as much as I can.  We have no shame!

5.  My wonderfully quirky boyfriend-  I just love Steven.  He is one the few people who can genuinely make me laugh.  I totally had this guy pinned wrong when I first met him; he is super quirky, anal, but fun,  sweet, but not a doormat, and the list goes on.  He never ceases to amaze me!  Steven is such a chihuahua when it comes to cold weather.  This past weekend was cold here in TX...in the 30's, yo!  We went to a bar-b-que birthday party thing Saturday, which was outside, and when I came by to pick him up he looked so funny with his random array of tobagons, shirts, silly jackets, socks, gloves, etc.  You would have thought this guy was going to Antarctica!  Silly boy :-P

6.  Doggie Day Care Day with Big Momma, Big Daddy, and Stella-  My folks' grandparent names for Fred are "Big Momma" and "Big Daddy."  My mother hates it.  She swears she will NOT have her grandchildren calling her "Big Momma!"  I used to take Fred over to their house every day for doggie daycare, as I like to call it, when I went to work.  Now, I only take him over there about once a week, so it's kind of like a special day, now.  I get to see my folks through out the day, Stella gets to act like Fred is actually playing with her, Fred get's attention for a full day, and everyone is happy.  Doggie daycare...daughter daycare...I think we all love it.

7.  Central Market Cooking Class-  Ever been to a Central Market cooking class?  I think Whole Foods offers them, too?  If not, and you like food, it's a "must-do" in my book!  I've been to many various classes, and Steven bought us tickets to a hands-on sushi making class for Christmas.  We went Monday evening, and it was awesome!  That was my first hands on class I'd even been to, and we had a blast.  Every couple, or small little group of girl friends should go to a CM cooking class!  Steven said his favorite part of the night was when the sushi master would comment on how to "better" my sushi making skillz.  I told Steven a master only picks on his students with the most potential in order to ready them for perfection ;-)

8.  My super supportive and truly caring boss- I've been contemplating my "career" lately, and what it is I may want to further my education in.  Accounting/bookkeeping is one of them.  The majority of my job now is bookkeeping.  As a person with a bachelors in English Lit/Comp, and a minor in Religious Studies, I would have NEVER in my wildest dreams imagined I would ever enjoy accounting...but I do!  Anyway, I've been thinking about, among many other ideas, weening off my full-time position at my current job, going to part-time, and picking up some contract labor work on my own as a bookkeeper for hire.  I presented this idea to my boss, and instead of freaking out, he offered one of his clients to me to give a try, and said I could stay at full-time, do the work needed for my outside client on his time, and keep the money I make with that client all to myslef.  Wow....you really can't ask for a more generous offer from your boss than that.  I'm truly fortunate to be in such a positive work environment, and to have a boss that actually cares about my happiness and success.  Thank you, Darrell!!!

10.  3.4 Mile run-  The Wagners and I went for a run yesterday; it was my first run outside in over a week.  I'd been sticking to the treadmill all last week due to allergies, then the cold, and also due to rainy weather.  I also spent a lot of last week trying out some weight training on my legs, and adding a plant protein for my post-workout recovery snack.  I was curious to see how a week of that would affect my first street run in a while.  Well, all went well!  My legs felt a little stronger, and my endurance was good.  Granted, I don't think that's all a result of the weights and protein, but also due to NOT being sick anymore, NOT being doped up on antihistamines, and catching up on some much needed rest.  Whatever the case, it was a great run, and that I am grateful for.  As all runners know, you have just have good weeks and bad weeks, and I sure am glad I didn't let last week's crapiness bring me down.