mt. tabor

what a lovely summertime-feeling day.

i am grateful for my walk with with kari today. we spent about an hour, hour and half going up mt. tabor and back. i didn't even realize i was walking(hiking) with all the fantastic conversation, sunshine and scenery.

i am going to miss having kari near by, but am so happy for mark and kari and their move to follow their dreams.

mornings

... a cup of coffee, a foreign film, breakfast at new seasons with a book, grocery shopping and sunshine.

i am grateful for lovely mornings like today's.

fit of frustration

i am grateful for knowing myself more and more each day, week, month and year that goes by.

new route

summer hours started at work, after our team potluck. i had know idea that the traffic would be so bad at 1230, but it was. as i often do, i take all sorts of different routes when the highway is backed up. i would rather keep moving than sit still. all my other routes were packed, too, so i tried new one. it was fantastic. lots of switchbacks, no cars and the houses, trees and flowers were amazing! well worth the added time.

i am thankful for new routes. as a creature of habit, i forget how much pleasure i get from something new until i do it.

waiting

sitting with a beer in hand waiting to meet up with gretchen for dinner.
the bartender says, "are you tired of waiting for your friend."

nope.

more recently, i like waiting. it is a time to hold still. calm my mind. enjoy the things around me. stop rushing. decompress. this is also true of traffic and commuting.

i am grateful for waiting.

rain running

after meeting up with kari for a beer at the horse brass, we were heading back to her place (2 blocks away) and it started to pour down rain. we ran all the way there. it felt so good to move my body and know that it works. we were laughing as we saw how drenched we were.

i am thankful for running. maybe someday i will want to run all the time!

dead birds

over the past 4-6 months i have found 3 dead birds at work. it seems they all have died, flying into really clean windows. - moral of the story? clean windows has its side effects.

i am grateful for... nothing that has to do with dead birds, but my coworker who really likes his job. when i work with him... work is very very nice.

girl tv

i broke down and turned on the tv to watch the bachelorette.

... and i am grateful for joshua joining in on the fun and watching girl tv with me.

sans cheese

i am thankful that i have control over what goes into my body. (even if that means no dairy)
: (

rain

stopped by the nursery yesterday. the clouds parted and we got to enjoy all the plants, chickens and a cool cat. then when we returned to the car, the rains started again.

i am thankful for good timing and chickens. they are pretty funny animals!

beers

had a great night with april. (had a bump in the road and won't be going back there anytime soon.) we had yummy food. (without cheese, for me.) fantastic beers, belly dancers and random new friends.

i am thankful for a fun night with april. it is always exciting.

avatar

what a great movie. so much inspiration on one screen. being blue seems like a wonderful idea.

i am grateful for good movies.

abundance of joy

i am grateful for an abundance of joy in my life.

she is a wonderful friend that shares her heart, laugh and friendship.

trips

i am thankful for trips to look forward to.

... for work.
mexico for a week and california for 3-5 days.
it is looking like a good summer.

love notes

i am so thankful for love notes left for me in the morning. it really is a great way to start the day.

wake up

i got to wake up in my car!! i slept in my car since ben and gretchen had a house full... AND because i wanted to test out how my car functioned as a tent.

i am thankful for my car. i had such a good and fun sleep all stretched out in my car!! - urban camping.

4 year old birthday party

i went up to seattle to celebrate addie's 4th birthday. we all had a blast playing in the park!! what a wonderful day.

i am thankful for little kids and birthdays.

sledge hammer

today at work all the nike designers from all over the world met up. 600+ After a meeting we met down at a warehouse in NE. it was a 'carnaval' theme. i got to see my big boss get dunked into 30 gallons of guiness, throw rubber chickens in a hole, see co workers in a giant bouncey-ball AND beat the living shit out of a car with a sledge hammer. it was gratifying to hear the sound of it hitting the hood of the car and feel the power of breaking something... without holding back. letting loose feels good.

i am grateful for sledge hammers. it was a BLAST!

long days

it was so lovely to have all the sunshine yesterday. spent time outside and then watched the 'idiarod' show last night. all my dreams were of mushing, racing and alaska. it was a fun vacation in my brain.

i am grateful for (sleepy time) dreams.

laughter

joshua and i were watching 'arrested development' on netflix and there is a character named, "Bob Lob Law", who has a law blog. joshua decided to repeat this phrase over and over.

i am thankful for laughing so hard i was bent over the kitchen counter, until my stomach and face hurt. there was snorting, too.

huh.

not a great day.

i AM grateful for the fresh air, an afternoon walk and it not being monday.

no work all fun

road trip!! mom, joshua and i went a hundred miles east to maryhill museum. we saw peacocks, art, ate in hood river and saw some sturgen. it was a GREAT, long day.

i am grateful for the time together with my mom and joshua seeing new and wonderful things.

relax

lots of time was spent sitting in the sunshine. we also did some yard work and made homemade pizza. another lovely day...

i am grateful for the space to have 2 people that i love in a place that is big enough for us be together in.

summer begins

today felt like the first day of summer and i got to spend the whole day with my mother. walking around, having breakfast, seeing new things and then coming home and planting tomato plants. such a nice way to spend time with my mom.

i am grateful for her friendship and conversation. she is good and thoughtful person that is fun to around.

mom and soda

i am grateful that my mom made it to my house safe and sound.

usually i don't drink soda but in the span of a couple of hours i had two. wow!

raccoon

i am thankful for the backyard.

today bodo (the cat) was out in the backyard. usually he plays in the grass, then eats the grass, then barfs up the grass. this evening was no different. he just added to his repitoire. he sprayed the fence, snuck out to the front yard, chased another cat and a raccoon was between us and the house. i ended up under the neighbors car coaxing him out in hopes he wouldn't see the raccoon and mistake it for the cat he was chasing earlier. ha ha ha. all is well we all made it back to the house in one piece.

declarations

i am thankful for declarations of intent.

i do like having a plan... i had a thought this morning. (a few thoughts actually)

my strengths and successes come from being with people, helping people be the best they can be and supporting people that are evolving into the people they want to become. i don't want to be a doctor, an astronaut or even a graphic designer... i like helping those people get to where they are and be successful. with that being true, i often feel unfocused. my dreams are often piggybacked on other's dreams and therefor i lack much of my own direction. one of the things i do to counteract that is... think of how i want to live. where? with whom? when? how will i get there? what will it look like? and start making a plan.

nutria

thanks april!!

i've been trying to take a walk around the campus every afternoon. (ok. i'm at day 2) it takes at least 20 minutes doing a brisk walk. it is so beautiful! there is a 'lake', japanese garden, 'wetlands' and tons of animals. the common ones are the canada goose (geese). right now there are babies !! there are also nutria, cranes, ducks, beaver... anyway.

i am thankful for my little adventure through the woods.

happiness

for some reason doing this at night is not happening lately, and once again i am at work thinking about yesterday.

i got a new book over the weekend. "the happiness project". it has been really great to read and think about happiness in a new way.

i am grateful for all the things that bring me happiness.

cat
boyfriend
home
sunshine
thoughts of mexico
cooking
eating
growing
talking
listening
adventures

... and my 2nd follower. HI FREIYA!! i was thinking of you this morning as i put my bracelets on.

sunday

i am thankful for... a mellow, relaxing day with some good food and chores thrown in for good measure.

tiny art director

as you can (or can not see) i have been writing 'yesterday's' post, 'today'. (rather than same day.)
oh well... just thought you should know (myself included) that it's ok.

so... i am writing about yesterday's thankfulness today.

joshua and i went to powell's yesterday to get him a book and as often happens i find one or two of my own. there was one book that i didn't not buy but, made us both laugh out loud at and read cover to cover. (thank god it was short and had lots of photos.) it was called, "tiny art director".

i am grateful for unexpected finds in unexpected places.

i am still laughing.

talks

i am grateful for hard talks that are not the end of the world. (like my brain would like to think.)