Unexpected Fun Family Dinners

Today I am thankful for unexpected family dinners.  Matt and I made plans earlier this week to make something today that could simmer on the stove or bake in the oven for awhile while we prepared for trick or treaters and decided today to go with baked potato soup.  I stole a recipe from one of my favorite food blogs - Playing House Blog - and it did not disappoint!  For a "light" recipe it was incredibly rich and filling.   My mom and sister joined us after we realized they would both be sitting at home alone on Halloween.  They both said that they never would have guessed the recipe was the "light" version until we told them.  We made it even more "light" than the recipe called for as we purchase 1% milk. 

Sarah brought bread, hummus, cheese and crackers and we had soup and salad - a great Halloween night dinner.  And it was a great opportunity for some fun family time - all arranged after noon today.

An Unexpected Lunch Date

Today I am incredibly thankful for an unexpected lunch date with a very good friend.  Returning to work this week has been very helpful on the "getting stuff done" front, but stressful in that it is hard to adjust back to a routine and it is still travel season so our office still feesl empty.  So, finding out today that a friend of mine was going to be on campus and available for lunch was a welcomed break.  I hope she felt the same way I did about finding out that we could meet for lunch - especially since she didn't think I was in Omaha this week. 

It was great to catch up, share some moments of our day, and enjoy a break from work for awhile.  I don't consider myself to be someone who has a great number of good friends, but I am an introvert by nature so that isn't hugely surprising.  However, the friends I do have mean a great deal to me and I always appreciate the opportunity to reconnect. 

Cousins

Today I am thankful to have cousins that are also friends.  Since Friday I have been in Portland, OR staying with my cousin Alice, her significant other Nick, and her sister Machaela.  Tomorrow I will make my way south to Corvallis to stay with my cousin Sam and his significant other Stasi for a couple of days. 

I only have three first cousins as my mom is an only child so my dad's brother's children are my only cousins.  I feel very thankful for the fact that we have all grown closer as we have gotten older.  In the last couple of years I have been able to travel to Oregon at least twice a year for work and have had the opportunity to stay with Sam and Alice while I am there.  Usually, I have been able to plan an extra weekend along with my travel time so I have had time to spend some extra time with my cousins. 

The five of us are split by 13 years in age (Matt is the oldest, and Sarah the youngest) so we definitely were not as close growing up.  Growing older has made us closer and I am so thankful that they are all a part of my life.

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to meet new people. I am an introvert by nature and have probably never been considered a social butterfly.  I never, ever remember getting in trouble in school for talking too much.  I'm comfortable being lost in my own thoughts and don't rely on others for strength and inspiration.

But, I relish the opportunity to meet new people.  There are some people who walk into our lives for just a brief time, but manage to make an impact on our outlook on life.  And there are others we meet who we know will instantly be life-long friends.

Today I met someone who I will likely never see again.  But for a brief period of time we shared a wonderful conversation.  I always appreciate meeting someone who is a good conversationalist. And by good conversationalist I mean someone who demonstrates a genuine interest in having a conversation with you.  This individual looked at me when I was talking despite the fact that there were countless other things going on around.  We also both shared the responsibility for keeping the conversation going.  I shared a brief glimpse of my life, and received a brief glimpse at another's life.   And it is worth remembering.

Southwest

Today I am thankful for Southwest Airlines.  I absolutely love Southwest and will choose to fly with Southwest over any other airline anytime the option is available.  Typically, my choices regarding travel for work revolve around two factors - timing, and price.  Luckily, Southwest has the market in both most of the time.  I have found that while I can sometimes find a cheaper flight on another airline, by the time I pay to check two bags (which is a must almost anytime I am traveling for work - one for clothes, and one for recruiting materials) Southwest is cheaper because they allow me to check two bags for free. 

I also love Southwest's Frequent Flyer Program - Rapid Rewards.  By flying frequently, I have been able to earn several free tickets Matt and I have used to make our way about the country.  In fact, we will hopefully be using two to travel to my graduation in June.

I am also thankful for Southwest's amazing staff. The pilots and flight attendants on Southwest have always been friendly when I have flown with them.  I don't think either job is easy, but you would never know it from the attitude of the staff.  I have only been involved in an "emergency" situation once on an airplane and it happened to be Southwest about 18 months ago.  I was flying from Denver to Portland and something it the front window on the plane and shattered it.  The pilots reported we were in no danger, but regulations required us to land ASAP.  So we landed in Boise.  We deplaned and the Boise crew was already working on a plan to get us to our destination as quickly as possible.  They were calm, cool, collected and kept us informed continuously regarding the plan of action.  Most of us were on the ground in Boise for about 2 hours and then another plane arrived to get us on our way.  I sent my compliments to Southwest after the incident because I was so impressed. 

I am also thankful for the expertise of the Southwest crew who are responsible for keeping 1000 of lives safe and sound everyday.  I will trust you with mine anytime.

Boise!

While there are many difficult aspects of my job, today I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to see so much of our beautiful country while I travel for work.  In the last month alone I have visited three states I have not had the oppotunity to see before.  I am so grateful for a job that allows me to meet new people and see new places all the time.

My travels this week took me to Idaho - one of my favorite places to visit!  Boise is one of my favorite cities - easy to get around in, and full of friendly people.  I got the opportunity to visit Big City Coffee - the cutest little coffee, breakfast, brunch, lunch and sweet (and savory) treat shop. I stumbled upon this place last year and absolutely fell in love with it.  I have always decided that if my career in higher ed doesn't work out for  me, it would be loads of fun to open a little place just like Big City Coffee. 

And yes, I did get a glimpse of the smurf blue turf - go Broncos!!

To my one and only...

Today I am thankful for the love of my life - my husband Matt Caldwell.  Yesterday, when I checked into my hotel I thought that the clerk had been paying attention to my birthday on my ID because the front desk staff delivered some M&Ms and a nice "happy birthday" note to my hotel room.  But, it turns out that my sweet husband had called them and clued them in and asked them to do something since I was spending the evening of my birthday alone. 

I am so thankful to have found a life partner who really "gets" me.  Matt deals with my crazy work schedule and never gets upset when I have to be out of town, or when I am working late or working from home.  It isn't easy being married to someone who works in admissions. I know that sometimes his life revolves around my job and I am so grateful that he doesn't resent me for that.

So sweetie - thank you for making me laugh every single day, thank you for the eyeroll inducing comments (because I probably wouldn't be rolling my eyes if I didn't find them funny or clever in some way), thank you for putting up with my tendency to overreact at times, and not handle things well when I feel like my life is out of control.  Thank you for being my biggest support while I have been in graduate school. 

And thank you just for being you and for showing me how much you love me every single day.  Love ya!

Turning 30

My mom was telling me the other day about the sermon the minister at their church gave on Sunday.  He mentioned that he had started spending time each day thinking about what he is thankful for and recording that appreciation.  He also mentioned sending notes of thanks to individuals. 

I turned 30 today. And I think I have decided that the theme for my thirty-first year is to be thankful.  I have found that I far too often take my good fortune for granted.  I get hung up on the little petty things in life and forget the big picture and what is really important.

Today, I am thankful to be embracing 30.  I admit to being somewhat uneasy about the end of my 20s and the start of my 30s.  I had some moments of a "quarter-life crisis" wondering if I have really accomplish everything I hoped to accomplish by age 30.  I'll be honest - I've never actually written down where I hoped to be by age 30, but I think that all of us have some thought what we would like to accomplish by certain milestone in our lives.

However, I came to realize that eveything I accomplish in my life comes in its own time.  There are simply things in life that I have zero control over the timing of.  I'm okay with that.  I didn't really have any control over when I met and fell in love and that has worked out so far.  I wasn't looking for a  job when my current job came available and I'm thrilled with my career path right now. 

So, instead of looking at 30 and thinking about all of the things I haven't accomplished, I have decided to embrace 30 and think about all of the wonderful, positive aspects of my life.  I see it as the beginning of my journey of thankfulness.