I appreciate:

• Getting to catch up with friends at Cara & Ryan’s last night!
• Discovering crystal head vodka! Tom R suggested the most fun would be deciding what to put in it when the vodka’s gone…. like, a goldfish??
• Thunder and rain. I love how cozy it feels on a weekend morning before anyone else is awake.

I appreciate:

• Getting to spend the morning with my lovely friend Sarah. What a great start to the weekend.
• These fuzzy plants we passed on our walk – they feel so soft!
• The wacky, weird things I see in my neighborhood every day…. like this garden gnome. Hahaha!

I appreciate:

• The diversity of flowers in my neighborhood. So many beautiful gardens and yards – each with their own character. I love it!
• Toby cat’s weirdness. Apparently, he thinks he’s a shoe.
• The terrific We Know Each Other @ Triple Double set last night. It is so lovely when genuine fondness, faculty, and fun collide in that way! Beautifully done, Dan & Ellen!

I appreciate:

• Dinner with the Delaney girls last night. Fills my heart (and my belly!) right up!
• Getting out for a walk before 8 this morning – still not too hot and such a nice little breeze. Oh, and people are really friendly at that time of day! Everyone says, “Good morning!” (Even the little 6-year old playing in his yard shyly grinned and waved as I walked by. So sweet!)
• The strangeness of this arrow painted on the sidewalk, seemingly pointing to these steps. Is everyone who walks here supposed to visit the people in this house!?
• The courage I see in my friends (and myself!) to acknowledge patterns of thought and behavior that are no longer working and strive to find a better way.
• The huge leaves of this tree that hang down over the sidewalk. They are so velvety! I think it has white flowers in the spring…do you know what kind of tree it is?

I appreciate:

• My chance encounter with Jen at the grocery store yesterday. How lovely to catch up for a few minutes!
• This great card Kari sent me last week. It is propped up on my desk, and makes me feel loved and happy every time I see it!
• The wonder of ibuprofen. So helpful when ribs are messed up! (Oh, and Jen at Back to Balance Healing Center & Achieve Health Chiropractic, for helping those ribs get back where they belong.)

I appreciate:

• Lazy lounging with Luna at 6:30 this morning. Luxurious!
• Pretty purples!
• Paperback possibilities!

I appreciate: All things B today….

• Black raspberries from our own backyard! Delicious!
• Bubbles! I learned how to blow a bubble inside another bubble.
• Baby bunnies. I saw one on the drive home last night – so tiny and cute!

I appreciate:

• Sweet acts of kindness, like Ryan picking up dinner for me when he was out getting his and Katie’s dinner.
• An extra day at home to settle back in to “real” life before the week begins!
• A real shower – one in which it isn’t necessary to duck down in order to wash my hair.

I appreciate:

• Rascals, like our chief rascal and mischief-maker, Ivan. My life would be so much less interesting without them.
• Clothes pins — for all they do to further the rascals’ cause.
• This year’s cabin catchphrase (thanks to Heidi), “Power through!” Really got us through some challenging moments….
• Last night’s wonderful thunderstorm!
• Being home again with a plethora of fabulous memories to think over.

I appreciate:

• The easy, cooperative way we accomplish meals up here at the cabin. Feeding a group this size could be tricky!
• Leftover night at the cabin. What funny ideas people come up with for combining the last of the week’s meals.
• That we had a nearly perfect weather week. Today was a little steamy, but the rest of the week was picture perfect!