Thankful Thursday, Wet Week Edition

 We got some much needed rain this past week- 2-3 inches worth! It was a bummer that it was over Memorial Day weekend, but I'm glad we aren't going into the summer quite as crispy.

This week I'm thankful for:

1. I got my CPAP machine working again. New mask + correct settings = Yay good sleep!

2.  I took a lovely 5-mile hike at Great Falls after work today in gorgeous weather. Saw a Pileated Woodpecker, lots of turtles, blue herons and a beaver!

3. A fun game night with my cousins on Monday. Ella found Diagnose This, which is sort of like Cards Against Humanity. 

4. Got more things knocked off the to-do list, which is satisfying.

5. Honestly just chilling a lot over the long rainy weekend.

6. The national Memorial Day concert that I can watch on PBS.

Thankful Thursday, Average week edition

 This week I'm thankful for:

1. The Gaithersburg book festival! It's a favorite of mine- such a great festival so close to home. I got to meet an author that I really like, Stephanie Dray, and got her newest book about Abigal Adams signed! I also picked up a signed copy of Milo Todd's 'The Lilac People'. I got to hear both of them talk about their books (separate sessions) and also went to a session about books on two different shipwreck stories. Yummy food, bumped into a lot of friends, great weather.

2. Catching up with old friends. Caught up with DJ, a friend I hadn't seen in almost 20 years, at the book festival and we spent 2 hours catching up.

3. Flexible work hours so I can take mom to doctors appointments every now and then.

4. A lovely thunderstorm last night.

5. Fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Thankful Thursday, Productive Week Edition

 Here's to a week not trying to eat me (much) so I remember to post on a Thursday, huzzah!

I'm thankful for:

1. A productive week. I knocked a good handful of things off my personal to-do list, which feels really good. It also gives me motivation to keep working on the rest of things on the list.

2. It's also been a busy but good week at work. A lot done, good conversations, and I went into the office for the first time since that week in January where we all froze haha.

3. Luna is feeling much better! I'll spare the internet the details, but she's had a very unhappy tummy for about a month as we've been sorting out her pain meds, so I'm glad she is feeling better. I won't even complain that she's back to grabbing dishes out of my sink, because that actually IS a sign she's feeling better lol.

4. Some cool May temps. It's about to get hot I think, but having some 60s and 70s in May has been delightful for walking with Luna and driving with the windows down.

5. Spontaneous dinner with Ilana on Monday :o) We had a great time catching up over Panera; I was so glad she reached out. 

Thankful Saturday, good week edition

 I guess we know it's a good week when I don't remember to post until Saturday, rather than Thursday? 

This week I'm thankful for, in no particular order:

1. My friend Kate told me about Fanta 0, and it's great. Yay soda snack with no calories!

2. I went on a lovely hike yesterday in Patapsco State Park near Daniel's dam. It's always nice to hike a new trail, and this one was pretty easy to find, although not well marked.

3. I'm thankful for the AllTrails app on my phone. It made my hike stress-free instead of stress-ful.

4. I'm thankful for my house. She isn't fancy, but she's mine, and it's so nice to have my own space to flop.

5. I'm thankful I can pay my neighbor to mow my lawn. He's got a great business and I can spend my time doing other things!

6. I'm thankful for the TV show Top Chef. I don't watch a lot of TV, but this is one of my favs, and its fun to watch over chat with Meghan so we can livechat our thoughts.

Thankful Saturday, Calmer week edition

 This week has definitely been better than last week, although that was a bit of a low bar lol.

Lots to be thankful for!

1. I got to camp with my Girl Scouts after all! I was scheduled to camp with them Friday and Saturday nights, but mom in the ER meant that another parent went in my place for the weekend. As it turned out though, I was able to go Saturday night and had a lot of fun! The funniest part was our troop moving our tents into the Glen Shelters because it was going to rain.

2. Luna is walking almost normally now. We're still sorting out her digestive system (maybe too many meds?) but she seems in less pain and is excited to walk again.

3. I just read the book 'The War That Saved My Life' by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and it was so good. Historical Fiction set in England in WWII, YA. 5 star read.

4. I had a day of rest and small adventures. I slept in, made muffins for breakfast, checked out a new bookstore in Kentlands, went birding for an hour at the lake, and bumped into 2 friends there. I also went looking for owls in a different spot and discovered a new to me trail that I want to fully hike at a later date.

5. A Pileated Woodpecker basically posed for me while I was birding and I got some beautiful shots of a beautiful bird.

6. Two of my cousins have moved to Arizona! Their new place looks so nice and I can't wait to visit them.

7. Mom is doing better. Saw her Saturday morning and Wednesday for lunch and she seems like herself and can walk relatively normally (with her walker). 

Thankful Saturday, Ooooof Week Edition

 Oof, this week has been a doozy. A proposal, worrying about Luna, and then mom wound up in the hospital yesterday because she was really dehydrated. While this is not going to go in my top ten list of weeks in my life that I have enjoyed, there are still things to be grateful for.

1. I have amazing friends that checked on me all week and all day yesterday while we figured out mom in the ER. I cannot say enough good things about my people.

2. Health care and good nurses and doctors. They kept mom comfortable, even fed her in the ER, and were very thorough in figuring out what was going on (mostly dehydration).

3. Mom's care team at Sunrise. They communicated great all week and made the right call to take mom to the hospital yesterday. I know she's in good hands today back at Sunrise.

4. Fun coworkers. Its not fun to be working on a proposal (or anything work related) all weekend, but we had a fun group chat as we reviewed everything, complete with many gifs and emojis.

5. Luna seems to be doing better. She's still not 100% herself, but she's mostly eating and sometimes walking.

6. Beautiful spring colors! Even in a rough week, it helps that everything is bright green and in bloom outside.

Thankful Thursday, Hard week edition

 This has been a rough week to be honest. Something is up with Luna and she doesn't want to walk or really go outside, so we are headed to the vet tomorrow. I have a proposal due at work next week, so this week has been full of meetings. I haven't been able to see mom in over a week because of busy-ness like work and taxes. Someone I know just entered hospice and another friend might be saying goodbye to a beloved pet. And its April 16th, and the memories of the Virginia Tech tragedy linger, with the addition of the terrible news of the former lieutenant governor of Virginia killing his wife and then himself late last night. Its a lot. 

In the midst of all this, there are still things to be grateful for, and I do try to look for them even when I'm sad and overwhelmed.

• - My azaleas are blooming spectacularly, a blaze of color in my yard.
• - It's been really warm the last few days and I had a lovely evening reading in my hammock tonight
• - I think I really like Terry Pratchett. Mort is the first book I've read in Disc World, and I'm excited that there are so many others to read. 
• - I got to volunteer at an indy bookstore in Annapolis last Saturday, helping them sort and shelve books for several hours. 
• - I had a really fun evening with Garth and Karen and Kate and Garth's friends on Friday night celebrating his birthday. I think we stayed at that whiskey bar for 5 hours lol
• - I got some short hikes in with Luna on Friday and Sunday. I hope I didn't injure her in the process, but at the time we both enjoyed the warm but not hot weather that was perfect for hiking.