Mike and Sarah

I'd like to bring November, and my time to proclaim thankfulness, to a close with... all the small things ... here goes: I'm thankful for the kisses I get every morning when Mike leaves for work I'm thankful for the introduction of Pinterest in my life because, truth be told, I find an hour on Pinterest much more inspiring than Facebook (Facebook is losing it's touch with me...) I'm thankful for IKEA for offering fine home furnishings at affordable prices (just wait until I show you our new curtains...) I'm thankful to live in our neighborhood because it's unlike anyplace I've ever lived I'm thankful for home improvement stores for showing me a side of myself I've never known... the side that squeals with inner excitement over new door hardware ;) I'm thankful for FaceTime on iPhones because without it, we wouldn't have been able to give our best bud Ojash a virtual tour of our new home I'm thankful for Glee for the way ...

Today (and everyday really) I want to express my sincere gratitude for my main squeeze. Even though we haven't the slightest clue what the years ahead will bring, I take comfort in knowing our navigation skills have only improved over time. We make a pretty great team and for this... I'm forever thankful.

(25) I'm thankful for a beautiful sunny day on Thanksgiving... even though I spent the day enjoying the comfort of my snuggly clothes surrounded by four of the people I love the most. (26) I'm thankful for the great state of Minnesota, even though I have another home I love, one state away. (27) I'm thankful I have a husband who can find a way to pass the time while I enjoying a museum exhibit... even when it means sitting at a table all by himself =). Picture Recap: It was uncharacteristically warm this Thansgiving for MN, my mom even enjoyed a book on the deck! On Friday, we all ventured to the Minnesota Historical Museum to see 'The 1968 Exhibit' which was very cool. My mom and I spent a long time reading all there was to read and the boys finished earlier than us. Mike found a spot at the 'Arts and Crafts' table and killed some time making himself a groovy peace necklace. So sweet. #28- I'm of course, so ver...

This photo includes two new things I'm most thankful for today... the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving TwentyEleven in the making and the smell of this wonderful meal throughout our home. What a wonderful day. 

#17- Chocolate Chip Cookies- Aside from the obvious, “they are oh-so delicious,” chocolate chip cookies actually hold a special place in my heart for a few reasons. My mom and I used to make chocolate chip cookies together completely from scratch when I was little. No real rhyme or reason as to why, to me it was just when the mood struck, we’d hit the kitchen. My mom had the recipe memorized which always amazed me and she always let me eat some of the dough which was a special bonus treat. Now, I make cookies in our home and Mike goes crazy for them =). Not only am I thankful for the fact that any chocolate chip cookies in our home are in fact made by hand from scratch, but also that they make me smile. #18- Marrying an English Teacher- As a girl, I never fantasized about the man I’d marry. I fantasized about our wedding, our home, our kids, but the actual face, personality, and qualities never occurred to my young imaginative mind. Mike and I were young when we met so I didn’t ev...

Today's array of thankfulness may sound a bit redundant for those who tuned in last year but, as it turns out, even a year later... I'm still very thankful for all of them =). #14- Have I mentioned how much I love Harry Potter? Seriously, I do believe somewhere during the 5th book I began one of those "I feel like I'm in a relationship with the character they call, Harry ". Awkward as it may sound,  it's so completely true and my feelings haven't faltered to this day. Although this is a repeat from last year, I do feel it's slightly appropriate to bring it back around again because the final movie was released on DVD last Friday. We now have the complete set of both books and dvd's. Over the next few years I'd also like to build our listening library because nothing makes a road trip more exciting than listening to Jim Dale read these absolutely wonderful stories. So I say, as I've said before, Ms. Rowling, I thank you for your 7 strokes o...

#10- Veteran's Day serves as a nice reminder to take a moment and thank those who serve our country. Last summer I attended a welcome home ceremony for men and women who spent the last year serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was so powerful and a wonderful reminder that there are family members everywhere who go about their business day in and day out while a loved one (or loves ones) is over seas. To the Veteran's and those currently serving, thank you . #11- Mike and I spent our Friday evening with a great friend attending none other than... Wicked! This is Wicked's second time touring in Des Moines. I was lucky enough to go the first time around with some girlfriends and loved it! When I saw it back on the line up for this year I knew I had to see it again, and Mike agreed to see it too. It was phenomenal and reaffirmed my unconditional love for live theater. I'm thankful for every part of it, the sets, the lighting, the dancing, and the actors... I...

#9- Today, I'm thankful for my new job. It's certainly been a big transition but in the past two weeks I've started feeling as if my new job is simply routine . For one thing, I'm experiencing flexibility I've never known before. Most of my days begin in an elementary school somewhere in the district. On those days I have to be diligent about arriving on time, but days where I'm just in the "office" are flexible. If I arrive within a certain "window", it's all good. I can also use the restroom anytime I want , if I have to be gone for some reason I have the option to work from home (though this is rare), and I never have to write sub plans. Anyone who is or has been a classroom teacher can understand what a luxury these items are and, truth be told, these were the hardest things for me to get used to. Aside from my new freedoms I'm also finding my new position to be challenging and enjoyable. It's the exact change I hadn't rea...

We realized we made a big rookie mistake as homeowner's this morning... we don't own a shovel . Mike had to take two showers after "shoveling" our driveway with a pushbroom... man we're awesome. =)

#8- Making New Friends: Mike and I are preparing to head over to a friends house to celebrate, well... Tuesday! Mike has made some wonderful new friends through school and we've been lucky enough to spend more time with them over the last few months. It's been so fun for us mostly because they are all around our same age, single or married with no kids, and always up for a good time. I'm thankful to have them as friends, and equally thankful the feeling is mutual (so far... hahahah). I found this quote on, where else , Pinterest and found it to be quite applicable to todays thankfulness. Source: weheartit.com via Sarah on Pinterest It's so true and such a great message to pass along and, because my mind always goes to the children , to teach young ones.

#7- Today I'm thankful for my health . I'm a little embarrased it took me 6 days to express my thankfulness for my health because I feel it's at the heart of everything else I am thankful for. I was pretty lucky to grow up in a home with a very healthy outlook on food and exercise. We ate when we needed and we always had food available, but our days never revolved around food, ever. I also grew up eating breakfast every.single.day. Still, at the age of 27, I can't go a morning without a bowl of cereal, period . I never really realized how much this would help me in my adult life but with everything you hear these days about kids, obesity, and fast food, I now understand how lucky I am. On top of this, I'm also one of those really weird people who enjoys going to the gym (just to be clear though, this has not always been the case). I tend to be pretty hard on myself when I have days in which I literally do nothing (like yesterday...) but I try to remind myself that...

#5- Today, I am thankful for having fabulous friends who I've known, and have known me, for years. As I've gotten older I've realized how lucky I am to still have so many of these friends in my life. Yesterday, we all gathered in Ames for a Reunion Tailgate ( just like last year ) and I'm still always so pleasantly surprised with the ease at which we all mesh. Events like this are filled to the brim with squeals of joy, bear hugs, and general life updates and I love every minute of it! We're not a hard group to get along with when your tailgate includes great food, beer bongs, flippy cup, and dance parties that spill into the street. What can I say, we certainly know how to throw a party.  Oh, I just love them so much =). #6- Comfort Movies: I realize the phrase Comfort Food is widely recognized but I do feel the word comfort can be inserted before many nouns, like movies in this case. Mike and I were obviously moving quite slow today due to our mar...

**Did I ever tell you about the time I was in the middle of a writing lesson with my first graders and I was writing a story about Mike and modeling how to sound out the word Mike when out of no where, from the back of the room, a goofy six-year voice says, "the mikest errrrrrrrrrrrr ," just like a comedic tv announcer or something of the sort. Hands down, top five funniest moments of my first grade years. (PS- FYI I'm not currently modeling how to properly structure a sentence because I clearly broke all the rules about run-on sentences above.) Ok, back to our regularly scheduled thankfulness... #4- I'm thankful for Mike's job. He moved to a new school last year (2010) and really wasn't sure about the change or adjusting to a new staff and school. He and I realized quickly after school started, this was the best thing that could've happened to him. He's in a place where's he's truly challenged every single day and, in turn, everyone makes...

Oh wow, did you know it’s November? Between days like this.... and temperatures in the high 60's and even hitting 70, did anyone see this coming?! I sure didn’t! Yet, here we are just a mere 21 days , until Thanksgiving!  yes, you read that correctly In the spirit of the almost upcoming holiday season (unless you consult local retail stores, which have been in the spirit since approximately the 4th of July) I thought I’d bring back the ‘ol 'Month of Thanks 'I started last year. In truth, I believe taking time each day to consider all you’re thankful for to be a lost art. The least we can do is take one month of the year to count our blessings. In true blog form... I’m a bit late to the party (which is so unlike me in real life, hehe) so I’ll play catch up in this post. #1- I’m thankful for my brand spankin new kitchen! But more specifically, our brand new, virtually silent, and totally effective dishwasher. Oh man, I know this makes me f...

Did you know Einstein defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? I personally believe that last night I began to prove him right. Allow me to set the scene: Last week  I saw this and decided to jump on the band wagon. So, last Saturday I headed to Hobby Lobby with the mission of finding the exact supplies needed to participate in the challenge found above. I should've known things weren't going to end well when I couldn't find any of the supplies I needed so I decided to create a spin-off of my original idea. "You can totally do this, it'll be fine. Just find supplies that'll work and it'll still look great." The events leading to this crazy thought process was my first mistake. Fast forward to Monday night: Mike leaves to play poker with some friends and I get down to business. My project included some alphabet stencils, a blank white canvas, and some paint. That's all you really need to know ...