Three Thanks

It's been a while since I've seen y'all. I knew that a couple of you (Mom and MB in particular) would get on me about it, but I didn't realize just how many of you actually read this little blog o' mine.

Ask and you shall receive, friends. I am back today with the regular Three Thanks and will be back (at least semi-regularly) with some new posts.

Please join me (and hopefully Aly) with our link-up, Three Thanks. If you don't have a blog, please jot down what you are especially grateful for in the comments section below.

~~ONE~~

I am grateful for my dad. I am thankful for him for many reasons, but today I am going to mention just one: a week ago today, he drove over from Omaha and attended a swanky fundraiser with me.

He arrived just before the event and left shortly after, so he spent more time in the car than he did in Des Moines. And it meant so much to me that he would drive all that way to and from to spend the evening with me.

I had such a wonderful evening being silly with him, chatting with him, showing him off to all of my friends, and having him all to myself. It was an absolutely awesome father-daughter night. 

He is pretty amazing, and I am 100% certain that I had the best date at the event.

~~TWO~~

I am thankful for Shaw.

Here we are in the middle of a 32-mile bike ride. (Please disregard my massive head in this photo.)

And here we are at one of the Market to Market exchange points.

He and I have spent a lot of time together over the last several months. We obviously coached tennis together so were forced to hang out nearly every evening and then the three days that we were at state, and now that school is out, we have still been getting together nearly every day to go on a bike ride, to watch soccer, to grab patio drinks, etc.

Shaw is one of my best friends in the entire universe. He is one of the people I can be my absolute true self with -- silly jokes, poop talk, and all. And he is one of the people that I can rely on no matter what; I know that he sincerely cares for me and wants the absolute best for me. I can count on him to tell me when potential dudes are being stupid, and I can count on him to tell me that I need to stop over-analyzing things.

I love him so ridiculously much and am indelibly grateful that he's in my life. (And, I'm super stoked for all of the shenanigans we are going to get ourselves into this summer.)

~~THREE~~

I am thankful for the most fabulous friends' night in the history of ever.

On Friday night, Eric, Alicia, Katie, and I went to Malo, a new restaurant downtown, for dinner. We had so much fun just chilling on the patio, catching up.

Then, we hooked up with Shaw, and the five of us headed to Gray's Lake for unWINEd, an event put on by Jasper Winery. Again, we had so much fun just being together.

After we each finished our cocktail, we decided to walk the trail to Confluence, a great brewery about half a mile away. And that, my friends, is when the shenanigans started.

We goofed off like little kids the entire way to the brewery, and then as soon as we got a table inside, we started the most competitive game of UNO that the world has ever seen. I think we sat and played cards for nearly two hours, essentially until the taproom closed and we were kicked out. And then we proceeded to act like fools (again) on the entire trek back to Gray's Lake.

It was the most perfect night and, I think, just what each one of us needed.

I love those goofballs more than I can even express.

What are you especially thankful for this fine Thursday?

Three Thanks

I cannot believe that I missed last week's Three Thanks! You'd think that -- as one of the creators of the link-up -- I'd actually write a post for it.

Ugh.

But, the past is in the past, so let's focus on the here and now and get to this week's Three Thanks now! If you have a blog, please link up with me and my sister-in-law, Aly, with your very own Three Thanks post, and if you don't have a blog, please fill us in on what you're thankful for in the comment section below.

~~ONE~~

I am grateful for painless, injury-free running. Interestingly, I am not currently experiencing said painless, injury-free running, but because of that, I appreciate such running even more.

Source

During Market to Market, I noticed that my left hip and left knee were hurting quite badly. Interestingly, my left foot was the one with the huge blister. I believe I was over-compensating or adjusting my gait just a smidge -- but enough so that I somehow injured the rest of my leg.

The Monday after Market to Market, I tried to run with See-Us Run Des Moines, but I quickly realized that was a horrible idea since my muscles started hurting almost immediately. So, instead of running with them, I did some cardio conditioning (high knees, butt kicks, jumping jacks, etc.) and strength conditioning (squats, lunges, etc.). On Tuesday, I played tennis with the girls, but again, my muscles were quite sore. So, I took Wednesday through Friday off and then ran with the kids again on Saturday morning.

We had four miles on the docket, and I started off feeling great -- so great that I was running ten- and 11-minute miles, which is pretty darn good for me. Pretty much right at mile two, however, the pain really set in with my knee, and I pretty much gimped it (at a 13-minute pace) the rest of the way back. (I was able to run on downhills and flat surfaces because I could put less weight on my left leg, but it was nearly impossible to run that way uphill.)

Then, my knee continued to hurt the entire weekend, despite icing and Ibuprofen-ing.

So, this injury is making me really, really appreciate that I am usually able to run injury- and pain-free (as much as I like to whine about it sometimes).

~~TWO~~

I am thankful for good guys.

It has been so long since I have been excited about a guy. It has been so long since I have been super comfortable in front of a guy. It has been so long since a guy has made me feel special. It has been so long since a guy has tried to impress me. It has been so long since I have felt like a partner in a relationship. It has been so long since a guy has made me feel not crazy.

I know that there are good ones out there -- and that it is possible to find a guy who truly complements me (in all of my goofiness, in all of my nerdiness, in all of my craziness).

~~THREE~~

Let's go with something a little less serious for this one: I am grateful for patio weather.

I mean, just look at the forecast for the next few days. I envision a lot of sundresses, bike rides, and patio-drinking.

Honestly, probably my favorite thing about 70-degree weather is a good patio. I don't think there's much better than enjoying a refreshing drink (a good Moscow Mule, perhaps) in the sun on a patio with some good friends. (How about that for some prepositional phrases? And how about that for being a huge nerd?)

We're supposed to get a bit of rain on Sunday, which is why I cut that screen shot a bit short, but after three glorious days -- and the amazing weather we've had thus far this week -- I can deal with a few storms on Sunday.

Yay, summertime.


What are you most thankful for today?

Three Thanks

Good morning!

I apologize for the lack of posting this week, but it's been a pretty busy week, and it's been kind of tough getting back into a routine while recuperating from the Lincoln Half Marathon. However, I thought that today would be a perfect day to get back into the swing of things with Three Thanks.

Please link up with me and Aly at Here Comes Happiness to share the three things for which you are most thankful this week. And, if you don't have a blog, please share at least one piece of gratitude in the comment section below.

Also, please stop over to Aly's blog and send her some positive thoughts. She tripped while running yesterday and fractured her elbow! She is one hurting unit (who is trying to take care of a nearly five-month-old baby with one arm), and I know seeing a lot of happy, healthy, healing thoughts on her blog would make her feel just a smidge better.

~~ONE~~

I am grateful for warm weather. This week has been absolutely gorgeous.

On Tuesday, Shaw and I were outside from 3:00-4:15 for tennis practice, and then we picked up Kate and headed to the boys' soccer game, where we were outside from 5:00-6:30. And then we took advantage of the Teacher Appreciation Day deal at Chiptole (buy-one-get-one-free), and ate outside on the patio.

Yesterday, it was like July weather! The high reached the low 90s, and the humidity felt like it wasn't too far behind. It was the kind of weather where you're in a constant sweaty state. It was awesome.

And as a result of the glorious weather we've been having, I am already rocking a pretty sweet sports bra tan line. I. love. tan lines.

~~TWO~~

I am grateful for the new restaurant that opened in my neighborhood: Eatery A.

Source

Ingersoll is my favorite neighborhood in Des Moines. Aside from it being the neighborhood in which I live, it is also full of really super-fun restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. Until recently, however, the only "classy-ish" place to eat/drink was Star Bar (which, as you know, I love).

Enter: Eatery A.

I went there for the first time last night with Emmy Jean, and I loved it. Had it not been so busy, I would've taken photos of the beautiful refurbished barn wood, the spacious patio, the eclectic fixtures and decorations, and more. In addition to the ambiance being pretty awesome, the food and drink were great, too. First, there is a killer happy hour from 3-6 p.m. every day -- seven days a week. During happy hour, pizzas, draft beers, and wines are half off. This means that you can get a pizza for $5, a beer for $2.50, and a glass of wine for $3.50. Yes, please.

We opted for the fig and prosciutto pizza (omg), and I had a Moscow Mule (not on happy hour but on my list of cravings). Both were amazing.

I can already tell that this will be a regular hangout for me.

~~THREE~~

I am grateful for the thoughtfulness of students.

Three years ago, I had a student in class with whom I strongly connected -- or, to put it more accurately, who strongly connected with me. She had a lot of issues and, essentially, just needed someone to listen to her. Basically, over the course of the next couple of years, she became like a little sister to me -- one who made me angry and frustrated a whole heck of a lot, but one for whom I cared unconditionally.

In October 2011, when I ran my first half marathon, this particular student surprised me by standing at the finish line. I totally broke down in tears when I saw her. Shortly thereafter, she made me a beautiful gift in art class:

It is a box (obviously), but it's decorated beautifully and so incredibly thoughtfully. The lid and the sides are a mosaic of glass shards and beads, and the top has purple (my favorite color) pieces of glass that form a large E. The side panels of the box have inspirational quotes mod-podged onto them. And the inside lid, as you can see, is absolutely beautiful. "And miles to go before I sleep" is a line from one of my favorite poems, a line that I hope to have tattooed on my foot at some point in the near future.

As you can see, I keep all of my race memorabilia -- aside from my medals -- in this box. It is packed to the brim with race bibs and more.

On Sunday, I texted this student and told her how I loved this box, how I still used it, how I still remembered her standing at the finish line of that first race. She responded such a thoughtful message: "Aww, this is the sweetest text I've ever gotten! You are so nice! :) Just remember I'm always with you during every race cheering you on even when I'm not actually there! I'm so proud of you and I love that you still use that box! Miss you! :)"

It's a good reminder that while teachers are supposed to be making an impact on students' lives, students make such a huge impact on ours.


For what are you especially grateful today?

Three Thanks

Happy Thursday!

And since it's Thursday, you know what time it is: Three Thanks!

Please join me and my beautiful sister-in-law Aly (at Here Comes Happiness) in our weekly profession of gratitude. After all,

We would love for you to link up with us, but if you don't have a blog, please let us know at least one thing you're thankful for this week. It truly makes my heart happy to hear all the gratitude for small things, important people, seemingly insignificant events, etc.

~~ONE~~

I am grateful for bowling.

Every Wednesday, I get together with these goofballs for three games of bowling.

I know it sounds super nerdy (I mean, a bowling league?!), but it is so fun. It's such a nice break in the middle of the week, and I truly love getting together with people that I do not see on a regular basis. Despite meeting through a bowling league, Rich and Mark have become such wonderful friends of mine: they have seen me laugh uncontrollably, they have seen me sob my eyes out, they have seen me feverishly grading essays, they have seen me slightly obnoxiously intoxicated (back when I was much, much younger), they tease me like their little sister, and I know they would do anything in the world for me. I am so grateful for the chance to decompress and chill with them every week.

~~TWO~~

I am grateful for my colleagues. The other day, one of the amazing women in my department emailed me this picture and said that it reminded her of me:

It was one of the first emails that I received that morning, and it totally made my day. First, someone was thinking of me (which is always a good feeling), and second, I feel like this was such a wonderful compliment.

Sometimes I am way over-the-top enthusiastic and almost sickeningly positive (which I assume can be annoying at times), so the fact that someone appreciates that about me made me so happy.

~~THREE~~

I am grateful for my bed.

I realize this is more a picture of the wall, but I bet you can figure out what the rest of my bed looks like.

I love a good night in a hotel: sleeping a different bed with 1,001 pillows and a big fluffy comforter is pretty darn awesome.

But even more so, I love coming home to my bed. I bought a new bed last fall, and it was by far the best investment I have ever made. It is super fluffy, it is high off the ground (and therefore feels fancy), the sheets are silky smooth, and the duvet is light and poofy.

It feels like heaven.

For what are you especially grateful for this week? 

Three Thanks

Happy Thursday, friends!

Welcome to the weekly link-up that I host with my favorite sister-in-law, Aly, over at Here Comes Happiness!

Please join up with us if you have a blog, and if not, please hook us up with your three thanks in the comment section below.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://theswallowflies.blogspot.com" title="The Swallow Flies & Here Comes Happiness Three Thanks"><img src="http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a538/emmy815/threethanks_zpse0bfc5a3.jpg" alt="The Swallow Flies & Here Comes Happiness Three Thanks" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

With no further ado, here is what I am especially grateful for this week. :)

~~ONE~~

I am grateful for my kitties.

Charlie trying to be thisclose to his sister, and Chloe looking annoyed (per usual).

I know a lot of people probably describe me as a crazy cat lady, but a.) I don't understand why since people with dogs aren't considered psycho, and b.) I don't care. I love my cats.

While I love traveling and visiting new places (like now in Atlanta, for example), I don't like leaving Chloe and Charlie. While I'm pretty sure Chloe manages just fine since she is so independent anyway, I worry that Charlie thinks I've abandoned him forever. (He has some unhealthy attachment issues.)

And, I know that I'll get a lot of kitty-love when I return.

Now stop judging me. :)

~~TWO~~

I am thankful for my running shoes.

I've been running in my Brooks PureCadence 2s for the past several months, and I really, really like them. I was nervous because they are technically a minimalist shoe, and I have a lot of foot issues with over-pronation, so much so that I should be wearing a motion-control shoe.

But, these Brooks have not given me any problems, and I love how lightweight they are. (Oh, and I love the look, too.)

While I have had minimal blistering, it is nothing compared to what my feet looked/felt like with my Asics.

These are definitely keepers in my book. And, better yet, I won them from Meals & Miles!

~~THREE~~

I am grateful to work for a school district that values and celebrates diversity and that sees the importance of educating its faculty on such issues.

I am grateful that my superintendent agreed to send four of us to this conference this week, and I am thankful for the information that I am gleaning from each presenter.

And, I am also thankful for being able to spend time outside of school with my colleagues -- discussing professional (and, I'm sure, plenty of non-professional) matters.


What are you thankful for today?

Three Thanks

Happy Thursday, friends!

Thanks for stopping by! If you have a blog, please link up with me and Aly at Here Comes Happiness for our weekly blog party. And if you don't have a blog, we would love to hear your "three thanks" in the comment section below!

Join in the fun any way you'd like. :)

<div align="center">
<a href="http://theswallowflies.blogspot.com" title="The Swallow Flies & Here Comes Happiness Three Thanks"><img src="http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a538/emmy815/threethanks_zpse0bfc5a3.jpg" alt="The Swallow Flies & Here Comes Happiness Three Thanks" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

~~ONE~~

I am thankful for good girlfriends.

Me with BFF and ME (two of several amazing ladies in my life)

I have always been blessed with the most amazing girlfriends in the universe, and I wish I could impart to my ninth-grade girls just how important good friends are, that they should focus more on building and maintaining relationships with other girls and not spend so much time on the boys.

I am so grateful for the weekend that Alicia, BFF, Mindy, Tamara, and I were able to spend together. It was so much fun and so relaxing and just so nice being away from everything but great girls.

I wish it could happen more often.

~~TWO~~

I am thankful that Shaw asked me to coach tennis with him.

I know absolutely nothing about the sport -- but I'm learning more and more about it every day. What I really love is hanging out with students in a capacity other than teaching. The girls are so much fun, so silly, and super nice. And, it's a good excuse to be outside in the beautiful weather. :)

I also kind of want to play tennis...

~~THREE~~

I am so grateful for the kind, thoughtful students who I teach.

I had kind of a rough, stressful day yesterday, and in one of my classes, I received a not-so-nice "essay" from a student that detailed how much he disliked me, how I don't care about anyone but myself, etc. I am an extremely sensitive individual, and even though I know that I shouldn't take what 14-year-olds say to heart, I do. So, I was hurting.

In the next class, I have one of my all-time favorite students, a young man that I had in class as a freshman, who I've gotten to know well through an extra-curricular organization, and who I have again as a senior. He is just so, so sweet, always giving me great big hugs and asking me how I'm doing. Today, I had to step out of the room for a minute right before the bell rang, and I found these notes sitting on my keyboard:

I know that they were from him, as I saw him hand one to another teacher as a "good luck" prior to her presentation in front of the staff.

I know that this particular student probably did not know that I was having a rough day, but the fact that he gave these little notes to me really affected me and truly put a smile on my face. And, it really reminded me of all of the awesome students with whom I work -- the reason that I do what I do.

What are you especially grateful for today?

Three Thanks

Happy Thursday, friends!

I hope you consider joining me and Aly in our weekly link-up! Please post the link-up badge on your post, link back to both The Swallow Flies and Here Comes Happiness, write a post about gratitude, and enter your blog's information in the link list below.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://theswallowflies.blogspot.com" title="The Swallow Flies & Here Comes Happiness Three Thanks"><img src="http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a538/emmy815/threethanks_zpse0bfc5a3.jpg" alt="The Swallow Flies & Here Comes Happiness Three Thanks" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

I am thankful for so much, but here are some things for which I am grateful this week:

~~ONE~~

I am grateful for family time. Spending the weekend in Omaha with my mom, my dad, and my sister was wonderful. Seeing my sister-in-law (and her mom) and my nephew was so awesome. The only ones missing were my brother and brother-in-law.

Dad, Mom, Aly, Alex, me, Erin -- circa 2012

I love, love, love spending time with my family and so wish we all lived closer so that it could be a more regular thing.

There's nothing better than lounging around all weekend in sweatpants, having your mom cook for you, watching Disney movies (Frozen, I'm talking to you), and hanging out with the people you love.

~~TWO~~

I am grateful for personal days.

There are many, many great things about being a teacher: working with students, educating the future of America, making positive social change, etc. And then of course there are perks like winter break, spring break, and summer break.

One perk we do not have is personal days. For the entire nine months that we are in session, we are allowed to take one personal day. (I realize it sounds crazy that someone who has three-and-a-half months off each year is complaining about only having "one" personal day, but it's tough, y'all: there are things that come up August through June, and only having one discretionary day is difficult.)

Anyway, enough complaining. This is a gratitude post, after all.

Today, I am thankful for personal days. Tomorrow, I am taking my personal day to head to St. Louis with my three best girlfriends: BFF, AM, and ME. And once we're down there, we'll meet up with AM's sister, TH, whom I love as well.

This will be a much-needed girls' weekend in St. Louie.

~~THREE~~

I am thankful for HBO GO.

Source

I love Game of Thrones and have watched every episode from the first three seasons at least once. It's sooooooo good. The first episode of season four came out this week, and because of an amazing colleague, I now have access to HBO GO and can therefore watch the series with the rest of the country.

I'm also pumped to finally watch Girls and True Detective, as I've heard nothing but good things. And, I'm looking forward to catching up on True Blood since I've only seen the first three seasons so far.

Now, I just need to figure out a way to hook my iPad up to my TV. Anyone wanna buy me Apple TV? :)

Also, I need some more personal days devoted to HBO...

What are you grateful for this week?

Please join us in the link up!

Three Thanks

Happy Thursday, friends!

I hope you consider joining me and Aly in our weekly link-up! Please post the link-up badge on your post, link back to both The Swallow Flies and Here Comes Happiness, write a post about gratitude, and enter your blog's information in the link list below.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://theswallowflies.blogspot.com" title="The Swallow Flies & Here Comes Happiness Three Thanks"><img src="http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a538/emmy815/threethanks_zpse0bfc5a3.jpg" alt="The Swallow Flies & Here Comes Happiness Three Thanks" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Let's not waste any more time talking about the link-up: let's go with what Nike suggests and just do it.

~~ONE~~

As weird as it may sound, I am grateful for Vaseline.

My miles have (more slowly than surely) been creeping up there, and without Vaseline, I would be a blistered, chafed mess.

(Oh, the things runners talk about...it never gets old.)

Before every run of decent mileage (i.e. generally anything five miles or longer) I lather Vaseline on the arches of my feet (where I'm prone to blisters) and underneath my boobs (where I tend to chafe so badly it looks like implant scars). If it's warm out, I also put Vaseline on my inner arms, as especially the left one chafes.

Essentially, it's a super cheap version of Body Glide. I am super, super thankful for Vaseline.

~~TWO~~

I am thankful for firefighters.

I know this seems like a random expression of gratitude, but I am still in shock over the fire that destroyed the Younkers Building in downtown Des Moines. I think it hit especially hard because one of my greatest friend's husbands (who is also a good friend of mine) is a firefighter who worked tirelessly on this disaster.

One of my friends posted this picture on her Facebook page --
photo by Joe Kristan, Lost Des Moines.

I am very grateful that Ahman and his colleagues do what they do, and I am so thankful that no one was injured.

Cindi -- Ahman's wife and one of my dearest friends -- designs and
stamps beautiful jewelry. Check her out on Facebook or Etsy.

~~THREE~~

I am grateful for open windows.

Source

There were a few days this week that were absolutely beautiful, days that I have opened my windows and have aired out the apartment. There is nothing quite like the scent of fresh, springtime air after a winter of being ridiculously cooped up.

On Monday, the day when it hit 70 degrees, I had those windows open like you wouldn't believe. But you know what? I open 'em when it's 50 degrees, too: I just like fresh air!

So yes, I am grateful for open windows.



What have you been thankful for this week?