Thankful v7

 Lately I've been thankful...

[+] for beautiful sunsets enhanced by the clouds

[+] for walks through the neighborhood, chatting with your husband and doses of fresh air

[+] for extra evening daylight even if it means losing an hour of precious sleep

[+] for fresh fruit and the first signs of spring

[+] for summer plans in the makings already

[+] for upcoming celebrations like Pi Day and family dinners

[+] for birthday gift cards, outlet malls, super deals and breaks from studying

[+] for more sleep and extra energy

[+] for family, near or far, in every sense of the word

[+] for pups who let you do whatever you want and put up with our silly antics

[+] for being able to act like a kid every now and then

[+] for evenings spent at home without jealousy of those in different life stages for once

[+] for being supported in reaching all of your dreams

[+] for Girl Scout Cookie flavored coffee creamer to make mornings a bit more bearable 

 [+] for rice cakes that remind you of surfaces of brains

[+] for classes that seep into every aspect of your life

[+] for husbands who make you smile and cook you dinner

There's always something to be thankful for.

Vacation Time: Cozumel Spring Break

One island. 8 days, 7 nights with four fabulous couples. 

 Drinks, memories and sunsets galore. 

One new engagement, a few bumps in the road, and 30 SPF sunscreen. 

Two fancy reservations, one beach shack dinner and too much buffet food.

18 holes of golf and 40 liars dice.

New adventures with old friends. 

Two sea turtles and three rays seen, gallons of salt water drank. 

A few bug bites, scraped knees and books read. 

5 new nicknames and endless new Spanish words.

An absolutely fabulous, relaxing, perfect spring break get-away. 

This trip was exactly what I needed right before I embark on the toughest course of the entire year. A huge thank you to J and our amazing friends for making the trip so special!

(Yes, my spring break was at the end of February. I'm lucky to have great friends who didn't mind. We stayed at Iberostar Cozumel and booked through Apple Vacations for those of you who are curious. We will do things differently next time but it was still a fantastic trip.)

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Thanks to Jen for the throw-back engagement picture idea!

1. I celebrate Valentine's day by... loving on my husband and spending some quality time together. Sometimes that means going out for a nice dinner. Last year that meant making a multi-course dinner complete with dessert at home together. This year we're celebrating a day late to eat at a reasonable time (one restaurant only had 2:45pm available for reservations) and avoid all the crowds (not to mention I might be a zombie on Friday night). It doesn't have to be big, as long as it's filled with love. 

2. My heart goes pitter-patter for... sweet notes, kisses on my forehead, dessert of any kind, a free night from school, my husband...

3. When looking for romance, my best advice is... take leaps! When I first met J, I assumed our "relationship" was just going to pan out into a summer fling. I was 18 and moving to San Diego at the end of the summer. He was 21 and already on a path through life. Not to mention we'd only spent 2 months together before facing quite a distance. But at the end of that summer I told him I loved him and that I wanted this to work. And here we are! 7 years, 3 apartments, 2 houses, 2 states, 1 silly dog and 1 marriage later. 

4. My favorite love story (real or fiction) is... besides my own, right?! Ha! Let's see... Dr. Mark Green and Dr. Elizabeth Corday from the TV show ER. Maybe it's because I'm still obsessed with that show or maybe it's because I'm in the medical field but their relationship and love story are my favorite. A great balance of power, real life struggles (thanks drama-tv writers) and filled with fake, TV love! Now excuse me while I try and find time to watch all the seasons again. 

5. The best relationship/love/dating advice I ever received was... make your significant other your number one priority. Granted, I'm not the best at actually following through with this as being a full time medical student definitely demands the top spot on the totem pole a good amount of the time. But it's something that I'm always conscious of and do my best to achieve. Hmm, maybe I'm finally finding my word (over a month late) for the year 2014... priority... 

Previous posts here: 

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Linking up with these ladies (Nicole @ Three 31, Lisa @ The Coastal Chicster, and Becky @ The Java Mama, Jen @ The Arizona Russums) for Finish This. 

Winter Time

It's no question that moving back to Colorado has brought many fantastic adventures and changes to our life.

One part that I'm surprised to be enjoying as much as I am is the winter. San Diego is amazing in the summer time but I always felt like something was off when I'd hear about snow fall and blizzards as I was doing these types of things in months that I'm used to being cold. Well now that we're back in a state that actually experiences winter I've been loving bundling up, wearing boots, shopping for/making cozy scarfs and cuddling up by the fire. Granted there are moments when I don't like it, most of which involve my tires sliding on the ice or helping J shovel the driveway, but at least for this year I'll take the winter. 

Not to mention that it sure does make things pretty. Walks with O-dog have taken on a whole new thrill, for him and for me.

We've been experiencing ice box like temperatures here the last few days where Wednesday didn't make it above 10 degrees and negative temps made it hard to get out of bed in the morning. Boiling water J threw into the air instantly froze this morning and I was eating my words about enjoying the winter just a little bit.

Here's to a much more "normal" rest of winter!

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1. I will never outgrow... my love for candy and fluffy, furry socks. I have a pretty bad sweet tooth at times and love all types of sweet treats, especially in candy form. I also always have cold feet so if I'm home in the winter I love pulling on a pair of warm socks that would never fit inside my shoes.

2. I splurge on... good food and that's about it. Ha. I don't wear expensive make-up, I try to find my clothes on the clearance rack and I search for coupons for every day necessities. I'm sure there will come a day where there's something I spend more money on but for now I think it's better this way.

3. My worst habit is... feeling like I need to control everything. I've always been an A-type personality and sometimes it's really hard for me to let someone else handle something or to just roll with the punches when things go awry. It's definitely something I know about myself and I try and make a conscious effort to quench it when the thoughts of "no, you're doing it the wrong way!!!" start popping into my head.

4. My passport represents... vacations to beaches with my family and our fantastic Ireland Honeymoon. I've been out of the country approximately half a dozen times and I love each and every trip and all the memories. I can't wait to add another stamp to the book at the end of the month!

5. My most ridiculous fear is... horses. And for absolutely no reason at all. J thinks it's hilarious (and probably annoying too) but I won't walk near them, I hate the noises they make and have no intention of ever riding one. I was never bucked off one or had any similar trauma related to them, I just do not like them.

6. My favorite thing to give is... homemade desserts. Whether it's a random treat for no reason or homemade cakes on birthdays I love being in the kitchen with someone specific in mind. This might have something to do with having a husband who is pleased through his stomach and/or my love of sweet things too but regardless. I love being able to say, "here, I made these [cookies/brownies/etc] for you".

Previous posts here: 

Finish This v1

Finish This v2

Linking up with these ladies (Nicole @ Three 31, Lisa @ The Coastal Chicster, and Becky @ The Java Mama, Jen @ The Arizona Russums) for Finish This.