Day 7

Today I am thankful for crockpots. Yes, that is right...the crockpot. I have 2 of these bad boys and I don't go very often without using one of them for cooking our dinner. I don't know, there is just something wonderful about putting something in the crockpot in the morning and coming home and having a meal cooked when you are ready to eat it. Today I threw in frozen chicken breasts and covered them with salsa. The chicken gets so tender that you can shred it and put in in tortillas for soft tacos or over rice or just plain. I made this barley and corn casserole the other night (a weight watchers recipe) and we are going to eat that with the chicken. J is very good and even liked the barley casserole. I could hardly believe it. The crockpot helps me stay eating healthy because if it is a long day, I don't have to figure out what to cook and then snack the whole time I am fixing dinner. God bless the Crockpot!

Day 6

Today I am thankful for free wi fi at the Richmond Heights public library. For a girl that has worked from home since March of 2007....I am not very disciplined. I have discovered that I'd rather do ANY house hold chore except work when I am there. And there are times that I am able to focus, but today was just not one of them. I discovered free wi fi at the public library late 2008...I just hated going up to Panera and having to buy food and worrying if they'd kick me off for being up their occupying a seat for way too long. Why I never thought to use the library before is beyond me. I am able to have a cute little table in the back, free internet, and my nalgene bottle of water. I put on my headphones and plug in pandora and I am good to go. I really have had a hard time getting motivated to do work...so back to the presentation I go.

Day 5

Today I am thankful for my knee. My right knee and I have had a love hate relationship for the last 4 years. I have had 3 major surgeries on it since October of 2008, with the last one being very serious. My orthopedic surgeon sawed my tibia and moved the bone out and over and repositioned it with 2 metal screws. This surgery left me non weight baring for over 2 months, another month regaining weight, another month learning to re walk, and 6 more months in physical therapy. I am now 1.5 years out of surgery and I am doing things again that I never thought I would. Don't get me wrong, I definitely have my good and bad days and I can not wear heels as long as I used to, but I still can.

My doctor told me I shouldn't run again...well, I don't really want to listen to him. I know that I can never do marathons, but I would love to do a 5k. I have started doing the couch to 5k program in hopes of running one for St. Patrick's day. I am only on week 2, but my knee is allowing me to do this and hopefully I will continue being able to build up running time. I am giving myself enought time to repeat weeks if need be. In the end, if my knee hurts to much I will let up, but telling me I can't do something sparks me into making me more determined to succeed.

Day 4

On my fourth day of thanks, I am thankful for my DVR. Sure it is an object and can break and be replaced but it allows me to watch numerous shows without commerical interuption. I finally retired my original Tivo earlier this year and after 8 years together, I think I even shed a tear. I do miss the bloup bloup bloup sound when I fast forward, but I have come to love my replacement dvr just as much. Now I can record 2 shows at the same time and have numerous hours of stored shows, so I never have to watch live TV, if I do not want to. I am catching up on the first 5 seasons of One Tree Hill, thank you Soap Network! I also have discovered many other shows on Bravo that I need to watch. I think I watch more shows now then ever before in the same amount of time. I can pause the football game and never miss a moment. What did we do before the Tivo? Oh yes, tape shows on a VCR...which I still have one. As J says I must be the only person in America that still has a VCR.

Day 3

Today I am thankful for my good friend Kevin. It is unusually warm today in St. Louis, so I decided to start my sunday with a run/walk in Forest Park with the dog. Charlie loves the park....it is his complete bathroom and I pooped him out running. I think my knee would have let me run a little longer, but Charlie was done. So as we make our way back to the car, I realize as I unclip my keys from his leash, that yes, the house key and boat key were there...but my car keys somehow were no longer on the key ring. The problem now lies in that I have a tired dog who won't move and no keys to drive us home. I start looking on the ground around Charlies initial deposit. I even went through the trash to see if they had fallen in with his poop. No such luck. There are leaves everywhere and my keys could be anywhere. Luckily, I use my phone for pandora when I run, so I called J. My fabulous husband is of no help because he is grounded to the house for another 20 days. This would all be somewhat amusing, but pretty much this weekend last year, I lost the car keys through a hole in my hoodie pocket running with Charlie at Forest park. Ironically I thought about that just as we were driving to the park. I am sure I jinxed myself.

I called Kevin and he saved the day by coming to get me and Charlie. He drove us home and then me back to pick up the car with my spare keys. Mind you, this cost me $500 last year and crossing my fingers J's friend who works for Toyota will save me some dollars on this one. So thank you Kevin. This is us at the Springsteen concert Oct 2009.

Day 2

Today I am thankful for my husband. We have been married for a few days over a month now and I still love him. Even though I came home from my training in New York to find that he had not made the bed. This I see will always be a fight with us, not ending anytime in the near future. I mean, hell, I have been gone for 6 days and would never know if he had made the bed or not, but seriously.....make the damn bed up the one day I come home. I digress though. We have been together 2 years and he really does bring out the best in me. I am a much calmer person with way less anxiety. We are diffinitely different, but I think that is what makes us work. He really is my best friend and I just love that he is my HUSBAND!

30 days of Thanks

So I am hopping on the 30 days of Thanks a little late....per usual. I have also been awful about blogging and hope this little challenge will keep me on track.

Day 1

I am thankful for my job. After losing my job 2 months before my wedding, I am happy to have a new one. One that let me start after my honeymoon. One, that is very laid back and one that has a lot of potential for growth. I am now the territory manager for Sartorius, covering MO, KS, OK, AR, and southern IL. A hell of a lot less travel than my 22 states and part of Canada previous job. My new husband likes this fact almost as much as the paycheck I am getting, The product line is nothing hot and sexy (I mean every lab needs scales and balances and water filtration systems), it is stuff that every lab needs. I just now need to come up with an interesting way to make them buy from me. I am finishing up my week of training in Long Island, NY tomorrow and hope to be the top sales rep at the end of next year! Wish me luck.