Going home.

The day after.

This is also from the 2011 Joy Inventory. Sadly I no longer live in the same town as these two, but maybe it will happen again someday. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

11.27.13

• Slept in in a super comfortable bed in Jefferson. You can just sink right into the mattress.
• Almost didn't work out, but made myself and was glad for it. Looking ahead to the inevitable eating this weekend.
• Had time to start organizing my family's massive home video collection.
• Made it to the airport in plenty of time, with no trouble with checking Ellen's gun and no trouble at security either.
• Ellen, Jack, and I got to veg for hours but it didn't feel that long because we each had our laptops and were doing our own things.
• While we were waiting, Southwest gave away slices of pumpkin pie to thank everyone for flying with them on "Thanksgiving Eve"!
• I got to watch a riveting episode of Breaking Bad and just finished it before it was time for us to board.
• We got good seats all next to each other.
• Flight went smoothly and quickly.
• Laughed a lot with Everett and everyone else on the drive back from the airport to the Dad's house.
• The kids were all awake and waiting for us and were very excited to see us when we got there. It was a lovely greeting. Sola gave me a tour of most of the house while Jack and Rocket shot nerf guns at each other. So glad to see them. :)
• Julie got off work early and came over to say hello.
• Everett, Neil, Jack, and I laughed a lot again watching Epic Rap Battles.
• Great visit so far. :)

11.25 - 11.26.13

Briefly, yesterday:

• I helped Rachel with an extraction yesterday, finally. Glad to have helped at least a little, she has a lot of research to do.
• Got to chat with her and the director for quite awhile, always a pleasure.
• Also got to chat with her and Erin and Masako about middle school stories and the like, kind of fun.
• Finally got the dreaded midterm back and guess what? A! (After the curve, of course.) Oh, such a relief. Now I have hope for the overall course.

And so today:

• Slept in to 7:30am. That is sleeping in because I'd fallen asleep no later than 10pm. So really long sleep, and I woke up a few times and thought "I should get up" and then thought "Wait, why?" So I slept in, and it was great.
• Worked out for an hour to a bunch of Epic Rap Battle videos. Love those guys.
• Got some work volunteer work done, then swung by downtown to drop off the first job application. All of it took much less time than I thought.
• So I came home and cleaned nearly everything, and ran out to get ingredients to make Jack a nice dinner, which I do enjoy doing.
• So proud of him for how hard he's been working AND studying. So proud, feel so lucky.
• Watched many episodes of Breaking Bad while cleaning the apartment, baking, packing, mending some of Jack's clothes, re-organizing my music collection, and many misc things. Love the show, love getting things done.
• While I love Jesse and some other characters, I think Mike Ehrmantraut is my favorite character. He just gets it done.
• Jack came home in a great mood after finishing a test and making good plans for the Christmas holidays.
• And soon we are leaving to go to San Francisco so tomorrow we can fly to Colorado to be with everyone for Thanksgiving. Woot woot!

Joan of Arc: patron saint of bad bitches (according to Epic Rap Battles)

Crafty holidays.

I like lots of kinds of music.

11.24.13

• Got back on the workout horse (again) with the first hour of The Hunger Games. I was very interested since we just saw Catching Fire on Friday and I've been thinking about it all weekend.
• Baked banana bread with shredded apple bits for a very late breakfast. Jack & I took down the whole loaf within an hour of it coming out of the oven.
• Filled out a job application. It took the better part of the day but it's the first time I'm trying to apply for a job related to my current studies, so I am glad to be beginning that process so early.
• Had coffee with Jess (specifically a skinny peppermint mocha!) and visited for nearly 3 hours.
• At the end I lent her my copy of Good Omens, which I hope she'll like. It's always nice to be able to share your enjoyment of books or movies or TV shows and the like.
• Baked spinach sausage loaf for dinner (after Jack was kind enough to run out and get me the ingredients) while listening to a playlist of covers of "Royals" by Lorde.
• Then I watched Breaking Bad while I did all the dishes.
• Finished the application, which involved updating my resume. It's nice to look at a cumulative resume and see all the things I've done over the years.
• Ate a lot of peppermints.

The law firm.

I first started my Joy Inventory while working at a law firm. These are the pictures related directly to that job.

11.23.13

• It's getting chilly out, and I'm grateful we have a heater.
• Also grateful for knee high socks, and comfy warm pj pants and sweatshirts.
• And the two big blankets on our bed.
• Got a nice hot chocolate at a local coffee shop today. I go there so often I am on their rewards program and I forgot, but every time I use the same credit card it keeps track, so I am 7 out of 10 drinks away from my free drink. Nice surprise.
• Three classmates met up with me to study even though it's Saturday, and we talked through a fair bit of info.
• After, I went to school and talked a lot with the director and other classmates hanging around the area. I really enjoy doing that, because we can commiserate on trying to deal with classes and research and stuff.
• Plus some of the classmates were able to help me get going on homework I was stressed about.
• And I finished the homework! Hooray!
• Jack did extremely well at work today, signing up a lot of customers for rewards programs, which gets him bonuses. He did so well they held a little recognition ceremony for him at the end of the day.
• And then he was in a great mood and wanted to go celebrate with some ice cream. So we went to Gunther's and got pumpkin ice cream while they still have it in stock. I love that place. Cheap, delicious, they always have lots of seasonal decorations up (and by that I mean Thanksgiving decorations, not Christmas prematurely).
• And then I came home and got more work done. Usually by 6pm or later I lose my focus, so I was glad to fit another couple hours in today.

Reflection shot at Gunther's. Also I love white lights on trees.

Dinner time.

11.22.13

• Got to sleep in
• In a very warm bed with double blankets
• Even when I woke up, I stayed in bed and did things online
• Got a bunch of errands done (groceries, finally got replacement sneakers, laundry, bank) and felt efficient.
• One of the instructors at the CCI showed me how to clean an MP-5 submachine gun, and gave me some information about the physics of the gun and its accessories at the same time. Very interesting.
• It's about 70F here, a very welcome contrast to the chilly, rainy weather we had all week at the firearm safety course.
• Our apartment complex has laundry on site, and I'm grateful. Our unit is particularly close to the laundry room, so it's nothing at all to hop over and get some done. So much better than having to go to a laundry mat.
• Plus I like the smell of laundry rooms.
• Had a nice, long, date night with Jack
• During which we saw Catching Fire, which was a-mazing!

I have such a girl-crush on Jennifer Lawrence. And Katniss Everdeen.

A room without books is like a body without a soul.