Good #21

Doggie Toys.

The puppies have a new obsession. These neon stick toys from costco. They love them and keep shaking them to hit each other in the head. I love our puppies and how excited they get when there is something new to shake and play with. It is the simple pleasures that make life so good. 

Good #20

Job Interviews.

I had another job interview today. I love them. I feel so smart and awesome interviewing for jobs. Whether or not I am going to take them, it is good to talk about what I feel is important and what is meaningful in what we do. It is always good to see what other professionals in the field are doing in their practice and what people see as the role we can take in doing what we do. I love that feeling of being smart and prepared for what is coming at me. It is awesome to interview and feel that way and I am lucky that I have this much experience and expertise in my field, that I can feel so good when people question what I do every day. 

Good #19

Dog Beach.

Our puppies LOVE to go to the beach. They can't believe their luck when, after getting into the car for what they think is a typical ride, the car stops at a place where there is sand and water and they get to run off the leash and just be the happy and sweet dogs they are. They can't believe that the world is so awesome, but they are happy to celebrate such luck by running around and peeing with abandon. I often watch them at the beach and wish that I could find a moment in every day when I am that absolutely happy. 

Good #18

Weddings.

So, we are trying to figure out the wedding thing. It is more difficult than even I had imagined. You have so many choices to make and so many things to do on a strange and preset timeline. We are going to a bridal fair today, in the heat, and I am reminded how lucky I am to have a fiance who is willing to go and participate in the decisions we are making about our future and this huge party that we are throwing for our friends and family. 

Good #17

Parties.

Our friend had a birthday party tonight. There was sangria (and how amazing is sangria.....) and companionship and good friends that we hadn't seen in awhile. We are so lucky to have friends and parties and sangria. The world would be a much better place if everyone could say that

Good #16

The Ability to Cook.

I began learning how to cook in my teenage years. My grandmother and mother began teaching me the basics. I really believe that it is true, if you can read you can cook, despite the fact that I seem to be unable to bake. I think it has something to do with the ability to follow basic directions. I think I cook by smell. The idea of being able to look at a recipe and say. "hmm, that smells like it needs..." is such an amazing skill and I am lucky to have it. Baking precludes this option, because by the time you get to smell it, it is all over. I am lucky to be able to cook amazing dishes and to be able to serve us incredibly good and often gourmet food.

Good #15

Clean Cars.

I got my pretty car washed really well today. Gone is at least 75% of the dog hair and noses that usually decorate the seats and windows of what was a new car a little more than a year ago. I really can't complain. The puppies, sweet man and I have had many adventures over the past year in that car. We have gone up the coast of CA and to AZ many times, but I just can't resist that sweet smell that means your dashboard is all shiny and turning on the air conditioning doesn't mean that a plume of dog hair threatens to take out the backseat. Hurray for clean cars and comfortable dog hair free seats. I love a clean car.

Good #14

Our Neighborhood.

We live in a funky old area of San Diego. We love the culture and people we get to live near. There are a really eclectic group of people who live around us, including the guy who talks to truckers and somehow captures all of our radio waves. The guy who rescued Apple when she ventured out on her own, but who she attacks when she sees him walking his dog on any other given day. The farmers market and the ghetto drug store. The little coffee houses and the bustle and urban sidewalks that we walk down daily. I love where we live!

Good #13

Sunsets.

My sweet man called my name as we were sitting around after dinner tonight. He had stepped out into the back patio and was looking over the fence at the sunset. The sky was an amazing set of colors, and he had stopped to take a moment to notice this thing of amazing beauty in our world. I am constantly amazed and grateful to have such a man in my life. A man who notices sunsets and things of beauty. Who considers me to be one of those amazing and beautiful things in his life. I am awed as he speaks of beauty. I am overwhelmed by his love and understanding and support. I am so lucky to have found such a person and to love him in return. I celebrate his appreciation of the beauty that surrounds him, and feel unbelievably blessed to be included in the counting of his beautiful world. 

Good #12

My Sense of Humor.

I often find things funny when there is no other option... like when I was 12 and the doctor was stitching up one of the numerous cuts that a tomboy child gets living an active life. It hurt, it really did, but the only option was to laugh. The alternative was to cry and not be able to stop. I always choose laughter. It seems like the best option. The ability to smile and laugh even when things in this world seem overwhelming and unavailable for other solutions. You can always find the humor in the situation. You can always laugh rather than cry. It is the great triumph of the human spirit. We laugh in the face of some of the worst things that we can imagine, and in doing so, we defeat the worst and substitute the best we can imagine and face life with a sense of humor. 

Good #11

Sunday Dinner.

My sister and I started a tradition when she moved out here. It is a tradition started by my Grandmother when we were young and lived across the street from her. It is the tradition of Family Sunday Dinner. Whatever you are doing on a Sunday night, you stop and try to spend the evening meal with family, recounting the week and celebrating the joy that is your connection to each other. I am so happy that my sister has chosen to live in the same city that I do. I am further blessed that she enjoys spending time with me and the man I have chosen to spend my life with. This connection we have made with each other as adults, finding a grown up relationship with the person you grew up with, is an incredible gift. It is something that I give thanks for every day and hope that I get more of as I grow older with her

Good #10

Flip Flops.

Is there anything better in the sunshine. Your feet get to be comfortable and cool and you get to show off your pretty toes (to be talked about later, a good pedicure is awesome, but has to wait until I get my next one!). In flip flops, you get to walk around with pretty toes and the awesome clip-clop sound that means that it is summer and all is right with the world. 

Good #9

Date Night.

What an amazing night. I love Friday nights. We have turned them into date nights. There is nothing better than coming home after a long work week and getting to become a pretty girl with a sweet and handsome man on your arm. We have had date night since we started dating seriously. I actually think it may have come from my parents and something they talk about. But what it means to us is that the work week is over and the sweet long weekend is beginning. It is time to think about each other and the time we spend together. We had a wonderful dinner at Apertivo, the place we had our first date... (sigh) and the wonderful dinner turned into an awesome walk home together through the sweet smelling spring air. The stars were out and we are (at least feeling) young and in love. What a sweet moment to end a long work week.

Good #8

Squashy Tomatoes.

We made spaghetti sauce tonight, and it turns out that when you put in a can of whole tomatoes, you get to squish them up. I even got to sing the squishing tomato song (squish, squish, squish). It was  awesome and the spaghetti was really good too. I guess you can't go wrong with ground italian spiced turkey, onions, garlic, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and squishy tomatoes!

Good #7

Love.

I can't believe that it has taken me so long to get to this one. I am in love and feel so unbelievably lucky that I will be marrying one of the most amazing people I have ever met. There are moments of my day that I can feel my emotions for him like a physical presence and it calms me down and makes me whole. I hate to get out of bed with him in the morning and can't wait to see him at the end of the day. I am so content and happy. I am so lucky and blessed. 

Good #6

Striving for the Better.

I have spent the entire day today pushing people to places they just don't want to go. I swear it takes every last ounce of energy out of me, but in the end, when they get there, what an amazing feeling. I feel so much like I have spent the day banging my head against the wall, but now that everything has worked out I feel so tired, but so happy that a compromise was reached and that everyone was able to agree and work out details that will make life so much easier in the future. 

Good #5

Hashbrowns.

Crispy and wonderful, crunchy little hashbrowns. You are almost like tater tots (and let's be honest, is there anything better in the world than tater tots...) portable and crunchy. Sticks, cakes or tots, you are potato heavenly goodness.

Good #4

Clean Spaces.

I rearranged the furniture today and cleaned all of the cracks and floorboards. I took up tons of dust and dog hair. It made the space feel new again and I slept so well in my new clean space.

Good #3

Finding the unexpected good in a bad situation.

I have, in the past, been called an obscene optimist, although recently I have lost much of that. Sometimes it is almost impossible to find the good in a difficult situation. So often, I have gone through something soul churning and only been able to look at it after, searching for something good in something that had gone heinously pear shaped. The more difficult task is to find the good in a situation that makes you feel small and weepy while it is happening. I saw this done today by a parent who, by all rights could have walked away and just accepted the bad. Instead, she met trouble and heartache with a positive attitude and a smile on her face. As much as it makes my troubles feel small, it also makes me realize who I am and that I too can look at things that are difficult and face them with the strength and energy that I have been given. My blessing in life is to realize that my life is really awesome, and that I too have the energy to see the positive in any situation. To realize that my problems are small and will pass. To realize that I have so many good things to count. 

Good #2

Sunshine.

What a beautiful couple of days we have had. Yesterday it was sunny and not too hot and I got to spend a good portion of the day outside in the sun with a group of kids who were really awesome. Today it is sunny and warm again and every time I go outside I turn my face to the sun and just soak it in. It feels good on my skin and I can't believe how lucky I am to live somewhere the sun shines on a regular basis and where I get to have a job that lets me be outside in it. 

Good #1

Sleeping Puppies.

One of the best things in life are sleeping dogs. They snuggle up with you in the bed and make groaning and stretching noises when they wake up. When I get up and go downstairs they follow me down  and curl up and sleep on their beds next to me. It is wonderful to watch and one of the good things in life.