Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday, kids. I know....I'm wondering where the week went, too. No complaints here, though, since I have today and tomorrow off (thank you floating holidays), and the boy and I have some fun plans over the next few days to make the most of our last little bit of time together before someone has to go back to his base for his last two months of active duty. Thursday also means that it's time for Jessie's beautiful campaign, which is particularly meaningful for me today, since the past two weeks have given me even more to be thankful for than usual...or maybe I'm just more aware of it....either way, thank you for hosting, love!

...a wonderful holiday season spent with both of our families and many friends. It was truly the best one to date and filled with love and terrific memories and time spent together.

...going back to work for a day yesterday to discover that I earned overtime for this pay period...even though I wasn't at work for a week and a half. Thank you, vacation time, and my ability to work my bum off the week before the holidays.

...hearing little voices say, "Ms. Caitlin! We missed you! Guess what Santa brought us? Can I sit on your lap to tell you??" as soon as I walked in to the classroom yesterday. Never hurts to know that you're missed, and yesterday was one of the best days I've had with the cherubs in a long time. Looks like Santa brought them some new listening ears, too....or at least recharged the batteries on the ones they had.

...getting the chance to catch up with some work friends. It was nice to have a low key day, so that I could hear about everyone's holidays, in addition to the kiddos. It seems like we were all pretty blessed this year.

...coming home last night to find the laundry fairy had come (who looked remarkably like the boy) and I had clean running clothes again (clearly more important than any other clean clothes). Yeah, I'm a very lucky lady.

....being handed this after profusely whining about how my stomach was eating itself for almost 30 minutes. Patience is NOT a virtue I possess, and the boy handles it amazingly well....he is also smart enough to ply me with wine while waiting.

....phone calls with my mum to check in and keep me grounded. Nothing beats a mum phone call, and she never ceases to amaze me with her wisdom and ability to listen when I need her to and talk sense into me right after I'm done talking.

....the generosity of the boy's family to give us some extra pots and cooking supplies. Mine were in a bit of a sad state since I've had them forever, and making dinner last night involved much less frustration and potty language than it usually does when attempting to make things like rice and risotto. Woohoo.

...new running clothes thanks to giftcards that make morning runs like yesterday and today (15 degrees and 10 degrees respectively) much more enjoyable and allow me to have feeling in my limbs for 75% of the time. Only the first chunk is a little cold, which is a huge upgrade from years past. Now if only I could figure out how to get people to shovel the ice and snow from their sidewalks, we'd really be in business. 

...getting to have lunch with my brother today. I'm excited to get to spend more time with him and let him get to know the boy better.

....blends, of course. A sweet package from this girl came on NYE that made us slightly late for dinner since I'm a child and must open packages at once. Getting to know her and her much more this week through email has been wonderful, and I don't know what I do without my usual texts, tweets, and emails from the rest. You guys are all amazing and make me smile so much each day, it's not even funny. 

....knowing that I'm only 22 days from getting to play with this girl and this one for a weekend!! Excited doesn't even begin to describe my feelings about it.

Have a terrific Thursday!

What are you thankful for today? Any fun trips or events coming up in January? How was your first day back to work?