Be Grateful #6

What a fantastic week!  It definitely had its ups and downs, but overall, this week was GREAT!

1)  I'm thankful I survived week two of my new job.  I'm starting to feel like I'm figuring things out...even if my first faculty training didn't go as well as I had hoped.  *lol*

2)  I'm thankful that I work at such a fabulous place!  The dean of our division was so concerned with our safety, he had Emergency Management and Risk organize a shooter simulation for us to prepare.  I don't think it went as well as it could, but the important thing is, is it got us to start thinking about what we would do in dangerous situations.

3)  I'm thankful I'm enjoying teaching Intermediate more and more all of the time.  I do wish I had more time and energy to strengthen the relationship with my Composition I class, but I think that will come in time.

4)  I'm thankful I survived my colonoscopy!  While the day before really stunk, I was actually quite coherent after my procedure and really enjoyed the loopy feeling.  *haha*  I got my the results on Friday:  I quote, "Biopsies showed quiescent crohns colitis changes.  NO DYSPLASIA . . . The small polyp was benign and not precancerous!"  WONDERFUL NEWS!  Praise the Lord!  And as my husband said, we learned new words, too.  Thanks for all of your good thoughts and prayers.  :)

5)  I'm thankful my Martha Stewart Living magazine subscription finally started back.

6)  I'm thankful we got to eat so many yummy things this week:  Sour Patch Kids popsicles (those saved me on bowel prep day!), Nutella croissants, KFC, potato soup, Flying Fish, veggies, roast chicken and baked potatoes, Gusano's pizza, and caesar salads!  And today, we are going to Fred's Hickory Inn for our Valentine's Day brunch!

7)  Speaking of Valentine's Day, I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband!  He is THE BEST, hands down.  We started the day with chocolate pancakes (imprinted with a heart) and strawberries.  At work, I got a goody cup from one of my new co-workers, and after work, Zach surprised me with a box of chocolates made by the culinary department AND Starbucks hot chocolate.  Then we came home, made dinner, and opened presents.  I got him a LEGO book, Jelly Belly Cinnamon Bears, and some pilsner glasses; LEGO, candy, and beer are some of his favorites, so I think I did well.  BUUUUT he did way better than me!  I GOT A CAMERA!  Just like I suspected!  ;)  Zach went ahead and gave me my birthday present early:  a Canon Rebel T3i!!!  He did so great, and most importantly, he saved me the stress of trying to find the "perfect" camera.  :)  I can't wait to finally get to use it today!  (I was behind on lots of things, but have caught up mostly, so now I can play.)  Today, we are exchanging cards--since his to me hadn't come in yet--and going for a walk to use my camera.  Don't you just love LOVE!?

8)  I'm thankful I'll get my permanent crown on Monday.

9)  I'm thankful I got a TON of work done yesterday.  Overall, I was pleased with my students' reflection papers.  Most of them developed their topics well and described them in a balanced combination of sensory details and engaging emotions.  I was very happy to see that not too many of them used fragments although they did forget commas with coordinating conjunctions and had far too many comma splices.  You win some, you lose some.

10)  I'm thankful we have so many friends from work and so many friends in the area now.  We had to go to the Jam Night because of Zach's new position, and I was so tired I was sure we wouldn't have much fun.  But it was a BLAST!  And that is thanks to the wonderful company we had.  :)

11)  Although I was sad we didn't get a snow day, I am thankful I got to see a little snow fall.  There's always this week...

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEK?

Entertaining at The Owlery

Well, I sorta already showed my dining "room" on the SUYL--Kitchens from Kelly's Korner, but I will go ahead and share it again!  A few of those who viewed my pictures commented on my teapot collection, so I will share a bit more about that.  We actually just had a friend from work over with her boyfriend and son.  My kitchen area turned into a disaster:

BUT I think that is a sign that it was a successful meal!  (This picture was taken after they left, and I started cleaning up.)  Some of my favorite things to cook include chicken pot pie with lots of veggies; cobbler; French toast; roast beef; red, white, and black bean chili; and Cadbury chip brown sugar cookies.  For this dinner, I made baked chicken with McClard's seasoning, mashed potatoes from scratch, green beans with thyme, buttery corn, homemade cheddar bay biscuits (like the ones at Red Lobster!), and Nutella cookies with peanut butter.  Enjoy another look around the heart of our home!

This is how our kitchen usually looks.  This is looking into our dining "room" from the kitchen.

 looking into our dining area from the living room

 Our table is an antique Duncan Phyfe dining table!  A couple from Zach's parents' church gave it to us when we got married because they were switching from two residences to one. It needs to be refinished, but it is just beautiful.  It seats six, but we keep one chair in our bedroom for sitting.  I love imagining all of the different meals shared at this table and all of the different people who have sat down at it.  Zach's Momo made the lace tablecloth several years ago and gave it to me for my birthday.  The vase in center was made by Zach's mom who is very into pottery.  All of the birdy items were gifts from my birthday week that Zach's mom organized this year since I was recovering from surgery during that time, and the ironwork napkin holder was a wedding gift (I don't remember from whom.)  The rug, which you really can't see, was purchased with wedding gift money.  And I'm a new seamstress!  Zach got me this sewing machine for Christmas last year!

 the original needlework on the dining chairs

We wish we had the money to restore them to their former glory, but we can't right now.  We are planning to cover them with some fabric to protect the needlework and better match our decor at some point.

 I keep cookbooks, photo albums, yearbooks, photo boxes, picture frames, and scrapbook clutter on this shelf.  It needs to be better organized.  (That is one of my goals for this coming month!)  Our Willow Tree collection that we received from my mama, Grandma Byrd, and aunts on my dad's side are on top of the shelf along with a decanter that has been in my family forever.  The Alice in Wonderland bag was a birthday gift from my friend Katie; I used it in grad school, but now it holds fabric scraps.

 This china cabinet belonged to one of Zach's great aunts and was given to us by his parents to use since they weren't using it.  It holds my teapot collection, including our Alice in Wonderland collection.  (More on that in a second!)  The horse paintings were Zach's uncle's; he passed away before I met Zach.  :(  On top are some plants from my mom, a set of candleholders that were left in our first apartment, and the tiered serving dish that was a wedding gift from some ladies at Zach's parents' church.  Our kitties sleep on the ottoman to the right; we store coupons in the basket.

Oh, and our chandelier can be dimmed, so we have MOOD lighting!  But it makes for very bad lighting for pictures.  *lol*

This is a somewhat better look at my teapots.

 The top row has my Alice in Wonderland teapot (in the center) that Zach got me for Christmas when we were dating.  (It was the only Christmas we celebrated while dating because we got married exactly a year after we met on September 19!)  What is funny is that I got him a voucher for high tea at the Intercontinental on the Plaza when we were going to KC after New Year's (along with the dark blue tea cup you will see on the back of the second shelf--great minds think alike! :).  For my 24th birthday following that Christmas, he gave me several of the Alice pieces (plates and cups) during my birthday week, and his parents gave us the creamer pitcher the next Christmas.  My mama kept getting forgetting what fairy tale was behind our fairy tale...and gave me the Cinderella snow globe for Christmas after we were married.  *lol*  There's also a small white toy tea set I had when I was a little girl; I used it for my Samantha doll.

Left to right:  The rose teacup and saucer came from my best friend Monica (it was her Nan's; Nan passed away last year, and I loved her like a grandma, too); Zach's blue cup from our first Christmas together was mentioned above; this red housewarming teapot is from Brian and Whitney (they were our primary matchmakers); the burgundy and tan teapot that stacks on its cup was a birthday present from my roommate Rose; the Union Jack teapot was one of my souvenirs from my study abroad trip; the book teapot was a birthday gift from my sister-in-law; and the Japanese cup was bought on one of my many LR trips to Whole Foods.

Left to right:  The pastel polka doted teapot and cup was found at a flea market by my SIL; the plate commemorating Prince William and Catherine Middleton's wedding was a gift from my in-laws for my 26th birthday last year (my mother-in-law's best friend Fiona is Scottish and picked it up while she was visiting her family); the purple flowered teapot was a housewarming gift from my friend Katie when Monica and I got our apartment during grad school; and the simple flowered teapot was Zach's when he went away to college.

And there you have it!  Want to come over for a hot cuppa?