High Five For Friday.

1. Soft lights.

2. Cold fronts.

3. Soft puppy chins.

4. Staying friends.

5. Hugs. 

High Five For Friday

Post-race. It was very bright, hence the squinting.

1. Turkey Trot with my bro! I beat my time from my last one, which I'm pretty happy with, and I think we were both glad we did it.

2. Thanksgiving Day at my sister's with the whole family there for the first time in over 3 years.

3. I decided to sell baked goods to local contacts for the holidays and had quite a few more orders than expected. Yay extra cash!

4. I've spied some clever/cute Christmas decorations in our neighbor's yards already. Makes me smile.

5. My favorite time of year is here!

h54f

1. New work nickname that stuck!

2. Good hair and makeup day.

3. Writers that I can't stop reading.

4. Words of affirmation.

5. Half-full glasses.

High Five For Friday

Here I am, late again. You know what they say, though...better than never, eh?

141. My nephew turned 6 this week! Love that kid.

142. My nephew's birthday also marks 6 years that Husband and I have been together! Kind of fun to have

 a marker of our dating anniversary that's pretty darn memorable. 

143. Quality time with all of my siblings last weekend. Nice to live closer.

144. Internship possibilities for both me and Husband.

145. Downright cold weather!...for about 5 minutes.

High Five For Friday

1. I took a new favorite picture the other day. It was another gorgeous day outside, so I set a chair out back and tossed a rope for Titus for a little bit. After a while I stopped and just sat to enjoy the day, and the doge plopped down under my chair, smiling and panting away. I thought it would be an interesting perspective to snap a photo without looking under my chair, and here's what I came up with. I feel like it captures the moment pretty well.

2. Normally when I have Birchbox reward points, I use them on gift subscriptions for friends, but I've already given them to all of my friends who I think would get the most use/enjoyment out of it. So this time, I got something for myself! Kind of nice to treat myself to something I'd enjoy.

3. The first true cold snap of this season arrived today. Made my lungs burn when I ran this morning, but in a good way.

4. Last night, instead of splitting up into our separate rooms or sitting in front of the tv, Husband, Roommates, and I sat around cuddling with our pups, listening to Mumford and Sons, and just chatting. One of those "This is the good life" moments of peaceful simplicity.

5. God's provision.

h54f

1. Nothing but beautiful sky, green grass, and frolicking puppies this week.

2. 12:34

3. Unexpected talks with good Michigan friends. Glad they haven't completely forgotten about me yet!

4. Celebrating some happy news with the roommates!

5. Packages in the mail. From me, to me.

High Five For Friday

1. Date night (as I mentioned looking forward to last Friday) was great! Our first new restaurant adventure in our new location + the discovery that there's a dollar theater nearby = success.

2. The also previously mentioned mom + sisters weekend was also great! Look how cute they are:

3. It is close, so close to being fall.

4. Husband told me his professor just about called him a model student this week. Considering no one could ever say that about him before, it's a big deal. So proud of that guy, and the best part is, I can tell he's proud of himself, too.

5. Moments of inexplicable peacefulness.

High Five For Friday

1. Spontaneous trip to my high school with my friend Amanda for the homecoming game. A good time reflecting on the awkwardness of high school and how much different life is now. 

2. Husband encouraging me in times of weak will power. He's the best. Even when I'm grumpy because I just. Want. Ice cream.

3. Got called for an interview for second job.

4. Running farther than I thought I could.

5. Looking forward to a great weekend (date night with Husband tonight, girl time with my mom and sisters on Saturday and Sunday)!

High Five for...Monday?

Well, I totally missed the boat on Friday. But I still had several things to be thankful for that were enjoyed last week, so I wanted to make sure I celebrated them here, even if it is a bit late. Can't hurt to start off the week that way, right?

1. Rainy day snuggle/show time with Husband and Titus-boy. Doesn't get much better than that.

2. Beautiful food in a new place I've discovered REALLY excites me. Like a kid in a candy store level of excitement.

3. Lots of good Roommate time this week. Living in community like this really is a gift I'm thankful for.

4. Feedback from my boss- "I'm really impressed with the way you've progressed." I'll take it.

5. My sister, her husband, and their offspring stopped by our place spontaneously and we had a great time together. Lots of laughs and good talks. An unexpected treat to end the week!

High Five For Friday

1. (111) Twice this week I've been able to take my lunch break in a cute downtown park. A very nice escape. The first time, there was even a little baby photo shoot happening (see backdrop on right side of picture).

2. (112) All that rain last week actually brought a cool front with it!

3. (113) Husband is now employed once again. Proud of that guy.

4. (114) After a few frustrating dead ends, I finally made contact with a professor in the grad program I'm interested in- meeting with him today!

5. (115) Eisley. Always Eisley.

High Five For Friday

1. Successful new healthy recipes!

2. Discovering I'm a morning person, and therefore enjoying the mornings I'm actually awake for.

3. The possibility of going back to school.

4. Unexpected cash!

5. Rainy, almost-fall days.

High Five For Friday

1. Finally found the color of cardigan I've been looking for forever (somewhere in the dark orange to rust area). And no, you Texans out there...this isn't a statement about my college football loyalties. I just happen to really like dark orange.

2. Puppy-friends still love each other and play all the time.

3. Rainy, fall-ish day.

4. This doesn't happen to me very often, but these jeans fit like a glove, are totally slimming, and were half off...sooooo they came home with me. Yay for surprise pants!

5. I'm reading "It Starts With Food" and learning more about taking charge of my health...it's kind of exciting. 

High Five For Friday

1. Quiet, productive moments in the office with Husband.

2. Birthday hibachi dinner with friends.

3. Job offer. Income is income, people.

4. Getting ready to feel so much better due to my second Whole30 starting on Sunday.

5. Real talk with Husband. Not always easy, but it always reminds me of how awesome of a man he is. 

High Five for Friday

1. (91) These two butts represent the new best puppy-friendship of our Titus-boy with our housemates' basset, Peanut. Poor Peanut had her lady-parts removed this week, so Titus is banished from her presence until she heals in a couple of weeks.

2. (92) Our new housemates are growing a plethora of herbs. One thing you need to know about me is that I have a mild (okay, maybe not mild) obsession with herbs. I love the way they look, the way they smell, the way they taste. I can't tell you how excited I am to have large amounts of fresh basil and mint at my disposal. Makes me so happyyyyyyyy.

3. (93) Single serve, nearly cleanup-free coffee maker to use. Aaaaahhhh.

4. (94) I have to admit, the Texas sunsets I've seen from my bedroom window have been pretty decent. Haven't seen any quite to the level of Lake Michigan's yet, but they're still great so far. 

5. (95) I don't have a picture of this, but I got a call for a job interview tomorrow. So we'll see how that goes. 

High Five for Friday

(Clockwise from far left)

1. (86) Books haven't always been physically beautiful, but I'm reading one right now that is beautiful.

2. (87) Sometimes you love people so much that their kids feel like YOUR kids. 

3. (88) One more week of views like this and temps in the 70's.

4. (89) Squeezing in one last hang-out time with true heart-friends. Staying up too late, making your legs look weird, and chocolate chip pancakes in the morning- it doesn't get much better than that.

5. (90) Silly hair. 

High Five For Friday

1. (81) Beautiful beach day. Perfect temps in and out of the water, with just enough cloud cover.

2. (82) Unsolicited compliments on no-make up days.

3. (83) Friends who help you move.

4. (84) Friends who come to visit.

5. (85) Friends you can do nothing with.

High Five For Friday

1. (76) The weather has been insanely gorgeous here lately. Cool breezes and blue skies.

2. (77) The facebook app on my phone updated recently, and along with it came the option of having it cycle through my facebook photos on my lock screen. I've loved being randomly surprised with a good memory I haven't thought about in ages because of the pictures! Like this one:

(train trip in Alaska, one of the highlights of my life)

...or this one...

(husband's fancy work Christmas party)

...or even this one...

(deep dish Chicago pizza with friends)

Okay, enough picture spam. 

3. (78) We moved in with Tim's sister this week so we could finish packing up our house, and it's been so fun to watch Titus interact with her dog. His tail is constantly wagging now that he's around more people and another animal instead of sitting in a crate while we're at work. It makes me happy.

4. (79) Warning: TOTAL SAP ALERT. The other day, I was packing some stuff in the upstairs of our house while Tim was working on some stuff downstairs. I ran down for a minute to ask him a question, then was about to go back up when he called me back in, just hugged me, and danced with me a little bit to the song that was playing on his computer. Yep, moments like that are the ones that make you say, "I'm living the moments I used to dream about!"

5. (80) Had some sweet time with friends this week. Those are the times that make my hurt tug at this area a bit- "can't we just stay here?" But I know we're doing the right thing, that true friendships remain across distances, and that we will find community in our new home.

What about you? How's life this week?

My First High Five for Friday Post

Well, this is it. You can see an explanation of what H54F is here, but I'm also combining it with my attempt at completing a One Thousand Gifts list. I started counting to one thousand a little over two years ago and I haven't gotten all that far, so I'm thinking if I link up with other people and do just 5 a week, I might actually get there someday! To see the running count to one thousand, click here.

So, this week's five...

1 (71). This guy. The longer I own a dog as an adult, the more I remember how much I've always loved dogs, even as a little kid. I sure hope it works out for us to keep him throughout our relocation!

2 (72). Had some good times watching fireworks last night over the lake with some friends. Last time I'll get to do that for a while.

3 (73). Downloaded this book on Audible. Looking forward to listening to it during the long drive down to Tejas.

4 (74). Got a great head start on packing this week. I love being able to work at my own pace without feeling rushed- I have to say that's kind of a first for me as I tend to procrastinate.

5 (75). You may have noticed I mentioned something about The Big Move in every one of these. Well, while it is bittersweet to leave this area, I am definitely excited about being an hour away from my family as opposed to 20 hours. 

So there you have it. There's a first time for everything, right?