A special day

Today is our 18th wedding anniversary! Eighteen sounds like such a good, solid number, I think. In some ways it doesn't seem like that long ago that we got married, but when I think about everything that's happened since then, all the highs (and lows) of life that we've experienced, then it feels like almost a lifetime. I've never for one moment regretted our decision to marry. Gregg often says it was the best thing he's ever done, and I feel the same way. How many people get to be just as in love (actually, more so) after this many years? We both consider ourselves incredibly lucky!

Today being Wednesday, we both had to work. My hours were the same as always, 9-3, and Gregg services three law office aquariums on Wednesday evenings. He's on his way there right now, in fact, and should be done around 7 or 7:30. Despite that, it's still a very happy day, and we'll do some more celebrating with a nice meal and champagne when the weekend gets here. 

In lieu of going away somewhere, we decided to spend the money to buy some furniture we've been wanting for a long time instead: two comfortable armchairs for our living room. We've been looking for chair ideas online for months now, and then last weekend we visited every furniture store in Florence. On Monday we finally found two chairs that we love, at a nice local store, and they delivered them yesterday. Just in time for our anniversary!

They're really well made, and very comfortable. Those were our main two requirements. You can't really tell in this photo, but there are lots of subtle colors going on in the fabric. Creams, grays, tans, and even a little bit of pale grayish blue. The fabric feels really good to the touch. Oh, and they swivel! We plan to buy a new, larger tv and mount it on the wall across from them, and with the swivel we'll be able to watch tv, or spin around to talk to anyone sitting elsewhere in the room, or turn to face the fireplace in winter. That was an unexpected feature, but I love it. We're both so pleased with our new chairs!

So, happy anniversary to us! As I said on Facebook this morning, a good marriage makes all the difference in life.

Stop and take notice

My workload has really kicked into high gear since returning from spring break. There's a big push to get final state funds spent as well as paying off all outstanding invoices by May 1st, and also lots of field trips and end of the year activities that must be arranged and paid for. I like being busy, but dislike looming deadlines (especially when I'm still in the first-year learning process). Next year will be much easier because I'll know what to expect.

My first day back last week was sad. I heard that one of the nurses I worked with at the last school had died suddenly over the break. She was only 34 years old, with a husband, a five-year-old son, and a three-year-old daughter. It's terribly tragic and was a huge shock. She collapsed out of the blue one afternoon and died several hours later at the hospital, and I don't think the cause of death has been confirmed yet. I feel so bad about this; she was a lovely young woman and a friendly, kind coworker. Her husband is devastated, and I feel so sorry for her babies. It's hard to accept that life is just like this sometimes. 

That being said, I think this meme I found the other day is worth sharing with you. This is what I've been pondering this week.

Things I'm stopping to notice and enjoy today:

• A pair of bluebirds have a bunch of nestlings in the box out back and watching them feeding and caring for the babies is a joy.
• Hummingbirds have returned and are taking advantage of the new nectar feeder.
• My tomatoes are planted and the pole beans Mary Moon gave me are growing like mad. Soon the peppers will be big enough to plant out, and the melons should sprout any day now. The pomegranate tree is covered with flower buds and the blueberry bushes, while still small, are loaded with berries.

• Today makes two years since Poppy came home! Happy Gotcha Day to the sweetest little girl ever. She makes us (and George!) so happy.

• Fresh local strawberries, the first I've bought this spring. So sweet and delicious.

• I've made some little friends at work. They're two groups of siblings who stop by the office every morning now to say hello and give me hugs when they get to school. They make me laugh regularly and seeing them always gets my day off to a nice start. I call them "the little wildlings"!

Anson, Emogene, Lucas, and Ethan. The Wildling Crew.

So, dear reader, what are you stopping to notice and appreciate about your life right now? What will you look back on and miss 20 years from now?  Time is short, my friends.

On a more positive note...

I don't like having yesterday's post as the most current one on my blog. We can all get enough of the news elsewhere (and likely you're all as sick of it as I am) so I decided to kick off the weekend with a happier post.

First of all, I wanted to show you the beautiful holiday cards I got this year. I couldn't bear to put them away with the rest of the Christmas stuff at the end of December. I also kept out some fairy lights that I put around them so that they'd glow and sparkle at night.

Next, here's something else that's making me happy. My orchids and my Christmas cactus are blooming. The orchids are my favorite.

The weather has been wet and cold this week. On Wednesday morning while working from home I started a crockpot of homemade vegetable beef soup and let it simmer all day. It's been our supper for the past two nights, and it's maybe one of the best batches of soup I've ever made. Delicious, and just the thing for the kind of weather we've been having. This is comfort food at its best.

Last of all, this sweet boy. He loves basking in sunshine as much as any cat. On bright days he follows the sun through the house and parks himself wherever he can soak up a few rays. This was early yesterday morning.

Wishing you all a weekend filled with comfort, content, and the happiness that comes from the little things in life.