Forunate Fridays.... errrr Saturdays?

Yesterday was mayhem and I never got around to naming my blessings from the week.  Come to think of it, this week was mostly mayhem also and I never even got around to writing a single blog post.  Yikes!  I suppose I make the rules around here anyways, so you'll have to settle for Fortunate Saturdays this week.  And so it goes... 

1. An utterly AMAZING weekend in Breckenridge with 40 utterly AMAZING friends
2. A peaceful, relaxing and much needed massage while on above mentioned getaway
3. Kinda got in a huge blow out fight with my husband this week.  Let me tell you, this is RARE, so needless to say we are happy it's over and that all is good again in the Duncan Casa.  I guess the fortunate part to this story is that it's over  :)
4. I went to Fargo.  More importantly, I came home from Fargo.  The feeling I get when I'm coming home from any business trip is AMAZING.
5. Ryan surprised me by picking up a movie we've been trying to rent for quite some time.  FIREPROOF.  I think I'll write more about that later, but all I can say is it is life changing.
6. Ryan and I have a MAJOR vacation itch.  This could be a very good thing shortly!
7. I have a job.  Still a blessing very much in disguise.
8. Sweet husband took me out on a sushi date last night.  Yes, the man does know how to sweep me off my feet.
9. The House Hunting continues.  Still wondering if there is a house out there for us.
10. Ryan's birthday is coming up.  I seriously LIVE for birthdays and holidays.  The scheming has begun and it's so much fun!

Have a great weekend!  Love, Love.

Fortunate Fridays.

And now for your second installment of Fortunate Fridays... Part deux.

Lots to be thankful for this week: 

1. A great Church Service on Sunday.  All about how to succeed at the game of life.
2. Thanks to President's Day, it was a four day work week.
3. I found a Barnes and Noble gift card in my wallet.  Always love a guilt free shopping trip!
4. Amazing sunsets over the beautiful Rocky Mountains off of our balcony.
5. A few 50-60 degree days in February.  Love Colorado winters!
6. All I had to do is ask if Ryan wanted to dishes, "SURE" was his response.  He's nice.
7. A husband that makes the bed.  Often.
8. I have a job.
9. A wallet full of Starbucks gift cards from dear husband.
10. Friends arriving from near and far for a fun filled weekend in the mountains.  More to come on this one.  You won't want to miss the re-cap.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.  Love to all!

Guilty as charged.

I did it.  I confess.  I broke down and bought me some new shoes today.  They are so pretty and I just couldn't resist.  Nude pumps are irresistable, versatile and downright delicious.

Dear Husband,

Because I can't confess to your face... I know you'll find it here.  I know, I know, real mature!  Let's just call it my reward for all the great down payment saving I've been doing lately.  And ya know, now that I think of it, it's better than buying THIS, which I have successfully resisted about twelve times this week alone.  I knew there was a reason I married the most understanding man on the planet.

Love you muchas,

Kate

I've died and gone to chocolate heaven.

Hubby brought home a delicious treat for his chocolate-obsessed wife (me).  And to be completely honest, I didn't even think I'd like it!  That salty and sweet sensation just wasn't up my alley.  I could not have been more wrong.

Someone PLEASE stop me before I eat them all in one sitting!  The Godiva Milk Chocolate Dipped Pretzels are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

And dear husband, you are as sweet as can be, but please stop trying to plump me up!  :)

President's Day.

While I will try to think of what this historic day represents to our country, I am also SERIOUSLY looking forward to having work loom over my head today off work.  2008 ended in a flurry and 2009 has begun with much of the same.  A day off will do me good.  I am looking forward to recharging my batteries and catching up on my lengthy and much too undone to do list.  A lot.

Here's the plan:

Happy President's Day and Happy Monday to all!  Hope you find some time to relax and rejuvenate.  Love, Love!

A day of gratitude and faith.

Me and dear hubs went to church last Sunday.  Something we've always talked about doing... but for many a reasons we never found a way to incorporate a weekly service into our lives.  We always said, once we moved back to Colorado, once the golf season ends, once Christmas comes and on and on.  In our adulthood, we've really been holiday church goers... of course it didn't hurt that we could often find a seaside service in San Diego on said holidays.

Truth be told, I grew up going to church, just not EVERY Sunday.  I can't even really pinpoint how often we went, but it was more than just holidays and even still, nightly prayers were a constant.  That being said, I very strongly believe that whether you go to church or not, says nothing about your faith in God.  God has always been a part of my life and also a part of my family's life.  Guiding me through good times and bad and he has always been my Savior.  He sacrificed so we can carry out His teachings and find the righteous path.

I was baptized Episcopal and Ryan, Catholic.  I personally hold very much sentiment in the tradition of the Episcopal church, but quite possibly have since realized that I struggled to find a purpose and deep meaning in the sermons.  I wasn't always sure how to relate.  In stark contrast to both of our baptized religions, we've started going to a Christian faith based "Community" church.

Now I am still slightly skeptical for a few reasons (mostly trivial), but the message from the services we've attended have been stronger than I've ever experienced in my life.  Never mind the rock band, disco-ish lights, talks of Dancing with the Stars, board games, the National Enquirer, jumbotrons and plasma TVs, movie theater-style seating and a double-decker balcony.  Um, not exactly the style of worship I'm used to, but it certainly touched my heart, my soul, and stuck with me all week long.  The most amazing part for me was the conversation and thought the service rendered throughout the entire week.  I enjoyed discussing the message with Ryan and it truly made me examine life and my place in it.  Impactful, timely and relatable.  Friday night date night, Ryan and I both finally admitted to each other we couldn't wait to go back the next Sunday.  Pretty amazing right?

Another amazing piece of the sermon was pale in comparison to the overall message, but spoke VOLUMES to Ryan and I.  It was like there was no where else on Earth we were supposed to be at that very moment.

The overall theme last Sunday was "Ripped from the Headlines," which discussed the power of the media, slander and gossip.  Well, to start, he talked about the resiliency of the starfish.  He talked about the numerous studies of this amazing creature, which found that if they lost a leg, it would grow back.  If it lost all 5 legs, 5 legs would grow back.  If you cut it in half, from each half would grow a full starfish.  The Pastor went on to say how physically and emotionally different humans are from this amazing creature.  So, let's head south for a moment, go back to April 28th, 2007 and revisit a few moments of our AMAZING wedding day:

Starfish galore.  And we thought Starfish were just the perfect compliment to our Florida Keys wedding, our beachy design and our pretty invitations.  Little did we know starfish represented such strength, resilience, fortitude, stability and tenacity.  And if we are blessed at all, it is with these characteristics of which we are working to build our marriage upon.  

Talk about symbolism and a serious sign from the Man upstairs.  Serious goosebumps over this one.

Today's service was another beautiful message about the game of Life and how you truly win.  Another great way to start the week.  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  Love, Love, Love to all.

The day of love.

Someone once told me I "love to love."  As if that's a bad thing.  I DO love to love and therefore I have a soft spot in my heart for Valentines Day.  A day to let your loved ones know how much you love them!  But why stop there, shouldn't you do this everyday anyways?  I happen to think so.  

I'm having myself a perfect little day... a simple and relaxing Saturday with Ryan and then a fancy dinner out to finish it all off.  Ryan, I am so proud to call you my husband.  I love you more and more each day!

Wishing all my loved ones near and far a wonderful Valentines Day!  May your day be soft and sweet and filled with lots of love and if your lucky.... chocolate!!

Love to all!

Fortunate Fridays.

Alrighty.  It's time for some good around here.  My last 5 (or 15) posts have been kind of a cop out.  I haven't really had anything exciting to say, so I've just found something interesting and passed it along to you.  BUT, that wasn't really my intention here with this little old blog.  SO.  With so much negativity swirling all around me and this world, I am feeling a little lost, overwhelmed, confused, all of the above.  All this chaos has really made me lose focus.  I've been trying really really hard to live with my heart wide open--open to new people, experiences and thoughts.  But lately all I want is consistency.  Even if that consistency is with my heart closed tight for fear of stepping into some land of the great unknown.

With that, I bring you a new and exciting blog feature.  One in which I may or may not be consistent, but at least it's me trying to bring light to the abundance of good in my life.  I'm hoping it helps me see that the bad isn't so bad, but just a side effect of really living.  And now I present to you.... FORTUNATE FRIDAYS!  A top ten of sorts.  A time to reflect on the good in the past week, let go of the bad, and move into the weekend with a peaceful and thankful soul.  And this week, I was blessed with many a fortunes.... (drum roll please)... 

1.  We started going to church on Sunday.  It was enlightening, powerful and heartfelt.  More to come on this.

2.  Brunch with the in-laws on Sunday.  What a treat!

3.  I hopped on an early flight to Chicago on Monday.  Less time at the airport is always a good thing.

4.  Even better, got on an early flight HOME on Wednesday night.  Getting home from a business trip even an hour early is hands down the best thing ever.

5.  My Daddy-O celebrated a birthday on Wednesday!  56 years young and quite the man.  As my husband said last weekend, "YOUR DAD IS SO AWESOME!"  I agree.  Tenfold.  Happy Birthday Dad!  

6.  I achieved my goal of working out 4x per week.  Yay!

7.  I got to catch up with one of my BFFs Megs this week.  LONG overdue.  We had a great chat and I so enjoyed hearing all about Mommyhood and her precious baby girl.  Awesome.

8.  I have many rocks in my life.  This week has been a lot of venting (too much really, I hate that), and my Mom, Dad and Husband are great listeners and supporters.  Lucky I am.

9.  Due to some issues with my work computer today, I was actually done working at 5 today!  A rare occurrence, but such a luxury these days!

10.  Dinner out with just me and Ryan tonight was just what we needed.  Just realized, that's the plan for tomorrow night too!  What luck!

Bonus:  I had time to blog tonight.  Nice to have time to just think and write.

Whew, that was actually kind of hard.  Can you tell?  But, I'm pretty sure this is a good exercise for me.  It will also be rather constructive for reflections sake.  And off I go into the weekend-- And a 3-day weekend at that!  Happy Valentine's Day to all!  Love, Love, Love to all!