2026 F.I.G. Collective - Week Four

Elisabeth challenged us all to find gratitude in February, so she created the Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective. Here are my FIGs for last week.

Sunday, February 22
Food abounds in our house! I made a trip to Costco to get some treats for a book club I was hosting, but it turned out that book club was a bust. But now I have all the treats! And while at Costco I stocked up on lunch items, so I was able to prep all my lunches for the week. I am grateful that we have all the food we need. 

Monday, February 23
Me and my dog. Look, I love her so much. Does anyone have the idea that maybe I'm obsessed with her? Because I am. 

Tuesday, February 24

Look at this view of the river from my walk with Hannah Bezoar this morning. I feel so grateful to live in such a beautiful place.

Evolution of the nickname:

Hannah

Hannah banana

Hannah b

Hannah bees

Hannah bezoar

Wednesday, February 25

My colleague had an MRI and there are no visible signs of cancer! Woot! Great news. She still has to have surgery and they'll do some biopsies, but if all goes well, this will soon be a blip in her life. 

Thursday, February 26

Let's talk about Mousegate. Last week, my friend T gave a presentation at my work. When she left, she accidentally took the university's computer mouse instead of her own when she left. She'd been going back and forth about how to pick it up when I said I would just grab it right before I left for the day and return the university's mouse first thing the next morning. We exchanged mice in front of the community center and T was delighted that I saved her so much time. I'm grateful I was in the right place to help her out. 

Bonus: I went to a trampoline class for the first time. It was so much fun. Yay for a new type of fitness class and even more yay for it being so much more gentle on my bad leg. 

Friday, February 27

I had a presentation at a conference at work. It went well. Whew. That's done and it checks a goal off my list for the year! Woot woot!

Saturday, February 28

We went to Michigan to see one of my friends from high school for his birthday. Yay for a reliable dog sitter (a constant F.I.G.) and yay for hanging out with people who truly understand and know me. We were playing a game that required us to make up descriptions for drawings other people had made and most of my captions were taken from Bon Jovi or Bruce Springsteen lyrics (shot from the heart, Tommy used to work on the docks, I've got the night on my side, won't you be my pony boy?, and hell, a little touchup and a little paint) and the friend I've known the longest (HI TABETHA) knew. She knew what was going on. Such a lovely way to spend a snowy winter night. 

And that's a wrap on my F.I.G.s for this month. What is something you're grateful for today? 

2026 F.I.G. Collective - Week Three

Elisabeth challenged us all to find gratitude in February, so she created the Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective. Here are my FIGs for last week.

Sunday, February 15
We went to Dave & Buster's with my BIL, SIL, nephew, and nephew's girlfriend. The food was surprisingly good and there was an oversized Pac-man game I was kind of obsessed with. I'm so grateful we were able to spend time with all of them and have so much fun.

Monday, February 16
CBBC readers! It's so fun to see everyone's comments about the book. 

Tuesday, February 17

My friend T was doing a talk at my work today and it was fun to go and listen to her. And then go to her fitness class later that day. It felt like such a treat to get to spend so much time with her!

Wednesday, February 18

There was a real mystery at work today. A student had applied for graduation. One degree audit said they had 120.5 credits (enough for graduation) and another degree audit said 118.5 credits (not enough for graduation). I was so grateful to have a colleague who I could sit down with and go over every single class and credit until we figured out the mystery. Also, it was very satisfying when we found the answer!

Thursday, February 19

One of my favorite days of the semester is Career Fair day. I always volunteer to help by checking in students or employers or putting up or taking down all the tables and chairs. I am so thankful that we have this great opportunity for our students to start planning ahead for their future endeavors. 

Friday, February 20

The ice is melted on the river. The river has never iced over completely since I've lived here, but it does get a lot of ice on it. But this morning on our walk with Hannah I noticed that there was no ice. Winter is not over by a long shot, but this is a good sign of things to come. (Also, I'm so grateful that Hannah is feeling well enough to practice platforming on that rock. Yay for her.)

Saturday, February 21

I had a lunch and shopping date with Sarah today! I am so lucky that I live in an area with a high concentration of cool bloggers.

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When's the last time you had lunch with a friend? Walked by a body of water?

2026 F.I.G. Collective - Week Two

Elisabeth challenged us all to find gratitude in February, so she created the Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective. Here are my FIGs for last week.

Sunday, February 8
My husband ran an errand in Chicago and I stayed home by myself. I love having a house to myself, even if I did exactly the same things I would have done if he were here (finishing my CBBC post, doing some cooking/baking, laundry, and working out). 

Monday, February 9

I'm so thankful for my good health. My colleagues were mostly out of the office today for the following reasons: cancer treatment, a random virus, woke up worried that the tickle in her throat might mean she has something and was worried about coming to work with the cancer patient (not knowing the co-worker with cancer would call out), and then there was me and my boss talking about the Olympics. 

Tuesday, February 10

The super cold snap appears to be over. Hannah and I enjoyed a long walk this morning (about 35 minutes, which is long for an old dog) in the just above freezing temps. It's amazing how warm 31F/-0.5C feels these days. 

BONUS: Look at how much sunlight is left when I go to my fitness class after work! Also, I didn't wear my winter boots! 

Wednesday, February 11
Beautiful stars in the sky on a clear night. 

Thursday, February 12 

We're taking the dog to the sitter tomorrow and she smells bad and your hand gets super oily if you pet her. I tried to get her to the dog wash in the town where I work, but it closes so early that I just couldn't fit it in. My co-worker found one a few towns over that is open daily until ten. I am so thankful that we won't be taking our stinky dog to the sitters. She's fresh and clean!

Friday, February 13

My Zelda cat. She is so perfect. Look at her attack eyes! She's about to lose her mind. I love that she's a "senior cat" who still plays and has zoomies. I love that she is a heat-seeking missile who climbs on my lap the second I sit down. I love that we had a play session before 6am this morning. All cats are perfect, of course, but she's the queen of our house. 

Saturday, February 14

A long tradition is that we spend President's Day weekend with my husband's brother and his family. This year my nephew had a basketball tournament, so we went to them and hung out. My SIL and I are peas in a pod and we went to an art museum where we had a blast. Yay for fun hanging out with relatives.  In a mini-frugal win, admission to the museum was free because it was the second Saturday of the month. Don't worry, I spent more than the price of admission at the gift shop.

We did a scavenger hunt. Here are our finds, starting in the upper left corner and going clockwise for:

1. Thing you'd most like to have in your house

2. Awesomest hat

3. Cutest animal/creature

4. Most interesting face

Do you do scavenger hunts at museums? Do you have a stinky dog?

2026 F.I.G. Collective - Week One

Elisabeth challenged us all to find gratitude in February, so she created the Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective. Here are my FIGs for last week.

Sunday, February 1 - A candle burning while I'm working out.

Monday, February 2
I made date balls yesterday. They are delicious. Two Costco trips ago, I bought a giant thing of dates and have been trying to replicate a date ball I purchased at a co-op grocery store a decade ago. I haven't quite nailed the dupe, but I have enjoyed my efforts. 

Tuesday, February 3

What's that you see? Not just ANY photo of the community center, but one in which I'm going to my Tuesday night fitness class and it's still daylight! The days are getting longer! I can hardly contain how exciting it is that the possibility exists for Hannah to get at least one walk in sun every day.

Wednesday, February 4

I'm in a bit of a media slump right now - books and podcasts aren't hitting in the sweet spot. I downloaded the sadly defunct podcast You're the Expert and have been relistening to the episodes and they are so so funny.  Let's all be happy for smart people discussing smart things in a funny way. 

Thursday, February 5

My boss asked us to set up a room to have a virtual option for one of our meeting about three minutes before the meeting started. My colleague was able to get it set up and we only started about three minutes late. Go her! I'm grateful she was there to help out. (And now I know how to do it for the next time.)

Friday, February 6

Yay for watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics with my husband. You would think we were some sort of expert on things like dancing, fashion, and how annoying Shawn White is. Winners: The scarves on the athletes for Great Britain, the hats from Colombia, the crowd booing Vance, the Jamaicans always having a good time, the beautiful Psyche/Cupid dance, and how cool the Olympic rings looked. Losers: The crowd booing the one poor athlete from Israel, Mariah Carey's boring and out of place performance, the split city thing so that the poor athletes in Cortina got half-assed everything, Snoop Dogg - just everything he did annoyed me, especially when they had him on instead of the Haitian athletes, and Shawn White's constant talk of the snowboarders and where he has traveled.

FYI: I'm going to go ahead and pretend I'm from Canada for the duration of the Games. It seems more fun that way. 

I'm grateful for the Olympics to remind me that not all international operations are dismal. 

Saturday, February 7

Dr. BB and I went to a Skate & Ski event at a local park. We hiked around and they had these little signs posted on the trail and we had a fun time spotting them and reading them. I'm so grateful he's feeling well enough for outings like this and that our community has events like this.

What are you grateful for today?

F.I.G. Collective - Week Four

Elisabeth challenged us all to find gratitude in February, so she created the Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective. Here are my FIGs for last week.

Sunday, February 24
Book club tonight at my house! Hannah was really good. We were a bit worried about so many people in the house, but one is a neighbor she knows really well and one is her vet, so she was pretty chill. We just kept giving her sweet potatoes and then she laid down and just watched us. We've been working really hard on getting her better with people in the house and I THINK IT'S WORKING. Hopefully I didn't just jinx it. 

Monday, February 25

I had Blanche the Puppy for an hour today at work. No complaints over here.

Tuesday, February 25

Snail mail alert! Allison sent me an adorable card with a fox on it and a glamour shot of Lucy the Dog. 

Wednesday, February 26

My husband was working late tonight, so I brought all my yoga props downstairs and treated myself to a long restorative yin practice using Hannah as my bolster. Just kidding. I don't actually lean on her or anything, but she LOVES it when I do yoga downstairs because that's prime cuddle time. She was touching me during every pose. Bless her little dog heart. 

Thursday, February 27
I went to a new-to-me Zumba class with some friends. It was so much fun. At one point, I had no idea what was happening - everyone else seemed to be able to just do the footwork - and I just stood there laughing like a crazy person. Good times. 

Ignore how my makeup is literally running down my face.

Friday, February 28
I am finishing up The Blue Castle and so much is happening that I did not expect! Crazy! I am having so much fun with CBBC and I am grateful for everyone who is reading along and participating. 

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And that's a wrap on FIG February. What's your FIG of the day?

F.I.G. Collective: Week Three

Elisabeth challenged us all to find gratitude in February, so she created the Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective. Here are my FIGs for last week.

Sunday, February 17
Today was so much fun. My husband, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephew, and I had a day out in Milwaukee. We went to a smash room and then to a UW-Milwaukee basketball game. Along the way we had delicious food, including something called a bubble waffle cone, which was amazing and now I think I might need a bubble waffle maker in my life. Anyway, it was amazing. I am so grateful that they came to visit and I'm grateful we had all these fun opportunities.

I'd like everyone to note that yes, I am wearing a scarf. 

Monday, February 17

We went to the grocery store today after work. I'm so grateful we can afford healthy food. Also, we bought TWO DOZEN eggs, which made me feel sort of rich. 

Tuesday, February 18

I got to vote today. In this time when voting rights are in peril in this country, it was truly exciting to go into the polling place and have nothing but an absolutely, 100% drama free voting experience. (It was a primary for state school board superintendent. That was the only race on the ballot. I was voter #131 at about 10:30 in the morning.)

Wednesday, February 19

Zelda has been so cuddly in the last few days. It has been bitter cold here and I think she's just cold. But I don't mind her winding between my legs when I'm cooking and hopping on my lap every time I sit down. 

Thursday, February 20

We threw out the last of the radioactive litter! There is no store of used litter in our garage. EXCITING!

Friday, February 21

Just look at this dog! Caught mid-lick! And the sunrise! What a day to be alive. 

Saturday, February 23

Look! A postcard from J in the mail!

Bonus FIG: We're at Costco and the people in front of us our unloading their cart onto the belt. You're supposed to leave heavy items in the cart. They left some heavy stuff and a big tub of croissants. I joked "that must be some heavy bread" and Dr. BB, without a second's hesitation said "they must be filled." I laughed so hard. I don't know why that tickled me so much, but I was doubled over with laughter. 

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What's a little something that made you happy today?

F.I.G. Collective: Week Two

Elisabeth challenged us all to find gratitude in February, so she created the Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective. Here are my FIGs for last week.

Sunday, February 9
Hannah and I did an entire loop around our neighborhood park. It's kind of a spooky setting, with lots of trees and hidden sightlines and she has historically been scared of it. She's been working on being brave and because today was a bright, sunny day, I think she was game to try. 

Monday, February 10
Puppy Blanche came to school today!

Tuesday, February 11

I am so lucky that I get to this super fun fitness class at the community center every week. 

Wednesday, February 12

Snowing, snowing, snowing! That's fun in and of itself, but I went into work for a couple of hours and then came back home. My husband kept refilling my mug of tea. If that's not a real perk of working from home, I don't know what is.

Thursday, February 13

When I took this photo, it was 12 degrees outside, but Hannah and I were walking because that's what we do. Thank goodness for all the modern technology that allows me to be semi-comfortable on these walks - my boots, my coat, my heated vest, and, of course, my beloved handwarmers. 

Friday, February 14

So many fun things for Valentine's Day, including a special Valentine from Jenny! My brother- and sister-in-law and nephew came to visit us. It was snowing LIKE CRAZY on their drive here, but we had a lovely dinner when they got here.

Saturday, February 15

We had to dig out this morning and it was fun hanging out in the snow. My brother-in-law and his family are still here and we went bowling AND to a golf simulator. It was so much fun!

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What your fig today?

F.I.G. Collective: Week One

Elisabeth challenged us all to find gratitude in February, so she created the Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective. Here are my FIGs for last week. (I'm going to be honest. Things were tough this week and looking for something good each day was sometimes a challenge. I feel great that I met the challenge, though.)

Sunday, February 2
It was a winter wonderland when Hannah and I went out for our morning walk. It got into the 40s throughout the day, so it all melted by lunchtime, but what a joyful morning stroll for the two of us.

Monday, February 3

Zelda!! She's playing with her brown ball again. Woot woot!

Tuesday, February 4

I have a few LED candles scattered about the main floor that automatically light from 5-10pm. When the Christmas tree was up, I hadn't noticed that the batteries were dying. We recently put new batteries in them and they add a lovely atmosphere to the house. 

Wednesday, February 6

Bestest Friend sent me a Valentine's Day package!! It was a fun surprise waiting for me in the mailbox when I got home. 

Thursday, February 6

Woke up to the driveway and sidewalks coated in ice. The dog didn't get a walk, but just a trot around the grass in the backyard and I got to work from home in the morning! Woot!! Cascading effects of working from home: I got more tea because my husband kept making me teafills and I had nachos for lunch because I was home to use the oven.

Friday, February 7

I went in to work late today because I had to drive to Madison to get an oil change in the new car (friends, I think I have to stop calling it the "new" car - it's five years old). My special treat for doing stupid, boring, car-related things? You guessed it. 

Saturday, February 8

You guys! I met a puppy. Her name is Blanche. She's three pounds (about three months old) and is maaaybe the cutest, smooshiest little landshark I've ever met. Huge thumbs up. 

Her person lost her dog Rhoda about a month ago and Blanche is doing her best to fill Rhoda's shoes. 

I brought over a dozen chocolate chip cookies (for the human), some toys, a collar light, and a toothbrush for Blanche, and stayed for a half hour playing with the dog and telling her how vicious she is. What an afternoon. 

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What's making you happy today?

F.I.G. Collective, Week 0

Elisabeth challenged us all to find gratitude in February, so she created the Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective. I decided to start a week early, so here are my FIGs for last week.

Monday, January 27
Hannah had a bath yesterday and her fur is so soft and she smells so good.

Tuesday, January 28

I was on an award committee and one of my very well-deserving colleagues is winning the award. I'm so proud of her, but it's also kind of hard because I can't tell her yet!

Wednesday, January 29

Just look at this sunrise!! LOOK AT IT. One, it's beautiful. Two, and more importantly, it means the sun is rising on our morning walk. The days ARE getting longer. Winter will not be forever.

Thursday, January 30

There is a flag pole between buildings where I work. The American flag has been in tatters for weeks. It wasn't at half-staff during most of winterim (it should have been because of the death of Jimmy Carter) and I spent more time than I care to admit trying to figure out who to call to get the flag situation fixed. It was so disrespectful and I am enough of a lady concerned with flag etiquette to be sort of obnoxious about the whole thing. ANYWAY. The flag has been replaced.  

Friday, January 31

My husband won a teaching award at work. Yay! Lots of celebration in our house today. 

Saturday, February 1

There was a wellness day at the community center and I went to a 15-minute stretch class, a 25-minute Werq (dance) class, and a 25-minute yoga class. For free. It was truly delightful and I had fun hanging out with some of my fitness class friends.

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What is something you're grateful for today?