Day 28: Co-Workers.

Pretty sure the best thing about my job is my co-workers. Our administrative assistants group is so freaking awesome....hands down! We are like a family. We stick together, we have each other's backs. We need to. As a support staff member, you often times get the tasks that no one else wants to. The undesirable tasks a lot of times suck. But it's part of the job. This last year has been a  crazy year and I know that we all made it through because of our group :)

We are coffee feens....we take turns buying everyone's coffee and then sit and have coffee together in the mornings. I love when Sandi comes in and is so bubbly and tells us about her new boyfriend. It's awesome to see her so happy! I love that I can make Ellen laugh so easily. Not only does it boost my ego, but it makes us all laugh. Serious contagious laughter from that one. Kim is one of the nicest people ever  and it's hilarious to see her say something sassy then immediately say "I'm sorry!" or cover her mouth :) Krystal, my dear friend. We miss you more than words. Come back to us and join our fun soon!!! Then there's Lexi. I survived this summer because of her. Life in the front office is full of wookies, dance parties, lots of laughter and talking like Brits.

Our group loves a good "That's what she said!" joke, we love mustaches, we love funny You Tube videos, we love the Monster Mash, we love Festive Fridays, we love to talk in British accents, we love to go to lunch, we love to play baseball in the hallway with giant marshmallows! We love to laugh.....

Some days you just need to laugh because there's nothing else you can do. So that is what we do.  And we do a dang good job of it! We always know how to have a good time :)

Today, co-workers, I am thankful for you!

Day 27: Family.

Today is Thanksgiving. The ultimate day of thanks, overeating, and of course family :) I love my family. I love my family of origin, in-law family, and all my "adopted/sub unit/extension" family members! You all have a special place in my heart.

I feel very blessed to have such an awesome family. I feel very blessed to have married into such an awesome family. My family has grown by leaps and bounds with kidlets, in-laws, cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents.  I think that it is easy to take family for granted and I am going to try harder in 2014 to tell my family how much I love them, to talk to them more and visit more too!

I wish I could have been with each and every one of you to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and to tell you in person how glad I am that we are family, that I am thankful for you and that I love you. Some of you got to hear it via phone or Skype. For those who did not, now you know :)

Today, family (Brustuens and Gillespies...and all the sub/extension units) , I am thankful for you.

Day 26: Martha Stewart.

Here's another light-hearted post again :)

It's true, I am thankful for Martha Stewart. I strive to be like her....minus the whole insider trading and going to jail bit. Other than that, you got it! I love everything about her. Crafts are my happy place and unfortunately, I have yet to get my craft on too much this year, but I will make up for it tenfold this summer and next year!

Martha is an awesome woman. She is successful and independent and as I found out on the TODAY show, looking for a man. Any of you  single and interested bachelors, she has a dating profile. Check her out! She has her own magazine (which I love), she has her own TV show (which I don't follow too much), she has her own craft line (which I wish I owned everything from, not JUST for the cute packaging!)....she can whip together a holiday table or a centerpiece in no time and make it look easy. She is just so talented.

She has inspired me to explore my creativity and craftiness. I started by scrapbooking and still have about four started and  one completed. Then I moved to making greeting cards which has transformed into many things from centerpieces to shadow boxes to wreaths to gift tags to homemade art. And I owe it all to Martha (and Mims too! Because I mean, come on, she is like a Martha in training already!)

Today, Martha Stewart, I am thankful for you.

Day 25: Tradition.

Especially this time of year, I am thankful for traditions. I love the holidays! I love family time! I love traditions!

I remember growing up, we would do the same thing every Christmas. We mainly celebrated on Christmas Eve went to the early church service, which most of the time had the Christmas  pageant that one of the kids was in, then dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Nelsons or the Brustuens. Dinner always was the same awesome thing: ribs, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, Grandma Goldies special cranberries, rolls and green beans. Then we would all clean up, head to the living room where Grandpa (who was a retired pastor) would read the Christmas story from the bible and then we would take turns opoening gifts. Now, to some, this may seems weird. I know that my in-law siblings thought this was a little wacky the first time, but to us it made sense. We would go in age order and I HATED being youngest because I had to wait forever!!! Grandpa Arnie had it down...he would just go for it randomly, kinda funny :) This way, we can all see what everyone got. As Mims says, half the joy of opening presents is seeing the reaction of the gift receiver when he/she is opening. So true!

 When the Brustuen kids got married off, we adjusted our Christmas Eve tradition. Now, my favorite part of our tradition, the big Christmas Eve meal, still happens much to our siblings' surprise, but with my smaller family unit  consisting of me, Will, Marin and Mims. We even have the almond in the dessert and whoever gets it wins a prize. It brings back great memories of my grandparents. We have also made our own traditions, like present scavenger hunts, dance parties, learning Norwegian songs and Grandma's "made up" songs.....Christmas Eve gets a little wild and silly sometimes!

I have spent Thanksgiving  with the Gillespies for maybe five years now. The first year I had to work :( I love it! Depending on the year, you never know who will be there. Sadly, my sister-in-law and her BF will not be there this year. It may be a quiet, small Turkey Day. It's still a day with family who we love. One tradition that my Gillespie family has is to do a toast with champagne at the beginning of the meal. I remember when Mims came for Turkey Day in Moscow. Now, my husband does not like champagne, so what does he do? Yes, he chugs his glass of champagne...I have a classy husband my friends ;) When Mims (who adores champagne) came Will said, "Mims, watch this!" and chugged his glass. Funny man that one. I like that we pray and thank those who are fighting for our country, I like that we have the same foods each year, I like that we can all be together, I like that the men watch football and the women sit around and chat :) Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I still hang on to my family's traditions like watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I love parades. Put that on my bucket list: attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and find Matt Lauer and give him the world's biggest hug!

This year is a year of new traditions. I will embrace and love each and every one. It's WAM's first holiday season as a married couple. We talked about what our Christmas Eve will consist of. Who knows, maybe I will attempt Grandma Goldie's ribs! They are bomb.com!!!! I look forward to having our own WAMily traditions. I look forward to my first Christmas in Moscow with my new family too!

Traditions are something sacred. They have a lot of meaning to families and to individuals. They have a lot of meaning to me. I will welcome new traditions and honor current traditions.

One thing I will miss this holiday season is Lefse...so if someone can mail me some, that'd be great!

*Side note...I sang something from Fiddler on the Roof one day and Will joined in. WTF?! He told me his mom loves this musical and he was forced to listen to it many times as a kid. One day I sang it in front of her and she had the same reaction :) We are a just a Fiddler on the Roof loving bunch I guess!

Today, traditions, I am thankful for you.

Day 24: In-Laws.

My new in-laws are awesome. Honestly, how many of you can say that? I mean, I am a little biased of course, but mine seriously rock! Karen and Bill feel the same way about Will's new in-laws. We are both very fortunate and lucky to have such great in-laws :)

I remember when Will and I first started dating way  back when....about six years ago (holy cow! time flies when you're  having fun!). His family planned a trip to Maui. His dad asked Will if he wanted to invite me to Maui, which he did. At the time I was managing the Holiday Inn in Lewiston. He asked me wanting me to go, but thinking that work would get in the way of letting me go. I asked my boss and what do you know...I got the time off! It was incredible. I met my now sister-in-law Marina, two sets of aunts and uncles and a cousin of Will's all on one trip. It was a great week of fun in a place that is breathtaking. I had a blast getting to know not only Will, but the entire Gillespie family so much better.

What a great group!

Over the six years WAM has been together we have had so much fun  together! We have gone to  Hawaii twice, Chicago once, multiple camping trips to Dworshak, many memorable float trips down the Clearwater, we've had some awesome holidays together and some fun summer BBQs....they even got me to try some new things like horseshoes and golf!

From day one, my in-laws have been so warm and welcoming. It was uncanny and unknown to me for strangers to be so nice! The first day I met them they hugged me. For a person who is not about PDA or letting others into her personal space, this caught me off guard, but at the same time it felt nice and comfortable.

I have grown to really love my in-laws (not that I didn't love them at the beginning) and appreciate them to no end! I love that they live in the same town as WAM and we get to see them so often. It makes me happy to have some family close by. It is comforting when my family is so far away.

It's funny when Karen tells me that she likes me better than Will :) I know she is just playing around, but it feels good to know that they love me just as much as I love them and I am really part of the family!

Today, in-laws, I am thankful for you.

Day 23: Goals.

I love goals. Even more, I love accomplishing goals.

It doesn't matter what kind of goal it is, the feeling that I get when I achieve it is overwhelming, in a good way. I love the feeling of being proud of myself, for feeling that I can do anything, that I did this for myself and by myself and it feels damn good.

I think that everyone should set goals for themselves because it pushes us, but all the while it teaches us something about ourselves. We can be driven. We can be strong and determined. We can set our minds on the prize and reach it.

When I think about goals, I think about bucket lists.  Lots of my friends have them. I think they are awesome! A friend, and fellow blogger (shout out to you Erin Murray!!) created a Dirty 30 bucket list of 30 things she wanted to do before turning 30. She accomplished all but three of her goals. How cool is that? My sister Marin and her friend Brita  have a bucket list of things they want to do/see before they turn 40. Again, how rad! I need to work on my bucket list.

Will and I both created our own goals, bucket lists, of things we wanted to accomplish before we got married. We each had one big thing on our list....BOOM. Both accomplished. Yay us! It feels good. Both goals were things that impact each other, our future, and our WAMily. Having accomplished them, I feel good. I feel prepared. I feel at ease. I feel like I need to set more goals....

I am too close to 30 and have zero time to focus on anything other than my regular stuff (excuses, I know, but it's harsh reality too)......BUT we have a "baby bucket list." No, it does not mean it is a small bucket list, it is a bucket list of things we want to do before we bring any WAMbies into this world. On this list are things we want to accomplish by ourselves and things we want to accomplish together. It gives us something to work towards, something to push us, something to challenge us and something to look forward to.

I am 29. I have set an incredible amount of goals in my lifetime. Some of them, I have given up on or pushed to the back burner, some of them I have accomplished, and some of them are just coming about and I am terrified, but super excited to tackle. But, no matter what they are, they give you this amazing feeling once you've accomplished them. You are on top of the world. You are truly phenomenal. You feel so full of wonderfulness!

Today, goals, I am thankful for you.

Day 22: Laughter/Humor.

I like to laugh. I like to make others laugh. Laughing is such a great feeling!

Growing up, my sisters would tell their boyfriends, "My youngest sister is so funny!" Then when they'd meet me they'd expect me to be funny. I remember a boyfriend of Marin's who asked me to tell him a joke. Excuse me?  A joke? Really? No. My humor and ability to be funny is organic. It comes out naturally. Still does. My husband really loves when I start my dance routines randomly...and in random, public places... he really loves my awesome cheerleader routine to the American Dad theme song. Epic.

Growing up, I remember sitting at the dinner table with my family and as soon as one of us sisters started laughing the other two would chime in. It was a contagious. Very contagious....even Mr. B would start in :)

Throughout college, I was never the "skinny one" or the "pretty one" or the "nice one" in the group. I was the funny one. Yup, that was me. And I was proud of it! It's a way for me to express myself. I also can appreciate others' sense of humor and ability to be funny. One of the funniest people I know is Derek D-Rock Kahler. When he and Will are together I better double up on the underroos because they are hilarious together!  He's one of those people that can make you laugh until you can't breathe and it hurts. Some of the best kind of laughter if you ask me.

Humor can be a down fall at times too. I use it as a defense mechanism. Like Khloe Karadashian (Ahhh busted. I watched a little Keeping up with the Kardashians. Sporting a hat of shame now) who laughs when she is uncomfortable. I try to make others laugh if there is tension or if the situation is not fun. It's easier to laugh sometimes than it is to face what is really going on; eventually we face it, but in the moment it's a good distraction.

Laughter is good for the soul. Laughter is good for one's health.

Today, humor, I am thankful for you.

Day 21: Weekends.

I love my weekends. I want to marry them I love them so much! :)

What do I do with my weekends? EVERYTHING! What don't I do?! Weekends are my time to get work don....son!! I try to cram as much as I possibly can into my weekends because I usually (when I say usually I mean always) have a huge "TO DO" list that I try to tackle. I cram WAM time, hockey, workout,  TA grading, thesis research, homework, email catch up, blog catch up, errands, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. into 48 hours. Ya....it doesn't all get done, but I am a master at multitasking, so I am decently successful.

However....most people like weekends for the obvious reason. No work. Weekends are a time to relax and unwind. Forget about the Monday through Friday stressers and have fun. .

This fall, WAM's schedules have gotten crazy freaking busy and we don't get to spend as much relaxing WAM time together. Not okay with us. So, we made a deal.

Sunday = day to relax and, naturally, watch the Seahawks. No errands. No homework. No cleaning. Just WAM and sometimes friends, but actual relaxing, fun, lazy hang out time. :)

I love my weekends and have gotten used to prioritizing what really needs to get done and what can wait. I love my lazy, football filled Sundays with my husband and I love my get as much as you can done on Saturdays too! I feel more rejuvenated after our new Sunday routine and am ready for the work week come Monday morning.

I have learned to relax, slow down a bit and enjoy life and soak up my weekends with my hubs.

Today, weekends, I am thankful for you.

Day 20: Faith.

I am a Lutheran.

Does that define me and who I am? You bet it does.

Is it a negative thing? You better believe it's not!

I am proud to be a Lutheran. I am proud of my religion. I am proud of my religious beliefs.  I am proud of my faith.

It defines me. My faith is strong. My faith is me.

Religion has played a huge role in my life. Heck, my oldest friend is someone I met through our church.  There have been many times in my life that I have depended on my faith and my religion to get me through. If it weren't for my religious upbringing, I do not know if I would be who I am today. I would not have the same values. I wouldn't have the same beliefs. I would not be me.

I remember back in high school I went on a trip with my youth group called Rock and Roll. It was a weekend long  rock climbing, river rafting and God worshipping weekend in  Anacortes, WA.

It. Was. Awesome.

The day we went rock climbing, we split up in three groups. My group was the middle group and we attempted to tackle one of the harder climbs, The Joker. We had something called an "open book." Not an easy quest.  I was the second person to attempt to climb the Joker. I did great until I got to the open book. Now, the open book was just that. Rocks that came together and looked like an open book, but there were about six and a half feet tall or so. I was on a ledge trying my hardest to make it to the top. I am 5'6" with no vertical.....you do the math. I struggled. I jumped. I fell. I got pushed away from the rock. Our guide asked me if I wanted to come down, if I was ready to give up.

Heck NO!

I was determined. I stood there, sweaty and exhausted and I prayed. I put my faith in God to guide me up the open book and get to the top of the Joker. Then the guide gave me one piece of advice and I turned my body sideways, put my hands in the crack of the open book and climbed sideways up the open book. Before I knew it, I was at the top. I had made it to the top of the rock.

Holy crap.

When I got to the top, the lead counselor, Aaron, was waiting. He congratulated me. Then I started to cry. Why? I am not the emotional person. It takes a lot to make me cry.  It took everything I had in me to make it to the top of the giant rock. It took more than what I had alone. It took me relying on my faith, it took me relying on God to get me to the top of the rock. It took me believing in myself, trusting myself, trusting a higher power for me to conquer this challenge.

And I did it. And this is what I saw:

This is just a small, fun example of my faith. I could list many more, but this was one thing that I challenged me. I have been a person who gives up on something when it gets hard. I shut down and can shut others out. It's quite damaging to myself, but this situation I didn't.

Having faith gives me hope. It provides comfort to me when I need it. It provides guidance for me when I cannot see the way. It provides an answer when I think there is none. Faith is amazing.

God is a rock. Rock on God.

Today, faith, I am thankful for you.

Day 19: Siblings.

I am the youngest of four kids. Now, you might think  being the youngest is awesome. Most times, sure it was/is. However, it's the paths that were paved before you, the shadows you walk in that make being the youngest hard. I look back now and think that these standards were invisible. Who held me to the standards of my successful siblings...my parents or me? Me of course. My siblings are awesome. They are successful in all aspects of life and I strive to be as successful as they are...

I love having older siblings for many reasons: there's always some to test the waters before you and test boundaries with parents, I have three role models, I three have protectors, I have three people to pave the way for me, I have three people help me out when I need it, I have three people who love me unconditionally.

 There were some downsides to being the youngest: siblings being "too cool" to hang out with their younger sister (ah hem...I remember certain Brat Pack members liked me and the pictures I drew them!), the last one to leave the house  and being the one who has to live up to the other three.

As you can see, having siblings is awesome! I was sad that I never had a younger sibling, but I cherish the three I have so very much :)

Marin Britt

She may not think it, but Mar Star is part of the glue in our family. She holds us together. She takes on the responsible one role when no one else steps up. We all thank you for that! She has been there for me when it could be easy for others to turn their back. She does ask the questions that make you uncomfortable, but you thank her later for it! She has a warm heart and is always there to talk and give you a giant hug and kiss when it's over.  Over the years, Marin has provided me with much entertainment, laughs, dance parties (hands down fave: 2010 leopard snuggie dance party to New Kids On the Block Christmas TAPE!), advice, Christmas scavenger hunts, heart-to-hearts and much needed big hugs throughout the years.

One thing I really love about Marin is her  strong faith. She never compromises her faith or her beliefs. I think that is something to admire. I don't think we could ask for a better oldest sister!

Megan-Bree

Megan and I are very similar, minus the high pitched laugh of hers which we all adore :) I have a photo of the two of us in our Cougar gear and a friend actually thought we were twins. Too funny! This could stem from the fact that I wanted to be just like her growing up...that is why I always wore her clothes. Snuck into her room while she was sleeping! tee hee...But for reals. We have similar personalities and senses of humor. It can be like watching myself on TV...or in a mirror....it's weird and awesome at the same time.

One thing I really love about Megan is her motivation. Whether it be with work items, working out and getting in shape, making new friends, learning new things, growing in her faith, she is motivated and determined. It's pretty awesome to see. She is a funny, fun-loving, caring woman and a great mother! I hope one day I can be just as good as her.

Matthew Bjorn 

Growing up, Matty and I were best friends and worst enemies as per typical brother-sister relationships tend to be. There was no one who could make me laugh like my brother, but there was no one who could make me cry either.  We did share a common bond which was our love for sports. We would play with the other kids in the neighborhood or just by ourselves in a game of one on one soccer in the back yard. It doesn't matter what sport it was, we'd play it and have a blast. We pushed each other. We challenged each other.  Now that we are all grown up, I think we still push each other in the form of encouragement and are each other's cheerleaders.

Matt has become such an outstanding man with his faith and his work ethic. Over the past few years, he has broken out of his shell and has become a man of words of wisdom.  It's pretty cool.

One thing I love about Matty is his devotion to family and tradition. Two things that I value and two things that should be treasured. They are who we are. Kudos to you brosef!

Today, siblings, I am thankful for you! 

Day 18: Exercise.

This may sound silly, but I am thankful for exercise.  I am thankful for the ability to work out and to run. I am glad that I am young, healthy and able bodied enough to work out and get a good burn!

We only get one body and one life.  We need to value this and treat our bodies with respect. Life is no fun having health issues due to lack of exercise and healthy eating. That's not a life.

My oldest sister Marin has become a marathon runner. It was crazy how she got into it and I guess you can never say "I think that person will be a runner," but now  I can't imagine her NOT running. Her love for running, working out and living a healthy lifestyle is contagious.

In the past few years  Will and I have picked up running. So far, we have done a 5k, half marathon relay and a half marathon. Would anyone ever guess us two running in a formal, organized run? Ha ha....NO. I would never guess myself to be a runner. But, it's odd. It's fun. It's exhilarating and it's a good workout. Who knows, maybe we'll do the Snake River half marathon this spring....Willis? You game??

I've said it before, but I love the feeling after a workout. Lately, I have felt like I want to barf. Almost every time. Every. Freaking. Time. Good work out + out of shape Maja = the desire to toss my cookies. But still, the point is I am working out.  I am taking my fate and my health into my hands. I am creating a better, healthier me :)

Exercise is a healthy stress reliever.  It's a release. I can run off all the stress from school, work and life. I can let my mind wander and focus on keeping time or focus on my stride instead of something that will frustrate me. I love just letting my mind wander and just listening to my sweet work out mix and sweating.

Some of the jams on my workout mix are:
Macklemore, Can't Hold Us
Chris Brown, Forever
The Script, Hall of Fame
ANYTHING Rihanna! Love that girl!

Today, exercise, I am thankful for you!

Day 17: Mims.

Today (November 17th) is my mom, Mims', birthday. Happy birthday Mimie!!!

It's pretty simple why I am thankful for my mom.....she's awesome! As far as moms go, I think she is the best! No, I am not trying to suck up or get kid brownie points. I genuinely think this.

Call me weird, but I don't typically call my mom "Mom." I call her Mims. Even my husband calls her Mims, or his nickname for her, Mimie Poo. :) I told her why I do this....I told her that she is more like a friend than like a mom. I think she liked this. I know I do.

Growing up, we look up to our moms. They are the ones who are biologically programmed to be the nurturers. They cheer for us at soccer games, they make our school lunches, they heal our wounds, they give us a shoulder to cry on, they tell us what we want to hear, they tell us what we don't want to hear, they motivate us, they give us someone to look up to, they are our biggest cheerleaders when we need them the most.

Mims has loved me and my siblings unconditionally. We have (I have for sure!) put her through a lot. It's amazing how people who really love us stand by us even in the worst situations. Even when we do things to upset and disappoint them. They love us. Mims loves us and has never stopped encouraging us. She has not left our side. She has not stopped believing in us.

Moms rock. They simply do. Especially Mims.

Mims is tough as nails. Seriously. I remember when she told Marin and I that she had a lump in her breast. On Mother's Day. :( I remember when she called me to tell me that the biopsy tested positive for cancer. I wanted to cry. I was filled with so many emotions that I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to react.  I did what Mims would do. I was strong. I asked questions and tried to remain calm and collected. Later that evening, Will came home. I remember talking to him and telling him about the lump. About the stupid cancerous lump. I was sitting on the counter. I started to cry. Will said, "Our Mimie is the strongest person. She will get through this. Mims is tough."

And tough she was. Mims said "See ya Maria" to cancer and kicked it's ass! w00t go girl!

No matter how old we get, we will never outgrow the need for our moms.

Today, Mims, I am thankful for you.