This weekend was packed friends! I don’t think I got a chance to sit down until Sunday night because we had so many fun things to do and people to spend time with! After the last week of stress I am so grateful to recharge my batteries by spending time with my favourite people.
Let me start this week’s list with a giant thank you to everyone who commented on last week’s post and sent their best wishes for Penny’s speedy recovery. I am grateful for each and every one of you. Your comments and messages got us through some worried hours. I can report that Penny is now motoring around as per her usual cheeky self and Chris and I are chasing her to stop her from doing her usual tricks so she doesn’t pull her stitches out. I am grateful that her little nose is all wet and healthy again and that she is back to chewing on her toys, licking her dad’s beard (it’s weird but cute), and eating like a champ. 
Chris and I treated ourselves to massages on Tuesday. We both had the day off work because I had to have my iron infusion. I like to think that the massage helped work the iron into my muscles (<- highly suspect theory, but hey, massages). I was grateful for an hour of lying in the dark beside my beloved and just having all the stress and tension worked out of my muscles. There’s something nourishing about someone caring for your body and being invested in you feeling better. 
We had an impromptu dinner party on Friday night with Casey, and our friends Cat and Nathan. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in a long time! Casey brought beautiful wine and strawberries, and Cat and Nathan brought us a beautiful care basket for Penny including a gorgeous handmade bow collar! I need to capture Penny without her cone so I can share this adorable accessory with you! I was grateful to be surrounded by dear friends, and to laugh the night away with them. Stress, be gone. 
Saturday was action-packed! I started the day with bagels and coffee at the markets with Mum and Jess, then headed out for a 13km training run, visited my wonderful friend and mentor Jenny and enjoyed a walk on the waterfront, then Chris and I headed out to see Suicide Squad (loved) before finally crashing on the couch with Penny and a few pieces of Lindt chocolate. I was grateful to pack so many of my favourite activities into one day! I didn’t think I could achieve everything I wanted to on Saturday, but with a bit of scheduling, and a lot of grace, it all happened, and with joy too.
On Sunday morning, bright and (very) early Mum, Jess, and I drove down to SeaWorld and took part in the Zoo Walk to raise funds for the SeaWorld Research and Rescue foundation. The early start gave way to a beautiful day and our walk around SeaWorld before it opened to the public for the day was so much fun. We got to see the dolphins as their trainers were doing the morning feeding and practicing their skills, the seals cruising around and getting warmed up for the day, the stingrays flapping their gorgeous wings along the sides of the pool, and my favourite – the sharks – cruising around in the deep surrounded by their fishy friends. I was grateful for a wonderful day of fun with Mum and Jess watching some of our favourite animals and enjoying a gorgeous sunny winter morning.
So, friends, what were you grateful for this week?