A Few things on Friday.

Sup, Friday. Where have you been all my life?

Just a few things on my mind, ready?

1. Have you seen the new Civil Wars Dust to Dust video? No they aren't back together - this footage is from last year when they were in Europe - pre-break up. Can you sense the tension like I can? So good. (Post break-up/hiatus interview here.)
It also makes me want to go to Paris.


2. These are two HILARIOUS dog videos I cannot get enough of.




3. My Friend Katy blogged some mom texts. I'm a fan of all things mom texts. As you probably already know.
 
4. Speaking of Mom Texts, my friend Tegan knew I was such a fan, she sent me this hilarious video:

5. Things I am currently obsessed with: Kanye and his strange behavior, Catfish the TV Show, Homeland, New Girl, and the Mindy Project.

6. A trip to Ikea last weekend garnered me some new sheets, and two wall mounted lamps.  I may go straight home from work everyday and turn them on as soon as I walk in. I love them. And I no longer am knocking the lamp off my nightstand while I thrash sleep every night. Aren't they amazing? All I need are those dohickeys that nail cords to the wall so they don't look all snaggly.

7. I'm cooking Thanksgiving Dinner this year. Start to finish. You know, like with a turkey. With my dad. It's time to learn how he makes his crazy delicious stuffing so I can recreate it for years to come (and hopefully share the recipe). I observed him making it last year there was a lot of butter involved. It's gonna be great.

8. Happy Friday, fools. May you all have a happy weekend full of weekendly weekending to your heart's delight!

Here, There, and Everywhere: A Few Things

Alright, I didn't feel like doing a regular weekend update, but still feel like I have a few things I wanted to share and chronicle on here.

Let's begin, shall we?

I made a double batch of these cookies. Just because.

I'm really bad at spotting hearts in things. Even though its one of my goals in life.
The other night I noticed my heart shaped pita chip. But it took my brain a minute to compute.
So I literally took it out of my mouth to take this photo.

I saw The Great Gatsby.
The Gatz, if you will.
I loved the Gatz.
I love Leo. I love Leo in Baz Luhrman films.
What I especially loved about this one was it wasn't too over the top. Just enough over the top.
I kinda want to see it again.
It felt like I was in Hearst Castle all over again.

My friend Ellen and I did our second (and her third) Soul Stroll on Saturday.
It was SO fun.
It's a 5k walk/stroll along the bay trail (which we all know I love) - with an option to do a 1 mile, 5k, or 5 mile stroll. They even have "chair exercises" on the lawn for those with less mobility.
The warm up sesh is kind of my favorite part "everybody dance now" bum, bum-bum, bum, bum, bum-bum.

We earned our medals, and wore them proudly the rest of the day.
My sister and I took our parents to the Giants game Monday night.
It was another amazing Win for the men in Orange and Black.

My mom accidentally grabbed socks instead of mittens.
And so she was calling these her Panda Paws the whole time.
It was equal parts ridiculous and adorable.

Sometimes I have anxiety about things.
And want to do this:

And sometimes to cope I bake (see above), and sometimes pouring myself the tiniest little bowl of Lucky Charms does the trick too.

But in reality, the Lord is the answer to all things that make me anxious.
You see, me and the book of Philippians have a long history.
It is probably my favorite New Testament book, and it is quite a popular one.
Especially Chapter 4.
I heard an awesome sermon on the radio on this passage, probably 11 or 12 years ago.
I cling to the truth that the Lord hears our prayers, knows our worries, and supplies us with peace.

This week, he opened my eyes to this passage in new ways.
That little phrase, split between verses, I have overlooked it the hundreds of times I have read this passage.
"The Lord is at hand"
Those 5 words bring more peace to my heart than anything else.
He is at hand. He is right next to me. Every circumstance. Every person who is hurting. He is at hand.

And lastly, Oklahoma.

If you're looking for a way to help, I highly, and I mean HIGHLY suggest giving through Samaritan's Purse.
Their Emergency Response Team is incredible.
They took action immediately after the storm.
Their volunteers are true servants of the Lord, and they help hurting people in both practical and spiritual ways.
My experience with them in Sandy Relief in New Jersey was like nothing I have ever seen.
Go here for more info. 

Just a Few Happy Things

Just a few things I love this week...

First off, Monday was a holiday.

Which means the work week is only 4 days - can I get a hip-hooray?

This bunny dog romping through the clover.

Making sure there are no squirrels in her back yard.

I caught a little bit of a sunrise sky party over my building on Tuesday morning.

The pink blossoms arrived.

I look for them every February.

Last year they were here the week of Valentine's day.

This year, they decided to show up a little later.

They don't last long - so enjoy them while you can.

 

 I have been on the hunt for the most adorable bow ring for months.

Kate Spade has a gorgeous few to choose from, but I never could pull the trigger.

Instead I found this gem on groopdealz for a steal of a deal.

Bow Rings are never Bo-Ring.

 

I had a very happy visitor at work yesterday.
She made me the most beautiful butterfly sticker collage.

Tell me, what little bits of sunshine you have been finding in your days this week?

Happy Hooky Day...err...Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday!

These pictures have nothing to do with this post - except they make me happy.

I am extra happy this morning because I have the day off of work!
I've been planning it for a few months now.

Tonight, my favorite band of LIFE is playing up in Davis, and to avoid traffic, their Northern California fan club is heading out early.
The day will consist of the Jelly Belly factory.
Outlets.
And a free taco (thank you Angel Pagan!).
Who knows what else it will hold.

In the mean time, I have the morning off work.
My house is clean.
My laundry does need to be folded, and dishwasher unloaded, but that can wait.

Right Now:

I'm hearing: Cars cruising down my street. On their way to drop off kids at school, and head to work. Water run through the pipes as my neighbors get ready for their day.

I'm seeing: Out my giant sliding glass window, the fog is burning off. The clouds turning from a dark gray into a soft pink, and the palest blue sky starting to emerge. The sun is rising over my building, and the tops of the trees are turning a warm golden green.

I'm tasting: The last sips of my coffee. In one of my favorite mugs. Refill time?

I'm feeling: The softness of my most favorite blanket as I cozy up on my couch.

What's New Pussycat?

First off.

I don't like cats.

So I'll just put that out there.

We will address that again in a minute.

Second off, here's whats been going on over the last week or two.

Spent the week at the parentals taking care of Mylie and Chloe.

And watering plants.

I don't do plants.

You're welcome, dad.

Getting up early, taking Mylie for a walk in the hills, and catching some gorgeous sunrises. 

Ashlyn brought some toy cats to church.

We had to have a discussion about them and how we feel about cats.

Friends don't let friends like cats.

 

Grover-Steiger-Sister-Date to my favorite Thai House in the City.

You sit on the floor (but your feet get to hang under the table) and they take your shoes.

Super fun experience.

There was national donut day.

You bet your donut hole I celebrated.

I'm back at home now.

So mornings consist of early wogs (that is a walk/jog for those of you who are curious).

Through Central Park.

I found this beaut in the rose garden. 

I feel like it is for 

Mrs...Mrs. Inglesias.

(Anyone....?)

Tuesday at lunch, Schnoodlekins had some kind of mega injury.

I felt so terrible for her, she was crying and in so much pain just from running across the yard to me.

So we sat together on the couch for an hour.

And she was still whimpering.

She was the saddest dog on the block.

Barely able to hobble on 3 legs.

NOT barking at the mailman.

NOT shadowing anyone in the kitchen.

Something was very wrong.

My mom called me that afternoon to take her to the vet.

She sat in the waiting room crying for 10 minutes straight (no joke) while I held her.

I think she was a little traumatized from her last visit.

Eventually, she calmed down, a bit.

And settled in on the exam table.
She even gave me a little smile.

As far as we can tell, nothing is broken.

Hopefully just a bad sprain or some kind of muscular skeletal injury.

But, pupster is now on House Arrest once more.

She is NOT happy about that. 

Her walking buddy just got home, and she can't go out and play.

Thursday nights, a group of us meet up to workout.

My very rude brother in law makes us do squats.

Squats.

And more squats.

Sometimes he makes us do burpees.

Sometimes I let him know how much I hate him.

But the last two weeks we have had a good sized group.

And a frisbee.

And an hour of running around a field.

Beats squats any day.

This is my frisbee injury.

Do you see those two purple marks, they hurt.

It hurts to hold a coffee cup. 

This is a major problem for me.

I'm posting it for my sister.

I will keep you posted on my injury status.

Have I mentioned that I have a low pain tolerance?

Margaret facetimed me from Nepal.

Her connection was even better than when Dave and Jon facetimed from Africa.

Nepal wins this time. 

Also, Missions in 2012 are CRAZY thanks to Mr. Jobs.

 It was 6:30am.

I had just finished a run.

She is lucky I even answered.
Pardon the blur.

If you want to know what her and her team are up to, check out their updates here.

And do me a favor, spend some time praying for them today, will you?

They have asked us to pray fervently for them. 

They are heavy on my heart today.

Lastly.

Please check out this cuteness.

Favorite status is still in full effect.

Check out that smile.

And girlfriend was flashing gangsigns.

I wish I could take credit for teaching her.

But I think she is just hardcore from the womb.

The Most Beautiful Weekend Ever

This past weekend was full of sunshine and smiles.
Gorgeous blue skies.
Seventy degree afternoons.

Winter seems to have forgotten to stop by the Bay Area,
which most days makes me upset.
In the words of the 90's band Garbage, I'm only happy when it rains.

I, however, am not only happy when it's complicated.
Complicated things make me very unhappy.

But anyway, back to the weekend.
I took Friday off to spend the day with my sister for her birthday!

We drove into The City.

Headed over to the ferry building.
Definitely one of my favorite places.
For sure my sister's favorite.
And it was her day.

She got Blue Bottle.
I got a waffle.
Not exactly a "le waf" - but still delicious.
I am lenting coffee.
I'm gonna need a trip back to Blue Bottle sometime after April 9th.

We climbed the stairs to coit tower.
Crazy gorgeous views.

Walked down the other side into North Beach.
There were so many cute shops we just happened upon.
Including this little market.
Bicycle coffee?
Yep, I'll be back.
Post April 9th.

Somebody stayed over Friday night.
At 3am, I rolled over opened my eyes to find her staring directly at me.
Nose to nose.
She sleeps like a log.
So that was like, totally creepy.

Since my mom had to work on Friday, I took her out to lunch on the coast on Saturday.

Another crazy beautiful gorgeous day.

We had fun walking along the beach.

We hunted for seashells, and I taught her to hunt for sea glass.

She found the biggest piece for me! 

Afterward, mom treated me to a McDonalds vanilla cone (fun fact: they do not have any dairy in them, instead I believe they switch out any milk products for crack.) and herself to a Shamrock Shake.

Sunday afternoon, back to the parentals so my sister could open some {amazing} gifts,
and this little cutie was wiped after my grandma threw the ball for her for an hour straight.
But she made sure to keep her cute little squirrel right under her paw in case she needed it at a moment's notice.

That is about it. 

A bunch of random, and a whole lot of happy.

Randy McRandoms

So...my phone is chock full (isn't "chock" such a weird word? I don't think I use it often enough) of pics that never make it to Instagram, which means in turn, they don't make it up on here.

I love the #febphotoaday and #febphoto366 challenges, you get glimpses in to regular life. Kinda like the 10 on 10 posts (which I love...and, heads up: FRIDAY).

Here is a bit more of the randomness that I capture via Snow White 2.0.

I went running during the Superbowl. 

San Mateo was eerily silent. 

The sun was behind these hazy, funky clouds.

And a moment after I took this, I heard the eruption of cheers from my building's catwalk.

San Mateo loves its hometown hero. 

Even if he didn't get the bling (this time).

Coworker Cary brought her new pup in for a visit on Friday. 

She is a Bernese Mountain Dog, and stinking ADORABLE.

She is super smart, and just a love. 

I kinda want to go Cruella DeVille on her.

(Sans that whole skinning her for for a fur coat part).

The other night, KK and I were playing iPad. 

Mostly she was playing.

And telling me "Kim, Kim, Kim, Kim, look at this"

She had just painted a pink flamingo.

Girl knows what's up.

I snuck a peek on Ashy. 

I guess My Little Pony is OUT.

Belle and Beast are in.

My favorite is when she holds up Beast and says "who's his name?"

Cutest ever.

Yep, I'll get right on that.

 

Another gorgeous sky.

It was like the cotton candy variety pack.

#nofilter

Still reading Bible in a Year.

I kinda love it. 

So far I have completed Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Matthew, and Acts. 

I am sticking with the plan, but kinda ditched DA Carson at the end of January. 

Sorry, DA. 
Are you still on track with your Bible Reading Plan?

Are you local?
There are probably 248 taquerias on B Street.
I have finally decided on my favorite.
My friends of old love Pancho.
My friends of new love Tres.
I love Charlie's.
Best tacos in town.
PROMISE.
Let's go get dinner sometime!

Ruffle bottom tights, and the tutu with the fluff (with the fluff). 

I would totally ditch my pajama jeans to wear this outfit. 

 

Phoebes and I were rollin' in the fire truck.

Puttin' out fires.

Savin' lives. 

 

This was one of my craft weekend swag items.
I didn't discover it til I got home.
And probably at just the right moment.
I wanted to do a post on this in and of itself.
Maybe I still will.
But for now, I have this right where I can see it when I go to bed at night,
and wake up in the morning.
It's an affirming reminder that I can't, and don't
HAVE to
do it all.