Jennainthesky

Where do you keep your bed?

2011-02-07T22:12:00.000-08:00

I must find a way to completely furnish my home with every single

piece in this video. So amazing right?

A little something cute.

2011-01-19T16:41:00.000-08:00

She & Him - Don't Look Back from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Well isn't this nice?

Terry.

2011-01-15T13:04:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to do a very quick update about my mother-in-law

that I wish I would've done a couple of days ago but I didn't have a chance to.

On Wednesday, I was working at my desk and looked at my phone

and saw a text message from Paul telling me that his mom was

in the hospital because she was having intense chest pain and that he

was on his way to where she was. I let my work know and

I was able to leave early to go to the hospital.

At first, they were unsure what it was but after a few tests,

they concluded that she had had a mild heart attack. A mild heart attack?

That was a lot to process. I could see the weight of it on

Rob's (my father-in-law) and Paul's faces. It's been 4

days and Terry is doing well. She is being released to go home

today which we are so glad for. Paul and I didn't

return to work this week, we spent 3 days in the hospital

with Terry and Rob. It felt dark at times and it wiped us out but

we are so glad to know that Terry is okay

and her angiogram revealed that she is going to be fine

and that her quality of life will not be affected.

Thank you L-rd. We updated on Facebook a lot throughout

the past couple of days and asked for prayer

and those prayers were heard and definitely felt on our end.

I wanted to ask you to pray for Terry too, processing

and knowing that she had a heart attack is a hard thing to chew on,

but she is moving forward and so are the rest of us.

We've learned a lot and we are incredibly thankful to our L-rd for

hearing our cry and answering our prayers.

Praise be to G-d.

Shalom.

Sunday Nights

2011-01-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm happy to report that I have made it through the first week of 2011

and it has been really great. We were very busy and had a lot going

on (as usual) but it was still nice and a perfect start

to this new year. Last Sunday was Paul's and my two year wedding

anniversary and we spent the day in two fun places. The day

started out in L.A. at Alcove for lunch and it was so

delicious. It was the best veggie burger I've ever had, really!
We went to a fun bookstore near the restaurant that we ate at and read
some really interesting books. On our way home, we stopped
in Pasadena to take a little peep at where we got married, had a
hot cup of coffee and did some shopping. It was
good to be in our city... or at least it feels like our city. :)
We got in early and I made vegetable risotto for din din, it was
quite good. What a day.

This weekend has gone by so fast. We have been pretty lazy today,
with the exception of going to the farmer's market this morning
and getting our grocery shopping done. It feels good to start the new
week out with a full refrigerator and full cupboards, so thankful
for that. Paul recently expressed that he wants to start
cooking with me every night. Can I tell you how nice that is?
I'm loving it and I can tell he is too.
Tonight we made paninis with my new panini maker that
my parents gave me for Christmas (such a good gift!).

Sorry for the terrible cell phone photo.. I'm workin' on getting a new camera!

Our paninis were paired with a brown rice and cannellini

bean salad with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts.

It was so good, not a bite left on the plate.

We're winding down with a movie and then it's time for bed

to get a good night's sleep for the new week.

And A Hello to 2011

2011-01-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

Starting on the right foot here, I decided to write a little update for 1.1.11

{I think it is very exciting that today's date is all the same number!}.

I know everyone has said it today and so I am going to have to agree, I

cannot believe that 2011 is here! Can you? Last year flew by and

now, January is back.. so good to see you. Tomorrow is

our 2 year anniversary of wedded bliss, which is just mind blowing.

My dad was right, the older you get, time scoots quickly by.

Last year, I wrote a little post of goals for the new year and

I think I did pretty well to conquer over half of them.
I think I will update my list for this year, but not until later.
I need time to think about it.. also, I need to get
ready to go. My parents are taking Paul and I out to dinner
for our anniversary {yay!}. Talk to you soon. :)

I decided it might be nice to give my page a little design change in light
of the new year. Hope you like it too.

Farewell 2010

2010-12-31T16:43:00.000-08:00

Last picture of 2010!

Well guys, I couldn't leave the year with my last post being about Halloween.

Just didn't feel right. This year's end has been so full of

new things, new blessings, new people and love. I'm not going to

apologize for my absence but only say that I hope to

do a little bit better this next year with updating more. I love

having a blog but it most definitely comes second

when life is a bit crazy. I'm so thankful for the all of the good,

the trials, and the learning that 2010 has brought our way. I look forward

to the new year and everything that will be coming up.

May the L-rd bless you and keep you.

May the L-rd make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.

May the L-rd lift up His countenance upon you, and give you Shalom peace.

Happy New Year! 2011! :)

Last little family picture. :)

Happy Halloween?

2010-10-31T15:10:00.000-07:00

I am probably going against the masses in saying this buuut....

I'm not much of a Halloween person. At all really.

I enjoy going to the parties and stuff to see everyone

else's costumes but as for me dressing up,

not so much into it. Same with all of the Halloween

home decor, not for me. I love fall so much

and pumpkins and weathered leaves.. mmmmmm baby. But

not the spooky stuff. Sorry if that makes you

sad. Hehe. :) In spite of all that, Paul and I went to a

party on Friday and dressed up as burglars (because

we didn't really have to buy anything new, just

wear all black) and had a really great time with some of my

closest friends. We wore black masks,

I carried my airsoft gun and

Paul had some of my pearls and gold neclases

hanging out of his pockets. :)

Anyway, I hope that you are all having a fun, safe

Halloween weekend.

Must. Travel.

2010-10-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling this intense desire to travel these past few weeks. More

than the usual "I've got to visit somewhere pretty right now" thing.

But why does traveling have to cost so much? Such is life.. I despise money.

It's okay though because I live in a really pretty house, on a great street

with a big window to look out onto. I will travel soon. And I want to go here..

I want to breathe in cold, crisp air, I want to see trees that have been

there for over 100 years, I want to eat fantastically delicious, fresh food,

I want to feel the chill of the wind on my skin and

just be still there.

Maybe this spring. :)

Well..

2010-10-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

I was going to start out this post by saying sorry again for my absence..

but then I decided that I need to stop doing that. If I am able to blog,

then I will and if I can't because I'm busy living my life, then I won't. Easy, simple.

I'm not going to feel guilty whenever I think about this thing,

knowing I haven't updated in a while. Done. :)

Here are a bunch of random things that have been happening
as of late in a list because I don't feel like
using complete sentences.. hehe. :)

-busy with work(s)
-in September, my love and I celebrated 6 years together

-my sweet friends, Chelsea and Brandon, got married -- and I danced for hours

-remembered, partook in and celebrated a few High Holy Days

-got a perm.. yes, I really did
-became very afraid of the perm
-perm relaxed.. A LOT
-fell in love with the perm and became a little too obsessed
-friendsies visited and stayed with us :)
-moved from brewing sun tea to hot tea
-have been successfully shopping, cooking and eating vegan for the past month or more
-feelin' well, eatin' well
-my love is moving to a new position in his job in two weeks
-listening to Christmas music for the past week and a half (I can't help myself)
....
I think that's it. :)

Before I go, I wanted to share this video. I am a huuuge lover of music
and one of my favorite musicians is Feist and she just so
happens to be coming out with a documentary in the next week or so.
I'm pretty excited. Very excited. Are you?

Bulletproof weekend.

2010-09-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize that I haven't blogged in two-ish weeks, that's a long time. Yeesh.

So here I am, blogging.. but ironically enough, I don't know really

know where to start. I've been pretty busy. School is back in session which is

good and not so good. Good because we have new five year old chicken

noodle babies that are cuter than you can imagine and they

have rejuvenated me and given me a new purpose in my job and not

so good because (even though I love my job) I'd really like to be doing my own

thing at home. It's selfish but completely honest. Sorry.

Last weekend was Chelsea's bachelorette party in Las Vegas. It was my first real

time going to that huge crazy city and I think it's totally right on for

me to say that my mind was fully blown there. Such a loud and crazy place

and I really loved it. Not to mention the good company that I was with

made it all the better. I didn't know if I was going to mention this

but since the bride herself has openly come out with it

on Facebook.. I will tell you here. The first night, all of gals got dressed up and

went out. We at sushi, we walked all over the place, we danced

to our hearts' content, laughed until make up was running down our faces

(mostly just my face) and walked back to our hotel. After we got

back, we thought it would be a good idea to dance some more to some

fun tunes in the hotel room. Chelsea and four other girls got

on the bed and were jumping and dancing away...

...the four girls landed..

..and petite Chelsea was launched off of the bed..

..hit the wall..

..hard, with her little noggin..

..and spent the night in the emergency room with a concussion.

The end!

Haha, just kidding.. that wasn't the end. Chelsea was such a

trooper and I can gladly report that she

has since recovered but let me tell you (!)... that was one crazy night

and one crazy weekend that I will never forget. I haven't

had that much nonstop, 3 day fun in a long time.

Thank you girls. And in honor of Chelsea's little noggin and

big crazy concussion, I will leave you with thee

song that will forever have a special place in our hearts and minds..

..the song that we were dancing to BCF (before Chelsea fell).

Enjoy. :)

"This time babyy, I'll beeeeee BULLETPROOF!"

Marcel, the shell with the shoes on.

2010-09-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hi. This is so adorable and funny and adorably funny, that I had to share it with you..

and it made my Thursday.

P.s. Today is 09.02.10 .....

90210! Haha, I think that's very funny.

Last day of freedom.

2010-08-29T23:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my first day back to work with the school district..
and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. I am excited
to see the kids but not excited about the
daily grind of working and all. I really have enjoyed my
summer vacation. So since today was my last day of
summer, my darling and I decided to spend the day in our
favorite place: Pasadena. It was the perfect day. I'd say it was
almost comparable to this day. The weather was completely
out of the norm of this past week, so cool, clear and breezyyyy.
Loved it. We enjoyed lunch at Noah's Bagels and coffee at
Peet's and then went to the happiest place on earth,
Anthropologie. (Did you think I was going to say
Disneyland? Hehe.)
We spent a great deal of time in there. I'm glad that
Paul likes to look at everything too and sit and
read their books. Remind me next time NOT to try on
pretty clothes that I don't intend on buying -- bad idea.
I did buy myself a little something though and got to use my
15% off birthday coupon, yay! That made me happy.
We then walked around and shopped in some other pretty stores
and then sat in Barnes and Noble and read for
a while. We love doing that. :) It was so relaxing.
We came home and I made us dinner and we enjoyed a glass
of wine and we talked. And talked. We talked deeply
about our future, the L-rd and what He is doing for us,
and what we want to see happen in the months coming.
My husband is a very deep thinker and I love to hear
his mind unravel. It's so beautiful.
Then Chad came over for a visit and talked about school,
girls, jobs and his life.. I love when I get the
big run-down of what's been going on in his life since we
last chatted. He's pretty great.

And now it is time for bed. The summer is officially over.
G'night.

Fried Zucchini Flowers

2010-08-23T13:45:00.001-07:00

These beautiful little sweeties are in my top 3 most most most favorite foods.
They are incredibly easy to make, it's just a shame that they are so
hard to find in regular grocery stores. You can find them in specialty food stores,
we get ours at Claremont's farmer's market. I have to be sure to get there
early because they go quickly in the morning, they are quite
the popular item. Now, these pictures aren't very fancy or good quality because I hadn't
really intended on taking pictures. But in the midst of making them,
I decided to whip out the camera so I could share them with you because they are
just that tasty.

Fried Zucchini Flowers

Fresh zucchini flowers
Flour, 1 cup
Cold water, 1 cup
1 egg
Veggie oil, 2-3 cups (extra virgin olive oil will do just fine as well)
Salt

Heat the oil in a pan. It needs to be hot enough to be able to fry the flowers to a golden brown color. (I like to toss a little piece of bread in before to make sure it's at the right temp. If it floats to the top and starts frying nicely, you're there. But if it starts to burn right away, turn the heat down...I guess that's kind of obvious. Hehe.) Pull out the stamen from each flower before dipping in the batter (this takes a few minutes). Wisk together the flour, water and egg until smooth, no lumps. Gently dip the flowers in the batter, letting the excess run off into the bowl. Put into the oil and let fry 2-3 minutes on each side. When they are ready to come out, put them on a plate with a paper towel to drain the excess oil. Salt immediately! And enjoy. :)

There is so much you can do with these flowers. They are great just
by themselves with salt but they also taste great dipped in ponzu sauce or soy sauce.
You can also put a small block of parmesan cheese in the center of each
flower before frying, yuummmm... or any kind of cheese mixture. Make a tomato
dipping sauce too! Paul and I have enjoyed them many times and look
forward to asking the farmer every Sunday, if he has
any flowers left.

Flowers in the Window.

2010-08-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

These white lisianthus are also from the Claremont farmers market. (I kind of love
lisianthus.) Pretty cute with the pink tips.. and they lasted so long!

That's Mr. de Partee in the background, watering the lawn. Cute.

P.s. He texted me this today:
"6 years ago today I was in class and wrote a letter telling you that I loved you.:)"
He never did give it to me. He took me to Pasadena and told me a month later...to the day.
:)

Yesterday.

2010-08-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

Paul worked yesterday, which is not normal for a Saturday, he normally has weekends
off.. so that left me with the day to myself. I woke up late, lounged around the
house, read, gave myself a manicure, got ready and took myself
to the movies to see Eat Pray Love. Just me, and it was perfect, the perfect day.
I felt like the picture looks up above: alone, peaceful, free. The
movie was exactly what I was in the mood for, almost two and a half hours of
pure goodness. I want to go to Bali. I almost feel like I need to go to Bali.. the movie
makes you feel like you do anyway. I hope that you go see this movie,
and that your mouth waters over the food in Italy the way
mine did. I'm trying to think up a time that I can go watch the movie
again.. but this time, I'll take my husband.

Happy Sunday to you. :)

Better late than never.

2010-08-13T08:32:00.001-07:00

This little card was sent to my parents' house for me, for my birthday.
I look forward to my birthday card from Anthro every year
because they always write something sweet and cheerful and include
a little gift (like this birthday candle necklace). Now I have to figure out what
I'm going to buy.. 15% off... that's pretty good if you ask me. :)

The weekend is over.

2010-08-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend was so busy but so so so so fantastic. Mal drove down Friday
and stayed with us for the weekend, which is always the highlight.
Saturday was Chelsea's bridal shower. It was a bridal wonderland and
I can't believe how beautiful it was. It was a lot of planning
and hard work but it was so worth it to see her face when she walked
in. I'm honored to be able to stand by her side on her
special day. The day (and the weekend) went by so so quickly. It was
great to have everyone together. Mal and I went to the movies
on Saturday night and drove around in the late evening,
going to places that we used to frequent in our late
teens and early twenties (I say that like I'm 45 or something, but it
felt so nostalgic, fun, exciting, scary...). Then, Sunday morning
breakfast in Claremont and then we waved goodbye and Mal
went back home. Paul and I had a relaxing afternoon/evening, watching
Netflix, napping, grocery shopping, playing with
the doggies, etc. It went by so fast and the new week is almost here.
Tomorrow is my first day nannying at my new little
part time job. I'm pretty excited, a little nervous too.
Here are a couple of pictures from the shower on Saturday.

The beautiful outdoor living room.

Chelsea underneath the paper pom poms. (I made 15 of them, with a little help from
my friendsies.)

And this is the before picture. We were in the midst of taking
silly pictures (because we always do) and we didn't notice the spider on the back
white pillow.. do you see it?! It's a monstrosity.

And this is after.. once someone pointed out that it was in our midst, about to pounce.
By far, thee best picture of the day.

Happy Monday everyone. :)

Venticinco

2010-08-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

I turned 25 a couple of days ago.. and I feel different. Every other time

I heard someone say they were 25, my initial thought was "Whoa, old". So when the day

came around for me to turn 25.. I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled. In my own head

and heart, I still feel like a 15 year old girl in high school. (Can anyone relate?.. Pretty please?)

Now that I'm here, I feel good. I celebrated the day with my closest friends (missing

Mal and Jonathan of course), with family and my love. On the evening of my

actual birthday, I came home to a candlelit picnic in the living room

and a homemade dinner prepared for me by my love. It was beautiful, romantic,

lovely, yummy and everything I could have asked for.

So, all in all, 25 is feeling pretty good right about now. I am blessed.

Flowers in the Window.

2010-07-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

These purple lisianthus were from the Claremont farmers market. They

have great deals on their flowers and a wonderful selection.

There were about four blooms when I brought them home and almost 15

blooms by end of their time in the window. Lovely!

June 18th

2010-07-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

My darling husband turned 29 in June, he's so handsome.. .. .. Anyway, the day

was incredibly beautiful: the weather, the breeze, the sky. I planned a surprise outing

in L.A. (Los Feliz area) and did the things he loves most. We went to

Skylight Books, have you ever been there? It's worth the trip out there to visit.

There is a beautiful tree that grows in the middle of the store

that you can sit around and read. Paul is a major bookworm, so we really

enjoyed exploring the store, grabbing books off the shelves and sitting under the

tree to relax and read.

We walked around and shopped a bit and then headed down the street for dinner

at Alcove. I think this was the highlight of the day. Originally, Alcove

was a duplex built in the early 1900's that was completely renovated into this glorious

restaurant. There are so many little details that we both really appreciated

and their food was so yummy. We think about it often and want to go back real

real soon! Oh, and their baked goods... Oh My Gosh!

I was really bummed that we didn't get a 29. :/

After dinner, we got a chocolate cream cupcake and coffee to go for later. We

drove around the hilly neighborhoods and looked at the massive

houses and picked out the ones that we liked best. When we were done, we

headed over to Griffith Park to enjoy our dessert.

That was our nice day.. and I want to go back.

Praying for Daisy

2010-07-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

A while back, I posted something about a little girl named Daisy with cancer.

Her dad is Britt Merrick who is the pastor of Reality Carpenteria,

and I have grown up listening to him preach. Less than 2 months ago, Daisy

was declared cancer free and she and her family rejoiced. Last week,

they discovered that the tumor was back. The above video is Daisy's journey in the last

10 months. Please watch it, you will cry, but that's okay. She is now back in the hospital and needs prayer, for her and her family. My heart breaks for them

and I am asking that you join us in praying for this sweet little girl. The video

below is a video of Britt's latest message about what G-d is

doing in their lives. It's long but worth the time to watch.

Flowers in the Window.

2010-07-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

When I first stepped foot into the living room of this house, my imagination
sent me on a flash forward to Christmas and I clearly pictured a
Christmas tree in the window. I love this window.
I think it's my favorite thing about the house. I knew I couldn't cover it up
with furniture or a t.v., there always needed to be something
pretty in front of it, something dainty. The decision was easy, fresh flowers
please. These white peonies were from Trader Joes.
Did anyone else notice that they carried these lovely things for about a month?
I bought two more bouquets after this one died. The farmers market
has had a great selection of flowers that I can't pass up,
so every Sunday morning, we come home with a new bundle of fresh flowers for
the front window.

Hi guys.

2010-07-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

You know the feeling you get when you've been away from blogging for so long
that it makes it harder to come back to writing again? Well that was me,
for close to two months now. Unacceptable. I'm sure that I have been long forgotten, but
I hope that you will take me back... whoever you are. :)

We have lived in our little pink house for a little over a month now and we are
in heaven. We love it so much more than I can say. We are
pretty settled in, still hanging pictures on the bare walls but things are
coming along. The picture above was taken over a month ago and since then,
we have gotten a big area rug and hung some pictures on the walls. I'll
have to update with new pictures soon. So much has happened
but all I can say is that we are so so happy with where we
are. If I could extend my arms and wrap them around this little house,
I would immediately. I feel so blessed by what G-d has
given us and I don't want to take it for granted, not even for a minute.

I have decided to compile a short list of what has been going on in the past couple
of months:
we moved (obviously)
dinners in the backyard
Mal and Jonathan stayed at our house for 3 whole days
Paul turned 29 :)
BBQ with great friends
countless nights spent out on the porch
Dad's birthday dinner here
Father's Day in Claremont
Cheese Cave opening (and many visits since then)
bocce ball in the backyard
enjoyed the air conditioner
summer school (bleh)
spent the day in Los Feliz, ate at Alcove
family visited
went to Vegas for the day
4th of July BBQ fun with friendsies
Claremont farmers market every Sunday morning
and finally found a home church where we regularly attend every Saturday morning (!!!)

And that about sums it up. :)

It's a beautiful Sunday, the farmers market was nice this morning and we
decided, instead of spending the rest of our day inside, we are going to go to the beach.
I hope that you are all having a great weekend. I'll be backkk.

I don't even have enough time to write this post.

2010-05-28T09:34:00.001-07:00

Tonight is the last night in our first home. We have been so busy with moving boxes and packing things up and going back and forth to the new and old house. We are so so excited to live in the little pink house that I haven't really thought about leaving the old and it made me a little sad. I took the day off today from work and my mom is going to help me finish putting contact paper on all the shelves and drawers. We have pretty much everything moved over except for the big furniture. We need more man power than I can give so tomorrow morning, some lovely fellows have offered to help.. and we are so grateful. :) We haven't set up internet in the new house yet (too busy to think about it) so I don't know when we'll be up in running again but I have been making sure to take pictures so I have some before and after photos. Hope you all have a lovely Memorial Day weekend. :)

Beer Batter Bread

2010-05-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

This is just too easy not to try. I tried this recipe because my dear friend Jonathan Clark tried it first and found it to be successful. He got the recipe from from the William Sonoma Baking Cookbook. I have made this 2 other times and it was just splendid, super yummy with just butter or a little bit of strawberry jam. :) So here it is..

Beer Batter Bread

3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
3 tbsp firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 bottle (12 fl oz) beer, unopened and at room temperature
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for serving

Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. In a bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Open the beer and add it all at once and it should foam up. I used some orange creme beer because that's what I already had in our fridge and it turned out well. Stir the batter quickly until the ingredients combine. Your batter should be a little lumpy. Pour into the greased loaf pan and drizzle with the melted butter.

Bake until the top is crusty and a cake tester comes out of the center clean, about 35-40 minutes. Let the bread rest in the pan 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Cut a big ol' slice of that thing and dress it up with butta' and some jam. Jonathan mentioned that the left overs were just as good as the first slice. I can't say that we would know that seeing as our bread magically disappears the day it's made (with the help of some friends).. so no left overs for us.

I hope that you try it, love it and tell me all about it. :)

Afternooning

2010-05-14T14:17:00.001-07:00

Freshly squeezed strawberry lemonade. "Yummy in the tummy" as my grandma would say.

Agenda for the weekend:
-Going on a date tonight with my Love. We're going to see Babies (please watch the trailer if you haven't already)!! I feel like I've waited forever for this to come out. :)
-Lily's 3rd birthday party. <3
-Packing for days and days.
-Hang out with some good friends.
-Watch Paul write his 15 page research paper (that is due Monday - oye).
-Finish reading my Real Simple magazine.

That's it. Happy weekend. :)

I'm growin' some scallions in our kitchen and they are coming along! This picture was taken 2 days ago..
you should see them now. I'll try to update on these little babies. I'm proud of them. Grow grow!!

I have not been a good mother to my blog child.

2010-05-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

Has this been the longest lull in my blogging history or what? I think it's been days... weeks even? Yikes. Well geez, a lot is going on. I finally have pictures to post from our anniversary trip and pictures of food and recipes to put out there but for now I will start with just a short update. April and the start of May have been filled with work, school, Brother's 22nd birthday (gaijadgadfhi!!), hang outs, a tea party, concerts, a trillion loads of laundry, Mother's Day and.. oh yea.. we're moving! The latter is the most exciting for me. I cannot describe the feeling or say it enough. We aren't moving far, not far at all actually -- 6 or 7 blocks away to be exact. :) We will still be living in Lincoln Park Historic District but instead of living in a 1 bedroom duplex, we are going to be living in a 2 bedroom house (built in 1930) with a big backyard, a porch (!!), garage, ranunculus in the front and a big beautiful quiet street. I am going to do a separate post once we move in because I am just that excited, if you couldn't tell. We prayed diligently for our future home and G-d blessed us beyond what we could have imagined. We so don't deserve it.

So anyway, that's what has been keeping us busy and crazy these past few weeks. Our living room is full of boxes and I can say that I am definitely ready to be settled in.. but not for a couple more weeks. I vow to blog again very very soon with pictures and all.

Oh.. um p.s. The new house.. it's pink. Like powder pink. And before you make a face, I love it.

Sun-dazeeee

2010-04-25T15:08:00.002-07:00

It's Sunday, the day that I have the house to myself and the day that I (normally) get things done around here. In going to bed last night, my plan was to sleep in and then get started with my day and my chores. There was laundry to be done, counters to be wiped down, dry dishes to be put away, a new Martha Stewart magazine to be read and my brother's birthday painting to be finished.. but but but, here I sit on the couch, at 3pm, in the very same place I have been since I woke up. What a shame. And all I have gotten done today is read my magazine and baked a new loaf of bread (and ate two slices)... oh an watched 10 Things I Hate About You, My Best Friend's Wedding and Man vs. Food. -- and I have enjoyed every moment of it. But the time has now come to get myself up, start the laundry, jump in the shower, clean things up and get ready for my darling husband's homecoming. I like him. :)

It's a short update, but it's all I got right now. The weekend is almost over.. hope you've had a good one.

Guys..

2010-04-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling anxious about my lack of blogging lately. You know when you've been away for a while, not for any particular reason but just because life is happening, and there's always this little thought in the back of your head reminding you.. "you're blog.. is ... waiting.."? Well I've been feeling that and have thought that I need to sit down and crank out a totally awesomistic (that's a made up word circa 2002) and tubular blog post filled with pictures and witty things to say but but but, the pressure is just too much. I have yet to upload pictures from our San Francisco trip because our computer is confused so I think I'm going to have to do it at my parents' house, which is so tedious. All that to say, I'm sorry for the delay (I feel funny even saying that, as if there are peoples' lives in complete turmoil due to my absence .. ha) and I will be doing something soon. I have pictures to upload and lots of recipes to post, but, all in due time. Happy Tuesday? :)

Hi. Hello.

2010-04-14T12:56:00.001-07:00

This has been sitting on my coffee table for close to 4 days now.. still unread.
--I hate being sick!

This is about the fourth or fifth time that I have started to write this entry, but I have had to stop or delete it because my body could not sit in the upright position any longer. That is what the stomach flu will do to you.. or to me rather. Blehhh.. bleckk.. barff.. barf. I'm home sick (again) from work today and I'm hoping that it will be my last day. I have so much to write about and it makes me sad that I haven't been able to. Right now, I'm feeling a little better and so I'm just doing a quick update to say that I am here and alive (barely) and will be back in full swing as soon as I can be. San Francisco was perfect and I want to tell you all about that and show you my pictures too. But for now, I will show you this little picture that I took with my blackberry.. because it's all I have right now.

We spent a good amount of time in the Yerba Buena Gardens because it was quite beautiful
and this was a picture taken while we were sitting behind the fountain.

More pictures and stories to come. I hope that you are all having a nice, healthy week. :)

We're going flying in the rain.

2010-04-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

I can't even believe how long I've been away from the internet. I haven't sat in front of my computer in over a week.. Which I think is a record for me. I know I always talk about how busy life is but, truly, this has been the busiest time of my life with bachelorette parties, friends visiting from far away, weddings and very important Holy-days. Right now, I'm in the car with my husband (blogging from my blackberry..lame?) on our way to the airport. We are going to San Francisco for 6 whole days and 5 whole nights to celebrate our year of marriage. We are so excited to have some time away from this busy life and spend time together looking at tall buildings, eating amazing food, seeing old friends, sleeping in a fun hotel, walking in the park, shopping and going to the Jewish contemporary museum (woo!).

Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely week, as I know I will be doing the same. Stories and photos to come. :)

Flowers, For Me?

2010-03-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Paul has been working a lot of overtime the past few weeks, which puts him home much
later in the day than I'm used to. Last week was a stressful week at work for me
(and for him) and with Paul coming home later, it kind of bummed me out.
Today, he was supposed to be getting off work at 6 (starting at 6am mind you),
and so my plan was to run all of the errands I needed to do, in time for his
homecoming. Well... at 3ish, I was in the kitchen doing some dishes
when unbeknown-st to me, the front door opens and in comes walking
my darling husband with a lovely bouquet of flowers, just for me.
Yellow ranunculas and wax flowers.. I just love them. I could not have
been more thrilled at that moment. He told me that he had canceled his overtime
that morning and wanted to surprise me tonight. We ran our errands together
and then treated me to sushi (my favorite!) and Golden Spoon. Now we are back home
and are about to start a new (for us) episode of Heroes. And I am really happy.
I just love this man.

Spring Time

2010-03-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

I love spring time and all of the blooming flowers that it brings. Our peach
and apricot trees have budded and blossomed in our backyard, along with
the pink and red camellia trees on the side of our house. It makes life
feel new again and with the new season brings a new list of goals,
hopes and dreams. For this season, I pray for..
...a refreshed attitude and frame of mind.
...a simpler, less materialist life.
...more late night drives with my husband.
...a thankful attitude for the jobs we possess.
...more of Jesus everyday.
...our time to be spent reading and creating new things.
...lots of deliciously cooked dinners.
...a clean house. :)
...more walks in our neighborhood and naps in the park.
...lots love and time to be shared with our family and friends.

(photo via waterproofvalentines)

What songs can do..

2010-03-18T13:41:00.001-07:00

Music has an intense ability to make me feel and think deeply.
This has been one of my favorite songs since the moment I first heard it..
and listening to it today is endlessly satisfying.

The weekend is almost here, I can feel it.

Israeli Cous Cous with Leeks and Tomatoes

2010-03-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

This has quickly become my "go to" meal when I don't have a lot of time and it also has become one of our favorite dinners. It's really easy to make and super good for you. I concocted this one night in my kitchen a while back and have been able to successfully recreate it. :)

Israeli Cous Cous with Leeks and Tomatoes

1 Leek, finely chopped
2 cups of grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 of a lemon
2 cups Israeli Cous Cous (I buy mine from Trader Joes)
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Cook cous cous to package instructions and set aside. Coat the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil and heat over medium low heat. Saute leeks until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add tomatoes and lemon juice and cook over medium low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and add it to the cous cous. Fluff with a fork and mix it together. And that's it. I like to top it with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

I hope you enjoy it. :)

P.s. I hate this heat.. and I know it hasn't even begun!

Eagle vs. Shark

2010-03-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

"I guess I've got to keep creating

or I'll just die."

I completely agree.

Our carrots are in love.

2010-03-07T11:22:00.000-08:00

Upland has started up their farmer's market again and this past Thursday was the first night. We made a date night out of it and had a really nice time. I wrote about Farm Fresh To You a couple posts back and about how we get a shipment every other Friday morning. Well, we realized that it doesn't last us the full two weeks so we had to stock up on some veggies. We bought some really beautiful asparagus, swiss chard, red lettuce, cherry tomatoes (the farmer told us that they never had to plant these on his farm, they just grow wild and they are delicious) and carrots. Paul wanted to pick out the carrots because he is the one who eats the bulk of them and when he came back, he had two big bunches with their pretty greens still attached. He showed me one of the bunches and said that he had picked it because of the two carrots that had grown together to look like a heart. I thought it was too cute and I just had to take a picture, and here I am sharing it with you all. It made me really happy. :)

I trust that you are all having a nice weekend and I hope you are enjoying the rain and the sunshine.

Pretty Day

2010-03-02T17:23:00.001-08:00

This day has been really nice. Not for any particular reason, just because.
This video definitely adds to the niceness. Happy Tuesday.

(via Daydream Lily)

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Nelson

2010-03-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

Seriously stunning.

Paul and I had the pleasure of standing next to our dear friends while they got married this past Saturday, and it was a perfect. Brittany Ann was a vision of beauty and grace and I caught myself (and everyone else) staring at her several times throughout the day. Steven was handsome and calm and when I asked him what he thought, he said, "I didn't know she could get any more beautiful"... so true. The day was stormy outside which made it all the more romantic and close-knit inside the church and reception. We ate, we drank, we laughed and we danced until they kicked us out and my feet are still sore (seriously). Brittany even had the DJ play mine and Paul's first dance song from our wedding to recognize our one year anniversary, she's so sweet. It was lovely! Right now, Brittany and Steven are in Santa Barbara, enjoying their honeymoon. Congratulations to our newly married friends! We love you. :)

Farm Fresh To You.

2010-02-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

We received our first shipment of fresh, organic produce this morning from Farm Fresh To You. Everything looks scrumptious and I am so excited. We heard about this through a friend of ours and we thought that it would be worth it to try once, and if it was good, then we would keep going with it. In the past, we have bought our organic produce from farmers markets or grocery stores but as we all know, it can be pretty costly. What Farm Fresh To You does, is they harvest seasonal fruits and veggies from local, organic farmers and distribute them to their customers by delivering it to their home. You have the option of having it delivered every week, every other week or once a month. There are four different size shipments that you can choose from and you can see what they will be harvesting. We chose the second size to be delivered every other week, since it is only the 2 of us, we don't go through food that fast. At first, I didn't know if it would work for us because I really like picking and examining my own food to make sure I am getting the best but, again, I thought it would be worth it to try once (it can be canceled whenever you want). After looking though our produce today, I can see that it is definitely something that I will continue to use. Everything looked so so yummy and perfectly picked (with the exception of one blood orange that looks like it got dinged on one side). So, what did we get?

Cameo Apples, 3
Fuji Apples, 2
D'Anjou Pears, 2
Blood Oranges, 3
Hass Avocado, 1
Eureka Lemons, 2
Broccoli, 1 crown
Chard, 1 bunch
Collard Greens, 1 bunch
Leeks, 1 lb.
Celery, 1 bunch
Romaine Lettuce, 1 head
Beets, 1 bunch
Yukon Potatoes, 2 lbs.
Red Onions, 1 lb.

And with our order, came a newsletter and four recipes. I'm pretty darn excited about this. How convenient it is to have our fresh fruits and veggies placed on our door step? Lovely. We pay $31 a shipment that comes every other week. We are going to see how it goes, and if we need to up our order, we will. If you are interested in this too, when you sign up, use code 6164 and type Paul de Partee and you will receive $5 off your first shipment.

I couldn't get all of the veggies in one shot but this is some of them. Yum!

Pothole Gardens

2010-02-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite blogs brought these lovely pothole gardens to my attention, and I'm fascinated. And inspired. And can't stop looking at them. Pete Dungey is the mastermind behind it all and he said, "If we planted one of those in every hole, it would be like a forest in the road", and I just think that is beautiful.

Hello.

2010-02-18T15:28:00.000-08:00

It's Thursday already and I'm not sure where the week went. It's been another busy one and I'm sleepy. I got home around 8:15 last night and by 8:30, I was in my pajamas and in bed. Haha that sounds pathetic but I needed the extra hours of sleep. I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

This last weekend was nice because it was a four day weekend and boy do I love those extra days off. Brittany's bachelorette party was Saturday night and that was a lot of fun. We took a cooking class in Claremont and we learned to make chicken parmesan, homemade pasta and crème brûlée. Mmmmmm it was so so good. Sunday was Valentine's Day and Paul worked. I like the day but I don't really care too much about actual "Valentine's Day". I don't expect gifts or anything like that but I made sure to make a nice meal for us that night, just because. Paul did surprise me with two bouquets of flowers, one for the table and one for my bedside table (very nice). All in all, a great weekend. I'm looking forward to this weekend for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm FINALLY getting a haircut and 2) Mal and Jonathan are coming for a visit (yay!).

Hope you are all having a nice week. Happy Thursday. :)

Organic Candied Walnuts

2010-02-12T12:47:00.001-08:00

My little computer's camera is working quite well for me these days.

I have been trying to come up with some new ways to make my everyday salad a bit more exciting... and so far, I have been successful. I look forward to it everyday. So here is a new one for me and I think I'm obsessed. :) This is so simple and easy to make.

Organic Candied Walnuts

2 Tbsp Organic Maple Syrup
1/4 cup Organic Walnuts
A pinch of Salt

Heat maple syrup in a non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add walnuts and salt and mix around until the walnuts are evenly coated and caramelized, about 2-3 minutes. Let cool on wax paper (or foil) and serve. Hope you like it.

Unfortunately for me, I first tried this with molasses and it was a definite no-go. Boohoooo..

Inspiration for today.

2010-02-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

I feel like visiting new places and seeing new faces.

(via Minute Impressions)

A long day that ended with potato dumplings.

2010-02-10T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today was busy. My class and I went on a fun field trip to a walnut ranch in West Covina. There were a lot of fun, hands on activities for the kids to do and they really enjoyed it, so did I. After the field trip, I went to my Grandma's house to take care of her (as I do every Wednesday) and she was especially confused when I came walking through the door. I think having a Grandma with Alzheimer's is something that I have gotten used to.. either that or I'm just calloused. It's all just very odd.. very sad. I think it's something that I have already grieved over. She doesn't know me at all anymore, I am a stranger to her.. but there are those random times when she looks up and she smiles and looks at me as a familiar face. She's very sweet. We played cards, put together a puzzle and sat outside and looked at the trees and the flowers.

Later, Paul and I went to the farmers market and did our grocery shopping. We were tired and hungry when we got home and decided that something hot was the way to go. I had some left over mashed potatoes from a couple nights ago and decided to make potato dumplings in tomato soup. The process is pretty easy, all you need is some flour and your left over mashed potatoes and you're in business. I sprinkled flour on the board, plopped a big handful of potatoes on it and needed it until it felt more like a dough that could be rolled out, adding flour until desired consistency. I rolled it and cut it into bite size pieces and put them in the hot soup to heat them through. All it needs is some freshly ground black pepper and a spoon, total comfort. I served it along side a fresh mixed green salad and it was the perfect pair. It was super easy and it hit the spot.

Bed time.

Quick update

2010-02-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

I find her to be quite lovely.

I had thee busiest last 7 days, which is clear by my recent absence. I have no idea where the weekend went. It was wrapped up in the moving out of old furniture and the moving in of new, a sweet rainy wedding, a bridal shower and minimal amounts of sleep. I still haven't recovered. Oye. So for now I am back to my normal life. I cleaned the house, got caught up on some reading and made sure the house and dinner were ready by the time Paul opened the front door. Broccoli and tofu in a garlic sauce served with a heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes... all organic I should add. :) Yay for that. More updates to come.. hope you all had a nice weekend. Happy Monday evening. :)

(via la boom!)

2.1.10

2010-02-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe February is here.

(via Things She Loves)

Mr. Grad Student

2010-01-29T12:43:00.001-08:00

Paul with my family on his graduation day.

This week, Paul officially started his Library Science Masters program with San Jose State and I couldn't be more proud. We have been through a lot of loops, ups and downs with figuring out what to do for school and I am so happy that we have finally reached the place where G-d intended for us to be. There is an overwhelming peace that comes with knowing that we are where we are supposed to be and I am so thankful.

Paul and I with our lovely friend Courtney at Biola.

Good Morning

2010-01-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

Paul bought me a box of my favorite tea last night and all I want
to do is sit and drink cup after cup after cup...

(via aaronmace)

Food Inc.

2010-01-25T15:44:00.000-08:00

Last night, Paul and I finally watched Food Inc. We have had it in our Netflix queu for a long time and at last, we were able to watch it. It gave us a lot to think about.. to be honest, this is something we are passionate about and we have already been thinking this way for some time now but this was just the push we needed. I am so thankful for this documentary and I hope that you all will take the time to watch it. It will be a slow transition for us but we will do it, and it starts now. Take a looksie.

Greek Turkey Burgers

2010-01-22T15:10:00.000-08:00

Still dreaming of a normal camera.. one day.

I've been trying to come up with a healthier spin on the dinners that I usually make and this one came out perfectly. This was so filling.. no need for a side because there is so much going on inside the burger. This dish was inspired by a recipe I saw done by Ellie Krieger. I made a salad from one of the left over patties today and I think it was even better than last night. :)

Greek Turkey Burgers

1 pound lean ground turkey meat
Whole wheat hamburger buns, 4
1/4 of a white onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
Cucumber
Lettuce
Red onion
Salt and pepper
Avocado (optional)

>>Saute olive oil and onion in a non-stick pan until onion is translucent. Add spinach, stir occasionally until wilted down. Add feta cheese and freshly ground black pepper and mix together. (No need for salt because the feta is salty enough.)
>>Form turkey patties to desired size and stuff with the onion, spinach and feta mixture. Seal each burger so that the mixture doesn't make a mess on the grill. Place patties on a grill pan over medium high heat, 8-10 minutes on each size.
>>In a bowl, mix together yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, 1/8 tsp salt and pepper.
>>Once the turkey patties are cooked through, you can build your burger. Top each pattie with a spoonful of the yogurt, a few slices of cucumber, avocado, lettuce and red onion .. and enjoy!

You can always add fresh, chopped dill to the yogurt to gain a more intense Greek flavor. We are not fans of dill in this house.. unless it's a dill pickle. ;)

For Haiti.

2010-01-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

I hope that most of us are aware of the tragedy going on in Haiti right now. My heart goes out to the people there as I am praying for G-d's mercies in that place. If you would, please take the time to leave a comment on this blog post because for every comment that is made, $1 will be given to World Mission to help Haiti in their time of need. It just takes one minute but it will hopefully help many people.

Healthy Morning

2010-01-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for this day off from work. What better day to be home than on a cold, rainy morning, it's been lovely. I cuddled in bed with Tootsie for a while today listening to the rain and after some time passed, I figured it was time to get myself up. I started out with a little morning yoga which was so refreshing. (I'm keeping up with my 2010 goals and I've been doing well with trying to work out several times a week.) Then I danced around the kitchen with good music blaring and made a little breakfast: Raspberrry Vanilla Whole Grain Cream of Wheat.

>>Follow the instructions for a single serving of Cream of Wheat and put into a bowl. (Oatmeal would be tasty too.)
>>Add in 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and 2 Tbps of raspberry preserves.
>>Add a splash of low fat milk for richness. (Optional)
>>Whisk together and enjoy.

This was very easy to make and a healthy alternative to pouring spoonfuls of sugar into your breakfast. You could always add a any fresh or dry fruit that you might have on hand. Change up the flavors too if you don't like raspberry. :)

Paul will be getting home earlier than normal today so we are going to try and do something fun in the rain. For dinner tonight, I am going to make a chicken and brown rice dish accompanied by Julia Child's french green beans, I'm pretty excited to make them. For Christmas, Paul's parent's got me The French Chef with Julia Child which is a full season of her cooking show and it is delightful. I have learned many things from her, I am striving for culinary excellence after all. :)

I always have music playing when I'm home, it's just something I can't live without because it brings me so much joy. So here is my theme song for the day. I hope it brings you as much happiness as it did for me this morning. Watch the cute video too. :) Happy Monday.

Food for Thought

2010-01-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,

or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

Abraham Lincoln

Happy Birthday Mother

2010-01-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

In her truest form.

Today, I am wishing my mom a very happy birthday. I am so very glad that she was born and for all that she has done for me. We are celebrating tonight at our house with Nordstom cookbooks' recipe of chicken tortilla soup (yum!) and homemade salsa. Oh and of course, birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Mom :)

Kale and White Bean Soup

2010-01-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

This is a recipe taken from the most recent Real Simple Magazine and Paul and I love loved this dish. I made it on New Years Eve before we went out for the night and it was the perfect meal. It was so full of flavor and filled us up. The left overs were even better because the soup was able to sit and soak up the flavors even more. I'm definitely on a soup kick right now and this was a favorite.

Kale and White Bean Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 15.5 ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed
1 cup small soup pasta (4 ounces)
1 bunch kale, thick stems discarded and leaves torn into 2 inch pieces (8 cups)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan, plus 1 piece Parmesan rind
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 loaf country bread, warmed

>Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, celery, onion 1&1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes
>Add the beans, pasta, kale, rosemary, 8 cups water, and the Parmesan rind; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the pasta and kale are tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
>Remove the Parmesan rind. Stir in the lemon juice and sprinkle with the shaved Parmesan before serving. Serve with the bread.

I served it with a lemon wedge to squeeze over the top because I always go for extra lemon, but you can do it how you like. If you try it, do tell! I'd love to know your thoughts. :)

One.Five.TwoThousandTen

2010-01-05T17:39:00.001-08:00

Paul should be home in approximately one hour. He picked up 20 extra hours at work this week (which totals to 60 hours - yipes) and I am trying to be a good wife by making sure the house is clean, dinner is on the table and that I am dressed in my sweetest apron as he crosses the threshold. Real Simple's orange chicken with bulgar pilaf (sub quinoa for bulgar because the grocery store didn't have it, darn) will be served on our dinner table this evening and I hope it turns out just right. I am really trying to commit to my "2010 try to achieve" list this week (one week at a time) and I am doing that by staying in tonight and cooking for the two of us instead of going out. Feels good. :)

Another way that I am sticking to my list is by taking a picture everyday. So for today's picture, I give you this: my new favorite pillow. This was gifted to us by Mallory and Jonathan for our Christmas present and I couldn't be more thrilled about it. Here it rests on our couch and I look at it fondly every time I enter the room.

The little sign in front says "de Partee" (!)

I wish the picture could be better but as we know, the photo booth camera is going to have to have to cut it until something better comes along. Is this not the cutest thing? I have a lot of love for this little pillow. Please excuse Tootsie's behind, she was not willing to move for the photo. Happy Tuesday. :)

One.Two.TwoThousandNine - One.Two.TwoThousandTen

2010-01-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

Under the chuppah just one year ago.

We were married exactly one year ago this past Saturday and I can hardly believe it. What a great day that was. To celebrate our anniversary, we spent the day in Pasadena, lunching and walking around the Norton Simon Museum, shopping on Lake and Colorado and dining at Green Street Tavern (just around the corner from where we got married) and it was marvelous. It was a slow moving, hand holding, take everything in and enjoy each others' company kind of day. I am so blessed to have been able to marry someone perfectly handpicked for me by our L-rd, who just happens to be my favorite person and best friend. It's mooshy but true. Pictures of our day later to come. :)

One.One.TwoThousandTen

2010-01-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

I'm here at this new destination and I like the feel of it. I love having something new to work on and look at, so I am bringing in the new year with lots of new things and new improvements. Last night was New Years Eve and Paul and I spent it with some of our closest friends - singing loudly, laughing until our sides ached, dancing, hugging and kissing. It was a really great way for us to end the year. I can't believe 2009 is over. Did it fly by for you like it did for us? In looking back on all the we did, it blows my mind. Tomorrow is mine and Paul's one year wedding anniversary.. u n b e l i e v a b l e. I can't really put a feeling into words other than saying that my tummy flutters when I think about that day and thinking about what I was doing right now, one year ago. I saw my parents a couple of days ago and my dad asked me if it felt surreal thinking back on a year ago and seeing and experiencing how quickly it came and went. My dad has always said that time goes by quicker the older you get and I always listened but never knew quite grasped what he was saying. He talked about how their first year of marriage flew by for them and how the years following seems to go quick too. Now that I have grown up (just a bit), I know what he is saying. And it is a slightly eerie but at the same time, comforting feeling to be in the same place that my dad was in years ago.

So let's see... I'm going to make a quick list for what I would like to see happen in this new year. This isn't a resolution list, just a strive to achieve list. :) I've never been really good with resolutions. Here we go, I would like to..

...become a stronger woman of G-d.

...take more walks.

...read more books.
...buy fresh flowers weekly.
...write more hand written letters.
...wear my apron everyday.
...love Jesus more.
...make sun tea in my backyard.
...maintain a healthier lifestyle.
...stay home in the evenings more with Paul rather than us going out.
...craft a little bit everyday.
...bake flowerless cakes.
...travel!
...make handmade gifts for family and friend's birthdays.
...make more chicken tortilla soup.
...light more candles.
...take at least one picture everyday.
...grow closer to the L-rd everyday.
...finish all of the projects that I start.
...love my husband more (which isn't hard to do).
...make the bed at least 3 days a week.
...get control of my road rage (yipes).
...get more exercise.
...blog 1-2 times a week.
...help someone in need.
...spend more time with my grandma.
...love more.
...become a better wife, daughter, sister and friend.

I hope that everyone had a fun, safe New Years Eve. I am excited for 2010 and all that it will bring. And for now I leave you with this, of course it's Sufjan Stevens. I guess maybe he sings the theme song of my life. I love how he writes, how he sings and his creative ability. I hope you enjoy the song. Happy New Year and love to you all. :)