highlights #86

I'm sitting by my window this morning watching big grey clouds that are promising rain.  Apparently this should be the biggest downpour the LA area has seen in a few years, so three hip hoorays for that little blessing.  However, while I normally love cozy, rainy days, today they are adding to my semi-melancholy mood that is somewhere between I want a big cuppa tea and I need a good book to curl up with. 

While I go take a hot shower and try to shake Miss Debbie Downer, here are a few fun finds from around the web:

the Olympics may be over, but I still want this pullover

everything about this journal entry is perfection

great tips for a small water closet

animals growing up

tips for Japanese travelers visiting America - too funny

the cutest downloadable wallpapers

an empty San Fran - eerie or calming?

this is my new favorite guilty pleasure

these pictures are soothing to the soul

a darling maxi - yeah or nay?

ice flowers

is this about to become a new trend?

minimizing

an interesting way of exploring beauty

how to remember pi

this is hilarious

and I don't care if you don't speak Norwegian, this is still guaranteed to warm your heart

xo

fressssh

I'm pretty sure I need more homemade mozzarella and fresh basil in my house ASAP.  Last night was a I'm not sure what to make for dinner kind of night and ding, ding!  I remembered we had these supplies in the fridge.  Just as easy as a grilled cheese and infinitely more tasty.  I'm diggin' it.


Recipe inspiration via Full Fork Ahead

adventures

This weekend was all sorts of chill/ getting things done/ hanging with family.  My kind of weekend.  Even my lesson on Sunday went (mostly) according to plan.  I'm calling that a win.

We had my dad and little sister over on Sunday for dinner (since my mom was off having fun in the Midwest) and we tried out a few new things on them, including this, this, and making our own homemade mozzarella!  That was an adventure all its own.  It took longer than we expected and with some help from my dad (who lived in Italy for two years once upon a time - maybe that helped??), we got it to stick together in a little ball.  Its was tad salty, but still pretty delicious.  I think we'll have to try our hand at it again another time.

Speaking of adventures, one of my girl friends and her husband are down for the count with a stomach bug so I took their little 1-year-old for the day.  We watched a whole lot of Thomas the Tank Engine, I found out my apartment is nowhere near baby proof, and I had my first experience of trying to buy a quick something at Walmart with a sleeping babe in one arm.

Oh, and speaking of arms, mine are practically numb.  I'm going to have to bulk up before we have little munchkins of our own running around...

yesterday

Yesterday I started in on transcribing my Nana's journals.  These little treasures have been sitting in a bag in my parent's garage for a good long time now and are just starting to see the light of day again.

I've started off with her first one written in 1947 by her 16-year-old self, with a sweet little note in the front that say's: hands off see!  Among other things I've learned that she seems to have a beau named Don and wearing his sweater is just the best thing is the world, she has a test in Spanish on verbs and they took a Sunday drive through Pasadena.  The cutest.  I'm really getting excited to read more and to learn more about her.  And with 15 (almost) full journals, I've got a lot of reading and learning to do.

Wish me luck!

P.S. We also RedBoxed this movie last night and laughed hysterically.  Brett McKenzie?  Holy smokes, my sides still ache.

just because

David got home yesterday at his usual later hour, but, instead of walking in with his usual briefcase, he sauntered in with a beautiful bunch of pink roses and a jar of Nutella.   

If that's not true love, I don't know what is. 

triple lutz

Last night for our Young Women's activity we combined up with the Young Men and took everybody ice skating.  Now, you've gotta understand.  Ice skating and me?  We're often at odds.  On my 15th birthday I, well...got a concussion out on the ice.   At a youth activity.  Youth Conference to be exact. 

Oh baby, that was a fun day.  Waking up laying on the ice with half the stake's youth looking down at me?  Classy stuff.

So those ice skates and I, we have a bit of a tiff, but I promised my laurels I'd get out with them!  (I did that - why did I do that??)  So I show up thinking most of the other leaders will get out there and embarrass themselves with me.  Nope, just two of us.  And the other leader?  She has her own skates.  Legit.  Looks like I'm going to embarrass myself, all by myself. 

After watching ice skating, and dancing, and twizzling, and triple combinations for the past week plus, I somehow got a little overconfident - they make it look so easy!!  We'll I'm here to tell you, watching the Olympics does not, in any way, make you a better ice skater.  Shocker.  But I'm a pretty big fan of the little aluminum walkers they had to train the little kids with.  I'd be happy to have one of those in my size please.

Oh, and no concussion, so, you know, that's a win :)

highlights #85

What have you been doing this week?  Because I've been watching Olympics, Olympics, and more Olympics.  I keep laughing at myself because I am not a big sports watching fan girl (except for during BYU football season, and even then...), but I can watch ice skating, downhill skiing, and luge all the live long day.  I'm even all over curling and cross country skiing!  (More so when the US is prominent, but still)  And then (laughably so) I feel like I actually know what I'm talking about after listening to the commentators. 

Oh Olympics, I will be so sad when you're over.  While I stream the women's giant slalom, here are a few fun posts from around the web:

speaking of the Olympics, this makes my heart smile

also, this is madness

who knew?  Go Norway!

and a useful pizza algorithm for your Closing Ceremonies party ;)

some of the prettiest ring bling

why does my phone battery die so fast??

love this

I've always wanted to know how to make these

a charming night

this necklace is simple and perfect

measuring spaghetti (already used this twice and it works!!)

gorgeous travel guides

part of me wants to make these so bad

and I want this sweater in my size please??  Go USA!

xo

15th is the new 14th

Valentine's Day.  Something about me still loves it: all the lovey dovey-ness, chocolates, and husbands running to the florist after work to pick up a bouquet for their misses.  It gets me every time.  But since David's flight home didn't touched down till 9:30 in the PM on Friday, we were short on celebration time and were wiped out to boot (he'd been traveling/ working all day and I was in the car for 4ish hours that day - darn you Jamzilla!).  So we rescheduled for the next day and went right to bed when we got home.

Turns out I married a pretty sweet guy.  I woke up to the smell of pancakes and walked out to find two huge bunches of tulips on the table.  There are definite perks to his internal clock still being on central time: he'd gone to the grocery store (at like 6:45 AM) to get all the fixings.  What a doll.

Those chocolates are almost gone, the pancakes were heavenly, and we topped the day off with a showing of The Monuments Men, which was pretty great.

It can be belated Valentine's Day every Saturday as far as I'm concerned.

a wrap up

Well, two weeks ago this was what happened:

See ya later alligator!  He was off for two weeks away in Kentucky for work and tomorrow he comes hommmme!  I've decided two weeks away from each other is entirely too long and I'll be happy if we don't have to do something like that again anytime soon.

So for the first week he was gone, my view was lots of this:

Lots of kiddos and puppy dogs.  I was off to basketball practices, dance classes, talent shows, and all of that ilk.  Not to mention making lunches, getting kids out the door to school, and entertaining a 4-year-old for most of the day.  It was motherhood by fire and really a lot of fun.
And also exhausting.

On Friday night I ran home, repacked, and came down to Orange County to hang out with my family...and Bob Costas.  The Olympics have been on, more or less, non-stop since the Opening Ceremonies in this house.
As it should be.

We also make a lovely pilgrimage down to my favorite beach and dug up some family treasures in the garage. 

And now...it's just me and the dog.  The parents and the little sis were off for a long President's Day ski weekend up in Utah and I'm holding down the fort till David gets back to the west coast tomorrow. 

Ready for that guy of mine to be back home.

highlights #84

Well, I'm officially a single mom of five + a beagle till Friday.  So far, so good (ie: all the kids are still alive), and I'm learning a ton about how to keep a 4-year-old entertained.  It's a whole new kind of adventure.  While I pack up the Yukon (aka: the tank) for swimming, basketball, and lacrosse, here are a few things from around the web:

this is on my wish list

a perfect Vday shirt

the power of intentions

the skinny on Google

the cutest cake to get pumped for the Olympics (anyone else totally psyched?!)

a perfect picture

now I want a disco ball...

the deets behind NYC neighborhoods

the cutest chocolates

I always liked Ron and Hermione together anyway...

these are all true

and I need every. single. one of these dresses.  Seriously.

xo 

Newhall, CA

A Saturday afternoon walk was just the ticket.  It was organized chaos refereeing three pre-teens all morning, so when we got home that afternoon I immediately decided Dave and I needed to go for a walk around the neighborhood.
Nothing quite like fresh air and the setting sun to calm the nerves and settle the head.

Plus I love all the lemon trees in this part of town.