The brilliance of local

I swung by our local farmer's market yesterday afternoon and absolutely fell in love. There's something about them that speak to my heart. Knowing I'm getting better food grown by hardworking people that live 5 miles away from me rather than 3000. Supporting farmer's directly and ensuring that they are being paid fairly. It's such a different environment than a grocery store.

I walked around, chatting with each farmer... asked where their farm was, how to tell if their produce was ready, how long they've lived here and little pieces of their story. I love interactions like that.

I got to the corn guy and he had me take a bite of the corn. Raw. Seriously. He pulled down the husk and I took a bite right there in the farmer's market. It was Delicious. He said that corn sold in grocery stores is developed to ship; to be hardy and last a week or two. But true, local farm corn is grown to be eaten that day so it is much more tender and much sweeter so I could bite it right off. All it needs is to be warmed up enough to melt some butter on it. Fascinating, huh?

I liked him so I bought a lot of corn. Some squash and zucchini at another guys place. Fresh Colorado peaches at another. Green beans too.

And I could carry it all around in my cute pink tote!

Beautiful weekend

I should be hopping in the shower right now to be getting ready for church, but in typical Sarah fashion I am trying to cram way to many things into a non-equal amount of shrinking time.

I made homemade tortillas this morning. Hmmm. Not sure they turned out right; they don't quite look like they did on the lady's blog. I haven't tasted one yet, but hopefully it'll still taste yummy. I'm all about making homemade bread. It's an addiction, really.

The boy is off playing Army this weekend again. So that means that I watched High School Musical 3 yesterday. Cheesy confession- it made me cry. Just a little! My eyes just teared up, I mean. Really.

And that also means that I am going shopping this afternoon. Maybe just to TJMaxx and Marshalls. Bargain shopping so I'm still being fiscally responsible. He'll be proud of me.

In other news, I'm abnormally excited for tomorrow night to get here so I can watch The Bachelorette and see what Ally does. I'm kind of ridiculous.

I really should go now. I just do not love showing up to church by myself and finding a place to sit... by myself... so maybe this is me procrastinating.

I'm going to go clean now.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Dentists and Fires

Goodmorning everyone. It's Monday morning and I am getting ready to go to the dentist this morning. I've never been one to hate going to the dentist so I'm not too worried about it.

I do remember being traumatized maybe 5 years ago or so when one of the hygienists working on me told me that I have "Very active salivary glands."

She politely told me that I drool a lot.

Hello embarrassment. I am always a little worried about that when I'm sitting in the chair. So then when they try to be all chatty and talking to me while 8 instruments are in my mouth I mostly just grunt, not wanting to try to move my tongue around too much which activates my already active salivary glands even more.

The rest of the day will consist of heading over to the gym, grocery shopping, LOTS of laundry, and camping out with my beloved Mac and getting some writing done.

Laundry needs to happen stat because our house currently smells like a campfire. We went camping this weekend with my family: 2 grandparents, 1 7-month-pregnant sister + husband, 1 sister still recovering from Disneyland + husband, 5 nieces and nephews, 5 dogs, and Lane and I. It was interesting. There was a lot of barking. But actually it was really fun. I have a pretty awesome family. And they love me even when I smell like a campfire. What more could you ask?

10 in 10

I mentioned last week that Gina over at The Shabby Chic Cottage threw out a gauntlet of a challenge to complete 10 tasks in 10 days. I have a secret obsession with lists, so this is right up my alley!

Mission accepted. Operation 10 Tasks is officially in session. Want to join me? Go check it out!

1) Re-do our guest bedroom

2) Put desk (and hopefully sell!) on Craig's List

3) Repaint trunk

4) Clean out garage

5) Weed garden

6) Paint molding in kitchen

7) Reorganize closets

8) Create necklaces

9) Post office packages

10) Work out 10 times

Yay! Is it weird how excited I get about this?!

Tuesday ramblings

Tuesday morning thoughts:

Slowly but surely I am becoming addicted to The Bachelorette. I had never seen any of the show until the last Bachelor with Jake. I don't like that I like it, but I just can't turn it off! Addicting, I tell you. Casey was weird, Justin I don't love, not sure how I feel about Frank, but I really like Chris L. and Ty. I'm kind of embarrassed I know all of those names. Any other Bachelorette watchers out there?

I wanted to wake up before 6 am this morning and go running before it got too hot. After hitting the snooze button for 45 minutes I just gave into the fact that running isn't going to happen and I might have to to a P90x cardio workout because I don't think I'll have enough time to do a whole gym outting today. That's probably a good thing after my self-imposed 2-a-day yesterday of spinning and then GroupPower (weightlifting class). My body is a bit tired.

I'm getting my haircut today. Probably nothing dramatic, but I am thinking about bangs. Not sure if they'll work for me, but I'm intrigued.

I had weird dreams last night.

I am going to go paint my guest bedroom now which I am super excited about. The big reveal will be coming soon; it's going to be cute!

Hope you guys have a great day!

2010-1983=

27.

27. 27. 27.

Say it with me. Twenty-Seven.

My birthday is not today, it was actually nearly 3 weeks ago. But I think that the reverberations of that shock are still coursing through my veins and I'm trying to process why I was, in fact, shocked to turn 27.

Now, to add a disclaimer, I know that some of you reading my blog are older than Twenty-Seven. Maybe much older? I humbly apologize.

But still.

I FEEL OLD.

I haven't had a birthday where this has happened to me yet. I would have thought that some sort of quarter-life crisis would have hit me at 25, and that would have made sense to me. But no, I had been telling people for a good 5 months that I was 25 when I was still 24. I was excited to hit Twenty-Five. It seemed mature.

It seemed like at 25 I would have everything sorted out, knew my life trajectory and how I would get there.

Um, no.

But still. It sounded wise, classy, prime to me. I loved being 25!

26 came and went without much to-do.

Then. It inevitably came, much like birthdays tend to do.

And I turned 27. Around The Birthday, I was reading a book where the main character was a cute little 25-year-old Miss Thang. She had an attitude, good clothes, good shoes, and boys chasing after her. And it struck me- I'm no longer a cute little thing! I'm nearing middle age! No longer am I a cute little college girl. I might as well already have crows feet around my eyes, a tire around my waist and saggy boobs.

Maybe I'm being a little overdramatic.

It makes me think of that country song "Strawberry Wine" where she goes: I still remember when 30 was old.

And I know that I will look back on being 27 as a beautiful age where I still had everything in front of me, was blessed beyond belief, and actually probably was a Cute Little Thing.

And I guess looking back now I have, thankfully, improved with my age. L tells me that he thinks I am more beautiful (and hot- his word, not mine) than when he met me 10 years ago. We'll see if that holds true in the next ten years, but it's a good reminder that the best is still in front of me and not behind me.

But still. 27? Ayiyi.

Snapshots of my weekend

L is off playing Army right now. It's a lot easier saying goodbye to him when we've had some quality time than when we're disconnected. Yes, I miss him, but I just got tons of time with him, and anyway, him being gone opens up my free time to do fun things like go to garage sales, afternoon tea with my neighbor, and make crafts!

My tulips are so pretty! Such a fun burst of color in the front yard, too bad they have such a short life.

These ones are just weird. Can you see the weird razor things on them? I've never seen things like this before.

I skipped out on going to church this morning. I just don't love going by myself. Although I've had TONS of practice going by myself, I just wasn't up for it this morning. And I timed my schedule poorly anyway since I got done working out 1/2 an hour before the service started. Which I could have made if I really tried, but it just helped my excuse-loving ways.

So, I listened to a speaker online and made this project while I listened. I love it! I'm going to send them to some of my girlfriends to keep in their purse, by their bed, etc.

Hope you guys are having a great weekend!

Glimpses

::: I've been wanting to put up some of the things I was thinking throughout our trip because writing things down helps me to process them. For now, I figured the easiest thing would be to just post some of my journal entries that I wrote while down in CR. So, here's a little glimpse into me. That's basically what blogs are anyway, right? :) :::

Beauty. Paradise. Natural. Blues. Greens. Rejuvenating. Restoring. Breathe. Create space. My soul sings. Rhythm. Laughter. Open. Birds. Monkeys. Conversations. Unplugged. Replenishing. Returning. Nature. Uncomfortable. Pleasant. Boundary. Free. Spirit. Truth. Destiny. Needed. Returning. Discovery. Wandering. Being present. Available. Searching. Quenching. Satisfying. Liberating.

Beautiful.

Finding comfort in the stillness. Being soothed by the ocean. Letting the rhythm of the waves dictate my day rather than the hum of my laptop. Learning lessons you can only learn through being immersed in a culture that is not your own. Uncomfortable situations become life lessons. Discovering the joy that comes from being open and available. Not checking the clock to see if we're late for the next meeting. Not caring if the bus driver says 15 minutes before we leave but it's really 1 hour. Not rushing through meals in order to accomplish the next task, and missing out on stories, laughter, and connection instead.

Beautiful.

Creating space.

This is good.

What if we lived like this all the time?

This trip has been good for my soul. It's hard for me to just be. I feel like I always need to be contributing, creating, producing. Multi-tasking. But none of that is possible here. There are no clocks. No computers. Just Lane, Jesus, my book, and the ocean.

So I've been daydreaming. About how great my marriage is. How good, gentle, wild, and loving God is. About how becoming an author is becoming more and more of a deep-seated desire of mine, not just something I do on the side. Who I want to be when we return from Costa Rica. These past five years of marriage and the next five. It's nice to just sit.

Why I oughta

Apparently, our local newspaper needed some help. Their 'Adventure' section was trying to add some spice, or something like that, to their weekly spots and they had requested for people to send in pics of them out and about being adventurous and everything.

I don't really read the newspaper (I choose to get my news from such elite, credible sources like E News!, Kelly Ripa, and Jon Stewart).

Just kidding.

But seriously.

I digress. With me not reading the newspaper, I had no idea about them needing to send in pictures. But my husband did. He read that plea for help and immediately thought of our recent trip backpacking through Utah and thought that it would be brilliant to send in pics of us being hardcore romping through the Great Beyond of the canyons of Utah.

He also thought it would be brilliant to keep this from me.

So, while I was at work on Friday I got a text message from this sweet hubby o' mine saying that there was a surprise for me in the Adventure section of the paper so go see it as soon as I get the chance.

Curiosity had the best of me, so as soon as my planning period started I raced over to the teachers' lounge where they keep about a gagillion copies of the paper and I flipped open to the Adventure section and saw...

THIS:

Of course, the shot that got chosen was not only of just me, rather than both of us, but of that beautiful backside of mine.

Awesome. He doesn't know when, he doesn't know where, but I vow that I will have my revenge on him.

I am from

Happy Friday, friends!

So I discovered a poem tucked away that was titled 'I am from...' that I must have written 10 years ago. I loved reading it, but decided to re-write it because I am now 'from' more things than I was back then and I thought it would be a neat exercise to discover what has shaped me up to this point in my life.

I heard (read?) someone say something along the lines of: How do you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been? I think there is such truth to that, knowing your story helps to guide you on your journey.

Though this is a bit of a departure from what I've been doing the past few Fridays in My Favorite Things!, I still thought this would be fun. I think that I wrote the poem in my high school creative writing class... it might have been my original idea, it might not have been. I might have written it in college? Maybe? It is rare that I have a completely unique and original idea, so if this isn't my idea, I apologize! Still... think about where you are from... and where you are going...

i am from…

i am from a family of five who grows closer each year and two older sisters who i idolized

i am from small-town heritage, 4^th of july parades, neighborhood summer tag, and walks to the pond

i am from the wilderness: climbing 14ers, camping, rock-climbing, and skiing

i am from a dedication to marriage, to pursuing dreams, and to selfless giving

i am from the oak ridge boys, john denver, and peter, paul & mary

i am from finishing two triathlons and craving more finish-line moments

i am from the history channel, questions, and an insatiable quest for knowledge in books

i am from unconditional love, and learning how good my jesus is

i am from a devotion to education; sisters, aunts, moms, and grandmas charting my path to teaching

i am from tradition; walking on feet, drawing names, family dinners, family summer vacations to the old swimmin’ hole, and bedtime tuck-ins

i am from marrying the boy who stole my heart when i was 18 years old

i am from supporting a husband who served 4 years in an army special operations unit

i am from 3 deployments and countless other goodbyes, and knowing the middle east more intimately than i ever thought i would

i am from seasons of heartache, doubt, and worry only to be conquered by love, faith, and the knowledge of what hope is

i am from 5 years of being married to my best friend, discovering how life-giving and fun marriage is, and the hope of beginning a family with this man

i am from finding my gifting and passion in teaching, nominations of best teacher awards, only to be taken down new paths without teaching into writing

i am from life-long friendships, both new and old

i am from fighting for peoples’ hearts

i am from ‘love wins’, good stewardship, and knowledge that everything is spiritual

i am from challenge, discovering my backbone, growth, and redemption

Favorites!

This week! My favorite things!

My discovery of this girl and this project. She is incredible. Hop on over. Meet her. Know her. Love her. She is super creative and crafty and I want to do what she does. I think I need to head over to my local ARC Store and buy all things old so that I can create some treasures.

Favorite thing #2 is simply the fact that I was able to turn in my 6th article for CinCHouse. This job fell in my lap with the greatest of ease (coincidence? I think not. Thanks, Jesus!) yet for some reason I still find it hard to believe that this is actually my life! I love writing. I love CinCHouse. I love writing for CinCHouse. I love the hope that my words are able to help others and bring life to dark places.

# 3 of the week is that my house has been filled with people nearly every day this week. We were given a gift in the house that we're able to live in right now, and I completely believe that if we were blessed with this much space, it's meant to be used. For us, that means people feeling like it's their own second home. For it to be a safe space that they can walk in the front door, open the fridge, and start chatting with us. And we're on the way to that. It's fun.

Favorite Thing #4 was this discovery. It was funny. This girl is not allowed on our couch. I have gotten home many times and had a sneaking suspicion that she had been on the couch, but have never caught her red-handed. Red-pawed? However, yesterday I got home and CAUGHT her! She was completely asleep, dead-to-the-world, so I had to get photographic evidence to prove her guilt.

It's that time again

So, remember my love of all things organized? Well, I love all things clean too. Not always do I love the cleaning process, but sometimes I get crazy and that happens. I love the finished product enough to keep me truckin through the chores I don't enjoy at least.

I am a clean person. However... imagine the cleanest person you know, multiply that times 1,876 and you will have my husband. He is a freak. He is OCD about it in the most loving sense of the word. It is not beyond him to, after I have already cleaned the kitchen, call me back in and show me the spots I did not get on the counter. If I don't fold his shirts the 'right way' when doing his laundry it is not beyond him to re-fold them. He is constantly teaching me the 'best' way to pour/fold/wipe/put away/get out.

So, it is with appreciation for my husband that I am going to be cleaning our house this week. Spring Break used to mean beaches, friends, and doing a whole lot of nothing in my college days. Now Spring Break means Spring Cleaning. Ugh. I feel like such an adult.

Just in case there's anyone else out there who is in spring cleaning mode, I'm putting up a list of what I'll be doing as well. It'll be fun- we'll be cleaning buddies!

Spring Cleaning Checklist 2010, baby!

* Clean out Fridge and Freezer. Take out contents (put in a cooler if needed) and wipe down with a solution of 2 Tbs baking soda per 1 quart hot water.

* Move fridge forward and clean underneath it

* Clean microwave. Put a microwave safe bowl with water and lemon juice and heat it to boiling (2-3 minutes) ; the steam will loosen particles and the citric acid will cut through the grease.

* Scrub kitchen appliances, cabinets, and backsplash

* Take cushions off of couch and vacuum each part

* Bring cushions outside and hit (is there a more technical term?) to freshen and loosen dust

* Dust bookshelves. Remove books and decorations from each shelf to get every space

* Wipe down walls and baseboards with a mild soap and warm water mixture (make sure wall paint can handle water)

* Vacuum or dust blinds and curtains, ceiling fans, and crannies to get rid of dust and cobwebs

* Replace cold-weather clothing in closets with warm weather wear

* Put any clothes you haven't worn in at least 1 year in a Goodwill pile

* Go through toiletries and make-up and toss anything too old

* Remove lint from clothes dryer hose

* Re-stock first aid kit

* Reseal grout

* Deodorize carpets: Sprinkle about 1 Cup of baking soda or cornstarch per room. Vacuum after 30 minutes

* Clean windows and window screens. Windex always works wonders, but here's another solution: 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 cup white vinegar, 1 gallon warm water; Mix the ingredients in a bucket and use to scrub windows.

* Organize files in home office. Make sure policies, contracts, etc. are in place and up to date.

* Scrub bathrooms

* Clean gutters

* Sweep/Dust/Mop floors

Okay, that's good for me. It's time to get cleaning!

Kitchen Philosophy

Isn't it interesting how much your home is a reflection of your life? Your heart, schedule, emotions, mood... everything? If you were to take one glance in your home today, what would it say?

Mine would probably say Chaotic. Jumbled. Imperfect. Maybe even a little unruly.

My kitchen as of late:

I wonder if this doesn't look that bad to you. But let me assure you, it was.

To prove my point, we'll play a game:

I spy a dog leash

I spy weights

I spy the newspaper

I spy glass cleaner

I spy Christmas lights

I spy grey (beautiful) shoes

It got bad. And really, I just let it happen. I let myself go, if you will. See, the problem lies in the fact that I have an All-or-Nothing personality. I can't half-way do anything. I either do it all out or I don't do it at all. If I commit to doing something, I am going to do it 110% of my very best ability. On the flip side, if I know I'm not going to be able to do something perfect basically, I don't even try. It's bad.

I am the most disciplined eater you will ever meet- it's all whole grains, veggies, fruits, and protein for me, Missy, and I can turn down a dessert when temptation is staring me right in the face like there's no tomorrow. But if I let myself have just that one innocent Oreo, count me out for the next two months because I will be gorging myself at all-you-can-eat bars with all of the senior citizens in town. It's a disease.

The All-Or-Nothing-Syndrome then overflows into my kitchen because I like neat & tidy. A place for everything and Everything in it's place.

But with this AONS, as I like to call it, the second that 3 ring binder was on my counter for longer than one hour, I knew I was done for. Pretty soon it got crazy in there and I was leaving dog leashes, back porch lights, passports, jackets, EVERYTHING on the counter.

WHAT in the world are my cute pink weights doing next to my stove? Camp flyers that should be in a folder? Glass cleaner that goes in my car? What? I count 3 bags, 2 jackets, and one signed contract. And SHOES where I eat; don't even get me started on the shoes.

You see, I love organization. I love neat and tidy. I love structure and matchiness and coordination.

Take me to The Container Store, let me pick out a polka-dot basket and an in-closet shoe organizer and I'm yours forever. Better yet, I'm currently dreaming of the ways in which a color-coded drawer filing system for our office would change my life.

Still my beating heart.

You're weird, Colorado

Let me take you on a little tour of our past few days.

Thursday: Return from our trip to BEAUTIFUL mid-60's greet-me-with-a-warm-smile-Springtime weather.

Friday: Realize that it was all just a tease. Colorado, quit playing games with my heart. BLIZZARD dumps 6 inches of snow.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday: Bright blue sky commences to warm my heart again with sunshine and perfect temperatures. Colorado and I are on talking terms once more as the snow is melted away. I have hope that Spring is here... hope enough to make me take the bold steps of reorganizing my closet- as in folded, boxed up, stored underneath my bed without any goodbye tears - and put away my winter sweaters. My closet now sings of color, Springtime, dresses, and my beautiful strappy sandals. I dance through the house.

Tuesday: Wake up early for work to a beautiful sunrise and think: Oh good! I'll go for a run when I get home from subbing; it'll be perfect weather. Place on my mental to-do list for the weekend: Spring Cleaning! Re-organize the garage and clean the house. Clean windows, scrub out cabinets, and tidy up the place to the tune of Giselle's 'Happy Little Working Song'.

Tuesday afternoon: On my drive home I notice the clouds forming. It starts to rain, then snain, then snow. By the time 5 pm hits it's a full-on blizzard. No running for me. 12 inches of snow later, a snow day for Wednesday called, our power out from the weight of the snow, and I must say goodbye to my long-lost friend Spring once again.

Wednesday morning: Beautiful. Not in the Spring-steal-my-heart kind of way, but in the beauty of fresh snow kind of way. I will not let my heart get teased in such a way again. Have resigned myself to the fact that this is Springtime in Colorado. March snow... April snow... May snow... sometimes even June snow.

Some of my favorite things

Life has returned to normal. Laundry has been done, bags unpacked, hours of sleep caught up on and newspapers read. Bed still has yet to be made, but I'm working on it.

Today, my friends, I am going to be sharing with you a few of my favorite things that highlighted my Saturday.

Round One: The Grocery Game... do any of you know about it? It is brilliant. Sometimes I have a love/hate relationship with it honestly, but then I look at my grocery bill and see how much I saved and that reminds me that it's worth it.

You go online and see what's on sale for the week and print out your list.

Then you go through Sunday papers past & present and cut out the coupons.

It is a bit of a time commitment cutting and clipping, clipping and cutting.

But at King Sooper's I saved 52% of my grocery bill! 46 buckaroos!

Round Two: Sweet, sweet Starbucks.

After the shopping of the groceries I generously let L stay home to work on taxes and I headed over to the Bucks. In full disclosure I prefer local coffee shops and will go there whenever possible but also in full disclosure I am unabashed about my true love for Starbucks, global chain that it is. However, my husband had given me a gift card for Starbucks along with some other sweet presents as a Thank You for everything I've done these last 6 months to support him in his new job. He's just cute like that. So me and my Cafe Misto hung out for a few hours on an oversized comfy chair full of sweet solitude and writing. Brilliant.

Well done, Starbucks. Well done.

Round Three: The creation of a new yummy appetizer recipe that I just discovered. We went over to a friends house for dinner and I had signed up to bring the munchies, and this recipe met the need with flying colors. Delish!

:::Sausage Wontons:::

The Major Players

3/4 Italian Sausage (I used about 1.5 lbs)

1/2 cup Salsa (I just dumped it in until it looked like enough)

2 oz diced green chilis (I used a 4 oz can)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I poured in whatever was left in the bag)

1/2 cup Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese ( I used a lot more than 4 oz)

Wontons (These things are just cool)

Some green onions (Thinly sliced; I used 3 stalks)

Sour Cream (Maybe a cup or so? It's for garnish)

Step One: Cook the Italian Sausage. This part I would change next time and try to buy it like hamburger meat. I have no patience and it took awhile to cook them like this and get them into bite-sized pieces.

2: Once the sausage is cooked and broken up, first drain the grease and then add the green chilis and salsa. Let them simmer together until the liquid has evaporated and the mixture has thickened a little. Let that cool and then add the cheeses and stir it up.

3: Place the wontons in a mini-muffin pan (press them down in the center, making them into cute little cups). Add the sausage mixture to each cup.

4: Bake in a 350 degree oven for ten minutes or until the wontons start to get golden brown. Then, take the sausage cups and put them on a baking sheet and bake for another 10 minutes to crisp up the bottom of the wontons.

5: Slice up your green onions and mix it into the sour cream as a garnish.

6: Put them in cute little rows and commence ADORING these things. Love love LOVE them.

L sometimes (every night) accuses me of not being careful enough when I cook and make things unnecessarily messy.

I, for one, can't figure out what in the world he's talking about!

A dream is a wish your heart makes

The weekend. Oh, the weekend.

It was glorious.

I went home (2ish hour drive away) because L was off Playing Army this weekend and it happened to fall on the day of my niece’s 4th birthday party. 15 knights and princesses running around the house is quite the sight to behold on a Saturday morning. Then I went to a friend’s house and got to meet her new sweet baby boy. Then I met up with my mom.

And. We. Shopped. The shoes that were bought are breathtaking. Simply breathtaking. I have a slight obsession with shoes, my friends, and these satisfy me to the depths of my soul. I dreamt about them last night. Not kidding.

Back to things that matter, like my family. Last year I talked with my sisters and ran an idea I had by them on how to handle the birthdays of their kiddos. There are 5 (soon to be 6) nieces/nephews on my side and 3 (soon to be 4) on L’s side of the family. Needless to say, that’s a lot of birthdays to buy presents for. And, let’s be honest... they have TONS of toys and probably don’t need another $15.00 something from Auntie Sarah. So, my brilliant idea was that instead of buying material possessions for my sister's sweet little ones, I would take them out for a Special Day. Quality time is my present to them. Me and them. Them and me. Making memories. Chatting. Laughing. I love these days SO much. I look forward to the years to come and how this tradition is building that special bond between us.

So, my sweet little niece is sitting in the back seat as we drive to our birthday celebration destination (Chuck-E-Cheese- hello fun!) and we are talking about whatever her heart’s desire is. I was asking her all about her birthday party when she responded with:

“I don’t want to talk about my birthday party... I want to talk about DISNEYLAND!”

Clearly, I had no idea what I was talking about. I should have known the power of Disneyland on the psyche of a 4 year old.

So we talked about fun rides and which princess is her favorite (the Jasmine doll that she got to bring home won for toys, but actual Cinderella princess won for real princesses). I also got to throw in a teaching lesson on shoes: I was wearing my beautiful new pumps, but had ballet flats in my purse to change into when we got to Chuck-E-Cheese. She asked why... the fashion teaching begins...). It was a fun weekend.

Now, L and I are back home ready to tackle a pretty hectic week. I have to get up early in the morning tomorrow because I'm subbing (yay!) and have yet to choose what outfit I'm going to wear... those high school girls can be very judgmental. It'll be fun.

And now, for your viewing pleasure... here is the glory:

The bonus is that BOTH are unbelievably comfy. Who'dve thought? Beauty. Love.

Things I Love

On this Friday the 5th day of March I'm thinking back to some of my favorite things of the week:

* Wednesday morning when L and I woke up at 6 to work out before the day started, made it to the living room and read for 15 minutes before falling asleep until 8. We then had to get ready for the day thus missing our workout. It was fun.

* The fact that I now live close enough to my family that I can go home this weekend to celebrate my niece's princess-themed 4th birthday party. Do I love Jasmine more? Cinderella? Maybe Giselle.... the Birthday Girl will let me know who is best.

* The entire week was a BEAUT. Bright blue sky, crisp spring air, mid-50s. Spring is coming, my friends. Spring is coming.

* My servant-hearted husband who just walked up to me with a grin on his face bringing me a cup of coffee that he had just made and doctored up for me just right.

* My discovery of this project. I haven't crafted much since our move to Colorado, but was re-inspired after seeing this amazing room. She uses it as a nursery (which is amazingly adorable) but until the need of a nursery enters my life, I just imagine it as a cute & cozy reading nook in our house. Maybe a spring break project? I'm on the hunt for supplies.

* Friday Follow! I am just LOVING these Fridays.