Tiny Fragments of Perfection

jumping on the bandwagon...

2012-01-31T21:49:00.000-08:00

i finally got around to reading:

and just as i expected, it's fabulous!

up next, i'm trying to decide between: the hunger games and the girl with the dragon tattoo trilogies. can anyone offer any advice? cause the last thing i want to get invested in is another series that builds up to a huge let down...*a hem* twilight. but seriously kids, which series is worth reading first?

sunday's spiritual thought...

2012-01-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

No pessimist ever discovered

the secret of the stars,
or sailed to an uncharted land,
or opened a new doorway to the human spirit.
-Helen Keller

sunday's spiritual thought...

2012-01-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

Have a heart that never hardens,
a temper that never tires,
a touch that never hurts.
~Charles Dickens

you know that annoying girl from the office?

2012-01-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

well she wrote a book...and it's fantastic!

it's sassy and wonderful, especially if you're a 20/30-something single girl.

next up: bossypants, by the lovely and talented tina fey.

special holiday spiritual thought...

2012-01-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

Take the first step in faith.
You don't have to see the whole staircase,
just take the first step.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

sunday's spiritual thought...

2012-01-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

Time is free, but it’s priceless.

You can’t own it, but you can use it.
You can’t keep it, but you can spend it.
Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.

-Harvey MacKay

oh right, i have a blog...

2012-01-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

i guess my life just hasn't been that interesting lately...

here's to a happy new year full of more frequent blogging!

Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright New Year is given me

To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!
- William Arthur Ward

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-12-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

The future belongs to those who

believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Eleanor Roosevelt

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-11-27T10:47:00.000-08:00

Be a good listener.
Your ears will never get you in trouble.

-Frank Tyger

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-11-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

As we express our gratitude,
we must never forget that
the highest appreciation is not to utter words,
but to live by them.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-11-13T10:47:00.000-08:00

It is always possible to be thankful for what is given
rather than to complain about what is not given.
One or the other becomes a habit of life.
Elisabeth Elliot

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-11-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

Treat everyone with politeness,

even those who are rude to you –
not because they are nice,
but because you are.
~Author Unknown

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-10-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

Let us be grateful to people

who make us happy;

they are the charming gardeners
who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-10-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

Being considerate of others will take your children

further in life than any college degree.
~Marian Wright Edelman

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-10-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Life is short

but there is always time for courtesy.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-10-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

Being defeated is often only a temporary condition.

Giving up is what makes it permanent.
- Marilyn vos Savant

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-10-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

God has two dwellings:

one in heaven, and the other in a
meek and thankful heart.
Izaak Walton

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-09-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Time is too slow for those who wait,

too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve,
too short for those who rejoice,
but for those who love,
time is eternity.

-Henry Van Dyke

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-09-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

It doesn't matter which side of the fence
you get off on sometimes.

What matters most is getting off.

You cannot make progress without making decisions.

Jim Rohn

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-09-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

Belief always precedes action.

James Allen

more saturday shenanigans...

2011-09-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

still trying to pack as much entertainment as i can into the last remaining saturdays before i commence working with my client again...

just a few of the over 600 bag pipe players at the annual scottish highland gathering and games in pleasanton

tossing the caber (apparently this guy plays softball in walnut creek, where i scorekeep)

the previous week-napa's bbq, blues, and brews festival

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-09-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Believe while others are doubting.
Plan while others are playing.
Study while others are sleeping.
Decide while others are delaying.
Prepare while others are daydreaming.
Begin while others are procrastinating.
Work while others are wishing.
Save while others are wasting.
Listen while others are talking.
Smile while others are frowning.
Commend while others are criticizing.
Persist while others are quitting.
Pray while others doubt.

By William Arthur Ward

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-08-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

Act as if what you do makes a difference.
It does.
William James

what a difference five minutes can make...

2011-08-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

so i was getting breakfast, after cashing a check this morning at the wells fargo in pinole, when i saw several police cars flying by me in the other direction. i also happened to see several ARMED policemen blocking off the road ahead of me. i didn't really think that much of it, but when i continued to see even more cop cars rushing in the opposite direction as i made my way home, i knew something had to be up.

and it was.

here is the story.

i don't even want to imagine what would have happened if i had gone to the bank a few minutes later...

why can't i have every saturday off?

2011-08-22T00:17:00.001-07:00

working on saturdays is good for my paycheck, but it does make it so i miss out on doing tons of fun stuff...and since i'll be off for the next few, and have been for the past couple saturdays, i have been trying to making the most of them by doing the following:

going to san francisco food festival:

banh mi and pad thai tacos from the peached tortilla

by FAR the highlight of the day-pork belly blt from good food catering (also pictured is their delicious pulled pork sandwich)

meeting up with old hawaii friends, who were on a west coast tour with their band

driving down to explore monterey

visiting the aquarium

can't wait until next week!!!

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-08-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

You can take anything away from a man

and he will survive,
but take away his hope
and he will die.

-anonymous

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-08-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.
Only through experience of trial and suffering
can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired,
and success achieved.

Helen Keller 1880-1968

hey you in the back row...

2011-08-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

hey jackass-

turn off your freaking phone during yoga class. you're not so important that you can't have it off for one measly hour. how can i tell? well you're working out in the middle of the day in a man-tank top. oh yeah, and you're wearing crocks. enough said.

did anyone else hear that?

2011-08-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

it's the sound of this year whizzing by. i truly can not believe it's already august-if only for the fact that i've been so busy stalking other people's blogs that i forgot about my own.

this loss in the blogosphere time continuim for me might also be because i have entered my normal spring-fall schedule of having three jobs-managing a doctor's office part time, working with my autistic client, and scorekeeping/playing softball. it doesn't sound like much, but it adds up to about 70hrs a week on average. (and according to my landlord, who is constantly bitching and moaning about his supposed 70hr/week schedule, that is a lot)

hopefully it will all be worth it, as i have begun to plan my next trip to here...

boiling frogs...

2011-06-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

apparently the nbc affiliate in utah has banned the upcoming show 'playboy club'. now granted i'm probably not going to watch this show, no matter where i live, mostly because it sounds trite...and also because i'm not an 18 year old frat boy. but the fact that they're refusing to air it? it's on network tv after all, so there's pretty tight limitations on what they'll be able to show. hmmm...it's a bit over the line if you ask me, as someone who believes censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself. i mean isn't that what free agency is all about? don't we, as an lds culture, pride ourselves on making 'good' choices and encouraging others, especially those in our families to do so as well? and who are we to take that choice completely off the table for others? here's a small blurb on the subject.

can't wait to spend thanksgiving with the muppets...

2011-05-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

killer allergies...

2011-05-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

is anyone else suffering as much as i am this year?

my allergies haven't been this gnarly since i was 7 and would get bloody noses that would last for, what felt like, forever.

at least that phase has passed, and now i just have to deal with eyes that won't stop itching, and near asphyxiation from congestion in my sleep.

how much allegra/claratin/loratadine/antihistamines can you take before it becomes a 'lethal' dose?

escape to l.a. ...

2011-05-05T00:31:00.000-07:00

it's been about five years since kathleen and were both at this beach, so we thought we'd take a commemorative picture, to document the occasion:

what brought us there? why her little sister's wedding!

(pre-apologizing for the fuzzy pics...my flash was being temperamental)

homemade cake by sarah, another one of kathleen's sisters

it's legit!

guess who caught the bouquet?

and my personal favorite moment of the weekend, while cruising around in seal beach:

i also got to help my friend jessica pick out her wedding dress! sadly, i didn't get any pics...but trust me, she looked amazing. *sigh* always a bridesmaid...

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-04-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness.
~Floyd W. Tomkins

this year's 'hairspray'?

2011-04-20T16:50:00.002-07:00

i can't wait for this movie to come out:

does anyone else get a 'hairspray' vibe from the trailer?

...and not just because they were set around the same time.

this year's

2011-04-20T16:50:00.001-07:00

i love a good play on words...

2011-04-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

from one of my favorite shows, 'house':

Moriarty: "I don't care about semantics."
House: "You anti-semantic bastard!"

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-04-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

We are what we repeatedly do;
excellence then is not an act,
but a habit

Aristotle

byu honor code honored?!

2011-04-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

i have to be honest, when i was in school, i didn't always agree with the honor code, and i especially didn't agree on how it was enforced in certain circumstances. however, the author of this article makes a great point that the honor code shouldn't be considered a 'cruel dictate from a mercileus father. It is a moral compass to guide us through a dangerous world.'

the article further lauds byu for its unwavering pursuit of 'educat[ing] the spirit as well as the mind.'

i think brigham young would be proud.

here kitty, kitty, kitty...

2011-04-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

yep, i'm a cat person. roll your eyes if you will. it's not that i don't like other animals, i just happen to prefer cats. you can imagine my excitement when i saw that this was coming out in a week:

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-04-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Education is when you read the fine print.
Experience is what you get if you don't.

Pete Seeger

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-04-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

You can never cross the ocean unless you have

the courage to lose sight of the shore.

Christopher Columbus

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-03-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

You see that a man is justified by works
and not by faith alone.
For just as the body without the spirit is dead,
so also faith without works is dead.

James 2:24, 26

rain, rain, go away...

2011-03-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

it's beginning to look a lot like hawaii 2005 here in california...oh well. hopefully all this moisture will help the hills from catching on fire this summer.

in honor of the weather, a little musical tribute for your viewing pleasure:

ps: did you know that in the original 'singing in the rain' gene kelly had a 103 degree fever while filming the most infamous scene? and that they had to add milk to the 'rain' to make it look better on film?

sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-03-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

In the confrontation between the stream and the rock,

the stream always wins - not through strength

but by perseverance.

H. Jackson Brown

week in a day=genius

2011-03-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

i have to say that i find rachel ray to be one of the more annoying personalities on the food network-her little nicknames for everything, the fact that she laughs at her own jokes every two seconds...i practically have to watch her show on mute. however, when they introduced the new cooking channel, they also introduced rachel's first cooking show in 8 years: week in a day. the premise is simple, spend a few hours in the kitchen, and you'll have prepared a five day's worth of dinners that can be reheated later on. can i just say that i LOVE this idea. i always have tons of spare time on sundays, and find that i am super busy during the week, making preparing a nice home cooked meal difficult. hopefully the cooking channel will keep this show on for a while, because i find myself picking an choosing certain meals from each episode, according to my personal tastes.

getting back into the groove of things-sunday's spiritual thought...

2011-03-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

Kind words can be short and easy to speak,

but their echoes are truly endless.

-unknown

take me back to that little grass shack...

2011-02-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

i had a mango passion fruit cupcake from here today, and it looked a little something like this:

it was delish, and made me miss the aina.

this pretty much sums it up....

2011-02-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

for those of you who didn't watch the super bowl on sunday (and to be honest, i was one of them) here's what you missed-

according to the multitude of comments i've seen on fellow michigander's facbook pages, this was the high point:

and here was the lowest of the low points:

apparently they also played some sort of football game somewhere in between these two events...but what can i say? i'm from michigan. detroit lions=fail.

damn you IRS...

2011-01-31T12:27:00.001-08:00

to put it more accurately-damn you, one of my current employers, for not informing me that you were taking a smaller amount out than you should have been for my federal taxes. this is the first year i've had to owe money on my federal return, and i'm not happy about it...especially in light of the fact that you're paying me barely above minimum wage for a job that i know should pay almost twice as much. i was really hoping that i could add another bill to pay onto the long list of debts i already have.

oh, and to top this weekend off, juneau got sick in her crate, so i had to spend all day sunday cleaning it out.

hope your weekend was better than mine!

hello world...

2011-01-19T23:39:00.000-08:00

well the holidays have come and went...

and now it's a brand new year!

let's hope it's a good one:)

happy holidays!

2010-12-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

love, the kit and the pup

in case you didn't hear...

2010-12-08T18:09:00.001-08:00

did i mention i went here over thanksgiving?

sacre coeur basillica-which was right across the street from where i was staying, in montmarte.

view from my little hotel room in paris, on the sixth floor.

and then i trudged under the chunnel for a few days in here...

what exactly is dengue fever?

2010-11-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

also known as 'breakbone fever', dengue fever is an acute fibrile disease spread by mosquitoes. according to the world health organizaition: "some 2.5 billion people, two fifths of the world's population, are now at risk from dengue and estimates that there may be 50 million cases of dengue infection worldwide every year. The disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries".

currently there is no vaccine.

as the world says aloha oe to beloved surf legend andy irons, a native to the island of kauai, hopefully his passing will raise awareness about this disease and its prevalence around the world.
irons after his win at pipe in 2005

irons left behind his wife, who is currently seven months pregnant. please send them your love and prayers.

E pili mau na pomaika'i me 'oe to the irons family.

sweeter words have never been uttered...

2010-11-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

"We have finished processing your passport, and it has been mailed to you using Priority Mail.

You should receive your passport on or about 11/06/2010."

thank you department of state. believe me, you did not want to be on the business end of the hissy fit i would have thrown if you didn't get me my passport before the 23rd...

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-10-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

"People do not usually reject the Bible because it contradicts itself but because it contradicts them."

- Anonymous

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-10-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

Never does the human soul appear so strong and noble

as when it forgoes revenge and

dares to forgive an injury.
- E. H. Chapin

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-10-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

"A great attitude does much more than turn on the lights in our worlds;

it seems to magically connect us to all sorts of serendipitous opportunities

that were somehow absent before the change."

Earl Nightingale

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-10-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

"If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it."

-- Anthony J. D'Angelo

auto post...

2010-10-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

lately i've been really busy...
too busy to return text messages and phone calls...
too busy to blog without having to schedule it a month in advance...
too busy to sit down and have a moment to myself....
even on my days off, i feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff i have to get done before i go back to work the next day.

and if you don't believe me, here's a list of what i've been up to:
learning that you can get up to $1000 to fix your car if it doesn't pass the smog test-the hard way
making 'ghost pops' for the patients at the doctor's office i work at
crocheting a blanket for one of my co-workers
taking care of a very demanding husky and hungry kitty
getting things together for my trip to europe next month
feeling overwhelmed by the 10,000 other things i have 'meant' to do over the past month (i.e. send the cookies i owe stephanie, write my friend jeannie back via snail mail, finally get the data off my hard drive in my old lap top that's been dead since before i left hawaii, etc)

then there's the fact that this year is flying by.

can we slow down for just a minute? cause i know once halloween is over, it's just a landslide into the new year. i just need a day...week...few months to catch up. i swear, i'll make it worth your while....

guess i'll just continue to make good use of the 'auto post' function.

hopefully i'll resurface sometime after the new year.

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-10-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

God gives every bird a worm,

but He does not throw it into the nest.

Swedish Proverb

hungry, hungry hippo

2010-09-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

he managed to get the top off of this container before sticking his face in it. very impressive.

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-09-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

for all my friends that sew:

“Life is like embroidery, one stitch at a time taken patiently,

and the pattern will come out okay.”

– English saying

want to feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

2010-09-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-09-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

Self-discipline is when your conscience tells you to do something and you don't talk back.

-W. K. Hope

happy monday

2010-09-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

love,

the pup

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-09-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality,

God will give eternal life.

Romans 2:7

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-08-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have

lain dormant.

-Horace

sassy women that aren't me...

2010-08-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

well one, in particular...

so i was catching during our weekly softball game last tuesday, and i got nailed in the face with a foul tip ball. this wasn't a big deal, because it was only slow pitch, but it's not like i was wearing a mask. luckily it missed my glasses, so it didn't do any real damage. however, the lady that was batting, laughed and said (jokingly) "haha, now we're even". this was because in the previous inning, when they were up to bat, and she was catching, someone else had foul tipped a ball, and it hit her on the wrist, where she happened to be wearing a watch. (now most people know that it's generally a good idea to take off your jewelry prior to playing a sport-but not this lady). i guess the ball hit her just right so that the watch ended up digging into her wrist a little bit-thus the 'now we're even' comment. yeah, this lady was an idiot, and now i'd like to take you through my thought process on how i got to said conclusion:

1. i was not at bat when she got hit. therefore i didn't cause it-so I was in no way 'indebted' to her.

2. she's the one who chose to keep her watch on while she was playing. and not some junky plastic watch, but one that actually had somewhat sharp edges, because she ended up getting cut up from the ball hitting her watch. i mean really, i don't remember a time after 6th grade that i wasn't hounded by my coaches to make sure that we took all our jewelry off before games/meets. in the seventh grade, i had to let my triple piercing close up because of volleyball season. but i digress.

3. and most importantly-she got hit in the wrist and was totally fine a few minutes later. i, on the other hand, got hit in the face. in the face. in the effing face-i was about an inch or so from having my glasses shattered in my eyes. my cheekbone is still mildy sore. at least she struck out on the next pitch. haha. now i guess we're really even.

victory is mine.

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-08-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

It is better to suffer wrong than to do it,

and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.

--Samuel Johnson

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-08-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

When you get to the end of your rope,

tie a knot and hang on.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-08-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

The only people to get even with are those who have helped you.

-Anonymous

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-08-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Don't blame others for your failure to be fully accountable for your own life. If others are to blame then you have given them control.

- Bob Perks

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-07-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Man can live for about forty days without food,
and about three days without water,
about eight minutes without air ...
but only for one second without hope.
Unknown

i know it's a few weeks after the fact...

2010-07-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

but did you hear? (click on the 'it's a pleasure evolving with you' entry. it's short, i promise).

and before you get all puffed up over who has the right to dictate what marriage is or isn't, try and remember the big picture:

"No anti-marriage law is going to change and reverse the mindset of millions of homosexuals, nor will it stop people from falling in love with whomever they choose. So isn't it time we grant ALL AMERICANS the same civil rights so we can stand united as first class citizens and march on to much greater issues like war, health, poverty and environment? I think so." -jason mraz.

btw- pandora just chose i'm yours by jason...weird.

dear mother...

2010-07-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Living in the past is a dull and lonely business;

looking back strains the neck muscles,
causes you to bump into people not going your way.

Edna Ferber (1885-1968)

not much to report...

2010-07-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

nothing exciting currently happening=nothing to blog about.

maybe something interesting will happen this weekend...

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-06-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

"Right is right even if everyone is against it. Wrong is wrong even if everyone is for it."

- William Penn

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-06-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

Rare is the person who can weigh the faults of others

without putting his thumb on the scale.

- Byron J. Langnefield

there was a dinosaur at the dog park...

2010-06-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

ok so not really, but i tried to get some pics of this dog with juneau, to use as a scale.

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-06-06T22:57:00.001-07:00

i get a lot of my spiritual quotes from here...

and i'm proud to say that they picked a jason mraz quote for the other day:

You can turn off the sun

but I'm still gonna shine.

and tied it in with this:

"You are the light of the world.

A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before men,

that they may see your good deeds

and praise your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:14-16

shine on friends!

this week's spiritual thought...

2010-06-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

yep, i was feeling truly lethargic this weekend, and left you without a spiritual thought this past sunday.

i'll try and be better next week. until then:

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and

receives the impossible!

Unknown

i think she might like me...

2010-05-24T01:45:00.000-07:00

but that's just a theory...

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-05-24T01:30:00.000-07:00

When all of us are acknowledged as the human equals that we really are, there will be no space left for bullying. It will no longer be wrong to choose one thing over another. Equality and Separation cannot exist in the same space.

-jason mraz

regardless of whether or not you care for his music, his journal is definitely worth a gander...

and a not so spiritual thought...

2010-05-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

if you don't actually own a dog, it's considered slightly weird, and somewhat creepy to hang out at the dog park.

i get it, you like dogs, and that's cool. but you don't see people who enjoy children going and hanging out at playgrounds and preschools (at least not without soliciting some very strange reactions).

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-05-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

two intertwining thoughts for the week:

"Being defeated is often a temporary condition.
Giving up is what makes it permanent."
- Maryilyn vos Savant

But as for you, be strong and do not give up,
for your work will be rewarded."
2 Chronicles 15:7

i had a really rough weekend, and almost gave up at one point. i am glad to have made it through, and will hopefully be better for it.

fabulous

2010-05-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

my mood today can not be described by any other word. i came into work, had my usual sausage sandwich-no cheese from starbucks, accompanied by a delightful mocha soy frapiccino.

then, when my boss was done with her morning appointments, she said, 'how you would you like to go out to lunch? my treat.' sweeter words have never been uttered.

we dined on sushi that was delicious. the avocado was so buttery and sweet, and she introduced me to the deliciousness that is the pistachio avocado role. we also had some yellow fin, shrimp, and a dragon roll. with yummy salad and some miso, it was a lovely little lunch.

in other fabulous news, is everyone aware of what is happening in two weeks?
i know it will be predictable, and probably in no way measure up to the show in any way, but who cares? i still love these girls...

oh and these girls too:

find the pup...

2010-05-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

and you'll have found juneau's new favorite place to sleep.

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-05-09T22:34:00.000-07:00

The gain in self confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense.

Thomas A. Bennett

something to remember, seeing as i worked over 80 hours last week...

dealing with the cravings...

2010-05-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

so remember how i was craving this?

well i figured the next best thing would be to seek out some hawaiian food...lucky for me there is a great hawiian food place right across the way from where i work. it's called the 'lava pit'. and this is what hawaiian food looks like in california:
it's no papa ole's, but it hit the spot...

oh and i made some of these too, for my friend's 30th birthday.
and i started doing a little mystery shopping again...for those of you keeping track, that's job #5.

just like henry higgins...

2010-05-05T23:40:00.000-07:00

i've grown kind of fond of her face...

not that i don't still love my first born...

i just love my cute little fur family.

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-05-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;

Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;

Who redeems your life from the pit,

Who crowns you with loving-kindness and compassion.

Psalm 103:2-4

today i'm craving....

2010-04-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-04-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

Things turn out best for the people who

make the best of the way things turn out.

John Wooden

hope you had a happy sabbath day!

40 years later...

2010-04-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

"Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future."

so says the website dedicated to the 2010 earth day campaign. so let's make sure to continue to do our part to protect and preserve our planet for future generations!

will someone please explain to me why...

2010-04-20T10:55:00.001-07:00

my softball game, which is scheduled for 7pm tonight, was cancelled due to rain? because the rain stopped 2 hours ago and it's perfectly sunny and clear now...so if i'm not mistaken, that gives the fields about 8 hours to dry out from the VERY light rain we experienced this morning. i mean really, there weren't even puddles on the ground!

maybe next week...

and on a completely unrelated side note, when i was score keeping this weekend (yes job #4 for those of you keeping count) i had the pleasure of seeing two grown men collide with each other, going full speed. one of them was knocked unconscious for a few seconds. it was quite a spectacle.

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-04-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

We are continually faced by great opportunities

brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.

-anonymous

here's hoping we can all take every day as it comes, and use them as an opportunity to grow in the face of new and challenging experiences.

why flamingos are pink, and other such nonsense...

2010-04-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

as some of you may already know, flamingos get their unique color from the shrimp that they eat. i guess there are some chemicals in the shrimp and algae that they consume (beta carotene to be exact) that contribute to their color, and in order to keep them that vibrant shade of pink in captivity, they are fed various coloring agents, much like farmed salmon.

well let's just say that i would be one funny looking flamingo, because i have noticed that a LOT of my favorite foods are orange, which is strange, because i don't even really like the color orange...it wouldn't even make it into my top 5 color choices...what can i say? i guess orange foods just taste good to me.

only my favorite kind of cookie-pumpkin chocolate chip

makes me think of hawaii...

HONEY TANGERINES!!!! i wish these were available all year around...but there's only a measly two month window for when stores carry them. perhaps that's why i love them so...

spring fever...

2010-04-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

so i start my new job on wednesday...that's right, job number four. but it will only be a few days a week for a few hours each day. i'm also going to be playing softball for a local league once a week.

it should be an eventful spring!

sunday's spiritual thought...

2010-04-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

i thought it would be nice to start a little blogging tradition of posting a spiritual thought each sunday. feel free to contribute what might be on your mind, it doesn't have to be from a church related source either. inspiration can come from a myriad different places...

"Good cooking takes time.

If you are made to wait, it is to serve you better. "

Author Unknown

true of cooking, true in life.