sweetness

flowers from the husband.  a nice surprise after a looooong day with 23 little 5-year-olds!

Sent from my iPhone.

how i feel

lately

so ... school is starting next Wednesday (oh.boy ...) and I still haven't completely finished setting up my room yet!  ... I'm sure I'll get it done on-time ... actually, I would've gotten it done on Friday if I hadn't encountered some "difficulties" w/ the furniture situation.  (sigh) ... teachers sometimes can be just like the kids, immature + selfish.   So already I'm going through this minor conflict about possibly the silliest things (cubbies?! really? ) and hearing really "weird" stuff about how some teachers do things around here (hoard, steal, take? again ... really?).  This isn't something I'm used to, especially coming from another school where we were so generous and giving with all that we have ... because we know that when we share our ideas + resources, it actually benefits the kids!  ... and at the end of the day, teaching is about the kids. (right?!) 

let the white walls be gone.

we finally added something to the side-walls in our bedroom ... nothing grand, but we are happy with it ... for now.

coffee time

i have not scheduled any girlfriend-time in about 3 weeks. 

i know. it sounds really long ... 

 so finally today i went on a coffee/tea date with a good friend and i am so thankful for the time w/ her (2 hours went by so fast!).   i love times w/ authentic + real people ... real conversations + real tears + real stories of what's been happening in their lives.  it's so healing, so genuinely good for the soul.

{photo via this site}

missing washington

this was taken while we were in Washington, man, do I miss that place. The friends, the trees, the lake ... I miss it all!

bandmate/good friend Dave (left) 

art + such

such a cute print. hate to admit it, but also very true.  {photo via here}

all we need is love! .. and maybe a red umbrella?  {photo via here}

beautifully said.  {photo via here}

steak

i am 95% sure that i have my job back next year.  

that is a good reason to celebrate. and with that, we're having steak tonight!

  

i used sirloin steaks instead. (cow girl = the pioneer woman)

tho i still have mixed feelings about getting my job back.  i know i should be excited, but i am not. honestly, i was hoping to take it easy this coming school year and be a sub. i had my heart set on taking a class w/ some friends monday mornings,  so i really wasn't looking to change that plan (!) and i don't mind being a sub ... really.  why should i?  the flexible schedule, not having to deal w/ weird parents or making really difficult decisions that may affect the child's life forever for a looong time.   but thank you God for coming through yet again.  you know what's best and i'm grateful.   

meanwhile.  this steak will be eaten in celebration of this job-returned + for the best provision a girl can have.

thank you God. 

our dinner

i finally baked the macaroni grill rosemary bread ... i think it turned out pretty good (for being the first ever bread that i baked. ever), but i can't say that it was exactly the same as the fresh and warm rosemary bread that you get at macaroni grill.  it's very similar.  maybe it's because i cheated and didn't wait for it to rise for a full 45 minutes the second time around (i cut the time to ummm .. about 15).  either way. it was worth trying.  now i am not intimidated by the idea of baking (again, i love to cook, and i'm learning to bake.)  my next goal?  these delicious chocolate chocolate chip cookies (the name uses chocolate 2x and that's why i'm baking it).  can't wait!

mixing the dough in my never-been-used mixer. 

they have risen!

ta-da! all done. 

gunna be making these

i am determined. 

this. will. be on. our. dinner. table.

tonight. 

{photo via here}

it's monday.

it's a very gloomy monday morning here in southern california, but i am loving this gloom. it makes me think of my short time up in washington and how amazingly fast time goes by (it's already august eighth!).  

some things on my mind:

1. how incredibly delicious fresh biscuits and fresh-whipped cream are together. (see picture above) 

2. god has been so good and so wonderfully present in my life.

(i am always amazed by his love. always. it never fails me.)

3. i would LOVE to have acres of land and my own vegetable garden, chickens, barn, and all that good stuff ... someday. lord willing.

4. coffee is such a good friend.

5. jesus is an even better friend.

6. amazed that texas had their day of prayer + fasting initiated by their governor rick perry. (god bless that man)

7. so thankful for my husband. for his hard-work.

8.  really tired of going through this season of disconnect in my soul. god knows where i'm at.

9. friendships can be so fragile.

10. this artichoke flower. never seen one before. gorgeous isn't it? 

11. grace, truth, love. needing more in my life.

12. jesus. yea. i'm really thinking about Him. a lot. 

a very m e l l o w saturday afternoon

 i guess you know it's a very mellow afternoon when you're taking random pictures of yourself.   i'm not usually one to do "that kind of stuff", but when times get mellow (ok fine. boring) ... i'll jump into the sea of vanity + take some pix of myself.  i know. girls do it all the time, but that's still not a good enough excuse for complete narcissism. it should be allowed on a limited basis. serious. 

i think 2 is the limit. 

ps. i got some pretty flowers for the kitchen ... that sometimes happens too when things are mellow boring around here. 

a good laugh!

tho i am currently on summer vacation and mondays + fridays make no difference in my life (other than having husband the next day or not), it doesn't mean that i don't need a good laugh at the end of the work week ... 

{photo via pinterest}

so ... i tried a new recipe

on our trip to washington, while eating a pesto chicken panini, husband "jokingly" said that i'm stuck in a cooking "rut" ... of course, i knew what he meant.  you see, we have this beautiful panini machine that i used to use a lot, and as we were eating the delicious paninis, it reminded him of the ones i used to make.  i took his comment to heart (in a good + non-threatened way of course) and decided to try a new recipe.  not another panini, nope!! something completely new! something with big pieces of chicken in a wine stew with lots of pasta to go with it,  a sort of new comfort food in this house.  and one that's totally un-made before in our little kitchen.

so i turned to a recipe i had bookmarked long ago.  chicken with olives. (hello? doesn't that sound divine?!) oh, and i used to dislike hate olives! (now i tolerate them in my own cooking, but husband really loves them so i have learned to eat them as well ... #4829 in "things you learn as a wife")

 AND ... it.was.delicious. i am not just saying that because i made it. it really was so good.  of course, with making this dish comes a little secret of mine ...

i am kinda in love with the pioneer woman.  there. i said it.


ps. i didn't ask husband if i am out of the "rut", but based on the fact that he cleaned his plate. i think yes. 

pre-olives

with olives! oh, i substituted green olives with black ones ... i used whatever i had at home.  

bits from our trip -part 3

more pics ... from the iphone

bits from our trip -part 2

i had the most wonderful time in washington ... visiting family + friends + finally experiencing first-hand husband "on the road" w/ his band!  here are some things we experienced on this trip: staying in mountain paradise w/ our WA family ... they have their own chickens, pigs, garden, hills, and well (so awesome right?!), performing at a lesbian bar (it was a first for husband & i), visited Boundary Dam + the lake, sampling home-brewed beers, deers visiting the neighborhood, and of course, time with our loved ones.  so priceless.