Springtime Anticipations

Hoe while it is spring, and enjoy the best anticipations. 
It is not much matter if things do not turn out well. 
~Charles Dudley Warner

(I had my whole productive day planned, then my boss informed me on short notice I had to come in early.
Fighting and stomping around ensued, meanwhile Shawn was puttering around, getting things done, singing to himself.
A nice example for me to not get my britches in a twist. Deep breath! It will be ok.)

(Quote via)

The City by the Bay: First Morning

Of course we had to do some touristy things. It was, after all, our first time in the city!
So off we went down to Fisherman's Wharf to check out the Musee Mecanique.

Grandmother has man hands!

I love this sign. It reminds me of the Pool Rules sign my Grampa had posted by his pool that we grew up swimming in.



No holiday would be complete without watching a few executions, right?

Psst.. Here's the first round of pics I posted.

Thankful Thursday

This morning, I'm thankful for:

~Serrano peppers for my tuna samies. YUM
~The photo adventure and hike I took yesterday at dusk
~Finding beauty wherever I am
~PLP's birthday this Sunday. I have the day off, it's supposed to be beautiful out, and we're going to breakfast and shopping!
(Plus if I can pull it off, a surprise destination ;)
~Tomorrow night we're going to see my uncle and his old friend about music for both Teresa and Chris' wedding and our own.
Can't wait, haven't heard the Grandaddy-o's play in a coon's age!
~The inside of my car is sparkling clean. I've been putting it off for months, and cringing every time I got in,
and now it smells new and looks like a different car! Time to wash it now!
~The gorgeous weather we are having. Finally feels like spring in San Diego!
~We're moving our Idaho trip from August to June. We get to see the fam two months earlier than expected! woohoo :)
~Hopefully we will be going river rafting during said visit
~Relationships are definitely work. I'm thankful I have one that's worth the effort!
~We went to BevMo last night and got four bottles of wine for what I usually get two for. Score!
~For morning tea. I'm thankful for this ritual every day.

Happy Thursday, friends!

Simply Ten Good Things

Thanks to SouleMama, for the inspiration!

1.Cheesy Hashbrown Bake (I added panko and ham, and used cream of chicken soup.
With a couple fried eggs and some parsley on top: yum! Recipe here)
2.Playing with my sister's beautiful hair
3.Wearing flair at work
4.Naturally farmed (and cool-looking) tomatillo
5.Silly brothers who ambush me for pics during breakfast preparations

Not pictured, but still simply good:
6.The way springtime air caresses your body and senses
7.The smell of a book, new or old
8.The way just the right pen improves your handwriting
9.Inside jokes
10.Anticipating goodies in the mail
11.A nice frosty beer as a reward after a long day of work and a nice workout
(you know I'm a rebel and love the number 11, I couldn't stop at 10!)

Spokane Falls Family Time

Sure, they look sweet and innocent, but leave them alone for a minute, and..











Jacob's nickname used to be 'Lump.' Classic!



Like son...



Like father.







{These were taken at the bridge at Spokane Falls back in April of '08. How time flies!}

Wedding Day High Tea

Our wedding is going to have a fun, rustic, whimsical, High Tea feel.
What I've been wondering is how to translate the foods we want to serve
into a High Tea-esque presentation.  I myself adore the food that goes with High Tea,
but I'm thinking we will need simpler, more substantial fare to fuel our guests
through the night. Oh, the possibilities. Good thing I have two sisters, a mom,
a sister-in-law and a mother-in-law, plus my plp, all to help me figure these things out!
Plus, our caterer is a dream-come-true. If anyone can pull off a mac n' cheese bar
with the flair of a High Tea, I think we found them! Gosh Golly I am so blessed.
And now hungry, too, looking at these pictures.

Images: one, two and three
(The last image is from Tea Upon Chatsworth, the Tea Room we'll be visiting in May hopefully!)
(PLP = Platonic Life Partner)

The Honey Badger in a Whole New Light

This video is cracking us all up. I can't stop watching and quoting it. 

Not for the faint of heart when it comes to language, and NSFW 

(depending on your work I guess!) SOOOO funny!

Thankful Thursday on Friday Because I'm Fashionably Late Again

Thankful!

I pushed through 2+ hours of drilling in my side and made myself not look at my tattoo until the end yesterday.. and was blown away! He actually finished the piece! She's more beautiful than I could have imagined! Thank you Micah. Even though I feel like I got hit by a truck, and I bled all over my shirt last night, and could barely sleep, it is all worth it for this beautiful piece of art! Hooray for being 'back in the saddle again' -it's been six months since my last session.

I broke the news of the possible photography cost for our wedding to Shawn last night, and after his initial sticker shock, he said that because it's so important to me (and it probably helps that I spent less than $100 on my dress) and it's our only wedding, go with who I really want.
It's these guys, in case you're curious. We shall see if I can book them, fingers crossed!

Next Sunday is PLP's birthday! We had so much fun on her last birthday, can't wait to see how this one ends up!

Speaking of PLP, I haven't seen her since our San Francisco trip, but today we're getting pedicures and then going out later! Hooray :)

We finally ordered a water filter for our home. We've been talking about doing this for years! First it was those big 2.5 gallon jugs sitting on our counter. Then it was a Brita. Then the last Brita broke and we've been dehydrating ourselves drinking tap water. Finally we will have tasty, healthy, ph balanced water and not have to waste money or plastic with bottles! (P.S. Check out this post about a nifty campaign helping kids get clean water!)

Some aunts, cousins, friends and I are planning a High Tea at a new spot at the end of May! We'll pretty much end up taking over the place, and it's bound to be a blast! (Here are some other fun posts about fabulous High Teas of the past, if you'd like to look: one two three four five)

*PLP = Platonic Life Partner

Honda Hillbilly Nationals

The finish line





Nice face, Jeff









The winners of each class



Most of the racers! (Andrea crashed in her first corner, and Mom ran off somewhere)
It's all in the family..
Left to right, back row: Dad, Jacob (bro #5,) Will (bro in law,) Nick (bro #2,) Brad (bro #1)
Front row: me, Rachelle (sister #2,) Shantel (cousin's gf,) Pete (bro #4,) Jeff (bro #3,) Shawn (my honey,) Allen (Mom's cousin)



My dad used to race Motocross professionally. So of course, we all grew up on motorcycles.
We had a track in our San Diego yard we used to love riding quads around on weekends.
We got to go camping at the desert, and to Motocross and Supercross races. How lucky were we??
Naturally, after the move to Idaho, having much more land, Dad made all kinds of tracks all over the property.
Also naturally, having racing in our blood, our family hosts the Honda Hillbilly Nationals.
Basically this means we get anyone interested in racing or watching together for a day of fun.
And oh, the fun! Nothing like tearing around a hillside with the beautiful scenery all around you!

Here's my mom racing! (Isn't it super nifty that mom races with us??)
(I think she got a better lap time than I did!)

The City by the Bay

Enjoying the view from the Inn, our first morning in San Francisco.
I had been up since 2am, but a little fatigue was not going to stop me from getting right out there to explore!
We strolled over to Pat's Cafe for a bit of sustenance, went on a mini adventure,
then proceeeded to find the steepest hill around and hike right up it!
(After the first morning we learned our lesson and went around the 'mountains' whenever possible.)

Cool custom table at Pat's Cafe- our server painted it himself!

PLP introduced me to Instagram on the iPhone. Addicting...

One of the many cool trees I fell in love with. Of course I made Teresa pose with it.

Vibrant

vi·brant
/ˈvaɪbrənt/
 Show Spelled [vahy-bruhnt]

4. pulsating with vigor and energy: the vibrant life of a large city.

5. vigorous; energetic; vital: a vibrant personality.

6. exciting; stimulating; lively: vibrant colors; a vibrant performance.

Surprise Date Night

Yesterday Honey planned a date for us all by himself. I had no idea what to expect!
{I love his 'what's that thing you're pointing at me' face in the above pic!}

He took me to Boomers to play miniature golf in the afternoon sun!

{And beat me horribly at it, I might add}

I love that the castle is dubbed 'King Jim's Castle!' Teehee.
After golfing we ran around like kids playing ski ball, air hockey {he beat me shamefully at that too} and arcade games.
We even got corn dogs and nachos!

After stopping at home to change and freshen up, we headed to Taste of Thai for some Golden Triangles,
Hawaiian Fried Rice, Thai Asparagus, and Roast Duck with Peanut Sauce. YUMMMMMMM

After dinner, stuffed though we were, we couldn't resist walking down the block to try a new place {Chocolat} for dessert.
Hel-lo, gelato goodness!

The place wasn't really set up for the welcoming vibe you would want when settling in for a dessert and a coffee or some wine. 

But that's ok, the gelato made it worth it!

Pistachio, Hazelnut, Coconut. Oh my!

We had a fabulous date night. Good job honey, keep it up! xoxo