trying something new ...

hi all ... i think we've found a new home. please visit us here: http://aplsinparadise.wordpress.com/

hope to see there ...

thursday's thoughts ...

oh, how i hate to be disenchanted with my duties.

i really wish that the work day started at 9 and ended at 5

i forgot how tough it is to learn to read. shortstack is a reading rockstar now ... practicing everyday and trying not to get frustrated

sometimes, even i get tired of leftovers. no more spaghetti this week!!

there is a possibility that shortstack gets his lack of focus from his mama ... SQUIRREL!

squirrel is a SUPER strange word ... and we don't have any here in hawaii

i really miss my thesis advisor ... i don't miss my thesis, just my advisor

i'm a fan of NPR. does that make me, like, 50-years-old? seriously ... NPR is my audio stream at work almost everyday ... maybe i shouldn't say that outloud!

it is possible that i really do have a man-bladder. yesterday i had to pee, like, 9 times at work. that's crazy!

i want to want to get back into my scrapbooking ... i just don't have the inspiration

i am  SUPER addicted to blogs ... maybe i really am nosy. well, we'll keep that little tidbit to ourselves

i definitely need more coffee ... maybe it'll help the imitrex battle the encroaching migraine

i wish i could be as fun and silly as shortstack ... thank god for the smiles he gives us!

hmmm ... maybe i should keep this kid in my pocket instead of relying on the healing powers of coffee ...

blissful bites

it's a busy time of year in our home ... well, actually, i don't know when it's NOT a busy time of year. but right now seems  a bit crammed with things that need to be done. not at home, but at work. which, of course, spills over to home. so we run about getting our things done and then try to find a few moments to breathe in between the craziness.

sometimes, the craziness is tough to get a break from. so a trip outside the office for a couple minutes during lunch becomes mandatory to maintain sanity. thankfully, in downtown honolulu, there are so many escape spots. this is one of my favorites. *exhale* feeling better already!

one of the reasons i'm so darn excited about finishing my degree is that i FINALLY get to pick up ANY  book i want WHENEVER i want ... which usually means that there are at least 4 books happening at the same time! my latest discovery, "My Homemade Life," by Molly Wizenberg, the creator of the blog, Orangette. i'm loving her connections between food and life moments! 

it was an early AM in our house. panda had to get into the office before the sun woke up (gotta love those coaches!) so that meant that i had my wake-up call for an AM walk whether i wanted it or not. in retrospect, it was a good thing, but getting out of our warm bed when it's shivery-cold outside (well, the 60's are FREEZING here in hawai'i!!) is not my idea of a healthy choice. yes, the walking meditation was a good thing ... but i would likely choose my cozy side of the bed any AM of the week!

getting up early and being that our fridge was devoid of milk meant that shortstack got to choose his breakfast. of course, the natural choice was pb&j. after gathering all the makings himself, he proceeded to tell me, "mama, i want pb&j for snack and for lunch too." ummm ... that's 4 pb&j sammies in one day (they're on small rolls for easy consumption ... two for breakfast, one for snack, one for lunch). we might have to start calling him the pbj zombie!

 yes, that is a COSTCO-sized jar of pb ... and trader joe's strawberry jam. can't go wrong with either! especially with this little pbj zombie in the house. he's made it through that pb jar in a little over 6 months. seriously??

but, how the heck can you resist a smile like this?? pb&j it is! makes it easy for mama too! keeping it simple at home makes it a whole lot less crazy during the rest of our days!

here's to hoping that all of you have a stress-free day ... if not, take a note from shortstack and have a pb&j!

Dragon in the House!

The year of the dragon has rolled in and shortstack is having a blast celebrating its arrival! In school and among our network of friends, the Chinese Zodiac and Astrology are observed and honored. For many reasons, Hawai’i is an amazing place to raise a family, but one of the aspects that I value the most is the intercultural exposure that shortstack is surrounded by. Over the past two weeks, shortstack’s class has been exploring the year of the dragon and how the Chinese culture acknowledges and honors this passage of time and new year. They have crafted their own dragon heads, learned and exchanged the proper New Year’s greetings in Chinese, and read and wrote their own stories about the Dragon dance parades. 

our little dragon has a might RAWR!!!

The year of the dragon is said to be a lucky year and fortuitous for many people. Our little ‘ohana includes a Rooster (shortstack), a tiger (Panda) and a rabbit (Mama); supposedly, all of us are to have a prosperous and love-filled year with expectations of successes provided that we are diligent in our work and efforts. WOOHOO!! That’s the kind of horoscopes that make me smile!

I don’t know how watertight horoscopes can be, but I do know that I possess many of the traits that rabbit-born people are said to have. Pisces is my western astrological sign, and I definitely embody many Piscean traits as well. So, this family-loving, easily-distracted, indulgence-seeking, book-reading, creative-aspiring, emotional and expressive homebody is hoping that this year proves to be filled with the good fortune that is predicted. But if it isn’t, as long as my family and friends surround me, our home remains our haven and I can make a mess in the kitchen whenever I wish, I’ll consider it a year well-spent. 

Here’s to hoping that this dragon year is filled with good fortune and amazing adventures for you and yours!

Although a little late (no one said that rabbits ran on-time!), gung hei faat choi!

shortstack's got some rhythm!

 

Breaking the Rules: Living Life Our Way

   I grew up in a house that operated by strict, unspoken rules. Somehow, I knew that there were specific guidelines that members of our family were required to uphold throughout the week. For instance, milk was the only drink to be had during meals, my brother and I were expected to be out of bed and headed downstairs before the second call to breakfast, we would bring home lunch to school and it would consist of a ham and cheese sandwich with whatever random bag of chips we had in the pantry, Saturday mornings were for garage sales and the afternoons were for cleaning, Sundays included mass and a large breakfast and, under no circumstances, were we going to ever have anyone over to our house during the week.

   You would never see a guest in my parents' house from Sunday afternoon through Saturday morning. It simply wouldn't happen! There would never be a random friend who happened to be in the neighborhood and wanted to stop by and say hi. These rules - and many others - seemed to work for my parents. They were able to keep track of 4 different schedules, plan and execute family meals so that we were all ate breakfast and dinner together, strategically plan the drop-off and pick-up routes for daily obligations - including shuttling us from school to ballet to boy scouts and on and on, ensure that homework was finished and laundry was clean all with a minimum of chaos. So, obviously, the no-guest rule worked for them.


   Were my parents to step into our house and witness a week in our world, they would probably work themselves up into a heart attack because the no-guest rule simply does not exist in our home. In fact, I would say that there's a mandatory at-least-one-friend-a-week rule in our home. When Panda and I moved into our home, we knew that we wanted a haven for our cozy family. We also wanted it to be a place where our friends - our chosen (hanai) family - would feel comfortable anytime they stopped by. When we shopped for our home furniture, we made sure to choose pieces that we wouldn't care if 6-year-olds jumped on, uncles would be able to kick up their feet and lounge in front of the tv, hanai cousins could sprawl out and watch a movie or read a book, dinner could be eaten at a coffee table and crumbs wouldn't set mama off into a conniption, spilled beer wouldn't cause panic attacks and frustration about messiness would not be the tone-setter of the week. Thankfully, that is exactly what our home has become. And, thankfully, our peeps have no issue or worry about dropping by any day of the week - invited or not - to catch up and share a few laughs and a meal or two.

   Lesson learned by this mama: just because it was a rule in the house in which you grew up, does not mean that it has to be a rule in your home when you grow up. What worked for my parents in raising their family and running their world is not the end-all, be-all for home management. Panda, shortstack and I are much more social than my parents ever were. Because the community that we have built over the years is truly an extension of our cozy family, and the business of our everyday lives doesn't ever seem to slow down, we try to squeeze in time with our peeps whenever we can. Sometimes the only time we have available is a Thursday evening, so dinner is crockpot-pot-roast and leftover rice and the cousins will drop by for a few hours to catch up on the latest events and randomly chat about soon-to-be-created e-harmony profiles while shortstack gets some cuddle time in before heading off to bed. Sometimes, a weekday night is the only time when a few aunties can stop by for a bitch session about the insanity of our jobs and an uncle can take a look to figure out why the tv won't function the way it's supposed to (and it wasn't mama's fault!!). These little hiccups in our weekly schedule make the insanity and chaos of our school/work demands bearable ... even enjoyable.

  I love that our home is always a comfy place for our peeps to walk into and that we don't feel that our home needs to spotless and precise in order for "company " to come over. In fact, none of us look at our peeps as "company". There's an explicit rule in our home, once you walk in the door, we'll hand you the first drink and you have a few minutes to get the lay of the land, but then it's time for you to settle in and make yourself at home. Find the fridge and help yourself, the table is a fend-for-yourself zone and if you don't get serving or two of food, you have only yourself to blame; if you fall asleep on the couch, you'll likely wake up with a blanket thrown over you and if you're around during bedtime, expect that shortstack will want a few goodnight kisses and cudddles. This is the home that Panda and I wanted. This is the home that we nurture and love.

   I thank my angels that we enjoy breaking the rules ... after all, our life and our home wouldn't fit us as perfectly as it does if rules were meant to be followed.

 thank goodness for a comfy home ... makes catching our zzzzz's so much easier!

hope y'all have a wonderful week filled with rule-breaking and fun visits with your peeps!

    

life is short ... make it blissful

last thursday, we woke up to the news that a friend's husband was killed in afghanistan on deployment. he had been a career marine, his wife knew that being a marine was part of who he was. he had been on 6 previous deployments into combat zones; this was to be his last and he was to return to hawaii in two months. this news has rocked my soul. unfortunately, i had not known this gentleman well. his wife is a friend and one of the most rocking women i have ever met ... but we're not daily intimates or even meet-up-for-a-cup-of-coffee friends ... despite that, finding out that he was killed has rooted itself deep inside me and has been messing with me ever since. besides sympathizing with his wife and the heartbreak and fear that she must be feeling, i have been replaying - in my mind - the brief moments that i saw between this couple; the palpable and passionate love that was electric between them and rippled over everyone in the same room as them. i fear for his wife ... i fear that she will not be able to recover from losing her other half ... that she'll lose that passionate, vivacious, crazy, confident part of herself in the depths of whatever she must be feeling right now ... and in all honesty, i fear that because when i imagine what i imagine myself losing my new wife, i can easily see how loss of self can happen.

i knew that marriage would change my life and our family's life. i knew that getting married in front of our friends and 'ohana would validate, proclaim and demand our family's right to recognized as a unit worthy of respect and legitimacy. i knew that we would appreciate and value the legal rights and responsibilities that our partnership now carried. i did not know that it would result in a feeling of such comfort, possession and pride. i did not know that it would unexpectedly and silently legitimize and solidify the emotional cubbies in my heart that my wife, my son, and - now - our family occupy.

there have been several lessons that my soul has been shouting at me to pay attention to since i learned about this death --- but the greatest has been the affirmation of our family and the love that exists between us. getting married and, in a way, demanding that our little family is given due respect that any other heterosexual family has is justified and validated.

these last few nights, before going to sleep i sneak into shortstack's room and cover him with kisses and cuddles, ask his angels to protect him and then i crawl into our bed, cuddle down into panda's shoulder and thank our angels for giving us the courage and opportunity to love one another and create the rest of our lives together as the APLS ohana.

cuddle into your loved ones tonight ... love and live well ...

spent a chillaxin sunday afternoon wandering around, looking at boats before heading to a non-birthday celebration at D&B (hope it was a GREAT non-bday, aunty jeannie!!)

11 hours of bliss ..

... -ful sleep, that is! yep! mama got 11 hours of sleep last night. i don't know the last time that happened. too sad that i could do with another 6 - 8 hours of sleep, but i had to start my day. and so i did.

it's a crazy time in our office ... spring registration and classes starting on monday ... sometimes insanity just creeps into every corner of our world. so, despite my 11 hours of sleep, i still find myself with a migraine today. 

pho lunch ...trying to combat the insane pain in my head ... 

i'm thanking our angels that it is a short week. especially after two AWESOME weekends!! our honeymoon weekend was such an indulgence ~ we got to do so much that otherwise is not done in our house ... drinks and dinners with adult friends on a weekday-night, date night ~ getting dressed up & lingering over dessert at a fancy-shmancy restaurant, watching TV til 2 am, assembling furniture and completely rearranging the living room (pictures to come) 

in the meantime, here's shortstack after he came home for his long-weekend camping trip. 

can you figure out what's different in our living room??

hope you all are having a spectacular day!

adults-only weekend

shortstack is camping with his dad this weekend ... that means that panda and i have an adults-only honeymoon 3-day weekend that we get to enjoy ... together ... alone ... stay-up-late, wake-up-late, maybe-stay-in-our-pjs kind of weekend. seriously!! and we're not quite sure what to do with ourselves!!

i'm sure that we're not the only parentals that rarely get the only-us-time, so when we do it's a bit of a struggle to not just fall into bed at 7:34 pm and sleep until 7:34 am without having to think about homework, dinner, cleaning up, packing lunches, getting breakfast, finding missing shoes, corralling lunch bags, etc., etc ...

and so we went TOTALLY out of our comfort zone last night and met up with friends (our aussie contingent) for drinks and dinner ... AT 7 PM!!!!! okay ... that may not sound too amazing to y'all , but to us, that is REVOLUTIONARY!!! you see ... shortstack's bedtime is 7:30 ... that means that at 7 pm, baths are being rushed, pjs are being rummaged for, fish are being fed and the ongoing bargaining for bedtime stories is being conducted. 7:30 is the clean-up, lights-out, collapse-on-the-couch for a few minutes time frame. WOOHOO!!! we're adults on-our-own!!!

with 3 days ahead of us of alone-time, we are giddy with possibilities ... we'll likely end up chillin around the house, but just to stretch that comfort zone a bit more, we are planning a date ... an honest-to-goodness, get-dressed-up, make-reservations, sit-at-a-table-with-china-and-linen date!!! i'll fill you in next week. but until then, enjoy your weekend and find some time to grab your honey (if you have one) for a few minutes of us-time. if you're running solo, grab a few minutes to sit with yourself and enjoy some peace!

AND ... just because i can ... here's another little peek at our APLS WEEDING WEEKEND ADVENTURE!!

 our aussie crew rocked their aloha wear ... we know that kylie and sim will be wearing their muumuus weekly when then get back to aussie-land!!

for those that departed early ... there was some panda-provided entertainment. it is possible that there's a little bit of filipino in my woman ... she's a sucker for karaoke ~ especially if there's a dj that will provide her with bohemian rhapsody (and, depending on how much alcohol is consumed, baby got back just might make an appearance as well).

tidbits from our wedding in paradise

you know the horror stories you hear about weddings, bridezillas and resulting chaos ... well, that was nowhere to be found for our AWESOME WEDDING ADVENTURE. i promise to sit down one day soon and share stories and excerpts from the wonderful wedding weekend ... but until then, here are some tidbits. thanks, wendy, for taking the time to document this special weekend for us! if i ever make fun of you being camera-happy again, smack me! =)

 the night before our wedding, we had an impromptu dinner gathering in our turtle bay condo ... chili and drinks for everyone ... and there were LOTS of aussies too!

 our family and friends were the ones who made this weekend happen for us. everyone was SO AMAZING in creating and executing the vision that our wedding-planning-extraordinaire, Cheri Teranishi-Hashimoto, had dreamed us for us. our poor aussie family has yet to make it hawai'i for a simple vacation - everytime they come over, we put them to work. i promise, shane, you'll be able to enjoy your next one ... work free!!

 

 set-up included a few cocktails ... of course!! 

brother (shane) and sister (panda) ... how cute!!! seriously ... you can TOTALLY tell they're siblings!

 i love that our friends had fun and laughed all the way through the set-up ... at least as far as i could tell ... 

i've finally figured out why i wasn't allowed to help with set-up - apparently i don't direction well but other peeps do! yep, that's my cousin, michi, in the background ... can you tell that she's happy on life ... and had a few cocktails! iris is determined to get things done and sym's just enjoying life!

 we wanted a guestbook that we would keep and be able to continue to add to, so we chose a coffee-table book that we adore. so, anytime you peeps come to visit our home, please continue to add to the 

APLS 'Ohana guestbook

 our AWESOME brother-in-law, D ... who is also the bestest bartender!!

 we had friends and family from around the world join us for this spectacular day!!! 

donnna and tracy ... our volcano peeps ... we LOVE you guys!!

 

our vows were simple, short and sweet ... there was a lot more laughter than tears!

kaleo stood with us as we shared our vows and he held our rings until we were ready for them.

 then it was time to party!! the soccer gals ROCK!

 tell us what you REALLY think, kido! these guys worked hard to help everything run smoothly

 the food was DELICIOUS! or so we were told ... didn't have too much time to eat =( 

Uncle Masa sure knows how to feed a hungry crowd!

 our officiants were my cousins ... joy and michelle ... they represented the new zealand side of the family

 there's our handsome boy!! anytime mama can steal a kiss, she does!

 our over-the-top wedding surprise ... Ms. Geralyn Kamaha'olani Camarillo ... making photo magic happen. all the while, panda's checking out the party and looking forward to visiting the bar

our angels ... D & Reech ... talk about an amazing pair!

our DJ (shawn), wedding-weekend-documenter (wendy), friends julie and nat ... gotta love life!

more to come ... again, thank you wendy ~ and everyone ~ for the pictures and the memories!!

2012 ROCKS!!!

oh my goodness! OH MY GOODNESS!!

2011 has exited and 2012 has entered ... and it ALREADY ROCKS!!!!

i haven't had much of a chance to catch my breath ... mainly because the amazingness of what the first week of 2012 has made me breathless ... but here are a few tidbits of what will soon follow ...

 amazing friends who created a spectacular dreamscape for our 'ohana

 a time and space for us to recognize and celebrate the 'ohana that we've created

symbols of the commitment that we have for one another and our 'ohana

i promise!!! i'll be back soon to share with all of you our simply perfect wedding day ...

happy 2012, everyone ... may it be as blessed and filled with love as ours is!

lunch!!

## up until this week, i have used my lunch hour to write, edit, read, research, re-write, re-read, re-edit and re-research for my thesis. this week, though, i have my first taste of freedom since i started this job. YAY!! i feel a little guilty for not doing homework or writing about soul-wrenching (for me) topics. so, to alleviate that guilt, i picked up a book i've been wanting to finish for a few years and a caramel brulee latte ... *giggle* ... good lord! i love NOT being a student!

 ## and here's pic of the CO girls that made their way from the chilly country of CO to our warm and balmy country in the middle of the pacific ... unfortunately, they decided to bring the cold, wind and rain with them so they didn't get to partake of the balmy weather ... but we did get to enjoy a few days of hanging out (per shortstack's request), volleyball, eating and imbibing ... all good!

aunty jamie, aunti mollie, panda and mama ... getting cozy and posing for shortstack's photography practice

weekend recap

for some reason, even during the slow times, we're crazy busy. but i am DETERMINED that things WILL slow down VERY SOON!!! see all those caps? that's me willing it to be so!

this past weekend involved friends, regional volleyball games, rainy beaches, drinks and carb-loaded food, wedding dresses, shopping lists and some mild stress of what has yet to be.

* we had some CO girls out here visiting us/working/playing hooky. it was ALL GOOD! thanks to our jobs, our lives and the social butterfly-ness of my ohana, we have friends from all over - some are panda's, some are mine, some are shortstack's .... but when they are introduced to the whole family, we tend to just take them in. unfortunately, our CO girls felt the need to bring the cold and wet weather with them ...

shortstack & aunty mollie ... yes, we know the focus is a bit one-sided 

* UH wahine (women - for our non-hawaii peeps) volleyball team were playing in the NCAA regionals this weekend ... friday night we faced USC ... and they played hard ... but we still lost. so not good! like, lisa-is-crying-at-the-end-of-the-game not good.

 

UH v USC

* some of us took a good, long nap during the volleyball game

* it was the 1st weekend in a SUPER LONG TIME that we could enjoy without the thought of writing, editing, reading, researching, data collection, coding, analyses, etc., etc., etc. ... hanging over our head. so after a saturday of shopping, driving, cold-beach swimming, eating and plain ole' hanging out together, we headed into a sunday of cooler-packing potlucking with some soccer friends ... (yes, soccer friends. yes, you read that on my blog. yes, i wrote that of my own volition!) 

 cooler packed and ready to go, books stacked and ready to entertain ...

* i have a stack of books to get to now that i don't have to worry about anything academic. this one was ordered and received but was kept in the box on a shelf per panda's instructions and under her wacthful eyes until i got my thesis in and classes done. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

so, the book stayed next to me all weekend, but for some reason, tv-vegging was prioritized

* we did a costco run and started the fridge cleaning ... had some garlic that needed to be used so i roasted up a HUGE batch ... well, i thought it was huge. last night i noticed that it never makes quite as much as i think it does.

 roasted garlic w/ olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt ... goes well in and on ANYTHING!!

now it's a sunday monday and we're back to the grind. only a few short weeks and christmas will be upon us. where the heck did this year go?? here's to hoping that all of you are having a spectacular day ... get through it ... .75 days down and 4.25 left to go!

the holidays are here ... and i get to enjoy 'em!!

it is done! yep!! last night was my final class for my final course for my master's program. i turned in my thesis on monday. it is ALL done!!

and now we get to enjoy the christmas season. WOOHOO!!

i thought this would be a great way to start the celebration times ...

~ christmas buddies ~

lighting up our home

this is our first christmas as a family in a home of our own. since the day we moved in (well, the day panda moved us in) we have been steamrolling through the year without really taking a breath. we've been busy with work, school, traveling (for work and family), thesis-writing, classes, soccer, surgery, visitors, did i mention work and school??!

we finally have  chance to take a breath in our home, create a space to celebrate the holidays, slow the pace down and just enjoy each other and the stillness.

i am a stickler for my holiday rule: NO CHRISTMAS UNTIL AFTER THANKSGIVING! seriously! we will NOT start to celebrate christmas before halloween!! so, the day after our t's-giving feast, i was ready to start decorating ... but we got sidetracked with the daily life duties. this past saturday, we were finally able to pick our tree, buy some lights and start the festivities. as always, the best laid plans are just that ... plans.

panda wasn't a huge christmas celebrator before shortstack and i invaded her life. i've always been a christmas season fan, but i've over the past five years, my enthusiasm was a bit dampened with craziness of life. also, in the chaos of two moves in the last two years means that my box of christmas fun is MIA. oh well! so, we are (somewhat) starting from scratch, putting emphasis on homemade and special to the family.

the tree is up (thank you, panda, for your ingenuity and patience)! i'm still not sure why someone can't create an easy-to-use tree stand that works for us year after year. garland (thank you, aunty jeannie!) and stockings are hung and decorations are being planned and made. woohoo! the holidays are here!!

now, if only i can get through the next 3 days with my sanity in tact, i will then be able to completely soak up the time with family and friends and read all the fun books that i want!!

cranky pants ... i'm talking mama, not the baby

so, i read this article this morning and it totally reminded me of those days that everyone is grumpy, tired and simply not clicking. those days that mama is so NOT ok and can't quite keep myself from throwing tantrums of my own.

we have a rule in our house ... if you want to throw a tantrum, be upset or unpleasant, you have the right to do so ... just go into your own room so that others don't have to be the target of the tantrum. i am firm believer that we all have the right to move through our emotions. it's unreasonable to tell our kids that they can't have tantrums or be grumps when we adults have tantrums and are supremely grumpy whenever we feel like it. i want shortstack to know that it is okay to feel whatever he is feeling. but he has to own it, control how it manifests and understand that others are not responsible for filtering or absorbing those feelings.

sometimes, mama needs that reminder too. and on days when the 'ohana is simply not clicking, well, we need to all take a breath and just remember that we love each other SO much that we feel SO safe in sharing everything we feel. so, maybe we should just take a timeout and tell each other "i love you" and there's an off-chance that we might all start clicking together again.

it's a friday, peeps! make it a good one ... and have a safe and beautiful weekend.

hi. my name is lisa. and i'm lazy ...

... it's true. i am LAZY. at this point in time i am not at all interested in pushing the last little bit to make it to the end of my master's degree, make it through my week at work, clean the house, complete any of the billions of projects that i have started, finish wedding planning or even read a book for fun. at this point in time, the only thing that i am interested in is being lazy. in going home at the end of the day, drinking a glass of wine and curling up to go to sleep. call it rebellion, burn-out, boredom --- whatever you want. i call it laziness. and i'm okay with it. well, i'm okay with wanting to be lazy. i can't be lazy. i need to graduate, see my students, decorate for the holidays, tidy-up the house ... but i'm just saying, it's okay to be lazy. i'm giving myself that permission.

... and when i make it to the end of december, i'm going to crash out and sleep like a baby ... *sigh*

thanks for thanksgiving ... & now back to work

*sigh*
why are holiday weekends all-too-short?
oh well! it was spectacular while it lasted ...
we had A LOT of napping, tv watching, eating, hanging-out-together, tickle-fights, book-browsing, snack-eating, mimosa-and-baileys-n-coffee-drinking ... ahh, the list could go on and on ...
we hit up one of the last UH football games of the season ... tulane v. UH ... we won. oh yay! hopefully those point-shaving rumors will soon be put-to-rest.

who's ready for some warrior football?? kaleo ALWAYS is!!

and then, so quickly, our splendid long holiday weekend ended! and back to the grind again ... but still (& always), so much to be thankful for ...

... i see the end of my thesis in sight 

... i purchased my grad cap & gown

... i'm going to walk in my graduation (for the 1st time) on december 17th

... i found my wedding dress (too bad the store hasn't placed the order yet)

... in 9 days, i will be pau with classes (well, at least until i decide to get my PhD)

... christmas songs on at work & in the car

... time for serious holiday decorating

... it's cold enough at night that i can wear snuggly pjs AND hog the blankets 

... we have a little boy that is simply too cute for words

... i have a fiancee who loves me better than i could have ever wish for 

... tomorrow's work schedule isn't as insane as yesterday's was!

... i have a PILE of FUN books to read ... in 10 days!!!!

counting our blessings ...

... and being lazily burrowed into our home ...

thankfully & gratefully with love to you all 

thanksgiving - part 1

YAY!! the holidays are here ... i've been SO looking forward to this weekend.

it's been such a crazy busy year, i have been so anxious to have a few days with my family, lounging in our pjs, puttering in our kitchen, just hanging out together and enjoying our little life blessings. 

i love cooking a thanksgiving feast ... even if it is only for 3 people ...

well, this year, i'm cooking a feast for 3 3/4 people. and so the preparations have begun!

so many menu ideas ... only tomorrow will tell what the final menu will be

i am a list maker ... that doesn't mean that i'm a list follower, but i do make lists. 

then i keep my fingers crossed, follow my whims and hope that everything turns out for the best

we also have holiday projects to work on ... cards, ornaments, scrapbook pages,

sewing patterns, picture organization, thesis completion ... oh my! the list is quite extensive

it'll be a busy home day ... but we're going to be busy burrowing in to our home and being

thankful for all that we have and who we love.

happy thanksgiving to you and yours!

thank god it's friday!!

it is, right?? if it isn't ... i'm going on strike ...

i can't help to smile when i see this cutey-patootie! 

wishing all of you an awesome weekend!