Things that make me happy today

{ fountain pens }

{ Raisin Bran Crunch cereal }

{ little note books }

{ talking to old roommates }

{ Puffs tissues with Vicks (so lovely!) }

{ cameras }

{ frozen Thin Mints }

What's on my playlist:

"One Red Thread" by Blind Pilot

"Together We Will Live Forever" by Clint Mansell

"Where I Stood" by Missy Higgins*

"The Chain" by Ingrid Michaelson*

"Alibi" by 30 Seconds to Mars*

"Moon River" by Patty Griffin

"A Light On a Hill" by Margot and the Nuclear So-and-Sos

"Cabin Music" by Jay Semko*
"From Where You Are" by Lifehouse

"Vapour Trail" by Trespassers William

"Time To Say Goodbye" by Katherine Jenkins

"Run" by Leona Lewis

"Existentialism on Prom Night" by Straylight Run

"Nyah and Ethan" by Hans Zimmer

{ * I can play this on my guitar now! :) aren't you proud? }

What I'm playing:

Star Trek Online
Oblivion { of course }

What I'm reading:

The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan

my obsession

I'm in love.

 { Yes, with Mr. Hercules. }

With cameras.

This one will be in my mailbox shortly!

I can't wait!

Moon River

Does anyone else wish they had Audrey Hepburn's class?

I'd love it. { Except maybe with a bit more Earth Child in it. }

"Moon River" is one of my most favorite songs, and I don't even know why. Every time I hear it, it makes me happy and sad at the same time. It doesn't even matter who sings it; I have so many versions of the song, I think I could make a CD (maybe I will).

Le sigh.

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is another one of my most favorite songs, although I absolutely detest "The Wizard of Oz."

The best version is this one.

Do you have any songs like that?

{how to have a lovely weekend}

{ buy a new hat (or two) }

{ go to a lovely concert with your lovely friend, Rachael, and her

lovely new super-short haircut }

{ take pictures that don't turn out very well... }

{ the next day, eat a broiled grapefruit with butter and brown sugar on top

(and take blurry pictures of it) }

{ become very intrigued by how celery looks like a flower

if you cut the bottom off }

{ enjoy a quiet weekend with your husband }

{ finally get to see your parents again after being sick for a couple weeks and

not being able to go over for Sunday dinners }

* * * * * * *

The Jon Schimdt concert was absolutely amazing. If you've never been able to see him live, you are truly missing out. I think every now and then we need to be in the presence of something great; we need to feel inspired, and feel joy in humanity. We become too jaded by life and the sad, awful things that go on in the world, and don't allow ourselves time to revel in the simple joy of being alive.

That's the whole point, isn't it? We're alive. We're here to live, not just survive (although surviving is somehow the only way we can move on to living), not just to plod through and groan at the alarm clock when it wakes us up again.

This week, I'm working on enjoying the little things, and taking an extra moment to appreciate what I have.

I was cuddled up to Ty last night on the couch while he played Mass Effect 2 (AWESOME, by the way), and looked around.

I have a great life. I have a man who loves me, I have somewhere warm to live and sleep, I have the most loving family (our own little Sacketts!). I have fresh food, and some to spare. I have more books, clothes, and shoes than a person probably needs to survive (but it's not about surviving, remember?). I have friends, and a job, and a good car. I love, and am loved.

{ Life is lovely, blissful, and wonderful }

aguacate

When I was little, I thought my mother was crazy.

Not talking to people in her head, painting the walls bright pink and orange, crazy; but still.

You see, she told me that sometimes when she was younger, she would eat an avocado for lunch.

An avocado!

I like guacamole. But to eat just the avocado? Was she serious?

When we were in California, Ty took me to the most amazing sushi place, Kawa Sushi. At said amazing sushi place, there is the Bruce Lee roll. (There is also a Chuck Norris roll!)

It was honestly THE BEST sushi I have ever had in my life. It looked delicious, tasted divine, and then I noticed the avocado...

And loved it.

Since then, avocados have been in the back of my mind. What would it be like to eat an avocado by itself, anyway? Several times since we came home I have looked for them at the store, but couldn't ever find them. Until Monday. Then I found my avocado. It has been sitting on my table, patiently waiting (unlike myself) to ripen and be ready to eat.

Finally, last night, I cut my avocado in half, put a little salt on top, sat on the couch, and devoured it. I had to stop and call my mom, apologizing for thinking she was crazy all these years. She laughed and was gracious about it, as she always is. :)

Sitting there, delighting in the buttery goodness, I remembered what I had known since I was a little girl: my mother is absolutely brilliant. 

{ can you guess what I had with my lunch today? }

a new addition to the family

{ no, I'm not pregnant }

I needed a new chair.

My old one was great, and pink, and very happy.

Alas, it wasn't comfy. At all. My back hurt after awhile of sitting in it, and I avoided the computer quite a bit when I got home

{ have you noticed the lack of posting lately? that is why }

It's my fault, really. I picked the happy pink chair.

Mr. Hercules has been playing the beta-testing version of Star Trek Online 

{ awesome! }

and wanted me to play, too

{ I wanted me to play, too }

So he decided it was time to buy me a new chair.

We ventured out into the cold and gloom to Staples, where I promptly picked the first chair I saw

{ this is also how I picked the happy pink chair }

Mr. Hercules said to look around some more. So we looked. We sat.  I went back to the first chair I saw.

{ it was squishy and full of awesome }

I told Mr. Hercules I would put the chair together myself

{ I even sang a welcome to the apartment, chair! song }

I put the chair together! I was so proud of myself!

I followed the directions.

But still, something didn't look right....

{ this is not how the chair is supposed to work }

So Mr. Hercules smiled sweetly { and laughed }

{ I laughed, too }

and fixed my chair

Now I have a lovely new gaming chair!

And, yes, STO is freakin' awesome.

{ just so you know }

Pictures that made me happy today

new dayplanners

{ & }

cobalt blue water goblets

{ & }

my two favorite guys

2009

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

what a perfect day looks like

I've saved some sunlight
if you should ever need
a place away from darkness
where your mind can feed.

{rod mckuen}

home

we're back.

i'll post more pictures soon. hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

back to california...

we're leaving for California on Saturday. here's a few reasons why I can't wait:

{getting to see this little guy}

{seeing them!}

{and of course this}

To whoever decided to shake up my snowglobe,

and then decided to just keep shaking because it was funny:

I know I told you that I wanted snow. A winter wonderland. Some white stuff, and less blue skies.

You took that and just ran with it, didn'tcha? A little beyond the mark? A little eager to please?

Thanks.

I'll be in California. Away from the freezing temperatures. Away from the heavy snow that made it nearly impossible to get out of apartment the other day. I'll be gone. On a ferry. And at Fisherman's Warf. Maybe even Stanyan Street.

So there.

love, me

Blissful Things pt. 3

So, I know, my last post wasn't exactly... cheery. So to make up for it, here is another list of

 Blissful Things I Can Always Count On

{see previous lists here and here}

 * a cup of hot chocolate with chopped up Queso Oaxaca in it *

{so delightful!}

* the new 30 Seconds to Mars album (esp. "alibi"... ok ok and jared leto lol) *

* old Sherlock Holmes movies *

 *  watching really bad Netflix rentals with Ty  *

 *  candy apple red nail polish  *

  * red shoes *

{found here}

* pillows. lots and lots of pillows *

{found here}

* good books *

{found here}

* listening to "Home" by Vanessa Carlton when I have a bad day, and

instantly finding myself in a better mood *

* seeing Ty at the beginning of the day, even if that day

starts at 3:30 a.m. *

* my family *

what's your list?

Lack-of a Winter Wonderland ennui

I woke up very content and happy this morning. It was lightly snowing, and I had slept quite well.

And then I got to work.

For some reason, it all went downhill from there.

I felt ornery, out of sorts, abrasive, and far from wanting to be helpful. I didn't feel good, and then the sun started shining.

This would probably make a normal person happy. It makes me even more grumpy.

I. Do. Not. Like. Sunny Days. Especially when it's cold outside.

This is what winter should look like:

This is what winter looks like here right now:

BLEH.

At lunch, Mr. Hercules served me up a salmon taco from Cafe Rio and sat down next to me while I finished my Sherlock Holmes movie. "I feel grumpy today," he told me.

"I'm really ornery today too," I told him. "You're not grumpy because of me, are you?" I asked.

"Nope. Are you grumpy because of me?"

"Nope."

"Then we're good!" he said.

I love my mister. I love that he doesn't expect to be married to a robot, that I can have bad days and bad moods and so can he. We cuddled on the couch for a bit, he made fun of Sherlock Holmes ("Weatherman Holmes" is what he's calling him now), and then we sighed and went back to work.

My body and moods are quite sensitive to changes in weather. But, like I said before, it's backwards from most people. The gloomier it is, the happier I am. (I'm still working on a theory about why that is)

This year, Mr. Hercules and I are spending Christmas in California. I am VERY excited about this, and can't wait to relax. We're planning a trip to Half Moon Bay again while we are out there, and get to see Mr. Hercules's sisters and mom. We're also picking up Logan on our way. :) I can't wait--I miss that little guy...

{However, I'm going to have to trick my body into not expecting a white Christmas, since it'll probably be in the 60's while we're out there. :)}

Am I the only one who expects snow when it's cold? Every year, my brain forgets that I live in a high deserty area, and my body waits for the snow to dump.

{I think it's going to be a long winter...}

Thank goodness for snow days.

Also, I've been listening to this all day

(Thanks Joe!)

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was laid-back and relaxing. We spent it at my parents' house with my mom and dad, my brother John, and my other brother Joe and his wife Libby.

(I was a slacker and didn't take many pictures)

Dad and the guys played around with Dad's cool steam engine

how could you not love this guy?

putting up the Christmas tree on Saturday

why yes, those are Star Wars ornaments on our tree!

i love my mister :)

Merry Christmas!

love, mr hercules & captain jules

Thankful

I have been trying to be more grateful in my life. I think I do an ok job, but I want to rock at it. Lately, I've been thinking about it in the mornings, after Mr. Hercules leaves for work and I am in bed alone, waiting for another hour before I really have to get up.

My list usually starts something like this:

• I am thankful for Mr. Hercules
• I am thankful for this amazingly comfortable bed (made comfortable by this)
• I am thankful for the harem of lovely pillows that Mr. Hercules puts up with (which leads me to be thankful for Mr. Hercules again)
• I am thankful for our safe home
• I am thankful for this amazing bed

 And then I usually fall asleep again.

My mom gave us these gratitude journals a while back, and I've tried to write things in there, but haven't been awesome at it either. So the past little bit, I've trying to do better. So, with a little more thought, here is part of my list of gratitude.

• I am thankful for my amazing husband. I couldn't have dreamed up a better man. Some days I wonder if I'm dreaming it all, or really married.
  
• I am thankful for awesome parents who have no idea how seriously cool they are.
• I am thankful for the ability to read (made possible by the awesome parents who have no idea how seriously cool they are), and the passion I have for it
  
• I am thankful for my job
• I am thankful for a reliable vehicle
• I am thankful for simple joys from etsy that make my hands less dry and my lips less chapped (and my ears more pretty, and my body smell lovely, and my fingers all ring-y, etc. etc...)
• I am thankful for the right to vote, even if it doesn't go my way
• I am grateful that I don't have to be scared when I go out shopping, or come home at night
• I am grateful that I have a kick-toshie family 

I am grateful for this guy

and this little guy

and them

and them

 and them

happy thanksgiving