French Toast With Louis Armstrong

This morning, I made the kids French Toast 

(and coffee for Jake [brother] and myself)

to the rich, soothing voices of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, 

Harry Connick Jr., and Jelly Roll Morton. 

Sleepless In Seattle

I love this movie. I love laying in bed at night with a cup of tea, and 

placing my complete, undivided attention on this

movie. Watching for all the little details

that make it just that much better. Be it an ever so slight, whimsical facial expression,

or noticing all of Annie's (Meg's) different shoes throughout the
movie. I know it sounds silly. 

There are very few movies that I can and do, do this with. 

And, even though the clothing style of this movie

dates back to the early 90's, I still adore it:

the loose fishtail braids

the dresses

the generally (overall) sweet look...

I guess that there is something to be said for the people who never

progress past their childhood era (or the era of some pivotal
point in their life). Like those

people with mullets, acid wash jeans

and tattered t-shirts, who are (obviously) stuck in the 80's.

Perhaps, I will always find something attractive about the clothing during 

the early 90's era. 

More than that, I think that I just adore Meg Ryan. 

"You've Got Mail" & "When Harry Met Sally" & "French Kiss" are three more
of my favorite Meg Ryan movies.

(though I think that Sleepless and You've Got Mail rise a little more

above Harry + Sally and French Kiss. Maybe because I wasn't allowed to be acquainted 
with those two until I was 14 or 15. 
The sweet spot in my heart is more

toward the other two. However, this does not diminish the fact that 
I still like Harry + Sally and French Kiss. 
They just aren't as old of friends as Sleepless and You've Got Mail).

Well, that brand of kombucha was a fail. 

The taste wasn't as glorious

as I had hoped. Nor were the effects. And--there was absolutely no fizzy!

I found that the taste actually made me nauseated.

I dunno. 

Maybe I Am just spoilt by the GT brand. I hope hope HOPE that they will once

again have a spot on the shelves of the local health food stores.

Kombucha

Well, my stomach has been somewhat of a mess. I have been

in somewhat a tizzy with the fact

that the FDA took the GT Kombucha brand of Kombucha

(the bottle with the pretty flower at the top)

off the shelves do to Lindsey Lohan using it as a cover up to her addiction to

alcohol. I don't know how much

of what the tabloids say is true... One thing I do know, is that I am very put out by

the recent inability for anyone to purchase this 

wonderfully healthy (and soothingly fizzy) drink. I was at a loss of what to do for my

poor stomach for the last month! 

Until-- today when, with my brother in tow, I ventured into Lassens to 

see if it were really gone for good.

I found this little pretty in its former place! So now, the slogan for 

upset tummies in need of the lovely fizziness of Kombucha, is this bottle; A bird replaced for a

flower. I have yet to taste it. I hope that it

will be just as good and helpful as its recent competitor. 

Here are the beautiful flavors:

-mango

-pomegranate

-chai tea

-blood orange (made my mouth water)

-ginger
-raspberry
-peach
-lemon ginger

(I think that there might have been another flavor or two, but I cannot remember. 

After all, I was only in there for a few minutes).

She

She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the
faintest scent of a 

cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl.

We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to

pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly,

but the pin merely went through, and away she

flew.

-Jerry Spinelli

A sea of paper and book binding and letters

Right now I am sitting in the cafe of an endless sea of books. I admit that I am

slightly overwhelmed by all the reading possibilities.

I am quite certain that my husband will only have to worry about one

spending problem... books (and maybe the occasional

dress) Our home will be and have the best

library around.

Though, somehow, I don't think that 

he will mind. As I am quite certain that he will love 

books too (and that

means buying them just as much as me).

Love Affair

I want to live in a place where I can ride my bike from place to place. It seems so fitting (since where ever I live will be by the beach) to ride a bike to and from place to place. I firmly believe that such a form of traveling would evoke a love affair with the bike. All I'd ever want to do, is ride my bike places. Being in a car, I'm sure, would be like being stuffed into a guilded cage. 

To me, riding a bike seems like it would be enchanting in a way that I don't quite understand just yet. That is, until I have a bike of my own. I can just imagine the wind in my face, the sunshine falling softy on my shoulders, and the feeling of freedom swelling in my chest. 

SLO would be a perfect place for such form of transportation. I'm sure SD would as well as AG.

Ahh, I so want a beach cruiser. Haha 

The Apostle Peter

"Above all keep fervent in your love for one another,

because love covers a multitude

of sins.

9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

10 As each one has received 

a special gift, employ it

in serving one another as good stewards of the 

manifold grace of 

God.

11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one how is speaking in the

utterances of God;

whoever serves, is to do so as one who is

serving by the strength which

God supplies;

so that in all things God may be glorified

through Jesus Christ, to whom

belongs the glory and dominion for ever

and ever. Amen."

1 Peter 4:8-11

Waking to Giggles

I was so exhausted when I walked out of my room this morning, 

that I didn't notice it his mess until about 

and hour ago... 

I could hear the kids playing in the down stairs living room 

(which is right outside my room) but the 

thought that this is what was going on, never

crossed my sleepy brain.

I could hear them giggling and shouting at each other,

I should have known. 

Gluten Free Baking Today!

Crissa and I did a little baking today.

Which was quite lovely,

considering that neither of us can have gluten and don't

get the chance to eat baked treats

let alone bake our

own, gluten free, treats. 

And of course, no baked treat is complete without

a perfect cup of tea:)

We got our base mix from my Lovely friend's Aunt's 

gluten free bakery.

Oh so lovely. 

A plate never looked so beautiful being empty.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

(courtesy of Almond Glory)

2c. Almond Glory Mix
½ tsp baking soda
½ c. sugar
¹/3 c. canola or vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
½ tsp vinegar
1c. - 1 ½ c. mashed bananas (= 2 - 3 very ripe bananas) (I did 3)
½ c. chocolate chips or ¼ c. coarsely chopped nuts (Optional )

Preheat oven to 350°.

1. Mix dry ingredients and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients (except the bananas) together.
3. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients. Mix until batter pulls from sides of bowl.
4. Add bananas and optional chocolate chips or nuts. Mix only until incorporated.
5. Transfer batter into buttered loaf pan. Cover with foil.
6. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove foil for the last 30 minutes of baking. 
7. Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing.

Butterflies and Waiting in the Wings

You know when you are waiting for something to start?

Like a performance that you are in? 

 (in my case it is a ballet performance.)

And your stomach is filled, I mean FILLED with a billion,

tiny, fluttering butterflies?

You hold your stomach as tight as you can,

in hopes that you will

minimize their fluttering space. Wishing that their 

tiny wings would stop batting

at the lining of your stomach. You think that perhaps you

forgot to eat, so you hastily grab a quick protein bar and scarf it down.

But- the feeling never goes away? 

All you can do, is keep your mind from going on the fritz
at the growing number of fluttering wings
inside your tummy

and wait in the darkness of the stage wings.

Every second that ticks by, feels like an eternity! And the only

thing that can stop this endless eternity of 

waiting and butterflies is the starting of the music and the drawing
back of the curtains.

Neither of which are happening, and you think, 

quite possibly, that you will go insane

before they do...

Reaching for the Sunshine

Today, I am reaching for the sunshine.
I am reaching for that blessed warmth, that radiates from the heavens
above, to our home on the earth below.
I am reaching for resolution and faith, in the glorious sunshine that God has blessed us with;
In the same sunshine that, lights the earth in the day, and aids the plants and flowers
in their growth, as well as ours.
I'm reaching into this natural resource,
with renewed vigor and spunk.

Romeo + Juliet

I stopped off at Barnes 'N' Noble and picked up a copy of 'Romeo + Juliet'

and am in love with all its quirky loveliness. 

I have been wanting to read it, but just haven't had the time (with school and work)

to stop and search out a copy.

It is also a little harder than it is here, to find a bookstore.

On the coast, our Barnes 'N' Noble and Borders Bookstore is about 30-35 minutes 

away from where I live. And our little mall, that had

B. Dalton and Walden Books, wasn't a choice spot for business, so- we no longer have a

bookstore in the mall. We do however,

have a used bookstore called the  Bookworm.

Sadly, it has not had any of the books that I have searched its shelves for,

as of late. 

And don't get me wrong, where I live isn't an hour away from everything.

Just my most favorite bookstore. (and of course the stores around 

that bookstore...)

I also found a complete book of Emily Dickinson's poetry on my search

for 'Romeo + Juliet',

and took that home with me as well.

She is lovely! Keats and Dickinson are just phenomenal.

My favorite poets, I would say. 

The older I get, a greater appreciation of poetry grows within me.

Blood and Needles

Oh what and interesting night last night was.

Not among my favorite nights

by any stretch. The worst part is,

I have more on my horizon that I am mentally preparing myself for. 

Which- is not an easy task for me.

As I am not a lover of doctors by any degree.

I got my first blood draw last night, as well as my first IV. And I can tell you,

especially all the people who have told me

that neither are painful,

you were so very wrong, and I feel tricked and maybe a little deceived.

It was painful and I did pass out... Or

fell asleep while I focused on

my breathing.

Thats the last thing I really remember, making myself

breathe evenly. I almost lost it walking out to the car too.

I couldnt hear anything, didnt feel

like I was actually walking, more like floating, nauseating light-headedness and my eyes felt all dark.

Aghh how I hate that feeling 

with a passion. Its uncontrollable and erratic.

The more I deal with that hassle of painting rooms,

the less attractive color in

a room becomes.

I tend to be attracted to those blue-greyish, blue-green-greyish, sea foam

colors. I adore them! But getting the right shade is 

not such a fantastical process:

They end up too bright (like cotton candy blue)

and other such horrible ends.

(never get the color "grape leaf green" because it turns out a lot less lovely than it looks and sounds at 

Home Depot: baby poop green with a dash of lime) 

The more I deal with that devestating process

the more lovely and attractive these rooms become.

I am pretty sure that when I have

my own home, I'll decorate in this lovely, clean, simple, chic style: