A Year in Review

This is one of my favorite parts about January…when I think back about the past year and how good it was to me and for me. 

I am blessed beyond measure and I am thankful each and every day that I have a loving family, supportive friends, and live in a free country with the ability to travel the world. 

So with that, I will leave you with my favorite picture from each month in 2013. 

{January- Hit the course (mainly, the driving range) and started golfing}

{February- Checked an item off of my "things to do in 2013" list and became a Be The Match donor!}

{March- Spring Break Road Trip with Katie from SAS. Below: Grand Canyon}

{April- I studied a lot and entered the 21st century. Bye-bye Blackberry, hello iPhone}

{May- Studied, wrote, and passed my comprehensive exam for grad school}

{June- Gevirtz Graduate School of Education Graduate -- Woohoo Commencement!}

{July- Spent the last couple weeks living with this one. There really is something special about being roommates}

{August- Reunion in Florida with SAS friends. A day at Walt Disney World :) }

 {September- Jean visited me in SB and we made my headboard. Two minds are better than one}

{October- Gave the gift of life! Donated Blood and it felt oh-so good}

 {November- Cross-Country Road Trip with Kelly. Below: Cadillac Ranch in Texas}

{December- SAS Reunion in Nashville for NYE! We shared 5 days/4 nights of relaxed fun and ongoing excitement}

My prayer is that in January of 2015 I will look back on this year and know that I accomplished new things, explored the world a little bit more, was loving and caring to all I encountered, and grew spiritually, personally, and professionally, but not physically (wider, that is).

Thank you, 2013, for being so good!

Road Trip 2013

My dearest Semester at Sea friend, Kelly, came out to California to work for a couple of months (Sept-Nov). While preparing for her return to Florida, we came up with the grand idea that I would drive back with her! So clever we are. It was pretty simple to us. Pack our stuff, get in the car, and drive until we got there. 

We planned where we would lay our heads at night but that's about it.

I also wanted to learn how to use iMovie. And with an iPhone, it couldn't be that hard to film everything. So this was the perfect project. Short enough that I could make this video in a couple days. But long enough that I could practice using just about every feature and perfect (ha!) my technique as well. 

Everyone needs a video like this to look at when they're 80. I know we'll never forget those 10 hour days in the car. Thank goodness for cell phones, bluetooth, yelp, and unlimited song choices. 

We never got bored, didn't eat junk food...just enjoyed each other and made conversation. This trip is one for the books. 

It's a little lengthy but when I'm 80, I'll have 15 minutes to spare. Guaranteed. 

We had a ball, to say the least. I have a sneaky suspicion that another trip like this is in our future. Who knows, we might be the type to take trips like this to escape our roles as wife and mother. But that would require each of us to find a husband, first. 

Good Deed #1

This evening, as it was beginning to rain, I saw a young guy running frantically towards the public bus as it drove away. I immediately knew that he was trying to catch the bus. There is a certain look that can be associated with someone who is running, in traffic (as he tried to cross the street), with a rolling suitcase that doesn't want to stay on its wheels, as water begins to fall from the sky. 

I was able to circle back through a neighborhood and offer this guy a ride in my car to the bus. He was so grateful and thanked me no less than 5 times in our 3 minutes together. Turns out, he is a student who was catching the bus to take him to the airport so he could spend the week at home for Thanksgiving. 

When we caught up with the bus it was 3 stops down the road and a solid 13 minutes away by foot. Basically, he wouldn't have caught up with the bus. 

It felt good to help him and I know he appreciated it. 

Good deeds are awesome. And reflecting on them is great, too :)

Twenty-Five

Well, folks, twenty-five is here and I'm feeling great (as though one day would make all the difference). I enjoyed two donuts for breakfast, lunch with friends from work, dinner with more friends, and then finished the night out with late night eats, drinks and dancing at a downtown Santa Barbara favorite spot. 

In honor of my quarter century of life, I have created a list of 25 things I want to do while 25. I welcome friends and family to join me on my quest to check off everything on the list. Ready, Set, Go...let's make this happen. 

We'll see how it goes...

Gracie turns 100

As you may know, I drive a Toyota Camry. And her name is Gracie. She is such a great car and friend. She has been reliable. She has comfortable seats. She can hold a lot of stuff. And, she is wise beyond her years. 

Here are some of the things I love about her:

1. Tape Deck: Great for my $20 Aux Cord that's attached to a tape so I can play music from my ipod and iphone. 

2. CD Player: Yes, I still have a TON of cd's. And I love them. 

3. Trunk: It is huge and holds a ton of stuff.

4. V6 Engine: Smooth ride. Lots of power. Great get up and go.

5.  Space: Such a spacious vehicle. Seats 5 comfortably and has great storage. 

But most of all, I am thankful for the 100,000 miles that she has been on the road. And driven in style. With such class.

Thank you, Gracie, for being my ride!

To celebrate this milestone (literally, haha!) and to thank Gracie for her service, she got washed and her oil changed :)
Lucky her

Here's to 100,000 more miles with you! 
Love you, Gracie xx

The Gift of Life

Back in January of this year I said that I wanted to DONATE BLOOD as one of my "Things to do in 2013" goals. Well, folks...I did it! I made an appointment back in May but missed it (darn you, work). So, when I saw the mobil bus driving down the street and realized that I had my phone in my hand...I typed in the phone number that was painted as clear as day on the side of the bus, as it drove away. Great Marketing, American Red Cross!

The Giving: October 1, 2013 was the day. I had the appointment in my calendar and a reminder was set. I arrived at the mobil station on-campus at UCSB and signed in. Then I ate some peanut butter sandwich crackers- yum!, was ushered into a very small closet of a room to fill out paperwork and give my consent, had my vitals taken, and finally, while laying on a quite comfortable donation "bed", had both arms "tested" to see which was the winner. 

Congratulations, left arm, you win!

I was a little nervous to take pictures, so I snuck just a couple. The ladies taking my blood were so serious and made sure that I didn't move my left arm at all.

They hid the needle. It's pretty big. So hiding it is probably best. 

There's my blood. Just filling up the bags.  

And here was my view from inside the mobil bus that has been transformed into a mini hospital/blood and plasma donation site. 

I am a big advocate of doing what you can. If you aren't afraid of needles, give blood. If you can stand and pass out water, volunteer to work a race in town. If you can bend down and pick up trash, do that. If you can smile at someone as your paths cross, please do. If When you clean out your closet, donate the clothes you don't want/need anymore to a shelter or thrift store. 

Together, we can help each other and create the community we desire to live in. Ready, set, go! Be the change you want to see in the world. 

Labor Day Weekend DIY

I just love when friends come to town. It's the best reason to "be a tourist" and try activities/restaurants that I've either heard about or always wanted to try. 

For Labor Day Weekend, my college roommate, Jean, came to Santa Barbara for a visit. We had so much fun!

We tried a japanese restaurant that I will not recommend to others. Ate at Fishouse for dinner and I absolutely LOVED everything about that meal. The bread before the meal, the cocktail, and the main entree. We left full and happy! We ventured to Cody's for breakfast and I would say that it's an all American breakfast (not gourmet but better quality than Denny's). And lastly, we tried the Lark for dinner. I won't be running back to this restaurant either. It was a bit overpriced and I think that the hype surrounding its opening will die soon. 

We went paddleboarding, wine tasting, and beer tasting. All of which were new activities for Jean. I love exploring new activities and so does Jean...it was perfect. 

But the BIGGEST project of all was the creation of a headboard. I had been wanting to reposition my bed in my room for a couple weeks but needed a headboard to do so. 

With no instructions, just an iPhone, and (minimally stocked toolbox), we drove to Home Depot to create the image in my head. 

Here is what we did/how it all came together...in pictures!

The Supplies (3/4" plywood, 2x4s, screws, nails, and rope)

...And Home Depot cut the wood to the dimensions that I wanted

It all fit...kinda

Deciding which blanket will go best...

With no craft store in town, I had to improvise. The batting is "egg crates" from Kmart

We cut the crates to fit the plywood. And then used spray adhesive to glue everything together

Then wrapped the batting around the edges and used a staple gun to secure the batting to the back of the plywood

Next was the "fabric". With no fabric store nearby, I found a shower curtain at TJ Maxx!

We wrapped the fabric around the edges of the plywood/batting. I saved the corners for last so that I could make sure that they were tight and "clean" edges. 

Next came the assembly. A couple 2x4s is how we attached the headboard to the bed frame

We screwed 2 additional 2x4s to the "stabilizer" at the bottom so that the fabric piece could be attached

And added an extra 2x4 for height

And finally, attached the fabric piece!

 The Back

The Front

Finished!!!

My Room 

(forgive the poor job making up the bed and the extra "stuff" on the bed)

Thanks for coming, Jean, and for helping out! Santa Barbara really is a great place to live (and vacation). My door is always open...and I've just about finished all of the "hard" projects, lucky for you ;)

Big thanks to Mike and Jenna for their staple gun, to Jorge (my land guy) for the power tool, and to the Home Depot workers who looked at me like I was crazy when explaining my goal but who helped me anyways. My next big purchase should either be a sewing machine, a staple gun, or a power tool.