My new favorite website is www.kendieveryday.com. It’s just nice to see lovely pictures of a cute fashionista who can wear Anthro & Old Navy. Plus, she lives in McKinney. Fancy running into her one day …

Last night while watching a rerun of Scrubs, JD was wanting to have a conversation with someone about Iraq. Snooty genius janitor guy says, “Personally, I think we should be looking for Bin Laden in Pakistan.” Whoa. Creepy.

I’m finally starting to feel better. Got hit with laryngitis and an upper respiratory infection. Kept me in bed for a good week and a half. Today marks 2 weeks, and I still have a small cough. And a nice 6-pack. Guess there’s no need for this product:

Pseudo athletes??? Really???

I’ve decided to keep up the photography. A few changes are coming, and I’m excited/scared/nervous about them. The past several weeks have been really good, feeling challenged & inspired, soaking up advice from a few of my favorite photographers. Ready to dig down and work hard and try my best. My recent obsession is with Caught the Light Photography. I love love LOVE their work.

I don’t say this enough in public because I know I’m incredibly biased. But it’s time to quit worrying about what people think. Dang, my kid is cute. And I love her so freaking much.

Happy Friday!

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While hanging out on Pinterest, I came across this photo and just HAD to know where this was taken:

Turns out, it’s a cute little surfing town on the coast of Portugal.

Whose brilliant idea was it to paint stripes on all these houses?!?!?!

Happy Friday!

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My grandmother was the epitome of jolly. She said everything with a laugh, even if it was something serious like “Don’t marry a white devil, hahaha” (oops). As long as I knew her, she always walked with a limp, the result from a stroke years ago. Her hair was always up in a bun – ALWAYS. I only saw it down once, and I wondered why she didn’t do it more. She looked so beautiful. At least once a week, we went over to their apartment for a big family dinner, usually Sunday night. And she cooked every time. Taught me how to make rice (which I still can’t do). She used a big wok to make everything in, and I remember watching her stick her finger in the bottom of the pan (full flame and everything) to taste the sauce. Why she didn’t use a spoon is beyond me. Apparently, she did it for years and her finger got used to the insane heat.

As I got older, my dad started to tell me stories of her. She had an arranged marriage to my grandfather (like all the girls back then), but he was abusive. So much so that their adult children refused to see him for a little while as a sign of protest. He also had a mistress (like all the guys back then) and fathered 2 children with her. My dad is the 3rd of 8 children (well … 10 children if you count the others). I know her life was very difficult at times, but I believe it was her sunny disposition that got her through it. She knew her lot in life, she knew her place in society (not very high at the time), but she always seemed determined to make the best of it. Like any grandmother, she spoiled us tremendously.

She passed away before I started dating Aaron. I wish they could have met because even though he is a “white devil”, I think she would have liked his smile.

My dad found these pictures and sent them to us. Yowza, grandma – you were beautiful!!!!! I didn’t recognize her at first, but that smile looked very familiar.
   

My dad is sitting on the floor, third from the right. The older folks behind him are my great-grandparents.

Happy Tuesday! Oh, and I have laryngitis, yay! So I’m hibernating until that is over.

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- I’ve recently discovered that I don’t like hot beverages, which might explain why I don’t drink coffee or tea (besides my dislike for caffeine). I tried drinking a cup of green tea in the morning since I had read so many good things about it, but after 1 day and only drinking 1/2 the cup, I made a big batch and put it in the fridge. Iced tea for breakfast? Don’t mind if I do!

- I’ll never get a tattoo.

-  The best thing I’ve done for myself lately? Wear ear plugs to bed. Not just because they’re so darn sexy, but because it has given me the best sleep since I can remember. My hearing has become supersonic since having Anna Lynn, so a lot of little things wake me up. Aaron has also gotten better sleep because he doesn’t have to worry about snoring. Next on my list: that little mask for my eyes. Do those work? I wonder if that would freak me out a bit.

- I don’t like poppyseeds.

- My first pet ever was a bunch of tadpoles. Those don’t seem like very common pets around here, but they are in Hong Kong. None of them ever turned into frogs though, but I remember a few of them did develop back legs. Very weird now that I think about it. Next pet was much more normal: a hamster.

- I made a batch of Honey Beer Bread the other day, and it has become an instant hit. I even made a second loaf a few days later. Making bread always intimidated me because dough and yeast can be a little scary, but this calls for no waiting, no rising – just dump all 7 ingredients together, mix and bake, and you have fresh bread in 1 hour. Absolutely amazing. I can take absolutely no credit for it, I found the recipe via Pinterest.

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