days spent missing

ever find yourself in a mood of missing things?

well, i do. frequently. 

maybe that's because i live away from "home". 

which means family, memories and friends are distant.

but i miss more than just that.

i miss cumin. my first dog. 

and while we are on the subject; i miss paco too.

i miss being a child; spending the day dreaming and playing.

i miss school. truly, i do.

i miss having a mother around 24/7.

i miss going on dates. i love being married more than anything. 

but, you know what i mean... 

deciding who pays for dinner, dressing up to impress, getting butterflies, and a curfew. 

i miss seeing my little primary kids every day of the week.

i miss new york. a lot. period. {i promise i'm coming back.} 

i miss my childhood cherry tree.

i miss having time in the day to read a book. 

i would kill to sit down for an hour just to read. 

i miss my daddy. his snuggles, his scent and his advice.

i miss cream of broccoli soup and red butte garden days with grandma. 

i miss having a piano in my home. 

i miss the days of not having to watch what i eat. where did you go?

i miss drinking iced chai teas.

and i miss a lot of little details that have made up my life.

this list could go on for quite sometime.

but, right now... i miss being lovebird's annoying wife 

who bugs him while he tries to do his homework.

i better get to it. after all, that is my job in life. right?

to bug lovebird too much that he finally gives up in studying

and cuddles with me instead. 

happy hump day friends. 

blaaah.

i am in a state of blah, right now.

what is blah, you ask? good question.

i feel a little unmotivated when it comes to blogging.

{however, i love reading and reading blogs of others.}

{trust me, i spend far too much time doing just that.}

is it a lack of creativity? maybe? 

could it be a lack of interesting happenings in my life?

or maybe it's just that i enjoy spending time with lovebird.

yep, that's definitely it. 

it's hard to have time for blogging, when i barely

have time to squeeze in snuggle time with the "huz".

but, don't you fret.

the elease that likes to blog will be back shortly.

i promise. 

good night. now go get your snuggles on. 

boring, i know.

boring picture to go with a boring post.

i'm lame, aren't i?

 just guess i'm a little too tired lately for blogging.

i sure wish i wasn't.

i also wish i was back were i was standing in this picture...

carmel beach. simply gorgeous.

and pebble beach is a sight to see.

anywho.... this week as been quite refreshing.

{the usual; dance, school and work.}

however, we've been enjoy my few extra minutes off lately.

we bought some goods at trader joe's

and green's market these last couple days.

{going the route of eating super healthy and organic.}

and i'll have you know....

i have been drinking my water instead of diet coke. yay!

life seems to be quite healthy lately.

and i loooove it. 

health nut set aside, we did go to yogurt mill tonight;

and let me tell you- they don't mess around. yum.

how can one possibly resist frozen yogurt?

you can't. it's impossible. 

well, friends. that's all i have in me tonight.

i'm already under the covers fighting sleep as it is.

it all boils down to this...

i suggest a trip to carmel beach, organic food and frozen yogurt.

three of my favorite things. 

today...

i did five pirouettes on pointe. twice. sensational feeling, i tell ya.

we ate lunch at panera bread. yum.

the wind almost blew me over. quite literally.

i wondered if the world was coming to an end. 

we watched "social network." crazy. oh, and people are genius.

i got the craving to go to school.

i made my own vanilla soy steamer. take that starbucks.

wished pastries weren't so caloric. however, i wish that everyday.

i devoured a orange peel scone. all 420 calories.

ironic, right?

i had a rewarding conversation with my sweet mother.

we pressed snooze on our alarm this morning five times. lazy bones.

i did a lot of "what if" questioning today. i'm so curious, always.

i realized true friends love you for who you are. married or not. 

i cuddled up to lovebird all day long. thank you blistery day. 

and now it's time to bid farewell. 

picture via Donato Buccella 

silence

little leprechaun

happy st. patty's day!

did the leprechaun visit your house too?

i hope so. he certainly stopped by here. 

leaving us lots of coins and lots of laughs. 

dressed head to toe in green today, 

i headed off to work and dance for a busy day.

lovebird procrastinated doing his paper... 

so that is what he worked on all day.

{oh wait, is still working on. might i add. dang him.} 

we had a delicious dinner. thank you ireland and "carlson" traditions.

corn beef and cabbage artichokes.

(i'll pass on the cabbage. yuck.) 

unfortunately, i didn't get to take any pictures of the green pancakes 

or sugar cookies i made in lieu of this splendid holiday...

 they were gobbled up too fast by lovebird and friends. 

what a lovely holiday.

it's truly one of my favorites. 

p.s. did you know originally leprechauns wore red? we've just adapted it over the years. 

kind of crazy, right?

go girls!

saw this online tonight.

pretty incredible facts in this little clip.

i'm proud to be a girl.
however, we definitely need our lovers in the world too.
{a.k.a. our men.}  

craving flats

three words: i want these. 

really really bad. 

oh, but i also want these. 

let's face it, i want the entire store. 

and while i am on the dream boat,

i wish i could be her. 

i'm predicting a shopping spree in the near future. 

happy monday fellow bloggers. 

devastation

are you as devastated as i am?

my heart is full of sorrow, hope and sadness. 

i have read countless articles, looked at hundreds of pictures,

and am devastated as the count in bodies missing/dead rises.

how horrible. that word being an understatement. 

please pray for japan. and keep them in your thoughts.

also, i've realized just how important it is to be ready for

a catastrophe. it can happen in the blink of an eye. 

watch here, here, here and here. 

incredible pictures. 

i just want to run right over there and help.

recap

here is a little recap of the last few days.

lovebird brought me baby roses to work.

we shared a cheap din din at costco. you know what that means: hot dogs.

we went to spamalot. with these lovely people. 

we saw "morning glory". cute movie. 

lovebird enjoyed his last few days of spring break.

while i worked. every. single. day.

we looked at a few pianos. yes, to buy. yay!
we had our dear friend from germany over.
and we woke up with happy bodies from fixing our bed.
what a delight. 

friends are forever.

wanna know who i miss?

them.

lately, i've been craving seeing my "old" friends.

the ones that i grew up with.

the ones i went to high school with.

the ones that i've created millions of memories with.

simply put: i miss them.

my wedding was actually the last time i was with most of them.

boo. 

i wish utah and california were closer right now.

but just this once. because life is just peachy here in cali. 

h2o lovin'

yes, i'm sure you all know how much i love lovebird, 

because i tell you often. 

however, i can never quite describe the true sincerity of it to him. 

why? because it's impossible. 

and the taste of water?

ever tried describing it?

well get started now. it's a brain teaser.

why? because it was impossible. 

p.s. water will be my best friend for the next 40 days. find out why tomorrow. 

must buy

i'm going to let you in on a little secret....

go to your nearest supermarket and buy their brand name apples.

and the cuties right now are as sweet as candy.

{modesto readers: head to raley's. now.}

lovebird and i devoured both bags in less then a week,

and just bought another two bags tonight.

these goodies make it easy to be healthy.

thank goodness. 

under the sea

what a beauty, right?

can you believe these pictures are real?

keep in mind, i didn't do a single edit to them. promise.

that is simply just how beautiful these creatures are.

{minus lovebird and i, obviously}

but anywho. we had an incredible weekend at the

monterey bay aquarium

i wish i could share all of the hundreds of pictures we took

or describe how deliciously scrumptious our lunch was.

or even portray the true beauty of the earth under the sea

that we experienced that day.

i mean there were turtles, penguins, touch pools, octopus', 

seahorses galore, flamingo's,  sea otters, and the list goes on.

it was breathtaking. period.

and what did i learn?

to never pass up fish n' chips.

to always keep the star fish in the water. ops.

and to not long for a vest made out of sea otter fur.

but no, on a more serious note, i learned

to be even more cautious about

going green.

it's really important my planet loving friends.

and if you ever get the chance to go to this museum.... go!

big seven.

on our mini road trip to monterey, lovebird looked over and asked...

"what do you like most about being married?"

without giving much thought, i simply replied: "everything." 

because after all, that's the truth. 

i then turned around and ask him. his reply being quite brilliant:

"because i have you, and no one else in the world can say that."

he went on to explain how incredible it is that no two people in the universe
 have the same relationship as another couple;
there is only one "joel" and "elease" out there; 

making it impossible for couples to experience the
exact same love, adventures and conflicts.

i had never thought of it that way. 

oh, how i love him.

and yes my friends, i love everything about being married.

but i especially love being married to him.

{happy-seven-months-lovebird}

most "def" the best seven of my life.

ta-da!

guess we both were due for a little haircut.

chop. chop. chop.

p.s. don't you just love the feeling of no split ends and newly cut hair?

it's simply marvelous. nothing compares.

well okay, maybe seeing lovebird so googly eyed over my new do. 

never ever

never have i ever...
broken a bone. knock on wood.
regretted my life's love stories of the past.
been on a cruise. truthfully- i don't necessarily care to.
never have i ever....
gotten over my fear of being kidnapped or throwing up.
or gotten a ticket for speeding.
never have i ever...
wished i wasn't a ballerina.
wanted someone more than lovebird.
witnessed a death right before my eyes.
never have i ever...
had a baby. 
won a chess match.
eaten an insect dead or alive. {and i never will.} 
never have i ever...
changed my own oil in my car.
flown first class.
been fluent in another language.
never have i ever...


.....
what about you? 

bang-a-rang

change. 

scary thing isn't it?

i was completely terrified to chop bangs again.

ask my hairdresser. i was a hot mess sitting there with the scissors 

staring right back at me. but... i did. 

i was a brave little bird, as lovebird would say.

so... what do ya think?

before:

after:

 it's different, but it's nice having a change to my

incredibly "long-blonde-boring-hair". 

change isn't so scary after all. 

real housewife

it's so wonderful to be a wife again.

not having dance, leaves me a lot of time to fiddle around

and be a housewife.

i baked lovebirds favorite granola.

did loads of laundry. {pun intended}

enjoyed a diet coke. sitting down. i'm usually on the run.

i've made some yummy meals.

sat around and admired lovebird doing is homework.

caught up on some t.v. shows, that i haven't watched for months.

made a flannel board for my little primary kids.

and expressed to lovebird....

"that i can't wait to be a real wife one day."

and he replied: "you already are a wife."

but.... 

"i'm not a real one. i want to stay home everyday and do

 little things like this, while you work."

i know, i'm a dreamer. my time will come soon enough.

won't it?

for now, being an extremely busy wife is good enough.  

greetings.

goodbye february, hello march. 

goodbye, love. hello good luck.

goodbye boring hair. hello bangs.

goodbye contemporary. hello ballet.

goodbye rain. hello sunshine.

goodbye old purse. hello vera bradley. 

goodbye hearts. hello shamrocks. 

goodbye crazy schedule. hello new work hours.

goodbye never seeing husband. hello snuggle time and kisses.

goodbye red lips. hello coral. 

goodbye "quick" meals. hello cookbooks. 

goodbye empty walls. hello paintings. 

goodbye stockings. hello fair skin. 

goodbye. hello.

p.s. this is the cute wreath hanging on my door. i'm quite in love with it.