DIY: Floating Vase

This is by far one of the most practical DIY projects for our apartment! I have 2 cats, just over a year old, with an insane amount of energy. Every time Adam brings me home flowers, the cats will ALWAYS knock over the vase or chew on the petals. I was blog-browsing one day and saw this from one of my fav sites. So, I made it! It took less than 5 minutes and cost less than 5 bucks!

First, I found a piece of scrap wood at the hardware store. I had some paint lying around but didn't really like either color, so I mixed a dark greenish with an off white.

I dry brushed (barely dipping the brush in paint and wiping off most of it, to get a light dry coat), the wood piece sloppily. Dry brushing dries really quick, and I wanted some wood to show through.

Center a mason jar in the middle of the wood and drill 2 holes on either side. 

Wrap metal wire around the lip of the jar a few times until it feels snug. Slip the wire through the 2 holes and secure it in the back by twisting it really tight. Cut excess wire.

Drill 2 more holes on the top of the wood and slip wire through them, creating a hanger. I just twisted the wire to secure it in place and it worked. Find a wall in your house that needs a little color, and hang!

Remember, you can click on the photos to enlarge them:)

Happy DIY-ing!

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had fun celebrating this weekend! My girlfriend had a dinner party, complete with pumpkin carving and her spiked apple cider recipe, along with a last minute decision to rage the closets and head to the nearest dive bar. Tonight we may attend a block party or stay at my family's house to hand out candy. Whatever you decide to do, enjoy it and be safe! Here are a couple festive things we had around the apartment to roll in Fall. (although it's way too hot here at the moment for that cute scarf and sweater combo. But I'm not complaining ;)

World Market is one of my absolute favorite stores because it's affordable and I get weekly coupons on top of the smokin' deals. Pumpkin potpourri, pumpkin candle, and Ed Hardy Sangria.

keep young

This past weekend, my girlfriend of 22 years tied the knot. My parents, sister and brother all attended which made for such a special time with family and close friends. I'll touch more on weddings later, but I wanted to make this post about my gorgeous little brother, Brian. He's almost 12 and just started middle school. But he's unlike most pre-teens, still so innocent and loves his sisters without being embarrassed about it. (I wonder how long this will last?!) He also loves my SLR camera and is taking better pictures with it than I ever could. I wanted to share these because it's neat to look at the world from a 6th grade point of view, and as I was flipping through these I thought, "I never would have taken that, this is so cool." This kid keeps me young and keeps me laughing hysterically every time I'm with him. I forget that I'm 26 and for a minute I get to see the simplicity of life. So, with that said, what keeps you young? I feel like this is such an important question that is often ignored, or rarely thought about. But what a liberating feeling it is to be young again... even for a minute. :)

a toast to Pittsburgh

I've been told that if you were to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner out, every single night for 5 years in San Francisco, you wouldn't even be able to put a dent into the good food and restaurants that this city is littered with. That being said, we are trying to eat out a couple times a week, but it's hard to choose with all the recommendations we continuously get! It makes it even more hard to choose when you are "foodies" like us. So, to make it easy, we spent a Saturday here at a Pittsburgh Bar in North Beach. It's called Giordano Bros, and if you've been to Pittsburgh, you're familiar with the oh so popular, Primanti Bros. Well this bar is a clone of that, with the owners being from Pittsburgh. They recreate the Primanti sandwhich, have heaps of PA beer on tap (although the one below is a local SF brew), and famous photos of Pittsburgh athletes just to prove how legit they are. 

happy here

Trying to hop on the blog wagon and really start doing this much more frequently because people are actually reading!! The stats are getting higher and I got my first email from a stranger, so thank you! Whether this gets any recognition or not, blogging is enjoyable and relaxing for me. :)

After living right smack in the middle of downtown San Francisco for 3 months now, everything as I know it to be, has changed. My southern California lifestyle has been forced to take a turn, although I will always do my best to keep that aspect of my life intact up here. For now, the sounds, the smells, and my view from our 4th floor tiny apartment are all different. In San Diego, we woke up to the smell of salt water, birds making me want to stay in bed awhile longer, and palm trees shading our two private balconies. Now, I smell rain because that's what happens here, the sounds are car horns and ambulances, and I can see a partial city skyline from my bed. Two very different worlds but I love them both. ;)

Our Indian summer usually comes mid September through October. You can bet the first 80 degree weekend we got, Adam and I headed straight for the beach. (Along with every other San Franciscan)

They really do appreciate nice beach weather since there are very few days out of the year where this actually happens. Adam and I then walked up to a couple trails to check out the view. The rugged coast line and pine trees are so different than Southern California.

For now, this is home and I'm happy here. 

Asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto

This is the yummiest, easiest addition to a meal. And tastes so good, my mouth is watering as I type! You'll want to use a grill for this but if you don't have one, I suppose baking at around 350 would work too (haven't tried yet). Here's how you prep:

Trim ends of asparagus, and individually wrap each one with a half piece of prosciutto. I found that using a full piece is a little too bulky and thick. Place on a plate and drizzle olive oil all over them. Sprinkle with Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute (my "go to" seasoning for just about EVERYTHING, so delicious).You really don't need any salt, as there is plenty in the prosciutto.

Put asparagus on the grill over a high heat for about 3 minutes then rotate and grill for another 2-3 minutes. Adam and I made these at a family BBQ and it was a big hit:) Enjoy!

*I came across this blog showing some other ideas for the TJ 21 Seasoning Salute. :)

Trader Joes Baby Bell Spicy Chicken Tacos

Adam and I love tacos, especially chicken and fish ones. This recipe can be made in the exact same way with either meat you choose. I shop at Trader Joes because there is always parking and the food is good and affordable. :) BUT, I have experienced several times not being able to find everything I need at TJ and have to make a run by Safeway, which I hate doing for so many reasons. (Crowded & corporate for example). So, I googled "Trader Joes Recipes" and I found the perfect website: Trader Joes Fan. We have made a plethora of dishes from this website and the absolute best part, is that every single ingredient you will find at Traders. If you don't have a TJ in your state, you will still be able to find everything you need, but for our purposes, this will be strictly a Trader Joes recipe.

What you'll need:

-corn tortillas

-canola oil

-TJ super sweet baby bell peppers

-TJ greek plain (whole) yogurt

-TJ chili pepper sauce

-TJ english farmhouse cheddar cheese

-boneless chicken breasts

-fresh or dried cilantro

-Seasoning for chicken: paprika, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin

We cook a few breasts at once and keep some for leftovers to use again later in the week. (Quick and easy for the working couple!)

1. Put chicken on plate, dust lightly with all seasonings except salt (will dry out chicken) and garlic powder. Preheat oven to 350, then on stove, place chicken in medium/hot pan for 2-3 minutes on each side with a small amount of olive oil. Place in glass casserole dish or metal backing pan (on foil for easy clean-up), bake 7 minutes, add 1 cup water to pan (this is an amazing trick to keep chicken from drying out!), turn oven off and let cook for another 5-7 minutes. Be sure there's no pink water coming out of any of the chicken breasts, cut into it and check the center (or use a meat thermometer to make sure internal temp reaches 165). **Sounds like a lot of steps but there is nothing worse than dry, hard to chew chicken!**

2. Cut chicken into tiny chunks, place in bowl, season with garlic powder and sea salt and set aside

3. In separate bowl, mix about 2/3 cup Greek yogurt with 1 tbsp chili sauce. (I guess on these measurements and just look at the color of how spicy we want it), stir, set aside.

4. Put a generous amount of canola oil in medium heated pan. Place corn tortilla until slightly browned, flip over until slightly browned (less than a minute on each side usually). Remove from pan and fold in half immediately while placing on paper towel to absorb excess oil and to let dry. You can slightly season tortillas with garlic powder right after cooking if you'd like. (we are garlic lovers;) Set aside.

5. Chop baby bells into little pieces, chop or sprinkle cilantro and grate cheddar cheese.

6. Add all of your ingredients into shell and EAT! We have been putting the "Chipotle" (yogurt/chili sauce) mixture into the taco shell first, and then again on top of all the ingredients. The sauce is also a lot healthier than sour cream ;) You can definitely add cabbage, avocado, or any other ingredients you please. Enjoy!

Distressed Dresser

I have been SO excited to write this blog!! Antique/distressed wood furniture is very popular here in San Francisco. It starts with the Victorian and Edwardian homes that give our city it's signature feel and charm. Well, I was shopping in my favorite neighborhood of Noe Valley when we first moved here and I stumbled across the most adorable store, When Modern Was. The locally owned shop is filled with old dated 1900 dressers, tables, mirrors, clocks and more! Sometimes I think I should have been born in a different decade because I fell in love with every single piece they had. The prices are reasonable (Adam feels differently;) and the wood and paint jobs are gorgeous. SO, after talking Adam into buying a $300 dining table and drooling over the $700 dressers, we decided we would first try to refurbish and distress our own piece for much less. I researched for weeks on how to do this process and took several notes before we were raiding both Craigslist, for old wood furniture, and the hardware store. We found a $30 dresser, here are the before and after pictures: (silly me took the piece apart and started sanding before I took a photo but you get the gist!) You can click on each picture to see them in better detail!

1. After you have found the wood piece you would like to re-do, the first step is sanding. As annoying as it may be, don't be tempted to skip this step! Proper sanding is essential to achieve an even, smooth surface that your paint will latch on to without chipping. I have read people using electric sanders, we do have one, but opted out because we found that doing it by hand gives you much more control. You can also bend and fold it to reach into awkward areas. Our purpose was to have the original color of the dresser show through when we got to our distressing step, so we sanded it very lightly to begin with. (Started with 80 grit paper and finished up with 120 to even out the surface). Once you've finished sanding, remove all the dust with an old rag to help the primer and paint stick to it. Also, don't forget to remove your hardware, you'll reattach everything at the end.

2. Once you have prepped and cleaned up your piece, you've gotta prime it. You can buy a spray primer but we bought the brush on and painted it. Zinsser was the brand we used. We only did one coat which seemed to be efficient enough. Since we are aiming for a distressed look, it's ok if your wood shows through the primer. Luckily, distressing is very imperfect, there are no exact ways to do this! Be sure the primer is dry before painting. The primer we used was stark white, I think this varies a bit, but it seemed to work.

3. Ok, now onto the fun part! We used a latex paint in a very light green color. These pictures are really hard to see, but it's a gorgeous green. We bought a quart of paint and barely put a dent in it, as it goes a very long way. Did I mention paint brushes? Don't cheap out them!!! We bought 2 brushes by the Purdy brand and spent about $15-$20 on them each. But they will last forever if you take care of them and they don't shed their bristles. We painted on 1 coat of paint, but there are several ways to do a paint job that we are going to try in future projects. (I have also read priming and painting with several thin coats works better at getting a smooth finish but again, we are distressing, so for our purposes we just "went with the flow" not really knowing what we were doing).

4. Next, you'll want to wait at least 2 days for your dresser to dry. I was taking a vacation, so we waited 2 weeks. This will be hard for impatient people but I have read waiting the 2 days is a much better idea before distressing. So, 2 weeks later, I took 80 grit sand paper (lower the number, coarser the grit), and "willy nilly" sanded down the piece in areas that would naturally get more wear and tear. (Corners, where the shelves open, legs). I sanded down rough enough to have the dark original color of the dresser show through. We also took chains and beat up the top of the dresser along with using a hammer to chip away some of the paint. I used just my regular digital camera for these next photos which I will never do again, they didn't turn out as well.

5. First, soak your brushes in a paint thinner to preserve the life of those expensive brushes. ;) Attach all of your hardware back onto the dresser and find a cute place for it in your home. :) We opted out to buying new hardware or painting over it, which you can do with spray paint. We liked the color and the "old" feel so we kept the originals. This is our very first project and I know with time, we will learn different techniques and find which ones work better than others. I will be sure to share our experience, as I know there are a lot of "crafties" out there! I should also mention that we didn't have any supplies when starting. We spent close to $100 on brushes, paint, primer, sand paper, etc. BUT we will be able to use most of these time and time again, and the paint/primer lasts so long. You gotta make that first big purchase but then you'll be able to start saving. :) Thanks for reading!!!

fav things

I have recently stumbled across some fun and unique things that I wanted to share with you! It's the simple things, right?



Painted Olive Oil pourer gives our outdated San Francisco stove a little color sitting next to it. Tall glass water container for the dinner table, beer brand glasses from around the globe, garlic shaped timer (my personal favorite), and a personal boxed wine;) surprisingly delish and comes with a total of 3 glasses. Best part? Everything was under $4.99 each from World Market, with the wine being the most expensive. That's about $1.60 per glass!!

current playlist

Here are a few songs I've been listening to lately while either walking to work or straightening my hair. No specific mood or reason.... maybe you will like them too!
(I've attached the youtube clips, most aren't videos, as these are hidden gems:)




Griffin house- gorgeous video!






Bridal Train, by the Waifs, popped up on my ipod recently and I have been listening to it nonstop once again. I learned about this group when I lived in Australia and absolutely fell in love with this song about the American sailors coming over to Australia and the women falling in love with them and leaving their country for the USA. It's a beautiful true song:)

cheesiest garlic bread

For those of you who know me well, know that I am obsessed with cheese. I could possibly even be part mouse. We usually have anywhere from 3-4 different types of cheese in our fridge at any given time. Garlic would be my next obsession and the fact that it is so good for you, gives me an excuse to make this at least once a week. :) Garlic bread is simple to make, but this is our favorite way to do it, and I figured it out myself after trying too many variations. I know, I know.... I said I was going to add healthy recipes but we know there is no problem indulging now and then ;) So go ahead..... INDULGE!
(this serving was 3 small slices of bread (we use Trader Joe's sourdough- no preservatives!).

chop 2-3 cloves of garlic finely and sauté with a teaspoon of butter, stir with a wooden spoon rapidly so the garlic doesn't burn.


Dip bread into pan and rub garlic and butter all over it. Sprinkle with sea salt (Himalayan salt- it's pink, is even better) and pepper. We have also added finely chopped fresh basil at this step.




Sprinkle grated parmesan on top, while laying long slices of mozzarella over the top. (double YUM!)


Throw in the oven and bake @ around 350, just to melt the cheese and toast bread, while your chicken or fish is finishing up!

a day in the life

As I start to edit and get used to the designing of this blog, it may look a bit different from time to time as you're browsing. Bare with me and I will figure this out one day! to the left, you can see I'm adding links to different things I hope to cover... healthy recipes, raising 2 city kitties, and all things San Francisco. Stay tuned. :)

Adam and I had a lovely little Saturday (a couple of weekends ago) exploring the neighborhood of North Beach. We walked about 7 blocks in the sunshine, though China Town and then arrived to the Italian influenced district. It reminded us so much of Italy with the small round tables cramped together and dozens of people eating outside, sipping their wine. We decided to walk off the beaten path of the main Columbus St. and stumbled upon an Italian owned, very quaint, restaurant. Best thing about San Francisco? I can call my friend Chase to meet for a drink and he can get to us in a matter of minutes on his bike. It is such a walkable city and I am in love with it. :)

Notice the Italian flags wrapped around the street poles all over North Beach. It's one of my favorite touches in this small district of SF. Washington Square Park, with view of Coit tower, had people laying out, playing games and enjoying the sun. We finished up with a little beer tasting at Rouge and WOW was it amazing. :) It was a perfect day with my love.

So, what CAN we eat?

The previous post listed a plethora of different ingredients and "foods" that are bad for us. When reading ETNT, I was getting a little depressed to find out that so many things I enjoy eating, or that I thought we're OK for me, we're filled with fat and sodium. (Maybe that explains a few months back when I went through a period of sleeping 10 hours a night and STILL being exhausted). I wasn't pumping my body with energy driven foods. According to ETNT, green tea, plain yogurt, almonds, & chard, are a few of the healthiest foods we can put in our body. So, Adam and I started googling and we found this amazing peach/green tea smoothie. We tried this about a month ago, after we documented our yummy smoothie, I made a few changes that helped the consistency for me. Give it a try!

What you need:

1 large peach, sliced and pitted
1/2 a banana
1 Green Tea tea bag
1/2 cup ice cubes
1 tbsp honey

Directions:

Brew 1/2 cup of green tea and chill with ice cubes or Brew 1 cup of green tea and chill in refrigerator. Next blend (we use our NINJA) the green tea, banana, and peaches until smooth while adding honey for sweetness.


We found the recipe here.






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Happy Adam!

These are photos from the first time we tried it. I altered it a bit the second time. I had twice as much ice and a full banana. This made it a bit more thick and "smoothie like". Enjoy for breakfast, with lunch, or a summer dinner! This truly is a super food, and I'll post more as I get some time. :)

Food Revolution

I am super excited to Blog tonight, because 1) I have been seriously lagging, and 2) I am so passionate about FOOD! Not just any food, but healthy, energetic foods that make us glow! I realize there are millions of blogs out there on 'healthy foods' but I'm not looking for any recognition, just people like you and me who care about what we put into our bodies. I entitled this "Food Revolution" for again 2 reasons: 1) When I lived in Australia, I first heard of Jamie Oliver (the Brit who talked funny) and we used to cook all sorts of his recipes. He uses this title and I love his efforts towards changing our diet, which he shows on his new program. and 2) a food revolution is exactly what our country [world] needs.

A quick background. My mother, who is also a dental hygienist, is a complete and total health nut. Our family joke is reminiscing over my 7th birthday party when my mom filled my Big Bird pinata up with sugar free suckers, bananas, apples, and oatmeal cookies. (Luckily, my dad found out before we started beating the thing, and damaging the fruit, so we quickly swapped it out with a candy filled one). As kids, we never had sodas or processed foods in the house, had to eat our greens before we could leave the table, and were allowed only a small scoop of ice cream for desert. So instead, when I would go to friends' houses, I would pig out on all the "good food" like Lucky Charms and fruit roll ups. ;)

Today, I am incredibly contentious about the foods I eat, and I give my mom so much credit for what she didn't allow her kids to have. Even after plugging my nose to drink veggie smoothies and crying because I couldn't stomach finishing my spinach, I know she was raising us the way her mother did, and so the cycle in our family is going to continue....:)

That being said, my mom put these 2 books in my stocking for Christmas last year, which I just got around to reading today:




I'm going to touch more on the first one to begin with, "Eat this, not That." For me personally, this didn't spark my interest, nor did my mom give these to me, with the idea of losing weight. I am naturally thin, both my parents are too, so I was blessed in that department. BUT, skinny people do get flabby, noodly, and suffer from heart conditions too. The #1 reason? Their diet. For those people trying to eat healthier and lose weight, these authors swear this is the book for you. The Author, David Zinczenko, is magazine's Men Health, Editor in Chief. (I'd say that's a pretty good source, have you seen those guys?!) The only downfall I have with this book is that it compares TONS of fast food and chain restaurants, both of which I hardly eat. (my guilty pleasures being In-N-Out and PF Changs... both of which are loaded with calories***(there are GOOD calories) and sugars). I obtained the greatest benefits by learning the definitions for "whole grain", "Natural", and "low sodium"... all which are usually bogus.

The bottom line is that during the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the US. The Center for Disease Control only graphs till 2009, but check out this map that timelines obesity rates from 1985-2009. Very wild.

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

A couple more disturbing stats:
American men eat 7% more calories than they did in 1971
American women eat a whopping 18% more calories (an additional 335 calories per day- enough to pack on a pound of extra flab every 11 days!)
American kids average 150 daily calories more than they did just 20 years ago.

Did our stomachs get larger? Did our mouths expand? Of course not. WE haven't changed. The FOOD has. -ETNT

I simply can't get into enough detail this book has to say, but here are the previews and I hope it will encourage you to buy this book and read more!!! (Or, if you're in San Francisco, you can borrow it from me).

*We've added extra calories to traditional food.
*We're Super-sizing our lives.
*We're eating things our bodies aren't supposed to eat.
*We absorb more calories than would have been humanly possible just a few decades ago!!!
*Resturants and Grocery stores have made smart nutritional choices harder and harder to discern.

(Borrow this book from me to read into these individual topics... or rent FOOD INC. from your local Red Box).

I will get into a little more detail when it comes to the most "Misleading Labels". Please stop buying something because it says REDUCED FAT or ALL NATURAL!

Reduced Fat: Splashed across too many packaged goods to count. This actually means that total fat grams have been reduced by at least 25%. Sounds amazing, right? Problem is, the reduction in fat often comes with an increase in sugar and sodium and ultimately, no net nutritional gain what-so-ever. :-/

Multigrain: means that more than 1 type of grain was used in processing (wheat, rye, barley, rice, etc), but doesn't make a single claim about the way the grains are processed. Also, beware of the equally misleading "wheat bread," a claim that simply means the loaf was made from wheat flour, which might very well be refined and colored with molasses to appear darker. The only trustworthy claim for whole grains is "100% whole grain!"

Natural: Natural, what? With the exception of meat and poultry products, the USDA has no definition set and imposes no regulations on tue use of this term, making it essentially meaningless. So please, stop allowing this word to be a decision maker in weather you put it in your cart or not. ;)

(Way more worthwhile definitions in ETNT).

So what CAN we eat? I'll get into that in future blogs to come... :)

This preview is slightly difficult to relate to unless you have a pretty deep understanding of the gain in highly processed foods and ingredients that are being pumped into our daily diets. But if you know even a tad about this, you're probably wondering just like I am, how the debate over nationalized health care could simply be a portioned solved if we weren't so tainted by calorie-laden junk, we wouldn't be spending one in every five health care dollars supporting Americans suffering from Type 2 diabetes. Please know that eating too much food isn't the problem. Our society is eating too many foods that aren't actually food! But instead, preservatives, additives, and chemically enhanced "foodlike substances".

And I feel compelled to mention that it's not just the calorie number that one should be paying close attention to on the food label. Instead, if you see a word under the ingredients that is 15-20 letters long and is excruciatingly hard to pronounce, Don't eat it! If your grandmother can't tell you what that "so-called-food" is, don't put it in your mouth!

In reality, food -REAL FOOD- is a good thing. The kind of food that comes from the earth and not labs. The kind of food that obtains magical properties and amazing abilities to PREVENT and even HEAL many of our physical and emotional woes.

I realize this post is a bit jumbled, but my goal was to just give a preview of stats and unhealthy eating tactics. I can't possibly cover everything I want to in this small intro, but here's my start. Please stay tuned for some yummy recipes that Adam and I have personally tried and love so much!

~Eat This, Not That. By: David Zinczenko
~cdc.gov/obesity

Why?

I hate to say that I haven't been able to make time to blog, and it's true! I left off in Italy which was followed by an amazing time in Barcelona, Spain with my spanish family. It was truly amazing and Adam and I feel so fortunate to have been able to take a trip together and step outside our norm for a bit, while observing so much this world has to offer.

We have been back in the San Francisco bay area now for almost 2 months. All is going well, although it is a much colder winter than we had in San Diego:( It's taking some adjustment.
I wanted to write for a couple reasons today... I should mention that when I do take time to "scribble" my thoughts down, I realize there may be no one reading, or there may be several people interested. Each of these entries allow me to "vent" in a way, and it always feels good to do so. I do keep a personal journal too, but this is healing on a different level because maybe I touch on something that others are thinking too and would like to say out loud.

Today I'm writing with an especially heavy heart due to the recent 'Tucson Tragedy' that so unfortunately took place exactly a week ago. Over the last week, my mind has been overwhelmed with thoughts about how the family and friends of the victims must be feeling. I've had trouble sleeping because I've been full of such emotion, from anger towards this mentally unstable individual who carried out this attack, to such sorrow and compassion for the ones who innocently died. I was reading bios of each victim at work. The young 30 year old who was engaged to be married. The 9 year little girl who attended the "Congress on your Corner" event because she was already fascinated by politics. All 6 of the people who were murdered have family members who are waking up and wondering how they are going to get through the coming days, or even their entire lives, without their loved one. And then there is Gabrielle Giffords and the others who were wounded, fighting for their life in the ICU as I type this.

I don't exactly know why, when awful things happen in this world, it always feels so deep for me. I imagine this is part of human nature, that the greater good of human beings will all feel at some point in their life. During this recent tragedy, I've wondered (which I'm sure most have): What would compel someone to do this to other people? If gun laws were a bit stricter would that have played a part? Why why WHY do horribly bad things happen to good people? It reminds me of my frequent wonders of our car accident, nearly 4 years ago. Why did this happen to us, out of all people? Why was my life spared and Mike and Jill's wasn't? These are questions without answers, that God only knows. These are questions we are not meant to understand or be capable of wrapping our minds around. But that doesn't stop us from thinking them.

I was driving home from yoga today, it was 60's and sunny in my new bay area home, and I was just thinking about how truly amazing my surroundings were. The bright sun, the green hills and pine trees, and the crisp smell (all which are quite different than being in san diego.... other than the sun of course;). I get so caught up with TV, magazines, and all my electronic "must haves", that it was refreshing for me to be driving and observing my present feelings. I loved it. During many instances like this, I have immediately shifted my gratefulness of life back to my "why" questions. Why can't Jill be experiencing this with me? That's a big one I always think about. But today I was soaking up the present and leaving those questions to be answered by God. Literally seconds after admiring all of God's beauty, the most beautiful song came on the radio. It made my eyes fill with tears, and when I got home I stayed parked to listen to it entirely. The song is called "Our God is Greater" and I've added the youtube video along with lyrics for anyone who reads this to enjoy too.


When I read these words it reminds me how powerful and healing our God is. He has a purpose for those I've lost in my life and for those who died senselessly in Tucson. He has an agenda for children who are taken from this life too young, for the poor and starving, for all the people dying in Iraq and all over the world. He puts violence and hatred on this Earth to see how we react to it. He gives us the precious gift of free will to choose a different route. And then there are those who don't choose and are suddenly taken away from us on accident. God has a plan for each person on this Earth. My personal goal is to try not to keep asking the "why" questions that I will never be able to comprehend. It's natural for us to wonder. But it takes patience, learning, and understanding of the Bible and God's words to come to terms with horrifying things that happen in our life. And to step back, surrender to a greater power, and TRUST that nothing is coincidental or happens on accident. No one last weekend was "in the wrong place at the wrong time". God wanted some of them home and now they are. My prayers go out to the grieving families and everyone affected in Arizona.

Viva Italia!

We have arrived in Italy! First stop: Pisa. Yes, best known for the leaning tower. Fun fact: the tower began to tilt when the soil beneath it suddenly shifted. The tilt intensified after WW2,and thanks to tourists who climb it’s steps daily, the tower slips an additional 1-2 meters per year, though it is currently considered stable. I have been to Pisa once before and found it a quaint and friendly small city. Adam was interested in visiting, so we booked a wonderful Bed and Breakfast with our new lovely friend name Giorgio. The tower really is worth seeing, along with the surrounding cathedrals and museums, but it is a small city and can fully be visited in a day in a half, (2 nights). Not many people spoke English but after enough pointing and facial expressions, communication was achieved.

Now, I am writing today’s blog from Florence! We took the quick 50 minute train ride from Pisa to Firenze and met our new landlords who we are renting from for the next 5 days. It was pouring rain when we arrived a couple days ago. Our boots and bags were soaked and we stuck out like sore thumbs trying to read our drenched map in front of the Duomo. A sweet old man walked over and must have thought we were trying to ge
t to the train station because he kept saying “choo choo!” and pointing in the direction we just came from. Finally, we found our destination and was greeted by our landlord, Marco. He was a very nice Italian man who lived in San Diego for a short time, so you can bet we had heaps to chat about. J He took us up to what he referred to as the 4^th floor, but in the US, it was really the 5^th floor. (In Europe, the first floor is called the ‘ground level’, and the floors add on from there). There was no elevator so we were hauling our bags up a narrow stairway with exactly 86 steps. (we officially have buns of steal). The complaining stopped once we saw the views from our new Florence “home”. It has a kitchen and living room painted with bright yellow walls, and our bedroom is light pink with a window on the right side of our bed facing out to the Duomo and the window on the left facing out to the green Tuscan hills. Red brick roofs litter all of the nearby apartments and small buildings. The only instructions Marco gave us was: “Do not take a taxi or a bus anywhere. Walk everywhere!” We are in the heart of Florence. This is how ‘real Italy’ feels, and I love it.

I could write all day about how much I love this country, and I might do just that. Having our own kitchen has left us with a whirlwind of cooking experiments. Pasta is a must of course, and tonight we added mussels and clams to our concoction. We are getting so full every day on pasta or pizza, I am thankful for our 5^th floor walk. Cheese is cheap and wine is even cheaper at as low as $2 for a whole bottle. I am in vino heaven! We spent the first couple days under plastic tents drinking coffee and watching the rain pour down. Most of the cafes and restaurants have out door eating areas, and even when it storms, you still find people eating outside. They put up big tents and tarps around the tables and people get really close together, sipping on coffee and even wine, in the early morning.

Today, we were blessed with 70 degrees and perfectly sunny weather!!! When we started planning for this trip, we chose the off season months of October and November, mainly because the crowds would be minimal, even if the weather wasn’t perfect. But today, it felt like late Spring with hardly any tourists anywhere. It was absolutely perfect. Adam and I hiked up to Piazzale Michelangelo which had the most stunning view of Florence (and a turquoise statue of David). It was about dusk and the sun had a warm, golden glow over the city. Breath taking and “wow” are the only words I have to describe today, as I know it will be one of my fondest memories of Italy. Although my hamstrings hurt from the steep walk up, it was well worth every step, and highly recommended! Better views from the Duomo itself and it’s free! ;)

We have 1 more day here and we’ll be touring the Uffizi Museum tomorrow, where the weather is supposed to be just as nice. The gelato is ridiculously tasty. So far, we have tried Hazlenut, Mocha, and Cheesecake…. More tomorrow, I can guarantee it. ;)