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favorite things week-day 6

i'm obsessed with augusten burroughs. he is my favorite writer. this is not an impressive bit of conversation at parties. shouldn't i prefer the "classics?" but noooo. it's augusten for me. a few examples of my utter dedication to him:
1. i have purchased "running with scissors" no less than 6 times. that's because i'm constantly telling people they should read it, loaning them mine and MAGICALLY never seeing it again. well, you can't expect me to NOT own that book?!?!
2. i found augusten on myspace over a year ago. people were just leaving him comments. you could just send a message and KNOW that he'd read it. this caused me to FREEZE with the pressure of figuring out what to WRITE to my favorite author. i refuse to be a "omg! i'm you're biggest fan! i love you!" kind of girl. seriously though, what do you say to capture the attention of a super witty, funny, endearing wordsmith (i'm pretty sure that 's in the dictionary.)?? so, to this day, i've never said anything.
3. i'm pretty intentional about finding youtube clips and interviews online. i'm not IN LOVE with him, mind you. not exactly. i'm in love with his mind...i want to know everything he thinks. i want to figure out his brain and how it works.

so, PLEASE people, read his stuff. it's hilarious, it's heartbreaking, it'll make you feel good about life, and guilty for feeling good. it's ironic and detailed and SO visual...and it's profound and perverse and full of profanity. i'd loan you my copies, but i've learned my lesson!

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favorite things week-day 5

if i could eat sushi every single day, i SO would. i love it. i can't describe my love for it. *FULL DISCLOSURE: i went with a friend to sushi last night, and had decided that it should surely be my picture for the day. thing is, i was SO stoked about eating it, that i completely forgot to take a picture until (no kidding) i had swallowed the very.last.bite. i was shaking my fist in the air! so, this is a picture of her sushi, and is not an accurate representation of the sushi i consume* regularly.

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favorite things week-day 4

oh yes! striped knee socks!! i love knee socks in general, but striped knee socks are certainly my favorite. and since these are black/grey striped with sparkly pink at the toes and knees, they are my very very very very favorite.

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favorite things week-day 3

this is a new discovery. neither my husband or i are any kind of fix-y or tool-y or make-y. this glue is like a magic potion for me! i've used it to fix the crib, rocking chair, picture frames, attach wheels to a box. it's like how that one guy in "my big fat greek wedding" used windex for everything. except this stuff actually DOES fix everything.

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favorite things week-day 2

um....need i say more? this picture is worth a thousand caramel macchiatos! (i wish)

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welcome to "my favorite things" week! it will in no way be comprehensive or in any kind of order.

i'm obsessed with cleaning. when i get stressed out, i want to scrub things and iron clothes. i know, right? Mrs. Meyers cleaning products are, by far, THE BEST OF ALL TIME. totally non-toxic, biodegradable. but the BEST part, is that you've NEVER smelled cleaning products like this. i mean, wow! i'm not kidding when i say that the smell makes me keep cleaning more than i would without it!!

if you haven't tried Mrs. Meyers, get out and find it (many grocery stores are begining to carry it in their "natural" section. you can also order it online.) The best way to start, in my opinion, is with the Basil scent. If you only choose one product to start with, get the countertop spray. YOU WON'T REGRET IT. if you do, i'll buy it from you.

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a family i'm certifying for adoption has a huge farm with loads of animals. these tiny baby lambs were born yesterday!!

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a MUCH NEEDED night out with the girls...morrocan!

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the picture is HORRIBLE. but whatever. i was proud of how i maximized a $50 gift card to Sears. i'm pretty sure i've never actually purchased anything there before. but i was THRILLED to go. so, for $50 i got two tunic/dress type things, a few pair (pairs?) of underoos and adorable shoes. the thing that looks like a black pillow case on the left is actually a super cute, nicely pleated and gathered black dress. i'm planning to wear it for girls night tomorrow, maybe i'll snap a pic then and you can see how fantastically cute it really is...and 90% off!! only 6.99!!!

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mmmmm falaffel (which is a much more delicious version of however you happen to spell it)

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the picture speaks for itself

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change has come to America

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two of the last three days in the hospital has led to my kitchen looking like a hurricane swept through!

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we've had crazy wind for the last week...so crazy it knocked over our porch swing and blew it all the way into the yard!

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what we've been looking at a lot lately...a view from kaia's room in the ER.

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today we visited the grave site of my husband's grandmother (wife of yesterday's hero.) Grandma Horner passed away after a difficult battle with alzeimers. i didn't really know her before the onset of the disease, but i have heard some amazing stories about what a loving and hospitable woman she was.

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today we went to visit my husband's grandfather. he's hawaiian (husband is somewhere around 1/3 hawaiian) and in his early 80's. he is just one of the sweetest, most gentle men i've known.

he really REALLY loves and is committed to his family. all over his house he keeps pictures of everyone. this wall is of the grandkids and great grandkids. every year or so he has to add another little shelf as our family grows. it is just so wonderful to see. there's also a wall of his children, a wall of all the married couples, an a wall dedicated to the family members that have served our country.

he is SUCH a wonderful man!

(this picture was not taken today...it's from kaia's 1st bday a few months ago...just wanted you to see who i was talking about!)

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DISCLAIMER: today's picture is not going to suit everyone's sense of humor. i get that. some may even be offended...i'm okay with that, so long as you understand that i'm not intending to be offensive.

EXPLANATION: we were playing at OMSI (oregon museum of science and industry) today, which is this super great place for kids and grown ups to explore all sorts of things like anatomy and animals and scienc-y type things. kaia was just very drawn to this particular thing. i only let her spend long enough to snap the picture, which i thought was pretty funny.

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two things about today's pic: notice the little fuzzy blue thing in her hand? we ordered her a little tiny blue's clues dog. she has yet to put it down since she got it last night. she's been kissing it constantly and wants to share all of her food with it. it's ADORABLE.

secondly. i put her in dresses all the time, for no reason whatsoever. i love dresses. i feel most comfortable in dresses and skirts, so i always just put them on her. plus, c'mon, it's so super cute. i remember my mom telling me that i REFUSED to wear jeans until i was in 4th grade. my husband, on the other hand, thinks that she can only be comfortable wearing as little as possible.


i'm trying to be intentional about not having too many of my 365 be of the wee one. it becomes more of a challenge when so many of our days are spent at home, just the two of us. for those of you who don't know, kaia's had a plethora of health crises in her short 16 months of life. this has resulted in long periods of time that we're not allowed to leave the house.

anyhow. i'm also starting to feel frustrated about what feels like major photo limitations because of my basic camera. i'm using a canon powershot A640. and i love it for regular stuff. it's the first "real" camera i've ever had. took us getting pregnant to convince the mister to stop using disposable cameras all the time. ugh. i know.

the thing is, i really think i've got a decent eye for good shots, but my camera is just SO simple and basic, that the pics never come out like i'm picturing. i just love looking around other 365s and seeing the incredible photos being taken. i feel totally inspired...then i turn on my camera and it's like, um....oh well.

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i literally cried over spilt milk at costco today. i'm SO cliche.

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when i was still knocked up, i SWORE no tv till she turned three...well i'll spare you the excuses leading to where we are today...but as you can see, we spend quality time with Steve and Blue most days. and several times a day once in awhile. (to be clear, by "once in awhile" i obviously mean 2-7 days per week.)

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we love rockband. especially at 3am. especially with grown up drinks.

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remember when these were popular toys because society RESPECTED this type of work?

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what's a girl to do?

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on the rise....how is it in your town?

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magnet on my fridge

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it's a hard knock life for kaia!

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new hair, tired eyes

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a serious gift of love...beautiful handmade quilt from kaia's auntie stephanie

yet another complete blog change

i'm doing this for myself, really. i was reading about the "365" photography challenge. participants commit to taking and posting one photo per day for an entire year. i've read that this can be fantastically fun, revealing, enlightening, interesting...which was enough for me to give it a go.

i didn't want to clog my other blog with this, so i've decided to repurpose this already ever-changing blog as the home for my daily snapshots.

now, i have no expectations that this will be fascinating to anyone else, except maybe some family members. but i liked what i read about it being an introspective journey. so, i'd be glad for you to see the pictures as i go, or to completely ignore this altogether!

also, why don't you join in too? who knows where we'll be a year from now...the things we'll have seen and done and learned? let me know if you're participating, and i'll link to you!