You-tah

October for teachers is a gauntlet.

The reality of a month with no given break 

(other than the weekends)

is exhausting.

Kids are tired 

(and starting to get sick), and

teachers are feeling the slump of the school year 

(how do we save the world, anyway?)

Knowing this,

hubs and I decided to plan a short weekend getaway.

We joined our Chicago-based family 

for a weekend away in 

YOU-TAH!

This was our first time in the beehive state,

but most certainly not our last.

We simply had no idea of the scope of the natural beauty we'd experience...

...and the state parks we want to go back to visit.

 Kids in nature...

the joy, the simplicity.

 “A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full or wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood." - Rachel Carson 

 "Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts."- Rachel Carson

Our family at Swaner Nature Preserve

Halloween!

 You-tah,

we will return

(hopefully soon!)

aloha.

The Crusty Loaf

When we first began dating,

the Nick-isms that would come from the mouth of my hubs

would 

crack.

me.

up.

It was like deciphering code.

 asphynctersaidwha?

He once asked to go to a 4th of July party...in December.
"I'm too literal for this," said the voice in my head,
but land ho! 
A little pointed questioning later, 
I learned that he wanted to go to a neighborhood party...
like the ones you have on the 4th of July.
This is one of the things I love most about hubs:
He relishes moments.
He lives so heavily in the moment,
that reminiscing on the moment
makes him want to relive the moment.
 

Most Nick-isms have evolved 

throughout our life together.

Example:

I am no longer his "wife."

I am:

"woot"

"woof"

"woot-tastic"

"monk"

"monkey baby team" (ask me later about that one)

...and the beat goes on...

Where am I going with this?

Well,

during our first years together, 

he spoke frequently about

THE CRUSTY LOAF

I, a purveyor of words that ring nicely,

have never been a fan of the word

CRUSTY.

It's like the word

SNACK

to me.

It doesn't sit well in my stomach.

Everyone has their word(s).

What's yours?

Back to the story...

 Hubs loves crusty loaves. 

(That sure sounded wrong...I didn't mean it that way...promise)

So, I've worked through the years to perfect the Crusty Bread Loaf.

It has taken many shapes and forms.

In fact, I thought I had it perfected when I persevered through

Julia Child's French Bread Recipe.

Holy Time Consuming Loaf of Bread, Batman!

When reading the recipe from 

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, 

Julia's recipe starts on page 57 and ends on page 74.

'Nuff said.

Many years and many recipes later,

I've done it.

I've decoded what 

THE CRUSTY LOAF

means to the hubs.

BEHOLD!

The Crusty Loaf!

 I found the recipe here **

Here's another picture of it,

just in case you can't get enough of the 

crusty(still rings wrong to me) goodness: 

 The ONLY time consuming step in this recipe is allowing the dough to rise overnight.

That's it. 

The actual leg-work is nuttin' honey.

 The ONLY problem 

is that this:

quickly becomes this:

 GONZOS.

 Is that a problem, though?

Really?

As the world fights childhood hunger,

I consider this a blessing, 

NOT a problem.

I'll make a loaf every day if it means

joy 

in our household.

**Side note: I add 1/4 cup of chopped, fresh rosemary from our garden during the mixing of dry goods step.  I highly recommend this if you are a rosemary fan like us! I figure you could also use dried rosemary...a few TBS?

aloha.

Kaboom!

One of San Diego's most popular pleasures

is our weather.

Mostly sunny.

Most days.

'Tis why the wedding industry is booming here:

You can plan an outdoor wedding years ahead from now 

and rest assured that it will not rain on your wedding day.

If it does,

consider yourself the Chosen One...

that the Gods are speaking to you (good or bad, up to you)...

because it just

does

not

rain

here.

Except for today!

We awoke to a thunderstorm.

I'm talking

BOOM, BOOM, SHA-SHAKE THE ROOM

proper thunderstorm 

complete with lightning

and 

short spurts of downpour.

We positioned ourselves near our largest window,

compiled a group of rainstorm necessities,

and watched the storm pass.

Today's weather was brought to you by Tropical Storm Dolores.

aloha.

Let's Make a Deal

I woke up yesterday feeling like 

LOUNGING ALL DAY...

the little angel on my shoulder, however, kept reminding me of my summer promise to myself:

To Exercise.

...Bleh...

A few episodes of Gilmore Girls later, 

I decided that exercise didn't have to be gritty and all-out.

So I looked at the angel on my shoulder and said,

"Let's make a deal.

I'll exercise like you said I should, 

but it will be 

where I want

and

how I want."

 Surprisingly enough, the angel agreed.

To the beach we went,

and instead of running the whole length and back,

I mixed it up a bit.

 (My favorite part about running on the beach is that I get to do it barefoot!  Total motivator for me)

If you're ever having an exercise funk day,

try this:

Walk 1 min.

Run 1 min.

Walk 2 min.

Run 2 min.

Walk 3 min.

Run 3 min.

Walk 4 min. *

Run 4 min.

Walk 5 min.

Run 5 min.

BAM! 30 min. of cardio exercise!

I then pivot turned and did the entire routine in reverse,

starting with 5 min. run

and ending with 1 min. walk. 

*If you don't want to do the entire routine in reverse,

pivot turn at this point, or stroll back after the 5 min run (especially if you're at the beach :)*

Give it a try!

Or make something else up! 

Just remember,

exercise doesn't have to be gritty and grueling

to get the job done.

aloha.

My mission (if I choose to accept it)

At the start of last school year,

we (teachers) discussed the importance of

having a mission statement 

to drive the purpose of our work.

We didn't, however, get to the point of writing the statements.

We just talked about it.

Isn't that so typical of adult activity in general?

Talk about it a lot...

Take action a little.

haha

Well, it took me a year,

but I finally penned my mission!

 I think it took me a year because I was unsure of my process...

"How do I even BEGIN this process?"

and then, one day, while on the plane to Hawai'i nei,

I wrote down some words, and what did they say?

My mission, of course,

it came without force!

(wink and a questioning smirk;

I swear I've had coffee today)

I thought I'd share what my process "looked like"

in case you are searching for a process 

and would like to borrow mine

(and are a visual learner like me ;)

My Mission Statement Process

STEP 1:

Find something that inspires you and represent it somehow

(I drew a pic of the shell necklace I was wearing).

Then, connect words to that thing. Write them!

STEP 2:

Connect like-words together

(important note: connect them in a way that is meaningful to you...doesn't have to make logical sense to others)

STEP 3:

Expand the connected words into sentences.

I also picked out one guide word in each sentence and underlined it

 STEP 4:

Final Draft...clean it up!

STEP 5:

Using a photo editing website (I used picmonkey.com),

make it look GOOD!

I made two different options, and I'm deciding which one I like better to print for my classroom:

 I hope this inspires you to find your process!

aloha.

Happy Aloha 4th of July

Because everything sounds better

when you say the word

 

first.

Happy Aloha 4th of July

to you and yours!

aloha.

The Living's Easy...

You know the tune....

Summertiiiimmee

and the living's easy.....

 Are these clouds simply phenomenal, or what??!

I hope you're outside. 

Livin' easy.

aloha.

Brooklyn Girl

When we first moved to San Diego,

the thing we were most excited about was

FOOD!

Island fare is unique,

and at times, I would consider it very good,

HOWEVER...

there just is not much in terms of variety.

The unique restaurants that we did love there,

we really loved.

Read about them here

We knew, though, that SD had a fantastic foodie scene,

and we were stoked to explore it!

One of our first stops was

Brooklyn Girl

in Mission Heights.

We were amazed.

Incredible tastes.

Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) done well.

Yesterday, we decided to go back and experience the joy again.

After 4 years of living in SD, 

we were curious if it would be as good as we remember from our first experience.

Oh...it was.

Can someone say, "Best Veggie Lasagna in the History of Veggie Lasagna?"

May I suggest bringing a handsome date?

Key.Lime.Pie.

Just when you think the place can't get any cuter...

This place is not to be missed.

We will be back!

Yes, this is their to-go bag.

aloha.