Broccoli Blooms

Ah ha! I've never been so excited about broccoli before!

To be honest, I was a little skeptical about the broccoli plants. Our garden plot neighbor had a few extra so we figured, why not try it? It was really happy for a few months with lots of steady growth and humongous leaves. I didn't even know how or where the crowns were going to form until this weekend, voila!, they were there! We're going to let them form a little more before we bust out some stir fry with these. But how cool?! This whole process of "urban farming" (can we even call it that??) has been so rewarding. Just yesterday we had some chard from the garden with steak and roasted peppers. While I was kind of nervous about finding a slug in my food, it tasted delicious! To top it off, this whole experiment as totally paid itself off. We've had lettuce for weeks and it doesn't show any signs of stopping.

Local readers out there -- does anyone know of a veggie swap? It would be so fun to trade some of our butter lettuce, arugula and radishes for peas, tomatoes, peppers...

Freshly American

Yeeeesssss.....

Nats and I became Americans with just under 4000 other people yesterday in the LA Convention Center. We took the oath, handed over our green cards, watched a video from President Obama, and endured listening to people sing along to this song. When my parents became citizens, it looked like their ceremony was in a classroom. I was expecting a courthouse, not a warehouse! It was overwhelming to think that all 4000 of us were just a small portion of people accepting citizenship that day. Goodbye resident alien status!

Many people often gripe & complain about America, especially around this crucial and politically polarizing time. But politics aside and at the risk of getting cheesy, I am so thankful that I live in a country where I don't have to worry about safety and comfort. We were also reminded yesterday that as an American citizen, we can choose our own paths and futures if we have the drive and motivation to make it happen. I'll admit that I take these concepts for granted...we think about these things on days like July 4th and September 11th, but they are freedoms and luxuries that should be acknowledged every day, or at least often!

On a less serious note, in the oath, I said that I would bear arms to protect my country if needed but let's just get it on the record that I don't think it's in anyone's best interest to give me a firearm.

25

25 things that surprised me about being 25.

1. I like arugula.
2. I swallow three large vitamins in the morning.
3. I don't like sleeping in on the weekends.
4. I eat mushrooms.
5. I don't mind spending money on things like cat litter.
6. Half of my closet consists of luon and spandex.
7. I actually wear out running shoes.
8. I don't eat rice or noodles often.
9. I prefer music over TV. Sometimes.
10. I'm not too sentimental.
11. I'm very particular about lotions.
12. I love a clean car.
13. I use special shampoo and conditioner imported from Japan.
14. The words "Mid-Century Modern" are my weakness.
15. I will always try to DIY even if it's not the best idea.
16. I'm very particular about smoothies.
17. I actually like the idea of spending time in the garden.
18. Bikram Yoga? Sure!
19. I always wear my helmet even though it's nerdy. 
20. I have purchased 5 pounds of protein powder in the last month.
21. I choose gold jewelry over silver.
22. I eat breakfast every day.
23. I floss every night.
24. I like wearing my glasses when I get home.
25. I can have coffee without sugar.

Is this what becoming an adult is all about?

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image credit: kelsey hannah

Happy.

5 Things That I'm Grateful For, in no particular order:

1. Moby - the extra furry one who wakes me up in the morning with purrs and kisses. I don't even need an alarm clock, he is that consistent.

2. Netflix & RedBox - as a girl on a budget, I appreciate having a library of movies available at my fingertips at home instead of going out to the theaters.

3. Arizona Ave - Running outside would be much less appealing without Arizona Ave, my straight shot (and flat!) route to the beach.

4. Quiet Neighbors - it hasn't always been this way, but our apartment building is finally quiet and peaceful. It no longer feels like I'm living in a post-college dorm! Wahoo!

5. Family nearby - my sister lives only a few minutes away and I appreciate having a  home away from home. Sometimes you just want to wear your PJ's somewhere else, right?

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This list is brought to you by a documentary called Happy. Last weekend, Jackie, Nats and I couldn't decide on a Sunday night movie (too many options! See #2) and decided to watch this documentary that explores what causes human happiness. One of the things that I learned is that 50% of what causes our happiness is in our DNA (our general disposition), and our surrounding circumstances only account for 10%! The remaining 40% is up to you; essentially, we have the power to determine our own happiness.

I don't know about you, but I'm often always thinking about whatever's next for me. What's my next apartment going to be like? Is my job turning into my career? Do I want it to? What city will I explore next? My favorite part of Happy was when the producers visited Okinawa, Japan and they interviewed a woman who farmed all her life. She had a huge smile on her face and found her happiness in being outside, growing her own food and feeding her community on her chemical-free produce. She seemed to have no worries about a 401K, debt, or "needing" _______ (you fill in the blank). Another woman was 106 years old and she looked fantastic! Her secret? Lots of sleep and a cup of sake every night! If I remember correctly, she lived on Okinawa her entire life and she was content because she had found a community and support system in her neighborhood, family and friends. Society today tells us that we have to make "this much" money to be happy. We have to have "this many" friends. We have to accomplish "this cool thing" to feel fulfilled. But that's not necessarily true...sometimes I feel like we have it all wrong.

There are so many more take-aways from this documentary, but for the purpose of this post I will focus on one. Do this Daily: List out 5 things that you are grateful for, or 5 things that make you happy, and it can have a profound effect on your overall happiness. Seems easy enough!

(If you made it this far...WOW...congrats!)

So...what makes you happy today?

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Photo credit: "Daydreamer" by Tvir on Flickr

Age

I turned 24 last week and I have to say 24 feels just right. I'm far enough from 21 to make me feel like a real, functioning adult and yet I'm still on the younger half of my twenties. I'm old enough to feel the pressure of big life decisions and I still have time to fix any mistakes I happen to make along the way. 

I used to journal a lot throughout middle school and high school and dream about the person I would be right about now. I fantasized about having my own apartment, a job and doing  everything "my way". Now that I've reached the golden "24", is it weird to say that it's just as good as I thought it would be?! 23 will go down in history has a huge year for me. It wasn't the easiest, but here I am going into 24. Content, happy and excited for the year ahead. 

Starting off my year on the right foot, I spent last weekend with my BFF. Erin flew down from Seattle to celebrate my bday and to get in one last trip before she signs her social life away to med school. We spent the entire weekend doing whatever we wanted. We played card games, slept in, got sparkle nails, went hiking, biked down to the farmer's market, slurped down oysters and baked a cake. Pure bliss! Ahhhhh 24!! I'm a fan. 

I'm Still Alive

I promise I've had some great excuses to explain my blogger absence. The last two weeks have been sooo c r a z y. Long hours at the office, a nasty head-cold, and flying up to Seattle for mother's day and a wedding! I committed a blogger no-no and forgot to take pictures...it's difficult for me to document moments and enjoy them at the same time. Anyone else with me?! This time around, I let others take the photos...now I have to wait for them to show up. Grumble grumble in the least grumbly way :)

Until then, I'll give you the one teaser I have seen up on the internet.



How beautiful was Bons the bride?! Photographer Kristen Marie has an awesome photography style and portfolio...judging from her engagement photos of these two, I'd say she has a knack for capturing people's true essences.

I'll save all the wedding details for another post, but it was such an honor to be a part of this celebration. It's not every day that two of your dear friends find each other and fall in love. Bonnie and Pierce are two of my "life friends" from college - they deserve only the best of the best and they found it. Not one ounce of nervousness or doubt - just pure excitement for the future. It was such a joyous occasion.

All the best Bons & Pierce! Come visit on your way back from Iceland!

Warm Fuzzies.

This past weekend, my dear friend Pierce proposed to my dear friend Bonnie. 

I wish you two all the love in the world.

Bit of an Update

Hello Blogosphere, it has certainly been a while. No excuses really, just life.

My family often gets on my case for not updating as much as my siblings. As I pick and choose what's blog-worthy, there are a few things that come to mind.

Update #1: I recently got a new iPhone and number. Yep, I crossed over to the dark side. And it's amazing.  I was going through contacts on my old phone and I realized how many people I haven't kept in touch with. Cue battling thought bubbles: "Do I really need to tell these "friends" my new phone number if I haven't heard from them in over a year?" / "Oh, but I really should just offer up the information, just in case..." / "Those mass-facebook events are so annoying. I can't do one of those". Hence, it's taken me a week to share my new number. I define strange.

Update #2: A friend pointed out that I'm not a spontaneous person. The comment wasn't meant to be judgmental, but it sure was an eye opener. True, I've never been known as a risk-taker, but when did I become so boring? What happened to the concert-hopping, guitar playing, north-pole bound adventure seeker? We're all pressured to "succeed" and "save up our money" and be responsible - but for what? I'm seriously craving a cross-cultural adventure. I just spoke with someone who just bought a ticket to New Zealand for 2 1/2 weeks - he leaves this weekend. Inspired. My new subscription to TravelZoo probably doesn't help either.

Update #3: I made it to the 7 mile mark on Saturday!  9 miles this weekend.

Update #4: Two amazing friends are flying out this weekend and I'm beyond excited. Three-day weekends, a little Miike Snow, sunshine, PLUS some Bonnie and Pierce is bound to qualify for best-weekend-ever status.

Good Morning

Blogosphere, it has certainly been a while.

Sunday morning - I naturally woke up to sun shining through the windows and birds chirping...at 8:10am . Uhh, this simply does not happen. Normally on the weekends, I redefine "sleeping in" and casually roll out of bed around 10:45...11:00...11:30? But, I decided to take advantage of today's odd occurrences and here I am, catching all 5 of you faithful readers up. Steaming hot cup of jo in hand (important side-note: I'm trying out the vanilla powder from Coffee Bean...life changing).

These past couple weeks, I've been having mini-panic attacks that I'm getting old and running out of time. Maybe it's the fact that the class of '10 just graduated yesterday morning - solidifying that it has been one year since I walked across that stage and shook Andy Benton's hand. Where did the year go?

I feel like I haven't been taking enough pictures. In the "digital age" that we live in, it's so easy to capture every moment. But at the same time, I don't want to be that girl (you know the one) who just takes pictures so that she can post them onto Facebook and pretend like she lives an incredibly interesting life. Annoooying.

So here's a new vow: I promise to take more pictures and only share the best of them so that you don't get bored (or annoyed) and I can archive the rest, immoratize my youth, and have a killer powerpoint slideshow at my 81st birthday.