Forgive me for I have skipped ....

I'm a little off my game this week - not at home - working extra days - so apologies for the skip and being off schedule.

Tomorrow will be a fun new exciting post - I'm going to share some of my favorite Etsy shops and a series of photos ....

See you tomorrow ...

And Snap I Did.

Fog Rolling In

We honeymooned in San Francisco. It was far too short (as any good honeymoon is). I hadn't been in years and we had never been together. I planned the heck out of our days. My idea of a holiday is to really explore - none of this lay in the sun for 7 days straight (Why pay good money to sleep? I'm too much of a fussbudget). Five days in a bustling city with Mr. LWP all to myself was just what the doctor ordered. We must have walked almost the entire city.

One of the outings I wanted to do was biking across the Golden Gate Bridge. The website said it's a great excursion and beginners love it - nice and leisurely. Perfect. I mean, I can ride a bike but I wanted to snap photos more than practice for the Tour de France.

Snap. Snap. Gasp for air. Snap. Snap. Dodge traffic. Snap. HONK! Pee my pants. Snap. Snap. Continue gasping for air. You get the idea.

The website was a little liberal with the word *beginner*. And I was not about to fall over and collapse in front of my paid-to-be-healthy-and-full-of-wonderful-dreamy-muscles-brand-new-husband. Not a chance. I have my pride. Besides, collapsing would inevitably damage my camera.

My main objective was to snap photos of the bridge - lots of angles - lots of shots - more is more when it comes to memory cards and quick trips. And snap I did.

When I see this photo, I relive lots of thing. The chill of the fog, the immense size of the landmark and just how tiny I felt under those giant suspension towers, the brightness of the orangey-red of the paint,  the wind on my face as we raced down the hill to Sausalito, a pained bum (stupid bike seat - I mean, I have enough padding), car whooshing past me, the view of my new hubby riding just in front of me, the taste of the cold beer when we finished. Sigh. It was a very good afternoon.

Cheers!

This is a popular image for Loud Waterfall Photography. I get all gooey and happy inside when someone decides to add my image to their home. Just above my head, right now, is an 11x14 print.

Tryptic of our adventure - love the lines!

Golden Gate

Perfect!

Love the pillow!

We are going back in November and I have even more vantage points on my list. I cannot wait!

See you tomorrow ....

Is there an app for this?

It's June 9th. Wow. This getting into a new routine is hard. Finding time every day to get all 864 things that need to get done is hard. I know I'm lucky to get through half - that's ok - it's more about prioritizing what can fit into each 24 hours. I'm older and wiser than I was 9 days ago, not by a lot, but still.

So what has this first week of my new leaf accomplished? I worked out almost every day. I did manage to post every day (though my timing was rather haphazard). And I even jumped into some Summer Cleaning (it's a little late in the year to call it Spring ....). New routines are hard.

So, what fell through the cracks? My camera didn't move all week. That makes me sad. I even have a brand new lens that needs playing with! I have new products for the shop that I haven't listed. I adore - I mean adore - my new night lights and the coasters are so fun! But would anybody know that? No, because I haven't taken the time to list any of them. That makes me sad.  Naps. Naps definitely fell through the cracks. That always makes me sad ... and a little bit tired.

So, how do I fix this? How do I make everything fit? What do you do when trying to get accustomed to new routines? Do you have any tips or tricks? Is there an app for this? There's one for everything, right?

Have a great night!

An anything day

It's Saturday. It's anything can happen day. Daddy and Sadiecakes already ran out to grab doughnuts (Mom just stared .... ). Trying to see what we are going to do this afternoon. My vote for *naps* was quickly outnumbered. Red Sox have a double headed today in Boston. Just a quiet, lazy day. We need these more often than we think or allow. Jammie day (well, I stay in my jammies Sadie usually changes between 3-4 different princess dresses). Puttering around the house day. Playing in the yard day. Recharge day.

What do you do to recharge? Clear your head. Rest your mind and body.

A little bit of zen from the aquarium

Have a great day --

Do Good: Sports Friends

If you caught the backstory on June 1st - I mentioned that I went to Ethiopia with a mission organization. May I introduce you to Sports Friends, a division of SIM. Sports Friends is a "church owned sports ministry"that has soccer camps on four continents!

Heading to the field in style

Evening entertainment

Future musician

Heading off the ball - Go Issac!!

What kid camp experience is complete without the Chicken Dance?

Yes, that would be me, rocking out to ... something ...

Last day goodbyes

One more good bye hug

For 8 weeks during the rainy season, Camp Langano is teeming with kids in brightly colored shirts. Full bellies. Smiles from ear to ear. Cheering for their teams. It is a sight to behold.

Scrub! Scrub! Scrub!

Please take a moment to check out Sports Friends and explore for yourself what an amazing organization SF is. Their summer camp campaign is in full swing. Make a kiddo's day and send him/ her to camp this year -- it's good for your heart and theirs.

Good bye Bisrat!

See ya tomorrow,

Tasty Thursday ...

Morning!

Operation: Bikini Season 2014 is nicely underway. I love the My Fitness Pal app! Sure, I have to take the time to actually input stuff but it saves my foods and workouts so each time I open the app, I'm halfway done. Are you using My Fitness Pal? I have it on my cell and on iPad - love it!

There is a recipe section so you can create a meal and then have it portioned out for one touch entering. I'm sure the rest of the free world knew such technology was out there but it's new to me. I'm more conscious of what I eat (when the glaring pie chart tells me today was a little carb heavy or not enough fat) and the impact my meager little workouts have - I've lost 5.6 pounds over the last few weeks - not too shabby for sharing a Hersheys bar with my toddler yesterday.

Pinterest has also really gotten me motivated too - fun workout ideas (different strength workouts based on what commercial is on! Genius!) - mantras and encouraging quotes - and recipes and meal ideas (which brings me to today's post).  At Trader Joe's yesterday, I picked up TriColored Quinoa. It was so pretty and I thought it would be perfect for my first adventure into the seed.

I had a few staples on hand and concocted this tasty meal -
1 cup TriColored Quinoa
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups cooked ground turkey

I made the quinoa as directed but used stock instead of water and added the frozen pea to have them cook together. In hindsight, I would add them just before the quinoa is finished rather than have them in the pan the whole time. I cooked the lean ground turkey separately with just spices to taste. When the quinoa and peas were finished, I added 2 cups of turkey to the pan and viola!

According to My Fitness Pal, it's pretty good for you ...

For dinner, I kind of expanded the concept. I put half a cup of quinoa mixture into half of a whole wheat pita with romaine lettuce and some avocado. It was quite yummy! Apologies for the lack of photos - I was too hungry. You understand.

What are you eating today? Have a good one ...

Wordless Wednesday --- Red Lanterns

Ok, a few words .... My latest series ... Chinatown (Downtown Los Angeles). I giddy with anticipation to make it back to San Francisco's historic and fantastical Chinatown later this year ...

Parasols

Red Lanterns

Single String

Chinatown Series

Possibly my favorite

Or maybe this one ...

Love the lines in this one

Have a great day -- See you tomorrow!