taking it in

Patrick taking in the smell of the mountains. He got to run through meadows, roll around in the tall grass, trample through streams, see lots of fish, and explore everything. I've never seen him so happy.

We're back from our camping trip. Intentional or not, you have a lot of time to relax and unwind when you're out in the wilderness with not much to do. As far as reflecting goes, I wasn't very intentional when prepping for this trip. I normally bring a journal or a thought provoking book and anticipate the time I'll have for silence and meditation. This time, I packed a half read book (one that was not thought provoking whatsoever) and totally forgot to pack my journal. I didn't realize until I got home that I actually did a lot of reflecting anyway. When I'm in my normal setting/ routine, my mind is always racing with to do lists and unfinished projects. The night that we got home, I had a clear mind, was extremely motivated, and felt well rested. I had our suitcases unpacked within 10 minutes of walking in the door, started the laundry, and still enjoyed a good night's sleep. I'm grateful for the time we got to spend up in the mountains and am looking forward to this pattern of getting things done in a less chaotic sort of way. Sometimes we just need to spend more time outdoors and away from the everyday mayhem that is life.

at home

Battle for the couch

Patrick stole Francine's spot on the top of the couch. Now Francine is watching him from across the room waiting to make her move... Do your pets like to climb to the highest spot on the furniture?

vol. 2

In no particular order, here's a little of what happened last week:

1. I was grateful to have two plates on the breakfast table. This only happens on the weekends, as Philip is at work during the week.
2. Patrick had lots of playtime at the park. This is his new friend Noi, a little Australian Shepherd puppy.
3. We picked up some beautiful ranunculus at the farmer's market (and realized just how affordable they are there compared to the grocery store).
4. I enjoyed a lot of lunches at home.
5. We got out new bulbs for our international customers.
6. We played around with some beautiful piano remains for a special project we're working on.
7 + 8. We had breakfast with some friends who were downtown for the day. This is my favorite breakfast at Craft + Commerce (and in San Diego).

happy birthday to patrick!

This guy turned 1 almost a week ago... And, yeah, this happened:

just let it go.

source.

I've really been enjoying this "week off from worrying" (as I've been calling it). Normally when I'm not swamped with the pressure of making things, I'm stressed out about the house, laundry, blogging, our calendar, etc. I have not let myself worry about any of those things this week and it's been fantastic. The best part is that I find it really rewarding when I do one load of dishes, even if it's not the whole kitchen. My mind isn't exhausted from constantly thinking of my giant to do list that never seems to be empty. I'm just content with the day to day. Wait, did I just say content? Yeah, I did! So what was the magic formula that got me here? Simple: I just let things go. It's funny how hard that sounded last week and how doing it was actually easy. I wasn't meant to carry around all of these burdens and worries all the time, so I won't. I can't control them or change them, so I won't even try. God's given me an abundant amount of blessings in my life that I truly don't deserve. When I focus on all of that rather than what I think I don't have, it all gets put into perspective. Talk about humility.

So there's my rambling thoughts for you. I think it all makes sense. On a side note: I have been in love with this quinoa salad ever since I tried it while on a date with my friend Emily. I made it for dinner last night and tonight. We both loved it, so nothing wrong with that, right? :) Here it is, would you like to know what's in it?

quinoa, basil, chives, cherry tomatoes, grilled chicken, pecans, and feta, topped with a caesar romano dressing (from Trader Joe's of course)

It's amazing! We have definitely eaten it as a meal, but it's also a great thing to keep in the fridge as a ready-to-eat and healthy snack (lots of protein!) That's usually the key for me to make sure that I eat enough food during the day: have it ready to eat. Sometimes I will put off eating for a while and then all of a sudden, I'm starving. That's never a good situation for me or my husband ( I get beyond grumpy). I try to keep this in mind when I'm shopping for snacks during my grocery trips. What are your favorite snacks that get you through the day? I have a staple snack list that I'll share soon (i think mine's kind of funny).

popsicles with the pups.

Beca and Charlie treated Patrick and I to some Viva Pops after our lunch with Ainsley. It was funny to watch the dogs eat popsicles (definitely something I've never done before). Patrick devoured his right away. Charlie rejected his and went straight for Beca's. Ha!

patrick loves yarn.

This isn't the first time this has happened. In fact, I remember that first time. My friend, Hannah, was here and it wasn't just one strand of yarn. Her and I were playing around on the sewing machine and burst out laughing as we say that poor little pup. He ran to us looking like he was asking for help with yarn trailed down the staircase and wrapped all around his body, legs, and face. He was covered in about 6 different colors. It is really hard to pretend I'm mad or discipline him for being in the yarn in the first place. It's just too funny.

Notice his good dog collar he's wearing? He's doing so much better than my last report! I took him for a walk yesterday and finally realized the problem. Inside the house, we have always been consistent with our training and disciplining which ends in great results! When we take him on walks, we are always so embarrassed by how out of control he is and what people might be thinking that we weren't training him at all. We were automatically getting frustrated and ultimately letting ourselves be defeated.

When I took him out for a walk last night, I tugged on the collar every single time he walked ahead of me and said "heel" ( Also, I always gave verbal praises when he did it). Eventually, I stopped tugging and just gave the verbal command and it worked! He slowed down when I slowed down and walked right by my side. He even would sit, shake, and lay down! (That's something he's great at when we're home, but would never do on our walks because he was too excited.) I couldn't believe how happy this made me and that I could be so proud of a dog. Haha.

Something we have also been working on is "leave it". When I put his favorite toy up to his lip and say leave it, he doesn't grab it from me until I say "ok". (He actually has to look away to avoid the temptation- it's so cute!) I want him to be able to understand this in other situations as well. For example: If he sees a cat across the street, I want him to listen to our commands over his natural instinct to chase it with the potential of getting hit by a car. After our walk, we came home and I grabbed his toy. We played with it for a few minutes, then I said "leave it" as I threw it again. He just stared at me and waited for the "ok". I was stunned that this actually worked!

Anyway, I really love this collar and don't know how we would have trained Patrick with out it. Another hint I heard from my sister -in-law (who recommended the collar) was to exercise your dog during or before training. I think the point was that they naturally want to run and play or would be worn out and a little more submissive. I can't exactly remember, why, but it was a big help. We went on a really long walk yesterday and I could tell he was tired enough to just give in. Haha. I think she said that she read this in Caesar Millan's book. You know, the dog whisperer.

Are your dog's obedient? How did you train them and what did you find most helpful?

puppy play date.

Today Patrick and I met up with my old roommate and her sweet pup, Bella. Brittany and I needed time to catch up and our babies have never met, so we thought the beach would be a good place to hang out. We met at the beach in Del Mar where the pups had so much fun chasing each other and wrestling. Of course, I snapped a few pictures.

This one is Brittany having a heart to heart with Bella. "I am your master. You will listen to me."

After a lot of wrestling, the dogs started playing tug-of-war with the leashes. At one point, Patrick had Bella's and Bella had Patrick's.

After the beach, we headed over to Pannikin's for lunch. Bella may be bigger than Patrick, but she's still a baby and she loves her momma. It was the best morning and I'm so grateful for days with friends. So far, it's a good week.

walking with patrick

We try to take Patrick on a lot of walks. Sometimes its fun and sometimes its frustrating. He's pretty smart and has learned some basic commands, but when he's excited about other dogs and people, he could care less. He jumps on people and intimidates other dogs and kids with how excited he is (he gets very vocal and jumps around like crazy). Luckily, everyone is very sweet, understanding, and gracious about his craziness.

One thing that has helped is his Good Dog Collar. My sister in law recommended it to me. She and her husband took their dog, Lady, to some obedience classes and this is what the class used. Lady couldn't really be around other dogs and barked like crazy at everything. They bought the collar after their first class because Lady did so well with it on. They were even able to take her on a walk by the beach right after the class and said it was like she was a different dog. We ordered this collar for Patrick and it has been very helpful. We haven't had the time to go to any obedience classes (and I have to admit that I haven't watched the videos on the site yet either), but just the collar is making a big difference. He still chokes himself a little when we're walking, but he is way more controllable. Walks are a lot more enjoyable and we're not embarrassed to take him to restaurants or cafes.

Obviously we have some more to teach him and learn ourselves. We still want to attend a training program with him, but I think he's doing pretty well with the lack of training that he's had. One of my favorite things is that he's very good with all of the babies on our life. He naps with them and lets them tug on him. He's a good dog.

at home with sigur ros and animals.

Francine loves to be in the middle of what everyone else is doing. Apparently, that's the best place to nap. My fabric storage is at the top of our staircase in our bedroom. It's in the corner of two sunny windows, so naturally, it's her favorite spot. Kitty fur doen't look very good on my pretty fabrics and I'm sick of lint rolling and having to wash everything again. I finally put things on the top shelf (on top of the fabric) so that she couldn't lay there, but she decided to just use the shelves below.

When I'm in the middle of moving her again and telling her 'no', Patrick just stares curiously from down below. He wants her to play with him so bad. Whenever he sees her, he gets so excited. He dances and wiggles in a circle around her in excitement. She just growls and jumps up where he can't reach her. It's so sad. But Im grateful that no matter how bad she's annoyed with him (or me for forcibly holding their faces next to each other) she's never used her claws (on either of us). She's a good kitty (even when she's grumpy).

I've been away from the computer a lot this past week. It's really nice. It's so easy to fall into those computer comas all day after thinking that I'm going to just check something really quick (yeah right). That's the reason for the quiet around here. I still have a lot of things that I'm working on today, but wanted to say hello ;) I'm doing my work in the sunroom and listening while the Heima video plays in the background. Have you seen it? Sigur Ros is one of my all time favorite bands (and #1 favorite performance EVER!) and this film NEVER gets old. If you like them, you should definitely buy this one! It's great to have on while you are creating or cleaning or doing anything at home. (PS- there's a ton of bonus footage! The first time that I discovered it, I thought it would never end. It's awesome.)

This is my favorite song that they wrote. I would pay the full cost of a ticket just to see them perform this live. It's the most incredible experience. (Also amazing: driving around and listening to it really loud while it's raining).

I'll be choosing a winner for the giveaway tomorrow. You have until midnight tonight to enter!

one of those days.

It's about 85 degrees outside. The heat takes a lot out of you.

I know I just posted, but I was walking upstairs and found this sleepy little duo. I had to share ♥

patiently waiting.

Patrick's best friend lives in the house across from us [not that far across, we share a yard]. He recently figured out that if he sits in the middle of the staircase, he can look out the window of our front door. When he hears the neighbor's car pull into her driveway, he rushes up to this spot and waits to see Hugo in the yard.

He loves his friend.

For Diane.

My friend, Diane, loves puppies and kittens. Who doesn't, right? Well, she ONLY likes them when they're little. She looses interest in them when they get bigger. I'm finally learning to understand and accept this about her. She didn't grow up with animals in her house, so I guess it's forgivable. ;)

Diane is currently living in Santa Barbra which is a pretty long drive from San Diego. She hasn't seen Patrick in a while. When I told her that he's is getting bigger this was her response : "NOOOOOOOOO! I'm missing the best years of his life!"

HAHA! She's funny like that. These pictures are so that she can see how cute he still is (and Francine too).

A Morning Walk

We're back from San Francisco and getting back into work life. Bleh.

Our little vacation was so much fun. I'm so grateful that Philip planned this trip. I really enjoyed my birthday and time away with him. I'm still sorting through pictures to share.

These pictures are from one of our Sunday morning walks. We live in the city so we really enjoy the trails around Balboa Park. This is where we usually go with Patrick.