September 2010

 This picture best sums up my amazing September.  Not only did we go to San Fran as the picture can testify but this whole month and all it's adventures is owed to one man.

Hubs.

Hubs pretty much put together an amazing month of fun and first time events for me and our friends.  He's such a stud! I love you hubs!

But wait! Before I tell you about the end of the month, let's start at the very beginning.

A very good place to start...

When you read you begin with ABC, when you sing you begin with...

Do-Re-Mi

Ahhhh... don't you think all of life should have music accompaniment?

Well, many things and many people happened this month.  We had multiple visitors enter through our doors and grace us with their company.  Hubs and I had such a sweet time juggling the beginning of a new school year (new year of ministry) with different lovely people popping in and out.

In between visitors from Japan I co-hosted a bridal shower for my beautiful friend Kristine.  It was so much fun to shower Kristine (ha ha ha) with love and gifts to prepare her for marriage.

I tried the above recipe for the first time~ Pioneer Woman's Red Velvet Cake and it was ah-mazing.

Along with cooking I also picked up my crochet hook and was determined to continue developing my crochet skills.  I joined an online community of knitters and crochets at ravelry.com and have already perused a lot of their free patterns.  I seriously want to make about ten thousand things right now.  *sigh* Alas, I must pick one project and stick with it until finished.

 Something new and fun this month was our membership to a CSA farm in north Long Beach.  CSA stands for community supported agriculture.  Mikey and I pay a small monthly fee and twice a month pick up our locally grown vegetables which have been, in a word, an adventure.  Have you ever eaten collard greens?  Well, I have. Have you ever had a fig?  Well, I have.

It's pretty crazy and you have to be adventurous because we are subjected to the land and whatever it yields.  I have squash falling out of my refrigerator shelves but it's been fun to get creative...

This month I was also able to finish a book.  It was early September that I finished "Murder Must Advertise" by my gal Dorothy L. Sayers but it was so much fun to have a fun read by the bedside. I seriously love Dorothy Sayers but I'll be honest. I usually have a dream about murder or death when I read her stuff before bed.  So I have to be careful how much I read.  It's odd really that that happens because she isn't gory or descriptive.  But I guess just reading about it makes my mind do funny things.  It's better than dreaming about Lord Peter Wimsey.  I have no idea how I'd explain that one to hubs.

And then, as it goes... after a bridal shower comes the actual wedding.

Kristine's wedding was elegantly simple and the most fun I've had in a long time.  She was so beautiful and I know you all hate me for posting such a blurry photo but I actually love this photo.

This "catching them in a private moment" picture because that's what it was and it was such an honor to be there as they tied the knot.

Her reception was a blast!

K & M I seriously love you both!

And... as September picked up speed the day after the wedding we picked up Jordan, Rochelle, Waveland and Cadence and the day after that we were celebrating the day of my birth. Crazy!

This is the birthday of firsts.

First time seeing my brother fly through the air.

First time I had a birthday party at the beach.

Dear Katie Farka, I used to be jealous of you.  You had a June birthday and we were always doing such fun and wonderful summery things for your birthday.

I had a September in north Wisconsin birthday and that could mean grey ugly days or cold and grey ugly days.

I was jealous of your beautiful June birthday and I'd like to say I'm sorry.

Love, Me

I did think of Katie and how 7 year old me would have jumped up and down to know that eventually I got my summer birthday at the beach. :)  I also got the hottest day in LA history.  113 degrees in downtown and high 90s at the beach.  It was wonderful because usually CA water is too frigid to go in but God gave me a hot day to actually enjoy swimming.

 After the beach outing, we came home and somehow Mikey convinced me that Waveland wanted to play "pin the tail on the donkey". So I believed him... and was blindfolded... and then led outdoors and into a car and driven around Long Beach.

Another first.  My first kidnapping.

Followed by another first.

My first surprise party ever!

I was so surprised and touched by all the beautiful people who were at my party and who lavished me with love and "knowing".

I felt so known at this party as the decorations were all crisp dark fall colors, the cake (oh. my. heavens. the cake) was an amazing concoction of pumpkin, chocolate and cream cheese frosting (made by one, Alissa Williams) and the presents specific to crafting supplies made my little love cup runneth over.  I seriously felt loved beyond all measures!

(pictures to be posted soon~ I promise)

And if that weren't enough firsts.... Mikey surprised me (and Waveland) with tickets to Disneyland!!!

My first time to Disneyland in a country where I can actually understand the language.

 Nothing is as cute as my sweet niece talking to Belle about her horse Phillipe or Ariel about getting fins.  I seriously melted watching her stand in awe of these beautiful princesses and knowing that as her aunt I get to tell her for the rest of her life how much more beautiful inside and out she is.

I love being an Aunt!

 Especially to sweet cheeks here.

And before I could blink or catch up on sleep it's October.