Grinchmas

Since I work at a bar right now my "weekend" is Sunday-Monday.  This weekend I went to visit my little sister up in SB.  She lives right on the ocean (has to live with 12 other girls in the tiny place to afford it) but still, its just amazing every time I visit.  We went to sleep listening to the waves crash and we woke up to this view in the morning.

On Monday we met my older sister at Universal Studios for Grinchmas.  My whole family is very enthusiastic about Christmas so we pretty much love Grinchmas.

I just first want to point out how awesome my shirt is...Christmas Walrus, yes.

Sister time!

"Okay now look more bad ass..."

The Grinch and the Who's perform during the tram tour.

It's snowing in Southern California ?!

No, those are bubbles. 

I hope you all are feeling a little bit more festive after that post, I know I sure am.

My Heart Goes Out

I wanted to post today for "Feel Good Fridays" but my head and heart just keeps going back to the Connecticut shooting.  I don't have children but I can't help but be unbelievably saddened by this event.  My prayers and thoughts go out to the parents and relatives of the children and adults whose lives were stolen today.  I'm just truly so sorry.

Let us all hug our loved ones extra tight today.

A Whole Lotta Nutcracker

Little nutcrackers everywhere.  I don't know why but it feels like nothing bad can happen when these little guys and a Christmas tree is lit in the living room.  This is my favorite time of year and I'm trying to soak up every minute of it.  We decorated the house and the tree yesterday, along with a peppermint mocha and Christmas music.  I love that this season involves a lot of getting together and just enjoying the time.

But also happy 4th night of Hanakkuh!

'Tis the season!

San Francisco Photo Dump

This was my Saturday afternoon/night in San Francisco.  There is just so much to do in the city, and so many sites to see, I just fell in love.

The Boy in front of his new place 

The Boy's neighborhood--the Mission District 

Philz Coffee, a local favorite 

Sake bombing and sushi.

Jonathan's Holiday party at The Winery

Then post-party drinks at Kell's with my college roommate Audrey

Goodnight SF

This weekend.

I had the most wonderful weekend in San Francisco.  There is just so much to do and see in the city.  A random Sunday turns into an exciting and interesting adventure.  And not to mention, being able to spend more than a day with my boyfriend was a blessing in itself.  I took so many pictures I'll have to narrow down what I post.  If only all weekends could be like this last one.

3 Things I'm Grateful For Lately

Best way to boost your mood, think of the simple specific things you're grateful for lately.

1.  Cuddle seshes with the dog

 2.  Peppermint Pretzel Slims from Trader Joe's, so good, you must get some of these!!

3.  Birthday celebrations with friends

1.

A note to my education

"So what are some of your hobbies?"

Whether in an interview or a random person I'm meeting for the first time, I was always at a loss on how to answer this question.  What DO I like to do for fun...  I hang out with my friends, my boyfriend, school, the gym, internship, research assistant job and work. 

"No, no, no," they would say.  "Don't you have some kind of hobby you like to do, that you do just do for you."

And I honestly didn't.  I would make something up about liking to try new things...new restaurants, new coffee places, etc., which was true, I like to do try new things but that isn't really a hobby.  And then I would always feel a little bad about myself that I didn't have some kind of hobby; like surfing, photography, knitting, hiking, blogging, yoga.

Now that I'm out of school, and I just have the one job, my life has completely simplified.  I realized why I didn't have a hobby, I was so flipping busy all the time...I really didn't have time for myself. Now that I have a good amount of free time I'm getting to try things I haven't, to read things I never had time for, to learn about myself, to allow my creative side out into the world.  It's made me realize that perhaps my education and all of my activities got in the way of me finding what I actually like to do...just for me.  I'm realizing I have a creative side.  I'm realizing I like blogging and that I like photography.  And most importantly I'm figuring out what makes me, me.

What are your hobbies, besides blogging of course ;) ?

Current Read

Last week I finally finished John Irving's novel Cider House Rules.  It was actually made into a movie in the 90's that was nominated for 7 academy awards and one for best adapted screen play.  Here's a trailer for the movie:

I chose to read this book because I loved Irving's other novel (also made into a movie; Simon Birch) called A Prayer for Owen Meany.  While this one didn't tug at my heart strings quite the same it was definitely another masterpiece.  Irving covers a number of interesting and powerful topics including abortion, duty, guilt, honor, race, and of course love.  The main character, Homer, is impossible not to love, though he made his own mistakes throughout.  I think what I loved most about this novel was the clash between following "your duty" and doing what you want, and ultimately which choice is right.  I felt such an empathy for the characters because so many of the decisions we make in life are not an easy black or white choice.  I would definitely recommend the book to anyone looking for a novel that covers life in a realistic and honest way, with real dynamic characters.  There are no "good" or "bad guys" or "right" and "wrong" decisions, there is just the dynamic complexity that is life.