these are a few of my favorite things

 a few weeks ago, i taught a lesson on journal-writing. i pulled out several old journals i had written in through the years. i remembered what a great journal-keeper i was before we got married...and before the whole blogging movement happened. reading some of the entries, i realized how i've been missing out on a lot of the "real me" by replacing hand-written journaling with blogging. don't get me wrong, i really love to blog. it gives me the chance to document so many things i wouldnt' have had the chance to document before. i get to add pictures and videos. i get to keep in touch with family and friends who are so far away. but that doesn't mean that i think blogging is a good replacement to journaling. because i don't always expound on things, or record all the details, or write the more intimate things on my blog. because it's so public. and i've never been a huge PDA person :) anyway. so i started journaling again. i love it. it's so wonderful to just sit down and write whatever comes to my mind. unfiltered. without worrying or sensoring or feeling like i am bragging or complaining too much or wondering what people would think if i actually wrote that down. it's so liberating.

one of the journals that i looked through from growing up was solely dedicated to writing about "my favorite things" during that phase of life. i wrote a whole 4-page entry on how much i loved food and my favorite foods in that time period. it made me laugh. hard.

and last night when i was writing in my journal, my mind once again went to writing a list of my favorite things. i can't help it. i like to write about things i really like. and i think it's interesting how the things we like change over time. like i used to loooovvveee German sausage (reflecting on that journal entry about my favorite foods). i can't stand sausage now. totally gets lodged somewhere before my stomach and gives me thee worst burps. gross.

anyways, so i decided i'd share some my faves with you. beacuse it's been a while since i've just had a brain dump on my faves. and because even though this is my public blog and this isn't my journal, i still can do whatever the heck i want on it.

i love bedtime. and not just because it's time for Ellie to go to bed (that sounds so mean). it's actually hard for me to put Ellie to bed at bedtime because she's always so stinkin' cute. i love bath-time, and the way she smells after bath-time. it's delicious. and i usually consider consuming her right on the spot with a little whipped cream. i love how snuggly her PJ's are, i love how she says prayers, i love the way she hugs me and holds me while i rock her to sleep, i love the way she asks me to sing to her over and over again, and i mostly love the way she sings along with the lullabys i sing to her now. it. is. so. cute.

{Ellie in her jam-jams (as we call them) before bed. she usually dresses up with some other random stuff she can find too...which usually includes some item of my clothing (in the 1st picture, it's a pair of my shorts and dad's socks), and a princess crown. she then dances and runs around the house like a crazy person. it's pretty adorable}

i love Glee. i'm missing it. i know that it can be naughty. i know that i shouldn't love to watch teenage drama. but i do. and i'm not gonna lie- i've watched the season finale at least a half a dozen times. spoiler alert: i think my favorite part was when Finn tells Rachel that he loves her. it made me remember how i felt the first time a boy told me he loved me. and how i felt the first time i said it back. and mostly, it made me remember the first time M said he loved me. it gave me chills to watch, and it gives me chills to think about how wonderful love is (oh, and i also loved seeing Sue Sylvester cry. seriously!?).

 i love kiddie pools. like, so much. it's so weird how you go growing up living in them...and then they sort of disappear for a while...but now, i have a feeling they're going to be back for a long, long time. Ellie can't wait for the water to fill up in the pool...and she squeals, requesting me to put her sunscreen on so she can just play already. Ellie loves splashing. she loves pouring water back and forth in cups and water pitchers.

she loves having her little friends over to play with her in the pools.

i love the excuse to sit outside, enjoy the sunshine, and ignore the messes inside. kiddie pools are the best.

 & i think Ellie would have to agree.

i love painting my fingernails + toenails. i used to hate it! seriously. i was sort of anti-girly stuff in high school...and even through college. why? i don't know. i think in high school, the majority of my close friends were guys- and i liked being one of the guys. don't get me wrong, i had great girl-friends. but i always wanted to gag at the excessive pink and flowers and lace. but now, i love being feminine. i think partially it's because Ellie loves it so much. we have so much fun sitting down together doing our nails. she even blows her fingernails now so that they'll dry. and even though i'm feeling swollen (already), larger than i'd like, and just not-cute most of the time, having my fingers and toes done all cute makes me feel just a little better about myself :)

i love my new maternity jeans. did i seriously just say that?
yes, m' friends, i did. Gap was having a rocking sale while me & the Mr celebrated our anniversary in the city, and i found these cropped jeans (which go to my ankle, but whatever) that are diiiivvviine. and they were hecka cheap too. thank you, Gap Maternity. i love you. and wish i could buy more online, because i wear mine every day now, but they are sold out. sniffle.

i love having fresh flowers in the house. i think my favorite flowers right now are hydrangeas and peonies. i can't wait to get some beautiful hydrangeas in my own yard.

i think more than just about anything, i love to sit down with a bowl of ice cream before bed. it reminds me of growing up-- how we used to have at least 3 cartons of different flavors of ice cream in our freezer on any given day. and how my dad and my brother would always (and i mean ALWAYS) end each day with a bowl of ice cream. unfortunately, anyone who knows me knows that this experience is somewhat difficult, since i'm lactose intolerant. but sometimes, the whole experience is worth the hour or two of misery.

yes, i'd like some of that please. no, don't get me the store-brand stuff. if i'm going down, i'm going down on the good stuff.

i love bobby pins. but only the ones i can buy at Sally's Beauty supply. because the ones they sell everywhere else don't work worth beans. (beans aren't worth much, right?). anyway, i use bobby pins pretty much every day. especially when my bangs are being annoying, which seems like every five minutes. and when i go somewhere, and realize i've forgotten my bobby-pins, i will either turn around to go grab a few, or freak out in the car and complain to M until he turns around the car for me so i can go grab a few. i'm a bobby-pin-aholic. and i love them.

i love that i am almost 6 months pregnant. and even though the thought of the "newborn infant" stage scares the bajeezes out of me, and i haven't properly nested yet, and i don't have baby things out or ready yet, and i don't want the baby here tomorrow or anything, i'm so glad that pregnancy is more than half over. i feel huge and i look huge. my body is an alien to me. and i'm moody. i've said it before, and i'll say it again: being pregnant is NOT my favorite. but, being a mom IS my favorite. so i guess i'll do what i have to do :)

i love how Ellie sings now. she sings ALL THE TIME. it's so stinkin' cute. i even recorded her singing I am a child of God on my phone- i just tried sending it to myself- but it's not working. i promise to upload it when i can. because it's adorable. she also quotes along to random parts of Toy Story 2, her recent favorite movie. she even imitates the voice inflections. it's so funny! i love how playful and sweet Ellie is. (and i remind myself how much i love those things about her when she's kicking my poor pregnant tummy while i'm changing her diaper or when she randomly freaks out and starts hitting me for no apparent reason). she is 2, but she is such a cute 2 year old.

i love just sitting here and imagining what baby girl 2 will look like someday. i hope she's cute. Ellie's pretty stinkin' cute-- and i think baby girl 2 deserves to be cute too. don't worry, i'll love her no matter what. because i'm her mom. and i'm nice like that :)

i think my favorite girl name right now is Roxy. Roxy Lynne Chapman, to be exact. you see, Ellie has a baby she calls Roxy. and so she always calls baby sister in mama's tummy "baby Roxy in mama's tummy." i think it's so cute. M isn't the hugest fan. he says that I named her baby Roxy to begin with, not Ellie. so, who cares? but, he says it's growing on him. still, in my heart, i think that's her name. i can just kind of picture it. and it makes me love Baby Girl 2 even more to be able to call her by her name when i talk to her. cute little baby Roxy.

please don't name steal on me.
and please don't be a hater and tell me you hate the name.
because both scenarios are equally mean.
and i might be mean back.
i'm pregnant, remember?

and i think i'll leave you at that.
some of my favorite things.
oh yes, let me add one more:
i love summer.
and i love that my 2nd favorite month is upon is.
because i love july.
and i love that in july (aka 3 short days) i'll get to spend some wonderful time with my family on the sandy beach and in the sweet southern california sun.

hug hug hug to you all.
because you're my favorites too.

xoxox

berries in brentwood.

today we went berry picking in Brentwood.
when i think of berry picking, i can't help but think of the Sound of Music-
you know, the part where the Captain is trying to figure out where his michevious lil stinkers have been...
and one of the kids tries to convince him they've been berry picking...except they tell him they were picking blueberries.....when it's too early to pick blueberries....so they try to cover up their lie by saying they were really strraaaahhhhwwberries...(you know, the cool British accent i'm talking about here)...it's just been so cold lately, that they turned blue.

giggle.

whilst picking strawberries, i tried to imagine the straaaahhhwwwberries being blue.
made me laugh.
anyway, Sound of Music must've been in my subconscious today because i even dressed Ellie just like little Gretl in the movie..you know, where she wears the little overalls and pig-tails.

yes, Ellie looked quite like Gretl today.
pretty cute.
and might i add, picking your own strawberries is the way to go, my friends.

tons and tons of delicious strawberries.
somehow way more delicious than Costco strawberries (which is saying a lot), let alone grocery store ones.
and it's a way fun activity to keep yourself busy.

and it's waaay cheaper.
seriously cheaper.
the only downside is this:
when you bring a 2 year old, all they want to do is plop themselves in the middle of the field, and devour every single one. so what if you haven't paid for them? they're there. and they want to be eaten. RIGHT THEN.
and there's only so much refuting and refusing you can do.

plus, isn't that the best part?
devouring your spoils?

i'd say the mess + dirt-covered face suggests we may have over-done it a bit.

and then you see this picture, and notice the creepy strawberry-blood on Ellie's neck, and realize we reeeeally overdid it.
they were just that delicious.

after the berry picking, we just had to head over to some nearby peach/nectarine groves and snatch up some of those goods, too.

Ellie insisted on holding the bucket at first.
that was, of course, until she realized it was very heavy and awkward to carry.

and she was very confused why we couldn't just put the ones on the ground in our bucket.
wasn't that easier?
well, yes, Ellie, it would have been easier.
and much more bug-filled, and seasoned with some nice dirt.
no thank-you.

but she was a good helper, and picked quite a few winners for us.

and even enjoyed doing it, too.

she loved running into her friend, Cale there.

just look how she adoringly looks at him.
is it just me, or does she have a "thing" for him?
seriously.
it's cute.
so, they checked out each other's buckets.

and did some fruit swappin.

until Ellie got distracted by the dirt.
and then she was lost forever.

why are kids so intrigued with dirt?
i don't get it.

one of my favorite parts was just finding her hiding behind random trees.
lots of times, she'd just be standing there.
and i'd wonder, what is going on in that little brain?

and then i'd see her giggle.
and i'd think,
she just thinks she's being sneaky.
i remember when i used to like being sneaky, too.
and the fact that i have a stash of cookies hidden in my pantry proves that i still like being sneaky too.

and then we of course had to partake of our new delicious spoils.

and they were just as sweet and juicy and delicious as they look.
and now my fingers,
they smell like peachy, nectariney, berry goodness.
and i've even washed 'em.
i hope they stay like this for a long time.

and now......... i'm beat.
so tired that i haven't moved from this couch for the last hour.
and i wonder when i will move again.

happy, happy happy summer memories.

{p.s. a big thank you Amy W., for putting all these fun summer activities together! you're the best :) }

xoxo

summer stuff and other things.

M's been out of town.
have i told you that?
well, he has.
for the last four weeks.
i don't like telling that to the world.
because i'm paranoid like that.
and i don't want some boogie man coming to get me.
because i'm 24 and still scared of the boogie man.
but now he's home.
(M, not the boogie man. just to clarify).
so i can write now that he was gone.
when he's gone, i try to keep real busy.
because otherwise we go crazy.
well, otherwise, I go crazy (yes, that's a capital I for once...for emphasis reasons).
because, Ellie, she's on a melt-down kick.
she's a melt-down-aholic these days.
even if we're doing something mega fun, like playing outside in the kiddie pools like this:

5 mins later, she'll be screaming and crying for some random, obscure, insignificant reason, one which i'm positive not even she really understands.

anyway, like i said, to keep myself sane amongst the random-freakouts, we keep busy.
but unfortunately, i'm running out of busy-ideas.
help, please?
what are your fave summer-keep-busy-ideas?
here are some of ours:

we play in the kiddie pools lots (as pictured and mentioned above).

we go to our local farmer's market (where i bought those lovely sunflowers below).
and we get lots of deliciousnesses- like berries and peaches and fresh lettuce and cherries.
and of course, we eat lots of unwashed strawberries.
i know, how could i?
but remember how i said that we have random freakouts? well, if Ellie sees a strawberry, she wants a strawberry. and then what's a mom to do?
they also have live music and booths with treats and other fun things like balloon animals.
Ellie even got her first balloon animal there.
she was pretty cute with it.

one of our new favorite things to do is go to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
it's awesome.
it has a Shamu-Shouka whale.
and dolphins.
and tons of kiddie areas. including a huge playground. and cute lil rides like trains and cars and planes and stuff.
and water fountain thingies to jump and play in.
and it even has a mini zoo with giraffes and tigers and lions.
and the best part, a season pass was fifty bucks. you heard me FIFTY BUCKS.
and it's only like 30 mins from my house.
we've been twice in the last week and a half.
it's fun.

and tomorrow we're going berry picking.
i can't wait for that.
sounds like so much fun.
because it's like i said, we have to keep busy.
otherwise i go crazy.
i think i said that already.
i think i'm going crazy anyway.
more meaningful thoughts to come eventually.

xoxo

flowers make me happy.

bought these lovelies at our local farmers market today for three bucks.

definitely worth it-
cuz every time i walk by them i've just gotta smile.
and that's just good for everybody.

xoxo

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

a peek into our SF getaway

how i love this handsome dude.
we had a wonderful time this weekend-
just catching up.
like, before our little getaway, i kinda was forgetting that we weren't just friends with benefits or something. not because i dont' think he's adorable. but because we rarely see each other with how much he's been traveling and working and how tired and lame i've been in my recently-abducted pregnant body.

time away, to just laugh, talk about things other than Ellie (i had forgotten that other things exist. though, conversation almost always came back to her...we adore that little squirt), miss Ellie desperately, do things we can't do with a toddler, eat yummy food, laugh some more, and just remember clearly why we chose each other those 5 years ago definitely does a marriage good. i recommend it.

here's a little peek into our adventures:
we started at the Botannical Gardens in the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

we were both a little giddy at this point that we actually got away.
that work wasn't interfering.
that Ellie wasn't needing a nap or a diaper change or some obscure stuffed animal that she saw on an even more obscure kiosk somewhere 100 feet away.
i think we felt a little mischievous.
like we were getting away with something.
we laughed a lot.

like at these plants that we called "Marge Heads" because they resemble Marge Simpson's hairdo. don't you agree? and then they'd sway side to side, almost to resemble her laughing. it was weird. but it made us laugh too.
we also found some beautiful, serene spots.

and of course, lots of lovely little benches to just sit on and talk about life.

then we left, and checked into our hotel, The Westin St. Francis, in Union Square.
(side note: though M traveling has been a drag, it does have its perks, as we stayed in this lovely place for free--simply using points M has accumulated on his work-travels. pretty stinkin' sa-weet, eh?)

Union Square is basically the shopping mecca of SF- surrounded tons of ridiculously expensive boutiques and department stores, people buying the ridiculously expensive merchandise, and taxis and random musicians playing music all the time. it was fun to be amongst all the hustle and bustle of the city.

then M took me to this super duper yummy Caribbean restaurant called "Cha Cha Cha's" down on Haight Street- you know- the famous "Haight + Ashbury"...where the whole "hippie" thing began. i love Haight Street. what a bizarre place. anyway, back to Cha Cha Cha's:

dang this place was amazing. but you know me and latin food. it's my fave. it's a part of me. in fact, when we first got married, i think i really only knew how to cook latin food. M may have been a little confused :). anyways, once again, back to my point: Cha Cha Cha's had several of my authentically caribbean faves- including platanos maduros (mmmm), congri (rice + black beans), & this jamaican jerk chicken that was to die for. i can't wait to go back again.

since we were in the shopping mecca, M took me shopping a little bit (i know, right? what a guy).
we even found me a pair of maternity jeans + shorts.
they were on sale.
they are so soft and comfy.
and i LOVE them.
now THAT in itself was a miracle. i'm embarrassed to admit that i think those are the very first maternity pants that i have purchased for myself. i just could neverbut i am so relieved at the same time. because the hand-me-downs i've been borrowing just don't fit my round curvy hips + short legs combo, and the last pair of "fat pants" ( you know, the ones i bought freshman year when i busted out of the seams of all the other ones) that i own are now painted on...& the button jabs into poor baby girl 2's head or bum or whatever is there at that moment. so new maternity pants = happy, happy marci.

we also bought some awesome sunglasses for our biking trip the next day.
i think we looked pretty stellar, don't you agree?

and then we returned to high-rise-Westin St. Francis Hotel to our 26th floor room, where we had this view:

and this yummy treat waiting for us from the Lobby Hostess, Marichu, whom we befriended upon checking in. having friends in high places pays off, my friends :)

so we ate crackers + fancy cheese + grapes + the most delicious peach there ever was while falling asleep to "When in Rome." falling asleep to movies is one of our favorite things...even if the hotel charges you $13 bucks for the movie. (seriously. the hotel industry rolls in the dough. it's reeeeeediculous).

 {image courtesy ofandthismakesaheartbeat.files.wordpress.com}

we woke up bright and early the next morning to the most beautiful sunrise:

{wish this was my image- but it's not- photo courtesy of sfbayimages.com}

we then walked to this fantastic little bakery called Andersen's:

where we ate the most delicious raspberry/cream cheese danish pastry i've ever had. and i'm not a pastry person. but this was soft, fluffly, and most importantly, incredibly delicious.

then we waited in a very, very long line to go on the trolley to Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf. believe it or not, i've never ridden on the trolley. and i'd always wanted to. like 100 times i've said, "M, we HAVE to ride the trolley someday." well, that someday came. and it did not disappoint.

 (though we did run to get on the front...while the trolley was moving...and the conductor/driver dude was very angry with us. he yelled at us in front of everyone for a good 5 minutes saying "you should NEVER run onto a moving trolley, especially with her condition." so, pregnancy is now a condition, huh? who knew?...anyway, we laughed about it. and got the best dang view EVER out of it, so we didn't care. yeah, we're rebels like that.)

once we got to Pier 39, we walked down to the bike rentals place. this is also something i've always wanted to do- ride along the Marina towards the Golden Gate Bridge. it was so windy. and had a few beastly hills. one hill, i'm afraid, got the best of me. you see, there i was, switchin' my gears down to make it real easy...but unfortunately it wasn't easy enough-- so i decided to take a little break. well, i put my right leg down, and began to whip my left one around the back to gracefully dismount from my lovely rental. well, dismount i did, but gracefully, i did not. i had forgotten that my purse was strapped on the back...my left leg got caught, and the pregnant lady (aka, ME) went tumbling down, and the bike came tumbling after. it was a very pathetic fall (especially since i was already stopped), and even more pathetic because it was right in the middle of the hill/bike path. M was very concerned when i continued to lay there on my back for a good 2 minutes....but he realized i was ok when i couldn't stop laughing. how embarrassing. but funny too. and memorable. and, the best part of the whole thing, i was able to use the experience as a good metaphor in my sacrament meeting talk yesterday- how everyone falls sometimes. but we have the choice to get ourselves back up again or not. there was more to it than that, but, i'm convinced that everything happens for a reason...even if it just an embarrassing bike fall...that you can happen to tie into an otherwise boring sacrament meeting talk :)

now for the pic's:

i adore that last picture of us. i don't know why. i just do.

after our bike ride, we ate chowder in bread bowls, browsed some Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf shops, and had an essential Butter Pecan Caramel Fudge Sundae from Ghirardelli Square.

we were pretty exhausted by this point...so we decided to take it easy + go see a movie. (since we haven't seen one together since Christmas! nuts). we saw Karate Kid. and i was surprised to hear the theme of my talk yet again quoted in this show "You taught me that when life gets you down, you have the choice whether or not to get back up." i loved Jaden Smith in this movie- though was slightly creeped out by how much he reminded me of Will Smith. seriously! it was wacky.

and though i was about to fall over from exhaustion after this movie (my bum was already pretty dang sore from our 2 hr bike ride earlier...or maybe it was from the fall? one can't be sure...), we had one last hoorah at the most delicious restuarant, Roy's.

i'm sure many of you have heard of it- basically it's this Hawaiian Fusion restaurant...an expensive one at that...but which serves thee most delicious cuisine. we had lobster potstickers, ahi tuna, macadamia-nut crusted Mahi Mahi, banana bread pudding + chocolate souffle (between the 2 of us, of course...and can i just say, thank goodness for giftcards??). it was all divine. decadent. delicious. and many other D words that i can't think of at the moment. 

{yes i look exhausted. because i WAS exhausted :)}

all in all, it was a fab weekend. so sad it's over. but then again, not so sad. because i missed Ellie...like a lot. and i also missed my cute/cozy house....because SF is awesome, but it's also very modern, fast-paced, adventurous, spacious and yet crowded at the same time, and just ca-razzzy. and it made me realize, while it rejuvenated me + the Mr., i love our slower-paced little life here and appreciate the fulness it brings to my life. 

thank you M for a fabulous time.

i love you, and

miss you already.

bring on the next 5 years, baby!

xoxo