the crazy month of june.

june was a crazy time.

we had so much going on, and the rest of the month is going to fly even faster.

here's a little recap of the whirlwind that it was.

1. chad took up the ukulele in the beginning of the month,

2. we had a sangria party to kick off the summer,

3. and i attended a beautiful malibu wedding.

4. we got a puppy! and he bonded with neighbors,

5. and is the cutest thing i've ever seen,

6. and everyone loves and fawns over him (he's totally spoiled.)

7. some of my littles graduated

8. and i played mommy at their prom (kids these days wear the best shoes to dances,)

7. and little brother jared returned home from ethiopia and was bearing gifts.

tomorrow morning i'm off on houseboats. i'll return on friday, hopefully sun kissed and full of love and good stories.

summer busy summer.

right now i'm savoring sitting on my couch and sipping on coffee in the still, quiet, june-gloomy morning. life is about to get real crazy, summer is my busy time, and i just want to hold on to this moment of serenity. starting next week it's back to back graduations to attend, women's retreat, houseboats, weddings, bbqs and beach days and other various events with my students, camping, AFRICA, south carolina, and about a million things in between. my iCal is starting to look like a box of crayons (one of those big boxes with the obscure colors.)

but in the midst of it all i want to remember to enjoy my life, so i'm starting a list:

• finally get patio furniture and turn our backyard space into something magical.
• detox and keep my fridge stocked with fresh fruit.
• master making the perfect sangria.
• write letters and send packages to far away friends.
• take puppy to the beach often.
• try new recipes and get better at this cooking thing.
• finally visit this little lady and see her new place.
• read east of eden for the third time (as well as the 200 other books on my list.)
• save my monies and finally get that bike.
• make time to do nothing.

and it goes on and on and on.

a picture of magical patios past.

rock star puppy.

yesterday i chased puppy around for a good 20 mins trying to get the perfect polaroid of him. no luck and lots of wasted film. he doesn't like to sit still. (right now i'm watching him run around in circles in the corner for no apparent reason. he's such a little weirdie.)

we're still searching for the perfect name for him as well. we really did like the name mr. feeny (and the man, of course. who didn't love feeny?) but the more we get to know our little guy, the more "mr. feeny" just doesn't seem to fit him. at all. so... here we are with a puppy called puppy. (or pups mcgumps as i like to refer to him.)

so with that in mind, here's some of the names we've thrown around:

cash, inspired by johnny cash (and as i lay dying.)

bennie, inspired by bennie and the jets.

we've also talked about bowie and hendrix...

(and please, enjoy all of the incredible music to start your wednesday..)

if it's this hard to name a puppy, i can't even imagine naming my child!

any suggestions or votes?

our new little family member.

let me just start by saying i'm not a dog person. i'm really not an animal person of any kind. i've always secretly (and sometimes not-so-secretly) mocked those people who are obsessed with their pets. you know, the ones who make photos of their dogs their facebook profile pictures and put their animals in human-like clothing... i've never understood it.

(does this make me heartless? maybe.)

but husband has recently talked me into getting a puppy, something i've always put my foot down about with a firm "no". how he sweet talked me into getting one now i'll never know, but let me tell you this... in 3 short days i've become that person i've never wanted to be! i've become a dog person! (or at least, a "my dog" person... let's not get too crazy here.) i really love our new little guy, so much so i'm about one step away from dressing him up in a matching outfit and making an entire photo album of him.

dog lovers, i'm sorry i ever judged you. i'm one of you now.

so, without further ado, let me introduce you to our newest little family member, our tiny maltipoo, mr. feeny (a la "boy meets world.)

chad grew up with/wanted a big dog, i didn't want a dog at all, so he represents the perfect compromise. and he could keep us entertained all day! he's he the cutest!?

little thanks.

dear airlines,

i hate you for delaying her, but thank you for bringing my sister home to me today.

dear "community",

thank you for having the most hilarious and creative season finale. i died laughing.

dear southern california,

thank you for deciding this past week that it was time for summer. now what's with the rain and clouds today?

dear new lamp,

thank you for being so pretty. i love you.

dear netflix,

thank you for having the best documentaries on instant view. i've been learning quite a bit from you, all from the comfort of my living room.

dear coffee,

just, thanks. you know what for.

dear unknown future,

thank you for getting me excited about you again.

dear week of may 16th-22nd,

thank you in advance for being a good one. however you are far too jam-packed, but bring it.

1. my lifeline.

2. the prettiest thing i now own.

3. summa summa summa time.

lately..

so many late nights. i feel like i'm in college again.

this weekend was too good. full of food and drink and so many good conversations. like, the kind of conversations that leave you a richer person. i've had them in abundance over the past four days.

- cinco de mayo with margaritas and flamenco.

- sitting around in the sunny backyard all day with my two favorite boys.

- little brother's 21st birthday bbq and the various festivities that go along with becoming of age, like dive bars and jute boxes and pool.

- paul is dead conspiracies.

- recovery day with the mister on the couch. making pizza and watching 2 entire discs of friends.

- "rolling in the deep" on repeat in my head.

- slumber party with tobin.

- celebrating my wonderful mama.

it was one of the more refreshing weekends i've had in awhile, and because i'm feeling refreshed, i'm going to go ahead and leave you with a little nugget that will hopefully leave you feeling refreshed as well. this song/gillian welch get me every time. enjoy.

happy tuesday everyone.

twenty-somethings.

some friends and i often talk about what a weird/ambiguous stage in life being a "twenty-something" really is. that, and the fact that no one seriously prepares you for it.

it's about to be the three year anniversary of when we graduated college. three years! and in these three years i've floated back and forth between feelings of complete aimlessness and loss of passion, to feeling on top of the world and excited for what is to come.

i graduated very much an idealist and have slowly felt myself becoming more of a realist (whether that's a good thing or not i'm still deciding.) i also graduated determined to not stay in orange county (or any place, for that matter) for more than a year and yet three years later, here i am. i never thought i'd get married at 24 and here i am. i thought of my job as a temporary situation when i took it, and i'm still there.

however, i'm okay with it all. i've come to terms with the fact that maybe this is where i am supposed to be right now. that "changing the world" and all of the things that i was determined to do three years ago might look a lot like loving on some orange county high school students for some more time than i planned. and, that the community we've built here isn't something that i want to take lightly.

what's next is still so undetermined and yes, that scares me. a lot. however what i do know is that i'm not okay with being stagnant. i want to keep learning, keep pushing, and keep questioning my purpose in the world. i also know that this stage might last quite awhile longer, and that i need to learn how to embrace it and love it in all of it's ambiguity and uncertainty.

i'm curious if anyone else feels this way? how do you or have you dealt with your twenties?

‎

"Have patience with everything unresolved and try to love the questions themselves."

- Rilke