fly away

San Francisco

2012-02-10T06:44:00.001-08:00

Dusty and I went to Northern California on our honeymoon in 2010 and Dusty fell in love with San Francisco. I wasn't too sure because we were sucked into Fisherman's Warf and never got out to explore the rest of the city.

So we planned to go back and explore. And explore we did!

We went to the Full House house

rode the cable car a dozen times

went to Oakland to help a friend move a couch (yep)

went to the Mission District

Cole Valley

stayed in Inner Sunset

explored Golden Gate Park

looked at records in Ameba Records

rode bikes along the coast

spent days exploring with cousins

caught up with friends

What a city!

You can see more of Dusty's pictures here.

You are what you eat

2012-02-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

Or...you are what you practice.

‘If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.’ ~Dalai Lama

What are you practicing today? Yesterday? Tomorrow?
We have an opportunity to improve everyday so we might as well take advantage of it.

Again from the blog Zenhabits.com I've pulled some of the practices I need to work on:

Do I want to practice leaving clothes strewn about, or papers lying on the counter, or can I take a few seconds to put them where they belong?
Do I want to practice complaining and self-pity, or can I practice gratitude?
Do I want to practice surfing time-wasting sites, or can I practice clearing away distractions and creating?

Day 8: Sun(set)

2012-02-08T12:31:00.001-08:00

This sun was seen from Grand View Park outside our apartment and directly uphill in San Francisco while we were visiting.

#FebPhotoADay

Fun Facts

2012-02-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

I kill the spiders in our house.
Sometimes (5 out of 7) day a week I will hide from Gus and then jump out and scare him and run around.
I don't like it when Dusty sweeps the floor.
I also don't like it when people call vacuuming sweeping.
If I lay down on the couch anytime after 8 I will fall asleep with in 30 minutes.
Sometimes I like to imagine my life is a musical so I sing everything I am saying.
I like cooking and baking but I don't like the "wife-duty" stereotype that goes along with it.
I believe in equality but I also believe it taking care of each other.
There is an exception to every rule.
The more passionate I get, the louder I get. Accept it or don't invite me along.
Sometimes I am intimidated in professional settings even though I know I am a contender.
I finally hacked into our Netflix account and I'm totally going to be watching some awful RomComs.
I accidentally bought 5 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.
I own 2 cat pictures and 2 cat figurines and 1 cat.
I've been married for 17 months and we've been together for 7 years on Valentine's Day.

Day 7: Buttons

2012-02-07T16:27:00.001-08:00

Buttons are a funny subject. I've multiple fall off clothes because they get caught in our dryer. I've also lost these (below) off of my cheap but cute Forever 21 coat. Mom!!! Will you see these back for me?!?

#FebPhotoADay

Day 6: Dinner

2012-02-06T16:23:00.001-08:00

Lasagna with meat and spinach! Also, a little short on cheese.

I premade this meal yesterday so when Dusty arrived home from work he could stick it in the oven and it would be ready when I got home. ...and no I don't usually plan that well with meals.

#FebPhotoADay

Monday Check-in

2012-02-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

Working on: Finding a project or new hobby. Thinking of taking improv classes...eh?!

Reading: I'm going to use Super Bowl as my excuse. However, in the queue we have the Imperfectionists and The Night Circus

Watching: Madonna rock it at the half time show! LMFAO can go play in traffic, but Madonna was amazing. I was really mad when she was chosen and everyone was all like "Wahhh, we wish Nickleback would have been chosen" No dude. No. Madonna is a performer and she did just that.

Loving: That I found an apple in my desk today. BONUS!

Drinking: Had some SunKing last evening and Samuel Adams this weekend (Super Bowl treats!)

Eating: I made Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites for the Super Bowl Party last night. They were gone in like 15 minutes. Really tasty and really fun to make. You boil them in water and baking soda and them bake them. I suggest spicy mustard or make your own cheese sauce.

Excited: Lame alert: to be back on a semi-normal schedule. We were downtown almost every night during Super Bowl week so it'll be nice to not eat dinner at 10:00pm every night. AND to be able to wake up and go to the G-Y-M.

Obsessed with: Lavender Vanilla oil from Yankee Candle it's a delicious and refreshing scent. Perfect for the transition from winter to spring.

Day 5: 10am

2012-02-06T10:30:00.001-08:00

This was 10:00am in San Francisco. Our last full day it town. This is getting coffee in Cole Valley. This is also me being behind in this photo-a-day thing so you get an old photo. The rest will be current.

#FebPhotoADay

Day 4: A Stranger

2012-02-06T10:24:00.001-08:00

The Super Bowl provided me with so many prime people watching opportunities.

Apparently our friends know this man because he's a bartender at Chatham Tap (say hello next time you go). I just really appreciated his hair and the product/effort he put into it.

#FebPhotoADay

Day 3: Hands

2012-02-06T10:22:00.001-08:00

These hands are working hard.

Dusty never stops working, never stops learning, and always makes me want to try harder.

#FebPhotoADay

People who wear leggings to work

2012-02-03T08:31:00.000-08:00

Day 2: Words

2012-02-03T01:49:00.000-08:00

These words are right near our front door. On the way out into the day, it's a nice reminder.

#FebPhotoADay

Day 1: My View

2012-02-02T12:16:00.001-08:00

This is what I'm looking at every day of the week, except when I change my desktop background. Welcome to my world.

#FebPhotoADay

I'm in!

2012-02-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

I'm a day late but let's do this. Looking forward to it! Thanks for the invite/idea Mel!

Monday (Tuesday) Check-in

2012-01-31T09:40:00.000-08:00

Working on: It was review week at work so I'm working on my 2012 SMART goals.

Reading: Still the Marriage Plot. I need to work on setting aside time to read.

Watching: Well Dusty's been hogging the Netflix account lately so I've been, I don't know, what have I been doing?

Loving: That my back doesn't hurt anymore!! I had this awful back pain for too long and then I got a massage on Saturday and 2 days later it was gone. The massage hurt pretty bad when she was in that spot but whatever those magical hands did, it worked!

Drinking: h2-izz-o, orange spice tea, lemon ginger tea

Eating: For lunches this week I made Balsamic Chicken, Spinach, and Tomato Salad and it's delicious. I made two bags of the tortellini hoping it will last us through the week. It's probably intended to be a summer salad but it's nice as a winter lunch too!

Excited: About Indy rocking the Super Bowl this year! Have you been out and about? We're going to the Robert Randolph show on Friday in Broad Ripple! Hopefully this 50 degrees nonsense sticks around!

Stressed about: Not really stressed about it but this weirdly-warm-weather-worries me. I've heard from my more "mature" (older) friends that this happens every 5-6 years we get a weird winter that's really mild.

Feeling: Relaxed. Also, like I have I book I'm in the middle of and two waiting for me at home, so a little anxious to get through these! :)

Obsessed with: Pinterest for recipes, Shelfari and other bloggers for book suggestions, and DIY! I cleaned off years (I think?) of soap scum off of our shower doors on Saturday using this awesome DIY recipe

12 Things I'm Working on in 2012

2012-01-27T04:30:00.000-08:00

A few things I am working on improving:

1. Not using the word hate.

2. Make action. Less idle time.

3. Read way more. (I really sucked at reading in 2011.)

4. Leave my desk for lunch 2-3 days a week. I don't have to eat out I just can't eat alone staring at my monitor all day.

5. Take smaller bites and chew longer.

6. Listen to more music.

7. Push myself more.

8. Sit up straight.

9. Treat booze in the same regard as dessert, a rare treat.

10. Maintain mutually benefiting relationships.

11. Rely on my phone less and be on my phone less.

12. Be careful with my time in social media.

Hopefully these little things will be easy and beneficial wins for me! Lets evaluate next January!

ANOTHER Personality Test

2012-01-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

Saw this on Mel's blog and was intrigued. I would say this fits me perfectly this week. I don't know if you can read it. I tried some photoshopping for size and it didn't seem to work.

Find out more about yourself.

2012-01-25T10:40:00.000-08:00

(via: Scenes-from-my-hood)

Some days....

2012-01-24T11:45:00.003-08:00

Monday Check-in

2012-01-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

Working on: A list of improvements (resolutions) for 2012

Reading: Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides soon picking up Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

Watching: Parenthood, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the Thursday night line up

Loving: Watching Dusty edit photos from our trip to San Fran. Oh yes, I didn't say much about that bc I'm one of those freaks who hates making it public when I'm out of town. I don't want that information to fall into the wrong hands.

Drinking: Water and white chai tea

Eating: A few recipes I found on Pinterest. More on that later.

Excited: About all the exciting things coming up for my friends and family. Everyone seems to be rocking it!!

Stressed about: breaking my habit of always wanting something sweet after eating (small problems, I know.)

Feeling : Tired, we went to the gym today for the first time in 13ish days. Not a really long break but sleeping up on vacay and this weekend ruined me.

Obsessed with: Maintaining relationships. I feel like that is something I didn't do well in 2011. ...adding that to my list.

Social relationships are just as important to health as other common risk factors like smoking, lack of exercise or obesity, new research shows. - NYT, A New Risk Factor: Your Social Life

Brain where are you?

2012-01-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

Today I had big plans to get a few things accomplished.

1. Return library book.

2. Pick up picture frames at Target.

3. Light grocery shopping at Marsh.

4. Laundry

5. Banana bread

6. Blog

It started out like most days, wake up, tea, breakfast, get ready, and GO.

Or so I thought... Dusty could not get it together, I was too focused on him getting ready so I forgot everything.

We walked out the door without grocery bags, the laundry (we have w/d in the cellar), my library book, and a grocery list. Smooooooth. Dusty went back in for the grocery bags and laundry, I grabbed the laundry and headed downstairs to start it, Dusty started the car.

Forgot the stinking library book and grocery list. But we still needed to go to Target.

While I was waiting on Dusty to get ready I framed my picture with a frame I found in the closet but I thought we still needed to get a frame for Dusty's picture but he decided he didn't want to.

We got in the car, drove down the street and realized, I didn't have my library book, no grocery list, didn't need to go to Target anymore and basically had no reason to go out.

....at least I have banana bread in the oven and this has been a blog.

Monday Check-in

2012-01-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

For this Monday Check-in I will reference a Check-in from February 6, 2009.

I'll even include a link to the Photo-Montage!

Yes, that is Dusty and I doing the "Jump On It" dance at a party and that is also me and my friends participating in Open Mic Night at 900 Neely.

You're welcome. Happy Monday!

Good Morning! or Sometimes...Good Afternoon!

2012-01-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

Always

2012-01-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

Monday Check-in

2012-01-09T08:11:00.001-08:00

Working on: being purposeful, standing up for my self, and saying what I want.

Reading: Still, A Visit From the Goon Squad. My next book is ready for pick up at the library!

Watching: Less TV, more scrabble and walks.

Drinking: Chai White Tea! YUM!

Eating: New Indian recipes. Dusty has been a cooking machine lately with new Indian food. The last one was a little spicy but still delicious!

Excited: Vacation time is getting closer!

Obsessed with: Finding the perfect boots.

Don't Even

2012-01-06T14:43:00.001-08:00

Please, no one think that the last post has anything to do with the quality of my husband. He is in fact amazing and would go to the moon and bring back cheese if I really needed him to. We just aren't overly romantic people. Also remember, according to facebook I'm only serious 4% of the time.

And here's Gus....

Romance

2012-01-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

Does the definition of romance change when you get married?

Is it now romantic to do the dishes for one another? And no, that's not a sexual innuendo.

How about cleaning up? Is that romantic?

Taking out the trash? Ohhh-la-la

Starting my car in the morning? To me? That is slightly romantic but more of just the chivalry thing to do.

What do you do to prevent this?:

Side note: Our marriage is fine. I'm as happy as ever with Dusty. And I know it is important to keep romance alive, to still date one another, etc. I just wonder, do other people feel this way? Slump mode sometimes? Like you need a romantic kick in the butt?

Sharing

2012-01-04T02:07:00.000-08:00

Be leery of those who will listen to all of your troubles but will never admit their own.

Brothers

2012-01-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

No matter how many times they farted in my face, slammed my head in a pillow, held me in a head lock while the other farted in my face, stole the TV remote, chased me into my room and then picked my lock and tackled me, embarrassed me in front of my friends, told on me, didn't get in trouble when I told on them, didn't let me play with them and their friends, etc, you get it....

I love them. Both of them. And I am so impressed and inspired by the grown-ups they are becoming.

Cory is going to IU, he bleeds cream and crimson, he has this very important sounding major something like Business Economics and Public Policy, he's going to be awesome at what ever he chooses to do some day.

Brian is working for an awesome company in Fishers, he's devoted and dedicated to making it big someday and he will. He's got passion and can make it happen. I'm very proud to call him my big brother.

“Be in love with your life. Every detail of it.” -Jack Kerouac

Better Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-01-02T03:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not the best baker in town but I sure do enjoy trying. Something that everyone thinks they can make are chocolate chip cookies. Yeah, we were all making there when we were younger with our moms help and the recipe on the back of Nestle Toll House chocolate chip bag. But were they the best? At the time, probably yeah.

I recently read a post about how to make chocolate chip cookies better. There are some really great concepts here like: chill your dough, let your cookies sheets cool between batches, don't open and close the over, take them out a minute or two early.

When I made these yummy chocolate mint M&M cookies for Christmas this year I followed all of the above suggestions and was really impressed with how chewy, fluffly, and delicious they turned out.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T16:39:00.001-08:00

Don't be fooled, there is red wine in those coffee mugs.

Check in

2012-01-01T07:45:00.000-08:00

I'm doing the check in a day early because, it's the first day of the new year and I'd like to remember what I am doing today (because it's so exciting and lively, we're not just laying on the couch, nope.)

Working on: Going to the store to get pork and sour kraut because it's the only guarantee to a great new year!

Reading: Visit From the Goon Squad -Jennifer Egan

Watching: Some Red Box movies today. If you're going to the Marsh in Broad Ripple, please leave some of the good movies.

Loving: My husband. Oh my gosh he is the best. So funny. Have you talked to him lately? He paid $3.99 to buy Higher Love- Steve Winwood last night to play at the NYE party. the. best.

Drinking: Right now? Lemon Ginger tea. The guy on CBS Sunday morning said it will help my gastrointestinal something or another and speed up recovery of this hangover. Said hangover is minor however I did a hard work out NYE day and my body is aching.

Eating: Pork and sour kraut, the only guarantee to a great new year!

Excited: For 2012! Dusty and I are going on vacation in a few weeks, we have a full family cruise in June, and who knows what else!

Feeling: A little tired and sore but good, really good.

Obsessed with: Instagram, hipstagram, whatever you want to call it. I think it's a really cool way to share your life with others without putting some hidden meaning status up.

F-O-O-D Food Food!!

2011-12-31T04:38:00.000-08:00

This week I made Chicken Verde Stew with Hominy. Holy deliciousness. This is definitely something worth trying if you're a stew/Mexican food lover. I really had no idea what this was going to taste like when I started making it but you can't go too wrong with stew, in my opinion.

I followed the recipe pretty exactly. I would recommend that you have everything cut up first. The process I will use next time is to make the tomatillo and amarillo sauce first, cut up veggies, then begin sauteing things.

We've had it for dinner twice and there was still enough left over for both of us to bring for lunch. So it's a great week night meal or for having dinner guests over.

Enjoy!

Notable Muppets from around the world

2011-12-30T06:28:00.000-08:00

For Dusty's birthday we went to see Being Elmo: A Puppeteers Journey and since then I have been very interesting in learning more about the muppets from sesame street and the story behind them. I always assumed they were cute and entertaining. But now that I'm older and have a more analytic brain (sometimes) I understand that they all mean something and teach kids important social skills. They are cute and cuddly but they also stand for something.

Below you'll meet Samson. He's from the German Sesame Street. I chose him because his name is Samson, very close to my maiden name. Also, he's cute and inspirational. There's a link to the rest of the article at the bottom.

Samson is one of the main characters on Sesamstrasse, the German coproduction of Sesame Street. In appearance, he looks like a distant relative of Captain Caveman, and is the only holdover from the original Sesamstrasse lineup. His signature song goes “Ich bin Samson, und ich schaff’s!,” which may sound German and vaguely menacing to our untrained American ears, but actually means “I am Samson, and I can do anything!” Inspirational.

Read the full text here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/107202#ixzz1hvy2w7rO
--brought to you by mental_floss!

2011 Christmas Photo Re-cap

2011-12-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

Mint M&M cookies. Deelicious! (hint: if you keep your batter cold, your cookies will be thicker and basically better)

Present time!

Dusty's new Toms

Playing Bananagrams with 2 people? Quite difficult.

My brothers and Dusty all got remote controlled helicopters for Christmas.

Guster just hanging out.

Ice skating! Looks like my mom and Dusty are in the penalty box.

Boys. Hanging out.

Little brother and Dad doing a triple double axel.

Since when is using a gift bag and tissue paper not proper gift wrapping?

2011-12-28T12:30:00.001-08:00

A whirlwind weekend

2011-12-28T07:27:00.001-08:00

Wooosh! The holiday weekend is over. It's a bitter sweet feeling.

Let's recap:

Friday I left work around 4 (woot woot!). Made a pit stop at Trader Joes for a few last minute items (wine, cheese and flowers). Dusty and I made dinner, took a walk around town, stopped at the dog bakery, finished wrapping gifts and then unwrapped gifts! For the two of us, we put a limit on the amount we spend. Turns out this year we both received 3 gifts! For me: a watch, Paul Simon record, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros record. For him: Toms Shoes, Dave Matthews Band wine, and a winestein.
Saturday morning we woke up and hit the pavement, driving 2 hours to join in the Decatur Christmas festivities. First up, Grandma Frey's for pizza and games. Next stop, Amber's to deliver gifts for Lucy (her new dog). And lastly, dinner with the other set of grandparents.
Sunday morning we opened gifts with Dusty's family, baked homemade cinnamon rolls and played a quick game of DELUXE SCRABBLE!! ...a Christmas gift, the board is on rollers, it's awesome!
After that we made the 2 hour drive south to my parents house where we were greeted with more food (sorry, I've neglected to mention all the FOOD that is involved in this) and Xbox Kinnect. Have you played this before? I don't know what game we play but I was sweating after one round. This was followed by more food, gifts, dinner, drinks, games, games, games (we play Sequence, Catch Phrase, Banagrams, and now, Kinnect). And then everyone fell asleep watch Christmas Vacation.
Monday morning we had breakfast and loaded up the car with gifts and Gus and headed back to the homestead, but not for long. We had one last family party, ICE SKATING! And then we crashed on our couch, and talked about how amazing our families are and how lucky we are.

And now back to the regularly scheduled programming. I had to go to the grocery store yeseterday (bleh) and had to come to work today... But I have wonderful memories to look back on from a great Christmas weekend with family!

Merry Christmas from Sarah, Dusty & Guster

2011-12-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

Doing everything in my power to NOT give a gift card this year

2011-12-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

Something to remember for the holiday season

2011-12-22T07:58:00.000-08:00

“I think that is why we stay close to our families, no matter how neurotic the members, how deeply annoying or dull- because when people have seen you at your worst, you don’t have to put on the mask as much.”

― Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies

Monday Check-in

2011-12-19T18:35:00.000-08:00

Working on: End of the year stats and next year planning. Evaluation of 2011 goals, objectives, etc.

Reading: Finishing up Brave New World so I can move onto A Visit From the Goon Squad.

Watching: Home Alone 1 & 2 on repeat in this house!

Loving: that I was able to spend this past weekend with my family.

Drinking: Just bought some new red wine for our husband/wife Christmas dinner on Friday.

Eating: homemade pizza! Dusty had it waiting for me when I came home yesterday. What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man.

Stressed about: trying not to let it get the best of me during the holiday season.

Excited: My parents are going to keep Gus for the weekend so when we get there on Christmas he'll be there too! No animal should have to be alone on Christmas.

Feeling: blessed, lucky, joyful.

Obsessed with: This huge comfy, warm robe I left at my parents house and finally brought it home with me!

BIG Family Christmas this weekend!

2011-12-15T12:19:00.001-08:00

I'm ashamed...

2011-12-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

I did something very bad today and I don't know why but I got let off the hook.

I was driving south on College to a meeting downtown this morning. I had my iphone in the cup holder, and I decided to check twitter. WHY?! I don't know. I promised myself I would only check my mentions. (that's an easy way to justify breaking the law)

I look up and HOLY SHIT TRAFFIC STOPPED!!!!!!!!!!!!

BRAKES!!!!!

SCREECHING TIRES

TURN THE STEERING WHEEL

BRAKES

...crunch

Yep.

I motioned for the lady to pull over in the parking lane because south on College is one lane. We got out of our cars. I immediately said how sorry I was begging for forgiveness, shoving my insurance paper at her saying I'll pay for any damage. I'm crouched on the ground looking at her bumper thinking Dusty is going to kill me. WHY OH WHY did I look at twitter!?

I stand up and say I'm sorry again and she says...

"It's fine. I'm actually running late. You didn't do any damage. Don't worry about it. Merry Christmas."

I went over and hugged her. And then pulled on her bumper one more time to make sure it was OK and that everything seemed secure. Wanted to hug her again but she was running late...

I didn't hit her hard. I didn't do any visible damage. But I could have.

It could have been a lot worse than it was. A LOT.

I slowly got back in my car as she drove off.

I looked around wondering if any neighbors had come out side to see what the commotion was. A man had come outside. We made eye contact and he gave me a look that said "shiiiit, you got lucky."

Don't mind me

2011-12-14T09:26:00.000-08:00

Just trying to get through...

Shit Girls Say

2011-12-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

I can't lie. I've said so many of these things before. A little embarassed, highly amused.

Monday Check-in

2011-12-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

Working on: Getting our Christmas cards printed and in the mail!

Reading: Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Watching: We watched Hescher (

Loving: Having our apartment rearranged and decorated for the Christmas season.

Drinking: Water, coffee, water, repeat daily.

Eating: We went to Bazbeaux's on Saturday and I wasn't that impressed. Did something change there? I thought it used to be delicious?!

Stressed about: being an adult...get used to it buttercup

Excited: It's almost time for the most wonderful day of the year!

Feeling: really good, thanks for asking!

Obsessed with: find the next perfect hair cut!

Christmas Update!

2011-12-09T10:04:00.001-08:00

Our Tree has arrived!!

We rearranged the living room this year to accommodate the tree a little better. The living room is OK right now. It looked a bit more spacious before but now it's cozy and what better time of year for cozy than Christmas?

Guster is inspecting the new object in the house.

Any squirrels in there? Nope. Ok. Proceed.

Guster is instructing Dusty on what to do next.

"Well you see here, I would probably get that rope with my claws."

And up go the lights!

If you've been to the tree house this is a good shot to see a little of the rearrangings.

He's taking a break from bossing Dusty around.

This is where I step in.

I think this gold garland really accentuates the ornament colors we have.

Ta-Da!!

Quite the beauty if I do say so myself!

Christmas @ Our House

2011-12-07T16:46:00.000-08:00

This is our second year celebrating Christmas as a married couple, so we naturally are starting to make our Christmas (just the 2 of us) a tradition.

It all starts with the decorating the apartment. We'll be purchasing our tree tomorrow evening. Dusty will put on some Charlie Brown Christmas vinyl, She and Him Christmas, and I'll light the Christmas candle. We'll watch Home Alone on repeat, on mute of course because we have records to get through this year.

Then, we try really hard to hide the gifts from each other but it's hard when they are wrapped in a box with the name on it and he gets home from work first...I mean.....

And towards the end of the month (before our bigger family's Christmas) it's time for Dusty, Sarah & Guster Christmas. This is a very special Christmas for us! When we wake up it's present time, in our pajamas, in bed, warm and cozy.

After that it's back to the usual drill. Driving to d-town to spend time with the the in-laws and then down to the soufside to spend sometime with my family.

So far we've been dividing Christmas with our families by Christmas Eve one year and Christmas Day the next year. Pretty simple. It's works for us right now.

These are our traditions and I'm so excited to see what other traditions our family of 2 + kitten comes up with.

Me December - March

2011-12-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

Zen Habits

2011-12-02T10:16:00.001-08:00

Are you a Zen Habits reader? You should be. Or at least keep it in mind for "life lessons"

Today's is about self talk, The Secret Rule to Change Anything.

I've noticed more and more lately how easy it is to live in my head. It's funny to get out of my head and look at all the things I can convince myself of (along with a little webmd...). It's crazy how powerful the mind can be, eh?

When you are aware, you can change it.

Bossy

2011-12-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

Lately, Dusty and I have had a ~~hard~~ easy time with telling each other what to do, which is so easy to do. When you are the observer it's simple to see an outsiders perspective and know what to do and to think ahead. When you are the person doing the chore, cooking, cleaning, driving, etc you aren't always going to tell the observer your next move.n Am I making sense here?

Example: Dusty's driving and we come up a car on the side of the road that we have to go around on a one lane road. Instead of trusting that he knows what to do I say "Make sure you stay far enough back so you can see around and know when you can go."

Did I need to say that? Probably not. Was he going to do that before I said it? Probably.

More often than not, it's really easy to be super critical of people. It's easy to look and say "well you should have..."

As soon as someone tells me how I should have done something I shut down. Is that me being hyper sensitive? Maybe. Is there a better/more helpful way for people to approach the subject of constructive criticism? Yep.

I think we need to work more on helping each other rather than criticizing. It's always easy to point out the bad things. But I wonder what would happen if we started pointing out the good things?

Also, plain and simple, don't worry about what I'm doing, worry about what you're doing.

GPOYW

2011-11-30T10:23:00.001-08:00

Vintage.

Monday Check-in

2011-11-28T09:09:00.000-08:00

Obsessing over: Christmas lists and our Christmas family (do you want to help?)

Working on: learning adobe premiere so I can improve my basic video editing skills

Thinking about: all the work I need to do to make up for minor slackage last week.

Anticipating: the buffalo chicken tacos we're having for dinner tonight. Ooooh yeah!

Listening to: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - 40 Day Dream right now

Drinking: WATER from my giant nalogene

Wishing: it were a little warmer in here so I could take off my fleece.

Yummy Tomato Soup

2011-11-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

With the Thanksgiving Holiday coming up I didn't want to make a really serious meal before an EXTREMELY serious meal.

So we made this Quick and Spicy Tomato Soup. It was delicious and easy to make.

I used the curly pasta. What is it called?

I also added 2 tablespoons of hot sauce.

Perfect addition to the winter menu.

Real Reason

2011-11-26T05:27:00.000-08:00

There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good.

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Happy Thanksgiving Eve

2011-11-23T07:10:00.000-08:00

Grow a beard. Help raise money for the Salvation Army! Grow your beard here

GPOYW

Support

2011-11-22T12:42:00.001-08:00

I've sent 2 emails to bloggers that started: Long time reader, first time commenter.

Do they think I'm crazy, probably.

Is it time to start supporting each other? Absolutely.

My goal: Help others. Say nice things. Support people.

Monday Check-in

2011-11-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

I have seen this in the Tumblr world and was intrigued but didn't want to steal it. Then trendsetting Mel did it so I'm going to too.

Obsessing over: sweaters, cardigans, food, friends

Working on: still trying to work. get it?

Thinking about: going to this class at the gym tonight. it's at 7pm. Can I drag myself back out into the black abyss after I'm already home? We'll see.

Anticipating: A lot of driving this weekend.

Listening to: Paul Simon. Paul Simon. Paul Simon. Fleetwood Mac. Paul Simon.

Drinking: Water, Red wine, Tea

Wishing: That tomorrow I'll have more motivation, it always helps the days go faster.

What do you think?

2011-11-21T01:50:00.000-08:00

A Message to Women From a Man: You Are Not "Crazy"

Are we as crazy as we think we are? Or have people always just told us we are crazy and eventually we believed it? Read the article and share it. Thoughts?

Friendly Reminder

2011-11-20T06:13:00.000-08:00

Murmuration

2011-11-19T00:50:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this? Amazing!

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Christmas Wish list

2011-11-17T05:40:00.000-08:00

You know what you can do for me for Christmas?....

Help me with our Christmas Family.

Donate your time or money to help School on Wheels

Donate to the Salvation Army

Buy a pair of Tom's Shoes

Buy a whistle -- Falling Whistles

Comment with what you are going to do to help!

Don't you worry about me.

2011-11-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

Read the whole story here.

PLEASE!

2011-11-14T09:24:00.000-08:00

Can I PLEASE make one side dish/treat that doesn't suck!!?!?!?! This is the one billionth time that I've taken a made a wrong/wrong crowd/gross/not worth it side dish to a family gathering.

I took spinach and artichoke dip to D's family gathering on Sunday. I'm thinking, really, how can you mess this up? It's filled with spinach, artichoke, cream cheese, sour cream, cheese, cheese, cheese. Everyone will love it. I'd say 50% of people at the event didn't know what it was. But, I believe almost everyone tried it. So that's good right?

As soon as we got in the car to leave I said "Oh my gosh that dip was disgusting, why did you make your sister take so much of it?" D's resonse while laughing, "yeah..."

Of course everyone says, "Oh yes, it's delicious" but what they mean is, "Honey, you forgot the garlic and had too much artichoke."

Did I tell you I doubled the recipe? Yeah I did. Should have learned from previous mistakes, not to double recipes the first time you make them.

Lessons learned:

- Not everyone knows what spin dip is. Take something as equally "0exotic" next time, it's time to introduce new things. :)

- Don't double recipes until you try them.

- Don't take food you've never tried to a family event.

- Don't make said dip after having pizza and beers with family, you will forget something.

Time

2011-11-10T09:39:00.001-08:00

“Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.”

- John Lennon

Spa

2011-11-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

I have a $10 card from a referral to the Woodhouse Day Spa. I think it's time to....

What kind of a person are you?

2011-11-08T05:17:00.000-08:00

““I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.””

- Maya Angelou

Unconditional

2011-11-07T11:10:00.000-08:00

— un·con·di·tion·al : not conditional or limited : absolute, unqualified

That's the love I've found in my husband.

We celebrated our 1 year anniversary hiking 12 miles on a "deserted" island, ran out of water, making it within 50ft of the trail head to camp and turning around, walking about .5 miles back only to find out we were 50ft away. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

I've been trying to write this post for about 2 weeks. How do I tell you and him how special he is to me?

He inspires me to be a better person.

He doesn't get mad when I fall asleep at 9pm, all the time.

If I cook he does the dishes.

He is the best snuggler.

Our conversations constantly remind me why I married him.

His patience with me is incredible.

He calms all my fears by pulling me in for a hug.

He has taught me that I can't plan everything.

He has taught me to stretch myself and my skills.

He's helped me discover that I can in fact live with less, do more, and be more.

His clever sense of humor always keeps me on the edge of my seat. What's he going to say next?

His constant drive to learn more lights a fire in me to do the same.

The fun we can have any day/time of the week is infinite.

And I know there is only more and more to come.

I know that together we can do so much more than we can apart.

We'll always make the best of what's around.

Adorable

2011-11-05T04:47:00.000-07:00

Gift Cards???

2011-11-04T13:28:00.000-07:00

Gift cards are a sore subject for me.

Sometimes it's like "OH YEAH! Thank you so much Great Aunt Sue for getting me a gas card instead of an ugly sweater you thought I would like when I was 4 because that's the last time we saw each other. "

And other times it's like "Ohhh.... I get it. You didn't care enough to think or be creative so you got me a gift card you picked up at CVS."

Here's the thing. I put time, love and tenderness (Micheal Bolton reference for you) into gift giving. Gifts mean something to me.

And yeah, sometimes we all have those days when it's just like "Sorry, I was rushed, here's a Starbucks card."

But watch this, $15 starbucks card, coffee tumblr, and a bag of coffee beans in a cute gift bag. Bam. $30 gift and it appears you tried to be creative. Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Congratualtions, Get Well Soon, etc. you get it.

One more thing, people are so easy to stalk these days. Check their facebook, blog, twitter, pintrest, etsy, amazon, whatever and sneak attack them with something they've mentioned, picked out themselves, or whatever.

Taco Chicken Bowls

2011-11-03T05:55:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of Taco Chicken Bowls?

This is mine, stirred up ready to be devoured. Corn, black beans, salsa, chicken, some spices, crock pot, bed of rice -- top it with chedder cheese and sour cream...total NOMS! oh yeah, and I don't do cilantro. nope, not at all. sorry. You may say "But Sarah it has such a strong flavor, it's so delicious." and to you I say "nuh-uh"

this is what the original creator photographed. mine is just a poor lit iphone photo.

Gym Changes

2011-11-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

I know, you're all probably confused too...

Cardinal Fitness closed. (I think it's a ponzi scheme because Kilroy's wants that spot...)

...aka LA Fitness bought them and is soon going to triple our membership fee. But for now, we're going to LA Fitness for the same low low price as Cardinal.

Which means for another month or two we can enjoy a pool, sauna, racquet ball (we don't play but might start now), group fitness (2 thumbs up!!), spa, and the beautiful & clean equipment.

It also means I should probably get new, "official" clothes to work out in....People here wear make-up.

Recipe Option

2011-11-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

I say recipe option because I don't know if I should recommend this recipe to any one. It was an experiment. It was intended to be made for lunch but when we didn't have all the ingredients for our dinner meal, I made it for dinner.

Cut to the chase, what is this recipe you speak of? Why yes, it's Tuna-Fennel Pasta Salad.

It was my first time working with fennel, not to bad. Now that I have a bulb and a half of it I need to find another way to use it (suggestions?).

side notes: I used tuna canned it water, didn't save the oil or the pasta water, dont know what fronds are and didn't bother to look it up and mixed everything all at once.

Sooo...maybe it's my fault it sucked. Ooops, I mean it was OK. Did I mention I doubled to recipe? Yeah...fail? uh-huh

On a brighter note: Dusty and I both ate it for lunch and decided it was a better lunch option that dinner.

...now who's going to the store to get the carrots we need for the real dinner meal?

New Google Reader

2011-11-01T09:53:00.001-07:00

Be Happy - Live Longer

2011-11-01T05:50:00.000-07:00

The Secret to a longer life? Be happy, study says.

"It could say to people, you should take your mood seriously," Kubzansky says. "I think people sort of undervalue emotional life anyway. This highlights the idea that if you are going through a period where you're consistently distressed, it's probably worth paying attention to how you feel — it matters for both psychological and physical health."

“I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’” - Kurt Vonnegut.

My Mom

2011-10-30T17:11:00.001-07:00

She taught me manners.

She taught me how to behave.

She taught me to talk things out.

She taught me the difference between right and wrong.

She taught me to look both ways before crossing the street

She continually teaches me that putting others first is always good but never forget about yourself.

She taught me to use coupons.

She taught me honestly is the best policy.

She taught me to follow my dreams.

She taught me to respect my self.

She taught me it's ok to show emotion.

She taught me how to have fun.

She taught me to be myself.

She taught me how to pick a variety of friends.

She taught to be self sufficient.

She taught me to play games.

She taught me that I can call her any time.

She taught me to always give others the benefit of the doubt.

She taught me that it's not the quantity it's the quality.

She taught me to always support the ones you love because everyone has their own struggles.

She also teaches me on a daily basis that life is nothing if you can't get excited about the little things, enjoy the people around you, be spontaneous, laugh uncontrollably, love what you do and who you are with, things aren't always easy but most of the time they are worth it, you won't always make the right decision but that's OK, any time you can spend with someone is better than no time at all, you can't fix everything, and always stay true to who you are.

She teaches me lots of things. We continually learn from each other.

Ready. Aim.

2011-10-27T10:11:00.001-07:00

Let it fly!

Work-It-Out

2011-10-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

Dusty and I did this workout Tuesday morning at the gym. ...I didn't go to the gym this morning. Leg lifts are killer, jumping jacks are a "down time", and crunches are awesome. Do this in less than 30 minutes and it's guaranteed to get your heart pumping.

Side note: Joking [?]

2011-10-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

It's almost common knowledge that 75%+ that you say as a "joke" is a way for you to honestly say what you mean without "offending" the other person. Trust me, I do it all the time. ;) Unless of course you're in the (circle of trust) and in that case I say what I mean, jokingly, and you don't take too much offense because in the circle of trust we can be honest with each other.

"Oh, I'm just messing with you."
"You know I don't mean that"
"Teasing you"
::You look offended:: "JUST KIDDING"

...you know the lines

Ketch-yup

2011-10-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

This morning on the Today Show they had a segment on how the French are taking ketchup out of their schools for dietary purposes. I asked Dusty what he thought about this.

Me: Dusty, what are you thoughts on schools taking food/condiments out of schools that have been consumed by people for a really long time but now they are "bad"?

Dusty: ::I can't remember exactly but he blew me off::

Me: No seriously...

Dusty: Honestly, tonight on the 6pm news we'll hear about how Ketchup is the new super food and will cure cancer and save the world from war.

Well...it's not from the nightly news but look what I found: Eating Ketchup Can Keep My Heart Healthy?

What's new?

2011-10-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

Working on: Starting to knit again!

Reading: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathon Safran Foer

Watching: Parenthood, the Singoff, Up All Night, Thursday Night Line-up

Loving: Gus boy and his new love for snuggling up close

Drinking: Just bought grapefruit juice to try a Greyhound (I'm a season late)

Eating: Lots of new recipes! This week: Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups.

Stressed about: Not much at the moment...

Excited: About feeling normal again.

Feeling: relaxed, in-love, delighted

Obsessed with: bangles, fall colors, new sweaters, [sassy] short hair, planning our great escape

Nail. Head.

2011-10-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

What are you?

Happy Wednesday

2011-10-19T13:35:00.001-07:00

Also, my first GIF ever. I think it's only appropriate that we kick it off with a cat.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

2011-10-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

And...for all of you who asked (Mel) I will share the Buffalo Chicken Chili Recipe.

Really easy and quick to make, just lots of chopping. Blue Cheese and sour cream topping is a MUST. We used tomato soup instead of juice, because I messed up but it was still delicious and maybe a bit cheaper.

Perfect yummy recipe now that the weather is getting colder.

A life with Laughter

2011-10-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

Deenner

2011-10-16T14:46:00.001-07:00

For dinner this evening we will be creating...

Lemon Garlic Tuna Burgers

& Cucumber Avocado Salad

I anticipate nothing but great results!

HEARD.

2011-10-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

Weekend Update

2011-10-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the first weekend in what feels like months that we had no plans. It was awesome!

Friday: had dinner with my BFF Kelly. I had to miss her wedding (as the matron of honor, that was the hardest decision I've ever made) We watched the wedding video Dusty put together for her, had dinner, wine and caught up. I also accidently ended up at a high school reunion kegger. woah. holy flash back. Saw my one of my ex's and thought to my self "yeah, that was fun, glad it ended there". haha Everyone was all like Sarah, you never hang out any more and I was all like yeah bc you all still live with your parents and have 6 million babies/baby momma/daddy running around.

Saturday: PURGING! we cleaned up the bookshelf, sold books to half price books, cleaned/organized the sh*t out of our piles. Bought some more storage tubs. The tiny apartment is looking good again. We also rode our bikes down to the Occupy Wall Street protests to take a look. Made delicious buffalo chicken chili and went out for drinks with friends.

Sunday I went to Spencer Farms with Katie and bought pumpkins. They also have mums, berries, ice cream, etc. They allow you to dig up your own mums, I was Katies coach as she dug up her mums. I also went to my FIRST and ONLY 31 party. I've recieved 5 invitations now to these 31 parties. STOP THE MADNESS. If you sell 31, mary kay, pure romance, lia sophia...think about your friends COME ON!

You won't drown

2011-10-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

No matter how many times you fall off, no matter how wet you may get, no matter how bad you might feel, you have to get back on the board and try again and again.

Summer iPhone Picture Recap

2011-09-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

We kick started the summer with a road bike purchase!

I also celebrated my 24th birthday with margaritas, friends, and too much mexican food!

We NEEDED patio furniture. Not too big, not too small. This fulfilled our needs perfectly.

Watch Poltergeist at the IMA outdoor movie theater.

Grew tomatoes, cat nip, basil, lavender, and a few flowering plants.

Summer iPhone Picture Recap

2011-09-29T09:40:00.001-07:00

Symphony on the Prairie with Dusty and my parents! Wine + Snacks = good time and maybe Dusty awkwardly singing to you...

Made a trip to Chicago for Pitchfork, specifically to see Fleet Foxes! Totally worth it!

Made my first batch of Pesto with basil grown in my urban garden.

Hosted a 70's themed bachelorette party in Cincy!

Volunteered for Dig-IN and received free admission. Volunteering is the best way to enjoy Indy events for free :D

Visited White River for a Guster concert.

Guster grew up. Remember when he used to be too small for this? Yeah...

Went hiking with the Frey crew.

Roadtripped to Minnesota and stopped in Wisconsin for CHEESE CURDS!

Call me old fashioned

2011-09-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

I found an article today in Forbes about how people "my age" don't call, they text. DUH.

But if you think about it, eventually we are going to be the meat of the professional crowd and we can't accomplish everything through texting.

Here are the key points I appreciated and would like to emphasize from the story:

On the phone I hear whether you are upset or not, that you are delighted with the news or otherwise, I can hear a long pause and read something into it, and generally get it right. The bandwidth of a voice is much broader and richer than a text. Which allows me to back pedal if you are upset, or push forward if you are less upset than I thought you would be. I can be sensitive to your reaction and respond appropriately.

How many people have solved a difficult emotional topic via e-mail or text ?’, So far, I haven’t found a single one.”

Surprisingly, he concluded by saying that in his experience it often takes longer to communicate by text than phone. For me writing an e-mail often takes quite a bit longer than a phone call because I must craft it much more carefully, people often read and reread e-mails multiple times.

So let me end with this: If you have something important to discuss with me, Imma be pissed if I read it over a text message. Obviously it's something important and important things come from (usually) important people so I had better recieve a phone call or dinner, wine, ice cream, etc.

Bike vs Car

2011-09-22T06:24:00.001-07:00

Write and Delete

2011-09-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

I'm having quite mixed emotions right now. I reread mentally the post I wrote about the trip (mentally = i went over it in my head, i didn't read it word for word).

Looking back, I probably should have written it, slept on it, and deleted it.

There are things you think and things you say. Those are things I shouldn't have said.

But I will say, I felt a ton better after writing it.

Keeping things pent up isn't good either.

Writing it and deleting it should have been my policy on that one.

Not sorry. But will use more caution next time.

Our Anniversary

2011-09-09T10:46:00.001-07:00

Laugh and Cry

2011-09-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

“I’m not saying I don’t cry but in between I laugh and I realize how silly it is to take anything too seriously. Plus, I look forward to a good cry. It feels pretty good.”

- Sam, Garden State

Big Adventure

2011-09-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

We're going on a "Big Adventure" as my sister-in-law would say.

This little post is only going to cover 1/16 of the constant roller coaster I've been on about this trip.

We're hiking approximately 45 miles across Isle Royale in 5-6 days.

The trip was discussed. I took the bait. Hiking, backpacking, the general great outdoors, I can do it and it sounded awesome! I'm all for "big adventure".

And then it happened. The plane tickets were bought and we were locked it. Which is both good and bad. We can talk pros and cons later.

Once you're locked in. There is no turning back. And I didn't like that. It made me feel like I had lost control of the trip (yes, i like control when it comes to certain things).

So now comes the fun part, buying things. You wouldnt believe the things we had to buy for this trip. It was daunting. I felt like I was eating money. And that made me grumpy.

There has been no positive energy boosts after that. I've kind of forgotten how much I was looking forward to this trip. My excitement plumented to a low. I was dreading this trip. I didn't want to go. at. all.

All anyone could talk about were negative things. You're going to puke on the boat ride. Once you get dropped off on the island, thats it, you're stuck. You're going to be hungry all the time. You will get blisters. The first 2 days are going to suck. You will smell.

BUT WHEN IT'S OVER, YOU'LL FEEL ACCOMPLISHED.

No offense, but sales is not the Frey's strength. (yes you Dusty, Amber, Sandy, and Gary) I mean that in a loving way :)

But then I remembered why I WANT to go on this trip. I mustered up that excitement I felt when we first started talking about the trip. And I'm EXCITED!!

I'm soo excited, I'll be wearing my pack on the Monon tonight to show off my cute HUGE backpack. Feel free to stop me for pictures :)

Truth

2011-09-06T09:47:00.000-07:00

These!

2011-09-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Because every girl needs to know what time it is.

Yes please, I'll take two, for safety sake of course!

Multiple Personalities

2011-09-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

From flirting to non-verbal communication, the way we present ourselves to others is constantly shifting based on whom we are talking to, and why.- Mashable Op-Ed

...And I thought it was just me.