Brunch. (Need I say more?)

I once dated someone that did not like brunch. (WHO DISLIKES BRUNCH?! How did we last so long?!) Brunch is probably my most favorite meal. EVER. It means never having to choose between omelet/potatoes and pancakes/bacon. It means having a made-to-order omelet, bacon, sausage, ham, waffles, lasagne, home fries, cheese & crackers, fruit, salad, dessert all topped off with a mimosa!

It means gluttony; plain and simple.

YUM.

Thanks to Mike for having a birthday and giving the rest of the family the opportunity to over-indulge! (And thanks to Dad for taking us to the Club to enjoy this lovely brunch!)

The Word of the Day is: CHOCOLATE

CHOCOLATE ice-cream covered faces.

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CHOCOLATE brown leather club chairs (that was just TOO GOOD of a deal to pass up, you'd have to change my name to "Foolish" if I hadn't bought this at Larry St. John's sample sale).

CHOCOLATE brown & pink flowered dresses with adorable mandarin collars.

Lean Cuisine Lunch Dates

Abby & Owen came over for lunch today. It just so happened that Audrey & I had a lunch date as well, so that meant a little play time for A & O.

Manipulation for a good cause

Did you happen to catch last night's American Idol results show?

If not, it was a special called "Idol Gives Back" aimed at raising awareness of hunger, poverty and the devastation of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, as well as hunger and poverty here in the US. It was loaded with several deliberately manipulative, heart-tugging clips of Simon & Ryan with children in Africa, and Randy & Paul with kids here in the US. But I have to say, it worked. And whatever works to help meets these needs is OK with me.

Probably the most heartfelt moment of the special was Simon's absolute surprise and disgust of the terrible conditions in Africa; you could see what a truly eye-opening and gut-wrenching experience it was for him.

Every time I hear about this issue (which, fortunately, is a lot lately), I'm stunned by the statistics of death and infection and starvation, and I'm convicted that I don't do more. There are so many ways to be involved, from large to small, time and financial contributions. If you aren't already involved somehow, somewhere, consider doing a little something. Several organizations are doing tremendous work in both Africa and the US.

So, kudos to AI for using the success of the show to bring awareness to these issues.

Flowers are happy things.

These sweet orange flowers at the end of my driveway greet me every day and night as I come and go. I've been meaning to capture their sweetness for days and finally got around to it this afternoon.

That led to a little walking tour around my place where I found these beauties. (Couldn't you imagine them as a stunning bridal bouquet?)

I had to snip a few to bring the gorgeousness inside.

Snow, beautiful snow!

This image made me happy.

It made me think of all the reasons why I dislike living in LA. And yes, I realize that "LA is conveniently located: 45 minutes to the snow! 45 minutes to the beach! 45 minutes to the desert!" but it's just not the same. And who has time to make so many intentional trips just to find the seasons each year? I long to live in a place that brings the seasons to me, for a delightful sampling a few months each year. Hence my strong consideration of relocation for grad school.
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I had a lovely conversation with Jenny from the admissions dept at MSPP (Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology). She was VERY helpful, young-ish (30's), professional, knowledgeable and if she's any indication of the school, I think we might get on very well. Plus, Boston has been the city of my heart for several years now; the city that I believe I heard God speak to me to say, "You will live here someday." Maybe that 'someday' isn't so far off.
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PS. If you are the praying kind, would you please ask God to give me a peace about making such a move, if such a move is OK with him? I could use extra special wisdom, insight and courage to make whatever leap he may want me to make. And I don't want my decision to be based on fear about finances and cost of living; I want to just trust him. Thanks, friends.

I HEART my red shoes.

I'm sure that I own many things that I now regret purchasing, belatedly feeling it a waste of money. I could have spent just $10 or $500; some things, in hindsight, just weren't worth it.

I will, however, never regret the purchase of these shoes.

I feel stylish & chic every time I wear them. (The compliments I usually receive certainly don't hurt.)

Random

Every Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday afternoon I drive by this street and think, "Now THAT is random!"

And then I chuckle to myself.

So I today I stopped to take a picture. I bet someone driving by, seeing me take a picture thought to themselves, "Now THAT is random."

He. He. He.

Babies are blessings from God, indeed!

Yesterday morning (8 am, early!!) my niece Audrey was baptised & dedicated to the Lord at the beautiful Wayfarer's Chapel in Palos Verdes. She handled the attention well with royal waves to the crowd, greeting her subjects throughout the ceremony. She really is quite precious, and I'm delighted and honored to be her aunt and now her Godmother.

Audrey Faith,

May the Lord bless you, and keep you;

May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

May the Lord turn his countenance to you and grant you peace.

Love you bunches,

Aunt Kelly

As always, more pics are to be found in the link to the left of "Photos of me & others", album "Audrey's Baptism."

Cool (literally & figuratively)

In honor of Earth Day.

(Google always does the coolest things with their logo. )

For the love of lemons

Someone said to me the other day, "Oh that's right, you're the one who loves lemons!" to which I replied, "I do??" I couldn't recall ever making such a claim but as I downloaded pics from my camera this evening I realized maybe I do like lemons...and limes. It's funny to find out we are known for something we didn't even know about ourselves.

Exhibit A: Behold my newly framed artwork "Lemon" (again with those lemons!) and "Barns with mustard" all ready to be hung on the wall.

Exhibit B: I couldn't resist taking a picture of the water glasses from lunch today.

(And what a day it was! Molly & I finally used our gift certificates to Burke-Williams Day spa and enjoyed a facial (Molls), massage (me) and pedicure (um, also me). It was oh-so-decadent. And the decadence didn't stop there, oh no! Lunch at the Crepe Vine (tasty food, slow to deliver) was to be had, topped off with a crepe filled with Nutella, strawberries and bananas...Heavenly!)

Maybe...

Just for the heck of it, I'm considering applying to a few other schools for my Psy.D. Here are the cities I'm considering.

Can you see me here?

Or here?

Or how about here?

Money (being able to afford to live) is really my only concern when I consider relocating. Loans will take care of school expenses, but how will I live and pay rent and my car payment and buy my Nars makeup? That's when I start to think, "LA ain't so bad..."

PS. Can you guess which cities these are?

Affordable Art

I'm on an art kick. I can't afford, well, pretty much everything, though I did stumble across Kris Shanks, a plein air landscape painter (who also does some impressionist still lifes) from Nor. Cal. So I picked up a couple. I expect they'll make their home in my living room.

I love Paris in the springtime!

Hello.

Come, sit down. Be cozy.

Have a look around.

My trip to Antarctica.

~ "Forty People" by Geoffrey Johnson

Feel free to go in on this as a group for my b-day. A mere $19k and this can be mine.

"She sighs longingly..."

I'm going to Paris tomorrow.

Well, not Paris, France, Paris. I'm actually going to South Central tomorrow morning to pick up the equivalent of a trip to Paris.

A few years ago I had plans to go to Tuscany with a friend but we decided we needed furniture instead (I got a sofa & she a leather chair & ottoman). So, since I don't have time to take a real vacation this year, I decided to use my vacation money to buy more furniture--this time an armchair & ottoman.

Who knew I'd get so excited about furniture?! I must be getting old. Or nesting. Or wanting a nest. Or just varied in my priorities.

Next year. Next year I'll actually leave the country. I don't have room for more furniture anyway.

Shhh! Don't tell my professors.

I'm doing something I really don't have the time to do. At least not while in school. At least not when I'm taking 18 units and should be reading Ch. 9 in my Psych-Core Concepts book since I have an assignment due today...that I haven't started...That something is reading a novel.

I'm reading "The Wonder Spot" by Melissa Bank and I came across this line, which reminds me why I love words and other people's ability to aptly turn a phrase or string sentences together to capture the exact emotion of a moment or situation:

"I felt sure that everyone was looking at me, and then realized that no one was, and I experienced the distinct shame of each."

I imagine we've all been there.

Lil' B

Babies, babies, everywhere! And all so very cute.

Lil' B, better known as Brennan Grace, daughter of Molly & Adam, is the only girl in this group of friends' babies (Audrey gets her own category of "family babies"). She reminds me of a little doll with her big eyes and little mouth and her squeaky noises.

It's fun to be "auntie" to so many cute babies. I look forward to watching B grow up.

Thank you, Jesus, for Easter.

And for ham & cheesy potatoes, deviled eggs, hawaiian rolls, fruit salad & strawberry shortcake.

Those things, of course, don't compare to the gift that Jesus gave us with his sacrifice. But on this day we gather to honor His conquering death by eating some good food. This year we missed Kir (home sick) and Bran, Mike & Audrey (with Mike's fam). But the rest of the clan gathered to eat, read books & play Cranium (Dad & Bailey won!). Good times were had by all, even though Lance & Sam were also sick.