Rocky

The Wonderful Cross When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of Glory died My richest gain I count but loss And pour contempt on all my pride See from his head, his hands, his feet Sorrow and love flow mingled down Did ever such love and sorrow meet Or thorns compose so rich a crown O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross All who gather here by grace draw near and bless Your name Were the whole realm of nature mine That were an offering far too small Love so amazing, so divine Demands my soul, my life, my all Rise All the earth come alive Lift your eyes to the morning Let our hearts beat again With a lifeblood that never fails Your love it will never fail Breaking down the divide in a holy collision The divine in disguise Took the cross for our sin and shame Our God You will never fail See the lost in return Swing the doors ever wider ...

For those of you who don't know, this is my Dad, and today is his birthday. I am one blessed girl to have him in my life and I couldn't have asked for anyone better. I hope that his birthday was blessed and marks many more blessed years. I wish I could've celebrated with him today but to my chagrin I could only celebrate in spirit because of the distance. I think I should eat cake... you know in celebration... I mean you have to eat cake on someone's birthday, right? ;) I took this picture of my dad last year, he had no idea I was taking it and  I caught him mid sentence. hehehe 

I have no photographic evidence of this but I officially broke in my slow cooker yesterday. It was fantastic, the entire day my house was filled with the aroma of roast. Mmmm... I've made this roast before with my momma but this time it was all me. My mom said that you can not be a bona fide cook till you own and use a slow cooker...so there you have it, I'm bona fide (of course I say that with a southern twang, it's the only way to say bona fide). In addition to the roast I made my Organic Pangea iced tea, added some lime to some water, and made cinnamon rolls (strange choice for dessert, but they just sounded so good I couldn't resist). I obviously couldn't enjoy this all on my own so I invited a couple gals over and we celebrated Seder together over some not-so-kosher-dinner. I prepared a little lesson/message over the history of the Passover, the Seder, the Last Supper and tied it in with our communion together. And together we ate, we talked, we listened an...

My obituary for Piccolo's: Piccolo's, friendly local $1 bookstore and refuge for all local bibliophiles, sadly *passed away on the evening of Sunday, March 24th due to complications of poor location and losing book-buying-customers. He was only a few years old. Unassuming, giving, and a true friend who was generous to all those who came to him in need. His sudden passing was a shock to all ( all those who didn't see the closing signs for months beforehand that is ). He leaves behind many loved ones and devoted followers, and worst of all me. The untimely death of  Piccolo's makes him the latest victim of an ever growing trend of senseless bookstore deaths. First it was our beloved Borders, followed by the ever-popular and friendly local Barnes and Noble, and now our sweet and unpresuming friend, Piccolos. He will truly be missed by all. Rest In Peace. u_u I'm now going to gather some candles, a teddy bear, and make a floral wreath as a vigil outsi...

The past couple days have been full of much needed Farrums time. During the campaign, she was MIA, and we have been using our free time to catch up. I was able to introduce her to the Conservatory , a local roasterie and coffeehouse around the corner from my house.  Note the latte, they put a bird on it. ;) So the Farrums introduced me to Mercado La Paloma , an indoor marketplace that was built to meet the needs of the surrounding community by the Esperanza Community Housing Corporation. It was magical when we walked in. Lanterns, bright colors, and the aroma of amazing food. Its truly amazing how it all works out, each business that makes up the market works for the greater good of the other so it isn't so competitive, it feels like an actual community. They support local artisans and offer cultural and educational opportunities for locals, and is all very affordable. Check out my horchata...it was so pimped out that it came with a spoon. It was so legit, it had wal...

This past St. Patrick's Day was like none other that I have experienced. Growing up, St. Patrick's Day was always a big thing at my house, it went beyond just wearing green and possibly eating Lucky Charms. If you went to bed the night before without wearing something green you would be woken up by being pinched, and no, yelling that you have green eyes and were therefore exempt would get you anywhere. Our food would be green and Irish themed, we would dress up and go to the St. Patrick's day parade in downtown Kansas City and would have a real Irish family dinner. Some of this is due to my Irish heritage and some of it has to do with being from KC (we may not be Chicago or Boston, but KC has quite a rich Irish history). Though I live in California now, and while my family was back home eating colcannon, corned beef and cabbage, soda bread and green cake and sherbert, I was enjoying something quite different. My dear Chinese teacher, Eric invited me and several of my frie...

Top News: Beard Papa's has opened a new location closish to my house. O_O I love all things custard, especially vanilla. Custard pie, coconut custard pie, puddings, creme brulee, flan, bread pudding, Bavarian cream donuts, Boston cream cakes, cream puffs, you get the idea. So when I was introduced to Beard Papa's yesterday, I realized it was a match made in Heaven. We are MFEO (made for each other) or at least they are made for me. Not only do they have cream puffs but they are full of real custard, are sold at really affordable prices, have seating and free wifi. For those of you not in the know, as I was before yesterday, you pick out which pastry shell you want. You have a choice of chocolate, vanilla, vanilla dipped in chocolate, or a Paris brest (which is kind of a twisted donutty thing ). Then you choose the filling, they always have vanilla and then they have a daily special such as green tea as seen in the picture on the right. Its fantastic. Today just so happe...

I initially was going to call this post 50 Shades of Red but I felt that was in poor taste, or so I've heard, considering that I never read it. Anyways, I colored my hair red in November, kind of  a YOLO moment. I don't regret it. It was fun while it lasted.  Though as my hair is growing out and my true color is showing I decided I don't want to keep coloring it for the rest of my life. It just seems like a lot of time and energy I don't feel like putting into it. I'm kind of low maintenance so anything that requires upkeep like that, is really unappealing to me. So I have been using home remedies which involve crushed vitamin c tablets and Dawn dish soap. It took it down several shades, after doing it about 4-5 times. Its kind of a strawberry-blonde right now and as you can see in the last two pictures, I have returned to wearing more red since it doesn't conflict with my hair so much anymore.  Evidently the sun also does a great job at fading hai...

And no, not the Kevin Spacey movie. I love receiving mail almost more than anything else. Getting a handwritten note, card, package, paycheck, magazine, will not just make my day, it will make my week or longer. I check the mailbox every time I pass by, even at my parent's house when I come home to visit.  So you can imagine my reaction when I came home to a cardboard box with my name and cute little hearts drawn all over it in my momma's handwriting. That box didn't have a chance. I had been waiting for it for days. I tore it open to reveal curtain rods, curtains, and sheers for my living room, kitchen and pantry, there were also six different pillow covers to boot.  At the beginning of this year my mom posted a status on Facebook that she would hand-make something special at random at some point in this next year to the first five people who commented on her post, as long as they also posted the same challenge on their wall. I was the third person to comment. (And ye...

So that breather took a little longer than I expected haha. I have had so many thoughts on things I could write about that I don't know where to begin. Take for instance the fact that my momma sent me a care-package chalked full with pillow cases, curtains and curtain rods for my living room, kitchen and pantry. Or I could tell you about the different shades my hair has taken since I turned it red in November. I could tell you about my Lent fast and how I have decided to give up all lyrical music. I could tell you about my favorite Japanese friends who will be returning to Japan this next week and how I feel inspired to do a photography project of all the international students that I connect with before they leave for forever. Or how I just bought a slow cooker for $13 the other day and my plans to break it in this weekend. The list continues. So I've decided to do a rando (short for random) conglomeration of pictures from my phone and computer and then I will proceed to mak...