Mo The Traveling Sock Monkey {Part 1}

Last year my sister and family sent me a traveling sock monkey, named Mo, to see my parts of the world. I had him for a couple weeks and boy did we show him a good time!

When Mo first got here, we showed him some of the sights, like riding on a real live trolley.

And checking out a few Sea Lions at Fisherman's Wharf.

And we may have threatened to banish him to Alcatraz Island if he didn't behave.

Mo's Favorite part of the trip, of course, was participating in Bay to Breakers with us. He even got a kiss from me and a total stranger! He's so good with the ladies...

Then Mo ran into some fellow travelers.

After B2B, Mo decided to head down to LA with me.

We saw lots of stars at Mann's Chinese Theatre. Mo was especially inspired by Kermit the Frog's success.

Stay tuned for more Adventures of Mo the Traveling Sock Monkey!

A Very Merry Birthday!

Happy 16th Birthday to my way-cool nephew Ryan!

Keep On Keepin' On

This weekend was rainy and grey, Dannon was away on a retreat, and I spent most of my time at home trying to nurse my kitty Mya back to health. Luckily we have an appointment this week with a high rated Cat Hospital here in the city.

Sunday night Dannon came over for a much needed date night. He cooked me a delicious meal of vegetables {yes, I know how lucky I am} and we caught up on each other's lives. Then we played Domino's {I totally defeated Dannon}!

And we ended the evening by dancing all our cares away to this DeVotchka song {such beautiful lyrics about living life to the fullest}.

Bird's the Word!

Last night was exactly what I needed! The concert was amazing! We were in the front row right next to the stage in front of Andrew Bird. As always, his music amazed and we alternated between mouths gaping wide open and dancing our cares away. I also discovered that Andrew Bird looks just like Dannon. They were dressed the same last night, with the same stubble and the same disheveled curly hair. Plus they both play the violin like rock stars! Yes, I'm a lucky girl. ;)

The opening act was Lonely, Dear, a group of hilarious Swedish boys. Their music was absolutely gorgeous in the concert - a little less beautiful in recordings (of course), but still good. I would recommend checking them out.

Andrew Bird!

So it's official - Mya Cat has Chronic Renal Failure. Her kidneys are starting to shut down from old age. There is a treatment that will help her stay alive and happy for many more months, which we are doing, but consists of me hooking her up to an IV for a few minutes everyday. She acts so happy and normal after I administer the fluids, so it's definitely worth it, but it's so hard for me to stick my little kitty with a needle. Not to mention the fact that my little baby has entered her final stages of life. Yes, this has been a very rough week.

That's why I'm really excited to be heading out to an Andrew Bird concert tonight. Dannon and I have actually been to two Andrew Bird concerts and just cannot get enough! He has such fun music and is an amazing violinist! Larry will be joining us for the concert-going tonight. It will be nice to take some time to enjoy good music and friends. Going to concerts is one of my favorite ways to fill my well, and after all my worry over my kitty, I could use a little more well filling right now. If you are interested, you can hear some Andrew Bird here.

{This is from the Andrew Bird concert at the Outside Lands music festival last August.}

Keeping Your Well Full

The main purpose for Filling Your Well is to make sure you are doing the things in your life that energize you, bring you joy, and overall increases your quality of life. Keeping Your Well Full is also incredibly important, however, to help you be ready for anything life might throw at you.

This past week Mya, my beloved fat cat, stopped eating. She only ate a teensy bit out of my hand each day and eventually stopped moving and purring. She just sat like a lump all day every day. I took her to the vet and he gave her some fluids to jump start her appetite. Today she started eating regularly on her own and is roaming around like usual.

Everything seems to be fine now, but a few days ago I was completely overwhelmed. This is a stressful time of year with grad school and finding a traineeship site. With the unexpected worry for my kitty on top of my normal daily stressors it was a lot to handle. I don't think I would have been able to handle all of the different issues this past week as successfully if I hadn't been keeping my well full.
So I urge everyone to take some time out each day to do something for you. Something you find enjoyable, brings peace of mind, and rejuvenates your spirit. You'll be so glad you did when life brings that unexpected stress.

Weekend Loves

Despite the fact this weekend was very grey and rainy the whole time, we still managed to have some adventures:

* Dannon has been Mr. Sicky Sickerson all week so I didn't think I would get to see him at all on Love Day. Happily, however, he managed to pull it together and bus into the city to spend a little quality time with me. He brought me giant beautiful flowers with an E.E. Cummings poem! What a wonderful boyfriend.

* One of my best friends came to visit from the opposite coast this weekend! I haven't seen her in years, but hanging out this weekend felt like we had only been apart for a couple days. Old friends are so comfortable like that.

* Lots of {eek!} shopping happened this weekend. I haven't spent money on material things in about a year so I decided it was okay to give in to a little shopping spree. I'm still trying not to feel guilty about spending my school money, but hey, now I'll look even cuter when I go to school!

* Thanks to my dear friend Laura I've discovered the MOST FUN radio station ever! Wonderground Radio is an online streaming station from Minnesota Public Radio and it's supposed to be music for kids, but also stuff their hip parents will like. I've had it on all weekend and it just makes me want to dance and smile and be happy. Click on the link to have a listen!

* One of the coolest things about living in SF is the awesome public transportation. And one of the coolest things about riding the bus late on a Saturday night is that you will probably stumble upon something ridiculously fun. This Saturday night on my bus I found a man with a boombox playing very loud, old school dance music. So we had a dance party. I stayed on my bus for two extra stops because I was having so much fun dancing with my fellow bus riders.

{Sorry so blurry, but you know, it was a dance party & a phone camera.}

Happy Love Day!

Hope everyone has a lovely Love Day!

{On the Banks of the Kern River}

I will be busy with seeing a dear old friend from college, partaking in the giant SF Pillow Fight, and helping Dannon get better (he's been sick all week).

My Valentine Day Plans

San Francisco Pillow Fight 2008 from Aziz K. on Vimeo.

Saturday. February 14. Justin Herman Plaza. When the Ferry Building Clock strikes 6pm.

Can't wait!!! Come join me if you live nearby. And below, a few more favorite pics for love week.

{Front row at a Rogue Wave Concert}

{Hiking through the Canyon at Zion Natl Park}

{Post Snowboarding Kiss at Heavenly Ski Resort}

More Adventures of D + K!

{Superheros on Strike at Bay to Breakers, 2008}

{Playing in Fields of Gold, Napa Valley}

{Sea Kayaking in Monterey Bay}

More Love Week

I was completely mesmerized by this video and song by Lisa Hannigan. Plus a few more of my favorite D + K pics below.

{Playing on the Beach at Point Reyes}

{Quick Kiss at Brian's Wedding}

{Morning in the Grand Canyon}

Week of Love

{Music-ing in the Marin Headlands}

So I am not really that into Valentine's Day. I neither love it, nor hate it - I'm simply ambivalent. But since I recently acquired a bunch of photos from my adventures with Dannon over the years, I thought it would be fitting to take this week to post some of my favorites.

{Snowball Fight in Indianapolis}

{Backpacking in Big Basin, CA}

{Seeing What We Can See at the SF Zoo}

Trip to NC

The trip to NC was a whorl-wind of emotions and events. Other than our luggage missing our connecting flight and having to wait a day to get our stuff, everything went pretty smoothly. There was a lovely memorial service and lots of time spent with family (both Dannon's and mine). I'm so glad to be back on West Coast time though!

Off to North Carolina

Dannon and I will be leaving today for North Carolina. It will be a bittersweet trip since we'll be going for Dannon's Grandpa's funeral, but we will also be spending time with family that live far far from us, so that will be nice.

"Those who wish to Sing, always find a Song."
Swedish Proverb

Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre

I recently discovered the brilliant Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre, by Wilhelm Staehle, and had to share. How hilarious are these?! There's even more hilariousness on the SMT site. Click on each picture for a larger, easier to read version.

Rock Sculptures!

This weekend was so beautiful and sunny that Dannon, Larry, and I decided to go adventuring at Land's End. We played around on the old San Francisco Bath ruins, and then roamed through the eucalyptus trees. Along our walk we climbed down to a beach full of large rocks and stumbled upon a rock sculpture garden! Of course, we had to partake in the rock sculpturing.

Mine represented how the "black sheep" are often far more interesting and beautiful than the same ole, same ole.

Dannon went with the challenging, impossible-to-balance candlestick rock sculpture.

And speaking of sculptures made out of things found on a beach... you must check out one of my favorite sites: Yalos Alanya. Dannon and I are huge driftwood art fans, and the pictures from Yalos Alanya {like the two above} are some of the most amazing examples of this form of art I've seen!