thanks

thanksgiving and new years are two holidays that can help you remember the best parts about your life. if you have great friends, you're thankful for them or you make a resolution to do better at keeping in touch. this year hasn't been the easiest really for anyone but maybe there's never been a better chance to take some time to be actively thankful for what we have.

i am thankful for my friends. they are funny, insightful, smart, and loyal. they are also scattered, opinionated, and exactly what i need.

i am thankful for my family. they are noisy, overwhelming, and numerous. they love me even when i'm a pain.

i am thankful for my life. it has been sometimes unpredictable and sometimes calm. it has been filled with great people, places, and food. it will be an adventure forever.

i am thankful for things i don't know yet. they will keep things interesting.

i am thankful for yoga, potatoes, the fluffy orange cat that begs for scraps on my porch (he is not homeless, he is just a beggar), on time city buses, and really great coffee. these things make my days perfect in such unexpected ways.


the picture is from park seed memories.

things that make me laugh

friends are the best.

the other day i was feeling ok, but not amazing. in an (unintentional) effort to make my day more stupendous my friend told me a story about his childhood.

apparently he was really intrigued by the cacti in his dentist's office. he knew not to touch them because they were prickly... but one looked wooly and soft.

see where this is going yet?

he was convinced the wooly cactus would be soft and nice to touch. so he licked it.

the things i love about this story are: how hilarious little boys are, imagining what his parents must have thought, imagining the dentist retelling this story for years, the fact that this man is my friend and i could still see him doing something like this.

amazing.

the end.


ps- i know you're laughing now too.

this photo is from flickr.

fall fall fall

the past few days have been so crispy!
new england, or maybe just boston has had a handful of gorgeous late summery days and they've brightened my whole month up. where is the gray, soggy november i was expecting? not up here, thats for sure.

this summer was a little rough weather-wise but the fall is making up for it big time. i've been adventuring out on walks wearing tshirts, thinking about home made ice cream (in november!), and enjoying as much sunshine as i possibly can. i wasn't expecting so much from this month but so far i have gotten a fabulous wedding gift for a good friend whose wedding i am thrilled to be going to, had the most amazing beet salad on the planet (for real), done way way way better on a midterm than i deserved to or thought i would, and reconnected with a friend who i'd been feeling bad about lately. what a month. so good.

still on the list for the next couple weeks: mango cardamom jam (yes or eww?), learning how to be creative with turnips, working my way up to 1.25 miles in a swim, and really hammering out a more concrete idea for my graduate thesis.

more suggestions welcome!