I would apologize again for letting so much time pass in between posts, but I fear my words will mean less since I clearly am not sorry enough to keep up.  I have a handful of post ideas and plenty of pictures to accompany them, it’s simply a matter of time and choice that has me home at 8:30 each night after a workout, and in bed by 9 so I have time to read Game of Thrones. When to blog…?

This morning I thought I would write a quick note while I wait for water to boil for coffee, before I slip on my stretchy pants for yoga class.  I’m trying out a new place in Scotts Valley that looks small and loveable… I’m hoping it becomes my home for Saturday mornings.

Life is just as wonderful as ever; I love my job, I love the cottage, and I love having Brent here every day to enjoy it with, even if he is semi-crippled at the moment.  Have I written since he broke his arm at Sea Otter two weeks ago?  I guess not.  I haven’t minded doing house chores and the dishes all on my own, even when he leaves smelly remnants of his bean burritos in the sink, and I still love him even though he buys single-ply toilet paper (I guess that has nothing to do with his broken arm, but I felt it was worth mentioning).  I do love alone time but Brent makes me laugh more than I make myself laugh, so I appreciate having him around.

We are headed on a quick day trip up the coast today, stopping to explore Pescadero and to check out a brewery in Half Moon Bay… I must remember to mention to Brent that there is a seaside bowling alley all the way up in Pacifica that I always thought looked like fun.  I’ll take pictures but I won’t promise that they will be up here any time soon, since clearly my word means nothing anymore at this little WordPress address.

Well, my tea kettle is whistling and I can hear Boo in the other room choking on what is soon to be a fresh pile of cat vomit for me to clean.  I don’t have a picture of Rudy to post at the moment, but we did take this little gem of video footage last weekend in Henry Cowell.  Enjoy

I’m sorry to say blogging has fallen to the end of my list lately, but it has been for a LOT of very wonderful reasons.  I have never been so happy to be so busy!  Here’s a bit to get you caught up…

Rocky’s has become a bit of a favorite weekend tradition for me… I’ll have to do a whole post to highlight this sweet little roadside cafe.

Gingers unite!  I dyed my hair red… something I’ve been thinking about doing for a long time.  Ginger is not in to my picture taking habits…

She prefers giving slobbery kisses. It is starting to warm up around here, and flowers are beginning to bloom.  Now I’m getting anxious for the warm, magical summer season!I took a quick weekend trip down to Santa Barbara to meet my Seester for some fun wedding preparation errands. I have been busy with some lettering and calligraphy projects as well – this was the setting while I addressed my sister’s save-the-dates  I think I could sit and do calligraphy while watching period pieces forever. Last weekend Brent and I enjoyed a seriously beautiful morning at the cottage together.  Living in the redwoods will never get old.Toby has been, well, interesting lately.  I can’t decide if he’s extremely stupid or extremely evil, but last weekend he decided to leave a little “treat” on the bathroom floor in front of the shower.  I stepped in it, and once I realized what was jammed between my toes was in fact poop, I couldn’t find the source since it was perfectly camouflaged on the brown bathroom rug.  A massive manhunt for the source of the mysterious toe-squished poop ensued with no results and just as I was about to give up, I stepped in the turd AGAIN.  Toby seemed pleased with himself for the rest of the day.

Rudy on the other hand, has been just as sweet as ever and has not left any strategically or otherwise placed poops in the cottage.

I bought myself a new toy last weekend so I’m no longer on that evil single speed when Brent and I go riding together.  This bike called out to me at REI, with her sparkly sage-green frame, 29-inch wheels and GEARS!  Oh gawd, the sound of her gears clicking is music to my relieved thighs.  I smile on the uphills now, especially when I see Brent up ahead struggling, pumping away on that single-speed monster.  I took her out twice last weekend and got her nice and dirty.  I even rode right smack-dab through a giant, steaming pile of dog crap. Which, by the way, happened literally 30 minutes after the camouflaged Toby turd incident.  Seriously, I can’t make this sh*t up.  Poop pun for the win!

It would seem I have been bitten by that darn cycling bug, although I’m not ashamed to admit that a lot of what I like about riding is the guilt-free beer I enjoy afterward.

Things at work just keep getting more and more wonderful.  I feel like I am learning so much and developing my creative mind and eye, which is such a pleasurable way to spend my days.  Last week we got our beautiful letterpress business cards in from Alissa Bell Press.  Cheryl and I also had the pleasure of visiting her studio and meeting Alissa… more on that to come later

Much of the reason why I have been busy is because I have been spending so much time practicing hand lettering and calligraphy after work.  I have too many ideas constantly swirling in my brain… and a new dream and vision for my future and career path.  I have some exciting projects coming down the pipe!  More details to come on that later, too.

Through it all coffee has been my life’s blood, keeping me buzzing and happy.  Here’s hoping it continues to get me through the next few months – I have a lot planned!

Tonight I am tucked in to my warm bed in a freshly cleaned cottage, enjoying a hot cup of bedtime tea after quiet weekend at home.  Brent has been away all week at a friend’s wedding and I have missed him terribly.  I didn’t realize how hard it would be to say goodbye this time after having lived together for just a month, but it definitely sucked.  This cottage no longer feels like my home… it’s now our home and it doesn’t feel quite the same without him here.  And as much as I enjoy my alone time and a calm weekend at home, I still spent most of the weekend wishing he was here.

In between cleaning, painting the front of the cottage, and running errands, I squeezed in some calligraphy practice and finished a couple of small projects.  I’m surprisingly happy with how they turned out… it seems my inner critic took the weekend off.

The animals didn’t seem to mind the plan (or lack there of) this weekend, but Toby still managed to seem overwhelmed by what little activity was taking place.

I was (obviously) unable to keep up with putting up my 1 picture-a-day posts, but rest assured I am taking at least one picture a day.  But I’ll just put posts up every now and then of my favorite pictures.

So life lately has been pretty blissful, albeit very busy…

Cheryl and I made a trip up to San Fran, and enjoyed a fun night out with Jon and Leslie

Brent and I have enjoyed a couple of UFC fight nights at home…

…and also enjoyed a few beers as well.

We are still eating the avocados Dad and Kim brought up with them, and even had a guac party at work.

Thanks to Rob I have discovered my new favorite food at the Saturday farmers market…

I’ve been diligently practicing my calligraphy… and a little French, too

Brent is happy that I’ve finally started going mountain biking with him on the weekends…

which means a lot of exercise and a lot of beautiful scenery.

We celebrated Katy’s birthday with yummy Italian food and good friends…

I made a new friend on my lunch break walk through San Juan Bautista…

But he’s not as cute as Rudybega.

I’ve found a new magazine I love…Lastly, I am loving my new job!  I get to do all sorts of fun stuff like working a photo shoot at a big printer in our area.  I loved the old machines…
So far 2013 has been a wonderful year, and has brought with it many new challenges and adventures for me, hence the lack of time to blog about it all.  I know I’ll find the balance eventually, because I love keeping up with this online journal!  Much more to come

Last weekend while Dad and Kim were here for a visit, we decided to take a walk in search of the secret swimming spot tucked away in the redwoods appropriately called the Garden of Eden.  Despite Dad inspecting his map before we left, we still managed to get off course and ended up at a quiet, still portion of the little river.  No biggie, we just stopped and skipped stones for a while.

Brent and I managed to get a skip or two in, but mostly giggled at the loud plunks of our stones sinking straight to the bottom without a bounce.  Dad, on the other hand, is good at everything, so we weren’t surprised to see his stones gliding across the water as if they had teeny motor engines propelling them.

here