Things that make me smile

A heart in my soy latte (stir coffee inside of good to go taco)

Ethan's face after a night on call

Photo Challenge: something you wore

Here's a big-ass pile of something I wore, and something Ethan wore, waiting to be folded. I think I've mentioned that mid-week chores have been checked as "needs improvement" on the theoretical report card of how Lauren functions as an adult. Going to tackle these this afternoon before I go back in to work (on nights this week). Wish me luck.

January 4

Photo challenge photo of the day: letterbox

She's a bit dusty, no?

and it's about time I made some resolutions for this year. Here goes:
1. get involved in a research project at work, preferably one dealing with pain, interventional spine, or musculoskeletal medicine. The dark horse would be pelvic floor rehab.
2. Try out at least one new vegan recipe per week. I got Veganomicon for Christmas and Ethan got the Happy Herbivore cookbook, so this should be pretty easy. Both are chock-full of delicious looking recipes.
3. Work out at least 4 times per week. The diet we started about five months ago has me slightly slimmer, and feeling much better overall, and I want to build on this feeling good/ more energy by working out. I don't want to lose weight, I just want to feel better.
4. keep on top of everyday chores better. Laundry is my nemesis. Ethan is thankfully in charge of the dishes. But by the end of the work week it's pretty messy up in our casa, and a large chunk of either Saturday or Sunday is taken up by fixing the mess, or catching up on folding.
5. get serious about budgeting/ saving. We aren't extravagant people, but can sometimes be nickel-and-dimed by Starbucks or dinner out. I would ultimately like to do the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University that is offered through our church.
6. spend time painting. I got a sweet set of brushes and acrylic paints from my mom at Christmas, and I want to use that as an avenue for my creativity
7. give more hand-made gifts. I've gotten to the point that I can make things that are pretty and unique, without many/ any mistakes (in crochet at least). examples: lace wedding garters, baby blankets, baby mobiles, hats, scarves, larger blankets, lace trimmed hand towels. It takes planning but I think these things are so much more special than most things I could buy.
8. go to church more regularly. I fell off the wagon last year when I was doing my surgery internship and almost never had a Sunday off. I would like to get back in the habit of going.
9. get my sewing machine fixed, so I can get on with a bunch of projects that are on hold. (the bobbin side refuses to thread. It probably just needs a good cleaning)
10. watch less television- in order to have the time to do all of the above.

Photo challenge day 3: something you adore

I have talked before about how much I love East Dallas. It's relaxed, slower paced, and more diverse than many other areas of the city (one of our neighbors is a WW2 vet who brought back his German bride, the other is a welder who has a huge organic garden and gives us free onion starters). It's also affordable and I feel safe here.

I found this cement graffiti while walking home from the gym today.
Great places within a few minutes of our house (often within walking distance)
- Dallas Arboretum
- White Rock Lake
- White Rock Coffee
- Good 2 Go Taco (and the coffee bar inside)
- White Rock Local Market
- Goodfriend (fantastic black bean burger and sweet potato fries
- Lovers Pizza

any other awesome places I'm missing? I love finding new places in the neighborhood.

Photo challenge day 2

My breakfast: overnight crockpot oatmeal with a banana in a bowl that smiles back

Photo Challenge Day 1

Rolling right ahead with the photo challenge thingy:

Last night, we had people over for vegan feasting and champagne, mostly so that we would not be killed by drunk people by trying to drive to our friend's party in Fort Worth.

My mom frequently tells us stories about when she would host a get-together and suddenly my dad would be missing, completely, with no explanation. Upon looking, she would usually find that he had snuck off to go to bed at about 9:30.


I am my father's daughter: passed out on the sofa after 2 glasses of bubbly. Bonus: no hangover today. Thanks, Ethan for taking my picture to show what a wild and crazy party animal I am.

 

And here's a photo I took of myself, after waking up bright-eyed and bushy tailed.

 

Happy New Year!

Photo Challenge

I found a photo challenge on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to play along. I'll update with my pics a few times a week. See the challenge below!