My favorite exchange of the day.

Every morning and evening when Yangkyu leaves and comes home from work we have a short exchange. It's roughly translated into English as "I'll be back" and me replying "have a good day" and "I'm home" to which I'll say "welcome home". It's like a little ritual and without fail, as if on cue, is done every weekday. And in-between these exchanges you'll surely find Piri waiting for his kisses {or maybe a peek into Yangkyu's lunch bag} and showering Yangkyu with his welcome home serenade.  

It's lookin a lot like fall around here.

I have never been a fan of fall. 

The colors, smell and look of it all reminds me of an end to carefree days of summer. You know the childhood where there were no smart phones and we found things to do outside using our imagination. I always associated fall with the end of that and going back to school, which I didn't like so much - getting up early, cold dreary days and loud noisy school buses. Halloween was really never a favorite holiday, but most of all I despise daylight saving time when we have to fall back an hour. I hate that it gets dark so quickly. 

But, this year I have embraced the coming of fall and fall itself rather quickly. Perhaps I was tired of being in denial {ha} or maybe it's because I am enjoying the possibility of making {and buying} fall decorations for our new home and knitting chunky hats and crocheting blankets for the colder weather. I am also looking forward to trying out some warm soothing chowder recipes and baking our own bread. I can just imagine what our kitchen will smell like. 

After a good recharging over the weekend, we're ready to get through the week. I have a ton of blogs to catch up, some new crochet projects to learn and also taking care of Piri who is still feeling a bit sick. We also hear back from the vet to talk about next steps. Hopefully things will start looking up. 

Here's to a productive and fulfilling week for all of us. 

Life lately, according to my iphone.

"When life gives you lemons, chunk it right back." -- Bill Watterson

Last chance to enter Sticky9 Giveaway!

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You can enter here for a chance to win 3 sets {each set includes 9 square magnets} of photo magnets using any of your pictures, including those on your Instagram account. 

Thanks for all your love and support! 

A Girl and Her Dog: Cindy + Louie.

Hello! 

Today I'm so very happy to have Cindy and Louie for our monthly "A Girl and Her Dog" series. You may remember Cindy from some other posts I have done and so I was happy when she once again accepted our request for her to make another appearance, this time with her best furry pal. 

I first came across Cindy's Instagram when she kindly left a comment on one of my pictures. I hopped on over to her account and instantly felt as if we had been friends for a long time. Doesn't that sound crazy? It's one of those once in a blue moon feelings I get with people. An Instagram connection became a blog connection and now her spaces on the Internet are among my favorite daily visits. And how can it not? Cindy is a pretty cool gal, and Louie, a beagle rescue, is just a bundle of cuteness, but put them all together with the human guy in their lives, and they just make the cutest family to grace the Internet.

Here is all about Cindy & Louie. 

The girl: Cindy Kogure

The dog: Louie. She is a beagle. 

Cindy's favorite snack: Blueberries

Louie's favorite snack: Peanut butter frosty paws

From: Los Angeles, California 

Find them on Instagram: @kidgranny

Find them on their blog: Kidgranny

Dear Louie,

Do you remember the first day we met? It was in the fall of 2011. Your papa and I happened to visit our local animal shelter, and you were the only dog that wouldn’t come to the front of the cages to greet us, even though I literally begged you to come! I thought that perhaps you were ill or severely sedated and was terribly worried about your health. Thanks for proving me wrong! As soon as I interacted with you one-on-one, you were so sweet and I knew you were just terrified in the cage and was eager to be in an actual home again.

There’s a lot that I like about us, but what I love most is how we care for each other. When I’m having one of those days when nothing seems to go right, you snuggle up close to me without me even having to say or do anything, as if to say, “I’m here now.” When you’re having one of those “off” days, I take you on an extra long walk and give you belly rubs until your tail is wagging again.

I also love that you’re game for anything – from going on adventures to having a chill day at home. This past spring, you took on an important role to be the ring bearer for our wedding. You were everyone’s favorite! I’m so glad some of our distant relatives and friends that live further away finally had the chance to meet you in person.

Now your papa and I are finally off to our honeymoon. We’ll be away for a little over two weeks. It’s the longest that we’ll be away from you, and I will miss you terribly! I’ll miss the pitter-patter sound that you make as you trot across the hallway, your loud snores, and your deep, soulful eyes. I'll miss not being able to give you a good night kiss and snuggle with you on the couch. We love you so much, and we wish you could experience Europe with us but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be on a plane for 15+ hours. You will be in good hands with grandpa and grandma – I’m sure they’ll spoil you rotten! Please behave while we are away – no stealing food from the dinner table!

Lots of love,

Momma aka your BFF

Thank you so much Cindy and Louie. 

You can see more of the life they share on Instagram and also on their blog. 

Photos via Cindy. 

Read more "A Girl and Her Dog" Stories here. 

This picture is for Yangkyu.

We were out and about with friends during Labor Day Weekend and I kept taking pictures of our feet {as usual - I can't help it! It's one of my favorite things to photograph}. But then Yangkyu said, "can we take a picture of us other than our feet?" So this picture is for him. A picture of us other than our feet. Thanks to his friend, Chi Young, for capturing this spontaneous laugh of ours. I think I may frame this one. 

Thoughts on eating healthy to head into the weekend.

We've been changing diets around here - and I mean everyone. We've been transitioning Piri to a grain-free diet, something we hope will help with his ongoing allergies, and Yangkyu has been on a diet that helps with his acid reflux, something he's developed within the past few weeks. So as a result, my diet has also changed to something less fattening and spicy and definitely bland. 

But I've been thinking a lot about the way we eat. I'd say that we have improved in the healthy department over the past few years but I still crave junk food now and then. I thought that was ok, as long as it's in moderation {right now I crave like a half of a soda bottle every two weeks or so but not so much chips and such}. 

Yesterday, a person who I have become Instagram friends with posted a very thoughtful picture about veganism and how it's not so much a diet but a moral obligation. I agree. The unfortunate thing is that I can't seem to switch over. It's not that I'll miss certain foods or ingredients but it almost seems like I have to rewire how I cook and prepare things. That seems a bit overwhelming. 

I watched a documentary last year about food and how eating right can cure illnesses. But it also touched on the topic of access and featured an immigrant family whose parents worked low-wage jobs. They would love to feed their children healthy foods, but buying a $5 organic broccoli {along with other ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner} was just not in their budget. So instead they opt for $1 burger menus at fast food restaurants.

The issue of food justice, including rights of workers who work in the fields, and access has been in my periphery for a while, but I've circled back to it as I am now thinking about what and how we should eat. How can someone like myself who can easily transition to healthy foods be more aware about how improve access so that not just a certain group of people can eat healthy but everyone? And what do I need to know and how do I support the people who pick the food we eat out in the fields? Sometimes we think we can't do anything about these issues because solutions just don't seem tangible. But surely there must be something... something that a regular person like you and me can do to help make systemic changes so that everyone has access to healthy food.  

Some heavy thoughts and questions to go into the weekend, but I felt compelled to pose them. I shall think about it more as I sift through the web on vegan eating, recipes and how to make the transition seem less overwhelming. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I'm learning how to use our lawn mower and anxiously waiting for the mailman to deliver my new knitting needles so I can start on knitting chunky hats for the colder months ahead. What do you have planned? 


PS - Thanks for your messages and support! If you haven't already, enter our blog birthday giveaway with Sticky9 for a chance to win 3 sets of photo magnets!