from the heART: you're so vain, you probably think this post is about me

At first glance you may be thinking that it is very odd to post photos of oneself. Well fear not, this post is not about me, but is about my extremely talented sister, Lexi. She is not only an incredible sister, loving friend, and a great fiance (to Steve), she is a spectacular photographer. 

Don't believe me? Well look for yourself right here. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed and will surely be impressed.

from the heART: the turkinator

If I didn't have dog fever before, I certainly do now. Spend just 5 minutes with Turkey dog, yes that really is his name, and you too will have dog fever. Turkey, Turkinator, Turks, whatever you call him, he will still be one of the sweetest, spastic, loveable pups ever. 

My sister and her new husband (as of this past Saturday!) moved to Hawaii which has given our family the pleasure of housing their two dogs before they are able to make their way over to the islands. If his looks weren't enough to win you over, his bag-o-tricks surely would be enough. Of course he has the classics down: sit, stay, and down. BUT if you tell him to "gobble" oh yes he barks! AND if you shoot him with a "bang, bang" he growls and rolls over on his back.

Turkey totally has my heart and I will be sad to see him go. Well, oh shucks, I suppose I'll just have to plan a trip to Hawaii. Oh well, what are you going to do.

from the heART: the Lord is risen indeed

Simply put, I love Easter. Time spent reflecting on the Lord and spending time with family is all a blessing. This year in particular may top as one of my favorites.

Late afternoon Friday, my older sister, her fiance, and two dogs left their homes in Tennessee for good and made the long drive out to Arizona for their wedding this coming weekend. Not sure if they would make it by Sunday morning, they pushed through and arrived on Saturday night. Having the whole family together for Easter was an occasion that hasn't happened in a long time and really made it special. BUT it also meant that our egg hunt was kicked way up in intensity! Yup, you read correctly, I said egg hunt. Sure the youngest in the bunch is 22 and the oldest is 33 and no that doesn't stop us. 

The eggs are filled with spare change and candy and is debated every year if the winner is who finds the most eggs or the most cash. This year the wins went to my sister in law for most eggs and my younger sister with most cash. (I do have a strong suspicion that most improved hunter will likely go to B-Wise who walked away with only 4 eggs this year.)  

However, at the end of the day, I think we are all winners because we are grown adults running around the yard searching for easter eggs! 

He is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!

from the heART: you stay classy san diego

This past weekend I took Friday off work and headed to the west coast for a weekend full of surprises. My poolmate Anna was in town for her spring break and I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to be there for her surprise birthday party that her mom put together. 

Before we surprised Anna Friday night, Sasha and I decided to pick up a very berry sundae from Costco then head to the beach for a while. However, after we picked up our tasty  treat and were back on the road, we passed the flowers fields and clearly our plans immediately changed. There are acres upon acres, full of thousands upon thousands of ranunculus of multiple colors. The flowers fields were nothing short of remarkable! 

After the flowers, we headed to happy hour which really was full of happiness! Between spots our group couldn't miss out on the nation wide hype of Mega Millions and so we bought our (losing) tickets. Even though we didn't win, our tickets did bring us much entertainment talking about what we would spend the money on if we were to win. Josh would buy a yacht, Anna would take a trip around the world, and I would buy a puppy, which I was given grief for saying but hey, its my fake money and I'll do what I want! 

The next morning we woke up and Sasha cooked up a storm! We helped where we could and ended up with a fabulous breakfast of monkey bread and a sausage frittata. Afterwards we packed up and headed to the boat for a day on the water. The sun decided it didn't want to come out but we didn't mind. We just bundled up and enjoyed our time together minus my sea sickness (whoops) and a light drizzle. While out we spotted not only sea lions but were fortunate to see a whale! Anna saw its arm and side, I saw its back, and Sasha saw its tail, so pretty much we saw a whole whale which was awesome! 

After the boat we said our fake goodbyes and all went on our fake separate ways. Only to all come back together at John and Whitney's to get ready for Anna's surprise party! Which ended the night and the weekend in a great way! Good food, good conversation, (good March Madness games) with the best of friends! It went quickly but was a lovely weekend overall and I always love spending time with my best friends!

from the heART: baseball, baseball, baseball

Living in Phoenix, we are fortunate in having the pleasure of Spring Training baseball games during the lovely month of March. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, I went to a game last week. Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants. Not one who particularly loves to watch baseball, I sure do love the atmosphere and good company. Both of which I enjoyed.

We had baseball, beer and babes.

from the heART: 73 donate blood

Number 73: Donate blood turned out to be more easily acquired then I thought it would be. United Blood Services came to my work and I felt I had no other choice but to sign up and be able to check another item off the list.

I haven't donated blood since high school, so my nerves did get the best of me. The anticipation and build up to the actual donating is awful! You sit and wait until someone comes to get you and you sit through a series of tests, questions, (and in my opinion the worst part of it all) the prick on the finger to test your iron. After passing all the tests, they take you over to the donating chair and sit you down. There seemed to be a lot going once I was seated and so I continued to just sit. Watch others begin, watch others finish, watch the ladies package up the donated blood, watch one girl almost pass out.

At this point, all the watching was not easing any nerves I was having but then finally it was my turn. The lady was very kind and hooked me up and off I went donating!

Then the watching continued. I watched my two friends finish donating, then watched them enjoying cookies and juice. Watched one girl across from me get hooked up. Then watched her get unhooked after finishing. I continued to sit and wait (and yes I was squeezing the tube but didn't seem to be speeding up the process). After multiple check-ins from the lady in charge, and readjustments, I did it! I was finished! I then received my cookies and juice and a sticker that said "Be a hero, donate blood!" So I am proud to announce, that I did donate blood and you can call me a hero!

from the heART: seven month update

1. swim alcatraz
2. complete a half ironman
3. buy a puppy
4. do bikram yoga
5. move out of arizona
6. vacation to new york
7. ice skate on a frozen lake
8. go hunting with pops
9. attend a concert
10. travel to europe
11. take a tap dance class
12. hot air balloon ride
13. get new glasses (in the process of ordering from Warby Parker, check it out)
14. go fishing
15. start volunteering regularly
16. get a bikini wax
17. cook at least one homemade meal a week [0/143]
18. join the chi omega alumni phoenix chapter
19. mail snail mail letters to family and friends
20. make tea cup candles
21. second shoot a wedding for lex
22. annual trip to an art museum [1/3]
23. read 5 unread books on my bookshelf [0/5]
24. watch sunrise over water
25. donate hair to locks of love (getting closer)
26. start a vegetable garden
27. fly a kite
28. soak in a bubble bath
29. make wine bottle glasses
30. go on a spontaneous trip
31. run [another] marathon (currently training for one in april)
32. skype with a friend once a week for 6 months [0/24]
33. finish seasonal paintings
34. learn to play the guitar [better]
35. make a xmas card with video link
36. get wisdom teeth removed
37. blog at least once a week [0/143]
38. go to a drive-in movie
39. subscribe to a magazine
40. see a broadway show
41. picnic in a park
42. make a homemade pie from scratch
43. read the bible cover to cover
44. buy a new computer (always on my mind)
45. go paint-balling
46. finish scrap-booking college
47. go a week without spending any money
48. sing karaoke
49. go apple picking [in wilcox]
50. watch on golden pond [name sake movie]
51. purchase a home
52. own a chicken
53. take a new license photo
54. attend an NFL game
55. whiten my teeth (bought the kit, just need to start)
56. go sledding/skiing/or snowboarding
57. pay for the next person in line
58. leave a ridiculously large tip
59. hike the grand canyon
60. run a half marathon a year [1/3]
61. visit lex in tucson
62. finish my state quarters collection
63. sew a dress
64. go on a wine tour
65. deliver holiday cookies to our neighbors
66. ask a guy out on a date
67. go para-sailing
68. drive/ride on a motorcycle
69. go paddle boating on tempe town lake
70. tape record mom and pops story of how they met
71. host a dinner party
72. make a piece of jewelry
73. give blood
74. go to the zoo and feed a giraffe
75. become an educated voter (I’d say about half way there)
76. annual trip to the beach [1/3]
77. go camping (trip is planned)
78. have sunday school class memorize the Lord's prayer
79. hit the bull's eye with a bow and arrow
80. write a letter to myself to be opened in ten years
81. invest my savings (very close to completing)
82. complete a yearlong thankful journal (started on the first of the year)
83. handstand for ten seconds
84. send someone flowers just because
85. go on a mission trip
86. buy a paper shredder
87. order dessert for dinner
88. go salsa dancing
89. go to a psychic
90. complete a 365 day photo challenge
91. complete a 1000+ piece puzzle
92. get picture taken with santa
93. visit nicole in memphis hawaii (moving in april)
94. buy a road bike
95. go to a movie by myself
96. go to a comedy club
97. build a snowman in pinetop
98. send and receive 100 postcards from postcrossing
99. fill all empty frames in house (I have art taped to the glass and just need to place it inside)
100. get [another] piercing
101. witness a miracle

from the heART: not quite what i wanted

As noted in a previous post, I've been trying to cook more. This past weekend a group of friends got together to play volleyball and cookout. My brother being the stellar cook that he is, took to the grill. We had hot dogs, bratwursts, chicken and the best grilled zucchini ever!

Being inspired by our bbq, when I went shopping earlier this week and came across zucchini I quickly snatched some up. When last night rolled around and I did not have any dinner plans, I decided it would be a perfect time to grill up my zucchini and I couldn't have been more excited.

After working a ten hour day at work, it seemed a lovely idea to head home, make some dinner and simply relax. Which is almost exactly what I did...

I arrived home and immediately went to the kitchen and took out my zucchini. Grabbed a knife and started slicing. As I'm slicing, I think to myself, I didn't think zucchini really had a smell. And I KNOW the inside of zucchini don't appear this transparent. Yup, you guessed it, cucumbers!