Life Is Beautiful

This is a life update post, but before I get to that, I wanted to share with you something that I posted on Facebook last week.  It’s an observation that I’ve made about blogging, scrapbooking, and documenting life in general.

I want to share with you what I believe is a side-effect of documenting life:  living a more full life and showing up.  I truly believe that without my blog (and all the life projects + crafty projects on there), my life would be much more boring and less full. I have made myself do more new things and sought out experiences because of blogging. The same is true for scrapbooking, Project Life, Project 365, New 52, Month In Reviews, Year In Reviews, etc. All of these efforts at life documenting has actually made me "be there" in life, and increased my life satisfaction because of it. It has enriched my life. This is a truly astounding side-effect!  :-)

There are times when I’m busy and tired and I don’t feel like blogging, or I’m discouraged by blogging because people don’t seem to respond to my posts.  That is when I need to remember how much I’ve enjoyed looking at my life the last few years on my blog.  It really makes me so happy that I’ve documented the big and small parts of life. 

So what’s been going on the last few weeks?

We had some rare November rains in San Diego.  One evening before going out to dinner, we saw a complete rainbow over our neighborhood.  So fantastic! (iPhone panoramic photo)

Todd and I went to Blue Ribbon Pizza for dinner on 11/23.  Todd has declared that this is his favorite pizza in all of San Diego now.

We shared the pizza and a salad, because of course you need a little vegetable too!  (Even if there’s bacon in it.)

On Sunday 11/24 I decided to try to make some added-sugar-free & gluten-free banana pancakes.  I followed this recipe that I found on Pinterest.  The texture was a little weird, but it tasted ok, albeit somewhat too eggy.  You can’t tell me that this is a replacement for the fluffy floury pancakes though!

On Monday 11/25 we had dinner with Dejah & Roby at Sea & Smoke.  It was Todd and my first time there, but they’ve been before. 

Todd had the Braised Lamb Shoulder.

I had the Maine Diver Scallops.

Dejah had Thin Sliced Grassfed Carpaccio.

And Roby had the Pork Belly.

It had been a while since we got together with Dejah & Roby for dinner.  We had fun chatting and of course enjoying the food.

I went to Target before work on Wed 11/27, and had my first Starbucks Peppermint Mocha of the season!  From after Black Friday to New Years, I only dare go to Target first thing in the morning when they open.  Otherwise I can’t find parking there.

On 11/30 Todd and I shared our first hot chocolate of the season!  If you don’t know about our hot chocolate dates, you can read about it here.

On Wed 11/27, Todd and I went and checked out a new restaurant in our neighborhood called Catch.  I had Pesto Sauteed Scallop Salad.

Todd had the 007 sushi roll.

It was pretty good.  Since it’s in our neighborhood, I’m sure we’ll be back again.

Things are starting to look festive around here.

On Sat 11/30 Ohio State beat the rival Wolverines 42-41.  Michigan went for a 2-point conversion at the end of the game for the win, but did not get it!  So close!

We had Bongiornos pizza while watching the game, which made it even more perfect!

Sadly, yesterday 12/7 they lost to Michigan State in the Big 10 Championship Game, which means the Buckeyes don’t get to go to the BCS National Championship Game.  So close, yet so far!  Between last year and this year, they won 24 games straight.  It’s been a great run and I have no complaints, only great memories!

I bought some printables from Geralyn Sy’s shoppe In A Creative Bubble.  I love her design aesthetics and colors.  Today I printed the Holly Jolly Cut-outs on Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Paper Matte, and cut them out by hand.  Can’t wait to use them for holiday scrapbooking and Project Life! 

And that’s right, no life update is complete without some fresh Noodle cuteness.

Belly-up on Todd’s lap, lol.

Hugging Todd. 

One morning I found him in a sunny spot under the bed.

Under a blanket on the recliner the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Life really is wonderful.  I’ve got lots of good posts planned the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned!  :-)