Monday, July 28, 2014

Adventures with Mom

My mom came out to visit for a few days in mid-July. It was so good to see her. Before I went to the airport to pick her up, I went to Trader Joe's to get some flowers to welcome her. Buried in the daisies and roses, I found some really pretty snapdragons. On our last visit to Missouri Botanical Gardens, I had pointed some out to my mom and photographed them, so I thought they'd be perfect.


As I was leaving, a guy sitting outside on a bench stopped me to ask me if there was an occasion for the flowers. I explained that my mom was visiting from out of town. This started a very long conversation full of his life experiences and advice for my future. Oh, people at Trader Joe's ;)

Everything went smoothly at the airport. Austin was waiting for us when we got back, and we all went out to dinner. We had a good time taking Mom to all of our favorite places. I also went shopping with her in San Jose, and of course we had to hit the rose garden. I found some purple roses there. I hadn't ever seen one this color before:


We went to the Google campus to meet Austin at work and have lunch with him. It was nice to see where he works, and the food was pretty good. Then, we walked around for all of 20 minutes, and I got a sunburn (like I do).

I took Mom to an amazing local nursery that's on the way home from Google. I'm lucky to have a mom that likes flowers as much as I do, and puts up with me constantly taking photos of them. Dahlias are my favorite.


We went up to the city one day and went to Pier 39. We did the little boat ride up to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was kind of drizzly and very foggy, but we were still able to see. Austin took some nice photos on the boat, but I think they were on Mom's camera, so I don't have them to show :(

We also went to the aquarium. It was fun, and I took EVEN MORE photos.


It was a very nice visit, and I'm so glad my mom got to see where I live.

Things are still going well in general. Austin and I are starting to make some new friends in the apartment building. I'm still working on jewelry. Riley is still very happy prowling on the balcony. I might break down and start looking for a job soon, but I'm enjoying my break from the corporate world.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Swimming and Making Things

Things are still going great out in California.

The weather has been consistently awesome, except for one day that was overcast. That was a bummer. ;)

Austin got a couple of days off for 4th of July. We took the train up to AT&T park since the Giants were playing the Cardinals. It was a lot of fun. I wore my Cardinals gear (including this "rally squirrel" pendant that I made) and got boo'd by a few people. It was ok, because we stomped them. Quite a fun day.


I'm getting back into swimming again. There's a small pool at our apartment complex. I've never lived anywhere with a pool. I've been going out there when it opens at 9 and swimming laps until the sun starts hitting it at around 9:45. It feels so good. Swimming is so much easier on me than running or using gym equipment.

I'm staying pretty busy with jewelry orders. I recently got a custom request from a friend for a ring-holder necklace for when she can't wear her wedding ring on her finger. I'd seen them on Pinterest, and already had most of the supplies I'd need. I added some crystals and pearls in her wedding colors to make it unique. I'm very happy with how it turned out, and I hope she is too:


I also got a custom order from my mother-in-law, Susan. My sister-in-law is getting married at the end of August and she was nice enough to ask me about jewelry for the event. She liked these earrings and wanted a necklace to match. I came up with the design below, and now she's testing it out to make sure it's perfect for a formal occasion:


I love making things for my friends and family. I'm always so thankful that they're willing to help support my creative ventures. You guys are awesome.

The hummingbirds are becoming very comfortable with my feeder. They're coming up to it even when we're sitting out there now. It's pretty cool. Here's one chilling out on my railing:



My mom is flying out to visit tomorrow and staying until Sunday. I can't wait to show her around and hang out with her. I love living here, but I'm used to spending a lot of time with my family. It'll be so great to see her.