Happy Halloween

Can't wait to have a little munchkin someday so my husband and I can dress them in Star Wars costumes. Hope your Halloween is full of candy, fun, and lots of love!

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What I've Been Doing With My iPhone 4S

I'd blog about my real life, but it's nowhere near as entertaining.

I Am Disturbed

I'm beginning to notice a trend in the Catholic/Christian community that has me scratching my head at best, and pulling out my hair at worst.

Depression is a disease, not the devil.

When you suffer from poor eyesight and realize things you used to be able to see aren't clear anymore, do you blame the devil for distorting your vision? Do you pray to God to restore your eyesight and banish this "demon"?

NO. YOU GO GET GLASSES.

Why is is that we are so uncomfortable with diseases of the mind? Do not be afraid! Recognizing you have a problem, and taking steps to correct that problem, are a sign of courageousness!

I was diagnosed with depression at age 15 in my sophomore year of high school. I can't begin to explain how dark a tunnel I had to travel through to finally allow people to help me. I had been suffering from attacks of despair, uncontrollable anger and/or crying, and self hatred for a number of years. In fact, I first began displaying signs of childhood depression at age four, and my pediatrician mentioned this to my parents, though I continued to go unmedicated for 11 more years. The ages of 12-15 were what I refer to as the Dark Ages.

There's no doubt in my mind that there is a huge stigma surrounding depression/anxiety, and not just in the Christian community (though I find it far more pronounced there). It certainly doesn't help that psychiatrists have been handing out prozac like candy for the past decade as soon as the first teenager mentions they're feeling sad. But for those of us that truly suffer from a disease that never goes away, medication is hope.

If you feel that you can manage your depression/anxiety without medication, then I commend you. But please, keep the demons out of it.

Wannabe Farm Girl

We spent Saturday afternoon at my coworkers hobby farm in Lompoc/Buellton. They invited everyone down for a fun get together that included grilled cheese, pumpkin pie, apple pie, wicked pickles, lemon curd, etc. Aubrey and James have been slowly building up their hobby farm for awhile, and it is so cool! I really admire them for having the guts to leave city life behind and embark on this new journey. Now they make all kinds of homemade products including wildflower honey, pies, farm fresh eggs, applesauce, etc. I've got a jar of wicked pickles (wickles) in the fridge right now!

Baaaa! His name is Dirty Chai and he has a cashmere coat...so soft!

My coworkers little sweet pea enjoyed the goats.

Sweet little pygmy girl goat.

Looking for some lovin.

James and Aubrey actually have beehives! Wow! They make their own wildflower honey.

The goat box. They got scared of someone's little dog and ran for safety.

Santa Rita Hills

Habanero/Ghost pepper hybrid - spicy!

Alpacas next door.

Harvest feast with their garden in the background.

I am so envious of their rural yet still close to city lifestyle! I've always been a wannabe farm girl, and hopefully someday I can convince my husband to live the semi-rural life with me. I would love to have chickens, goats and a garden. I think I'll leave the bees to them though. Hope you all had a relaxing weekend!

7 Quick Takes

I'm always a day late and a dollar short with quick takes, but I find this template to be the best way for me to sum up what's been going on in my life. I just can't seem to make it happen on Fridays!

— 1 —

Brian started school again and is teaching Writing 2 at UCSB. He lovingly refers to these wide-eyed freshman as his children and he takes great pride in teaching them. I'm so proud of him and his accomplishments, and as an added bonus I get to see him in dress slacks, dress shirt, and tie twice a week. What a handsome guy!

— 2 —

I enjoyed a rare night out with the girls from work on Monday - we went wine tasting at the Canary Hotel rooftop in downtown Santa Barbara. $20 bucks gets you four tastings of wine, fruit, crackers, and cheese galore. We had some good laughs and then decided to head down to a taco bar and have our fill. All in all it was a good night, even if those tacos were way overpriced. I've also hit my alcohol quota for the rest of the year - I can't remember the last time I had a drink.

— 3 —

Do I really need to start this again?

 But if I keep looking in the mirror at myself I might have to start drinking on a more regular basis. I am going to be 24 years old next month - why in the world do I still have teenage acne!? This is ridiculous. In the last two years I've finally started to look my age and now I'm back to looking like I'm 17 again. Dear face - seriously, you need to stop. Thanks.

— 4 —

It's a little like this.

 Speaking of needing a drink (I see a trend here) I had my Annual Review at work on Friday. It's a little like subjecting yourself to torture in the hopes that there will be a reward. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Anyway, I'm glad it's behind me and I can MOVE ON. You know, as soon as the nightmares pass.

— 5 —

So Amazon released their Kindle Fire this week. Great, thanks Amazon. Like I'm not addicted to buying stuff from you enough, now I've got to shell out $200 for a ridiculously awesome tablet. You know why they named it Fire? Because it's burning a hole in my pocket. Then again, it's a lot less than investing in an iPad (by the way Steve Jobs, where is my iPhone 5?).

— 6 —

So I recently discovered TOMS. I'd seen the shoes around but didn't know there was this whole hippie movement. When I started looking online and discovered that they give a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair that you buy, I was a quick sell. The shoes are super cute, comfy, and go with just about anything. They use sustainable materials and some of their shoes are even vegan. I purchased the Snow Leopard Classics and have already gotten a ton of compliments on them. These Bottle Green Cords are next on my list - they look perfect for fall!

— 7 —

Can I just take a moment to express how much I want to be a stay at home mom? I know some women are career driven and have passions outside of the home, but my passion has and always will be children. I've wanted to be a mom since I was a little girl, and proudly proclaimed at age 11 that I would have at least 4 kids (my mom still laughs about this). I want so much to be able to stay home, cook dinners, bake bread, sew, craft, cuddle babies, and raise children. I want to see my husband off to work every day and give him a kiss. I want the house to be clean and refreshing when he gets home. I want to bathe my babies in the sink and play with them on the grass. And while I know we're getting closer to that dream, right now it feels so far away.

Alright, there's my serious moment for the day. Hope I didn't scare anyone!

Please head over to Conversion Diary to get your fill of 7 Quick Takes and discover great blogs!

Yosemite

Pleasantly surprised to find champagne waiting for us to celebrate our anniversary. Thanks Tenaya!

Is that a spa tub? OH YES IT IS.

Rockin the new boots.

Entering Yosemite Valley

Bridal Veil Falls

Yosemite Falls. No we didn't go rafting, don't be ridiculous!

Bangin some beats and eatin some beef jerky. You know how I do.

Half Dome

I look like a bean pole with hips. Anyway, Brian made me hike Sentinel Dome - don't even get me started.

I swear I almost died. Here I am trying not to pass out at 8,000 feet.

Turns out I made it to the top. I'm a survivor!

I tried to convince Brian these were dinosaur footprints.

This tree needed a good deep cleaning. You don't wanna know what was in there.

Apparently turning your barn into a giant flag is really fancy in rural America.

All joking aside, we had a great time and it was pretty rough going back to the real world. Friday was the end of the quarter at work, so for the past two weeks I've barely had time to eat lunch. It has definitely affected my blogging schedule as you can see, most days I was just coming hope and taking naps after work.

We've been making some changes in our life around here which I hope to be able to blog about soon. Until then - I'll be reading all of your blog entries and kicking my feet up. I mean, more than I already do.