embracing the current

I feel I've gone over it a dozen times in my head but it's something I must share here as well.
I am immensely grateful for the, dare I say, blessed 2013 I had.

I started a nice, new little job, had so many wonderful adventures with my Mark-- our wild goose chase for the wildflower fields in the Figueroa mountains {maybe this year?!}, seeing some of our favorite comedians live, and little road trips and mini hikes.

In the spring I did something so unplanned and unlike me I took myself by surprise. I, for the first time in my 21 years, embraced fitness and discipline in diet. It was a whole new world, let me tell ya. I learned to see food in a totally new light by just watching what I ate. I even went running with M a couple of times and visited... the gym. Really a big deal for me-- they're just not my thing, the atmosphere I mean. Points for trying nonetheless.

{ my mom took me by total surprise and planted tomatoes! to attest to my gardening expertise-- one morning, for some reason I can't remember, I had to dump some boiling water outside and thought the sprouting tomato leaves were weeds and targeted them... killed a few but we had plenty survivors. I felt so guilty I lovingly tended our mini garden every morning after }

In the summer I enjoyed tons of tanning and swimming with my other best friend, my best woman, Fizz {by now I can't recall how I came up with that ridic nickname}. Mark landed an awesome internship and travelled to Chicago for a concrete canoe national competition {yeah, concrete floating. I don't know either, it's a civil engineer thing}. Though he went to support the 2013 team, this year he's going with his own team. It's crazy how dedicated they are; I'm excited to see them win! Go Mustangs 2014 Concrete Canoe team!
That's enough.

There were bonfires and there was the stolen purse shpiel, now I don't think I mentioned in the last post or if it had happened yet, but the purse was found and returned to me! A town away! Thank you, Pismo PD because that was/is my go-to purse, it goes with everything in my wardrobe and was a gift from Fizz.

We had such sweet walks every other night my gent and I. A small detail to recall of the entire year but I love to reminisce. Walking hand in hand, having conversations about it all, the most perfect breeze swaying my dresses, my hair poof smelling of chlorine from band-aid infested city pools, and coming back to fruity Jamba Juice blended drinks with a kick and then some. ;)

Before summer ended Mark and I saw Tim McGraw and Kip Moore and it was indescribably amazing. Perhaps my favorite day out of the year, if I had to pick. I'd relive it a hundred times.

A dreamy summer altogether.
I did mean to get to posting before the year was up, but better late than never-- some of these 2013 adventures will still be posted.

{ i just gotta say, it seems like general rule that if you're taking the picture then the other person better hope they put on their best face 'cause c'mon, 

i'm not sacrificing a good shot of me on my device. i know i always keep this in mind because he who

controls the power over the delete button controls you }

In the fall I had an aerobics class that just made me realize how much I love that sort of thing, working out in a group and whatnot-- made me embrace fitness all the more. I might even enroll in a gym class like it this year, it was that fun! Might; don't hold me to it {still stuck in my stubborn ways].

Those workouts and an awesomely cheerful instructor definitely helped with the stress and drama of buying my first car. Earning something you worked pretty hard for and 100% you, there's really not many feelings like it. Just a week after I bought my car {still unnamed, but I mean Jetta is a cute one anyway} Mark was in a wreck-- Honda totaled. That little Civic took him through it all and went down to it's last legs; it also saved his life, he was thankfully all O.K. Still the scariest voicemail I've listened to in my life, goodness knows how I would've reacted had I answered that 1am call.

I felt all the wise reminding him of my post; 

"I'm going to subtly try to wedge in a new life motto-- always be ready to part with physical possessions. A phone, wallet, car; none of that is life defining and I want to always be okay with or without any of those things as long as I've love and health."

Rare when your own advice comes in useful, innit? 

But I'm the best girlfriend so naturally I handed over my still-cold-to-my-touch keys to him so that he could commute 'till he found a {luxuriously handsome} car, something a workaholic like him deserves. ;)

{ tried to fix the red-eye, tried. }

Thinking of it now, it seems as if for every malicious event that happened to me/us in the year, we were rewarded with something even better for enduring strongly through it-- something much too hard to do without a loved one to prop and support you.

That being the only mishap of the season, the holidays were great. I did my best to spoil all my loved ones with gifts and that I did, being a giver rewards me with all the joy I could want, as I'm already surrounded by best people I could ask for.

I appreciate this all the more because none of it was planned, I didn't set any goals or resolutions; it all just happened.

I am beyond thankful for the blessings of 2013 and I hope this year is as amazing as expected-- well, we'll do a little more than just hope. 

With these words I begin another year, they might just get me through.

Happy new year, friends!

Toes in the Clay

- - - I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand . Life is good today, life is good today. Adios and vaya con dios. - - - 

{ Toes, Zac Brown Band }

{ highway one }

It's gonna sound silly, but when I heard for the first time, recently, that East coast beaches don't have waves I let out your typical "nooo waaaay!" shriek like a 6 year old. I mean, what?! Still, when you really think about it the idea of standing on a beach is amazing. It kind of baffles me sometimes. You know you are right at the edge of this country, this huge piece of land! It's a nerdy, fleeting thought, but it's unbelievable when it really hits you. I think about this often living in the California central coast. I would think about it a lot too when I was young and growing up only a short road trip away from the beach; that same ocean I moved closer to coming to the States. Been by the same ocean, all my life.
It's not a big deal, but the idea is pretty darn cool.

{ pismo beach, 2012 }

My most vivid childhood image of that beach was the fiery hell that sand felt like! Standing barefoot for more than two and a half seconds was no joke, but I didn't mind because I ran straight for the waves the minute the car doors opened-- tiny 4 year old in her frilly, girly bathing suit and all. I'd then run back to our set up, bearing pruney little fingers, and grab some tostadas de ceviche with wet and sandy hands. No care in the world.

By no means am I your perfect, sun-kissed, flowing hair beach girl. I'm your very opposite of that. Despite living right by the sea all my life, I don't even know how to swim and I'm just too much of an overall priss to channel my inner child and run for the waves like I used to.

                                                                                                        { los alamos, 2010 }

To my surprise, turns out I'm a country girl in every sense of the word.

Country side vistas, horse ranches, and Brad Paisley. Yeah, the Mexican girl from the hot Sonoran desert beaches. The one who's also, no kidding, deathly afraid of cows.

Have I lost anyone yet?

I guess I could blame the fact that my grandparents' ranch was my second home in Mexico, apart from the polluted city life hours away. Put me, for the rest of my life, in a nice big country-like, redneck ranch an hour away from a beach and I'll die deliriously happy. I know, I'm central-coast spoiled.

Now, I just turned 22. Today. And I've been making a birthday post since the day I opened my LiveJournal, so it's a tradition now. I won't begin the long emotional lap of no longer being... 21. I'll save that one. It was another baby step.
The first of October marks so much for me. The start of the sweet, warm holidays, the best time of the year. I'm giddy already! {but what blogger isn't?} I want to say I feel... blessed. I live comfortably, I've come so far from the young girl raised in Mexico. I've got a big family and soulmate by my side.  I just bought my first car today, too. What more in the world could I ask for?

Happy as this pup sunbathing.

{ morro bay, avomargfest, 2013 }

I miss summer already, and though it wasn't that long ago it feels like a blur. Granted, it's the beautiful Californian central coast, so Autumn doesn't hit us like a brick, but it's here. I feel like we get Summer kisses year round; with our random scorching days mid-November and whatnot.

I try not to exaggerate, but truthfully the seasons affect me like you wouldn't believe. I very much respect them. They practically dictate my feelings and view of life-- everytime.
Look at me; reminiscing like it's the end of the year!
What it is is that October 1st does push a little REFRESH button, makes me push the brakes on the quickness of the passing year.

Adios verano, thank you for the warm tanning, perfect afternoon walks, the amazing Tim McGraw concert, the driving, bonfires, the fishes and avocados, the failed swimming lessons from my best friend, the stolen purse lesson-- thank you plenty.

✽terri

Life's Good.

There are two phrases I consider my little life mottos-- phrases I can always come running back to for comfort:

"Better safe than sorry."
&
"Stop worrying about things you can't control."

I don't always remember to tell myself these things but when I do, boy do I come back down to earth. Goes to show just how much I had floated up...

[Francisco is quite the bugger. Ripping up my journal and attacking my hair nest.]

I had my purse stolen a few weeks ago. 

Mark and I had a super relaxing and hot day tanning at the beach-- came back to a car with a broken window and stolen purse. Serious bummer. I always get this huge nagging guilt when I let myself down. It's different than disappointing someone I care about-- it's the most depressing feeling knowing I made a mistake that affected me so greatly-- let myself down. It's all been resolved now, but going through the process that day and the few after was just gloomy. Every time the police called with updates I'd just sink in them feels again. I don't know why but I just had trouble coming to terms with the fact that there are such scumbags out there that could do such a thing, but I finally did and it was a well learned lesson. Not only that, I also felt paranoid and responsible for the whole situation; leaving a purse in a car, pshh, and Mark's destroyed window.

[phone camera warning]

It's funny, because you'd think I would've learned when just a few weeks before I made the mistake of leaving my purse by a bonfire with drunk friends. They then left our site unattended to go skinnydip or something or other and we had our stuff ransacked-- things thrown all over the sand and into the fire; my purse gone (a different one, just to clarify) but all the contents intact. It was a creepy walk from the beach to the pier, but we were determined to look at some barking seals in the middle of the night.

It doesn't matter how much I remind myself of my little mottos, I cannot push myself out of that feeling-sorry-for-yourself funk. All I do is wait it out. Then I see how ridiculous it is to waste time sulking by just waiting for time to pass. It's like telling yourself "don't think about elephants." And then there you are. Can't be just time that heals things, it helps, but ultimately you have to kick your own butt up. That and Mark is the most supportive man I could ask for. Just going to take a sec to thank you because you're just too wonderful you damn sweet tiger you, thank you.

Anyway, I exaggerate. It finally clicked when I realized these were just materials. I just saw this photo on Reddit, titled "life is good" that initiated that click. I have two good legs and a nicely beating heart. Suddenly I was plenty grateful for that. I'm doing well and few physical possessions don't define or change me. I'm going to subtly try to wedge in a new life motto-- always be ready to part with physical possessions. A phone, wallet, car; none of that is life defining and I want to always be okay with or without any of those things as long as I've love and health. [/cheesefest]

Bringing in herbs to every corner of the house. We have a mint invasion all over our backyard. Our tomatoes are growing! I woke up one gloomy morning, weather wise and mentally, and stepped out for fresh air only to find these little guys up and lively. Made my day. The power of gardening; no better therapy.

Besides such a hiccup, summer has been so sweet and mellow. This year so far has been plenty bright and new to me. I haven't been trying to but I've changed a whole lot just this year, specifically with food-- I've learned to respect and know what I eat which has made a tremendous change in how I feel day-to-day. It's crazy amazing what changes your body can experience from just watching what you eat-- imagine that. A big deal for a person like moi who eats entire bags of hot cheetos with lime and Nutella-loaded crepes. Mark's also opened me up to try different foods [because contrary to the previous sentence, I can't handle spicy foods. No joke]. I'm a brat when it comes to eating and I kind of admit it. Slowly but surely I'm making progress. Mostly I'm just proud of myself because I didn't make any resolutions at the beginning of the year nor am I pushing myself to make changes either; it's just coming around naturally and I'm kind of embracing it. I've always said, I'm a creature of habit so... big deal for Terri.

  Our 4th of july burger feast!

Mark had his first 4th of July off in years! He got himself an awesome internship this summer, soups proud of his hard work.
We attempted to watch the fireworks from the roof... but my prissy-butt wasn't having it. I was so scared, I was practically in tears. Seriously, I'm a land mammal. Got no business climbing or swimming in anything [though I do wish I could learn]. I just lack the guts for these things.

Welp. Here comes August and I'm hoping my weird seasonal-clock doesn't kick in. Normally August throws me into a Fall kind of mood and summer is over for me. But it isn't yet! Summer officially ends... sometimes in August, I think. But these cloudy Californian central coast mornings definitely don't help. I'm hoping the weather warms up again before I break out the Autumn inspirations. Plenty of swimming and tanning left to do.

Anyway, life's good.

mí espejo

I could not count on all my toes and fingers how many projects and little craft things I would like to realize that I simply don’t do. I could spend days bookmarking pages, getting cartoony heart eyes over craft blogs and magazines, saving nifty tutorials and making folder after folder of ideas. I have all these scrapbooking and sewing supplies collecting dust. I forbade myself from buying anymore until I use ‘em [ or find some more storage space ;) ] Don’t ask me why, I couldn’t tell you. Having my own blog will hopefully inspire me to craft more; that’s the idea anyway.

Luckily I have me an amazing man that loves to craft too. More like woodworking than scrapbooking, mind you. I mean, our default channel of choice is HGTV. Jackpot. 

He’d like to learn how to sew, but he doesn’t need any more skills, this is mine. I’m so oldfashion I’ll be more than happy to mend a button.

I can’t remember exactly (and am too lazy to go through my magazines); think it was a 2011’s August issue of Martha Stewart Living? This section on decorating with a beachy theme— a four page spread or so. 
Oy. I was sighing in love at every page. Everything was gorgeous, but there was a sand dollar mirror that stole my heart. How-to instructions and all. She even linked (can you say that? can you "link" on print...?) to some east coast shop's website where she got her sand dollars.
My, t’was love at first sight; it was gorgeous! I folded the pages and put the magazine at the top of the stack for months. But alas, never got around to it.

The sand dollars are right off California’s central coast beaches. M’s mom and grandma spent a morning, probably a couple of years ago, a very early morning, collecting them. They knew they had to go so early before others picked ‘em up; which could not be truer because I have never seen a SINGLE sand dollar at our beaches that wasn’t the size of a quarter or broken. And she had a whole bag sitting in the backyard! They were just lying there like an unused little treasure, so I pushed M to wash them. It took us the longest time to get all the sand out. We followed an e-How article on how to clean them properly and left them to bleach in the sun for weeks days. I forgot about them until M’s sweet surprise.

That afternoon we went to every store that might carry mirrors like these, but they were either too small, had frames, square, etc. I love that we settled with this one, it’s the perfect size and shape. I picked up a bag of seashells, fake, for crafting. They were too cute to pass up; I wasn’t even planning on putting them all over, just as an accent if at all. But M made it work.
A glue gun + mirror + shells
I was so thankful she let us have those shells. It was only so easy to picture her with her mother, racing to see who could find more, bonding. She seemed happy we put them to use, too. That and plenty surprised at the finished product; said it looked so valuable and priceless. I was so scared bringing it home! Then I had to hang it up... all by myself.

Now it sits above my makeup desk/area. I don't remember how that spot looked without it. It's beyond perfect. I did my best to secure it, but I'm paranoid one really good earthquake will take it from me!
Excuse the low-quality phone photos, it's all I had on me the night we made it.

I can only imagine looking back at my reflection, our reflection, decades from now. A photo of our reflection on our wedding day. A photo of our firstborn's reflection.
I know, cheesefest.

Some people have rings, boxes, cards, whatever, that they pass down the family. Relics. Heirlooms. I think, I hope, I can have this the same way.

Y’know, if it survives. 

Crafted September 15^th 2012

✽terri