What I'm Into (July 2014)

July started off busily, but then slowed way down. When I think back to 4th of July weekend, it feels like months ago! I did a pretty good job of blogging my activities, but here's a quick recap of life between work and sleep:

• 4th of July was spent with friends (Dan, Mariel, Jon) at my apartment. We played games and ate sandwiches and strawberry shortcake.
• The weekend continued on with various activities that I discussed here.
• I went to Portland on my own to visit new places. I blogged about that here.
• Mariel and Jon came over for more games.
• I visited some local gardens to get out of the house and take pictures.

Books
I didn't read a ton, but enjoyed what I did read (listened to):

• Daddy's Gone a Hunting by Mary Higgins Clark - MHC is one of my unguilty pleasures. Her books are all the same, and I can joke about them, but there is something really comforting in listening to Jan Maxwell read them to me on my drives. They make me feel less lonely!
• Thin, Rich, Pretty by Beth Harbison - My first experience with this author, and it was a good one. I'm looking forward to reading more of her books!
• Last Night at the Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger - This is the author of The Devil Wears Prada, which I have not read (only watched), but I have read a couple of others by her and enjoyed the escape into a totally different kind of lifestyle than mine. This one may be my favorite of hers so far.

TV/Movies
X-Men was the only new thing I watched this month, and I already talked about that. My wireless is currently down (due to a creepy/gross ant infestation of my router!), so I have been on a small break from Netflix lately, which is probably a very good thing.

Games
I played all of my usual favorites with friends, but Dan also introduced me to the Jet Punk website where you can take lots of quizzes. It's really fun and educational! We did several over the phone, and I tried many on my own time as well. As for apps, I've been playing a lot of Pet Rescue Saga, and recently downloaded Red Herring, a fun categories game that I heard of through 7 Little Words (which I believe my sister told me about).

Music
I realized Colbie Caillat came out with a new (partial) album, and downloaded that right away. She's one of the few artists where I'll automatically purchase her new albums when I come across them. So far I like Blaze and If You Love Me Let Me Go the most.

Food
I got hooked on what I call Hash Scramble this month. It's nothing new, I just cooked up hash browns, sausage (my favorite is Trader Joe's chicken breakfast sausage), eggs and cheese together in one pan (but not all at once--in stages) for a hearty breakfast casserole that doesn't require the oven. The best part is that it reheats well and I was able to make it ahead and have it for breakfasts (actually, any meal!). I ended up fixing it so much that I got a little burned out on it.

 I also made these Parmesan zucchini rounds a few times, because they're sooooo delicious.

Products

• For the past few months I've been using Dove dry shampoo. I've tried several kinds of dry shampoos, and this is the best one so far--at least for me. The smell is fine, the white residue comes off easily, it's only like $4, and it gives my hair some needed volume/texture to make it easier to fix. Plus, it actually does what it's supposed to do--it absorbs oils between washes so your hair doesn't feel as dirty. 
• I bought my first pair of glasses from Zenni and they're great. They're so inexpensive, and everything was processed and shipped fairly quickly. See below for a picture.

Instagram
I've gotten much more into Instagram and Twitter lately, and am happy for any new followers. Some of my Instagram highlights this month:

Misc

• Roses - I've been in love with roses lately, particularly since many are in bloom right now. I had a great time at the rose garden in Bush Park and took tons of pictures that I posted here.
• A/C and fans - It's been fairly hot (for us) here off and on over the past month. I'm pretty tired of it, but am thankful for a/c at work, fans at home, and relatively cool nights.
• Upcoming plans - I'm so excited about the fact that I get to spend Christmas with my younger sister's family and my parents! I haven't had Christmas with kids in awhile, and am thrilled that I'll be with my nieces. I'm also hoping to visit my older sister for Thanksgiving in her new hometown of Houston, TX (Pasadena, to be specific).

Bonus: Sister Love. My niece posted this in Instagram the other day and I had her send me a copy. Can't wait to spend Christmas with these two and their sisters and parents!

Rainbows are visions

Various crises among my family and friends have me a bit troubled this week, so things like seeing a very faint rainbow (can you even see it in the above photo?) over the water outside my back door are little highlights. But I, being the greedy girl that I am, asked God to make it a brighter and larger rainbow so I could get a decent photo. (He's used to my requests regarding photo ops.) Then I went to do a few things before I left for a meeting, and kind of forgot about it until I walked back out into my living room and saw this:

:) :) :)

And though I was definitely on time for the meeting (despite what it may have seemed), having only one minute to spare was almost entirely the rainbow's fault. I had to get plenty of pictures.

This reminds me of my rainbow story which I must share now. Don't stop me if you've heard it.

Once upon a time, back when I lived with my parents, I looked outside to see a weird gold light on everything, making the trees vibrant against a dark gray sky. Fancy! Then I noticed a bright rainbow, and I went outside to look at it. My dad has outdoor speakers and had left music playing even though no one else was out there. (They were attached to a system that was set to one of those music TV channels that comes with various cable/digital packages. You know, nonstop music of a particular genre, and the screen is generally blank aside from some info about the song, artist, etc.) So I'm out there in the gold light, looking at a rainbow and having an Enya moment, when a song comes on that enhances the experience even more. It was a piano piece from what was likely the New Age music channel.

I liked the song enough that I wanted to know what it was before it ended and stopped displaying the information, so I quickly ran through the house to reach the TV and read what it was. The song was (drumroll).... Riding the Rainbow by Tom Barabas! How meant to be was that?! Seriously, what are the odds that a rainbow-titled song would play right at the moment I'm looking at a rainbow?

Hey look - you can listen to it here: Riding the Rainbow

It's definitely worth a listen. I'm a fool for good piano music.

Oh and here's one more photo, because I think it's fun that you can kind of see the rainbow's reflection in the water.