A random conversation

After returning from the farmer's market today...


Justin: Oh, look at you with your little basket! What did you get?
Me: Some herbs, strawberries....and OH MY GOSH! 
Justin: What??
Me: Okay, the kid who sold me these tomatoes....well, he was a dead-ringer for Peeta Mellark.
Justin: As in, the actor who plays Peeta in the movie or what you've imagined him to be in your head while reading?
Me: The actor. The actor from the movie. 
Justin: .....You wanted to kiss him, didn't you?
Me: --silence--
Justin: You didn't say anything! YOU WANTED TO KISS HIM, DIDN'T YOU?!
Me: No! I didn't want to kiss him...I mean, I just wanted to say, 'Has anyone ever told you how much you look like Peeta Mellark?'
Justin: You should have! That probably would have made his day!
Me: No, uh uh, the kid was like, 18...would have creeped. him. out. 


Oh, I love Peeta. And the farmer's market.


That is all.


NPR

"Please chase a peony, love"

I'm going to make a confession: I don't always do the greatest job of looking on the bright side. I realize this isn't the most ridiculous thing in the world since there are a lot of people who tend to be self-proclaimed "realists" [ c'mon, in all honesty that's just an excuse to be a negative Nancy ] and don't always consider the glass half full. However, a huge part of my motivation to revamp this blog was to change the name to Chasing Peonies, which was actually a metaphor for me to lean more towards optimism on a daily basis.

I used to be a bubble of flowers and butterflies, hopes and dreams. But somewhere along the way, for a myriad of reasons that need not be delved into, I transformed into a dark hole filled with nothing but shrewdness and negativity. While I've since come out of that [ thank goodness ] , a small part lingers and threatens to take over when I lose sight of what is so good and real in my life now. In fact, it probably comes out more than I realize, considering all too often Justin will encouragingly remind me to change my attitude with one simple phrase: "Please chase a peony, love."

feliz cumpleaños

So I actually meant to write a post on Wednesday, but Pixelpipe was being a pooper 
 [ turns out that the new version of iPhoto isn't compatible for some reason ] so that idea got scrapped. Luckily Justin figured it all out and got me working with Picasa so I'm good to go now [ and therefore don't have any more excuses to not post more consistently... ]. 

Anyway, the subject of Wednesday's post was going to be my love for our town's farmers market. I don't know what it is about going to a farmers market, but being able to chat with the farmers themselves and support locally and get Michigan products feels so wonderful. Not to mention it's now officially summer and all the good stuff comes out!

peonies!

my favorite...obviously

  

Shoved one in Justin's mouth..."This is how strawberries should taste!"

Ahhhh dried kiwi!! The best...

basil to make homemade pesto

Aaaaand now it's Friday [ sorry...couldn't resist... ] so all this old news...

BUT that means that it's Justin's birthday! So, in honor of his big two six, I've decided to make a list of 26 things I love about my man [ in no particular order, mind you ] :

26) His sheer intelligence that amazes me every day...seriously - he's pretty much the smartest person I know

25) His wavy hair 

24) His tall stature

23) How he always manages to find the positive in any negative situation [ he's got this whole chasing peonies thing down pat ] 

22) The way he smiles at me when he's feeling all lovey dovey

21) The fact that his teeth are too small to bite into carrots properly

20) How he can just pick up on anything so fast [ a man of all trades, let me tell ya ] 

19) The fact that he catches all the spiders and other strange nasty bugs we find in our house

18) How great of a "dad" he is to our pupper dog

17) That he carries me to bed when I've fallen asleep on our couch

16) His dedication to anything he sets his mind to

15) How he says "thank you" to me every day for doing things for him

14) How he says "I love you" to me every day

13) That his pet peeves are often right in line with my pet peeves [ grammar, specifically ] 

12) How he'll hold my hand whenever, wherever

11) His big hugs

10) That he cleans up the dog's vomit so I don't have to...

9) His constant flow of encouraging words that come just naturally to him

8) His patience and understanding

7) How he genuinely cares and has compassion for others

6) His linguistic abilities 

5) His easygoing nature

4) How every day at some point he literally has me on the floor laughing so hard that my abdominal muscles ache

3) How great of a leader he is for us

2) The love he shows his friends and family

1) How he is truly a man of God

So, if you see him at some point [ or want to stop by here and say hi ], make sure to  wish him the happiest of birthdays!!!

Happy Birthday, Pook! You're the best!!!

NPR