Recovery Week

 Also known as... my 21st birthday was Friday. 

I will most definitely do a small recap of the blur that was this past weekend, but as of right now, I'm just trying to recover, both mentally and physically. Not only was this past weekend my 21st birthday, on Saturday my school hosted its 50th anniversary Groundhog Party in the Park -- if it doesn't seem like a big deal, wait until you see the pictures.


As far as physical recovery goes... I am pretty sure I fractured my foot three weeks ago and I dislocated my kneecap on Friday (I was standing and it gave out, no amazing drunken stories here, sorry). But really, what's a birthday without some bumps and bruises?

Some things that have helped with my recovery:

S'mores slippers/foot warmers! From my dear friends the Ballards

for those of you who are unaware, I have a not normal obsession with s'mores...

I literally cried when I saw these 

I don't mean "literally" how some people say it and mean "figuratively"

I LITERALLY CRIED

Diptyque candle from my sister and brother-in-law that smells like heaven
I saw my sister briefly when I was at home last week and asked her about diptyque candles...

And then she sent me one for my birthday among many other gifts

She is amazing. So is Jake (didn't forget you). Oh and so is Luke, but that's a given.

Many other gifts were received by a very thankful birthday girl, but it would be tacky to post every single thing. Plus, it would spoil my thank-you notes. (They are coming!)

but first, coffee

p.s. I think the best part of my day is that first sip of coffee

&

my last sip of coffee is for sure the most stressful

Did Someone Say "Coffee"?

1 shot of espresso

1 cup of vanilla almond milk microwaved for 1 minute 40 seconds 

1 dash of cinnamon

whisk milk until frothy

pour over espresso

That's how I take my morning coffee. It's the same every single day, but somehow it always tastes better when I'm at home in California.

can you tell I got my camera back from the shop?

It's my last morning at home and I'm savoring every last minute. Major plans? Walking my dogs chihuahuas, doing all my laundry, packing, cleaning my room, and other productive things...

I really do love the box of an apartment that I live in in Texas, but nothing beats being at home. Especially home in California, where 'cold' means anything slightly below 60 and I wake up to a bright and sunny (and fully furnished) kitchen every morning. 

O Tannenbaum

First real morning back at home, and my mother so cunningly lured me into a game of Five Crowns. If you're unfamiliar, it is the ultimate game of wits, nothing like any other card game you've played before.

as you can see, the added suit makes a world of difference

We won't talk about the outcome, because that's not important. What is important is that I managed to down three cups of black coffee and a water bottle before my doctor's appointment with a doctor that I had never been to before. Pretty sure that first impression went swimmingly; they made me wait, and wait, and wait, and when the doctor finally walked in to see me, I had to ask to ... you know... 2nd grade style, "Dr. Chan... may I go to the bathroooooom?"

Alright, so doctor's appointment over, and I am thankful. After that it was straight to the gym for a great 14.5 minute run (that I guess couldn't just have been done in my neighborhood) and a 2 minute abdominal session. I did  feel the burn. 

And after that it's just waiting around for the next day to come so I can enjoy some more coffee and eggs and toast and blog some more.

How do I kill time from morning to morning? By taking pictures of the Christmas tree. Thank goodness it gets dark at 5 o'clock - I got a good 6-hour photo shoot in. No, but really, thank goodness there is a Pinterest post floating around that tells me "How to Take Awesome Picture of your Christmas Tree". I don't think turning up the ISO and make the shutter speed slower would have ever come to mind. So thanks Pinterest. Saving my night once again.

And now it's morning again! So I made an egg on toast again! (But got a little cheeky and added avocado and shaved parmesan)