My Idol thoughts...

...cause Im sure you are dying to know!! ;) Here are my favs ~

Pia
Ok, she is my pick to win, not because I want her to (Ill get to my winner later!), but because I think she will be America's pick. Don't get me wrong, I think she is a great choice! She is beautiful and her voice is absolutely effortlessly powerful.

Casey
Oh Casey! He is cute, a very entertaining performer, unique, and has that surprisingly sexy raspy growl to his voice. Plus, he just seems genuine and really emotional about his art, I love that!

Haley
I have very mixed feelings about her. I love her voice, like Casey, she has that raspy quality that I really like in a singer. Her musical style is quirky and fun. This is where my ambiguity lies though because she doesn't seem to match her music at all! I came to the conclusion this week that it is because she is young, she hasn't embraced her inner quirkiness yet, so it is dying to come out through her music. I want her to make it so she will grow into her true uniqueness and match her music because then I know I will absolutely love her (in true Sugarland style!).

Oh, and I like his "tail!"

James
He is very Adam Lambert, which is fun and obviously entertaining. That is not what I love about him though, it's his "humanness." He has Tourettes and Aspergers and he is ok with that, he gets emotional and cries on national tv and he is ok with that. I love that, I think it is so important for male figures on tv to show that side and I applaud him for being so true to himself.





and my all time favorite Idol contestant ever (ok, in the 2.5 seasons that I have seen)...
Paul
ahh, I adore him! He is quirky and whispery and he looks so effin happy when he sings! Plus, his dancing never fails to make me smile. Love, love, love :)

Ok, thanks for indulging my Idol musings, who are your picks?

Quotation Wednesday {13th ed.}

Im not going to lie, I actually chose the picture first and found a quote to fit it! I just really love this picture, but I like the quote too. Maybe because I just read the Unbearable Lightness of Being and am struggling with the idea Kundera presented of lightness being "unbearable." I definitely resonate more with Toni Morrison and believe that it help you to fly...

Random Simple Pleasures {7th ed.}

Simple Pleasure #7 ~ Enjoying your local touristy spot, before the busy season

Alki beach here in West Seattle is absolutely gorgeous! Its a long stretch of beach and beautiful walking trails overlooking the sound, mountains, and the Seattle skyline ~ awesome! 

Unfortunately though, this means that in the summer it can get crazy. We had a random beautiful day here though last week, so we decided to go enjoy it by sitting on Alki and reading with just the locals, nice and serene....in other words; absolute heaven!

Seriously, does it get any better?!

Happy Monday {27th ed.}

Happy Monday everyone!

Hanumanasa
Don't you love that one thing in your exercise or area of practice that you are really good at? Yoga splits, that's mine! :)

Cute!
I just may be obsessed with dorky jewelry :)

from here

This embroidery

Stolen from someone else's weekly loves post..

You know the drill....what is making you happy today?

unconditional love

I love this quote (from this blog). I could go on and on (in fully researched detail, may I add!) about how pets are good to have around kids...the responsibility, the love, etc etc... But, Ill just let the adorable picture speak for itself!

Quotation Wednesday {12th ed.}

This quotation is from a poem by Antonio Machado, but I heard it as part of a yoga meditation. The meditation discussed how strength, transformation, and beauty are all born out of our weak spots or past pain. I just really love the image of sweet honey being lovingly made from our past failures. I think it is a good reminder to embrace your failures, faults, and pain, because they are truly what make us into strong beautiful people.

"...and the golden bees were making white combs and sweet honey
from my old failures." -Antonio Machado

Happy Monday {26th ed.}

Happy Happy Monday Everyone!!! Here is what is making me happy...

This shirt
I have listed something else by this Etsy shop before in my Happy Mondays, but I can't help it, her stuff just makes me so happy! Adorably quirky...love it!

Its here if you want it!

Oh, and this Etsy shop too!

I just love this one, and all of her "quirky character" prints :)

This adorable little guy

Also from an Etsy shop (that Mel shared with me!), apparently its an Etsy themed Happy Monday!

Raindrop cupcakes
Veering from the Etsy overload, these are from another site I love, Bake it in a Cake (thanks to my friend Rachel for sharing it!). Aren't they cute?

On the cupcake note, I made some Guinness and chocolate cupcakes with green cream cheese frosting for St. Patty's day...they were yummy!! :)

My $4 goodwill shoes!! 
Underwear and shoes are the 2 things that I don't generally even look through at Goodwill, but I swear, these ladies called out to me!! (Don't worry, I will still stay away from the used underwear aisle).

You have to wear them the first night right? Even if its just while
sitting on the couch watching Dexter!

Ok, that is it for me this week, what is making you happy lately?

Quotation Wednesday {11th ed.}

I love this one! I know its a classic that everyone knows, but I think its a good one to be reminded of...

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." -Ghandi

I want!

Im in love....

Its an adorable little owl, with glasses, reading a book that says "get ur nerd on".....and you can color it!!! Seriously, someone made this with me specifically in mind!

Happy Monday {25th ed.}

Happy Happy Monday Everyone!! Im up to 25 of them, wow! Here is what is making me happy...

This picture
I don't know what it is about this picture (besides the obvious of the gorgeous beach), but I really love it!

via here

My pups in raincoats! 

Adorable right? Domino's is an XL and still looks like a postage stamp on him and Zindle's reminds me of a sporty puffy vest, so very lesbian of her (she is as straight as it gets though, even tries to hump her brother!). 

Deb from Dexter

She cracks me up! I love her lines and she has perfect delivery. Plus, the contrast of her adorably, albeit a bit crazy, emotive self and Dexter's monotone lack of displayed emotions is awesome. Ahh....its just such a great show...

Girl Scout cookies!

Ok, what I should really say is that it's the end of the cookie season that is making me happy.  As much as it kills me to see the adorable little girl scouts all over, and have to say no to them, I really do love girl scout cookies! I mean really, who doesn't? I did good and only had 2 boxes this year, 1 samoas and 1 think mints. Plus we ate them while deep cleaning the house, so that negates the calories right?.....right?! Oh well, thank god they are only around once a year!

That is it for me, what is making you happy this week?

Random Simple Pleasures {6th ed.}

Random Simple Pleasure #6 ~ Sleeping in your own bed after being away
I swear, I could sleep in a bed made of angel feathers and clouds, and still crave the comfort of my own bed! There is just something unique about sleeping in your own bed that all the egyptian cotton in the world can't beat...yup, I love that!
Cat hair and all.... :)

I love inspiring tattoos!

I love love love this tattoo and the story that goes along with it!!

Quotation Wednesday {10th ed.}

It was only a matter of time before Rumi made his way into my Quotation Wednesdays right? Well this is my favorite. I just love the implications of a lack of "right" or "wrong" and the openness that is left, like standing in a vast field of possibility....

"Out beyond ideas of rightdoing and wrongdoing, there is a field.
I'll meet you there." -Rumi

Melman is too cute!

How cute is my Melman?! I love when he sleeps like this :)

(yes, that is a christmas dog toy under the chair, how it hasn't been torn to shreds yet is beyond me!)

Happy Monday {24th ed.}

Happy Happy Monday! Here is what is making me happy....

This picture
Glasses and windblown purple hair, awesome! (gah, Im looking at this picture again and I seriously love it! I want to know her....)

via here

Roasted chickpeas

My newest favorite snack, super simple and really yummy!!

The new Adele cd

Awesome!! She has such a unique and emotional voice and her music just rocks! :)

A clean house....

..even if getting there isn't the best part! We super cleaned yesterday and it is such a wonderful feeling to be sitting in a nice, clean, fresh house!! 

Words with Friends

How fun is this?! My username is kiekokay, if you want to play! (Hey, that rhymed) 

That is it for me, what is making you happy this week?!

Quick question...

...do you guys go back to blogs to read comments after you leave one? I have always wondered what the best way is to comment back on my readers' comments. I know I go back sometimes if I ask a question or say something in a comment and want to know what the blog writer thinks, but not always. How do you guys comment on comments? (Does that make any sense?!)

Embrace your solitude!

I found this video on Sarah's blog and am absolutely in love with it!

Is this not the most adorable poem?! My favorite line is this, "if you are happy in your head, then solitude is blessed and alone is ok" 

I love being alone, but I think that in our society that is not the norm. So many people are uncomfortable just being with themselves, and I don't mean being alone as in, not in a relationship, I mean just time spent alone. That is another unfortunate trend, so often people think that because they are in a relationship they no longer need to spend quality time with themselves. (Side note; remember my post about the religious weight loss lady who was advising this woman to eat with a friend on webcam so avoid some sort of evil that comes from being alone?!)

As I said, my introverted self is super comfortable with being alone, I actually crave alone time if I don't get it regularly. That said though, I know much of society is not this way. I really truly do think it is important though to find comfort in it. If you are not comfortable being with yourself, how can you truly know yourself? I know it can be difficult though for many people, that is why I love this video so much. She honors that discomfort in an adorable little way, while also highlighting the absolute joy of being with yourself! I love her ideas and here are a few of my favorite ways to "ease into" being with yourself...

Go out to eat by yourself, you can order whatever you want!

Go to a movie, you can form your own opinions about it and eat an entire tub of popcorn!

My personal favorite, go to a coffee shop or an early happy hour, they are the best times to read a book and simultaneously people watch, believe me it's awesome!

Quotation Wednesday {9th ed.}

This was on the Oscars and I really love it. I like to think of it as consciously changing your view on something that seems burdensome and negative. I have a cousin who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor and he is epitomizing the phrase, "make the most of it" by becoming an even better and more loving person because of it. That could be an incredibly heavy load, but I just picture him walking lightly with it. I can tend to dwell on the painful or unfair aspects of things I am going through, so I am going to make an effort to carry my burdens more lightly.

"It's not the load that breaks you down, but the way you carry it." -Lena Horne