Kayaking on Lady Bird Lake

On Friday we took advantage of Kyle's random day off, and after hemming and hawing, headed to Austin to go kayaking on the river through the city. They call it Lady Bird Lake, but it is more like a river, so we call it that. We stopped at a couple REIs first to get Kyle a new pair of shoes, and made our way down to the river, parked and looked for where the kayakers were coming from. We spotted a rental place close to where we parked, and hopped in a double. I take the blame for the double- we were going to get singles but then at the last minute I thought it'd be fun to try a double. Well...it was still fun but...a little frustrating trying to paddle with two. The double kayak should probably be some sort of marital test or something. The water was calm, but I do not trust my luck to bring my phone or camera onto the water, so there are no pictures of the hours we spent kayaking, but we had a great time in the sun and saw a lot of wildlife: lots and lots of turtles, swans, ducks, geese, herons, a topless lady, hipsters, unruly teenagers, and countless runners (everyone in Austin runs along the river, so it would seem. in minimal clothing.). The weather was perfectly hot for running your hands through the water, or dunking your hat in if you are Kyle. It was awesome, and made me so happy.  We will just get singles next time I think. :) We made the wise decision of getting mango ice after returning our kayak and ate it while walking back to our car and watching people on one of Austin's many bridges. I think this was the most I've enjoyed the city. Anyone who comes to visit, we will have to take you there to kayak. Actually you should probably just stay in Austin; it is way cooler than Temple.

omg baby Vibrams. 

 We started back behind this bridge (the other side) and kayaked under several bridges and to the big buildings of downtown Austin you see there. 

 Dinner at Uncle Billy's. 

S. 

Thursday Thoughts (9)

{one} Kitty pics. They knocked over my laundry one night and I found D camped out inside in the morning. So um here is a shot of my laundry is what I'm saying.

and Hux man in the morning

{two} I started a new Bob Harper workout. I love Bob; I like his videos so I got a new one for just $5 and it's a good, intense hour. I have to modify some of the things- push ups and such since I had surgery on my left wrist (years of PT, pain, cast, etc, etc story for another day) and I definitely do not trust it, but I know a lot of moves now so I don't have to stop and think about it.

{three} I am not really a music person. I mean, I played several instruments up through high school, marching band, theater, choir, I have some favorite artists. But I don't continually listen to music; I rarely do I'd say. I just have phases where I cant get enough, and then silence. ANYWAY POINT IS I've been in an extended mild music phase due to wedding planning and picking songs/artists to request. And I downloaded the new John Mayer CD last night, so that is happening on repeat for a while. I think his music is just perfect for certain times in your life, and at those times nothing has ever sounded so lovely. Also, perfect timing, I think I've found our first dance song, if husband approves! Short, sweet and simple. I don't need to be awkwardly dancing up there with everyone staring at us for more than a couple minutes. :)

via

{four} Well this made me laugh.

{five} So we had a movie on Netflix that was not at our nearest shipping facility, so they sent the next one in our queue while they sent the other one from further away. So we watched and returned the first one, and the far away one came the next day in the mail, and they're sending us the next one in queue since we returned the other one. I wonder how long this will last. I think not long. 

{six} I had an interview/meeting for a potential field internship for my whole first year at Baylor. I would love to intern there, and the meeting went well (he said "next time you come back I'll give you a tour of the place"), so fingers crossed!

{seven} Sometimes Huxley likes to sit on Kyle's keyboard. The kitties used to do this a lot when they were younger/littler, plop right down on my keyboard while I was at the computer. I guess Hux typed out a little message haha. What a poet. 

{eight} I don't feel like cooking dinner tonight. 

{nine} WEDDING SO SOON AHHH! :-D

{ten} June is tomorrow! I get my cute and handy monthly desktop calendar from Rebekka at Dear Friend, and you can too! 

Linking up with Sar!

S. 

The Wedding Approaches

This Friday will be two weeks until the wedding, this Saturday is one week until we start our two day drive up to PA! I made a bunch of phone calls for various things yesterday- a couple regarding a cocktail hour surprise (so so excited for this one; I want to share so badly but I want it to be a surprise for our guests), one securing an extra bathroom being delivered to the farm (complete with AC and running water-nothing gross here!), booking the hotel, and a phone meeting with the wedding planner (we brought one in to make sure everything was going in the right direction these last couple months, since I'm so far away and we've never done this before). Looks like our guest count is 81, out of 120 invited! Pretty good; most who can't come live in Finland or across the country/far from PA, so it is understandable. Since Kyle and I went to high school together, we have pretty much the same friends, so that kept the guest list from getting way up there. We will all fit comfortably in the farm. So, what do these last few weeks consist of? Well- lots of phone calls and emails- checking in with all the vendors, giving them the final guest count and making sure we're all set to go. Figuring out the timeline for the week of the wedding. Making any last decisions on things that might need to be purchased or made. Making sure you have the right number of things for the number of guests; assigning tables. Finalizing the program and plan for the days events. Lots of emails (again). Lots of post-it notes. Lots of excitement building!

whatever gets written on here will look much better. I was just testing out the white chalk I finally found!

Sorry this isn't much of a post. Today was a stay-in-workout-clothes-all-day-after-working-out-because-I-just-jumped-right-into-doing-things-and-those-clothes-are-super-comfy kind of day. Huxley understands. 

Also, I will pick a new blog header soon! I think I needed some time to not think about it to be able to make a decision. 

S. 

Summer in Finland

Another seasonal post from my year in Finland! Photos include:

August crayfish party. Turku castle tour. first weeks in Finland. time at the lake. boating around the islands and visiting the sheep. exploring/touring Old Town in Turku. sauna at the summer cottage! visiting more Finnish family.

Also, Happy Memorial Day.

S.