Reset.

Check it out: I completed my mini-bucket list this week!  Everything, basically, except for number six on the list, the take lots of naps one.  I think I only took one nap.  Too busy bucket-listing, I guess.  :)

Like sleep, there were a number of other "real life" things on my to-do list for the week that didn't get done, like buy dental insurance, for example.  Yeah, I need to do it.  But it can also wait, and this week, I tried to prioritize the things that are absolutely essential for my health and well-being - mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically.  And that list did not include buying dental insurance.

I tried not to think about the things I need to do in the future, or the things I should have done already.  I  actually even tried to not think too much about my mini-bucket list, the things I wanted to "accomplish" during this vacation.  When I made it, I tried to keep my bigger-picture priorities in mind - recharging, spending good time with loved ones - and so I am glad that I was able to do a lot of that.  But too often (okay, every single time), whether it is in everyday life or whether I have a little vacation time, I make a list - I am a huge list-maker - of Things That Must Be Done.  And even on vacation, the list of Things That Must Be Done becomes this sort of onerous task-master, and I feel like I have to try to squeeze in ALL of the relaxing things and ALL of the fun things and ALL of the responsible things and see ALL of the people and then, not only does my vacation not end up feeling very relaxing at all, it also inevitably leaves me feeling like I failed, yet again, to cover all of my bases, because my lists of Things That Must Be Done are epic and invariably can never be completed in the allotted time.

Catching up on sleep was one of my biggest goals for the week, and it didn't happen.  But - and this is why I never get caught up on sleep even when I really need to and theoretically could - it was totally worth the trade-off to do all the other things I did.  Even though it mostly consisted of just hanging out with family, reading, crafting, exercising, eating, and watching movies, it was exactly what I needed.  I needed it even more than I needed the sleep.

I already get myself into trouble on a regular basis for over-scheduling, double-booking, over- or under-estimating the things I can get done and the length of time required to do them, and I am sick of feeling that way on vacations, too.  This time, I tried very hard to do something that I am terrible at - to just be present.  To do one thing at a time, to stop planning all the other things I wanted to do that day and the rest of the week.  I think I was only moderately successful at it.  Still, moderate success is moderate success. 

I come home pretty much every chance I get, and I think it's because home is like my "reset" button.  I am a happier, better person around my family, and time with them just makes me feel... more like me, if that makes any sense.  I told my parents tonight that when I am in Atlanta, I am really glad that I decided to go to Emory for medical school.  I love the city and I love my friends and I love where I live and I love the school.  But every time I come home, I really wonder what I was thinking when I decided not to go to school in Denver.

Relax.  Reset.  Recharge.  Renew.

I started off the week visiting Matt and Alex in Denver.  We had some fun with an amazing old pair of glasses we found in their garage, left by some unknown, evidently blind person:

Porky, the dog:

My mom makes the most delicious blueberry pancakes in the world for breakfast:

We went to see The Avengers in the middle of the day, and we did not recycle our glasses:

I spent a lot of time sewing together the pieces of a quilt that I am attempting:

What the finished top of the quilt looks like!:

Vacation is not vacation without a trashy magazine or two:

Dug out these mugs that I bought a long time ago and have never used! They will be perfect in the new house:

Today, Ellen, Mom, Dad, and I went on a hike and climbed Horsetooth Rock, which overlooks the city.  The weather was perfect and the scenery gorgeous as always:

The destination:

The view from the top:

Long's Peak in the background, with storm clouds rolling in from the south:

We did 27 birthday pushups at the top in honor of Martin's 27th birthday today:

And then topped off the summit experience with a little mountain yoga:

I was going to leave this without any explanation, because Ellen just looks so funny in this picture, but she is actually smelling a fir tree species whose bark smells like butterscotch from close-up.  Just a little trick that Mom taught us when we were little:

No real fauna to be found today, but flora all around:

Tonight ended my favorite way of all time, with family games and hilarity:

Mini-Bucket List

Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, here is this week's Mini-Bucket List:

1. take yoga classes at my best friend's brand-new studio

2. visit my friend Morgan and meet her brand-new baby

3. go hiking with my mama

4. watch the movie Water for Elephants since I just read the book (I am mad at myself for flying through it so fast because it was sooo good and now I'm sad it's over)

5. finish piecing together my quilt

6. take lots of naps

7. make several phone calls to friends I haven't spoken to in way too long

8. have coffee with my Jean-o

9. eat a lot of delicious food (ha, this is never really a problem for me)

10. PR in the Houska Houska with my mom and sis on Memorial Day

(In case you didn't gather, I am currently on one glorious week of vacation, and home sweet home in the great state of Colorado.  There are no words for how good it feels and how much I needed this little break.)

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, evidently.  

I swear there has got to be a National fill-in-the-blank-here Day for everything.

Anyway, I think chocolate chip cookies are a fabulous thing to celebrate, and so in honor of this illustrious holiday, I decided to take my patriotism to the kitchen and let it run wild. Not that I ever need much of an excuse to make a big batch of cookie dough {cough} I mean, cookies. Plus I have a shelf exam coming up on Friday and stress baking is the best kind of baking.

I experimented with this amazing recipe of my Aunt Jane's, and then, not content to celebrate just chocolate chips, went ahead and added in every other delicious thing I had in my pantry also. 

Go big or go home, amiright??!?

These cookies are pretty much the best ever, if I do say so myself. Slightly crunchy on the outside, soft and slightly gooey on the inside, all sorts of different flavor and texture combinations depending on the bite... just a little bit of everything, the best of all cookie worlds. In other words, just how I like them. :)

Kitchen Sink Cookies

makes two dozen large cookies, depending on how much dough you eat :)

Blend:

1 c butter

1 c brown sugar

1 c white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Add:

1 tsp soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 c flour

2 c oatmeal

1-2 tsp sea salt

1 c chocolate chips

1 c shredded coconut

1 c walnut pieces

1 c dried cherries

Bake 10-12 minutes at 350°.

*We didn't have any on hand, but I would have also added a teaspoon of almond extract, which adds a really delicious can't-quite-put-your-finger-on-it sump'n-sump'n to cookies.  I discovered this by accident once when I was probably stress-baking and didn't have vanilla extract in the house, so I used almond instead and the cookies turned out wicked good.

PS. Hey!  I just realized this is my first-ever food-blog post with my own recipe!  If you try to out, please let me know what you think!!

Test Week

Nothing much to say, just a shot of tonight's lovely sunset over Atlanta's distant skyline from the top of the parking deck as I headed into my study cave.

Dear Mom

In honor of you today, we wanted to write to tell you how much you mean to us. We just simply could not ask for a better mom, and we could not love you more. 

Happy Mother's Day. 

With our whole hearts,

Your Family

Dear Mom, 

Thanks for being the greatest mom ever! Thank you for adopting me. Thanks for all the things you have done for all us kids. I appreciate all the meals you have fixed for us. You have fed us and cared for all of us. I appreciate you teaching me to drive. I’m grateful for all the love you’ve shown to me. Thanks for going to all my softball games and cheering for me. I know it takes a lot of time and effort. I hope this is the best Mother’s Day ever! 

I love you!

Olivia

Dear Mom, 

You are the first person I call. Whether I have something to celebrate, something to vent about, something to process or something that is making me cry, yours is always the first number I dial. (Sometimes you are not the first person I actually talk to, but that is usually because you don't ever have your cell phone on/with you. :)) You are pretty much the only person I call when I'm proud of something I've done, because it's not really ok to brag, but you can always brag to your mom, because she will always be even prouder. 

Thank you for being my biggest fan and cheerleader, for believing in me and encouraging me forward, even - and especially - through the times when I could not do that for myself. Thank you for being the sort of mom that I can call for anything, whether it's to ask how to bake a potato or how to handle a tough situation in my life. You have shown by example the kind of mom, wife, friend and person I can only hope to be. I wish I could be there with you today to celebrate Mother's Day, but for now, this will have to do. 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

-Cath

Dearest Mom, 

Oh, how much I put you through. Had I been your first... let's be honest... there probably would not have been five. So, thank God I was third. And thank God I was cute enough to excuse my bad behavior until number five came along. Thank God you are such a gracious and forgiving mother. Thank you - I am truly grateful for you. 

Love you Mom!! I am proud of you!!!

-Matt

Dear Mom, 

As I get older, I appreciate more and more the amazing person that you are. I cannot imagine anyone more selfless and caring than you. Raising 5 kids with the humility and grace that you did is an amazing accomplishment. I feel incredibly blessed to have you for a mom! Marielle and I wish you the best Mother's Day ever because no one deserves it more than you. 

With all of our love, 

 Martin and Marielle

Mom!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Dang, we got real lucky in the mother draw. You are the very best in the whole wide world! It has been super fun to be home this year and hang out with you more. I see so much of you in me and I am proud of that. I love hanging out with you, working out with you, cooking with you, and sharing my life with you. It's so cool to be old enough to really talk about real things with my mom, you know? I used to be jealous of Cathy for that when I was a young'n. It kind of sucks to have a mom that has a better bod than me but it's also sweet that my mom is ripped. Mom, you are the best listener and I am ridiculously blessed by you everyday. 

I LOVE YOU!!! 

-Ellen

Dearest Betsy, 

You are amazing! I am so blessed to be married to you, and to have you as the mother of our children! Thank you for being the most wonderful woman on the planet. Your love, care, instruction and example for our children are the absolute best. And on top of all this, you are an awesome wife! I thank God for you every day, and I look forward to 32 more years of an amazing marriage. Thanks for everything that you do. 

Deep love,

Rich